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somebodycall911onabc · 3 years

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Spoon me, you idiot

Post ep4x13 Buddie because my brain is just that episode on loop. Hands up if you're not ready for the season 4 finale, folks. Have some cuddling and love confessions in the meantime.

Buck helps Eddie over the threshold with one hand at Eddie’s elbow and the other pressed against his hip. Eddie’s fine, he’s fine, he’s alive, but he’s exhausted. Pain and shock weigh down his shoulders, make him unsteady on his feet.

Carla breathes in sharply at the sight of him. Then she’s stepping forward, folding Eddie into a soft embrace, pulling his head down cheek to cheek with hers. Buck drags his eyes away from his living, breathing, living friend to find Chris, who’s lying on the couch with his glasses askew, mouth open in sleep. Buck’s heart clenches like a fist. He’s going to remember Chris’s haunted, horrified expression for the rest of his life, the light dying in Chris’s eyes as Buck had to tell him… had to tell him that his dad wasn’t coming home that night.

Buck walks over to Chris and kneels down beside him. He’s pretty sure it’s the first time Chris has slept since he heard about it. The first time in more than 48 hours that the kid’s closed his eyes. Buck brushes the curls back from Chris’s forehead, trying to be gentle, not wanting to wake him.

Eddie gets down next to Buck, their knees pressing together. Buck feels the shudder that runs down Eddie’s spine, feels it echoed in his soul. Buck isn’t the religious type, but he feels like this is another miracle. Years after his first brush with death, Eddie coming home once again to his son.

With a hand on Chris’s shoulder, Eddie murmurs, “hey, my little Superman. Chris, I’m here.”

Chris’s eyes open slowly, reluctantly, until he sees his dad’s face and wakes up all at once.

“Dad!” Chris shouts, hands flying up to attach themselves to Eddie’s face. “Dad!”

Eddie’s smiling, huffing out laughter in pure, unadulterated joy at seeing his son’s delighted expression. Chris is grinning and whooping, falling forward to curl himself into his dad’s chest. Eddie lifts one arm to hold Chris close and buries his face in Chris’s hair.

Buck blinks back tears, feeling relief crash over him. He rubs his eyes and starts to get to his feet, wanting to give the Diaz boys some space, until he feels a tug on his shirt. Eddie’s hand twists in the fabric. He’s not even looking at Buck, head tucked against the curve of Chris’s skull. Buck sinks back down and tentatively puts his arms around the both of them, Chris’s knobbly spine and Eddie’s strong back, his cheek brushing Eddie’s forehead. Buck lets out a breath that trembles like an earthquake.

It feels like home. It feels impossible. It’s what he’s always wanted. It feels like something Buck isn’t allowed to have.

When they finally let go of each other, what could be a minute or a year later, Buck notices Carla standing at the end of the couch. She’s smiling fondly at all of them, and Buck realizes abruptly that this is the first time he’s seen her since the pandemic started. He gets up—although it’d be more fair to say he tears himself away—and moves toward her, and there’s always been something magic about Carla because she takes one look at him and she knows.

“I missed you,” Buck says, his nose smashed into her chin. She’s hugging him like she’s trying to pack Buck down tight and snug him into a little box where she can keep him safe. Or maybe that’s just Buck’s wishful thinking. He’s so goddamn tired.

“I missed you too, Buckaroo,” Carla says, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Buck swallows the lump in his throat her tenderness causes.

She pulls away and very gently pats his cheek, looking Buck in the eye. “He needs you, you hear?” She whispers, holding that eye contact like she’s bet money on a staring competition. “Take care of each other.”

Buck can only nod.

She lets go of him and Buck shakes himself into standing straight, even though he’d much rather crumple to the floor. But he needs to get Eddie and Chris to bed, he needs to figure out what’s still edible in the kitchen and take out the trash, he needs to call the pharmacy for Eddie’s meds and the station for Eddie’s med leave, he needs to—

“Alright boys, get some rest.” Buck blinks and Carla comes back into focus. She’s addressing all of them, voice firm. “I’ll be here bright and early tomorrow to help out.”

“Thank you, Carla,” Eddie says.

“No need for that.” She bends down to give Eddie a quick hug, and Buck hears her tell him, “just try not to get on the bad side of any more sniper-rifle-wielding nut jobs, alright?”

Eddie’s reply is somewhere between a laugh and a choked-back sob.

Buck walks Carla to the door. Before she leaves, she looks at him, sharp-eyed and commanding again. “You call me if you need anything. Anything. You look just as bad as he does.”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks, Carla.”

She narrows her eyes at him, but this is what Buck has always been best at. He wades through the hurt and the pain and just keeps going. He gives her a tight smile, reminds himself that he wasn’t the one shot (no, just the one sprayed with Eddie’s blood, he can still feel it on his skin, still taste it on his lips), and closes the door behind her.

Getting Chris and Eddie to bed is easy. Buck lifts Chris up, carries him to Eddie’s room, and pulls the covers over both the Diaz boys. Eddie tries to catch Buck’s eye while Buck leaves the room, but if Buck stops moving then he’s not sure when or if he’ll start again. Buck pulls the bedroom door most of the way closed, leaving a tiny crack in case Eddie or Chris need him in the night.

In the kitchen, the clock on the stove informs him that it’s just past 9 pm. It’s jarringly early. It feels like time doesn’t really exist, that he’s been moving in a place defined by the hours since Eddie dropped, the hours since Eddie went into surgery, the hours since Eddie woke up.

Buck opens the fridge and looks into it without seeing anything, like when you’re reading only to realize that three pages have gone by without you remembering a single word. He closes the fridge door and opens it again, and oh, there’s the carton of milk and bottle of ketchup on the top shelf, the egg carton down to its last egg, a container of left-over fried rice from… was it yesterday? Buck folds back the top flap and sniffs it, decides it will be fine for one of the boys to eat when they get up.

He closes the fridge and investigates the pantry next. Two boxes of spaghetti, a can of beans, three cans of chicken noodle soup, an unopened bag of quinoa that is probably the result of Ana because Buck’s not sure Eddie has ever heard of quinoa—like he’s taking inventory of the truck. Thermal blankets, C-spine collar kit, 3L of sterile water, 3L sodium chloride, hug-a-bear. The 118 has a blue elephant courtesy of Athena. Buck could honestly really use it right now.

Buck runs a hand through his hair and pulls out his phone, planning to make a grocery list. He sees two missed calls from Bobby and eight from Maddie. One from Chim. Hen texted him at 4pm: How you holding up?

Buck very slowly puts the phone down.

He takes a step back and grips the edge of the kitchen counter. Breathe, Buck, he thinks. Just breathe.

His vision is spotty when he opens his eyes, like he’d shut them too tight. He doesn’t remember shutting them. It doesn’t matter. Buck finds a scrap of paper in the recycling bin and a pen from the junk drawer and writes a list. It’s late, so he’ll go to the grocery store in the morning, early, make sure breakfast is on the table for when Eddie and Chris get up. Oh fuck, does he have a shift tomorrow? What day is it?

Buck puts down the pen and presses the heels of his palms to his eyes. He can’t do this. He can’t stand here and pretend like he can take care of Eddie because he can’t stop seeing Eddie die. It’s in the back of his head every moment, it’s what he sees every time he closes his eyes, it’s the memory rewritten by his cells as they multiply and decay, it’s in his fucking genome now or whatever they call it—

it’s in the air he breathes, the reminder that for a moment that lasted an eternity, Eddie’s heart had stopped beating.

It’s a loud silence. Deafening.

Buck thinks, take a breath before you pass out, idiot.

Buck thinks, get a glass of water and pull yourself together.

Buck thinks, your best friend just got shot, you don’t have time for this bullshit.

Buck peels his hands away from the counter slowly, carefully, like if he makes one wrong move he’ll come away with flayed palms. He pours himself a glass of water and makes himself drink the whole thing. He picks up the list he wrote and reads it over and over and over. He thinks: what do I know is true? I’m standing in Eddie’s kitchen. I’m alive. Eddie is alive. And: I should get carrots.

Buck hiccups. Carrots—fucking—

No. Get it together. DAMN IT, Buck!

Buck bites the inside of his cheek until it bleeds and does not add carrots to the grocery list. Because apparently they cause emotional breakdowns, and Buck can’t afford one.

He puts himself to work. He ties the trash bag and then he wipes down the counters, and then he unties the trash bag to throw some paper towels in. He transfers the dishes from the sink to the dishwasher, quiet as he can, and locates a broom at the back of Eddie’s hall closet to sweep the floor.

When he’s emptying the dust pan into the trash (he’d tied and untied the bag again, but nobody’s counting, so what does it matter), Eddie says: “Are you OK?”

Buck jumps at least three feet in the air. He’s got the quads for it.

“Hey!” Buck whisper-shouts, turning to face Eddie. “What are you doing up?”

“Was wondering where you were.”

“Uh,” Buck looks around at the spotless kitchen and the broom in his hand. “Just, you know. Thought I’d be of service.”

Eddie raises his eyebrows at him. “Buck, the last thing I’m worried about is the state of my kitchen.”

“Right. That’s why I’m taking care of it. You know, so you don’t uh. You don’t have to.”

“OK.” Eddie squints at him like maybe a closer look will explain why Buck is sweeping his kitchen at 9:45pm three days after he got shot in the street in broad daylight. Buck sincerely hopes he doesn’t figure it out. He leans the broom against the counter and clips the dust pan to it in a rare display of tidiness. The pan slides down the broom handle until it hits the floor.

“When’s the last time you slept?”

Buck shrugs.

“Answer, please.”

God, what a dad.

(Not that Buck would know.)

“Uh… I think I got a few hours while you were in surgery.”

“That was two days ago, Buck,” Eddie says, frowning at him. “You look like a stiff breeze could knock you over.”

“Well, we’re inside.”

“Why are you being so stubborn? You need to sleep.”

“I’m just not really feeling it,” Buck says, folding his arms and resting his hip against the counter.

“Not giving you a choice,” Eddie says, looking extra grumpy because he can’t fold his arms. Unless you count the one in a sling as folded.

“I’m fine, Eddie. Don’t worry about me. You should be with Christopher.”

Eddie lifts his hand to his face and rubs his temples.

“Buck,” he says, “the only thing I need you to do right now is come to bed.”

“But I—“

“Come to bed, Buck.”

And it’s the repetition. It’s the look in Eddie’s eyes like a slow, early flame: the promise of a fire.

Buck’s throat is very, very dry.

“I… yeah. OK.”

Eddie gives him a small smile. Buck’s reeling. Because here’s the thing—they’ve shared a bed before. They’ve shared a too-small bunk at the station and a backseat and even a beanbag once (courtesy of a very poor decision on Buck’s part, but at least Chris likes it). But it’s always been “just bros.” It’s always been necessity. It’s been about efficiency and familiarity. Which maybe Buck is reading this all wrong and snuggling up with your best friend and his son after a near-death experience is totally no homo but… come to bed. Come to bed. Like it’s their bed. Like Buck belongs there.

Buck’s ears are ringing while he follows Eddie down the hallway to his bedroom. Their bedroom? He’s losing it.

The hallway light illuminates a strip of the room as they step inside. Buck can see Chris tucked in the sheets, curled into the rumpled spot where Eddie slid out to fetch Buck. This has to mean something, right? They’ve been dancing around and on the edge of something for so long, Buck doesn’t know how to interpret anything anymore. He loves Eddie, though. And probably the only way he’ll sleep right now is if Eddie’s in arm’s reach. So it doesn’t really matter what this is, because Buck will take any scrap of Eddie he can get, not just tonight, but always.

Eddie slips into the bed and scoots forward, leaving a space behind for Buck. Chris makes a heavy, sleepy sound and turns his head into his dad’s shoulder. Carefully, so, so carefully, Buck lowers himself onto the bed and fills the space Eddie made for him.

“What are you doing?” Eddie asks, exasperated.

Buck blinks at the ceiling. “What?”

“Idiot,” Eddie mutters. “Spoon me.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Buck, this bed is small enough as it is with one person. I know you’re hanging half off it right now.”

“You’re not even looking at me.”

“Call it intuition,” Eddie says, dry as the desert.

Buck gingerly turns on his side, his chest just a breath away from Eddie’s back. “I…” He swallows. “Where should I put my arm?”

“Buck, you must have done this before.”

“That’s your bad arm, Eds.”

Eddie shifts a little, his calf coming into contact with Buck’s shin. Buck breaks into a cold sweat.

“Shit, well… under the sling, then. Around my waist?”

Dry, dry, his throat is so dry.

Buck lifts his arm up and drapes it over Eddie’s waist. He shuffles in closer, pressing them together from head to toe. His nose is in Eddie’s hair, his dick is nestled in the curve of Eddie’s ass, his ankles are knocking into Eddie’s. Buck feels like he might reverberate out of his skin.

“You sure you wouldn’t rather have Ana here?” Buck whispers. His mouth is like, one inch from Eddie’s ear.

Eddie turns his head a little, so his ear actually brushes Buck’s lip. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Eddie says, “There’s no one in this world I want here more than you.”

Buck stutters on his next breath.

“I wish it’d been me,” he says, suddenly. Eddie has to know. Eddie probably already knows. Buck’s grateful, so goddamn grateful, that Eddie survived. And sure, part of it is that self-deprecating shit he’s been working through with this therapist: Eddie has more to live for, Eddie has a kid, Eddie is a better man than I’ll ever be. But mostly, it’s far simpler than that.

If Eddie had died, the sniper may as well have shot Buck too. Because Buck doesn’t know how to live without Eddie. He’d found that out ages ago, when he lost Eddie under fifty feet of mud and water.

Eddie’s next words are nearly a growl. “The only good thing to come out of all this,” he says, “is that you didn’t get hurt.”

“What are you—“

“After it happened, when I was… when I was lying there, I—I looked at you. I looked at you, Buck, and I was terrified. Not because I might die, but because if I did, who was going to protect you? Who was going to keep a sniper off your self-sacrificing, heroic ass, and make sure someone came home to Chris? Who was—“ Eddie cut himself off with a sigh. “I was worried about you.”

Buck feels like… like an unbroken, empty tundra. Like a fried electric socket. Like someone dropped him to the very bottom of a very deep well.

“Eddie, Eddie I—“

“Shh,” Eddie murmurs, as Buck shakes apart. As he bends his head to hide his tears in the nape of Eddie’s neck. As he bites his tongue to stay quiet and not wake Chris up. Eddie presses backward into Buck’s hold. “I know, I know.”

“I can’t lose you,” Buck grits out between several halting breaths.

“You won’t,” Eddie says.

“I almost did.”

“You had my back.” Buck’s throat makes an awful, wheezing sound as he fights a losing battle against crying. “You got me out of there. You saved me.”

“I love you,” Buck says, losing the fight against that too.

“Buck… I…” Eddie sounds like someone knocked the wind out of him.

“Sorry,” Buck hurries to say, chest icing over with panic. “Sorry I just—“

“I love you,” Eddie interrupts. “I do. I know it took me a long time to realize, but… I’ve been in love with you, Buck.”

“Oh my god,” Buck says. I mean, what else do you say to that? No wonder Eddie froze up. Buck is in shock. “Is this real?”

“I hope so,” Eddie says. “And if it isn’t, then I’ll just have to tell you when we wake up.”

Buck feels fit to burst with more emotions than he can name. Relief, joy, fear, disbelief, pin-prickly. It feels like another miracle.

“Deal,” Buck says. And places a kiss to the fatal, devastating spot behind Eddie’s ear.

Eddie is the first thing Buck sees when he wakes up. “Good morning” are the first words he hears.

And then:

“Just so you know, I love you.”

#buddie #long post #ray writes #i know nothing about gunshot wounds so sorry if this is wildly inaccurate

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contorted-curruptions · 3 years

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*-Mug Shot-*-Poly KiriBaku X reader-*-part one-*

Note: Surprise Saturday, I got carried away with the story and thought it might be best to section it off in two parts so you’ll be getting this one and another post tomorrow peeps, I hope you enjoy my first attempt at a story like this one. Smut is not in this one so if you are looking for that you’ll find it tomorrow, until then please feel free to enjoy this. Also all characters are aged up and the time the story takes place is when they are already pro heroes, so keep that in mind.

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Running, running, the sound of bare feet harshly pounding across the hard surface of the ground below. The pavement cold and merciless on your bare feet, you feel the damage from all the running with no shoes. As you run the sound of your terror echoes out across the soundless night, the streets so empty, not like how they usually are in the daytime. Not a soul will hear you and if they do it’ll be a little too late. It’s dark and only the street lights give you any semblance of where you are going. You hear and feel your heartbeat pounding away in your chest, that feeling becoming more painful with each pound. You feel yourself falter a bit more but you can’t afford to stop, can’t afford to stop running even for a minute. You know they have to be hot on your tail, know they won’t waste time in giving chase once they know you have fled the scene, that most horrifying scene that you left behind. The images flash through your mind as you ran churning your stomach and bringing fresh tears to your eyes. You stifle a sob but that makes your chest clench most painfully but worst of all in this panic while you turn into an alleyway you haven’t noticed the glass scattering across the entrance of the alley. Though you become sorely aware of it once your feet make contact with the shards causing you to let out a scream at the pain shooting through the fresh wounds the glass makes. You wind up tumbling to the ground, you scuff up your hands and knees as you make contact earning more painful noises from you. You fell unceremoniously on the ground in a small heap. Those sobs you kept in achingly inside your chest burst out and you howl out, hot tears now streaming down your face.

For a moment you lose your resolve while you lay there in that heap on the pavement. The pain from all the running through the city catching up with you. Your breathing erratic and you are finding it hard to catch the breath that you lost during this chase. You feel dizzy, your entire body aching in agony, and for this time all you can focus on is the sheer panic coursing through your entire form. You need to get up, need to, have to, you can’t just keep lying like this out in the open, they’ll find you. Another surge of adrenaline gives you the energy you need, you rise to your feet and start running again. You are ignoring the pain in your feet and in other areas of your body which is over-exhausting. You’re Focusing on what is dead ahead of you, a building that looks abandoned. You can focus on much of anything else except the idea of escaping, the idea you can hide and rest a moment. Though, you have to wonder what you are going to do. You can’t run forever and you doubt hiding will do you much good either. No, not when facing off with two pro heroes who are much more experienced than you. Two pro heroes and friends you never had thought until now would have done something like this in the first place and no one else will believe such a claim either. No one will convict two heroes that have done nothing but good.

These thoughts alone left you feeling alone, so very alone. Who do you turn to in a time like this one? Who will even believe you? You, a simple book store clerk and hobbyist selling random things for fun? You are what most would call a nobody, just another face in the crowd, which is why you have to wonder what wound you up getting mixed up with these two in the first place. However, this is no time to think about that. There is no time to be drudging back into the past when what you need to focus on is finding a solution to your problem. A solution that doesn’t come easy or seemingly at all. The alarm of this chase slowly starts to dull into confusion as to why you haven’t been hearing anything from the two who should be hunting you down right now. You haven’t even seen a glimpse of either of the two males you figure are after you currently. Everything quiet and dark, not a sound, not a peep, nothing. You pause your running once reaching the abandoned building and making your way inside. You pant and groan, your lungs and everything else feeling like they are on fire. You place your hands on your knees and take in a deep gasp of breath before coughing loudly. You are choking and gasping after all that running, that dizzy feeling coming back to you. You stumble to the wall and lean against it, you in this tiring state slide down not caring about the filth on it or the ground under you, and there is trash along with other more grimy looking things all around, nonetheless at the moment, you choose to ignore it. Your body too worn and your mind still scattering about too much to really mind it all. All you need is to breathe, that is all you can think, you need a moment. Maybe if lucky, they aren’t chasing you after all. You can only hope that is the case yet you can’t be too certain so you know you can’t linger for too long.

“Fuck...fuck...it stings damn it…why…?!”

You curse under your breath finally starting to feel the glass in your feet you didn’t bother to remove before. You are fearful to even look at the bottoms of your feet right now, you can only imagine how torn up they must look currently, The blood. Looking off you can see the small trail leading to you. You let out a small whimper as you raise your hands to look at them. They too sting badly from falling a few times before. Looking them over it seems they have been torn up pretty badly. A few rocks rest under the skin now, you poke at the bloody and bruising flesh trying to scoot a rock from under the flesh to get it out only to hiss from how it feels to do so and once more curse.

“Damn it…stings...”

You say in a whimper as you move to curl up into yourself, more tears start to cascade down your cheeks, that tight feeling in your chest returning.

“(BF/n), oh god...what am I...?!”

You curl up and start sobbing the images of your beloved’s corpse chard and beaten to a pulp on the floor creeping into your brain, it once more causes you to feel sick. It makes you want to vomit. The smell, the sight, the screaming before all that, those are things you know you’ll never forget. All of them tear you up inside, this is all your fault after all if it weren’t for taking on that project for the two pro heroes you wouldn’t have been winding up here, would you?

It had been a simple day, one like any other, the sky was bright and sunny dotted with a few clouds which you had remembered you stared up at that day. It was very nice unlike tonight, cold and unbearable regardless you remember you woke up beside your lover then. Your boyfriend had given you a good morning kiss like always ever since you had moved in together. Honestly, you hadn’t been in that house together all that long, only a couple of months but those moments spent together had been a dream. A dream you hadn’t wanted to wake up from. You would both get up and get ready to go to work. That morning you showered together, you both got a bit frisky that morning. You and your boyfriend would make out tongues danced together while your arms would be wrapped around each other. You could feel how well your bodies fit together.

Hard to believe that is all over now, that lovely little dream with your boyfriend dead, as dead as he is now. You will never feel that perfect fit with him again. Knowing that sends another wave of pain through you and causes another sob to echo out from your chest as you shiver and wish for the warmth of your lover. Right now you feel more cold and alone than ever before.

Continuing that trip down memory lane, you could recall you left the house alone that day. Your boyfriend would take his car to work and you would walk, being that you didn’t live that far away from the book store which you work at. You can’t help but think that years ago you wouldn’t have seen yourself working in such a place and it’s not because you don’t like books more so you have problems dealing with people. It fills you with a lot of anxiety to deal with things most days. Honestly, you feel you might have just wasted away if it wasn’t for your boyfriend who always seemed to have your back when you needed it. What are you going to do now that he is gone? Are you going to spiral out of control? No, somehow you will stay strong for his sake.

Regardless, continuing on. The day moved forward normally nothing seemed out of place, not even the random email you had gotten when you came home. The email was another commission for a project by another faceless person. You didn’t know that this request would wind you up in deep trouble later, in that deep trouble now. The commission seemed all too normal. The client wanted something special done for an anniversary gift for their boyfriend which seemed very cute to you. Really you sort of like hearing from the clients more than most do. The theme was simple it was to be a Red Riot and Ground Zero themed item or rather mugs. They wanted it to be a bit flashy or at least the art on them to be, it was something you could do, Honestly. Despite not being that into heroes, you were happy to do this for the client. You love making things and even more so making those who enjoy your work happy. So like with any other client you got to work after you sorted through the details, and actually, you were very excited. This was something you could do with your boyfriend, he was much more into the whole hero thing than you were and still are. Funny enough your boyfriend did like those two in particular. They were heroes that he very much enjoyed so that day you learned quite a lot about the pair of heroes in question.

The project went on as normal and with your newfound information, you made the gift extra special. You wanted to be very specific to the client’s taste so you tried to ask questions however they seemed very lax about everything they had said that they trusted your judgment. You didn’t mind this one bit. You had given the client updates and he seemed to like them. Eventually, the day came for the project to be done and you shipped them out. You had been very proud of your work and even your boyfriend was. Actually, Your boyfriend had got all pouty, he wished he could keep them which you had found funny then...what you would give to be able to hear him laugh again, to see that smile, and now that was stolen from you.

For a long while, things seemed alright, there had been no word from the client. However, you had been paid so you assumed they were happy with what they had gotten. It wasn’t until a full two months later that things started to kick off again. The day had started normal enough, you made it to the bookstore on time, and would work as you normally would. That day was quiet, not many customers, and most of the day spent slacked off with your coworker while doing what needed to be done around the store. Though at some point the bell on the door would sound it would call you back to the front of the store. A young man with crimson red spikey hair and eyes was the one who sounded the bell when he walked in. Upon further inspection your eyes would widen you would form a recognition with the redhead in the store, it was the hero Red Riot. You couldn’t help but stand there dumbfounded.

“H-Hello and welcome to Nook Books, how can I help you?”

That had been what you said when you finally had found your words, your voice had come out in a bit of a stutter and you had given him a small nervous laugh. He responded to your more shy behavior with merely a smile and offered up an adorable laugh of his own, which actually eased your own anxiety towards the situation at the time.

“Hey there, yeah I could actually use a bit of help finding a book.”

You would smile at the young hero and gave a small nod, you of course were always happy to help the customer, and there was no exception then either. Not to mention you were face to face with the hero Red Riot and at that time you had been oh too excited to be in his presence for the fact you could tell your boyfriend about the encounter. Maybe if you were lucky you could get an autograph, or maybe at least a picture, though to be honest you also hadn’t wanted to bother him so you so it was just a debate in your mind. you at the time though knew it would make your boyfriend happy if you would get it.

“Ah yes, well I’m happy to help, what book are you looking for?”

You would offer up one of your best smiles and try not to fidget too much however you had already shifted to and fro a bit out of nervousness already.

“Ah well, haha, I kinda don’t know…”

You would blink a moment in confusion but nod a moment before you responded.

“You don’t know? Are you buying for someone else?”

You would question a moment, you thought maybe his mind had been on someone else when he thought of the book he wanted, it might have been a gift if he wasn’t sure what kind of book he was on the look for however just as well he might just not had been sure what type of book he needed for himself, but something told you it wasn’t for him, you had a felt that way anyway.

“Haha, yeah, it isn’t for me, though he’s very special to me, he’s a bit difficult to buy for sometimes. Do you have any books that would be more action-packed and manly?”

You had smiled when you listened to his explanation for who it was for and even giggled when you heard what exactly he was had been in search for. There were many, many books on hand that could cover what he wanted but with so little given and that he said the other was difficult to buy for well it seemed like a slightly daunting task. Even so at that time you were determined to find the perfect book for this special someone that he had talked about. You smiled and worked very hard, you asked specific questions to try and get a better gauge on what type of book to get. If only you had known what you had been dealing with back then you wouldn’t have worked as hard as you did to make him happy. You wouldn’t have been as pleasant to him, but sadly you hadn’t known and you had been as positive and polite as possible. You even asked more than you would have given your normal comfort zone. You had tired yourself out on one customer something you wouldn’t usually do, but you wanted to impress the male. You wanted to make sure someone like him left very happy. You did manage that, you got him the perfect book, after you found that book for him you brought him over to the register to check him out.

“I think that book will make him smile, and if it doesn’t feel free to hold me accountable.”

You would chirp out as you rang up the book, you had a good conversation with the young hero. He’d even told you his name which was interesting to know. Kirishima seemed to talk about Ground Zero. Of course, it was said they were good friends so you supposed that was only natural, and he’d mentioned a few other interesting aspects about himself which had tickled you to learn about. It wasn’t every day you could have said you got to talk to a pro hero.

“Don’t worry, I trust your judgment, I don’t think you’d steer me wrong haha.”

You would nod and laugh as you placed the book in a bag and told him how much the book would be, Kirishima would pay you and you would hand him the bag, of course surprisingly he didn’t rush off after that, he would stick by the counter a moment.

“Before I go, would you like an autograph or something?”

He had given you a big grin and you would blink, you had held back and tried not to ask because you hadn’t wanted to bother him and there he asked you about what you had wanted from him, almost too eager you lept at the opportunity.

“Y-Yes actually I’d love that, my boyfriend is a big fan.”

At the first part of your statement it would seem that Kirishima was very happy to hear what you had to say but as you look back on it now you realize that he had twitched lightly, he had made a small change in his facial expression that said something else when you mentioned your boyfriend, you thought nothing of it back then but now it was very apparent that he was upset to hear you were with someone and that the reason you wanted a picture and autograph was because of him and not because you were a fan.

“Yeah? Alright then, glad I could help you make his day like you made mine.”

After that, you would get to pose with him for a picture and he would sign a piece of notebook paper for you, it was the only thing you had on hand at the moment, but he happily signed it for you. You also hadn’t noticed that he looked for more reasons to make conversation with you but your coworker interrupted and him unlike your boyfriend wasn’t very fond of heroes so he could care less that one was in the store other than the fact it meant that the store might get a good review from someone who mattered.

“(Y/n), I need you to do something for me in the back.”

Your coworker would speak up, you could tell from the tone of his voice he just wanted to hurry things along.

“Oh, I don’t want to keep you. It was nice to meet you, (Y/n). Hopefully, I’ll see you again.”

With that Kirishima had given you a small smile and wave before he made his way to the door.

“Yeah, you too, have a lovely day, I hope the person you were buying for enjoys your gift!!”

You would call back to him before he fully left, you hadn’t thought about how he used your first name, you didn’t tell him he couldn’t then, which would come to be a mistake later, many things would lead to being mistakes you couldn’t have fathomed being so problematic. After that meet with him, you had continued work only to be nagged by your coworker about doing your job in a timely fashion which irked you quite a lot but you hadn’t let it ruin your day. Like you assumed your boyfriend would be over the moon to see the autograph and to see the picture you had been so pleased to see his smile, that night was one to remember, Your boyfriend had been so excited he made love to you. Part of you doesn’t want to remember that part, only because it’s yet another thing that you will never have from him again, and giving the current situation, you find it inappropriate.

Suddenly you hear a loud bang echo out, a growl and cussing from not too far away from where you are in the building. Your heart begins pounding in your chest, it looks like those who were chasing you after you had fled are finally here to collect you. Your breathing picks up and you move scrabbling to your feet. If you stay here they’ll find you for sure, that is all that you are thinking about, you need to escape and now.

“Where the fuck are you (Y/n)!! I know you’re fucking here, can’t hide forever idiot!!”

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theodora3022 · 3 years

Text

Playing tricks with the trickster

Summary: Failed escape attempt from yandere Childe. He lets you play your cards, even playing along, just for his own amusement.

Notes: My first genshin piece yay... I had a sweet and terrible dream of me running from Childe in the woods. Also some inspiration was drawn from @cinnamonest‘s this post, one big virtual hug to her! I hope I did Childe justice, what can I say I love manipulative smiling boys. It has become a pattern as I dash from one fandom to another. This is had turned out to be longer then I expected...Ginger boy demands my time and energy too much omg. Mind the warnings, although there is nothing extreme in this.

Fun fact, I was looping to Nintendo game by Alessia Cara when writing this down. I believe it fits the theme of this fic quite well.

Tagging: @akutaguagua a great friend who patiently beta-read this mess of a horror dream and gave me lots of kind praises!

(Offical art belongs to miHoYo! This is a cover page of this video, if there is any issues, contact me and I will remove it at once)

Warnings: Implied past abduction,dub-con touching, mild degradation, drugging(not on reader), implied non-con/dub-con at the end, this is not healthy love and I do not condone this irl.

It has been nearly a month since the youngest Fatui Harbinger had “taken you in”. After a few tries, you were too horrified by the punishments to continuously fight him. You learned on the first day that Childe’s smiling, the friendly mask would come off towards you. Your behaviour would decide if that is a curse or a “blessing”.

So you had quieted down, struggling to restrain yourself from yelling or screaming, carefully not to provoke his anger. Despite being compliant to his orders, you never truly showed him any affection either. Sure, you would sit on his lap if he asked, but you never initiated anything intimate with him. No matter how much Tartaglia spoiled you with clothes, books, jewelry or other luxuries, he is still the one who holds the commanding end of your shackles. It’s the best not to get used to all of that when your sight is set on the door.

Although he has taken your freedom away, you are not kept in a windowless room. On the contrary, you have too many outings now. Wherever he goes, you have to be present in a 2m radius, including meetings. Being a Harbinger is no easy job, so he prefers not having to worry about your safetly during buisness hours. The best way to do that is never let you out of his sight.

“Love, no one should witness our little problems. Well, no one alive that is.” Of course you wouldn’t want to put innocent people's lives at stake. You never dared to act out when you two are in public, and no one would bat an eye if a Fatui had taken a lover.

You had taken an emotionless approach towards him. If Childe wants a kiss on the cheek, you’ll give him a quick light peck. If he wants breakfast, you’ll go make some pancakes with the topping he likes. Luckily, Childe had not done anything too extreme yet. If cuddling to sleep does not count as extreme that is. The only time you slipped up is when he suddenly hugs you from behind when you’re cooking.

You thought maybe, just maybe, by being as boring and dull as you could, this bastard might just get tired of you and let you go. Childe only loves the fun of it right? Or maybe it could lower his guard.

Oh, how naive you are. You should have known better than to underestimate a Fatui harbinger. See, this is exactly why he needs to keep you around. Yes, unfortunately for you, Childe loves you, so very much. Speaking to him with a monotone voice isn’t going to alter that fact.

You have been devoid of emotions as of late. While Childe does appreciate fewer screams for the sake of his eardrums, this schemer can sense you are up to something. Perhaps this is the peace before your “storm”(he thought of it more like a drizzle)

You want to play a game? Okay, why not? Childe cannot wait to see what tricks you got on those sleeves. Are you ever getting away? Does an amateur ever win when they play a game with a professional trickster? Never.

Still, nothing bites like a cornered rat. You are no airhead, and he is fully aware of that. Just not as cunning and observent as him, that’s all.

The way you just kept your emotions sealed up is impressive, even to someone like him. Even when he got hansy, you did not flinch and just stared at the corner. Childe can only catch faint glimpses of anger when you thought he wasn’t looking.

Hm, when are you pulling your trigger? Tonight, or tomorrow night? Not that Childe is impatient, anything from you is worth waiting. But he would need to dismiss his patrolling underlings in the nearby woods beforehand. No extras would be allowed to disturb this game.

There is no chance during the day, a somewhat mutual understanding for you two. Night time in comparison, is a different story.

Anyone’s sleeping hours is their most vulnerable time of the day, Childe is no exception. You do not plan to harm him, not that you don’t want to. But you are willing to swallow the pent up frustration towards him if you would never see his face again after this. Maybe beating up some slimes would help with the release?

You somehow managed to slip a mixture of herbs into his tea. Since he would buy cooking ingredients for you from time to time, you had requested a bunch of herbs along with the ingredients of a sleep inducing medicine you remembered. Although Childe does all he can to keep you near him, there are inevitable hours that he needs to be somewhere without you. He cannot jeopardize your safety with troublesome monsters. On a side note, he loves showing you off to anyone, his colleagues, acquaintances, business partners, anyone he does not deem a threat.

Enough time for you to make those herbs into powder and cover it up with a few spoons of milk. Tea with milk has become quite popular in Liyue as of late. Childe has grown to love them, so you have learned how to mix it up. He always let you handle his food and drinks, saying that he “trusts you”. What you do not know is this is one of the openings he exposed on purpose. It’s not like you can aquire anything deadly under his suffocating supervision.

Your plan will work, or so you think. Childe will not wake up when you wiggle out of his grasp, because dreamland will keep him occupied. All you need is a glider and a usable sword from Liyue and you’ll get your life back. Bottling up extreme emotions has certainly taken a toll on your mind, but it will be worth it if that is the prerequisite of being free.

Something about this being so easy sits ill with you. Have you really been with the youngest Fatui Harbinger this whole time? But that was brushed off your shoulders by the sheer excitement of regaining your long lost freedom. You know Liyue is in walking distance, all you need to do is cross these woods and-

The moment you dive into the forest, you think you heard an amused chuckle.

That smooth voice terrifies you to no end, the same voice you took orders from for the past month.

Oh, how Childe loves seeing you happy. It’s priceless, both literally and figuratively. No matter how many things he buys you, you had not shown him even one small smile. Enjoy your sweet freedom, because it ain’t going to last. You certainly will know your place after this right? If not you are just dumber then he give you credit for.

That glow of relief in your eyes is worth every last bit of this intense dizzying feeling to Childe. To make sure your plan go through, he had drunk the tea without hesitation, quick enough to catch the momentarily excitement you expressed. He knows the game is on, therefore he had given the night patrol guards the entire evening off. Forcing himself to stay concious by digging his nails into his palms, Childe followed you into the woods.

Your potion is quite strong. Excellent, you’ll have to give him the recipe for informational purposes later. Especially how you managed to achieve such effects with a few herbs you had. He never took you to be anything less than a smart girl, but this has exceeded his expectations. Where’s the fun in a game without challenges?

How you storm through the forest wearing that cute terrified expression looks so endearing, it’s surely not his fault if he wants to enjoy this sight to be longer right.

So, each time you feel the slightest at ease due to whatever reason, expect Childe to make some sound to send you running like your life depends on it again. The sadistic man is hunting you down playfully, like a cat chasing a stray mouse to the inevitable corner.

You know he is toying with you. There is nothing you can do to make him shut up though.

“Love, you had scratched your leg. Must hurts by the looks of it.”

“Liyue is that way, you know.”

“Are you tired? If you want to jog in the middle of the night, you should have called me to come along!”

How can he say those things nonchalantly while you are trying to escape from him? Here he is, daunting you with that signature smile he wears so very often. That is when reality slaps you right in the face. No matter how hard you plan, no matter how fast you run, there is no getting rid of him.

When your stamina runs out, a simple pull and push on your left wrist is enough to let you fall onto the ground panting. Even now, you still refuse to beg for mercy. You would take the cold grounds to the warmth of Childe’s embrace anyday.

“Aw, burnt out already? Pathetic. Looks like we need to work on your stamina more. But this is not the place for exercise.”

“Look at me.” His slender but forceful fingers tilt your head up, making you look into those ocean blue orbs. There is anger present in his eyes, but those emotions are more a mixture of delight and that. His smile had also been replaced by a mocking smirk. “You, trying to leave me? Your sense of humor is...well, let’s just call it unique. Lucky for you, you amused me nonetheless.”

“I know what you’re thinking. How I’m a selfish jerk and you hate me. Why be so ungrateful? You get to live in luxury thanks to me, you know. I am selfish, yes, but look how stupid you are. I know you added something extra in my evening tea, my beloved.”

“Come now, we are going to do some exercises suited for a night like this once we’re back home. It is our one month milestone, after all. You had already given me your gift, it is only fair for you that I do the same.”

Childe is not making a sarcastic remark. The thrill of that chase was the best fun he had in months. And you are going to love his gift too, maybe not right away, but surely sometimes after.

You have to mentally prepare yourself for the worst as he dragged you back to the prison, hopefully you’ll still be able to walk properly after whatever Childe got in store.

#yandere #yandere genshin impact #yandere genshin #yandere childe x reader #yandere childe #yandere tartaglia #this is a dream fleshed out into a fic #i am not sorry

523 notes · View notes

blackbat05 · 3 years

Text

Blue Skies

Bucky x Reader (500 Challenge)

A/N: Congrats @tom-whore-dleston for 500 followers once again! Thanks for letting me write this, hopefully it’s as good as I think it should be? I also think I did it correctly? As always, feedback is appreciated!

Genre: PG13, Angst

Notes: Own characters, usage of Y/N

Warnings: Language, injuries, blood, death, trauma. This story is one of my longer stories.

***

3am. You were pacing back and forth in the house that you shared with Bucky.

You really should be going to sleep. As a medic, you had a long day tomorrow, covering for a colleague as a favor. But the radio silence from your boyfriend was making you more anxious by the second.

Just as you considered pouring yourself the fourth of tea, the door unlocks, Bucky looking worse for wear stumbling in with a grey duffel bag. Tossing the bag to who knows where, he flops down onto the couch, groaning in pain.

‘Hey doll, you still awake.’ Bucky sees you coming with the kit. ‘You didn’t have to.’

‘It’s ok Buck, I couldn’t sleep anyway.’ You set the kit on the coffee table, getting to work. It seems that Bucky got off lucky this time - a couple of bruises and grazing here and there.

Maybe you spoke to soon.

As you worked your way up to his right arm, Bucky winces, jolting back. He tries to move away from you, but you were quicker. Removing the bandage that must have been applied by Sam, you were horrified to see that his stitch had burst open, causing the bandage to be slowly dipped in red.

‘Buck! Your stitch, it’s-’

‘It’s alright doll, nothing serious.’ He attempts to move again before being hit with the soreness of an open wound.

‘Just let me look at it. I’ll be quick-’

‘IT’S FINE.’ Bucky finds himself raising his voice, almost instantly regretting that as he sees your facial expression do a three-sixty. The temperature of the room had dropped, silence filling the air.

You decided to leave the kit, dumping the supplies on the table. You felt like a fool, waiting for him into the wee hours of the night, only for this to happen.

‘Wait, I didn’t mean to… please just-’ Bucky gets up from the couch as quickly as he could, trailing behind you before stopping when you spun around, tears evident in your eyes.

‘Not a single call, or a text at least to tell me that you’re fine James,’ you used his name to tell him that you meant business. ‘I was so worried that Sam would knock on our door telling me that one of your harebrained plans would have gotten you killed.’

Bucky holds back, knowing that he shouldn’t have lashed out at you. You were right. You could have yelled at him the moment he got back home but you chose not to.

You huffed, not knowing how things had gotten so out of hand. Being the pacifist that you were, you left to the spare room that was used occasionally whenever Sam came over. You had no intention to speak to face him for the rest of the night.

***

Bucky wakes up to the heat that was creeping into the bedroom. Right hand automatically reaching out to the cold sheets, he remembers what happened last night.

He really wanted to stay in bed today.

Going about his usual routine, he sees a plate of toast and a mug of coffee prepared at the counter. A pink post-it was taped to the side of the plate.

I’m sorry for yesterday. Left some breakfast for you. We’ll talk about this tonight. Seriously.

Bucky folds the tiny piece of paper carefully, slipping it into his pocket. He did not deserve this. Especially not how after he treated you. He had to make it up to you somehow.

He really hated what he was about to do next, but he was desperate man.

‘Wassup metal brain!’ Sam picks up exactly on the third ring.

Yeah, he hated this.

***

‘Y/N! Did you hear anything that I just said?’ Your co-worker Carrie waves a hand in front of your face.

‘Huh? Oh sorry. What did you say?’

‘I said, we’re having dinner tonight if there’s no last minute calls. You down?’

You think about the note that you left for Bucky this morning before leaving for work. ‘Sorry Carrie, not today.’ Usually, you wouldn’t have passed on dinner with your closest friend, not when you both had a rare opportunity to leave work on time as a medic, but a promise was a promise.

‘Boyfriend troubles?’ Carrie asked. Nothing could slip by that girl. All you could do was nod numbly.

She sympathetically pats you on the shoulder. ‘Chin up soldier. If Bucky gives you any more crap, I don’t care if he’s an Avenger, I’ll castrate him myself.’ You wanted to laugh, but something was weighing the side of your lips down.

Placing the last of the medical supplies in the storage room, the two of you made your exit, ready to face another day.

***

‘You really screwed up this time huh Buck?’

‘Would you stop saying that? I don’t need anymore reminders Sam.’ Bucky snarls, regretting his decision the moment he instantly stepped into the house.

‘Noted.’ The former pararescueman raises his hands up, although Bucky wasn’t sure if he was serious on keeping that promise. ‘Well, it’s simple. You just need to be honest with her. Tell her that you were being a douchebag,’ Sam narrowly avoids the tissue box that flew a few inches from his face, ‘and not be such a closed up dick. She needs to know that she’s appreciated man. Then again, may be a challenge for you.’

Sam’s phone rang. ‘Hold on a second lover boy,’ Sam grabs his phone. ‘I’ll be right back after this call.’

Bucky ponders on his partner’s advice. Sam had a point. All this while, you had accommodated to him, to his needs. You never forced him to share any of his missions if he felt uncomfortable, you left him alone when needed, and most importantly...

You always waited for him.

‘Buck!’ Sam calls him out from his thoughts. ‘Emergency. A collapsed building. Local department needs extra hands.’

As much as Bucky bickered with Sam nearly 24/7, he knew what was going on in his mind too. And by the look of distress on the Captain’s face, something was very wrong.

‘Sam? Spit it out.’ Bucky’s demand had made him regret asking immediately.

‘It’s Y/N. She’s trapped inside.’

***

Two hours earlier,

‘Well there goes our dinner!’ Carrie changes into her gear swiftly. ‘You told Bucky?’

‘He’s probably on Avenger business. Besides, not like this is our first rodeo.’ You grabbed your own gear, changing in record speed, running to the vehicle where the rest of your team was waiting with your partner.

‘It’s a broadcasting studio. A group of students from a nearby university are the only known survivors so far. Estimated number unknown. Our main priority is to get them out. The team on site has assessed that the building is safe to enter, but we only have limited time before the structure goes unstable.’ Your team leader briefs the group as the vehicle speeds to its destination.

You had experience as a medic, seen it all. But that didn’t make it any easier.

The red building that once stood proud on the busy streets of the business district was now in shambles. You weren’t even sure if it was remotely possible for people to be underneath the rubble.

No. You had to be optimistic.

A uniformed soldier greets the team, going straight into business. ‘We need a minimum of three medics. They’ll follow each of us in to do a quick assessment.’

You didn’t think. And evidently Carrie had the same thoughts as the seniors on the team. ‘Not letting you have all the glory can I?’ She smiles, giving me a fist bump as good luck before being led away by the soldier that she would be tagging along with.

You meet your own ‘buddy’, a soldier with salt and pepper hair who introduced himself as Hal.

‘We’ll be going in from the front,’ he briefs you as the two of you briskly walked past the tape that was keeping out nosy pedestrians and distressed relatives. ‘We’ve detected at least two of them in there. One’s looking pretty banged up from their heat signature though.’

Switching on his flashlight on his helmet, Hal takes the lead, crawling into the tight space. ‘This can take our weight. But don’t touch anything at the sides.’

Following his instructions, you found yourself crawling for a while before seeing a flash of light that came from a phone. Two girls were waiting for us, dust covering every inch of their skin.

‘We’re here to get you out. Follow whatever we tell you to do okay?’ You moved to the figure lying on the floor, her leg twisted into an odd position. Hal attends to the other girl, asking simple questions to assess her state.

‘She’s fine.’ Hal tells you. ‘I’ll get her out of her first and come back for you.’ He gives you an extra walkie-talkie for good measure. ‘Stay away from the sides.’ Hal reminds you again, leaving you with the remaining girl who was drifting in and out of consciousness.

‘Hey honey…’ you tapped her face gently. ‘Stay with me okay? We’re going to get you out of here.’

She gives you a dazed look. ‘I’m scared… I’m scared.’

‘It’s okay. I’m here with you.’ You held her hand, praying that Hal would make his way back for the girl soon.

You knew you weren’t in here for more than three hours, but the heat was starting to close in on the two of you. Moving yourself into a more comfortable position, the building starts to to shake again. You pressed the button on the walkie-talkie, attempting to reach Hal.

‘Hal! What the hell’s going on?’

‘Structure’s unstable! Get o- to- Ca- you- hear-’ The buzz became louder before the connection to the outside world was cut off. You had to think fast. Sitting here like an open duck with an injured civilian was not an option.

With your strength, you lifted the girl, placing her underneath the table before dragging your supplies along with you.

And thank god for you quick thinking as a huge debris came crashing down onto where the both of you were seconds earlier. Great, now your only way of exit was blocked.

Although you were fortunate not to have any part of you flatten like a pancake, you were unaware that several stray metal pieces had found it’s way to your sides amongst the confusion.

Turning your attention back to the girl, your current focus was to get her out alive.

***

‘Let us through!’ Sam raises his voice as the two men walk past the tapes.

‘Captain!’ Hal rushes to greet him. ‘Thank you for coming down on such short notice.’

‘What’s the situation?’

‘We’ve managed to get 9 out of 10 civilians. The remaining civilian is stuck on the basement with the medic. The building’s currently too unstable to move in at the moment.’

‘Can’t anything else be done?’ Bucky finds himself speaking for the very first time since Sam broke the news to him at home.

‘I’m sorry Sergeant. We try to move one debris, the whole structure may just collapse.’

A girl on the stretcher passes by. She reaches out to grasp at Hal’s wrist. ‘My friend… please, you have to save her.’ She begs weakly before being taken away.

Bucky was confused at the sudden intrusion in their conversation, finally putting the dots together. He abruptly grabs the soldier by the collar, going dangerously close to his face.

‘You dragged her down there and left her alone! YOU LEFT HER DOWN THERE!’ Bucky’s unexpected aggression left the two men speechless.

‘Buck let him go!’ Sam cuts in, forcing him to release his death grip on Hal. ‘It’s not his fault, Y/N was just doing her job!’

But Bucky had already blocked out the rest of the conversation. Sam apologizes to the slightly shaken soldier before turning back to focus on his distracted partner.

‘Buck! I need you to focus. It’s no good if you’re emotional. That’s not going to help Y/N.’ Sam firmly grips both of Bucky’s shoulders, planting him back to reality.

Then, as Sam attempts to bring his partner back to earth, a crackle could be heard from the walkie talkie that Hal had given Sam before leaving to tend to the injured.

‘Hel-lo? Anyo-ne?’ Your distorted voice seemed to have did the trick, bringing back Bucky’s focus.

‘Y/N! It’s Sam! Can you hear me?’ Sam speaks slowly, hoping that his voice could capture on the other end.

‘Sam! Yes I-’ The short lived joy was cut off again as the static returned.

***

‘Shit!’ You mumbled, placing the walkie-talkie aside.

‘Miss?’ The girl reaches her hand out in the air. You sit by her side, trying not to flinch at how cold her hand was despite the unforgiving heat.

‘Call me Y/N. And don’t worry honey, we’re going to get you out. I need you to hang in there for me okay?’

She nods. ‘What’s your name?’ You ask her, trying to make her stay awake.

‘Tara,’ she seems to understand your intentions, licking her lips before continuing. ‘I’m a student. Was here on a field trip.’

Grateful for her resilience, you encouraged her further. ‘How about you tell me more about what you do? I always wanted to be a journalist.’

***

‘Captain, you’re only going to have thirty minutes until the structure goes unstable.’ The commander passes him a thick black control. ‘We’ve managed to track their heat signatures.’

Sam nods, keeping an eye on Bucky. ‘Thank you Commander Louis, we’ll take it from here.’

He puts a hand on Bucky’s shoulder, hoping that it would calm down the man who looked like he was about to burst his way into the rubble any moment.

‘Buck. We do this on my orders. I need you to agree to this.’ Sam finds himself staring at cold blue eyes, tinged with desperation.

And regret?

Bucky marches forward, not bothering to spare Sam a glance.

‘Knew he would do that.’

***

‘What about you Y/N?’ Tara asks. ‘Why did you want to become a medic?’

You paused, seriously considering her question. At the same time, you worked on focusing on your breathing that had became increasingly labored over the past few hours. Pushing the feeling to the back of your mind, you answered the young girl.

‘I wanted to help people to see the blue skies once more.’ You smiled at her. ‘I know, it sounds real poetic and cheesy.’

‘I think it’s beautiful.’

Just then, you could hear movement from the rubble that was blocking the exit. Was help finally here? Waiting with bated breath, you could finally breathe easily when a familiar head poked out from the empty space.

‘Good to see you Y/N!’

‘Sam! Are you a sight for sore eyes. You think you could spare a hand here?’

Squeezing through the confined space, you see Bucky trail after him. Now’s not the time.

Sam opens a stretcher, placing Tara onto it. ‘We gotta move. Me and Buck will pull. Stay close.’ He takes the lead, lifting the stretcher in head first. Switching on the light on his helmet, he braves ahead.

‘Y/N…’

‘Bucky, whatever it is, we can talk about it later, ok?’ Perhaps it came out harsher then intended as Bucky’s lips pursed into a thin line, conversation going dead.

You lost track of time as you crawled through the small space. You should have been relieved, knowing that the claustrophobic feeling that you were experiencing for the past few hours would go away.

How you hated your ability to sense danger.

Structure around you moving violently, you were able to get a glimpse beyond Bucky’s shoulder that the four of you were nearly out of this hell hole. Hal was waiting at the end of the ‘tunnel’, words forming on his mouth.

‘Get out of there now! The structure’s going to collapse!’

The two men grit their teeth, pulling the stretcher as quick as they can, with you keeping up with their pace. You were almost there, when you felt the dull pain that had been bugging at your sides increased.

Slowing down, your hand comes into contact with warm, sticky blood.

Get out of here first Y/N.

However, your body had other plans.

As the trio exited the rubble with the help of the rescue team, Bucky turns back, expecting to see you right behind them.

‘Y/N!’ He sees you sprawled on the ground, a few meters away from safety. The building continues to shake violently.

‘Sir it’s not safe-’

‘FUCK OFF!’ Bucky had no time to be nice. He shakes the hand off him, running back to you. Lifting you by the armpits, he manages to get you out with a millisecond to spare.

‘Oh thank god,’ he brushes the stray hair from your face. ‘Are you-’ Bucky freezes as he sees your unusually pale figure.

‘Y/N. Doll. Talk to me!’ He gently taps you on the cheek. Blinking slowly, you stare blankly at him before looking at the skies.

‘I’m sorry Buck,’ you lift the sides of your shirt, revealing multiple metal pieces that was badly rusted.

Bucky shook his head, in denial. ‘No… please… SAM! SAM WE NEED HELP!’

You gripped his hand, bringing it to your face. ‘It’s okay Buck. I just want to be with you.’ You breathed out each word with difficulty.

He tries to hold on to the last piece of hope that was slowly slipping away from his grasp.

‘I’m sorry doll… I’m sorry I shouldn’t have lost my temper at you.’ Tears roll down his face that was covered in dust. He knows that he’s loosing you, so he wipes his eyes, in order to see you for the last time. ‘Please just hang in there. Please…’

Sam runs over, stopping in his track. A former army personnel, he had a fair share of medical knowledge. And right now, the only thing he could do was to give the two of you space.

‘It’s okay Buck. I know you didn’t mean it.’ Using your remaining energy, you squeezed his hand. ‘Could you just stay with me? I want to see the skies.’

He gently places your head on his lap, for you to feel the sun on your face.

As your breathing becomes weaker, Bucky knows that he had to let go. He bends down, kissing you tenderly.

He knew, that a kiss was always done with one’s eyes closed.

Body going limp, Bucky releases a guttural scream that eventually turned into choked sobs. How did it go so wrong? If only he knew… He had so many things to say to you, so many things that he had to fix right.

But what good did it do to have any regrets?

That’s why he made sure that the last thing you saw was his baby blues.

The color of the skies that you had always loved so much.

A/N: Well, I’m sorry that it was longer than I expected! Just kept writing and I think this probably had the best flow?😅 Really hope it’s okay and thanks for reading!

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fic #jordans500followersbingochallenge #jordansauandtropebingochallenge

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stupid-stew · 3 years

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The Blame Game

me when I have an idea and have never written fan fiction before and then accidentally write 3,000 words about it OOPSIES anyways I was like what if Eda got mad at Luz after YBOS and um could not get that out of my head

EDA

Eda was tired

So tired

Too much had happened over the course of the last day, she hadn’t had any time to think, but now she had a moment to herself, thinking was all she could do. All the events of the last 24 hours, heck the last 30 years, they all came back to her at once.

Lilith had cursed her? Her own sister? And then betrayed the emperor for her? First she’d been hurt by Lilith and then saved by her, and now Lilith was living under her roof? They’d barely talked at all in the last several decades, and now Eda was expected to just be ok with it? Just like that? After the screaming match they’d had not even an hour ago, Eda wasn’t sure there would be much talking at all for the next few days, not like she wasn’t used to it. There was too much to unpack with her sister right now, she felt too hurt to give it any more of her attention. And Luz, poor Luz, oh that kid was going to be the death of her-

A quiet whisper of “Hey Eda?” interrupted her spiraling thoughts.

Eda sat up from her nest and saw the focus of her thoughts standing in her doorway, “What’s up kid?”

What was Luz still doing awake? It was too late, was she having issues sleeping too? It wouldn't be surprising, the kid was probably traumatized up the wall.

Luz moved her mouth, but Eda didn’t hear a word she said, still consumed by her own brain

Luz, her kid. Eda supposed that she might as well admit to herself she loved the kid at this point. But what was she thinking, breaking into the emperor’s castle like that? Didn’t she know she could have gotten herself hurt, others hurt. Eda got hurt, Eda got hurt beyond repair, she’d lost her powers. Her powers had been the only thing keeping her alive, keeping her sane. What was she going to do without her magic? She couldn't live without it, she was the most powerful witch on the boiling isles for titan’s sake, but what is a witch without her power? And if Luz hadn’t broken into the castle, regardless of her intentions, maybe Eda could have had a shot at keeping her powers longer, but no, Luz just had to play the hero didn’t she, everyone else be damned huh?

“Get out” Eda said flatly

“And th- what?” Luz said, startled and confused by the sudden interruption

“I said get out, I don’t want to see you right now” she replied sharply

“Eda I don’t understa-”

“Of course you don’t understand, why would you, why would you ever think about anyone else, you didn’t even think about the repercussions of breaking into the castle”

“Eda I promise I didn’t mean for any of this to happen I just wanted to…”

“No.” Eda cut her off abruptly “I know what you wanted, you wanted to play the hero, you wanted to be back in your imaginary fantasy world where nobody gets hurt and you can always save the day, you wanted to win, guess what kiddo, you won. You won and everyone else got to lose.”

“Eda, I don’t understand what you’re trying to say…” Luz trailed off with tears forming behind her eyes

Something in eda snapped.

“I’M SAYING IF IT WEREN’T FOR YOU I MIGHT STILL HAVE MY POWERS, I MIGHT STILL BE MYSELF. IT’S YOUR FAULT LUZ. IF YOU HAD TAKEN EVEN A MOMENT TO THINK BEYOND HAVING TO BE THE ONE TO SAVE ME, THEN YOU WOULDN’T HAVE NEEDED SAVING AND I COULD STILL BE LOOKING FOR A CURE. LUCKY YOU, I NO LONGER HAVE ANY MAGIC TO SAVE MYSELF SO MAYBE YOU CAN STILL BE THE HERO YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE AFTER ALL. I. DON’T. WANT. TO. SEE. YOU. RIGHT. NOW.”

There was a stunned silence after those last words, Eda slapped her hand over her mouth, shocked at her own outburst, and Luz doubly as hurt by the words. She didn’t know where that had come from, of course she knew that Luz hadn’t meant for any of this to happen, it wasn’t the kid’s fault Eda was cursed, much less her fault that Eda was a wanted criminal who had gotten herself caught. It was her choice to go save Luz from Lilith, even when the kid was being pressed into spikes she was more worried about the older witch than her own wellbeing.

“Luz-” Eda said, taking her hand away from her mouth to reach out towards the now shaking teen, not sure how to even begin to repair the damage she had just caused.

“No, it’s ok.” Luz cut her off, her voice breaking, “I’ll give you your space, I’m sorry.”

“Kid wait-”

The door shut with a quiet click, once again leaving Eda alone in the silence with her thoughts. She fell back into her nest.

Shit.

LUZ

Luz wasn’t sure what had just happened. She had never heard Eda yell at anyone like that before, well now with the exception of Lilith, and herself.

Was it something Luz had done? She was just telling Eda about how she had fought Belos, maybe if she replayed the events in her head…

*5 minutes earlier*

Luz stood outside the massive door to Eda’s room, not sure whether or not to enter. Eda was under a lot of stress, that had to be taking a toll on her, maybe she should just walk away and come back tomorrow…

No, this can’t wait, Eda needs to know

Luz sighed and reluctantly stepped into the doorway. Eda was laying down in her nest with her eyes closed, was she asleep?

“Hey Eda?” Luz asked in a whisper, not wanting to wake the witch if she was finally resting.

Much to Luz’s surprise, Eda sat up. “What’s up kid?”

Eda’s voice had sounded warm, which was a shock to Luz, she had half expected Eda to be mad at her, titan knew she blamed herself enough for the two of them already, but her voice also sounded empty. Maybe Luz was making a mistake, she should leave Eda alone for a little while longer. No, it was probably better to get it over with.

“Hey I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to tell you something.” Eda didn’t respond, so Luz took that as a sign to keep going. “Ok so you know how you gave me the portal key? When you and King and Lilith were up on the platform, Belos wanted to speak to me alone.” she paused, waiting for some kind of reaction, receiving none. “He wanted the portal, and I gave it to him, don’t worry, I set it on fire… which kind of means that I’m stuck here, and th-”

And then Eda had gotten mad, really mad. Was she mad about the portal? No of course it wasn’t about the portal, it was about Luz. Eda was mad at Luz. Eda hated her, maybe she should just leave, spare Eda the reminder of who made her lose her powers every time she saw Luz’s face. And the worst part is that Eda was right, she had gotten too caught up in trying to save Eda that she forgot that she could have gotten hurt. Maybe all those people back home were right, she was too caught up in her fantasy wor-

“OUCH”

Luz ran into something, more accurately, someone. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t been looking in front of her and had run right into Lilith.

“Oh my titan, Luz I am so sorry are you ok?” Lilith fussed over her, seeming genuinely worried about Luz

“What do you care.” Luz scoffed, immediately regretting her words when she saw Lilith’s face drop at her words. “I’m sorry, I guess I should be asking if you’re ok as well seeing as I was the one that ran into you”

“Oh, I guess we are both at fault then, seeing as I wasn’t watching my step either, nonetheless I do apologize. What are you doing up so late? Does Edalyn not have a bedtime set for you?”

Luz took mild offense to the fact that Lilith thought of her as such a child, but most of the pain came from the fact that Lilith thought Eda still cared about her enough to make sure she got proper sleep. Instead of admitting that to Lilith, Luz settled to retort with “I was just coming back from her room, what are you even doing in the house? Didn’t eda strictly forbid you from coming in here until she says otherwise?”

Lilith chuckled slightly at that, which caught Luz off guard, but Lilith’s reply quickly caught her thoughts away from that “I suppose you’re right, but I heard screaming and wanted to make sure nobody was hurt, I guess if you were just in her room then you’re both probably fine, perhaps you could tell me what that was all about?”

And then Luz lost it.

LILITH

Lilith wasn’t sure what to do. Luz hated her, had every right to, but as she stood in the dark hallway with the teenager wrapped around her waist and sobbing, let’s just say she was more than a little bit confused. She expected a lot of emotions from Luz, anger, hatred, rage, was screaming an emotion? Maybe it should count as one. But this? This was very very far down on the list.

“Luz? What’s wrong?”

The girl mumbled something in between sobs into her dress, but it was completely inaudible.

Lilith continued to stand there with her arms out and away from Luz for another minute, not wanting to touch the girl and make her uncomfortable, and at an utter loss for how to comfort her. Not even a day ago they had been seated on the floor of a clearing in the human world while Lilith had shamefully explained herself, how had she ended up here?

Slowly, Lilith placed her hands on the younger girl’s shoulders and pushed her away enough to see her face, Lilith was horrified to see the girl had been really sobbing, hard, her face barely visible in the dark somehow still managed to show levels of pain she didn’t think were possible for someone so young.

“Luz, ” Lilith said as clearly as she could while keeping her voice soft “what’s wrong?”

She listened quietly as Luz tried to explain to her the conversation she had just had with Eda. Lilith was shocked. She had never expected Eda to yell like that at Luz, she had barely seen them interact, but she still knew that her sister cared deeply for the human, and had never expected that sort of outburst to happen, especially in Luz’s direction. Lilith knew that Eda didn’t mean it, but did Luz know that? Of course she didn’t. Lilith was used to Eda yelling at her, she took it and understood where she was coming from, but for her to snap at Luz like that? Something had to be wrong.

“Luz, look at me” Lilith looked down at the still crying girl wrapped around her waist, waiting for her to make eye contact before kneeling down on one knee to get eye level with her while still keeping her hands on Luz’s shoulders. “I need you to listen to me, ok?” Luz nodded, wiping her eyes. “Ok, this is absolutely not your fault. None of it. I don’t know why Edalyn has decided to place the blame on you, but she was wrong to do so.” Luz didn’t look convinced. Titan, Lilith thought, this girl must have really taken what Eda had said to heart. “The blame is on me, Edalyn, and Belos. Not. You. I am responsible for Eda’s curse and capturing you, for which I will never stop apologizing. Eda and I are responsible for the battle and any harm that came to you during it. I am responsible for capturing Eda, Belos is responsible for her losing her powers, even I played a part in that. None of that is on you. At all.”

Luz looked at her blankly, Lilith was unsure what to do, she had never been good with words, had she said something wrong?

“Promise?” Luz asked softly

Lilith looked at the girl in front of her, the girl who had put her life on the line for her sister, the girl who had fought the emperor and ultimately won, in all her years in the coven she had never seen Kikimora look that terrified, and Belos was a scary man, this kid was so strong, and here she was, asking the woman who had put her life in danger out of spite, for a promise.

Lilith raised her hand and drew a dim blue circle in the air, grabbed Luz’s wrist, and pulled her hand through it. “I promise none of this was your fault, and I will do everything in my power to make sure any part of it that was mine gets remedied in full.”

Their hands glowed faintly for a moment before the light went out.

“So,” Lilith began, “what do you say we get started on that promise?”

Luz, still holding onto Lilith’s hand, nodded and allowed the witch to walk her down the hallway, back to the doors where this had all begun.

EDA

Shit Shit Shit

Eda had spent the last half hour trying to think of any way to make up with Luz, she had never meant to say any of that at all, she didn’t blame Luz, not at all, she blamed herself, and Lilith, and Belos, but mostly herself

For the second time that night, Eda found her thoughts interrupted by someone in her doorframe, this time though there was no word of warning, just a silhouette.

“Lilith?” Eda asked, squinting to try and see her mystery visiter, splitting the curse must have split her night vision as well, add that to the list of awful things that had happened

“Yes.”

It was a simple reply, but enough to make Eda jump out of her nest, “What the hell Lily, I thought I told you so stay out of here, what if Luz saw you?”

“Actually…” Lilith started before tugging lightly on something out of the door frame, bringing luz out from behind the wall.

She’s been crying was all Eda thought.

“Lily I swear to titan if she has even a scratch on her-” Eda began to threaten, but then she remembered. “Oh”

“Yeah, I ran into her in the hall,” her sister replied, “can we come in? I think you have some explaining to do”

Eda nodded sadly, seeing Luz this upset, knowing that she was the one who had caused this, it was almost too much, and when Eda got upset, she had a tendency to run her mouth, so she just started talking as soon as Luz had gotten sat down and Lilith had left the room.

“Look kid, I’m sorry. I know that doesn't even begin to make up for what I said, but I mean it. None of this is your fault, I mean you could have been a little more careful, but the blame isn’t yours. I was having a rough time, which isn’t an excuse for the things I said, but I got mad and snapped at you. I wasn’t even mad at you, I was mad at myself, and I took it out on you and that was wrong of me. I was upset about the loss of my magic, it meant a lot to me, but you need to know that it’s not your fault it’s gone. I’m sorry. I was playing the blame game and you’re the one who lost, even though you weren’t the one playing. You didn’t deserve me yelling at you like that and I am so so so-”

“It’s ok.” Luz cut her off.

“-rry. What?”

“It’s ok Eda. I get it. I know you were mad, and I wish you hadn’t said those things, but I know it wasn’t my fault.” Luz said, looking the older witch right in the eyes.

Eda sighed a heavy sigh, “Good.” They looked at each other for a moment before Eda remembered. “What were you in the doorway for?”

“I had something to tell you, but I think it can wait until morning.”

“Luz, I think it is morning” Eda chuckled, looking out the window to see the sun on the horizon.

“Then it can wait until the afternoon!” the teenager exclaimed back.

Luz got up to leave, but Eda grabbed her by the wrist “and just where do you think you’re going?”

“Back to my room? Eda I have to sleep.”

Eda yanked her wrist, pulling her back into the nest “what a coincidence, I have to sleep too! Maybe we could have an apology nest party?”

Luz laughed, slightly taken aback by Eda’s sudden affection, but relieved to see that she was actually sorry and didn’t mean any harm. “Fine by me.”

“Love you, kiddo.”

“I love you too, Eda.”

They lay in silence for a moment before Eda startled Luz by yelling “LOVE YOU LILY!”

There is a sudden scrambling outside of the door and the sound of a witch’s footsteps could be heard retreating back down the stairs.

“How did you know she was still listening?” Luz asked between giggles

“She never was a quiet walker, it would have been hard for me to miss her walking away”

That was the first good sleep Eda had in years, no thoughts eating away at her, no nightmares, no curse dreams, just her and her kid.

read @novelist-becca’s alternate ending!!!!

#the owl house #eda the owl lady #luz noceda #lilith clawthorne #eda clawthorne #ybos

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rainydayathogwarts · 3 years

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𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 >> 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒

Second person p.o.v Warnings: the title says it all There are a few characters on here. Steve, Tony, Bucky and Thor! Tell me if you want a part 2 with the guys or one with Natasha, Wanda, Carol and Maria (and any other girl you'd like).

This has been in my drafts for a while and an anon just asked for a hp girls one so it reminded me that I should probably post this now

-Steve Rogers: Steve panted and let his hands grab the white covers, one of them threatening to go to the back of your head. You giggled, continuing to press teasing kisses on his abdomen. When you got to the elastic band of his boxers, Steve held a hand out, saying, "Wait, honey. Fuck, sweetheart, are you sure we have time?"

You looked up at him with doe eyes, shrugging slightly. "We should. I mean, I doubt we'll need more than thirty minutes." Steve sighed, "Maybe we should skip to the actual, well-uh thing? I don't know darling I just-" You smiled, shutting him up with a kiss. He groaned, trying to deepen it, but you pulled away. You took off your-his shirt that you were wearing and smirked when you saw him running his eyes over your body, only one part covered by a pair of small panties.

One of his hands reached up to your hips to press you down on him and you complied, rolling your hips to get some friction. He moaned quietly and his hands worked on ridding you of your underwear and you did the same with him. Steve groaned, throwing his head back, but the moment was ruined by a knock at the door. "Steve! The meeting with Fury's been moved down, come one, we need you, man."

Steve shot up, his eyes widening. "What!?" He yelled, not only to Clint, who was on the other side of the room, but to you too. You threw on the shirt you were previously wearing, hurriedly helping Steve into appropriate clothing for a meeting. You looked him up and down a few times and nodded in approval. There was only problem though.

"Okay dude, I don't know what's going on in there but I'm coming in." Clint opened the door, expecting something terrible but he looked at the two of you staring at each other with wide eyes. "Okay, lets- oh no I see what happened." He didn't bother hiding his laugh as he walked out of the room, muttering "Horny fuckers."

Tony Stark: Tony was known to have a high sex drive by like- everyone. Literally everyone knew. So when the both of you had your daughter Morgan, he had some trouble keeping it in his pants. You never knew if she'd wake up during the night and come to your room to see something that would scar her for the rest of her life and with your busy schedules, doing it while she was at school wasn't really an option.

"Baby..." Tony started one morning when the both of you were laying in bed. You responded with a hum. "Morgan's still asleep..." he started, knowing you'd get the hint. He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you close to him so your back was up against his chest.

"Tony," you mumbled, eyes wide, feeling him getting harder and harder. "I-fuck. Go lock the door." Tony shot up, running over to lock the door. He jogged to the bed again and immediately climbed on top of you, peppering you with kisses. You bit your lip, wrapping your arms around your husband to pull him closer to you.

He leaned down, kissing you once, twice, three times, before taking off his shirt you slept in. You giggled, mustering up the strength to flip the both of you over, shocking not only Tony, but yourself. He pulled you in for another kiss but you were interrupting by the sound of the doorknob rattling.

Just like Tony had previously done, you shot up, picking up the shirt from the floor and pulling it over your head in record time. Tony groaned, hiding the bottom half of his body under the duvet. "Mommy...?" Morgan's quiet voice sounded through the door just as you opened it.

Her eyes lit up and she made grabby hands at you. You picked her up, walking back in the room as you asked her how she slept. "Good, but I'm hungry." She yawned, covering her mouth with her tiny hands. "Hi daddy!" She spoke, just as Tony said "Good morning sugarplum."

You finally found your slippers, sliding into them and went to give Tony a kiss, whispering in his ear "Don't be too long or she'll ask about you." Before you made your way back to the hallway, giving him a small wink.

Bucky Barnes: Getting used to the 21st century was difficult for Steve and you new for a fact that it was going to be an even bigger challenge for Bucky. So far, he was actually doing great, and even got himself a girlfriend - you.

The only thing he had trouble keeping up with were Tony Stark's parties. After the civil war passed and the two made an effort to become friends, good things happened and that's where this story leads to.

You and Bucky had just entered the party and, as usual, headed straight to the bar for some liquid luck - or in other words - vodka. Even though Bucky was physically incapable of getting drunk, or tipsy on alcohol from earth, he enjoyed having a couple or more drinks with you. You shot your handsome boyfriend of what was now four months a lopsided smile before turning to find Natasha.

When you found her talking to a pretty blonde woman, you figured you'd let her have a chance and go find another dancing partner. You spun on your heels once more only to bump into Bucky. He smiled at you, looking back at the people dancing. "That's one thing I haven't gotten yet- new dancing." He told you and your eyes immediately lit up.

You took hold of his metal hand and dragged him to the dance floor, so that you were only surrounded by other people dancing. This wasn't one of Tony's fancy parties, no, it was one of his 'Let's get drunk and hook up with random strangers parties.'

"No, no, no, (Y/N), I just told you I don't know how-" "Just follow my lead, Buck, you'll be fine." You giggled when he looked at you with a horrified expression, grabbing both his hands and placing them down on your hips. You swayed to the rhythm of the music, throwing your head back, and pressing your body to Bucky's. You saw him swallow and smiled, turning in his arms.

You dropped your head onto your boyfriend's shoulder, moving your body against his. He groaned, leaning down to kiss your neck briefly. "(Y/N) this isn't a good idea." He spoke in your ear, rolling his hips into your backside. "Oh I beg to differ." You retorted, turning around once more and capturing his lips into a breathy kiss.

He pulled away after a couple dozens of seconds to tell you again "Doll it's embarrassing to get a boner so early in the night." "Well either meet me in the bathrooms or hide it for a little while until it isn't." You winked at him, walking over to the bar and taking another shot, yelping lightly when Bucky appeared at your side and pressed a strong kiss in the crook of your neck, inhaling your perfume and whispering "30 seconds, don't disappoint me." before he disappeared into the hallway.

Thor Odinson: There was never a "bad time" to do it with Thor. Whenever he got in the mood, nothing was going to stop him unless it was your discomfort, even though you never were uncomfortable with him and would never say no to some great sex with the man that you loved.

This time, he had just come back from a mission and had insisted on seeing you instead of going to get his cuts fixed up and taking painkillers. That's how you ended up fixing him up yourself in your now bloodied up bathroom. Thor sat on the toilet seat in nothing but his boxers, watching as your eyebrows furrowed in concentration, wincing in pain every now and then.

Then all of a sudden, he wanted you. He started thinking about how sometimes you made a similar face in bed and how you always treated him like a king. How sometimes you'd bring him breakfast in bed when he slept in after missions - and he thought, maybe tomorrow you would too. He grinned to himself, pulling you in for a short kiss, promptly managing to surprise you and confuse you at once.

"You're too good for me." He told you, and groaned as he felt himself hardening beneath the thin fabric of his boxers. "Thor, you're hurt." You argued, but it was no use; he had already made up his mind. He wanted you, now.

"I'll be fine as long as I'm with you." he spoke in his gruff voice. He stood up, his arms wrapping around your waist and hauling you into the air. "Thor, you're going to hur-" "Do you really think now is a good time to underestimate a god's strength?" He asked, only half joking. Your eyes widened as he dropped you onto the bed, taking off the last of his clothing.

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angstymdzsthoughts · 3 years

Text

I promised that I would share the convo me and @time-flies-by had earlier today regarding the Maleficent AU post, so here it is!

time-flies-by Dude that Maleficent AU-

angstymdzsthoughts I knoooow

angstymdzsthoughts It got a bit dark on me

time-flies-by It did, but goddamn was it good!

angstymdzsthoughts Right? I'm super happy with it

time-flies-by As you should! It actually gave me chills

angstymdzsthoughts WWX goes to sleep in his husbands arms, happy and in love. Wakes up to that husband mutilating him Thank you!!!

time-flies-by The best part, is that LWJ doesn’t even see anything wrong with it. He’s just like, “it has to happen”

angstymdzsthoughts Yep! Just another part of getting married to him

time-flies-by WWX definitely leaves understanding Madam Lan a lot better.

angstymdzsthoughts Oof LWJ grows up around spouses who seem perfectly happy with life after losing their wings And his mother, who still had her wings, was miserable So he thinks hes actually helping to make WWX happier

time-flies-by Double oof WWX really doesn’t understand what he was getting himself into.

angstymdzsthoughts Oh my god other spouses try to warn him (in a quiet subtle way so their husbands don’t get upset)

angstymdzsthoughts All the Lans are taught that this is a special, intimate experience between spouses

angstymdzsthoughts I feel like Su She is jealous that LWJ got to experience that and is vindictively happy when WWX ran away

time-flies-by Oh my god, the Lans all brainwashed into thinking that the tight smiles, and the tears are signs of love, when in reality their spouse is trying so hard to not hate them. Soakxldowkenenw fuxking Su She

angstymdzsthoughts The spouses are all trapped. Oh wait

angstymdzsthoughts The "soulmate" thing only happens once or twice in a generation and Madam Lan had been the most recent before WWX so the spouse around who tries to warn him away is an old woman who has been married and trapped in the CR for life 55 years That makes it so much worse

time-flies-by Oh my god, imagine wwx accidentally runs into the the wing room, and is absolutely horrified to find all the wings there, so he goes to lwj and is all like “Lan Zhan? What’s this?” And LWJ just goes “don’t worry Wei ying, I’ll make sure that never happens to you.” And what he means is “I’ll make sure your grounding isn’t as painful as theirs.” And wwx trusts LWJ 100%, but then their own grounding happens.

angstymdzsthoughts OOF Oh my god just rip my heart out

angstymdzsthoughts All I can picture is WWX crying and calling LWJ a liar before he's silenced Most disturbing part is how gentle and loving LWJ is being while hes Removing His Husbands Limbs Soft little praises and telling WWX that they will be happy together now

angstymdzsthoughts Ohhh WWX is totally gonna blame himself if he saw the wings and didn't immediately run Gets to Yunmeng like 'how could I be so stupid to believe him'

time-flies-by Ooh especially if the spouses before him tried warning him too.

angstymdzsthoughts Yes Exactly

time-flies-by WWX: The signs were all there. . . There was a red flag everywhere!

angstymdzsthoughts The way WWX sees it is like that 'face eating leopard party' meme Everyone else is just plain horrified

time-flies-by Oof 😂

angstymdzsthoughts LWJ is crying in the CR asking what he did wrong Yunmeng Jiang is ready to start a war in order to get WWX his wings back

time-flies-by Omg yesssss The Lans are all clueless and offended because they see NOTHING wrong with their traditions.

angstymdzsthoughts Someone tries to put it in perspective for them. "How would you react if your spouse cut off your hands?" But the Lans dont get it and just dig their hole deeper. "Thats ridiculous! You Need hands! Wings are in no way a necessity."

time-flies-by Aish 😓

time-flies-by Yeah no, the Jiangs are definitely cutting all ties with the Lan after that.

angstymdzsthoughts The Lans argue that wings do nothing but make someone fickle and reckless and arrogant. They Need to be earth bound so they can learn stability and humbleness ... Oh my god... Horrible thought

time-flies-by Do tell

angstymdzsthoughts Some children of grounded spouses end up with wings too But they get them cut off when they are younger Should it be LXC or LWJ who use to have wings?

angstymdzsthoughts Spend their entire adolescence being ashamed of the wings and eagerly waiting for the day they can be removed

time-flies-by Oooh maybe LXC?

angstymdzsthoughts The most recent wings added are a pair of small white ones maybe half the size of WWXs and the sight of them make him run out because he may be sick

time-flies-by Oh god, what if there’s like, a whole room just full of children’s wings.

Angstymdzsthoughts Of course the Lans would keep them Ohhh WWX hears people talking about the grounding ceremony that will follow the honeymoon and has no idea what their all talking about He asks and the Lans explain that it's a sacred ceremony between spouses that truly binds the new spouse to the Lan family WWX is like- oh wow that sounds really great! Like a big 'welcome to the family'!

time-flies-by Oh no that make it worse! WWX is super excited for the ceremony. He’s like hyping himself up nonstop.

angstymdzsthoughts Oh with the Lan members with wings- they normally have a form of the grounding ceremony when they get their courtesy name and become a Real Lan. Lose your wings and get a name Oh my gooood WWX and LWJ go to bed that night talking about how the bonding ceremony will be tomorrow morning and LWJ assures him that he knows WWX will be perfect

time-flies-by Oh god no, I’m just imagining a bunch of children scared but super willing to lose their wings, because they’d been taught that having them made them everything the clan was against

angstymdzsthoughts WWX, cuddling close: What if I mess up and make a fool of myself? No ones really told me what to do yet. LWJ, petting WWXs wings lovingly: Don't worry, I'll take care of everything Exactly

time-flies-by Oooh I just got chills again

angstymdzsthoughts Something about LWJ touching and admiring WWXs wings in this context... 😨

time-flies-by LWJ: once I get rid of these, he’ll be all mine.

angstymdzsthoughts Touching wings isn't a normal thing outside of family (given that touching in general isn't normal in Chinese culture) but WWX was always super ok with friends petting his wings. He totally offered to let LWJ touch his wings when they were teenagers after catching him admiring them

angstymdzsthoughts LWJ hadn't felt a wing since his mother died shortly after her Binding and WWXs are a really beautiful glossy black color that turns a dark, rich purple if the light hits them just right. Of course he wants to touch

time-flies-by 😥😥

angstymdzsthoughts LWJ, cautiously running one finger along the feathers: They are so big... WWX: Of course they are! My wings have to be big and strong to carry me while I fly! LWJ immediately snatching his hand back, suddenly cold at the remainder that WWX can and will fly away far, far away from him

time-flies-by LWJ is really undermining the love WWX has for him by being that concerned that he’ll leave him.

angstymdzsthoughts He got brainwashed by his clan and he saw his mothers constant attempts to escape. Everyone around him said that the only reason she was trying to leave was because of her wings. If his own mother would leave him because of wings, what would stop WWX?

angstymdzsthoughts Madam Lan got way too close to actually escaping and QHJ was pressured into finally doing the ceremony. Madam Lan didn't last long after that

time-flies-by sent a post Source (****)

angstymdzsthoughts Hahaha

angstymdzsthoughts You know what would be worse? Baby A-Yuan with wings

time-flies-by Oh noooooo

angstymdzsthoughts Like au where LWJ didn't do the binding and unbrainwashed himself Then A-Yuan is born with wings and he grows up being told he won’t be a Real Lan if he keeps them So his parents have no plans of removing them but as his naming ceremony gets closer Yuan says he Wants to get rid of them WWX is immediately packing a bag and getting him and his son the hell out of there. LWJ is right behind him with another bag

time-flies-by Oof yes I like that

time-flies-by But like what if, the day before they leave or something, A-yuan runs to the elders and tells them about what his parents plan to do, and he’s so desperate to get rid of his wings that he asks them to just do the ceremony there and then

angstymdzsthoughts AAAAAAAAAA

time-flies-by When LWJ and WWX wake, they’re so stressed cause they can’t find A-yuan, but a few minutes later he comes in all proud and wingless

angstymdzsthoughts I mean since its Maleficent au wings are apparently magic and can be put right back on but Still Horrible WWX cries LWJ is gonna fight to get his sons wings back and then get his family the hell out of there Oh my god..... LWJ walking through a room full of tiny, near identical wings looking for the little pair that he would recognize anywhere

angstymdzsthoughts Let's a few tears out when he finds them. Remembers helping WWX clean and groom them and watching while WWX taught their son to balance and fly using those wings Hates himself for not seeing what his clan was doing to LSZ and not getting them away from all of it sooner

time-flies-by Codnekaoenen perfect

time-flies-by Heartbreaking, but perfect

angstymdzsthoughts Also, if things had gone according to plan and they left before LSZ did the Binding Yuan, struggling and crying: But I won’t be a Real Lan! WWX, throwing Yuan over his shoulder to carry him mid tantrum: Then you're gonna be a Wei. Lan Zhan, would you please carry this bag? LWJ, taking the bag: Mn. Wei Yuan sounds nice.

angstymdzsthoughts Then they go to Yunmeng so LSZ can grow up in a healthier environment

time-flies-by Oh I like your version better.

angstymdzsthoughts You brought the pain, I brought a bandaid

time-flies-by Haha yes yes, thank you

angstymdzsthoughts Oof tho. LWJ finds the wings and brings them home where WWX is guarding Yuan while he sleeps. They Return the wings while Yuan sleeps and return to making plans to go to Yunmeng once Yuan wakes When he wakes up and has his wings back he bursts into tears.

angstymdzsthoughts Could be because he really missed his wings and is glad to have them back or because this means he's gonna have to go through the grounding AGAIN and it really hurt the first time and he doesn't want to go through it again. Maybe both

time-flies-by If both, then WWX and LWJ will do their best to reassure him that he won’t have to go through the grounding ever again.

angstymdzsthoughts Aww little Yuan crying so hard he can hardly breath and bringing his wings around himself so he can pet and groom them because he needs to make sure this is real and their back

angstymdzsthoughts Oof. Imagine LXC seeing this and wishing he could have kept his wings. Goes to visit his wings and knows that they are too small to fit his body now that hes an adult so he's lost his chance

time-flies-by *sigh* we really should give LXC a break.

angstymdzsthoughts Never Ok how about he gets his wings back and even tho there too small because they never got the chance to grow with him and he'll never be able to fly hes so unbelievably happy WWX and Yuan teach him how to groom his wings correctly because the only person who ever did that was his mother and he cant quite remember how to do it

time-flies-by *sniff* family bonding time

angstymdzsthoughts He starts an arrangement with Yunmeng Jiang so he can send any winged Lans to them for half the year so they can learn that having wings Isnt the worse thing in the world

time-flies-by Oooh yes yes That’s good.

#Time-flies-by #Had a great time and the story kinda got away from us to the point that we made an au of an au #Maleficent AU #Wei Wuxian #Lan Wangji #Lan Xichen #Lan Sizhui #mdzs #mo dao zu shi

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joyfulsongbird · 3 years

Text

i would come for you

the six of crows kanej fic that I wrote a long time ago and don't remember coming up with or writing at all!! but it's where Inej actually gets one of her legs broken when she's kidnapped at the beginning of crooked kingdom and ALLLL of the angst that follows when kaz gets her back. the aftermath... it's about the Angst(TM) ok??? enjoy!

(literally pls ignore any typos I am not rereading this before posting it LMAO)

ao3 link if that's what you prefer!!!

INEJ

Inej knew pain well. It was something she was intimately familiar with, a long time friend.

She had found comfort at times, in a world where cold numbness was a few steps too close to death, a sharp pain was a welcome reminder of life. She’d never desired it, of course not, but there was something oddly soothing about waking and realizing that you were wholly alive. She could push through almost anything, if she pushed herself far enough, if she distanced herself from the pain enough. It was a skillset she had mastered long ago and it had served her well in this new life she had carved. She knew pain, as her scars could attest to, as her wariness could speak to, but this was different.

This was not the welcome type of pain.

She was alive. She knew that for sure. But pain usually was not usually accompanied by this deep and penetrating sorrow.

She laid on her back in this same dark room, minutes blurring into hours as she fought the urge to scream; to cry, to do something, anything. The pain in her leg was all consuming, and the knowledge that her future was destroyed did not help. It was just the one- just her right- that had been damaged. She tried to push the memories from hours earlier out of her mind, already the fear was dulling the edges of this memory. The way the terror caused it to fade in and out of her mind was the only welcome factor at the moment. All she knew at the moment was terror and pain. Through these two things, she tried to think. But she had already exhausted herself of any sort of plan. How was she supposed to escape with a bad leg? The answer was that she could not. Van Eck had said he was being merciful. Merciful. She’d wanted to tear his tongue right out of his mouth as he had said that. The other one tomorrow then, he had said, when it was done. She wasn’t quite ashamed, but she was close. Her voice had been so weak sounding, she wished more than much that she could have taken it, could have gone through that ordeal with tight lips and a steely expression. In the end, she was just a girl. A girl who had everything already taken from her and was somehow losing more.

So she simply laid on her back in the dark, praying to all of her Saints that… well, she didn’t know. What could she even pray for anymore? For Kaz to come for her? If he did at all- which she highly doubted- when he saw her state, wasn’t it more likely he would turn on his heel rather than risk anything for a broken spider? And what else was there to do but hope that something changed? She could lie here and hope she died in the dark but no, she didn’t truly want that. She wanted to escape the pain but not like that. There was so much she had left to do, and even if her foundation was crumbling beneath her, she still had her mind. She still had her voice. It was all she could ask for, maybe she should lower that expectation as well… nevertheless, she still had a few more fights left in her. Even if it didn’t feel like it, she still had life left to live.

The next night came. She prepared herself for the worst, for a repetition of the night before, for death itself. But no. Kaz was coming. Kaz for coming for her.

She laughed. She did not know why. If she was asked, it would be impossible to discern the reason. Maybe it was because she was drunk on pain, on her terror. Maybe it was because she knew Kaz would have no use for her after he found out she was damaged beyond repair. She was not finding humor in anything, but she laughed anyways. This was the nightmare of nightmares, and she was never going to wake up.

Noon tomorrow.

She counted the hours, the minutes, the seconds. Again, the reason she did not know. It only drew out her agony. But she wanted to see them again, wanted to see him again, even if she never did after. Perhaps she wouldn’t be blind folded at the bridge, what was she going to do? Run? They had already done what she didn’t dare fear would happen to her, she could not run, she could not slip away from them like she might have a few days ago. Things were different now and all she wanted was to see Kaz, to have one last image of him in her mind that she could hold onto. And perhaps it would be cold, it would be cruel as he often was, but she didn’t care. That would be enough for now. That would be enough of a goodbye; the closure that she desired. She was no longer an investment with anything to back it, she wasn’t worth anything anymore. Per Haskell would throw her out, Kaz would turn his back on her, and she would be alone again. In debt and desperate, again.

She closed her eyes against the dark, tightly. She was determined not to cry, not to show any more weakness than she already had. So when Van Eck’s men came again (a little earlier than noon she assumed), she steeled herself. Two men held her tightly between them, making it so that she was slightly elevated. She did not want to be carried, at least this gave her some false sense of autonomy.

“Shackle her arms.” Van Eck was turned away from her. She nearly spat at his feet right then.

“Sir, I don’t think-” one of the guards holding her began. She did not recognize him.

“Just do it.” Van Eck snapped. “Today will not be the day I underestimate one of Brekkers.”

She almost smiled then. At least she still brought him a little worry, at least she still held some power. Inej held onto that feeling as she was moved, shoved around and into the back of some carriage. The pain was the most intense she’d ever felt, the bones in her ankle and calf were ruined. Van Eck had been very deliberate in what he had wanted done to her. Make it so that she could not scale walls anymore, make it so that it caused her pain with every step. He had not cared about her excuses about Kaz after hours of thought.

“He will come,” he had said while leaning over her. “I know he will. And I think you know he will, too.”

She hadn’t, not truly. But when she’d heard that he was coming, that he was there, something in her twinged with relief. Perhaps it was selfish, to want to be saved when she had no use for him anymore, but she found herself being relieved that she was wrong. Who could blame her? She was preparing for the worst in every single scenario, and Kaz not turning up really wasn’t very high on the list of “worst things”. It was a lot closer to reality, and it hurt to acknowledge that, but at least it had been something she was mentally prepared for. This hope she felt fluttering in her chest was a little too powerful for this darkness she was shrouded in, she wanted to let it go. Let it fly away so that she wouldn’t be crushed by disappointment when another terrible thing inevitably came around, but she couldn’t seem to lessen her hold on it.

She was a little too relieved when they did not blindfold her, instead pulled a hood over her head, concealing her face in a shadow. She kept her chin down, forced there by the two guards holding her. No one would be able to see her face but she knew that the rest of the Dregs would easily be able to pull her out of the small crowd they had. She didn’t exactly blend in, the small, black clad girl being held as tightly as a death row prisoner. She kept trying to glance up but couldn’t make anything out, she saw a few pairs of shoes in front of her, but the moment she tried to lift her head, one of the guards jostled her. Causing pain to go up her leg, she put her head back down. She could faintly make out the sound of voices, muffled by the distance and her own pounding head. She was being hit by all of the human necessities she had been neglecting, her hunger gnawed at her stomach, her throat was so dry, and the pain amplified every single movement.

She hadn’t been ready when they dropped her to her feet, her weight dropping onto her injured leg the same way it wouldn’t any other day where she was not injured. It was horrifying, the way she crumbled. She dropped to her knees, which only caused the pain to worsen. She burned, everything burned; with humiliation, with sorrow, with pain. The Wraith didn’t fall, and when she did, she got right back up. She rolled with the motion, she lifted herself even when it seemed like there was no way to get up. But she wasn’t The Wraith anymore, she couldn’t be. It had been stripped from her the same way her identity had been stripped from her at the Menagerie. She was just a Suli girl, on her knees, struggling to her feet once again.

The silence was only interrupted by the soft swishing of water underneath the bridge, she bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood. No one moved, she didn’t even seem to breath, as she pushed herself to stand. This was her lowest, she knew. This was not how she wanted to meet Kaz’s eye, as she lifted her head, hood falling back. Her hands were shackled in the front, knives tucked into her jacket, but her legs were free. She wasn’t sure why, maybe to make her walk. Maybe Van Eck had only insisted on her arms so that everybody would watch her struggle to do the barest of tasks. It was humiliating and she felt her face burn along with every other part of her, but she kept her expression steely.

Kaz was looking at her, his expression also hard and concealing something underneath that she couldn’t discern. She wanted to be able to lift whatever veil separated them, hear his thoughts word for word. That was an impossibility, she knew, but it didn’t stop her from yearning to know what was going through his head at that very moment. Each step was an agony, flames licking at her chest, behind her eyes. But she forced herself to walk that 20-or-so feet to where Kaz stood, her injury was the most obvious thing about her at the moment. It was easy to act as if it was better than it actually was, though, she could pretend that she just had a simple limp. That she had sprained her ankle and it would heal within the weak. Inej was good at that, she would not show the world this kind of shame. That would come indoors, in the dark, when no one could see that she was broken. That would come later.

“Your knives?” was the first thing out of Kaz’s mouth. She was unsurprised.

“They’re packed inside my coat.” she replied, forcing the tremble to stay out of her voice. He cut the bonds that kept her arms in front of her, she rubbed her wrists absently, keeping all of her weight on her left leg. She caught Kaz’s look down at her right, trying to figure out what was off with it. He still had that cold expression on, she couldn’t possibly try to read it. Whatever plan he had had, it was screwed up now. She was dead weight, a factor which he hadn’t prepared for. She didn’t know what came next but she knew exactly what train of thought must be going through his head. What was he supposed to do with her?

Her vision was swimming, the pain in her leg was growing with every moment, she didn’t know how much longer she could hold on for. But she wouldn’t pass out now, not when she was so close to freedom. Or what she could reasonably call freedom at the moment. She would do what she had to do, doom herself to even worse than she already was, if it meant they all got out of there safely and in one piece.

And then, chaos erupted.

Everything whirled around her, she was vaguely aware of being moved again (the agony wasn’t easy to ignore) but the swirling of color and sounds of voices were overwhelming. Her senses were all over the place but she felt herself being slightly lifted and moved not so gently towards the wall that separated them and the water below. She heard Kaz’s gruff voice say something in her ear but she didn’t catch it. Then she was going over the ledge of the bridge, oh Saints what’s going on? But she wasn’t falling, she stayed suspended in midair for a moment. She looked up. Kaz was holding onto both of her wrists, his gloved fingers curled tightly so that she would not fall. She met his eyes, there was a message that she could understand. At least that was something. She glanced down, and below her was a flower boat, rowing down the river. She looked back up and gave Kaz a single, resolute nod. His expression was a little different now, as if he understood that dropping her from this height would cause her indescribable pain. Not quite apologetic but there was something like it there. This was something that she would have been able to do with ease a week ago, but now, she breathed in deeply through her nose and let go of Kaz before he could do the same for her.

She was the Wraith, she had to be, even just for one more single moment. The drop was quick, her heart dropped into her stomach, and before she knew it, she was hitting the boat. It was a small boat, and she didn’t have as much space to make her landing work the way she would’ve liked, but at least her muscle memory was still intact. She covered her head, tried to spread the impact as much as she could without spilling over the side of the boat.

She did not feel strong. She was broken, there was nothing more she could do but lie there. She had failed in every regard, she had lost her purpose, she had lost her title, her identity. And now, she would lose Kaz, she would lose the Dregs, and she would lose the dream of hunting slavers someday. Cruelest of cruelties.

Her vision faded in and out, she was not in her body. She was slipping into the dark, as she had done often before, a welcome comfort. She was disappearing into the shadows where the pain would be dulled and she would be soothed by the coolness of being all by her lonesome. And when she woke- she did not want to think about what would happen when she woke. Maybe for once she could move in the now, in the moment, instead of thinking of every step that was to come. Every jump she had to make, anticipating everything before it happened. She could simply settle and rest. Saints, she really wanted to rest.

She could not escape her demons however.

“Inej.” Kaz’s voice was enough to cause her to open her eyes slightly, everything slightly blurry. “Inej, you have to stay with me.”

Her mouth tasted like metal, she couldn’t form any words. Finally, she murmured, “I’m tired, Kaz.” because really, what else was there to say?

And it all went dark.

KAZ

He had known something was off the moment he had laid eyes on her. The way she held herself, the way the men around her held her. His Wraith was proud, she would not allow herself to be held tightly like that unless she needed it, desperately. He hadn’t anticipated her to fall however, he would’ve rushed forward to help her stand had 1. many very armed people had not been surrounding her and 2. he had expected the moment at all. Inej didn’t fall, it was something she prided herself on. She never stumbled, she never lost her footing. To see her on her knees like that tore something in his chest, a switch flipped and all he wanted to do was set Van Eck’s trousers alight and watch flames consume his body. She’s hurt. He suddenly wanted to go back on the deal, keep Alys to them, and spit at Van Eck’s feet, before remembering that having Inej come back unharmed was never part of the deal. He should’ve said something, he shouldn’t have let something as important as that fall into ambiguity.

It pained him to watch her fall, even if it wasn’t that far of a fall. He rushed as fast as he could to follow her onto the boat, doing his best to track the others’ movements before going after the flower boat. Panic started edging at his thoughts as he saw her there, sprawled and barely breathing. But breathing nonetheless. He considered shaking her awake, he considered splashing water on her, but instead, he went against every single one of his instincts and simply placed a gloved hand on her arm. He gripped her softly, if she was even semi awake he hoped this would communicate his presence well enough. It made him feel better, anyways, to have her there, physical proof just under his palm.

His entire plan had fallen apart the moment he saw her hit the cobblestone of the bridge, the foundation of his house of cards becoming flimsy. A simple breeze would be enough to cause it to crumble at the open. There was much he had to think on, futurewise, but at the moment, the most important thing was getting Inej somewhere safe and quiet. Which would be considerably more difficult now that she was incapacitated but he would get this simple task done. He would do her this much, at least. After failing her in this matter and so much more, he could do this.

So this was how he found himself in the basement of the closest safe house he owned: tired, heated with anger, and searching for a word that felt stronger than worry.

He’d set Inej down on a cot in the corner, her frame thinner than he remembered, her weight so much lighter than the last time he’d carried her. He leaned against the wall, his grip on his cane like iron. There was nothing strong enough to describe the thoughts in his mind, the feelings rising in his chest. He’d always been protective of Inej, it was something understood in the Barrel. You didn’t touch Kaz Brekker’s Wraith. Of course, if you did it was likely she would handle you before word even reached him, but it was understood. Inej could take care of herself but his protection meant there were very few people who would attempt to hurt her. Van Eck was one of those people who crossed that line, apparently, and Kaz was ready to march back up those stairs and force the man to face the consequences Dirtyhands was preparing for him.

There wasn’t anything he could do while he waited. Plot his enemies demise, yes, but other than be consumed by his own thoughts, he had nothing to occupy him while Inej slept. So he just sat against the wall, his knees pulled up to his chest. He knew he must’ve looked a little ridiculous but he refused to leave, to do anything other than wait and know for sure that she was alright.

It was only an hour or so before she stirred, the rustling of the sheets deafening in the quiet of the dark room. He rose to his feet, taking several long strides to reach her bedside.

“Kaz?” she blinked up at him, eyes finally clear and expression less severe, if a little twisted from whatever pain she was experiencing. “What’s- where are we?”

“Somewhere safe.” he answered, crouching down to be at about her eye level. She tracked him, meeting his gaze evenly. “A safehouse. No one will find us here.”

She looked away, her eyes leaving his to stare up at the ceiling. “Did everyone get out?” “I think so.” he said. “It was more complicated than I expected, but everyone was prepared for worse than that.” She nodded softly, something he couldn’t quite understand in her expression. He watched carefully as she began pulling herself up into a sitting position, which she could do easily enough. That was a relief, nothing from the waist up was hurt enough to keep her lying in bed. The rest of her however…

“What did he do to you?” he couldn’t help himself, his anger was stronger than anything. His words were biting, every bit of disgust and fury he felt seeping into them. He tried to back off a bit, though, when he focused on the present again and saw her. She looked… well, she looked a few steps away from timid. Not quite there, Inej could never be timid, but she twisted her sleeve between her fingers, the gesture was enough to make Kaz believe there was something more weighing on her. He could sense it easily, Kaz was smart, he knew Inej, knew what was important to her. She was an acrobat and an acrobat was nothing without their legs to keep them steady. To have that pulled from her- no matter how temporary it was or wasn’t- must be incredibly difficult to manage mentally. He wanted to reach out, to place his hand on top of hers and stop her anxious twitching. Comfort her in some way.

He didn’t do that, though, he simply sat back on his heels and waited in the silence.

“He- uh-” she bit her bottom lip, fighting against a quiver at the edge of her voice. He didn’t say a word, he let her collect her words before speaking again.

“He broke my leg.” she said finally, her voice steady in a way that was easily discerned as fake. Her hand curled into a fist beside her, gripping tightly to the sheets she sat on. “He broke my leg, Kaz.”

He still didn’t know what to say. He supposed any other person in this moment would move to comfort her but he was not that person, he was not the right person for this moment. He should have the right words prepared, shouldn’t he? What had he wanted someone to tell him when he broke his own leg? He wasn’t sure. Their two situations were far too different from each other, in his mind, he couldn’t try and compare them. Saints, why couldn’t he just know what the right thing to do was? He was supposed to be self assured, confident, but when it came to things like this… yes, he was more than a little lost.

“It’ll get better,” he said finally. “Rest and a good medik. We’ll get-”

“That won’t-” she cut herself off, eyes looking off into the distance but the distance was really just the wall opposite the bed. “Not with something like this. Bed rest won’t put my bones back together. I won’t- it’s not going to ‘get better’.”

That silenced him, he pressed his lips together tightly. He had no rebuttal. He knew very little about medicine, so he couldn’t offer her any assurances in that regard. He wouldn’t be able to tell her one way or the other, so he just said nothing about that again.

“He made sure of it,” she went on, her voice weighed with hundreds of pounds of anger and grief. “He made sure it was broken in a way that would never be the same. It’ll never- I won’t ever be the same.”

“I…” he didn’t have the right words to console her. There wasn’t anything he could say that would bridge the gap between them, her anger and sorrow was warranted, and he was simply along for the ride. He had never been one for comforting words, it was never his forte. He simply let his presence speak for itself. If he cared enough to be there, that should be enough. He found many others didn’t agree with that, but to him, it was enough. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t waste his time. He had never wanted to be better at formulating comforts as much as right then. He wanted to reach across this divide between them he had cultivated with every cold shoulder and every moment of distance, but it was a divide he had created for a reason. He could not breach it now, he felt that it was too late. There was a time and place for everything, besides. The time and place for rocking the boat was not now, most definitely.

“You’ll be okay, Wraith.” it was the best he could come up with, which he knew was woefully insufficient. Worse than insufficient, in hindsight, it was one of the worst things that could’ve fallen from his mouth in that moment.

“Don’t you see, I can’t be your Wraith anymore, Kaz!” she burst out, turning to look at him with shining eyes and pain written on every part of her face.

His lips parted in understanding. It hadn’t gone over his head, the thought that this injury would keep her from wall climbing or jumping from rooftops. He just hadn’t stopped to think about (or maybe had avoided it altogether) how that would affect… whatever it was that held the two of them together. They were held together with a thin piece of thread, constantly having a fear looming over them that they would snap apart and be unable to put the pieces back together. That once the string broke, they would no longer fit together anymore. He couldn’t imagine doing any of this without her, even just the week she had been kidnapped by Van Eck had been a misery. What was he to do if she left the Dregs?

“I’m not a valuable investment anymore.” she bit out finally, her words cold. “You shouldn’t have come for me. You wouldn’t have, had you known.”

It was something he couldn’t stand to feel fall on his ears. His anger was stronger than anything else, at Van Eck for doing this to her, at himself for making her believe all of these things she said. He knew he had been the one to plant the seed of doubt in her mind from the very beginning. Every harshness, every time he turned away, he had made her believe she was nothing more than an investment that, when expired, could be easily tossed aside. He couldn’t let it stand, he wouldn’t. “I would come for you.” he said, this time without hesitation. It was something he had to say. He had to. And when she shot him a look filled to the brim with doubt, he said it again. “I would come for you. And if I couldn’t walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together — knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.”

There was a long stretch of silence and for a moment, he partially panicked. He might’ve said the wrong thing, might’ve upset her further. Since when did he care about the right or the wrong thing to say? He was Kaz Brekker, and he didn’t care what opinions others held for him and he never had. That was a lie, of course, one he told himself in the late hours of the night and every minute of the day when he couldn’t shake the feeling he got every time he looked at Inej. It was the biggest lie anyone had ever told him, and he was telling it to himself. He cared about her opinion, he cared about her opinion of him, and more than anything, he simply cared about her. Cut and dry. Simple as anything.

She didn’t reply, simply turned her head slightly to the side, a soft shadow obscuring any expression that might’ve broken through. She nodded after a minute, and that was the end of it for now. He stood, leaning against his weight against his cane. The walk from the river to this safe house had been difficult on him, he’d had to carry Inej and his cane in his arms, forcing each step. He would feel it tomorrow, most likely, but he did not regret it. He walked to the desk on the other side of the room, pulling out some crackers and a waterskin. He handed them to her in silence, watching as she tentatively bit into the cracker, chewing slowly. She was already small to begin with, looking at her and seeing so much less caused a little worry to nag at the back of his mind. He pushed it aside, she would be alright.

“Rest.” he said finally. “We’ll meet the others in a bit. For now, just rest.”

#six of crows #kaz brekker #inej gafha #kaz x inej #kanej #kanej fic #six of crows fic #six of crows fanfic #grishaverse #AAAAAND please let this be good I have not read in months I beliee #I legit don't remember writing this-

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sturchling · 3 years

Text

An Awfully Big Adventure

Hey! I found an angsty prompt for a Fairy Tail fanfic a while back and have been wanting to write it for a long time. Can't remember where I saw it, but if I figure it out, I'll make sure to tag them in this! Anyways, hope you like it! And if anyone understands the references to the book/movie in this story, you are awesome! 😊

The feeling of the old leather book cover was hardly noticeable to Lucy, as she was engrossed in her book. The book had seen better days, having been damaged from being read over and over. She was so focused on the story, traveling to a far away land only found in the pages of this book, that she didn't notice a certain pink haired wizard coming up behind her. "Lucy! Let's go! I got our next job." But the celestial mage didn't hear him, turning to the next page in the story. Natsu stopped and looked over Lucy's shoulder, reading the next line out loud. "To die would be an awfully big adventure? What does that mean? Sounds stupid." This time Lucy heard him, and jumped at realizing how close he was. Then when it registered what he had said, she jumped to her favorite book's defense, chasing Natsu around the guild hall. "Its not stupid! The hero of the story is cornered by the villain but is still trying to be brave for his friends! He is scared, but doesn't want to scare his friends! This is a great story, with great writing, and don't you dare insult it again! As Lucy stands there, out of breath, Natsu walks up, grabbing her wrist. "Sounds sappy to me. Come on! We have work to do."

Natsu, and Lucy had made camp for the night, just a little ways outside of the town where their job was. Gray, Erza, and Wendy would meet them in the town tomorrow afternoon. While they sat around the fire, Lucy pulled her book out again and read by the fire light. Natsu just stared at her as she was reading for the longest time. Until Lucy finally looked up. "What? Why are you staring at me?" Natsu looked at the tattered book in Lucy's hand. He had seen her reading this book several times before. "Tell me something. Why do you love that book so much? You read it all the time. Surely it gets old after a while." Lucy looks at Natsu, before looking down at the book cover fondly. "Well, its because of the memories I have with this book. This was my mother's favorite story. She would read it all the time, and then finally when I was ten, she read it to me. It was an amazing story filled with adventures and sword fights and even a few pirates. We must have read it together a dozen times." Lucy paused, her smile fading from her face. "But then, mom got sick. So I would read it to her every day. It always made her smile when I did. Not long after that, she passed away. After that, I always kept this book with me and would read it all the time. It was one of the few connections I still had with my mom. Any time I read it, I felt like she was right there with me. I love this book, because my mom loved this book and its a way to still be close with her."

Natsu just sat quietly listening. He understood what Lucy was talking about. It was kind of like him and his scarf. It was a connection to Igneel. Lucy looked back up at Natsu. "Sorry to dump all that on you. I know to you its just a sappy book, but to me its the best book I have ever read. Anyway, we should go to bed. Its late and we have a job in the morning. The two got ready for bed, and Lucy quickly fell asleep. But Natsu decided to do something else. He crept over to Lucy's pack and grabbed the old book. He went and sat back by the fire and turned to the first page. He spent all night reading that book. In the morning, before Lucy woke up, he slipped the book back in her pack and laid on his bed roll. He was exhausted, but he had to admit, it was a good book. Maybe if he had slept instead, he wouldn't have been so tired, and he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

Lucy heard Natsu yell from behind her. They had gone into town to get the information for the job, but were ambushed. The job was a fake, posted by a dark guild that wanted revenge for a Fairy Tail team roughing up their members. It was only Natsu and her in town, the others hadn't arrived. So they were on their own. Natsu had taken the leader, and Lucy was dealing with the others. There weren't that many opponents, so it should have been fine. She had just finished with her opponents when she heard Natsu yell. She whipped around just in time to see the leader's sword go through Natsu's stomach. She stared in horror as Natsu collapsed to the ground. She summoned Loke to keep the leader busy and raced to Natsu's side, praying to anyone who would listen that he was alive.

Lucy dropped to her knees beside Natsu, looking for any signs that he was alive. When she saw that he was breathing, she almost collapsed in relief. But he was bleeding too much from his wounds. She pulled some bandages from her pack and pressed on the wound, earning a groan from Natsu. He started to wake up, and looked at Lucy with eyes fogged by pain. He could see the battle between Loke and the dark guild leader behind her and it wasn't going well. If Lucy stayed here, she would be in serious trouble. "Lucy, listen. You need to go. Run and go find Gray, Erza, and Wendy. They must be close, so it won't be hard to find them. Go!" Lucy didn't even look at him, to focused on stopping the bleeding. "No! If I leave, and don't stop the bleeding, you'll die! I won't let you die." Natsu gave her a pained smile. "To die would be an awfully big adventure." Lucy jolted hearing that line, and looked right at Natsu, tears in her eyes. Natsu grimaced, but smiled at Lucy again. "That's it right? That's the line from that sappy book of yours, right? Hah, nailed it!" Lucy almost lost the grip on the bandages in her shock. "You read the book?" Natsu's smile was becoming more strained as the pain in his stomach grew unbearable. "Last night, didn't finish though. But I got to that line you love so much. And it may be sappy, but its a good story."

Natsu was quickly fading and that was obvious to Lucy. She replaced the now blood soaked bandages and pressed down on the wound again, but it wasn't doing any good. The bandages were quickly soaking through with blood again. Lucy grabbed more bandages, even knowing it was doing no good. She couldn't sit here and do nothing! She just had to keep him alive until Wendy and the others got here. She had to keep trying. Her voice shook as she tried to keep Natsu talking. "Well, then you have to get better. You have to finish the book. We can finish it together. And W-We can go on tons of adventures. Together. All the time, any time you want. Every day for the rest of our lives, will be full of adventure and excitement, okay? I promise, we will have the best adventures of our lives. But you have to get better Natsu. You just have to! Please don't make me break that promise. Just hold on!" Natsu's eyes closed, but he was still smiling. His voice was quiet now, quieter than Lucy had ever heard it. "Yeah, sounds like fun Lucy. Let's go on more adventures..." Natsu trailed off, and Lucy felt her heart stop. "Natsu? Natsu?! Please Natsu, wake up!"

Tears streamed down Lucy's cheeks, but she wouldn't give up. His breathing was slow, as was his heartbeat, but it was there. He was still breathing and his heart was still beating. And that was enough for Lucy. She heard Loke yell from behind her, and felt his gate close. But she wouldn't leave Natsu. If she left, he would bleed to death before Lucy got back. So she stayed focused on Natsu, even as she felt the footsteps of the dark guild leader approach her from behind. He had long since abandoned his sword and started punching Lucy from behind. But Lucy wouldn't let go of Natsu. She would never just let him die. Then, just as darkness started to invade her vision, she heard someone call, "Natsu! Lucy!" She felt a blast of cold behind her, and when she looked, the leader was now completely encased in a blast of ice. She looked at the tree line and saw Gray, Erza and Wendy running toward them. Good. Wendy is here. She will help Natsu. With that last thought, the darkness completely took over Lucy's vision.

When Gray, Erza and Wendy finally got to the two unconscious wizards, they were horrified to see the condition of their friends. Wendy got right to work, healing Natsu as best she could. She was able to stabilize him, but he remained unconscious. Lucy was healed when Wendy recovered, and woke up pretty quickly. Now, Lucy sat by Natsu's bedside in the guild's infirmary. She wouldn't leave his side. She wanted to be here when he woke up. She had started passing the time by reading that old book to him. It seemed silly, but she had always read to her mom when she was sick, and it just seemed right to read to him now. She was about half way through the book, and she had arrived at that scene. Where the hero is cornered and says that line. That line Natsu had said while he lay bleeding in front of her. She instantly started to cry, remembering that horrible day. She hung her head and silently cried. But then she heard a quiet, raspy voice. "Why did you stop reading Lucy?" She whipped her head up and stared into the now open eyes of Natsu Dragneel. "Why did you stop? You were just getting to a good part, and I want to know what happens next. And maybe after you finish the book, we can go on those adventures you promised me?" Lucy smiled, tears of happiness now running down her face. "Yeah. Lets go on an adventure!"

#fairy tail #fairy tail fic #fairy tail fanfic #fairy tail fanfiction #fairy tail angst #angst fic #angst fanfic #fairy tail nalu #nalu #natsu x lucy #to die would be an awfully big adventure #peter pan 2003 #nalu angst

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effiethebookworm · 3 years

Text

TSE Appreciation Week Day Six

Hi. It is Day Six. No exclamation marks today, for the week is over and it is a sad occasion. I hope you like it. Also, I noticed that I accidently titled yesterday’s post “Day Four” when it’s supposed to be “Day Five.” Oops.

Enjoy.

Laura Hollingsworth sat down at her computer, fingertips poised over the keyboard. She heard a whine from under her chair, and looked down to see a fluffy dog staring back at her.

“No distractions, Gwladys. Now that the Hiatus Secundus is finally over, I'm writing the script for Chapter 21.”

Gwladys whined again, and Laura gave her a treat.

“Now go sleep or kill a lizard or something. I'm busy.” She gave the dog a little scratch behind the ears, and firmly patted her on the rump.

“Shoo.”

Gwladys left the room. Laura turned back to her keyboard. She yawned, and looked at the clock.

“My, it's a late to be writing, but I want this finished today. I guess I'll just sleep in a bit tomorrow.” she said to no one in particular. She took a drink of water, and began to write.

CHAPTER 21

CLIMB

APEN: *Looks up at Ayran, shocked * Ayran Greenway? Fabled Nedarian architect and designer of Greenway?

AYRAN: *Carswell Thorne grin * The very one.

BERLYNE: *is not impressed * What are you doing here, Mister Greenway, and where is “here” anyway?

AYRAN: We are in an old city that I made centuries ago. It's quite embarrassing, really. Looking at the stuff I made ages ago.. *cringes * Ugh.

JOE, CHARA, AND MARCUS: *run into the room *

JOE: *sees Berlyne and Apen on the floor and rushes over to check on them*

CHARA: Berlyne! Apen! Where have you been all night? We were so worried about you.

MELLY: *runs over and licks Apen's face *

APEN: Melly! You're all right! Thank heaven.

BERLYNE: We went wandering and got lost. Then, *glares at Ayran * this man attacked Apen, so I stabbed him. *is pleased *

CHARA: *is disturbed * BERLYNE, what have I told you about stabbing people?

BERLYNE: *is unremorseful *

JOE: *walks up to Ayran * I don't appreciate you attackin' my so- er- daughter's boyfr- er-- the person to which I am a father figure.

AYRAN: Oh, yeah, buddy? What'cha gon' do 'bout that?

JOE: Nothing, because I am a pacifist. But I will glare at you. *glares at Ayran *

MARCUS: Oh no! Not the glare!

APEN AND CHARA: The glare!!!

BERLYNE: What. The what. Is going on.

AYRAN AND JOE: *have a staring contest *

*music begins to play. Cut to Marcus playing the Jaws theme on the violin he was playing last chapter *

AYRAN: *blinks * No!!! I have been vanquished!

JOE: Heck yeah ya have! *begins to dance the Cotton Eyed Joe *

MARCUS: *begins to play the Cotton Eyed Joe *

BERLYNE: Daddy? Um- are you alright? CHARA: It's his victory dance, Berlyne. You've lived with him for nineteen years, you know this.

MARCUS: Yeah, Berlyne, even I know that! * continues to play Cotton Eyed Joe, but joins in the dancing.

AYRAN: *is sulking in corner *

BERLYNE: Marcus. You can't play the violin and talk, much less dance. This is impossible, what is going on?

MARCUS: *kindly, like speaking to a very stupid small child* *still playing and dancing* Berlyne, Berlyne, Berlyne. You lowly little mortal. You have hardly seen my powers at work.

BERLYNE: W- Excuse me? MARCUS: You all thought that I was Marcus, a little hipster librarian. No. That form is past me now. I will now show you who I really am.

*a bright light flashes, and a shirtless faun with a red scarf stands in Marcus' place *

MARCUS: That's right. I am Mr. Tumnus!

BERLYNE: I am so confused. *turns to Apen* Apen, what is going on?

APEN: *is with Chara, over next to Mr. Tumnus. He is making :baby_apen: face.*

APEN AND CHARA: *in unison * MR TUMNUS?!?! MARCUS: Yes, my children. I am.

BERLYNE: *:shooketh * I AM SO DARN CONFUSED.

IDONY: *enters * What's going on?

MARCUS: Ah, my love. I have shown my true form. Maybe it is time for yours.

BERLYNE: what

IDONY: *sailor moon transformation sequence * *becomes casserole lady from Velv's trial * Yes, and I am Casserole Lady!

AYRAN: *horrified * NO! NOT CASSEROLE LADY! *falls over *

BERLYNE *checks pulse * Okay, he's dead. Guys, this is really weird.

EVERYONE – BERLYNE: No it's not!

BERLYNE: AH! I got it! This is a dream, right?

EVERYONE- BERLYNE: NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

*the scene goes black *

END.

“Ah!” Laura awoke with a start. She squinted at her surroundings. She was in front of her computer.

“Wow, that was a crazy dream. I must have fallen asleep while writing.” She moved the computer mouse a bit, waking up the screen.

CHAPTER 21

CLIMB

APEN: *Looks up at Ayran, shocked * Ayran Greenway? Fabled Nedarian architect and designer of Greenway?

AYRAN: *Carswell Thorne grin * The very one.

BERLYNE: *is not impressed * What are you doing here, Mister Greenway, and where is “here” anyway?

AYRAN: We are in an old cit

“Huh, I fell asleep mid-sentence. I must have been exhausted.” She turned off her computer and went to bed.

THE END

#tseappreciationweek #tseweek2021 #apen shephard #berlyne alvarado #chara alvarado #joe alvarado #marcus lanum #idony st claire #mr tumnus #narnia #casserole lady #the silver eye #nerdarians

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popurikat · 3 years

Note

Ruin Teresa Agnes career. Aka: the Teresa analysis. Take all the time you need >:3

Okay I’m saying this right off the bat in case someone who stans this character misses the point above, but well I hate Teresa Agnes’ character in the maze series, both movie and book. However, in my analysis I will try to explain why her character misses the mark both as a villain and as a sympathetic character. So, to analyze her in depth, I’m putting this into parts under the read below. HEADS UP! As of now this analysis will exclude Death Cure Novel review as I have not finished that one, though it will mention one major spoiler I have been informed of from that book that I need to add for the sake of her character; other than that I will be discussing the other three novels before it (yes that is including the prequel Fever code) and the three movies from the series in broad ideas as I am not about to scavenge for quotes like I did in my last long post… well at least not as many.

Part 1: Teresa the master manipulator

No matter which way you look at it, Teresa has a way to bend others to her will, whether we blame WCKD for teaching her so well; or she used it as a means of survival, the idea still stands. Though she is extremely skilled in combat, especially at using spears and knives, Teresa’s biggest skill is her silver tongue, she can lie her way out of anything. Most evident is her betrayal in Scorch when she has such a good poker face that she not only convinces group B that Thomas is the problem they have to eradicate to get WCKD’s good side, but she also doesn’t hesitate to maim Thomas to the point of threatening to kill him: “Get in the room or I’ll hit you again. I swear I’ll keep doing it till you pass out or bleed to death” (Ch. 51). /sarcasm/ Charming ain’t she? /end of sarcasm/ The thing about lying though is that sometimes it backfires, for instance in the case of Group B, Harriet and Sonya hear Thomas out on why they shouldn’t kill him like Teresa asked, and when they listen and observe him they realize that Teresa is the worst and side with him; which in turn makes Teresa have to take drastic measures which involve getting Thomas alone with her to finish her duties to WCKD. Anyways, she even goes as far as to cement her betrayal by kissing Aris and crushing Thomas’ feelings by saying they were never a thing; she does this mind you without so much as breaking this character she builds up even though later she tries to say she still cares for Thomas. She is so convincing that Thomas has stated that: “Thomas had never heard such arrogance from her. She was either a really good actress or had started going crazy. Gained a split personality or two” (Ch. 45, Scorch). So yes, Teresa is too good at lying to the point I can say she can align as a Pathological Liar because she’s deceptive, goal-oriented in order to get HER way meaning she will not tolerate anyone interfering with her methods, she disregards the feelings of everyone around her, and she is constantly tweaking her excuses to adjust to the situations at hand. She is so good at lying she oozes self confidence when elaborating her defense by staring directly at the person she is talking to, unblinking, and will lash out in defense if someone calls her out on any inconsistencies.

Mind you this isn’t the first instance we get at how well she turns the story to her favor. In Fever Code, she is the one to help put the Gladers in the maze and erase Thomas’ memories, which transfers in Maze Runner with how she openly gaslights everyone by pretending she doesn’t remember much about WCKD’s doings even though her memories are the only ones implied to be in tact based on that email she wrote in Fever Code: “I’ve just said my goodbye to Thomas, and he’s now in the Glade, safe and sound. Tomorrow, it will be my turn. Dr. Paige has asked me to send a final note to everyone, sharing my thoughts. I’m more than happy to do so. I feel good about the plan to leave my and Aris’s memories intact. You need someone in each group with whom you can communicate and plan during the phases of the Trials”(FC epilogue) and also based on this specific tid bit in Maze Runner where she slips she knows more than she lets on: “Though I guess a Griever can’t squeeze through this window, so I’ll be happy, right?” The mention of Grievers surprised him -- he didn’t remember talking about them to her yet. ‘Teresa are you sure you’ve forgotten everything?”(Ch.37, pg.246). Griever knowledge in general for Teresa in Maze seems to be code talk for “I am here to cause trouble, I kept my memories'' because during the sequence with the fiasco with the invasion of the species in Group A’s field, Teresa casually wakes up after the event’s commotion subsides earning Newt’s suspicion that maybe the map fire was not done on accident. Anyways, in keeping things down low and having an advantage in memory recollection, she ensures Thomas and co. don’t recall events correctly unless it's vital to her mission. And yes, Teresa will use violence and anger if necessary; she is perfectly fine with murder...”So we’re just going to kill them all? [...] They’ll die anyway [...] No, Tom, It’s be tough now or everyone dies later”(Ch. 47, Fever Code). Or even this small aside on her stance on death overall: “This is kind of fun,’ Teresa whispered to Thomas. ‘Walking along with my new friend.’ He looked at her in bemused disbelief. ‘Really? You drop that bombshell about kids dying and now you act like it’s no big deal? You’re so weird.’ He tried to make a joke out of it to hide just how horrified he’s been by her second question” (Ch. 9, pg. 55, FC). And she has killed, mind you, yes they were cranks, but they are still humanly conscious. Thomas in comparison shows pity about the fact that they were still human, Teresa didn’t bat an eye. And now, you might say “Hey Popuri, you know, she’s just willing to kill if it means saving everyone else right?” to which I go, sure she’s stated that if it means saving the rest it doesn’t matter if thousands or so die. However, she is also clear that she only cares about Thomas’ survival in specific, no one else; which immediately gets falsified by her “lie” in Scorch, thus she will kill anyone if need be no matter how close they are. What I’m saying is that not even Teresa has a clear path in why she manipulates everyone when she can so easily be convinced to make elaborate murder scenarios at the snap of WCKD’s fingers. She claims it's to save her “crush” but will not hesitate to shed his blood and drag him across the desert.

She claims it's to help WCKD, that WCKD is good, but she has bore witness time and time again that the facility makes countless errors and knows there's no REAL cure available … and Teresa is a smart kid, so why continue believing a hopeless façade? Because she's desperate to cling to some hope? No. Teresa doesn’t do the whole hope thing, she's convinced WCKD is good period, there's nothing else. So, even if there is no evidence anymore she will fight tooth and nail for something she herself is trapped in because no one will want to be there for the girl who treated her only connections as poorly as WCKD treated her. Therefore, is it because she can’t help it then? I can only imagine that's the case. She’s willingly this puppet for WCKD, she could’ve escaped them any time she liked like Thomas and co. did, but she prefers to stay on the burning train even if it means her own demise because she refuses to admit any of her actions were wrong, the truth will NOT set her free because she cannot confront it.

Moving forward, I wanna delve more into the whole telepathy dealio she specifically shares with Thomas and we actually never really learn if she can talk to others as she evades the question when it does arrive in book. The only certain thing is that if you have a chip, you can talk using your mind. Now this would be a fine plot device, but in the hands of someone who wants to control your every move and thought, well....”Thomas, this is Teresa. He was going crazy. He was actually going crazy. It was the oldest and most common symptom -- hearing voices in your head. ‘Uh...’, he said aloud. Is this working? Is this working? The last words landed between his eyes like a thunderbolt. The pain knocked his legs out from under him and he collapsed onto the floor. Never had the world felt so fluid beneath him, as if nothing solid existed, no form, no substance“ (Ch.20 , pg. 112, FC). So first things first, Thomas hates it when he gets a mind message, he feels extreme pain when someone tries it, this is recurrent throughout the series. He has told her a few times not to contact him through that method, but it's their little secret and besides, if he told anyone who would believe him? “Teresa shrugged. ‘You didn’t tell anyone, did you? They’d think we’re crazy“(Ch.36, Maze Runner). So we have a situation where Teresa has a huge way of overpowering Thomas, she can send images to his head without his consent and yell into his mind even if it means it hurts him. And the kicker? She doesn’t teach him how to use it on purpose. And when he tries to contact her? Well depending on her mood she can either be flirty or... well this: “Teresa? A pause. Teresa? A longer pause. Teresa! He shouted it mentally, his whole body tensing with effort. Teresa! Where are you? Please answer me! Why aren’t you trying to contact me? Ter- /GET OUT OF MY HEAD!/ The words exploded inside his mind, so vivid and so strangely audible within his skull that he felt lances of pain behind his eyes and in his ears. He sat up in bed, then stood. It was her. It was definitely her. Teresa? He pressed the first two fingers of both hands against his temples. Teresa? /WHOEVER YOU ARE , GET OUT OF MY SHUCK HEAD!/ Thomas stumbled backward until he sat down once again on the bed. His eyes were closed as he concentrated. Teresa, what are you talking about? It’s me. Thomas. Where are you? /SHUT UP!/ It was her, he had no doubt, but her mental voice was full of fear and anger /JUST SHUT UP! I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE! LEAVE ME ALONE!/ But, Thomas began completely at a loss [...] /LEAVE ME ALONE, OR I’LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND CUT YOUR THROAT. I SWEAR IT. “ (Ch.8, FC). *sarcasm* ah yes, nothing says true love like a death threat that actually comes to near fruition later in that same book and pretending to not know that person only to later, upon meeting Thomas acting like a sobbing mess, kiss him and disappear...she sure knew him then huh? *end of sarcasm* Having a power imbalance in a relationship is, you know, not good, especially when you’re making it so you gaslight the person anytime they know something you don’t want them to or to have control over the situation. Teresa does this OFTEN. To the point that it makes Thomas so emotionally attached to her he finds it hard to admit he doesn’t need her, even when he’s been badly hurt.

Part 2: Your past does not excuse your bad actions in the present. Period.

Now let me clear something up, PAST ABUSE does not CONDONE you to HURT OTHERS in turn, let alone allows you to use it as an excuse to justify wrong actions. I am aware Teresa, aka Deedee, was abandoned due to an outbreak of the flare at an early age; had her name changed, was confined to a room with Thomas as her only friend who was the same age as her, and openly manipulated by adults to believe WCKD is good. But you know who else goes through the same treatment? LITERALLY EVERY KID EXPOSED TO THIS EXPERIMENT! AND THEY DON’T THREATEN EACH OTHER IF THEY DON’T GET THEIR WAY OR KILL EACH OTHER. And this is not said in order to justify that everyone with the same experiences will have the same reactions, I understand stressors and trauma affect everyone differently and acknowledge everyone needs a different support system. But like, for peeps sake, Thomas who is Teresa’s exact foil as a narrative play to show that they are more alike than they realize which is the flimsiest proof to grab at as to why they need each other to an extent; literally has the exact same story cut and paste from her and he has more empathy and compassion to those around him, than Teresa ever shows. WHY? If the idea is to show Teresa has hardened from her own experiences, she should in theory act more like Brenda, a renegade civilian that isn’t soft for anyone except the boy who will save her. I know in my explanation I compare Thomas and Teresa a lot, but it's hard not to when Teresa, though having Aris as another buddy who is also in on the whole WCKD scheme, still decides to CLING to Thomas to be her saving grace. And the thing is, even if she only ever trusted Thomas in this whole experiment, then why not confide in him or tell him what is happening? She doesn’t LISTEN to anything he says to her in turn. YES, Teresa knows more about the situation as a whole, YES she is capable of doing things by herself, but she never trusts anyone. You’d think she would be more open to talking to the kids her age or be the quiet type because she knows what will happen to them all if they don’t comply; but no, I can’t even describe her personality other than stoic one moment and complete chaos in the next, and she does that switch VERY often. But sure, she prefers to skew half truths and put everyone in danger because ….WCKD? She’s supposed to be the intellectual one and she doesn’t know how to spread her capabilities, no wonder Brenda is introduced in the second book.

It's also incomprehensible to me why she feels it necessary to follow WCKD in general when she was the first to know of all their evil doings? “They were at the door when Teresa stopped and asked Dr. Leavitt a question. Two, actually. And it was enough to change the man’s demeanor completely. ‘What’s a swipe trigger? And is it true that seven kids died during the implant surgeries?’ The questions stunned Thomas. He turned to look at Teresa as the doctor fumbled for an answer. ‘How...’ the man began, then stopped, realizing at the same moment what Thomas did: Teresa had stumbled on something major. Something true”(Ch. 9, pg.54, FC). You’d think she would have the maturity to one up WCKD and knock them from the inside out to save the one she “loves'' but she doesn’t, instead she abides by the facility...even when knowing they are the ones who made the Flare in the first place. Call me naïve, but wouldn’t it make sense that if she wants to help stop the Flare than it would be in her best interest to hold Ava at an inch of her life (and Ratman) until she fesses up how to reverse the Flare, only to then realize oops there never was a possibility for a cure ~, but in knowing this finally be rid of the one thing holding her back? Again, someone can argue that hey, she thinks the people who made it HAVE to eventually find the termination and either way what possible choice does she have when her own manipulators control her? But remember, in the end it's always been a huge experiment to eliminate the human populace, and that's motive enough to rebel and/or snap at the hand that feeds when it's gone too far. EVERYONE has a breaking point mentally and physically, THOMAS BREAKS DOWN SEVERAL TIMES IN THE SPAN OF THE SERIES BECAUSE HE CAN’T MAKE SENSE OF THE EXPERIMENTS AND THE REASON TO CONTINUE SURVIVING ONLY ON WCKDS TERMS. And it drives me insane that Teresa would openly keep the Gladers from knowing about their procedures when she has known the longest from everyone else! Oh? You want evidence that Teresa keeps her memories intact and lies about ever losing them, sure! Here, have a morsel: “Teresa..., he started to say, but then stumbled a void. He had no idea how to respond. Did you....did you already know this stuff? /I’ve heard rumors./ And you never told me? He was stunned. How could she have known this and never said anything? She was his best friend. The first person he went to with everything. /I just don’t see the point. Yes, we have reason to hate these people. But how is dwelling on the past going to help anybody? The solution is what matters./ Thomas had never been so blindsided in his life.../I’m really tired, Tom. Can we talk about it tomorrow?/ She was gone from his mind before he could respond [...] The next day Teresa refused to talk about it, emphasizing that she’d rather focus on the future than the past Dr. Paige also blew it off, saying that those decisions had been made well before her time. it was almost like they were both determined to forget” (Ch. 43, pg. 239, FC). TALK ABOUT BECOMING THE ONE THING THAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO OVERCOME. Like goodness sake, Teresa was part of the prep and launch of putting each Glader into the Maze and she never doubted it, never fussed over how this was bad. The excuse of “this is for their own good, my own good, and the world’s” can only go so far when you are in an environment that is full of violence and trauma, you expect me to not believe Teresa just never broke down and truly analyzed how she can use her lies to one up her own abusers? She’s supposed to be this “empowering” female character and she can’t even get THAT right.

Part 3: How come the films did it better?

The film actually humanizes her a lot more and makes her motives at least justifiable in a fit of protecting the one you love. I know a lot of people dislike her character in the movies because it's more frail and sympathetic, but it was a very good way to justify her motives and plan out her actions from point A to point B. What do I mean by that? Let's take a look. Film Teresa enters the Maze without the ability to communicate to Thomas through telepathy, she still has her memories and she is still in close contact with WCKD, that much is still the same. Her motive though is to get everyone out of the maze and into stage 2 where the facility can round up the ones who have been viewed to be immune through the Maze Trials. So far so good, but pretty on par with the book right? Well, here is where it differs for the best. On the last act of Scorch, Teresa tells Thomas WITH SENTIMENT, no more lies and no more hiding that she contacted WCKD because it was needed to keep Thomas alive and well. WOW, notice how she doesn’t emotionally manipulate him and her innocent nature of trusting the scientists of her world to cure everyone actually leads her to be more sympathetic and relatable to the audience? In Death Cure, she doesn’t expect Thomas or ANYONE to forgive her for her actions and in fact takes her actions at face value. This Teresa is more understanding of the phrase “You can change, but those you’ve wronged have no obligation to forgive you” than book Teresa ever will. To the point that when she finds Thomas in the city and has bore witness to the startling realization that there indeed could be no cure cause her patient flares back up; of which is intentionally a little girl to reflect without showing that she can relate to the Flare stripping away her childhood, she then betrays WCKD by allowing the Gladers to infiltrate the facility, thus redeeming her when she dies in the explosion. Thus, making her in the film's eyes an anti-hero. As Skquill once told me, “Film teresa really did want to create a better future, and wanted to help people and that's what I like about film teresa. It didn't work. It literally blew up in her face. But, she tried, and she saved Thomas in the end.”

The only reason I don’t like Teresa even in the film is because she is kind of a wet blanket there, barely expresses any emotion beyond stoic token girl that cries sometimes, and she could’ve saved herself the whole betrayal arc if she just learned to better communicate her intentions instead of sobbing pathetically every time no one wants anything to do with her for her ill doings.Not to mention she still maintains her personality to a degree from the book (just call her diet Teresa really) because once both enter the sequence in Scorch where they ran out of pawns to move around they claim that they did what they had to do and they wouldn’t change a thing, they’d do it again if they could. It is only when both are at death’s door with no other choice that they give in some noble sacrifice at a chance for redemption, which is well too little too late. And in the opposing corner of knowing some people blame Thomas for not just allowing himself to be experimented on since the beginning, my rebuttal to be fair is that Teresa just again, sucked at explaining herself and the intentions of WCKD until it was deserving of a literal showdown bloodbath that evidently Tommy boy had to take defense to and threaten his life if anyone else died due to miscommunications. ALSO, IT'S HIS OWN BODY, HE CAN DO WHAT HE WANTS WITH IT INSTEAD OF HAVING OTHERS DICTATE WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO.

BUT ANYWAYS, book Teresa in comparison has even less characterization, I am sorry to say. SHE'S BARELY IN SCORCH AS IS, only coming out toward the climax because before that she is crying and kissing Thomas before going MIA for 45 chapters. Ouch. And when she does appear? She purposefully causes trouble that leads to essentially no where, we could’ve gotten to the safe haven way sooner without her interference.

Part 4: Is Book Teresa a good female character?

The simple answer? No.

The slightly longer answer? Even if I were to place her as the villain of the story she’s...not that good? Mostly because again, she acts as a puppet for a rich, governmental organization that basically implants how she should think and act. YET, somehow she is still smart, brave, lethal, and *ahem* UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL WITH HER LONG HAIR THAT IS BASICALLY DESCRIBED THE EXACT SAME WAY AS BRENDA’S, WHO FYI IS THE SLIGHTLY BETTER FEMALE LEAD THAT STILL CAN’T HOLD A COIN TO SONYA OR HARRIET (the background characters) THOUGH. I also need to say plainly, she has no gradual growth, she remains by her ideals and thinks she's right constantly in all but one book...which is one book too late and thus made meaningless. By no means is Teresa a mary sue, yet she still manages to be a stereotype in Maze Runner: “If you’re going to decipher a hidden code from a complex set of different mazes, I’m pretty sure you’ll need a girl’s brain running the show”(ch.43); then again going most of the book in Scorch missing, and then unceremoniously gets crushed by a boulder in Death Cure as her final hurrah for all the bs she caused isn’t really a means to become a memorable character. This is the female supportive character I’m supposed to relate to and or praise for her dastardly, cunning intellect? If I were looking for a strong female with various flaws and a tragic end I would saunter over to Hunger Games’ Katniss instead. Teresa fails as a character the moment that her sole purpose is to be so emotionally/physically attached to Thomas that her whole character gets washed down the gutter so badly that Kill Order had to be made to justify her actions through a tragic backstory. In no way or form was I able to entertain this character as a favorite because she is everything I don’t want to be or befriend, and even as again, a “villain” she doesn’t exactly do much as the real masterminds are Ava and her cronies who MADE the disease and the trials. Even going as far as calling her an anti-hero feels off because none of her actions deliberately affect the plot or progress of our main character’s story. But that's kind of the thing with D*shner’s characterization of females overall? They’re either brutish or simply there. I don’t think any of them even pass the Bechdel Test.

Final thoughts:

I don’t like Teresa, I would personally fight her in a Denny’s parking lot at 3am if I could. I recall saying multiple times how she should just “shut up” as I read Maze and Scorch because most of her quotes are not memorable nor important. But in no way do I blame the character for the angst and tragedy of the novels overall. D*shner just...doesn’t seem to know how to make honest character growth and a decent plot, thus, in turn the story and its leads suffer tremendously as the narrative gets stretched out. (me yelling in the distance about how Crank Palace was made for clout). HOWEVER, In no way should my analysis stop people from finding Teresa as interesting or “cool”, I actually ENCOURAGE anyone that stans her to explain why to me because I personally don’t understand why beyond thinking “I just think she's chaotically evil and her treachery is fun to witness”. COOL IF THAT'S THE REASON OR EVEN IF YOU RE-WROTE HER TO BE BETTER! I just personally don't find her presence necessary for plot progression or as a love interest in general. It in fact sucks that she gets essentially replaced by Brenda almost as soon as the opportunity arises. In turn though, for others who don’t like her either as much as me, feel free to add onto this post any other “Teresa sucks and here's why” moments as I know there's a lot of moments out there to quote or paraphrase. Thanks for reading~

#Maze Runner #Maze Runner Series #Rant #Character dislike #I don't like Teresa #asks #Skquill #Long post

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flarewrites · 4 years

Text

ICU In My Dreams

Pairing: Bakugo Katsuki x Midoriya Izuku︱Rated T ︱Crack, Bad Puns & Pick-up Lines

Sypnosis: High on anesthesia, Katsuki falls for his husband all over again and tries to woo him with extremely bad pick-up lines.

Katsuki wakes up in a hospital bed.

Or maybe he wakes up in heaven that just coincidentally looks like a private hospital room, because damn, is that an angel standing next to his bed?

He cranes his neck to get a better look, which is obviously a bad choice, because instantly, a sharp pain shoots up his neck and Katsuki lets out a string of violent curses.

The angel turns around, and Katsuki’s heart swoops.

He’s got the cutest fucking face Katsuki has ever seen - big round green eyes that sparkle and shit, the cutest fucking nose, and damn those plush kissable lips.

Also, bless the gods, are those freckles?!

He reaches out instinctively to touch one, but the angel grabs his hand and gently pushes it back down.

“Kacchan?” Oh damn this is so unfair, he’s even got a nice voice. “Are you okay? Do you know where you are?”

Katsuki frowns. That’s a goddamn stupid question; of course he knows where he is.

“This is heaven,” He tells Izuku confidently. “Are you the angel assigned to me?”

Izuku blinks at him.

Across the room, someone bursts into laughter.

“Oh man, this is great.” The person says, coming into Katsuki’s view. “Dude, I am so filming this.”

The newcomer has red spikey hair and is decked in some sort of hero gear, although Katsuki can’t wrap his mind around why anyone would fight shirtless. He’s also got really sharp teeth, but despite appearances he seems pretty harmless, though at this point Katsuki doesn’t give a fuck if he’s good or bad. He’ll fight him either way for interrupting their conversation.

“Fuck off,” He growls, much to the amusement of the other. “Can’t you see we’re busy?”

The man snorts. “My bad, bro. Please continue.”

Katsuki would like to, but the fucking moment is ruined, so he leans back and pouts as Izuku checks on him.

“You’re not in heaven, Kacchan.” The green-haired boy tells him, much to his disappointment. “You’re alive, and you’re currently in the hospital fresh out from surgery. I’m the nurse assigned to you.”

Huh. That sucks.

“I want to borrow your phone,” He says instead. “I need to call God because i think i found one of his missing angels.”

Eijiro chokes on his water.

Katsuki promptly ignores him, gazing up expectantly at the not-angel whose face has turned an alarming shade of red.

“You’re high on anaesthetic,” Izuku says, amused. “Kacchan i don’t-”

“Who’s Kacchan?” He demands, annoyed that Izuku hasn’t once used his name. “My name is Bakugo Katsuki. Call me Katsuki.”

“Okay, Katsuki,” The smile on Izuku’s face is fond, but it's obvious that he’s trying not to laugh. “Katsuki, are you hungry?”

“Depends,” Katsuki says, eyeing a particular area of Izuku’s body. “Do you have a footlong?”

At this point, Eijiro isn’t even trying anymore. He laughs so hard he wheezes, and Izuku has to shove another cup of water in his hands before the man dies of oxygen deprivation.

“Man you are so going to hate yourself later,” Eijiro tells Katsuki when he finally stops laughing. “I can’t watch any further and since I have enough blackmail material already, I'll leave you two to it.”

He gives them both a little wave, then turns his heel and promptly exits the room.

Katsuki has never been more glad to see him leave.

“Is he someone i know?” He asks Izuku when it's just the two of them. “Why is he here?”

“He’s one of your best friends,” The other replies. “You two were on patrol when some villains attacked the area, so you went in to help, but they caught you off-guard and you were...impaled.”

Izuku’s voice breaks at the end, and Katsuki’s heart clenches painfully. For some reason he doesn’ t understand, it hurts to hear Izuku’s voice in distraught.

“Did I win?” Katsuki demands in an attempt to distract the other. “Did i kill those stupid villain extras?”

“Hmm?” Izuku looks up at him, and then he nods. “Oh, yes you did.”

Well, that’s great news. So why does the green-haired male look so crest-fallen?

“Listen, angel,” He says, reaching forward to grab the other’s hand. “Keep your evening free, I want to take you on a date.”

Izuku stares at him. “I already have plans tonight.”

“What about tomorrow?” Katsuki suggests. “Or the day after tomorrow.”

“I’m not quite sure my husband will appreciate it,” Izuku says, the corner of his mouth lifting a little. “You see, he can be quite the possessive type.”

Katsuki tries not to feel so dejected. Of fucking course this beautifiul man is already taken.

“I don’t see a wedding ring,” He mentions, carefully examining the others’ left hand. “Your husband doesn’t have to know. It can be our dirty little secret.”

Alright, in his defense, Katsuki is not in his right mind, and definitely a little love drunk. He’s a lot of things, but certainly not a homewrecker because fuck you, he does have morals.

“I take my ring off for work because I don't want to lose it,” Izuku says patiently, watching in amusement as Katsuki scowls at the additional information. “Even so, I'm not going to cheat on him with you.”

Katsuki pouts. “But I'm a catch.”

“So is he,” Izuku replies, giggling.

Katsuki is getting very annoyed at this nurse’s “husband”, but he’s been known to fight for what he wants, so he isn’t going to give up so easily.

“I can be better than him,” He declares. “I’ll win him in a fight. Call him over now, I'll fight him.”

Izuku stares at him for a while, and then the nurse bursts out laughing.

Katsuki hasn’t been more confused in his life. What part of that sentence was funny?

“You’re my husband, dumbass.” Izuku says, green eyes swimming with mirth. “Also, you’re not fighting anyone. You can barely even walk!”

Wait a minute. He’s his what now?

“I’m your husband?” Katsuki asks, bewildered. “What? How? When?”

“We've been married for a few year,” Izuku is handing him a cup of pills now . “It’s time for your medicine. Eat these and sleep first. We’ll talk when you wake up.”

Katsuki frowns at the small plastic cup. He doesn’t want to sleep, he just wants to talk to his husband. “I don’t need all these. All I need is some Vitamin You.”

Izuku snorts. “Would you like some vitamin D while you’re at it?”

“Can i?”

Izuku winks at him. “If you take these like a good boy.”

Yeah, Katsuki has never scoffed down pills as fast as he did now, so imagine his disappointment when Izuku merely gives him a peck on the cheek before turning to leave.

What the fuck. He’s never felt so betrayed.

“You promised,” Katsuki says petulantly. “At least give me a proper kiss.”

He watches in satisfaction as Izuku turns back to him and sighs.

“You’re such a big baby,” His husband complains, but leans down to press a chaste kiss on Katsuki’s lips. “Sleep, or i won’t be here when you wake up.”

“I’ll divorce your ass,” He grumbles, pouting when Izuku gives him a pointed look. “Fucking fine, i’m sleeping!”

He’s not though. Well, until Izuku steps out of the room, he’s going to be as awake as he can so he can watch that mighty fine ass leave. It really is a great ass, Katsuki thinks, peeking from one slightly opened eye. How-

“Kacchan!”

Fuck, he’s been caught.

Katsuki tries to look less guilty when Izuku strides towards his bedside once more, arms crossed and mouth pinched into a thin line.

“I’m not leaving until you sleep,” He says sharply. “Kacchan, you really need to sleep to get better.”

“I don’t want you to go,” Katsuki says, fighting the sudden urge to close his eyes, because fuck why are his eyelids suddenly so heavy? “I want to talk more.”

“We can talk when you’re better,” Izuku says, and oh no, his voice suddenly sounds so far away. “Sleep, Kacchan.”

“But-!”

“Sleep,” Izuku says again, gently pushing him backwards. His head hits the pillow and then everything goes black.

The last thing he sees are those wide, sparkling green eyes before he lets his consciousness get pulled under.

----------

Eijiro plays the video for Katsuki when he visits him the day after he’s discharged and Katsuki nearly burns the whole apartment down with his second-hand embarrassment.

“I did not just ask if you have a footlong, what the fuck.” Katsuki whispers, horrified. He wants to go back in time and strangle himself. “Fuck you, Shitty hair, delete that.”

“Nah,” The damn bastard leaps out of his reach, and Katsuki is way too comfortable to catch his ass so he flips him off instead. “This shit will go down in history, my man. It's priceless.”

Izuku, his little shit of a husband, is still laughing even after the video ends. Katsuki would know, because the green-haired male is currently curled up next to him, and he can feel his whole body shaking.

“For what it’s worth, I thought it was cute.” Izuku says, wiping the tears away from his eyes. “I was worried sick when you came in all bloodied and unconscious, but it was a relief to see you be your usual self.”

Eijrou stops sipping his tea and stares.

Katsuki has the sudden urge to blast himself to space.

“What,” Eijiro says carefully, setting his cup down. “Did you say?”

Izuku doesn’t seem to catch wind of the situation - or maybe he does, since Katsuki didn’t marry him for his innocence - because he cocks his head to one side, and says, “Kacchan occasionally-mmph!”

Eijiro never gets to hear what Katsuki occasionally does; he’s too busy vacating their apartment like his ass is on fire because knowing his best friend, it might just be if he’s late by a fraction of a second.

He slams the door shut and prays Izuku makes it out alive.

Posted on AO3 too :D

#boku no hero academia #bnha #bnha fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #bakudeku #katsudeku #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #bakugou x midoriya #bakudeku fanfic #bad pick up lines #bad puns

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blossom-hwa · 4 years

Note

also since the drabbles request is going to close soon, i thought this might be a good way to end it: how would your biases (across different groups) interact with one another if they're in the same room 👀 -baker anon (loosely inspired by the texts you made recently bc i LOVE THEM SO MUCH😍😍)

ANON OKAY SO I KNOW YOU SAID YOU WANT MY BIASES INTERACTING BUT ASLKDJGHA I THOUGHT. WHAT IF THEY ALL INTERACT AT WORK. SO THIS IS JUST SOME OF THEM BEING FUCKING IDIOTS AT THE MALL CENTER THEY WORK AT LKSJHDLG I’M SORRY IF THIS ISN’T WHAT YOU WANTED

3-year anniversary drabble game: send me an NCT/WAYV/Stray Kids/The Boyz member + a prompt (check out the post for ideas) and I’ll write a drabble for you!

I know this isn’t all of tbz but trying to fit all 11 of them in was overwhelming I’M SORRY

Title: Mall Shenanigans

Pairing: no pairings, just the boyz and stray kids being dumb

Triggers: a lot of cursing, suicidal jokes (again, along the lines of ‘pls kill me’ but if you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts I wouldn’t read this)

cafe workers:

chan: better than tony

changbin: chingban

jisung: gremlin

chanhee: new kid

jacob: angel

tutoring center workers:

seungmin: seungman

jeongin: you better watch your foxing mouth

sangyeon: papi

kevin: moon scribblez

eric: the better jae

build a bear workers:

minho: lino

hyunjin: hyun

felix: fel(e)x

changmin: starbucks tissues

juyeon: professional rollerblader

better than tony: if Jacob didn’t exist you all would be dead

chingban: as in you would’ve killed us

chingban: or he’s prevented us from accidentally killing ourselves ?

gremlin: both

new kid: both

better than tony: both

chingban: fair

angel: :( stop hurting yourselves accidentally

angel: it hurts me :/

gremlin: oh my god his power

gremlin: with one single emoticon he changes my entire life perspective

new kid: see I'd say the same except Jacob tries to convince me on the daily that my only life goal shouldn’t be to put changmin in the grave

better than tony: that... that shouldn’t be your life goal

angel: ^^^

chingban: idk if someone scares you that much with a horror movie mask I think you’ve got a right to murder

angel: changbin

angel: n o

gremlin: idk I think it says something more about chanhee

new kid: say what bitch

gremlin: if you keep getting scared I think there’s something wrong with you

new kid: says the little BITCH who got startled by someone DROPPING THEIR COFFEE yesterday and legitimately SCREAMED

chingban: you say this as if you aren’t the biggest coward on the planet jisung

gremlin: did I ever deny there was something wrong with me???????

angel: STOP there is nothing wrong with you all

better than tony: idk I think there is

better than tony: there’s something wrong with all of us

better than tony: except maybe Jacob

new kid: Jacob just put his head in his hands

angel: all of you have a horrible self-destructive and self-deprecating instinct and I don’t appreciate it :/

gremlin: Jacob I will do my best to take your words to heart

gremlin: I will listen to you unlike these other assholes

new kid: you might take his words to heart but your actions prove you can’t handle them

gremlin: try me bitch

chingban: did you already forget the time you set a refrigerator on fire?

better than tony: PLEASE don’t remind me

angel: maybe we shouldn’t bring that up

better than tony: you were all horrible

better than tony: jisung just laughed

better than tony: changbin went home

better than tony: seungmin and jeongin came over to take pictures of me while I was about to cry

better than tony: only Jacob comforted me :/

gremlin: and this is why we only listen to Jacob

chingban: ^^^

new kid: ^^^

new kid: he’s the only one who has a truly good heart

better than tony: why can’t I inspire this kind of loyalty??

angel: chan has a good heart too :/

gremlin: maybe so but

gremlin: he’s a complete mess and is easier to clown than listen to

new kid: ^^^

chingban: ^^^

better than tony: watch me just commit die

angel: no don’t commit die come here I'll give you a hug

better than tony: I like Jacob more than all of you combined

chingban: um

gremlin: did you think we were going to get offended?

new kid: news flash we all like Jacob more than we like you

better than tony: on an ordinary day I would be crying

better than tony: today I am fine because Jacob is giving me hugs and not you assholes

better than tony: suck it <3

chingban: I hate it when he’s right

new kid: :/

gremlin: I'm going to set the refrigerator on fire again if I don’t get Jacob hugs right now !

new kid: I thought you said you didn’t know how you set it last time?

gremlin: I can still try

angel: no don’t do that I'm coming to hug you now!

gremlin: :D

better than tony: can’t believe jisung bribed Jacob into leaving me to give him hugs

chingban: just shows he’s smarter than you

better than tony: remember how jisung said he’d haunt this cafe if he died and I said I'd just enjoy being dead?

better than tony: starting to consider Jisung’s plan :)

new kid: terrifying

chingban: horrifying

gremlin: I can hear the deadpan ringing through the cafe and it honestly gives me life

better than tony: I hate you all

new kid: so do we <3

angel: :(

watch your foxing mouth: sangyeon you’re fucking evil

papi: ?

seungman: it’s eric’s first week and you’ve already given him ashley twice

seungman: are you trying to make him quit?

moon scribblez: I entirely agree with what they just said

moon scribblez: we’re already low on staff because everyone graduated last year and you’re trying to run eric out of a job too???????

papi: look eric handles her much better than all of you do

papi: I think he’s doing fine

the better jae: I’M NOT FUCKING FINE

watch your foxing mouth: the proof is in the fucking pudding

moon scribblez: pudding?

watch your foxing mouth: it’s an expression

watch your foxing mouth: your canadian ass wouldn’t know

moon scribblez: I'm going to stick a pin on your chair

the better jae: SANGYEON WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

the better jae: YOU TOLD ME THIS JOB WAS LOW KEY AND CHILL

papi: it kind of is

the better jae: NOT WHEN YOU PUT ASHLEY AT MY TABLE EVERY SINGLE TIME SHE COMES IN

papi: but you’re handling her so much better than the other three combined :/

watch your foxing mouth: I take offense to that

papi: ignoring her is not a valid strategy jeongin

watch your foxing mouth: well it’s better than seungmin visibly getting frustrated

seungman: well at least I'm trying

seungman: kevin just lets her draw jfc

moon scribblez: look I'm a junior in college and I'm on the verge of just faceplanting into the ocean from a thousand meter cliff I don’t have the time or energy to deal with a bitch who wants to draw and not learn math

papi: do you see what I mean now Eric???????????

the better jae: I'm this fucking close to losing my shit sangyeon I Do Not Care

the better jae: the next time she comes in on my shift I better not have her

papi: fine :/

seungman: did

watch your foxing mouth: oh my god

seungman: DID ASHLEY JUST SAY TO SANGYEON THAT ERIC IS HER FAVORITE ISNTRUCTOR ALREADY

moon scribblez: [ 1 image attached ]

moon scribblez: I think we need to glory in the horror on Eric’s face

watch your foxing mouth: she’s going to ask for Eric every time now oh god

the better jae: I'm not fucking do this I'll quit first

papi: pls no

papi: I don’t want to hunt for more tutors :/

the better jae: you better not fucking put her at my table every time I'm here !

seungman: just make sure your table is full

watch your foxing mouth: foolproof

the better jae: I guess :/

moon scribblez: working here is such an experience

moon scribblez: minho and chan threaten to fire their kids every other day

moon scribblez: meanwhile we’re the ones threatening to quit every other day

seungman: well what the fuck did you expect from tutoring a bunch of rich assholes four times a week

watch your foxing mouth: ^^

papi: not all of them are assholes guys

seungman: oh we know this very well

watch your foxing mouth: Alex is a fucking blessing to this earth

the better jae: so is Kaylee

seungman: but people like max? ashley? nina?

seungman: they outweigh any good that comes out of here

papi: well if you think the kids are shit imagine the parents

watch your foxing mouth: I hate to say it but sangyeon has a point

moon scribblez: I guess he deserves some pity

papi: finally some respect in this fucking household

the better jae: not on my watch

the better jae: I respect the sacrifices you make

the better jae: but I'm still quitting if you keep sending Ashley to my table

papi: sigh

moon scribblez: and I'm quitting if I find another cockroach in a mop

watch your foxing mouth: THERE WAS A NOTHER ON E???????

papi: bigger sigh

moon scribblez: WORSE

moon scribblez: THE LAST TIME I SHOOK OUT THE MOP T H R E E STUPID FUCKING COCKROACHES CRAWLED OUT

moon scribblez: YEJI HAD TO KILL THEM FOR ME

papi: I'm giving up on gaining respect

moon scribblez: you’ll gain my respect when we get this fucking place fumigated

watch your foxing mouth: aren’t the kids rich? what the fuck are they paying for this? why can’t we afford some roach spray jfc

papi: that’s the owners’ call

papi: and the owners are assholes

moon scribblez: headdesk

seungman: wow he really did just slam his head down on the table

the better jae: thank god we’re already closed

papi: thank god for that I can leave and not deal with you for the rest of today

watch your foxing mouth: oh don’t worry we’ll be back tomorrow <3

seungman: <3

the better jae: <3

moon scribblez: <3

papi: every day I wake up and face an existence of pain

lino: who’s taking the front today and who’s working the back

lino: for once all of you are here today so you don’t have to work two jobs at once how nice

hyun: I CALL THE BACK

fel(e)x: SO DO I

professional rollerblader: fuck

starbucks tissues: I brought my nun mask today does anyone want to switch?

hyun: is that

hyun: is that a threat

starbucks tissues: it’s whatever you want it to be <3

hyun: I know better but I'm going to assume it’s just a fun fact

hyun: I can’t deal with children today

starbucks tissues: I guess I have free reign then

fel(e)x: now that sounds like a threat

lino: no threats at work

starbucks tissues: so outside of work is fair game?

lino: yes

hyun: mINHO YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME TO THE WOLVES LIKE THIS

lino: who the fuck is the wolf? changmin?

fel(e)x: he’s just a sweet boy don’t be mean hyunjin :/

professional rollerblader: bitch about changmin again and I'll cut you in half

hyun: WHY AM I BEING ATTACKED

professional rollerblader: that’s what you get for attacking changmin

starbucks tissues: I love juyeon and felix

starbucks tissues: <3 <3 <3 <3

hyun: I feel like

hyun: changmin is the favorite child and I'm just cast off to the side

fel(e)x: who’s the child

fel(e)x: he’s literally older than both of us

hyun: it’s an ANALOGY

professional rollerblader: well it isn’t a good one

hyun: oh fuck OFF we know you always have a soft spot for changmin asshole

lino: deadass thought that read changmin’s asshole for a second and nearly spit out my coffee

starbucks tissues: MINHO PLEASE

fel(e)x: minho I did not need that image in my mind

professional rollerblader: petition to murder Minho in international uncharted waters and dumb his body overboard

starbucks tissues: seconded

hyun: CAN WE GET BACK TO THE POINT

hyun: ALL OF YOU HAVE SOFT SPOTS OR ARE TERRIFIED OF CHANGMIN AND I GET PASSED OVER EVERY TIME

fel(e)x: I mean changmin’s just more likable

professional rollerblader: he’s cuter

lino: I'm terrified of him

starbucks tissues: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

hyun: I'm quitting this fucking job

lino: oh wow nice usually it’s me who threatens to fire you but now you’re taking initiative!

professional rollerblader: clap for hyunjin!

fel(e)x: *claps*

starbucks tissues: *claps*

hyun: I want to die I want to fucking die

starbucks tissues: I can bring out the mask!

hyun: I honestly might take you up on that

hyun: give me a fucking heart attack so I can die and haunt you all for the rest of your pitiful lives

professional rollerblader: you’d honestly be the pitiful one

professional rollerblader: literally got scared to death

fel(e)x: Juyeon has a solid point

starbucks tissues: agreed !

lino: this is why I hired juyeon he’s so smart

hyun: are you all purposefully forgetting the time sangyeon fooled him into thinking he had some strange wild disease

lino: hmm on any other day I'd clown him for it but you’re more clownable today so I'll just ignore that

starbucks tissues: I like juyeon more than you so I'm ignoring it too <3

fel(e)x: ^^^^^^^^^

hyun: brb gonna jump off the third floor

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little-horror-girl-love · 3 years

Text

WIP Excerpt

Just for shits and giggles, I thought I would post the prologue from my current WIP, Monsters. Enjoy!

* * *

“Are you going out again tonight?” Gia asked, watching as her mother paused in the middle of undressing. Her mother straightened up in slight surprise, then breathed a silent exhale before turning a gentle smile back at her darling daughter. Gia knew that smile; her mother wore it whenever she’d been caught doing something she was trying to hide. She had seen her mother flash that smile only once before, when she’d walked in to find her constructing a Guardian coat.

“What are you doing awake at this hour, little one?” her mother asked, stepping forward and fully opening the bedroom door from which Gia was peeking through. “My darling, you should be in bed. It’s late, and you need to wake up early tomorrow.” She smiled and ran her fingers through Gia’s hair. “You begin training for your role in the morning.”

“I know,” Gia said, crossing the room and climbing onto the bed. “But why are you going out?” Her mother paused again, her eyes dropping to the floor in defeat. She’d been caught again—she knew she could no longer keep this secret. “Why do you go out at night?”

Her mother glanced back up at her, briefly thinking her words over, before continuing to undress in silence. Gia understood and remained quiet; she knew better than to press. It would only lead to more silence, as well as a brief annoyed look. She simply sat quietly and watched her mother dress, patiently waiting for her to answer in her own time.

As expected, her mother dressed in masculine clothing—specifically, the assigned uniform of the Guardians: white sleeveless button-up shirt, black trousers, grey running boots, and a long black, lightweight coat. Gia had known for a long time that her mother was going out on the Guardians’ assigned nights, sneaking into the surrounding woods to join them in battling the Beasts.

She had never seen the Beasts, herself—the Guardians made sure of that. Their job was to protect the village from the Beasts, and they would venture out into the woods and battle the unseen creatures. Oftentimes, Gia would overhear the more experienced Guardians boast about how many of the creatures were slain.

From what she’d heard around the village, the Beasts were canine-like in appearance. They had the body structures and faces of wolves, but were around the size of cows, maybe even horses at the absolute largest. Their eyes glowed red in the darkness, their jagged fangs glinted in the moonlight, and their large claws were sharp enough to leave deep gashes in tree trunks. Sometimes, the Guardians would bring back the slain creatures’ pelts to be made into coats and shawls by the Seamstresses; their fur was pitch-black and coarse in texture.

Gia hoped she would go her whole life without ever encountering these monsters.

Once her mother was fully dressed, she turned back to Gia with a worried frown on her face.

“Gianna,” she started, then shook her head before kneeling down beside the bed and reaching under it. “Your father.” Gia stiffened at the mention of her father. She’d never known him, for he’d disappeared not long before she was born. All she knew about him was the descriptions her mother gave: a lean man of tall stature, a kind look in his eyes, and dark hair that’d been slowly greying, despite being quite young; a helpful person who wouldn’t hesitate to assist those in need; and a loving husband who was excited at the prospect of being a father. That was all she knew.

“What about him?” she asked, watching as her mother pulled a large wooden trunk from under the bed. She voiced a silent gasp as her mother opened its lid, looking over the weapons that laid inside. Swords, knives, a crossbow and arrows. These were the typical weapons of a Guardian. Gia held her breath in anticipation as her mother selected each weapon from the trunk and began to load up. The arrows and crossbow were slung over her shoulders, the knives were stored inside her coat, and the swords were holstered at her hips.

“Those monsters,” her mother breathed, returning to her feet before turning her soft gaze back to Gia. “They’re the cause of your father’s disappearance.” This revelation came as the kind of shock where you couldn’t react at first; it took a moment for those words to register in Gia’s head, and her eyes widened in horror once they did.

“They…killed him?” she murmured, clutching at the hem of her nightgown. Her mother’s lips were set in a straight line, and she hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

“I was…informed of this sometime ago,” she explained, turning an angry glare toward the window. “I will avenge him.” Gia turned her own worried gaze toward the window as well, terrified of the idea that her mother was going out and fighting these creatures. She feared the idea that her mother would fall in battle, be brutally mauled by the Beasts. What would she do without her mother? She had no other family in the village.

Her mother noticed her worried expression before taking a seat on the edge of the bed, a warm smile stretching across her lips.

“Do not worry,” she reassured. “I will always come back. Especially when I have your charm on hand.” Gia’s head perked up at the mention of that, managing a little smile.

This crafting of charms was a tradition set by the village’s third Elder. From what Gia had learned in school, the third Elder received a handmade charm from her grandchild made from a stone, strings, and anything else they could find, supposedly to bring her good health and protection. The Elder was so touched by this gesture, she’d made it a tradition: once the village’s children reached the age of nine, they were to craft a charm to bring good health and protection to their parents. A way to honor the parents of the village, and what better way to honor them than with a thoughtful gift from the little loves of their lives?

“It’ll protect you,” Gia beamed, earning a more genuine smile from her mother. “You always carry it when you go out at night, right?” Her mother nodded before returning to standing.

“Yes, always. As long as I have it, I will always return home safely,” she affirmed. “Now, you must go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.” Gia’s smile faded to an unsure frown, and she turned a nervous glance toward the bedroom door.

“May I sleep here tonight?” Her mother chuckled and nodded, darting a slightly impatient glimpse back toward the door.

“Of course you may,” she said, motioning for Gia to get under the covers with a sweeping motion of the hand. Gia obeyed and crawled under the blankets, laying back as her mother tucked her in and planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

“I love you, my sweet Gianna,” her mother whispered, turning and heading toward the door. Before she could cross the threshold, she paused and turned back to her dear daughter. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Gia nodded, blowing a kiss to her mother as she closed the door. She listened to her mother’s receding footsteps, and the distant sound of the front door opening and closing. She will be safe, she told herself. She has my charm.

She laid frozen for a moment longer before curling up and closing her eyes, listening to the distant sounds of the night outside. The crickets chirping, the wind whistling through the leaves of the trees, and the occasional howl of the faraway Beasts. She squirmed at the sounds, the worry she’d felt earlier returning to the forefront of her mind.

The return of this worry made it difficult for her to fall asleep, something that brought a small sense of annoyance to her. She needed to fall asleep, or else she would be an exhausted mess for her training tomorrow.

She tossed and turned for what felt like hours before finally sitting up in irritation, rubbing her eyes. Perhaps a drink of water would help her; it usually did when she had problems sleeping at night. She flinched at another distant howl, then pulled the covers back and slipped out of bed. The wooden floor creaked under her weight as she tip-toed out of the room and to the front room.

The jugs of water were kept in the cupboard beside the door, and she almost reached it before something sitting on the countertop caught her attention. The little stone glittering in the moonlight made her eyes widen in horror.

Her charm.

Her mother had forgotten it.

“Did I…?” She couldn’t even finish that statement, the idea that she’d caused her mother to forget it too horrifying for her to say aloud. No, her mother couldn’t forget it—it kept her safe while she was out fighting. It would allow her mother to return home safely. If she didn’t have it, what would happen?

She didn’t allow herself to think about it any longer, as she rushed back to her bedroom and threw open her wardrobe. She dressed in her dressing gown and a pair of boots, then ran back to the front room and grabbed the charm. She would bring this to her mother, even if she was disobeying the village’s rules by doing so. No one other than the Guardians was allowed in the forest at night; it was too dangerous. But she wasn’t going to let her mother get hurt or even killed because she made her forget to take her charm.

She took a deep breath before stepping out of the house, glancing around at the village as she closed the door behind herself. She’d never seen the village at night; it was so quiet and peaceful. To think that, without the Guardians, nighttime in the village would be so different. There’d be Beasts wandering around, maybe breaking into the houses and attacking the inhabitants.

She swallowed the fearful lump in her throat as she turned back toward the woods, terrified. Her mind raced with thoughts of encountering a Beast—that was the last thing she wanted. She stayed where she was for a second, contemplating her mission, then glanced down at the charm in her hand. It was supposed to bring protection to her mother, so maybe it’d do the same for her.

With that thought in mind, she breathed deeply before trotting toward the woods.

* * *

The woods were much darker than the village; it seemed the moonlight didn’t penetrate the forest grounds. It was a full moon tonight, and yet it did nothing to illuminate Gia’s surroundings. She briefly considered going back and grabbing a lantern, but dismissed this; that’d make her easily spotted by the Beasts. If anything, perhaps the darkness was a good thing, as it kept her hidden.

She flinched at a sudden yelp coming from somewhere near her, though she managed to keep her startled gasp quiet. It sounded like a dog that had been injured—it must’ve been a Beast, perhaps hurt by a Guardian. She dry-swallowed before continuing deeper into the woods, keeping the charm clutched in her fist.

Soon enough, the sounds of battle surrounded her. Growls and snarls, howls, yelps, groans of pain, and grunts of effort came from every direction, thankfully never coming too close to her. She looked around as she ran, her eyes beginning to adjust to the darkness. Every so often, she caught a glimpse of a silhouette in the distance, the shapes of humans fighting canine-like monsters.

Please, mother, she thought, stopping beside a large tree and crouching down beside it. She wanted to remain as invisible as possible, even if she was fully hidden by the darkness. Where are you?

A brief thought crossed her mind that her mother had already fallen in battle, a thought that made her shudder and shake her head, trying to purge this image from her mind. She hoped that her mother was all right, so that she could deliver the charm to her.

She stood back up to continue her mission, then paused as her hand brushed against an odd texture on the tree. She looked it over for a moment, her eyes widening at the large scratches displayed upon it. Three large gashes, deep enough to cause concern. These animals must’ve been extremely strong to inflict gashes this deep.

A soft whimper escaped her lips as she gathered her thoughts and trotted away, glancing around as she did. Where was her mother? She had to be around somewhere. She had to be.

She froze as her eyes focused on something up ahead, and she silently crept forward and knelt down beside a large bush.

Her mother. It had to be her mother; she could tell by the long hair pulled back into a ponytail. None of the Guardians had hair this long, considering they were men; the longest they wore their hair was about shoulder-length. Yes, this had to be her mother.

Her mother was facing away from her, in a stand-off against a pair of eyes that glowed red in the darkness. A Beast. Her eyes widened in horror as they returned to her mother. She was in the middle of a fight, but they weren’t attacking each other. Were they hurt?

“Mother,” she squeaked out. Her mother flinched, and slowly turned back to face her. Her eyes were widened in shock and fear as they looked Gia up and down.

“You…” she breathed. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Mother, you forgot your charm.” Her mother shook her head, then turned a quick glance back toward the red eyes before suddenly turning back to Gia and rushing toward her.

“No!” she yelled out, the urgency in her voice causing Gia to clamp her eyes shut in fear. The Beast must’ve been charging, and she didn’t want to see more than its eyes. She was already terrified at the prospect of having come across her mother in the middle of a fight.

The sound of something tearing made her flinch, and the following sounds of her mother grunting in pain and a low growling made her heart jump into her throat. She was too afraid to open her eyes, afraid that her mother was hurt.

“G…Gia,” her mother’s soft voice rasped, and she winced before forcing her eyes open. The sight before her made her instantly regret this action, and her eyes widened in horror as her hands flew to her mouth.

Her mother was kneeling before her, a dark liquid dripping from her paling lips. Behind her, a large shape with glowing red eyes, its glinting fangs embedded in her body. The Beast, it’d clamped its jaws down on her torso. Gia whimpered at this sight, tears springing to her eyes.

“Mother…I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I…I just wanted you to be safe.” Her mother weakly nodded, placing a trembling hand to Gia’s head.

“I know,” she choked out, her hand slipping from where she’d placed it on Gia’s head before hanging limp. “Gia, I…I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” Gia asked, the tears now oozing down her cheeks. She flinched as the Beast released her mother from its jaws, allowing her to drop down to the ground. Her mother managed a fading glance back up at Gia before her breathing stilled and the life in her eyes vanished. Gia’s breath caught in her throat at this sight, of her mother dead before her.

“Mother, why?” she exclaimed. “Why are you sorry?” A brief, choked sob escaped her lips before her breathing hitched as the Beast approached her. She looked the creature over in horror, its appearance matching the descriptions she’d heard. Its red eyes looked her over intently as it leaned forward and sniffed her face. She did nothing to move; she couldn’t, as the sight before her had left her completely paralyzed. All she could do was watch as the Beast sniffed her face, ready to kill her.

But that never happened. Instead, it stepped back before turning and running deeper into the forest. She watched it vanish into the shadows before returning her tear-filled gaze to her mother’s body.

“Mother…” she squeaked out, glancing down at the charm in her hand. This was her fault. She caused her mother to forget the charm, and then caused her mother’s death by distracting her from the battle. Why did she come here?

“Hey!” A man’s voice, and she flinched as she turned her attention up to a man running over to them. She knew him: he was the captain of the Guardians, and therefore the trainer of the boys who received that role. She couldn’t think of his name now; her mind was too numb to think.

“My mother…” she murmured, to which the captain knelt down beside her, switching his attention between her and her mother.

“What happened?” he asked, motioning to her mother’s body with his eyes. She kept her gaze on the body before her, squeezing the charm in her hand. She could feel the edges of the rock digging into her palm, breaking the skin and drawing blood, but she only turned a brief glance down at it before dropping it from her grasp. She hated the sight of it; if not for her own naivety based on the myth behind this item, her mother would be alive.

“The monster…” she choked out. The captain glanced down at her mother again before moving to scoop her up in his arms. She allowed him to, since she still felt like she couldn’t move.

“It’s all right, girl,” he assured, glancing up as another Guardian came running up. This one was younger, still a teenager; perhaps this was one of his first nights out. The captain looked the teenage Guardian up and down before holding Gia out to him. “Garaile, take the girl back to the village. I’ll take care of the body.” The boy—Garaile—nodded before taking Gia in his arms and heading back in the direction of the village.

“What were you doing out here?” Garaile whispered to her once they were a decent amount of distance away from the captain and her mother. “There’s a reason no one’s allowed in the woods at night.

#wip excerpt #writeblr #monsters

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