#someone please help this is so much more confusing than python

[haunting-system]

I think the current co-front combination of Connie and Imogen is incapable of ending in anything but disaster, Connie had an idea for a Sims storyline involving a hypothetical mod for the simray/spellcasters that swaps the gender of another sim, so now Imogen has gone down a rabbithole of trying to learn to mod the sims because with the simray specifically it seems pretty easy, just override the "transform sim" interaction so it changes their gender settings instead of just their hair and race

[typhos-c-dragon]

perhabs,, early relationship, Paul wanting affection but being anxious and not knowing how to go about it?

Ceej, you understand me and my Paul hcs on a spiritual level, thank you for my rights and an excuse to write soft nonsense. It's uh... It's a little long.

Being in an honest-to-god romantic relationship was taking a bit of re-getting used to for Paul. He hadn't dated anyone since college, and suddenly wham, he's head over heels for a cute, snarky barista who seems to return his affections. It was odd, but no less wonderful, feeling his heart flutter in his chest whenever Emma so much as smiled at him. He hadn't felt this way about someone in damn near a decade, and then this beautiful 5'0 biology student walked into his life, and god, his brain just didn't know how to handle it.

Paul and Emma had started seeing each other around late October, hooking up in the Beanies break room during a Halloween party her boss Nora had thrown. It was mid-December now, a week and a half before Christmas, and things were still going strong between them. Though there had been... something strange on Paul's mind for a few weeks now, something that had never bothered him before in his past relationships.

Paul was a tactile guy with people he liked, something his friends all knew well. He was never sure exactly how he'd rank the five love languages as applied to himself, but touch was definitely his number one. Casual shoulder squeezes and light nudges were common gestures of his among friends, as Bill could easily attest. With romantic partners, this was cranked up a bit. Lots of light kisses to their temple or resting his hand on their back, stuff like that. It was always the easiest way for him to show that he cared. His partners... were never as tactile as him. It was very all give and no take on Paul's end when it came to physical affection, and he hadn't really minded it. At least, he was pretty sure he hadn't...

But now? With Emma? Her touch was something he actively craved. And it's not as if Emma never touched him outside of sex, far from it, she was probably the most physically affectionate partner Paul had ever had. She held his hand, kissed his cheek, cuddled up against him during movie nights, and gave him playful little jabs in the side when he was being a smartass. But she wasn't quite as casually affectionate as Paul was with her, and he couldn't help but wish she was.

And sweet jesus christ, did Paul find it embarrassing. It made him feel like some dopey lovesick teenager whenever he thought about it. Like, what was he supposed to do? Ask her to touch him more often? He'd sound like a total fucking weirdo if he tried to explain it to her. But still, he couldn't help but think about it a lot.

It had been a lazy Sunday evening, the one day of the week when neither half of the couple had work. And of course, they were... taking advantage of their day off, as it were. On Paul's living room couch, no less. They'd just finished up, and Emma had gone off to use his shower and whatnot. After washing up a bit, Paul had promptly put some comfy sleepwear on (because it was December in Michigan and Paul was not one to lounge around in the nude with temperatures like that outside), and was now absentmindedly channel surfing whilst laying on the couch.

Nearly half an hour later, Emma had emerged from the bathroom, hair tied into a braid and clad in a bright red hoodie that Paul recognized as his own. He couldn't help but smile, it was so big on her, and she looked adorable in it.

"Find anything to watch while I was in there?" she asked.

"Hallmark movies, a bunch of stock Christmas faire, and like three separate Harry Potter marathons," Paul replied. "None of which I'm particularly interested in watching, so we might have to retreat to the DVD shelf again."

Emma shrugged. "Hey, fine by me, TV edits are usually garbage fires anyway," she said. She strode over to the other side of the living room, where Paul kept his DVDs, and eyed the shelf. After a minute or two, she plucked a case off the shelf, snickering. "Monty Python: Life of Brian, that's a Christmas movie, right?"

"Absolutely," Paul quipped. "Anything can be a Christmas movie if you stretch the definition enough."

"Good, because I wanna watch Monty Python."

After popping the disk in, she turned back to the couch, and Paul sat up to give her some room. As she sat back down, Paul took in the sight of her. God, she was lovely. And she looked so cozy in his hoodie, it was hard not to find the sight of her absolutely heart-melting. His heart fluttered a bit, he was getting that feeling again. Unfortunately, Paul found himself staring at her instead of the screen for a bit too long, and she took notice.

"Paul?" she piped up, snapping him out of his trance with a befuddled smile. "You good, babe?"

Paul felt his cheeks flush. Had she ever called him "babe" before? "It's, uh... it's nothing," he stammered unconvincingly. "I just zoned out for a bit."

Emma, being the observant person she was, eyed him with skepticism. "You look like you have something on your mind," she noted. "What's up?"

Well, shit. Feeling his face burn hotter, Paul attempted to weasel himself out of this inevitable awkward conversation.

"N-nothing's up, I'm fine!" he tried to assure her, perhaps too defensively to sound convincing.

"That's the voice of a man who definitely has something up," Emma observed. She grabbed the remote, and paused the film before continuing. "Something's bothering you, Paul, I can tell."

"It-it's just..." Paul tried to begin, feeling momentarily reassured by Emma's soft gaze. But when the right words wouldn't come to him, he groaned and buried his flushing face in his hands. God, why was he like this? "Nevermind, it's really stupid, can we just watch the movie, please?"

"Paul, I know stupid, I work at Beanies," Emma retorted playfully, earning a brief chuckle from Paul. "Whatever's bothering you, it can't be any worse than the shit my co-workers complain about on the daily. I promise you I won't laugh."

Paul removed his hands from his face, meeting her gentle gaze once more. "You mean it?"

She nodded. "I'm all ears."

Exhaling a deep breath, Paul took a moment to think of how to word his self-imposed predicament in the least stupid way possible. Probably best to start small.

"Um, y'know how... when we watch movies or whatever together," he began, trying to force himself to talk above a whisper. "You'll like, lean against my chest, and I'll wrap my arms around you and play with your hair and all that?"

Emma nodded, looking somewhat confused. "Yeah...?"

"Do you think we could... do that the other way around this time?"

There was a brief moment of silence, and Paul was pretty sure his face had turned a shade of red that had only ever been seen by shrimp before. Jesus, that must've sounded so stupid.

"That's all?" Emma asked.

Yep, there it was. Paul looked down at his lap again, embarrassed beyond belief. "Basically, yeah..." he chuckled despite himself. "I know, I know, it's really dumb, and I probably got you all worried for nothing-"

"Whoa, whoa, Paul, slow down!" Emma cut him off, reaching out to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him softly. "I mean, sure! If that's what you want, we can do it!"

Paul took another deep breath. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Emma replied. She leaned back on the arm of the couch, and opened her arms. "Come on, bring it in."

Still nervous and flustered, Paul slowly eased himself against Emma, resting his head against her chest. He could feel her heartbeat, even through the thick fabric of the hoodie. Emma rested one hand on his back, and began to thread her fingers through his hair, just like he would do with her. Paul felt a chill go down his spine. God, he forgot how much he loved having his hair stroked. He wrapped his arms around her torso, face still flushing like nobody's business.

"How's that?" Emma asked, undoubtedly noticing the ridiculous smile that had forced itself onto his face.

"Wonderful..." he sighed, finally beginning to calm down a bit. "Thanks, Emma."

"No prob," Emma snickered, still stroking his hair. "But before we un-pause the movie, can I ask why it was such an ordeal for you to ask me about this?"

"It's kinda hard to articulate," Paul explained, adjusting himself so that he wasn't muffled by the hoodie. "My, um... my past partners weren't really the, uh... the affectionate kinda types, y'know? So it just kinda felt weird to ask you to... do this... I guess..."

"...Well," Emma began after a moment's pause. "I'm not your past partners, so I'd be more than happy to do this more often."

"You would?" Paul inquired hopefully.

"If it makes you feel as loved as it makes me feel," Emma said, rubbing a calming circle between his shoulder blades with her thumb. "Then I'll do it anytime."

Paul could've melted right then and there. He was loved... In a somewhat indirect way, Emma said she loved him. Perhaps now was the time...

"Thanks again, Em," he said, slightly choked up. He craned his neck a bit to press a kiss to her neck. "I, um... I love you."

Emma briefly paused in her stroking of his hair, only to resume moments later, and press a kiss to his forehead.

"I... I love you too, Paul."

[gingersnapwolves]

The Untamed, a brief summary [Part 5/6]

Part One: Sword Wizard School

Part Two:  The Search for the Yin Iron and the World’s Worst Summer Camp

Part Three: The Fall of Lotus Pier and the Sunshot Campaign

Part Four: The Downward Spiral

Part Five: Mo Manor, Hungry Sabers, and Yi City

Ext, Mo Manor [I … actually have no idea where this is geographically.]

16 years have passed. A mysterious guy whose face we don’t see sits in an inn while a dude enthusiastically tells stories about the horrible Yiling Patriarch (Wei Wuxian’s title before he died.)

Wei Wuxian wakes up. He is confused, as dead people tend to be upon waking up.

ENTER A MENTALLY ILL CHARACTER WHO DESERVED BETTER

He hears the voice of Mo Xuanyu, telling him that he had no choice but to summon him, and now Wei Wuxian must take revenge for him. He has four curse marks on his arm, one for each target.

A sidebar: in the book, Wei Wuxian is summoned into Mo Xuanyu’s body, which makes way more sense. In the show, however, they didn’t really want to change actors halfway through, which I dig, so he’s in his own body for Reasons Never Made Clear. Because of this, they give him a metal mask to wear, saying Mo Xuanyu was a weirdo who wore a mask all the time and nobody has seen his face in years. We all love Xiao Zhan and don’t want him replaced so we accept this.

ENTER THE DUCKLINGS

Here are two young cultivators from the Lan sect, Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi. The former is sweet and kind, the latter is ‘fight me’ in a fun way. 

Wei Wuxian has no idea what’s going on but decides it’s time to Cause Problems. He figures out that Mo Xuanyu is yet another one of Jin Guangshan’s illegitimate sons. However, Mo Xuanyu’s mother was a member of the gentry, so he got to study at Koi Tower until he got thrown out for unspecified bad behavior. Everyone says that Mo Xuanyu was a lunatic. 

Wei Wuxian meets the Lan ducklings, has flashbacks to Lan Wangji, and decides to hide in his room and play sad music on a blade of grass.

An angry sword spirit shows up and kills a bunch of people. The ducklings call Lan Wangji, and Wei Wuxian hides before he can be seen. Lan Wangji wraps everything up and subdues the angry sword spirit but doesn’t know what’s going on.

Three of the four curse marks on Wei Wuxian’s arm vanish, indicating that the three members of the Mo family who were killed were three of the four targets of revenge. Wei Wuxian steals a donkey and runs away.

The mystery man from earlier throws a chunk of gold to the storyteller.

Ext, Dafan Mountain [Yiling]

Wei Wuxian argues with his donkey a lot, and it’s pretty funny.

ENTER A TRUST FUND BRAT

Jin Ling is now 16. He is a huge brat and we like him anyway. Given that he was raised mostly by Jin Guangyao and Jiang Cheng, he’s actually more well-adjusted than he has any right to be. Of course, the bar for ‘well-adjusted’ in this show is sitting on the ground (and half the characters have gone to get shovels). Jin Ling has set up a bunch of spirit capture nets in the forest, and they capture a bunch of cultivators instead. Wei Wuxian cuts them down, and he and Jin Ling get in a fight. (Wei Wuxian doesn’t know who he is, because why would he?)

Wei Wuxian calls him a little punk and pins him to the ground with a talisman. Jiang Cheng shows up and is pissed. Wei Wuxian runs away again.

Turns out everyone is there for some sort of night hunt. Lan Wangji and the ducklings show up. Lan Wangji is a petty bitch who no longer speaks to Jiang Cheng, and it’s great. He’s destroyed all the spirit nets Jin Ling placed for pretty much no reason other than that he can. Jin Ling is pissed. Lan Wangji puts the silencing spell on him because he’s being a brat. Jiang Cheng decides this isn’t worth getting into a bitch fight with Lan Wangji over and huffs off with Jin Ling.

They all end up at the mountain where the statue from the first arc was. It’s eating people again, or something like that. Wei Wuxian talks to the ducklings, who listen to him because he helped them with the sword spirit at Mo Manor. 

The statue attacks, and it’s chaos! Wei Wuxian decides that now is the time for some demonic cultivation. He starts playing a new flute (poorly, because he just carved it out of nearby bamboo). Wen Ning shows up. Everyone, including me, goes “WTF?!?!” because we all thought Wen Ning had been destroyed by the Jin sect.

Wei Wuxian realizes this is more trouble than he can handle and uses his flute to get Wen Ning to leave. But it’s too late. Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng have seen him. Lan Wangji grabs his wrist. They stare at each other for like a solid 30 seconds and it’s great.

Then Jiang Cheng ruins everything, because he assumes (correctly) that someone playing the flute and controlling Wen Ning is, in fact, Wei Wuxian. He hits Wei Wuxian with the lightning whip. A fun feature of the lightning whip is that, if an evil spirit is possessing someone, the whip will smack them out of the body. This doesn’t happen to Wei Wuxian, since he was summoned by Mo Xuanyu himself. Jiang Cheng gets a little confused by this and Lan Wangji takes the opportunity to grab Wei Wuxian and bounce.

 Int, Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

Wei Wuxian wakes up in Lan Wangji’s room. He says, ‘if I said I didn’t know where I was these past 16 years, would you believe me?’ and Lan Wangji says ‘yes’ without hesitation. I cry again.

 Ext, Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

Lan Wangji is down in the cold springs. Wei Wuxian decides, like a gremlin, to go bug him there. But he sees Lan Wangji shirtless and he’s got a bunch of scars and it freaks Wei Wuxian out so he doesn’t hit on him.

Lan Qiren has been trying to suppress the sword spirit but it attacks him. Wei Wuxian plays his flute (badly) and the ducklings all wonder why the hell he’s even here. They figure out the sword spirit is trying to lead them somewhere.

 Ext, Yueyang [Qinghe]

The sword has pointed them here and strange things are afoot. Wei Wuxian asks a guy if there’s some reason the sect leader isn’t taking care of it. He finds out that Nie Mingjue died in the intervening years while he was gone, and that Nie Huaisang is now sect leader and keeps telling people to please not ask him to fix problems because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Nie Huaisang remains the most relatable.

They run into Jin Ling, who’s there with his adorable dog for night-hunting reasons. Wei Wuxian freaks out because he’s afraid of dogs. Lan Wangji leaps in to defend him and Jin Ling looks like he just found out gay people exist.

 Ext, the forest [Qinghe]

There’s a weird tomb full of coffins with sabers in them. Jin Ling has broken in and nearly gets swallowed by the building. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian rescue him. He now has a gnarly curse mark on his leg. When they get outside, someone’s been watching them. Lan Wangji goes after him while Wei Wuxian gets Jin Ling back to the city. Lan Wangji only gets a scrap of fabric but recognizes the pattern.

 Int, an inn [Qinghe]

Jin Ling freaks out when he wakes up because he thinks Mo Xuanyu is nuts. (One must presume he knows Mo Xuanyu better than the ducklings, since Mo Xuanyu is technically his uncle, and Jin Ling lives at Koi Tower a lot of the time so they would have encountered each other.) Wei Wuxian lets him go.

 Int, a different inn [presumably] [Qinghe]

Lan Wangji has dragged Nie Huaisang in for a little chat, because he knows Nie Huaisang was spying on them in the forest. Nie Huaisang tries to plead ignorance but then admits that the Nie sect has this problem where their swords are so bloodthirsty that they have to be buried like people and fed criminals occasionally, like one would if they had a particularly large python for a pet. Wei Wuxian clearly wonders how, in that case, they had any right to criticize him for a little light necromancy.

 Ext, Yueyang [Qinghe]

Lan Wangji leaves to … shit. I don’t remember. Well, he goes to do something, presumably important, leaving Wei Wuxian on his own. Wei Wuxian promptly gets spotted by Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling, and Jiang Cheng captures him. He says he doesn’t care that the lightning whip didn’t expel him, he knows he’s Wei Wuxian. He’s super pissed but doesn’t actually kill Wei Wuxian or even really hurt him, clearly conflicted about the whole situation.

Jin Ling suddenly ‘remembers’ important information about something that happened earlier to send Jiang Cheng on a wild goose chase. It’s likely that Jiang Cheng doesn’t actually believe this but he leaves anyway. Jin Ling sneaks Wei Wuxian out. Wei Wuxian tells him he’ll be in trouble because Jiang Cheng thinks he’s the Yiling Patriarch. Jin Ling scoffs because Jiang Cheng is always finding ‘Yiling Patriarchs’ in an ongoing search to find his brother.

Once in the forest, Wei Wuxian knocks Jin Ling out. He then transfers the curse mark from Jin Ling to himself because sixteen years of being dead didn’t teach him any self-preservation skills at all. 

 Int, the spirit-eating saber tomb [Qinghe]

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian bring the sword spirit to the tomb. It tells them they did a good job and then points them somewhere else, like some sort of spiritual scavenger hunt or an extremely intense game of Where in the World is Carmen San Diego. They theorize that the sword spirit is probably Baxia, Nie Mingjue’s sword, and it’s trying to lead them to wherever his body is. Nie Huaisang looks pretty upset about this, which seems reasonable. Our heroes promise him they’ll figure out what’s going on and return his brother’s body to him if possible.

Lan Wangji gives Wei Wuxian more details on Nie Mingjue’s death. The Nie sect has a history of ‘qi deviation’, which is sort of like a magical backlash. This is, they now figure, likely due to struggling to control these violent saber spirits. Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao were both working to try to help Nie Mingjue avoid qi deviation but failed, and he had a violent fit, ran away, and was never seen again.

 Ext, Yueyang [Qinghe]

Continuing in the vein of ‘shit, a lot happened while you were dead’, Lan Wangji tells Wei Wuxian that Xue Yang turned up a little while afterwards and Jin Guangshan made him a member of the Jin sect. Nie Mingjue wanted him executed for the murder of the Chang clan, but the lone survivor suddenly recanted his testimony, and not long after that, Nie Mingjue died/went missing. Xue Yang ended up in a pretty good spot. Wei Wuxian basically says ‘what a world’ and Lan Wangji takes his drink and knocks it back.

By the way, Jin Guangshan is now dead too, having died ‘in bed’ a little while after Nie Mingjue disappeared. I can’t remember when Wei Wuxian finds that out. But good riddance anyway.

Now drunk after one shot, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have a touching moment or twelve. Lan Wangji admits that he regrets not helping Wei Wuxian in his last life, and Wei Wuxian tells him not to worry about it. After Lan Wangji falls asleep, Wei Wuxian goes outside and uses his new flute (which Lan Wangji has fixed up a bit) to summon Wen Ning. He finds that they’ve put nails in his head to suppress his consciousness, and removes them. They reunite and it’s emotional. 

But before much can happen, Lan Wangji wanders drunkenly from the inn. Wen Ning goes to hide, and Wei Wuxian ends up babysitting drunk Lan Wangji again and it’s hilarious. Drunk Lan Wangji tries to steal chickens for him and also graffitis a random house. 

When they get back to the inn, a masked man shows up and tries to steal the sword spirit. Even black-out drunk, Lan Wangji beats him, but he seems to have inside knowledge of the Lan sect fighting style. Then he uses a teleportation talisman, which hardly anybody has the skill to use.

 Ext, Yi City [Hell, as far as I can tell]

Listen. I’m going to be honest with y’all again. This arc messed me up. I have no desire to revisit it in detail and it virtually never comes up in my fics. So I’m going to be very, very brief here.

Xue Yang tricked Xiao Xingchen into killing a bunch of innocent people, including Song Lan, who is now a fierce corpse under Xue Yang’s control. Xiao Xingchen found out what happened and killed himself. Xue Yang freaked out because he either a) actually loved Xiao Xingchen in his own messed up way, or b) was having a tantrum like a little kid who broke their favorite toy by playing too rough with it. Your mileage may vary and a thousand fanfics have been written about this issue. Since then, he’s been hanging out in Yi City, which is full of dead people and poison.

The really important part is that Xue Yang has been using yin iron to do all this stuff. 

The ducklings followed a bunch of clues here, along with Jin Ling. Wei Wuxian herds them around while Lan Wangji fights Xue Yang and eventually kills him. The same masked man shows up, grabs the yin iron off Xue Yang’s dead body, and teleports again.

They find a headless body in a coffin underneath Xiao Xingchen’s, and the sword spirit reveals itself to be Baxia, indicating that it is indeed Nie Mingjue. Song Lan, now released from Xue Yang’s control, takes Xiao Xingchen’s sword and a spirit pouch with his fragmented soul and goes to be a wandering cultivator. It’s really depressing.

  Ext, some city [I don’t remember]

Everyone’s kind of shell-shocked by the fuckery that was Yi City, so they’re trying to chill out. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have a tender moment watching the juniors shopping. Wei Wuxian says, ‘If A-Yuan had lived, he’d be about their age now.’ Lan Wangji looks at him like he just realized he left the stove on. Meanwhile Lan Sizhui is fascinated by a stand selling toys just like ones Wen Yuan had at the Burial Mounds. Hm …

Lan Xichen has arrived. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji show him Baxia and he’s really sad since he and Nie Mingjue were bros. Wei Wuxian (still pretending to be Mo Xuanyu) says that at this point, they know whoever killed Nie Mingjue and hid his body is a) friends with Xue Yang, and b) familiar with the Lan sect fighting style. He points out that this sounds a lot like Jin Guangyao, who had a ‘complicated history’ with Nie Mingjue.

Lan Xichen says it can’t be Jin Guangyao, because Jin Guangyao has been with him every night talking about important matters for the last week or so. Also, the use of the teleportation talisman has a negative effect on one’s health and he can personally attest that Jin Guangyao shows no signs of having used it. Another two thousand fanfics spring into existence.

At the end of the conversation, he calls Wei Wuxian by his name. Wei Wuxian takes off his mask and says ‘Damn, I should’ve known I couldn’t fool you.’ Lan Xichen pulls that whole ‘oh I didn’t actually know until you confirmed it just now’ trick but let’s be real there is absolutely no idea Lan Xichen didn’t already know, given that his brother has only ever tolerated one (1) person in his entire life.

 Int, the inn [wherever they are]

The ducklings are fighting, mostly because Jin Ling is mad that Lan Sizhui said something halfway complimentary about Wei Wuxian, who he hates for killing his father (and causing his mother’s death). The other ducklings are like “bro, chill”. Jin Ling will not chill. Jin Ling will NEVER chill. Wei Wuxian is sad because his nephew hates him.

Lan Sizhui tries to explain that he only meant maybe they should have all the facts before they condemn someone. Jin Ling continues to not be chill. Lan Wangji buys Wei Wuxian some booze to cheer him up.

Despite Lan Xichen’s words, they’re still convinced Jin Guangyao is involved, and make plans to go to Koi Tower and look for Nie Mingjue’s head. Lan Xichen comes back in and tells them he’s thought about it and if they find evidence, they should bring it to him. They agree.

 ~end of part 5~

[rrickgrrimes8]

Normality is Death

Chapter Six ~ The Graves

masterlist

"I thought I had lost you, you know?" Jacey whispers breaking the eerie silence between the two, she knew that Addie was mad at her but at least arguing would be better than the deafening quiet, "I thought I'd never see you again."

Addie looked at her and sighed not saying a word, "It felt like my whole world came crashing down when I saw them take you away from me. I know we're not on good terms at the moment but I can never lose you, no matter what." She looked to her again feeling an intense urge to kiss her. "I-I sat there for hours, just waiting. Waiting for you to just appear like you would and be okay. But after a while I feared you never would," Jacey smiled, "but I guess you never seemed to disappoint."

Addie smiled at this looking deeply at the girl's piercing blue eyes, "Why didn't you go with them, Jacey? They are your family after all." "You know why," She mumbled distantly as they wandered through the trail edging closer back to their home. "No, I don't. And even if I did I couldn't understand what would be so important you could throw them away," Upon seeing that Jacey continued to walk away Addie grabbed her hand softly, "Talk to me, love."

"Don't call me that, Addie. You made it more than clear that you want nothing to do with me," She spat bitterly. Addie stepped back, cowering away from the girl. She wanted to be angry that Jacey had said that to her but Addie had to admit that she was right although she didn't mean a word Jacey had said to her. "I'm sorry, Jacey," Addie mumbled attempting to meet her eyes but finding that that was the last thing she wanted. "Then why did you do it?" before Addie could answer an unmistakable scream sounded from across the hill, from if Addie's mapping skills were anything to go by was her families camp.

With a unique sense of urgency that came all to familiar to Addie, she released Jacey's hand and before she could stop herself said, "That's the way to their camp." The 'their' in question quickly resonated in Jacey's mind as her father's camp. Pouncing with her right foot forward in the direction of the chaos, Jacey gripped her bag tightly, offering no farewell for the girl she felt so strongly for.

"Go back to camp, tell Mitchell where I am," She ordered her. Addie shouted back to her as Jacey was running further and further away by each moment that progressed, "Be careful, Grimes. I love you." Jacey turned her head slightly offering an acute smile, "Stop acting like your never going to see me again," Addie sighed, "Oh and I love you too!" Jacey soon disappeared off into the opposite direction leaving Addie to walk towards her home, content with everything.

~

Jacey turned the corner unravelling the scene laid out in front of her. She passed a bloodied tent overflowed with biters and gulped just knowing that there had to have been a person inside there - she just hoped it wasn't her family.

The brunette snuck into the camp, eyeing a body lying hopelessly on the floor blood spewing out of her many wounds, a young blonde girl, older then Jacey but still young enough for someone to be angry at this world for doing it to her. Sat beside her was another blonde, Jacey pointed out to herself the similarities between them and assumed that they were siblings, which made her feel even worse. Drawing her attention away from the two girls was the screams of a little girl, she was blonde too - they haven't got a shortage of blondes in this camp do they she thought to herself suppressing a smile. She approached the girl quickly realising the familiarity of which that she had met her that night before she was left, the child of the nice lady with the cookies.

Jacey grabbed her hand pulling her away from the dead that was clambering after her, "Hey it's okay just follow me okay?" The child looks at her confused about who she was and where she came from but nodded and let her pull her along and towards the RV. "Sophia! Sophia! Please, baby, where are you?!" Jacey heard and searched trying to match the voice to a face. She soon did as did the girl, Sophia, and barrelled towards her. "Oh my baby, my baby," the short-haired cookie lady wrapped her dainty arms around the girl sweeping her off her feet before turning to her daughter's saviour, "You're..." Jacey didn't let the woman finish before ushing her towards the RV where she noticed most of the group was congregated, "Go, you'll be safe with them." And without a word, Jacey crept away grabbing her machete from her belt and planting it into the skull of one of the many biters that roamed the area. She watched the mother and daughter return to their group, the mother's mouth ajar and shocked to see the girl, who everyone was so adamant was dead.

Not long after the young girl, still in search of her long lost family, stumbled upon the familiar face of her mother. She was being cornered by one of those things as was Carl who had his tiny arms curled around her torso. Jacey stalked behind the biter undetected by all of them and unleashed her strength through her weapon, slicing through the monsters head. Lori watched in shock holding Carl to her chest even tighter, not letting him watch as the walker split in two, uncovering her dead daughter.

"J-Jacey," The woman cries inaudibly. Carl closes his eyes tighter thinking that perhaps his sister was one of the dead overthrowing his home. "Go to the RV, find dad and Shane," The woman remained unmoving paralysed by the idea her daughter was alive and breathing in front of her, "Now!"

Lori jumped at her tone and thought about lecturing her about it right then and there but soon realised it was an inappropriate scene. "And do me a favour, mom?" She nodded, "Don't tell dad." Lori didn't wait for an explanation before nodding and grabbing ahold of Carl's arm attempting to pull him away but felt that his feet were grounded into the dirt, "Carl, baby lets go," she pleaded, eyeing the nearing walkers. "No, I don't want to leave her! I don't want her to go again!" Carl sobbed trying to claw his way out of his mother's grip. Jacey looked at her little brother, getting the feeling that haunts her on most nights, the feeling of pure unimaginable grief.

No words were spoken between the family, except for Carl's cries, as Lori pulled him away and towards the rest of the group. The older woman turned the corner getting greeted by her concerned husband, "Lori! Carl! Thank god." Lori remained wordless still holding her wailing son, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She shook her head looking back in the direction she came from and then back to Rick. "Mom t-take me back please," Carl shrieked once again. Rick looked to his son confused as to why he was in such a state but was interrupted as Shane and the others returned guns blazing. Shane made eye contact with him and threw him his Colt Python, Rick catching without any difficulty, trying to ignore the look of guilt Shane's eyes held, that matched the ones in his wife's.

Shaking off the feeling, Rick reloaded his gun and started to fire at the dead hitting them straight on target every time, while Shane marched towards the distressed mother and son. "J-Jacey," Lori began catching Shane's attention immediately, "S-she was here." Shane could almost smile if not for the complete and utter anarchy that was happening around him - she came back to her family just like he knew she would. "I know, Lori but right now you need to get Carl inside he's drawing more of them over here, alright?" Despite Lori's shock at his response, she nodded and pulled Carl into the vehicle.

Catching up to Rick quickly, the two police officers fought against the monster's, side by side, Shane looking thoroughly for any sight of his godchild. Jacey watched from a distance firing off perfectly positioned bullets to the attackers, careful not to misfire on any humans. She observed her father closely unable to hide the excitement she felt knowing he was, in fact, alive. The excitement, however, didn't stop the fear of how he would react to her coming back and worry about what she would do afterwards, whether to stay with her family or reunite with Addie.

Anxiety coursed through her veins as she exited out of the woods and into the main part of the camp casually searching for any more biters. Rick along with Glenn and Shane finished off the remaining walkers attempting to catch their breath as they did. Glenn couldn't help but to send cautious glances to Rick wondering if he knew yet or if he was to ever find out. Rick noticed this, however, and asked, "You okay, Glenn?" "F-fine," He stuttered, unable to meet his eyes. The officer merely nodded in confusion and walked over to the RV where everyone had come back out. Andrea remained on the floor cradling the dying body of her sister that would soon turn, while everyone shot looks of pity at her.

As Rick approached he was surprised to see Carl had calmed down finally and was sitting silently next to his mother. The younger boy looked up at the sound of footsteps and ran to meet his father, "Dad!" Rick caught him bringing him into a much-needed hug, "I saw her dad. She's here." He looked down at his child disoriented, "Who is bud?" "J-" "No one, Rick, ignore him. He's just tired," Lori intervened earning a doubtful glance from Rick.

"No you're lying she was there. Mom you saw her too I know you did!" He snapped the anger overcoming him, he just wanted his sister back. "Hey, it's okay, Carl. Who was here?" He crouched down to his son, ignoring the lingering presence of his wife. "Jac-" He attempted but was interrupted by a hoarse voice shouting, "Walker!" Rick stood up straight and snapped around to the voice. Stood merely 10 feet from the group was a limping, grotesque walker ready to kill them all. The man brought his revolver out of his holster and aimed it straight ahead, ready to pull the trigger.

But before he could do so a gunshot cut him off, which penetrated through the walkers' skull adequately. Rick kept his gun up unsure of where the gunshot came from and who shot it as did the other armed people in the camp. The corpse fell to the ground slowly uncovering the small frame of a 14-year-old girl. "Jacey!" Carl roared, pushing past everyone and throwing himself into his sister's arms, almost knocking them both down. "J-Jacey," Rick whispered dropping his gun carelessly before sprinting towards the girl much as Carl did moments before. The man stopped a few feet in front of her examining her hoping this wasn't just a figment of his imagination caused by the trauma and exhaustion from the attack.

"Daddy?" she sniffled, letting the tears fall from her bright blue eyes. "Angel," the father said, before enveloping her into a tight embrace. The girl clung to her father, crying into his chest as he did the same into her hair, while Carl continued to hug the two.

"You're here, you're alive. They said you died," He pulled back slightly, still keeping her in his arms, looking over at Shane and Lori who wore a look of gut-wrenching guilt. "They thought I had and I mean I gave them enough reason for them to come to that conclusion," she smiled looking over her father's shoulder at the man who had saved her so many times, to which he happily returned. "Where have you been?" "That's not important for now we need to make sure everyone's okay," Rick looked at his daughter looking past the blood and mud that caked her face and into her eyes that seemed so aged since he last saw her, too old for someone her age.

"She's right," Shane spoke from behind him, "We've got to clean this place up if we're thinking of surviving another night." Others nodded at his statement as Rick brought his two children back to the RV. He smiled to himself happily at the idea of two children and finally getting his angel back.

"Amy. I don't know what to do, Amy. Oh, Amy. Oh no no," Andrea sobbed into the crook of her neck as she saw the lack of gargled breaths Amy was taking. One of the blondes, Amy, looked to her sister, crying harshly, and brought her frail hand to her cheek as if saying goodbye without the words and shut her eyes taking her final rest. "Amy! Amy! Amy!" Andrea wailed shaking the now dead body of her sister. Carl gripped onto Jacey's hand whimpering softly at the death of his friend.

Jacey looked down to the boy before wrapping her arms around him kissing his forehead gently, "It's okay, squirt," she looked around the group of traumatised faces, "everything's going to be okay."

"I remember my dream now," An older, pale man said to the group, "why I dug the holes."

[nieladasdenani]

Thank you, @tv-taught-me-how-to-flail for the prompt:

I could go for some warrior nun angst if you’re up for it (preferably one with a happy ending though) something like it’s the finale battle and Ava tricks the nuns and locks them in a cell cuz she doesn’t want any members of her new found family to get die in the battle, and she says her last goodbyes 😢 Would love of there was some avatrice thrown in there too 😉 

So, I’m going to try. I’m not sure if I can write angst, though. I’m also not sure Ava would deliberately plan to lock them and leave them to self-sacrifice. It would be an impulse by fear on the moment. I hope it meets your expectations. You can read it on AO3 if you rather.

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

This is wrong. Nothing is going as Ava thought it would be going. She has been training so hard since the Vatican, she shouldn’t be feeling so defeated already, she shouldn’t be defeated, period. Of course, she wasn’t expecting it to be easy, but this feels like losing. This feels like failing. Like she failed. All she can think about is that she failed and her family is going to die because of it.

She can see Mary, badass Mary, running out of ammo. Sweet Camila panting, scared. Scary Lilith roaring and lashing out. Perfect Beatrice dividing her attention between her own fights and covering Ava’s back. Because she’s frozen in place, Ava is. She promised she was going to be the last Warrior Nun, and she’s going to keep this promise. She’s keeping this promise without letting any of her sisters died. So, she straightens up, looks around. They’ve been cornered inside a sort of closed plaza, surrounded by four walls and the only entrance has been blocked with debris. Adriel is on the other side, Ava sent him flying with a potent burst of the Halo when she saw he had Lilith by the neck.

He told Ava all about how he was going to kill her sisters one by one in front of her. “Starting with the hellhound”, he had said. He’s been whispering about it in her dreams, too. For weeks. Weeks of her waking with screams and panic attacks. Weeks of them talking about those dreams and planing accordingly. And yet, it’s all wrong. But she’s going to fix this. She will not let him kill them. She’s on borrowed time, anyway.

The horde of possessed is almost completely contained, now. But Ava thinks it’s enough to have her sisters occupied while she goes and finishes this. She levitates and uses enough of the Halo to slow the advance of the enemies. She knows she can’t stop them for long, just a moment to tell her final goodbye. They’re all looking at her now, confused, a mixture of frowns that range from bewildered to outraged.

“Ava?” It’s Beatrice, of course. “What’s going on?”

“I... I love you guys. I never thought, even in my wildest dreams, that I would live such an adventure or have a family. And you gave me this.”

“What the fuck are you talking about” Mary’s never been good at feeling out of the loop.

“I promised I was going to be the last Warrior Nun. And I’m going to finish this.”

“Ava, no”

"I’m not gonna let him kill you!”

“Why are you like this? Get your skinny ass down here, so we can contain the possessed and go send your daddy back to hell” Ava scrunches her face at Mary.

“Ew! He’s not my daddy!”

“Are you sure? Because you’re kind of making want to kill you right now”

“Would you both stop? Ava, please. You are not going to go by yourself. That was not the plan.” Beatrice is starting to look pissed.

“That's actually the exact opposite of the plan” Camila says, huffing a little.

“The most important part of the plan is where neither of you die!”

“The most important part of the plan is: trust your team”, ok now she’s officially angry then. But Ava softens.

“I trust my team. But I love my family more.”

“You said you promised to be the last. That doesn’t have to mean you die.”

“Hey, maybe I can beat him by myself.”

“You can, but there’s no need to risk it when you can have back-up. You do not need to do this alone, Ava.”

“He promised he would make me watch him kill you. I won’t allow it, Beatrice!”

“And I promised you that you’d never be alone again!”

Ava can feel her hold on the possessed weakening. So she has to end this. She can feel tears starting to run down her cheeks. She looks at them, one by one.

“I love you.” And she phases through the wall leaving behind a symphony of yells and curses. She takes a moment to compose herself, before going in search for Adriel. 

She finds him lying in the ground. If she took a moment she’d see he looks like he can’t even stand up. But she’s blinded by fear. And he can sense this.

“Well, did you finally decide to be a worthy Warrior, then, child?”

“Shut up. I decided I’m going to send you back to hell!” And he has the audacity of laughing.

“Please. We both know how this is going to end. I’m going to rip my Halo from your back, and I’m going to claim my rightful place as master of the world, while you lie there dying slowly and alone.”

“Big talk for a dude who’s not even standing.”

“I could kill you without the use of my limbs!”

“Like the Black Knight?” And he looks so confused, it would be funny. “Monty Python? Oh, wait. You could not know about it... Wait! Was it a real event?”

“Silence! You’ve overstayed your welcome, Warrior Nun. It’s my time now!” In a flash he’s in her space. Her reflex is to swipe her sword at him, which is a testament of the long training sessions with Lilith, and Beatrice and Mary and Camila. They spar for a while. But she’s starting to get worried that her sisters are going to burst out at any moment. And that’s the only opening Adriel needs.

He sweeps her off her feet, and she lays hard on the ground, face first, so he has the chance to press a knee on her back. She’s expecting him to reach a hand, like he did on his tomb, but he’s fumbling for something. And then she feels the cut and heat of divinium on her skin. She barely can avoid screaming.

“It’s over child. Thank you for following my instructions so well. You thought you were helping them? You thought this would spare them? Did you think at all?” She is screaming now, and crying, because it hurts, and she’s alone.

There’s a thunk and thump, and then a very distinctive snort followed by a:

“She never thinks.” And Ava may be delirious because that sounds like Lilith.

“Ava!” And that sounds like Beatrice. And the hand helping her turn and cupping her cheek feels like Beatrice, too. “Ava?” But she doesn’t want to open her eyes, because it will be devastating to realize she’s dying alone on the ground.

“The wound is a little deep, and she’s bleeding a lot. But I can patch it temporarily while we finish here and get to safety.” Her brain is conjuring images of Camila at her back.

Then she’s been lifted of the ground, and now she frowns because, sure, she has a very vivid imagination, product of twelve years of emotional abuse while paralyzed in a bed, but never this vivid. And never as violent as actually feeling someone smack her hard on the back of the head. 

“Ow!”

“You stupid, stupid girl. If you think this is all the repercussion you’re going to get for being the dumbest Warrior Nun ever, you’re even more stupid than I’ve just stated.”

“Mary, I don’t believe it’s the time for this.” Even in her dreams Beatrice comes to her defense.

“And I don’t believe hitting her in the head will help make her less stupid.” Ok, so now Ava opens her eyes, because that was definitely Lilith adding insults to the growing pile.

“What?...”

“Oh hey, stupid! Are you done being a drama queen?”

“Mary...” Beatrice sounds tired when she sighs the gunslinger’s name. Then she’s cupping Ava’s face: “Ava? Can you look at me, please?” Of course she does, she always wants to look at Beatrice. “I think she needs a second to recover.”

“Whats’... How...?”

“Did you really think we were going to let you run off like a self-sacrificing martyr?” And wow, ok, Camila has a bite.

“You also forgot I can open portals.” Oh, that’s right. Lilith can open portals, she’s also been training and exploring her new powers. It’s actually one of the ways they’ve bonded a lot.

“But, we were overrun by the possessed”

“Yes, Ava. The plan shifted. But we still had it under control. And if you have stopped to listen to us for a second you would have realized that we were containing the threat of the possessed to then be able to face Adriel together properly.”

“Oh.” Yes, Beatrice is definitely angry at her.

“Yes, oh. Now quit the drama and finish the dude.” There’s what Ava could only describe as an evil laugh coming from Adriel who’s still on the ground, panting.

“You think you children can defeat me? Areala, who was an actual Warrior could only hide me away on a tomb.”

“You said that like she sent you on a cruise, dumbass.” It’s Mary.

“I said that as someone who can escape again, fool.”

“We know we can kill you.” Beatrice.

“And we know we can’t contain you here.” Camila.

“We also know who’s eager to get their hands on you.” Lilith, who then turns to Ava: “Ready?” And yeah. She’s ready to send this demon back to hell. Literally.

“Yeah. Ready” Ava picks her sword with a pained grimace. And before she can take the couple of steps that separate her from Adriel, she feels a strong, delicate hand on her shoulder, so she turns to Beatrice.

“Remember, spend as much Halo energy as possible without depleting it completely. We want it’s signal to be muted, but not enough to put you at risk.” She nods, and proceeds to lift her sword over her head to strike.

“What do you think you’re doing? You can’t kill me!”

“Like they said, we know. But we can hurt you before we gift you away.”

She summons as much as the Halo power as she dares before striking him down. His pained screams fill the open space around them, but she keeps the sword in him until she starts to feel weak. Then she stops, and stumbles back into strong arms that hold her up. That’s when Lilith comes forward and looks at him like he’s a bug she just crushed under her boot and is disgusted to have to clean it up. She lifts her claws, and he flinches, it’s so satisfying to see. But she doesn’t strike as he expects, she opens a huge portal and after a couple of seconds of nothing, they hear a deafening roar, the thunderous approach until the imposing form of the Tarask appears through the portal.

Adriel chokes out a whimpering “No” catching the full attention of the monster, who promptly drags him through the closing portal. Lilith sags into the calm that follows, but Mary is there, ready to assist her.

“All right. You freaks good to go?”

“Mary, I don’t appreciate you calling them that” Breatice is truly a saint.

“Oh, but they love it. Right, Satan?”

“Fuck off.”

“Lilith, language!” But Camila sounds suspiciously like holding back a smile. They bicker the whole way to the van. Beatrice half carrying Ava, and Mary supporting Lilith, leaving Camila to load their weapons inside and start the vehicle.

Mary deposites Lilith in the passenger seat. while she herself takes the cargo section for herself stating that “I’m too old for this shit. Need to stretch my legs.” Leaving Ava and Beatrice in the back seat.

Ava is exhausted and she’s ready to let the darkness take her for a while. But Beatrice is caressing her face and speaking... Oh, right, she should listen.

“Ava? Are you listening?”

“Yeah”

“I know you’re tired, but I need to do quick check, all right?”

“Yeah”

“Good. Tell me what hurts.”

“Everything”

“Right. Tell me what hurts the most, then”

“Uh, my back? My head, too. My face... because I’m so cute.”

There’s a collection of groans from the front and the back, but Beatrice is smiling down at her, and that’s really all that matter.

“We’ll be back home in about two hours, so you can have some rest. But I want you to be properly tended to in the infermary when we arrive. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!” But the ma’am morphs into a yawn and it looses all the cool, filtry effect she was going for.

“Please, don’t ever do that again.” Beatrice whispers and suddenly the air is heavy inside the van.

“I’m sorry. I just... He had Lilith, right how he said he would. I...”

“You allowed him get inside your head.” Lilith interrupts. “Which was what he wanted. He knew that was his best shot at getting the Halo.”

“That’s why you talked to us about them and we worked on it, remember?” Oh, good. At least Camila is back at being sweet.

“So, we need to work on your panic attacks and traumas, kid. Get ready for that.” And Ava actually whines at Mary’s words, because that doesn’t sound like fun.

“Not right away, though. First we heal and rest.” God, she loves Beatrice.

“And kid?” She didn’t realize she closed her eyes, until Mary calls out to her. So she opens them and twist her neck a little to look at her pearing from the back. “We love you, too. You know that right? You’re our family, too.”

Aw man, she’s all emotional again. She just wanted to be a badass like the rest of them. She feels Beatrice nod, and turns to see Lilith doing the same from the front seat. Camila is smiling at her through the rearview mirror: “It’s true, Ava.” Camila has such a pretty smile. But Beatrice has the prettiest smile. Beatrice has the prettiest everything.

“Rest now.” Beatrice says as she bends to place a tender kiss to Ava’s forehead. But then whispers in her ear: “I think you have the prettiest everything, too.” And she has the sexiest smirk painted on her lips, so Ava can’t seem to be able to respond. Just a flicker of a thought right before exhaustion claims her:

Wait, did I say that out loud?

[red-writing-on-asylum-walls]

Like Everyone Who Was Dragged There First (Again)

A rewrite of the original fic. I’m...not sure if this one is actually better? Or just longer. I think I cleared some things up and filled in some plot holes buutttt idk. Lemme know what you guys think.

Warnings for: torture, blood, violence, child endangerment, strangulation, implied child abuse, implied past torture, force feeding, implied psychotic break, this is not how mental health works

xxxxxxxxxx

“Heya, Jake. Long time, no see.”

The bowl slipped out of Jake’s numb fingers and clattered to the floor, spilling popcorn all over the carpet. The air felt frigid and thick, the world slippery against the cold clamminess of his skin. His lungs didn’t seem to want to work right, he couldn’t breathe, his brain short circuiting as it desperately tried to reconcile what it was seeing.

Aaron Pierly was sitting casually on the couch next to Milo. There was a ratty backpack on the floor between his feet and an all to familiar smirk on his face.

Jake was already on the brink of panic, thoughts tumbling over one another as Milo stared at him in confusion. Dan wasn’t home. Jake’s cellphone was upstairs and out of reach. Aaron was sitting too close to Milo. Dan wasn’t home and he wouldn’t be for several hours. Dan wasn’t home and they were in very real danger.

“Aaron.” His voice was tight, squeezed out of his throat in a reluctant gasp of stale air. It tasted like old, dusty fears being pulled from the attic of his mind.

“Dad?” Said Milo and Aaron’s eyes flickered with something wicked and gleeful.

“Wwhhhaattt? This is your kid? Aw, Jake, how could you be so cruel? Why didn’t you tell your own brother that you had a son?” Aaron’s voice was teasing, could almost have been friendly if not for the sour, mocking edge to it. And the look in his eyes that said something else entirely.

“I have an uncle?” Milo perked up excitedly and Jake wanted to scream and pull him away from the monster he sat next to.

“You didn’t even tell your kid about me? Ouch, big brother, that hurts my feelings.” The words were acid as Aaron hissed them through the grin in his teeth. His arm coiled around Milo’s shoulder, a python trapping its prey, his fingers curling into the soft fabric of the shark hoodie, “How about we talk in the kitchen? Make another bowl of popcorn. See what kind of fun we can have.”

It was not a suggestion.

Aaron pulled Milo off the couch, arm still around his shoulders, pinning the boy to his side as he steered them past Jake and back into the kitchen. Jake had to follow them. Dan wasn’t here so Jake was going to do everything he could to protect Milo, no matter what it took. He forced himself to follow and tried to keep the fear off his face, for Milo’s sake, tried not to wince when Aaron pressed his hand into Milo’s shoulder and forced him to sit down in a kitchen chair. Jake stood in the doorway, trying to take steady breaths, his palms sweating and his heart thudding. Aaron was humming tunelessly as he lifted the backpack up and set it on the table.

“I brought some of our old toys we used to play with together,” The devil in his brother’s skin said cheerily, “For nostalgia, ya know.” The zipper on the backpack sounded like cracking bones in the heavy quiet of the house, “Remember this stuff?” Aaron turned the bag over and dumped its contents onto the table.

A scream swelled in Jake’s throat and then wouldn’t come out. He forgot how to breathe, choking on icy panic as he tripped backwards and nearly fell out of the kitchen. The world felt muffled, drowned by a roaring in his ears and the painful thudding of his own heart pounding fists against the prison bars of his ribcage. The edges of his vision went dark and fuzzy, static clinging to his mind, old blood in his nose, long healed aches flaring deep in his bones. All he could see were the old instruments of torture spilling across the kitchen table, so bright and vivid and full of memories he wished he didn’t have.

“Dad?” Milo’s voice from somewhere far away, miles away and underwater, a thread in the maze of panic leading him to the exit, “Jake? Dad? W-what’s going on? Dad!?”

A chair scrape on the tile floor.

A thud.

“You stay in your seat, brat. Unless you want to play too…”

“Don’t touch him!” Jake didn’t remember moving but as the world snapped back into clear focus, he found he had put himself between Milo and Aaron. His hand was gripping Aaron’s wrist in a shaking grip, having wrenched it off of Milo’s shoulder.

Aaron looked far too pleased, “I won’t touch him if you play with me, Jake. I’ve missed out time together. It’s no fun without around.” There was such darkness in his voice, such loathing, that Jake pulled his hand away from Aaron as if he could feel it burning through his skin.

“I…” Jake choked. Aaron was much too close, filling his vision, blotting out the light.

Aaron grinned, showed his nicotine stained teeth. And, faster than Jake could react, Aaron snatched up Jake’s wrist and bent his arm back. Jake cried out as his shoulder was pulled harshly, trying to twist away, but Aaron just followed the movement, using it to steer Jake over to the table and pushing him down. Jake scrambled, gasping in fear and pain, as he was bent over the tabletop, one arm behind his back and the other pinned beneath his chest. Jake could feel his own pressing against his arm.

“Dad!” Milo’s desperately scared voice, that sound of the chair against the floor again.

“I said stay in your seat!” Aaron barked, the first time he’d raised his voice, cracking it against the walls of the kitchen. Jake heard Milo thump back into the chair, the squeak of felt pads on shiny tile.

“Now Jake,” Fingers fisted in Jake’s blond hair, yanked hair head back at a painfully sharp angle to expose the curve of his neck and making Jake let out a small, choked cry. Aaron forced Jake to look at Milo sitting petrified in his seat, making their eyes meet, their terror an echo chamber between them. Then Aaron shoved Jake’s face back into the table, grinding it against the polished wood for a moment before releasing his hair, “We’re going to have a nice little chat. And your kid is going to sit there and watch while we go on a nice little stroll down memory lane. And I can remind you about what a piece of utter shit you are.”

“Aaron, p-please…” Jake whimpered, “Milo…h-he doesn’t need to see…”

“Oh, I think he does,” Aaron hissed back, “Someone’s got to show him how the world works and you’re too much of a pussy to do it. So let’s start with the basics. Family,” Aaron said matter-of-factly, “Will always ruin your life. Because people are selfish and stupid and older brothers are the worst! Right Jake?”

Jake knew better than to answer.

But he still made a frightened little noise when a pair of scissors flashed in front of his face. He felt the blades snag on the shoulder of his button up, the snip-click of them slicing into the fabric making him shudder. Aaron cut the sleeve off and then wrenched Jake’s arm out straight, making Jake wince, gritting his teeth. The side of scissors ghost over old and faded scars, raising goosebumps as they went, until their sharp tip pressed against some of the ropey tissue that had never healed quite right in the crook of Jake’s elbow.

“It was right here, I think,” Aaron said in a sickly sweet voice, leaning over Jake and crushing him against the table, “You didn’t want to share that stupid CD player. So I had to teach you a lesson in manners. It was a knife, right? I wasn’t very good with that at first. Wasn’t good about not leaving marks…”

Jake watched the horror dawning on Milo’s face, wished with all his damaged hear that Milo had never seen this part of his life, would have given anything to be alone in the house when Aaron had found him. Now Milo was going to have what innocence he had left shattered while Aaron inevitably did the same with Jake’s fragile sanity.

“A-Aaron, just—just let him…he doesn’t need to be h-here…” Jake tried to plead again, only to choke when Aaron pressed a hand down hard on the back of Jake’s neck.

“He’s staying, Jake,” His brother snarled, “And if either of you scream or try to call for help, first I’ll break your legs. And then I’ll show your fucking mouth shut.”

Milo’s mouth opened—to protest or curse or spew whatever teenage rebellion was still on fire inside him. Jake caught his eye and silently pleaded for him to stay silent, to just go along with it, please Milo, please don’t do anything. Milo searched Jake’s face, then shut his mouth, chewing on his lower lip as he eased back into the chair. Jake swallowed the sigh of relief that wanted to escape him, felt his neck flex against Aaron’s hand, and prayed that whatever happened, it would only leave Jake with more scars and Milo unblemished.

He was jarred from his prayers when he was dragged backwards off the table and thrown into a nearby dining chair. Jake looked up in time to see Aaron uncoiling a faded rope from the pile of tools on the table. He caught Jake’s frightened stare and sneered, snapping it taunt and making Jake flinch.

“Here’s the deal, Jacob,” Aaron growled, walking over to Milo who shrank away from him, “We’re going to play for a while, and your kid’s going to watch so he can learn exactly what kind of dumb, disobedient, horrible, lying person you are. Then I’m going to pack up my stuff and leave and you’re not going to tell anyone what happened because you know you deserve it.”

Aaron approached Milo with the rope and Milo kicked out at him instinctively. But Aaron just sidestepped it and swung the bundle of rope hard against Milo’s face, knocking him to the side. Milo was too dazed to struggle as Aaron wrapped the rope tight around Milo’s chest and the back of the chair, pinning the teenager’s arms to his sides. His movement were deft and practiced, an efficiency created from repeated use of the skill. The rope pinned Milo’s ankles to the legs of the chair and made a complicated series of loops beneath and behind. Milo flinched as the rope draped against his neck and rubbed against his bare skin, tugging against his windpipe as Aaron tied it off behind him. He stepped back to admire his handiwork, grinning nastily when Milo turned fearful but angry eyes on him,

“Haha, look at that. Still a rebellious little shit, huh? Yyeeaahhh, Jakey used to fight back too until I figured out this knot. See, the real beauty of this thing is, the more you struggle, the tighter it pulls. So, if you move around and try to wriggle free then…” Aaron reached around behind Milo and jerked on one of the lines woven into the binding. The rope around Milo’s throat instantly tightened, pressing hard into his neck and cutting his air supply down to the barest wheeze of breath. Milo’s eyes bulged and Aaron laughed as the teenager bucked in instinctual panic. Of course, it was just as Aaron had said—the more Milo struggled, the tighter the noose became.

“Aaron, stop it! You’re here for me! Let him go! Just stop!” Jake was out of his chair, shoving brother out of the way as he fumbled with the knots constructing Milo’s bonds. His fingers slipped off of them, confused by Aaron’s complicated work, and he turned his attention instead to the teenager gagging helplessly in the chair. He cupped Milo’s face in his shaking hands, hushing him, voice hitching as he tried to help,

“Milo, you need to stop struggling. I—I know it’s hard but you need to just—Milo, listen, please listen to me, okay, you need to sit still and don’t move.” He brushed the pads of his thumbs across freckled cheeks, wiping away hot tears, smiling thinly as Milo’s breathing came back under control and his struggling ceased, “That’s it, okay, just—just deep breaths, all right, little shark. It’ll be okay. Just don’t move anymore, okay? Milo? N-no matter what you see, no matter wh-what happens, don’t move. I’ll be fine, I promise, just don’t—“

Aaron yanked Jake away by a fistful of his hair, throwing him to the floor with a growl, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Jake. Get back in your fucking chair.”

Jake scrambled across the floor, barely dodging the kick Aaron had aimed at him as he crawled onto he kitchen chair. Aaron followed after him, sneering, pulling a roll of extension cord off the table and knocking several other tools to the floor as he did so. Jake couldn’t stop the whimper that slipped out of him as he pressed himself against the back of the chair, desperate to get away but too worried about what would happen to Milo if he ran. His chest rose and fell with sharp, panicked breaths that scraped his dry throat, his heart was beginning to ache as it thudded harder and faster than it had in a long time. His head spun with an ice cold terror he hadn’t experience since he was a child.

Aaron towered over him, the grin on his face nasty and eager, “Sshhhh, big brother, deep breaths. Wouldn’t want you passing out just yet. We haven’t even gotten started…”

The extension cord wrapped around Jake like an old friend, pinching his skin in familiar places and alarmingly tight across his chest. Aaron heaved on the cord, yanking Jake’s legs off the floor by his ankles and forcing him to bend his knees so that his heels were almost touching the seat of the chair. It made his thighs shake, muscles spasming uncomfortably tight as Aaron finished his work. It seemed he’d learned some new tricks over the years. Jake shivered to think who he might have used as a practice dummy.

“Let’s have a conversation,” Aaron said in the same tone of voice one might have used to discuss the weather. He crossed back to the table and sorted through the objects until he found what he was looking for. When he turned back to face Jake, he was holding an old, wooden baseball bat, tiny and child sized, scraped and scratched from years of use.

“Do you wanna know,” Aaron spun the little bat in one hand as he approached, his grin twisted with rage, “What the house was like after you left? Do you know what happened you weren’t around anymore? Do you know how angry mom was?”

Jake cringed back in the chair, pure terror written in every shaking line of his body, “Aaron, n-no, I didn’t mean—I didn’t think she would—you were—she wouldn’t—“

“But she did!” The bat arced through the air and smashed into the side of Jake’s face, jerking his head violently to the side and smashing the inside of his cheek against his teeth. Iron welled into his mouth and he swallowed it back with a grimace. Aaron brought the baseball bat around again and cracked it into Jake’s head, splitting open the skin of his temple. Blood bubbled from the head wound and slid freely down his already swelling cheek as he blinked dazedly, trying to refocus. Aaron didn’t let him; he swung again and struck Jake hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of his brother. Jake doubled over with a wet wheeze, drool and blood smearing across his lap from his gasping mouth as he struggled for breath. But Aaron brought another heavy blow down on Jake’s shoulder with a loud, crunching pop. Jake thrashed in the chair, a strangled, gasping scream of pain rattling up his throat, eyes wide and face pale. His shoulder was lumpy and awkward, numb and throbbing and awful—probably dislocated.

“Mom was so pissed when you left,” Aaron snarled, looming over his brother as Jake choked on a sob, breath gasping as he fought for breath, tried to sort through the pain chewing him up from the inside out, “She was so angry. I’d never seen her so mad. And then you didn’t even have the decency to leave us a number? An address!? So fucking disrespectful, Jacob!” Aaron swung again, hit Jake hard in the stomach with the bat. Jake wretched and coughed, spitting up an acrid mixture of stomach acid, blood, and coffee. Aaron dropped the baseball bat with a sneer of disgust, backing away as Jake choked and gagged,

“Pathetic. She raised us. Put a roof over our heads. Gave us food and clothes. And you spat on that. Ran away and didn’t even tell your little brother where you were going!”

Jake looked up, tears and blood and bile still oozing down his face, dropping with the sweat from his chin, staining his shirt and jeans. His breathing was labored and he trembled violently. But his eyes were hard and resolute.

He would not be broken.

That only seemed to stoke the fires of Aaron’s temper.

He spun away to untangle another tool from his collection, shoving things around as he tried to find what he wanted.

Chest heaving, blood and sick and sweat and tears smeared across his front, Jake looked up through hazy eyes and met Milo’s gaze.

The kid was mortified.

Milo’s eyes were wide, bloodshot whites surrounding watery irises. His face was so pale it made his freckles stand out like bullet wounds, his body shaking against the rope binding him to the chair. His throat was already scraped red from the noose dangling threateningly around it. Milo had never witnessed brutality like this before, not outside of television where he was fully aware of how fake it was. Jake wanted to apologize, but his voice was gone, lost under years of conditioned silence because he knew a single word from him would only make things worse.

Aaron turning towards him again made Jake look away. It killed him to do it but the longer he kept Aaron’s attention, the safer Milo would be.

“So scrawny,” Aaron muttered through gritted teeth, wearing something that was akin to a grimace of triumph, “Bet you’re not eating right, huh big brother? You never did. I should be a better sibling…should help you with that.” Jake shook his head and Aaron’s eyes narrowed, “Open your mouth.”

Jake’s throat clicked as he swallowed dryly, clenching his jaw when he caught sight of the plastic tubing and funnel rigged together in Aaron’s hands. The funnel was attached at one end of the tube and the other end was patched awkwardly into some kind of series of straps. Jake could guess what it was for and it was enough to make his stomach turn.

“Open. Your. Mouth.” Aaron’s voice was a stinging lance that made Jake flinch. But, trembling and avoiding his brother’s eye, Jake’s lips parted and he slowly opened his mouth.

Not fast enough for Aaron.

A fist coiled into Jake’s hair, yanking his head back and baring his throat. Jake let out a cry of surprise and pain that was quickly muffled by the foul plastic tubing being wedged into his jaw, pressing against his tongue and shoved almost to the back of his mouth, making him gag. He shook his head, trying to dislodge it, trying to pull away. Aaron snarled and swore, fighting back and shoving Jake against the chair to connect the straps holding the tube in place. Jake let out a muffled scream into the tube, glaring at Aaron as he brother stepped back, pushing greasy black hair from his face with a satisfied smirk.

“Like it? I made it myself,” Aaron patted the side of Jake’s face and Jake cringed away, “Now let’s see what I can feed my poor, starving brother…” Aaron shuffled away to start pulling open cabinets and drawers, inspecting the food in the kitchen, humming and muttering to himself.

Jake struggled, trying to free his uninjured arm, wriggling it against the extension cord even when it pinched and rubbed his skin raw. He glanced up at Milo, trying to apologize, trying to reassure, trying to be there for Milo even though nothing good would ever come of this. Milo was sniffling and crying, trying to keep it in, trying to be strong when he shouldn’t have to be. Jake ached to think of the scars this would leave.

He’d never wanted to be the reason for Milo to cry.

“Oooohh, this’ll work!” Aaron stepped back from the fridge, kicking the door closed with a gleeful little chuckle. He held a jug of milk and a couple of cans of Milo’s favorite energy drinks, all of which he dumped on the table while he scrounged around for something to mix them all in. Jake whimpered and Aaron laughed, dropping a bowl and a container of chicken stock beside the milk and drinks, “Don’t worry, Jakey, let your little brother take care of dinner for you!”

Aaron whistled as he poured both energy drinks into the bowl and then mixed in the milk and chicken stock. The concoction smelled atrocious and looked worse; a pale, hazy snot green that looked slightly greasy. Jake shook his head frantically as Aaron approached with the bowl, trying to dislodge the tube from his mouth, thrashing with all his might against the restraints. Behind Aaron, he could see Milo’s chest heaving, eyes wide and horrified, helpless.

“Bottom’s up, Jake!” Aaron sing-songed. He picked up the funnel and slowly started tipping his horrid mixture in, watching it sluice down the tube into Jake’s mouth.

The second it touched his tongue, Jake wretched, dry heaving and trying to spit it up. But Aaron just kept pouring it and he either had to choke or swallow it down. It felt slick in his throat, burning and disgusting, sitting in his stomach like a lead weight, the aftertaste as caustic as the stuff itself. Another horrible laugh came from Aaron as he dropped the empty bowl and wrenched the straps from Jake’s head, jerking him forward, strings of saliva clinging to the tube as it fell out of Jake’s mouth. Jake coughed, gagged, coughed again, eyes watering, stomach churning, wishing desperately he could throw up. But, god, if he did, Aaron might try to feed him something worse.

“And for dessert…” He heard Aaron say from the end of a long tunnel. He raised his head, watching through blurry eyes as his younger brother picked up a knife from the pile on the table. Aaron slid it from its sheath, inspected it in the light, and grinned at Jake.

Jake just stared at him, wheezing with every shallow inhale, sagging in his bonds.

Aaron scoffed, “Yeah, you’re right…I don’t think I’ve tenderized the meat enough.” He put the knife back into its sheath and grabbed a thick metal pipe instead, rusted and slightly bent out of shape but still dangerous enough to do its job. He hefted it in his hand as he approached Jake.

“STOP IT!”

The voice was like a lance that made the room freeze.

Jake held absolutely still, heart pounding painfully hard in his chest, palms sweating, praying he had only imagined the shout.

“Stop it!” Milo repeated to Aaron’s hunched back and Jake wished he wouldn’t, “Stop hurting my dad! He never did anything to you! So stop it!”

Ice settled in Jake’s chest as Aaron turned to face the teenager. Jake frantically shook his head behind Aaron’s back, trying to tell Milo to just be quiet, to just let this happen because it was inevitable, it had to happen, it was his place in the universe to let it happen. Jake would always run, Aaron would always find him, and Jake would always be punished for being the bad son. No one else needed to be involved, no one else needed to be hurt. If Milo would just stay quiet then things would go back to normal, they would be okay. Jake would eventually walk off the bruises and cuts and the memories would fade into nightmares and be forgotten for what they really were and Milo wouldn’t have anything to worry about. Jake didn’t care how many scars he had to carry if it meant that Milo would never have to experience any at all.

“I told you to BE! QUIET!” Aaron stomped across the room, rearing back with the pipe as he neared Milo.

Milo jerked back, forgetting his predicament and tightening the noose on his own neck. He gagged, his cries choked by the rope cutting off his air supply, feet scrabbling to try and back away from the man approaching him. Jake’s fear escalated to a point where it felt like his heart was tearing itself into pieces. And he would let it, he would gladly let his heart explode if it meant Milo would be spared.

Years of conditioning wrenched his mind in twenty different direction, his eyes burning and his throat closing as he struggled to speak. If he said something he could get Aaron’s attention away from Milo. But if he spoke, then Aaron would make things worse, he always made things worse if Jake said anything, even if it was just a wordless cry of pain, Aaron wouldn’t stand for it. Jake swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to force his voice out despite the way it made his mouth taste like ash and made his tongue feel heavy with fear.

But before he could make a sound, someone else spoke up.

“Milo? Were you eating dinner? I tried texting but y—“

Cody stood frozen in the threshold to the kitchen, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as he processed what he was seeing.

For a long minute, there was silence as everyone stared at each other.

Then Jake pushed the words out past the vice in his chest, “CODY! RUN!!”

Cody bolted and Aaron launched himself after the teenager with a scream of rage.

He took a swipe with the pipe and managed to bash it into the side of Cody’s legs, tangling them and sending them both crashing to the floor. Aaron grabbed onto Cody’s ankle and tried to pull him closer but Cody kicked out with his free leg, the heel of his sneaker smashing into Aaron’s face with a crunch of snapping cartilage. Aaron howled in a combination of rage and pain, letting go of Cody in order to clutch at his face. Cody backed away, fumbling his phone out of his pocket, his fingers shaking on the touch screen as he dialed for help.

“H-hello! Th-there’s a man—he tied up my friend—he—he’s trying to hurt me—!”

The sound that came out of Aaron’s mouth was one of inhuman fury. His face was smeared in blood from his broken nose, madness glowing in his eyes as he heaved himself off the floor. A red handprint plastered over the white kitchen tile, the pipe scraping like a furious banshee as he dragged it up beside him. Cody screamed, bolting in the other direction, running around to put the table between himself and Aaron.

Jake was trying to wriggle free of his restraints again, pulling and pressing his good arm as much as he could, ignoring the way the extension cord bit into his sides and made his legs ache. He managed to wrestle his hand free and he twisted, frantically feeling for where he knew the knot was and picking at it, fingers bruised and numb and sore as he tried to undo the rubber cord.

Cody was playing chicken around the dining room table with Aaron. Dodging one way when Aaron went the other. Aaron was getting furious, banging his pipe on the table whenever Cody tried to snag a weapon of his own or got too close. Milo was shouting, shaking in his chair, desperate to wriggle free but knowing what moving would cost him. It was a stalemate; Cody couldn’t get past Aaron but Aaron couldn’t pin Cody, nor could Aaron get Milo to shut up without taking his attention off of Cody.

What Aaron had forgotten, it seemed, was that Jake was very used to escaping from Aaron. He knew all of Aaron’s little tricks.

The knot in the extension cord came loose and then, free. Jake rattled back and forth in the chair, wrenching his dislocated arm, kicking numb legs that didn’t want to cooperate, clawing his way out of the clinging cord. He saw Aaron glance back at him and then do a double take when he realized Jake was freeing himself. He screamed in rage and threw himself at Jake instead, swinging wildly with the pipe. Jake screamed, throwing himself backwards and tipping the entire chair over so he slammed into the floor. The pipe connected with his shin in a savage blow that shattered inside him, drawing out another scream of pain. But his other foot swung up and kicked Aaron’s hand, knocking the pipe free and sending it clattering across the floor.

Aaron was blinded by rage, launching himself at Jake with his bare hands. Jake skittered out of the chair and out of the way just in time, gasping as Aaron went head over heels over the seat of the chair and crashed into the cabinets.

“GET MILO OUT!” Jake shouted to Cody, trying to scramble to his feet, trying to reach for something on the table, anything to give him an advantage against Aaron, “GO! JUST GO! I’LL—“

His voice cut off as hands closed tight around his throat, thumbs pressing into his windpipe, fingers digging into the back of his neck. A heavy body pinned him to the floor, the back of his head knocking against the tile, spine grinding into the grout.

“You’ll what, Jake,” Aaron hissed, spitting blood and rage as he leered over his brother, strangling him with all his strength, ignoring Jake’s weak kicks and flailing hand, “Fight me? Me? You can’t stop me! You never could! You couldn’t stop me when we were kids! You couldn’t stop mom from hurting us! Instead you ran away! You ran away and there was no one to stop her from hurting me! This is your fault! This is all your fucking fault!”

“GET THE FUCK OFF OF MY DAD!”

A whirlwind of red and blue collided with Aaron, knocking him over, and Jake gasped as air rushed back into his straining lungs. He tried to yell at Milo, tried to tell him to run, but he could only cough, clutching at his chest, trying to breathe. The pain beneath his ribs was an inferno of burning acid, flaring in stuttering bursts, his limbs weak and shaky and refusing to obey him.

He heard Aaron scream in rage and pain and then the distinct thud of a fist hitting flesh.

Cody’s voice shouting, “Leave him alone!” And then another collision, more shouting and scrambling.

Distantly, Jake thought he heard the front door opening.

Or maybe he was just hoping that someone was coming to save them.

Shaking and wheezing, eyes fuzzing in and out of focus, chest flaring with agony that drowned everything else out, Jake heaved himself onto his side. He could barely make out the blurry, writhing shape that was Cody and Milo wrestling with Aaron.

Two teenage boys could not fight a full grown man.

“S-sto—stop—“ Jake tried to call to them but his throat didn’t work right and it hurt to breathe.

Someone screamed in pain. It did not sound like Aaron.

Anger and a fierce protectiveness flared to life in Jake, momentarily surging over the pain and exhaustion trying to drag him down. He hauled himself to his feet, lurching over to where Aaron was trying to pin down Cody, Milo on Aaron’s back, pulling at that greasy hair and trying to beat him with fists that seemed too tiny and ineffective. Fury like Jake hadn’t felt since his younger days had him drawing back his leg and kicking Aaron square in the ribs.

Aaron dropped back from Cody with a grunt, spilling Milo from his shoulders, and before he could recover, Jake kicked him again. Then he fell atop Aaron and beat his fist into his younger bother as hard as he could. Someone was shouting, screaming a hoarse voice to stay away from his family. There was red, hot and sticky on Jake’s fist, scratches on his arms.

Someone was pulling at him, dragging him off of Aaron, jostling his broken leg and making him cry out.

He didn’t know where Cody and Milo were.

There were strangers in the house.

Voices were overwhelming him.

His chest was on fire and his lungs weren’t working.

Jake fell unconscious.

———

He woke up in a hospital.

Because of course he did.

Everything ached, a dull throb through his entire body, an even wave of dull pain washing over him with everything shallow breath he took. Jake decided it wasn’t worth the energy to try and stay awake, and so he passed out again.

———

He woke up.

The room was dark. The steady beat of the heart monitor a familiar drone in the background. Someone’s soft breathing came from his bedside.

He was safe.

He fell asleep.

———

He woke up.

Someone’s hand was on his, big and warm and a little calloused.

It took a hundred years for Jake to turn his head and a hundred more for his tired eyes to focus.

Dan was slumped in a chair next to the hospital bed, looking pale and exhausted, his hand lightly resting over Jake’s. He looked like he’d been sitting there for decades.

Jake tried to say something but all that came out was a little gasp of air.

Dan’s head jerked up and their eyes met. Jake tried to smile but his face felt sore. Tears welled up in Dan’s eyes and he clutched at Jake’s hand with both of his, turning towards the door to shout something that was too muffled and far away for Jake to focus on.

He fell asleep.

———

He woke up.

The scent of flowers, a little dry, very faint against the chemicals of the hospital.

No hand on his this time.

The scratch of a pen on paper.

Jake pried his eyes open enough to look around.

A nurse was copying down the information from the monitors hooked to him. She glanced at him and jumped when she saw he was awake.

Suddenly there were doctors and nurses everywhere, shining lights in his eyes, asking him questions he struggled to answer with a tongue made a sandpaper and a throat as dry as the desert.

At some point, it was just too much.

He fell asleep.

———

He woke up.

Something warm was pressed against his side.

It didn’t take as long for him to move this time, though his head still felt like a bowling ball packed with concrete while he did it.

A familiar mop of messy red hair and a soft hoodie.

Milo had tucked himself under Jake’s arm and was curled against him, asleep with his head on Jake’s chest, one hand lightly fisted in Jake’s hospital gown and his brow scrunched up in his sleep. Jake watched him dazedly for a moment and then, very slowly, moved a hand to brush it through Milo’s hair, gently and softly petting his head. The crease between Milo’s eyebrows eased, smoothed out, and he seemed to relax a little, snuggling closer to Jake’s side. Jake winced a little at the pressure, but smiled thinly at the warmth.

At least he knew Milo was okay.

Milo was safe.

Milo was alive.

Jake fell asleep.

———

He woke up far more coherent than he had been before.

When Jake looked around, he saw the slightly wilted flowers in the vase on his bedside table surrounded by a handful of get well soon cards and a well loved shark plush watching over him. With a tremendous effort, he reached out and slid the shark plushie off the table and onto the bed, dragging it closer so he could pet its soft fur.

It was one of Milo’s favorites.

The door opened.

Jake barely had time to register that it was Dan who had come in before Dan was across the room, cupping Jake’s face in his hands and crying.

“You idiot!” Dan babbled, holding Jake like fragile china but still holding him as close as he dared, “You’re so stupid, Jake! You could have died! You idiot! Stupid!”

Jake weakly patted Dan, murmuring quiet reassurances no louder than a whisper, tears on his own face that he didn’t bother hiding. Dan was warm, comforting, strong, familiar. Dan was family. He smoothed Jake’s hair back, sniffing and checking him over, muttering about how happy he was that Jake was okay, that Jake was alive.

“Wh’ happen’d…?” Jake managed to ask. His throat still felt raw and his chest was sore, but it was a fair sight better than it had been.

Dan mellowed at the question, easing down into a chair and holding onto Jake’s hand. Jake’s other hand was still awkwardly stroking the soft shark plush.

“Dom…Dom said he heard police sirens,” Dan said quietly, staring at Jake’s thin and pale fingers against his own broad, dark ones, “Came out to see what was happening. He saw the cars at the other end of the street, coming towards him. Then he heard screaming from inside the house. So he came running in and—“ Dan swallowed hard, squeezing Jake’s hand, “And you were punching Aaron in the face, screaming at him not to touch the kids. You were really beat up, Jake. But it took Dom and three other police officers to pull you off of Aaron. And the second they did, you passed out and threw up. In…in that order…”

Jake grimaced; he could only imagine what that must have looked like, “A-are the kids…?”

“Milo and Cody are both okay,” Dan assured him with a sad smile that said there would probably be plenty of therapy bills in their future, “No permanent damage, just a lot of bruising. Milo wouldn’t stop talking about how cool you looked…”

Jake chuckled, coughed a little, and sagged back against the bed with a tired sigh. He stared at the ceiling for a long time before whispering,

“And Aaron?”

Silence. Jake turned his head enough to look at Dan. There was an expression on Dan’s face like he wasn’t sure about the contents of a questionable container of food found at the back of a fridge. Jake frowned.

“Dan…what h-happened to Aaron?”

“Um…” Dan cupped Jake’s hand in both of his, looked like he was working up the courage to say something, “They, um. They think he—it looks like he had some kind of—of psychotic break. He—your mom is…gone. Then he came looking for you. He’s committed now. I don’t think he’s ever going to…get out…” His look was one of sympathy and pity and apologies he didn’t owe, “Jake, I…I’m really sorry…”

Jake turned away to look at the ceiling again and tried to figure out how he felt.

Aaron had killed their mother.

Aaron was probably going to kill him.

Aaron might have tried to kill Milo.

It felt like too much to deal with all at once. Jake closed his eyes and let out a heavy, wheezing sigh,

“When can I go home?”

He felt Dan’s smile rather than saw it, “Not for a few days yet, buddy. Want me to see if Milo can come by? You’ve been asleep every time he’s visited. Bet he’d like to see you.”

Jake thought about the little spitfire of energy that was Milo, the wide smile, the eager spark. The terror in his eyes. The rope biting into his neck. The righteous anger in his voice.

“Yeah,” He said, looking at the little shark beneath his hand, “I want to tell him thank you.”

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 115

Extra special thanks for this chapter go out to @baelpenrose and @charlylimph-blog. Besides being regular beta-readers for me, Bael really really wanted a chapter with more Charly/Coffey, and Charly happily obliged by joining my and Bael’s regularly scheduled live-write of the chapter. We. Had. A. Blast.  It was  a shining beacon of love and laughter in my life, let me tell you.

I walked from the kitchen to the entry just as the notification went off that someone was standing outside. Still laughing from the comment Tyche made about the chicken breasts we were currently stuffing, my smile didn’t drop an inch as I saw Charly and Coffey standing there. “Hey, you two! About time!”

Charly held her head high and ignored my comment, while Coffey grinned back. “Best for last, you know,” he tossed with a wink as he handed over a bottle of red wine. “I know it doesn’t go with chicken but…”

“Stomachs are colorblind,” I finished, in sync with Charly and Tyche like we had rehearsed it. Conor and Maverick burst into laughter while Arthur just shook his head at our antics.

Charly stretched her neck to look over Tyche’s shoulder. “Those looks like…”

“We know,” Arthur groaned, eliciting another chuckle from everyone. “Tyche just mentioned that.”

“The - feta? - cheese is not helping your case, I’m just saying.”

Tyche tried her hardest to scowl and made a shooing gesture. “Please don’t ruin dinner before it’s even cooked please?”

“If I promise it won’t make dinner sound obscene, can I ask a question?” Charly ventured. All eyes turned toward her, since it was probably the first time she had ever asked permission to ask a question. Once I slowly nodded, she took a deep breath. “Have you ever tried rabbit?” The next part was rushed. “ImeanIhavearecipeforrabbitstewthat’stodiefor, andI’mprettysureAntoinewouldlikerabbitragout-”

“Charly,” Coffey intoned softly, reaching out to gently scritch the back of her neck.

She stopped talking and bit her lips. “I just mean - “

“It’s okay,” I assured them before anyone else in the room exploded from the laughter they were trying to hold back for her sake. “I really would love that recipe, Charly. I actually have a recipe for lapine ragout that Antoine adores, but the only other recipe I have is for coney pie.”

Charly nodded enthusiastically while practically collapsing on Coffey’s lap. Still nodding, she pulled a file up on her datapad and flicked it towards me. “Can I ask about the rabbits?” she asked softly, head twitching when Coffey scowled and - I assume - gently tugged the hair above where he was still scratching her neck. “Doesn’t hurt to ask!” she complained.

“I swear, it’s fine,” Arthur stated firmly. “You would be shocked at how hilarious she finds this story.”

Tyche rolled her eyes hard enough to move her neck. “And it puts some things into perspective…” she sighed.

Conor, on the other hand, gave me a hard look when I opened my mouth. “You know the rule.”

Dropping my head back in defeat, I took a deep breath. “Yes, I will make coney pie tomorrow for dinner.” Antoine, Charly, and Coffey all looked at me in confusion. “Conor hates hearing about my near-death experiences, so when I tell this story I have to make him rabbit pie for dinner.”

“So he can eat your enemies,” Charly nodded sagely.

“Pretty much,” I shrugged.

“Wait- “ she sputtered, realizing the rest of what I explained. “You had a near death experience? With a bunny!?”

All I could do was giggle. “Yes. I have a deathly fear of bunnies because one almost killed me once.”

“Twas no ordinary rabbit - it had a vicious streak a mile wide….” Arthur added, funny accent and all.

“May I ask that no one interrupt Sophia until she explains how she managed a real-life reenactment of a Monty Python sketch?” Coffey asked, leaning forward so far that Charly had to twist to stay on his lap.

“The truth is stranger than fiction,” Arthur nodded, tapping his glass gently against the other man’s. “Sophia, take it away.”

Shaking my head with a grin, I obliged. “You have to know, Tyche and I grew up in a very backwater, uneducated family, and also in hereditary poverty.   So, it was perfectly normal - to us, anyway - to have pets like chickens, or goats… or rabbits… Food animals.  Well, when I was eight, my uncle decided I was old enough for my first pet rabbit.  A good, big one.” Tyche shook her head with a smirk, and I just shot her a glance as I kept speaking. “Well, Snickers wasn’t quite hand-tamed. And the only way to hand-tame a wild rabbit is to…. Well, hold it, honestly.  So I would sit in the yard, with Snickers in my lap, and hold him while he ate grass.”

Maverick opened his mouth to ask the question he always loved to ask, but Charly gently put her hand on his wrist and shook her head. 

I still answered the question I knew would have come. “I know, it sounds like the most harmless thing in the world, right? Pet rabbit, in my lap, chilling out and eating fresh grass.  The thing is… Rabbits are burrowers. And they have these wicked claws on their back feet just for that.  So, when you hold them, you have to hold their back feet together, or they kick to get away.”

Charly gasped softly as she realized what was coming, quickly clamping a hand over her mouth.

I nodded. “Yep. One day, Snickers got started, and I didn’t have his back feet as tightly as I should have, and… well, he opened my arm up from wrist to elbow before I could let him go.  I screamed, my mother came out, took me to the emergency room.  I’ve been terrified of rabbits ever since.”

“That’s awful!” Charly cried out, jumping up to come hug me.

As I patted her on the back, Coffey sat up straighter and shook his head. “Poppy, she’s okay now. And besides, didn’t you hear her mention how ‘backwater’ her family was?” He arched an eyebrow at me, eye gleaming. “I bet that rabbit was dinner that same night.”

“Bunny dumplings,” Tyche confirmed with a wink. “If we didn’t know what else to do with it, it was dumplings.”

Arthur shook his head with a chuckle. “I would have thought you would be upset that she ate her pet, Miss Harper.”

She made a rude noise in return. “Are you kidding!? The first thing I killed with a bow was a rabbit.” Head high, she flexed her biceps. “Do you know how fast those things are!?”

“Nice and fat one, too,” Coffey added. “And she found rosemary to roast it with.”

“And lemon balm,” she added. “And mint, but that stuff grows everywhere.”

I nearly groaned at the memory of spit-roasted wild game.

“So, you two have been through the whole After together?” Conor asked as dinner hit the table.

Charly nodded enthusiastically as she took a bite. “Yeah, we were friends Before - oh my gosh, this balsamic reduction is perfect, Tyche - and found each other not long after the End.  After a while…” she trailed off, waving between them as much as she could, considering she was still sitting on Coffey’s lap.

We all nodded.  I was, honestly, happy to see two people who knew each other that long survive the end of the world together.  “So, I knew Charly did archery - she’s shown me a few times, but I’m terrible at it, turns out. What about you, Coffey?” I paused before realizing how intrusive that might be. “And if you don’t want to answer, it’s okay,” I rushed to clarify.

He smiled in reassurance. “I was security, Before, and… security After, in a way.” Chewing thoughtfully on a bite of bread, he glanced at something none of us could see. “I had a gun, at first - being a black man who grew up in NorthAm before it was NorthAm, it was more prudent than it was deviant at the time.”

“I don’t blame you,” I grumbled, while Tyche nodded and scowled furiously. We were horrifically embarrassed to be related to some of the reasons he needed a gun in the Before.

He tilted his head in a conciliatory fashion, as though he could tell what I was thinking. “In the After, bullets were hard to come by and… not very prudent, it turned out. They drew a lot of attention. Whereas our sneaky Charly…”

“Probably made traps,” Arthur finished nonchalantly.  When a few of us glanced at him, he rolled his eyes. “Oh come on! No one can tell me the queen of pranks and engineering over here did not booby-trap anywhere she was living within an inch of her life and the lives around her.”

Charly beamed, while Coffey just chuckled. “I honestly don’t believe the margin of error was quite that wide, to be frank. But it was safe enough that, before long, we accidentally had an enclave.”

I snorted in an attempt not to choke on my drink, while Conor and Maverick were both glancing at Arthur - the resident warlord.

Arthur just blinked in an almost placid manner. “I’m actually impressed. You started rebuilding by accident.”

“Do I look like someone who decides to take over the world?” Charly pointed out. After a chorus of Yes all around the table, she rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault that hobbit holes are a strategically sound idea.”

“Apocalyptic Tolkien,” Tyche whistled. “I like it.”

“Sophia would have loved the library,” Coffey laughed.

My head shot up hard enough to make my neck hurt. “Library?”

He nodded. “Charly had the idea to go rescue every book we could find on camping, how-tos, engineering, historical infrastructure…”

“You just passed every class you are ever in, with flying colors,” Arthur nodded. “I had to make most of my people read - though we did end up with a library and decent bathing infrastructure.”

“Siege engines, Mr. Farro. We were building siege engines.”

He muttered something that sounded like “I will make up classes for you to pass,” but I was willing to bet that he would never admit it. Out loud, he just added “The fact that you not only read voluntarily but got other people to read without being forced has earned you extra credit.” She opened her mouth to object, but he held up a hand. “I’m being entirely serious, and no I won’t take it back.”

“I wasn’t going to try to survive an apocalypse without baths,” she scowled, stabbing a potato. “We may have ended the world, but we weren’t heathens.” Chewing so fast I thought she was going to choke, she immediately started asking Arthur about how he organized plumbing for his group.

“Trenches, aqueducts, and basically I got lucky because someone had a construction background.  We had some records of how Romans built their sewers with something close enough to the materials we had to work with so… it worked out.

With that, the conversation took off in the direction of infrastructure for post-apocalypse settlements, with Conor adding his opinion everywhere possible.  I knew there was no changing the topic, so I just shook my head and tried to keep up.

<< Prev   Masterlist  Next >>

[walker-journal]

Brother on Ice 4 (Adam Solo, POTW)

Characters: Adam Walker  (Tapir-Hunter),  Kaisley Ross (NPC Human),  Nurse Practitioner Schmidt (NPC Human)

Context: Adam brings Kaisley Ross to the hospital after answering a frantic midnight call. Both begin to suspect they might’ve let the wrong one in. It’s time to confess.  

TW: Parental Bereavement, Allusion to PTSD in the military, Head trauma tw

“Hey uh...sir...can I ask you something?”

The nurse turned from adjusting Kaisley’s respirator to regard the disheveled young man covered in dried sweat and bruises who’d slumped in a chair by the hospital room door. “What’s that son?”

“Why are there butterflies in a hospital?”

Nurse Schmidt’s dark eyebrows scrunched down as he peered around a sterilized room full of life assisting machinery and diagnostic tools but quite devoid of insects. “Walker, I really don’t have time for this,” he said slowly to the college student in an amiable tone tinged with uncertainty.

“So, you don’t see them?”

Schmidt’s blue medical mask hid his expression, but Adam could practically feel an intensifying scrutiny crawling along his harrowed features. “Please stay here Mr. Walker,” he said after a moment with too much gentleness before briskly departing into the hall. Adam listened to Schmidt's footfalls against the tiles fade into the white noise of activity that seemed to pervade White Crest’s hospitals around the clock.

Adam wasn’t sure how long he had been watching ice-white butterflies flutter about the beds and medical equipment like windblown snowdrifts when Kaisley finally stirred. She tried to sit up before convulsing with a sharp exhale of pain and flopping back down on the pillow in a tousle of sandy hair. “Adam,” Kaisley managed after ripping the respirator mask off her face. “What the hell happened?”

“Mrs. Ross you aren’t supposed to…,” Adam’s repetition of the doctor’s instructions died on his lips at the long stare of blue granite he received from Kaisley. “IGot to the house and everything was busted up, oh uh sorry about your door and cabinet by the way I had to…,” Kaisley wearily waved off any further explanation of how the footballer had destroyed her home decor in an effort to reach her in time. “I found you in a room full of…”

“Butterflies, white like the ones in James’ dorm,” Kaisley surmised, voice still thick and hoarse.

Adam nodded. “You were asphyxiating and alotta ribs were broken, so I did y’know,” the Hunter’s gaze strayed from Kaisley to deflect bashfulness to the insect covered ceiling. 

“You performed CPR until the paramedics arrived,” Kaisley finished, only to be answered by her rescuer’s stiff shrug. 

“What happened before your blackout? If you don’t mind me asking?”

Kaisley closed her eyes and tried to order her thoughts, fighting off the aching protests of her body to sink back into sweet sleep. “I opened the door but suddenly James wasn't there. This white snake...like a python...wrapped around me and started squeezing till everything went dark.”

Suppressing unwelcome memories of that dream where a white dog crushed him to death, Adam pressed further. “Mrs Ross, do you see butterflies right now?”

Kaisley opened her eyes again to regard her rescuer with a confusion. “Well...yes. Why?”  

“Have you been having nightmares alot? Like more than usual. Any sleep-walking?”

The cracks of pain that spread across Kaisley’s face immediately made Adam regret that callous line of inquiry. “All year,” she admitted, voice thick even after swallowing the tightness that seemed to grip her insides in a vice. “I kept seeing James, hearing him. The medication didn’t help. Why,” Kaisley asked again, the question more piercingly insistent.

Adam was quiet as fear rose up in him, a terror that managed to be choking and terrifying even for someone indoctrinated into self-sacrifice. The Hunter looked everywhere but the mother of the innocent man he’d killed. It was hard to breath.

The butterflies' wings seemed to beat faster and faster. Somehow keeping time with Adam’s accelerating heartbeat in fluttering panic.  

“I’ve got something I need to tell you Miss Ross,” Adam managed finally, blinking back hot moistness in his eyes. “It’s about James...that night last year I mean.”

“Yes Adam,” Kaisley asked gently, expression pained but not surprised.

“We were at the house party after Championships,” Adam began, the athlete’s usual composure breaking in a rush of words. “I was drinking too much and didn’t see him leave. I should’a ...it’s my fault I was there to keep him safe and I let my…”

“James mentioned you’d been in the Marines or something,” Kaisley said quietly, dread rising as she had an awful feeling where this might be going. “A Serviceman with a stress disorder shouldn’t be…”

Adam shook his head frantically in denial, face wet as the room grew blurry. “I t-tried to g-get James behind me...b-but he”

Screams preceded the right wall of the room collapsing inward, sending a wave of torn plaster and butterflies over Adam and Kaisley. An enormous boar, completely white and the size of a sports car, barreled in. The sheer momentum of its entry slammed the giant tusked pig into the far wall. But the single blue eye in the middle of its forehead swiveled to fix them with a purposeful malice.

Training took over. Adam bolted up from the chair and took Kaisley into his arms before starting in a desperate sprint down the hospital hall.  

[whitworth-waldo]

So, I wrote a one shot on Loceit, and it was kinda based in the flirty wave things that Janus just LOVES doing at Logan, but it feels kinda forced into it, but I tried my best so... I saw @totallybelievabledude's post and I wanted to write that.

Sorry if it's not what you wanted, but I'm pretty proud if it. 🥰

Anyway:

It was the middle of an argument, well, not necessarily an argument, more of a debate. Well, no one knows what to call it, but it was Deceit, Patton, Roman. Logan occasionally popped up with some facts here and there.

Deceit had been impersonating Logan for a little bit throughout the argument debate thingy because he knew the sides wouldn’t listen to him, and he just liked doing anything involving his boyfriend, well, secret boyfriend. The others didn’t know, and they didn’t need to. Plus, it would be weird to pop up as Virgil and just be like, “Hey, so you know how I hate Deceit? I think we should listen to him, I STILL HATE HIM THOUGH!”

So, that brings us about to where Logan came back, the real one.

“Not that any of you care-”

“Oh shit, shit.”

Deceit hid his face while Logan continued.

“I am unharmed and I don’t want to talk about it.”

Deceit smirked, he knew exactly why Logan didn’t want to talk about it, but we won’t go there.

“I’m just here to deliver one last fact and spare you my company.”

Deceit waved at Logan, much like how he did during the first Selfishness vs Selflessness fight, Logan got all flustered the first time, so it would probably work out the second time.

Patton went to say something, probably telling him that everyone enjoys him being around, but Logan interrupted.

“PETER SINGER-”

Deceit guessed he had to shout to get everyone’s attention, or he was just discombobulated from the wave, who knew. He wondered where Logan was going with this, Deceit recognized the name, but he couldn’t remember who the guy was or where he heard of him from.

“Is an Australian philosopher and activist who champions the movement called 'Effective Altruism'. The primary feature that differentiates Effective Altruism from other moral philosophies is its practicality. It employs the heart, and the mind so that Effective Altruism can earn its namesake and actually… be effective.”

Deceit was confused. Was Logan gonna agree with him? Were the others finally going to see he’s not that bad?

“The aim is to help as many people as possible while maintaining a "Perfectly Adequate standard of living'. So a poor, sick person giving five of their last fifteen cents to an aid organization, while incredibly altruistic, is not effective altruism because that money won’t go very far, and the act would only harm that person’s already unacceptable standard of living.”

Logan was on Deceit’s side! Logan, the logical side, the side that everyone ended up listening to at the end of the day, he was 100% on Deceit’s side! He wasn’t kind of agreeing, only to say that Deceit was wrong. Nope, he was agreeing with every point Deceit had made so far.

Deceit didn’t know if Logan was just biased, but damn did it feel good.

~~

Deceit threw himself onto Logan’s bed, he landed face down and groaned. Logan, who was behind him chuckled.

“What’s the problem?”

Deceit sat up.

“That was tense. Now come here.”

Logan tilted his head, but he sat on the bed next to Deceit. Deceit had a lazy smirk as he pulled Logan onto his lap, he rested his head on Logan’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around Logan’s torso.

There was a knock on Logan’s door.

“I’m doing something currently, I’ll be able to come down in 30 minutes.”

Deceit smirked as he heard the person walk away, he used Logan’s voice. A perk, he thought. He was able to copy the side’s voices while not having to appear like them. Logan sighed, knowing Deceit would whine if he moved, and in all honesty, he didn’t want to move. He moved so that he was lying across his boyfriend's lap, instead of sitting on it.

“My head was comfy! Traitor.”

Logan shrugged at Deceit’s mock betrayed tone. He grabbed a book that was on his bed. A Series of Unfortunate Events. Logan found himself enjoying this series, even if it was quite different from the books he usually read.

Deceit started to run his hand through Logan’s hair, and suddenly, Logan found that he couldn’t focus on the book.

“Do you think the others will be suspicious that you agreed with me?”

Logan shrugged, he rested his head on the mattress and looked at his boyfriend.

“Even if they are, it’s not like they’ll expect something like this.”

They were both quiet for a while, both enjoying the comfortable silence. Then there was another knock on Logan’s door. Deceit rolled his eyes.

“Yes?”

Logan just told him to hide, Deceit shook his head and smirked.

“Uh, you ok buddy? You’ve been up here for like, an hour more than you said you would be.”

Logan looked at his watch, Roman was right.

“I guess I got too interested in the book I was reading. Sorry, I'll be down in a second.”

Logan stood up and stretched, Deceit got up after him. Deceit placed a chaste kiss on Logan’s cheek and waved. It was the same flirtatious wave he’s been doing, it always made Logan blush.

Deceit then teleported, or you could call it fast traveled, there wasn’t a name for it, but Deceit did that to the dark side of the mind place.

“Where were you all day?”

Remus had an eyebrow lifted and his head tilted in confusion.

“There was a dilemma, and it seemed like they needed me.”

Remus nodded.

“I’m gonna go microwave this fork. I’ll tell you what happens.”

Remus ran away, and Deceit chased him. Luckily, Deceit managed to catch Remus before he could put the fork in the microwave, but then he heard the microwave go off in the kitchen.

“What did you do?!”

Remus shrugged, but he couldn’t contain his smile.

“I put a barbie in the microwave, and I knew if you saw it, you would take it out. It was a classic distraction method.”

Deceit groaned.

“WHY?!”

“Why not?”

Deceit covered his face with his hands.

“I swear; you scare me sometimes.”

Remus gasped and put a hand on his chest in an offended manner.

“Sometimes?!”

Remus mumbled something that Deceit couldn’t hear, well, almost.

“Must not be trying hard enough.”

Deceit shook his head.

“Please don’t try harder, I don’t want you being even more chaotic!”

Remus shrugged.

“Whatever you say.”

Remus walked away and Deceit presumed he went into his room, so Deceit went into his. He took off his coat and his under-blouse. He then put on a yellow hoodie over a white tee-shirt, he paired it with black sweatpants. He took off his hat and ran his hands through his hair.

~~

Deceit woke up to someone throwing themselves onto his bed right next to where he was, up until now, sleeping. Deceit recognized the figure next to him almost instantly, so he snaked his arm around their waist.

“You were right.”

“Of course I was dear.”

Deceit moved so that his boyfriend was pressed flush against his chest.

“Roman told Virgil what happened. Virgil didn’t like it one bit, so they called me down and started questioning me. A lot.”

Deceit nodded, knowing how upset Virgil could get. He had to deal with Virgil when he was a lot, for a lack of a better word, worse. It’s not like he ever thought Virgil was a burden, he could just get very agitated and rude when someone brought up a touchy subject, and Deceit guessed he was now a touchy subject.

“Do they know?”

Logan shook his head.

“No, I don’t think they thought of anything like that. They wanted to know if we were friends.”

Deceit hummed.

“What did you say?”

“I said no, but I didn’t necessarily mind your company. Which is true. Technically, we’re more than friends, and I don’t mind your company if anything I adore it.”

Deceit chuckled.

“You don’t have to defend lies when you’re talking to me. Literally, up until today, the other sides knew me as Deceit.”

Logan shrugged and rolled over so that he was now facing Deceit. Logan shoved his face into the crook of Deceit’s neck. Deceit rolled his eyes.

“Hey, Dee? Do yo-”

Remus had barged into Deceit’s room, only to find the two brain cells, as the fanders deemed them, intertwined and cuddling.

“I see you’re busy. I’ll come back later.”

Remus shut the door and walked away. 

“Will he tell the others?!”

Logan looked up to his boyfriend with big doe eyes, Deceit almost died then and there.

“No, even if he does the other’s would take it as him being the cursed… thing that he is.”

From a bit away, the two heard Remus yell.

“Wear protection!”

Logan’s face lit up a bright cherry hue and he froze. Deceit laughed and rolled his eyes. Logan shoved his face back into the crook of Deceit’s neck, and Deceit could feel the heat radiating off of Logan’s face.

Deceit kissed the top of Logan’s head, and he used the arm that wasn’t around his partner's waist to play with Logan’s hair. Deceit felt Logan relax, and soon Logan started drifting off.

~~

When Logan woke up, he was on his bed. He frowned and looked around for his python partner, but Deceit was nowhere to be found. He got up and went to brush his teeth, but then he noticed a familiar yellow hoodie on his nightstand. It was neatly folded and had a note on top.

“Sorry I had to drop you off, but we wouldn’t want Remus to think we did anything besides cuddling. Since you couldn’t wake up next to me, why not wake up next to my hoodie? Eh, sorry that was bad, but I’m writing this with a quill because that’s all I have in my room, plus it looks cool.

~ Your Boa Boyfriend (Sorry again, couldn’t help myself.)

Janus”

Logan laughed at the note. He unfolded the hoodie and put it on. Despite all the sides being relatively the same height, the hoodie was a little big on Logan, even though it seemed to fit Deceit perfectly.

Anyway, when Logan walked out into the kitchen wearing a yellow hoodie, especially after siding with Deceit, the only side who wears yellow, they had even more questions. Logan just shrugged at all of them and ignored them. 

It’s safe to assume that those little flirty waves that Deceit does, those really work on Logan.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Ep33 S4 pt 1: Deus Ex US Military

Been a little distracted but was reminded--yo--I gotta finish S4 of Yugioh this year. I think I can do it. There’s like...what...two episodes left? Three? Like I don’t want to tempt 2020, but like...I think I can finish this thing.

That and a bunch of my Photoshop files corrupted, I don’t know why, I’m very scared for my hard drive, and I need to do a big ol defrag and hope that’s enough. Really hoping this is my bad and not my computer’s bad. I’m pretty hard on this computer when I paint digitally.

and I was immediately gifted by the anime gods because yo, it’s my favorite storyboarder! They're back to carry me through my election burn out, every episode they touch has so much style and no matter how freakin weird or confusing the plot is, this storyboarder/animation team doesn’t seem to care. They will this kids show about cards with this attention to detail. They just have a lot of enthusiasm and that’s a thing about anime that I really like to see. No matter how weird it is, you gotta go 150% without any shame. Love it. Love to see em back.

First off, that earthquake from last episode?

Just a little bigger of an earthquake than I originally thought, coincidentally, this is when Roland shows up, only to realize that he’s like...10 minutes to late.

Well, maybe a little longer than 10 minutes when you consider that Mai freakin died and Yugi almost died, and Joey is absolutely dead and being carried across Tristan’s back.

Anyway, Roland just walked into a whole lot and is just trying to process his life. Roland is all of us in October/November of 2020.

If Roland only knew how many times Seto and Mokuba have totally biffed it when he wasn’t looking.

Like for reals...how is Roland still alive? Like...I don’t think the guy has ever died. Not even once. Maybe that’s Roland’s superpower as the secret FourthKaiba, by just being the only one to stay very far away from the constant BS strewn at this family.

Roland is just...too inept to die. He’s always too far away, he comes after the big bad has already murdered a few people, he’s just...too bad at his job to ever be a target. Live long, Roland. The Kaiba who was the smartest of all by actually being the dumbest.

Also, look at him parking far enough away on the actual helicopter landing pad. He is the only ‘Kaiba’ that follows the law. This could also be the other reason for his secret to longevity.

(read more under the cut)

Faced with a stairwell between their freedom and this weird earthquake chasm that just opened on the top story of this building, Yami decides it’s his job to carry...................

...................Raphael.

(Never forget that we know the exactly weight of Yugi Muto.)

And like Yami is weirdly strong because of magic powers but like...maybe Yami should take Joey and then Tristan should pick up Raphael? I’d say Tea could also pick up Raphael, but I feel like she just wouldn’t want to.

TBQH maybe the reason that Yami is carrying Raphael is because literally no one else feels like it? Like no one likes this guy?

Just kinda feels like Yami is holding onto Raphael out of a sunk-cost fallacy. He’s already done so much work to this guy, can’t lose him now. Gotta save Raphael to make up for killing Gurimo, Weevil, and Yugi. Can’t fail a fourth time.

Anyway, you know what else this storyboarder is good at?

How did they even get reference for drawing this? They didn’t, right? They’re just so good at art that they were like “I can draw ANY person in ANY outfit straight up the crotch, I dare you.”

Seto decides to...not help out, much like virtually all of Yami’s other friends, who also just kinda...yelled and cried at this situation instead of...helping.

Which is fine, because the stairwell gave out and then Raphael decided to uhhhh throw this directly at me.

Just one more yeet for the road. Youknow this guy has yeeted the Pharaoh not once but twice in one season, and both times he just chucked him like he was made out of foam core. (Also, please admire the millennium puzzle in this shot going out at like a 90 degree angle. Just...A+, this storyboarder is hilarious)

At first, I really thought Yami was dabbing his way over that ledge.

In a moody shot with his hair and his jacket swaying in the breeze, almost designed for you to lift and stick into your Youtube AMVs, Seto looked onward and seemed...kind of bored because no one’s throwing any cards. And like who can blame him, he has been on the top of so many ledges and so many buildings that he’s seen Yami make this same speech of “DON’T DO THIS DAMN LEDGE THING I SWEAR TO GODS” like...so many times.

He just immediately accepts Yugi died and is like “Well I guess that makes me king of games.”

And Raphael, after like several minutes of begging Yami to just let him die, decides to let go of that ledge on his own, because this is Yugioh, and you gotta fit in that suicide within the first 10 minutes of the episode. Which, PS, is not the weirdest thing that happened this episode.

And because Roland is freakin late to everything, he showed he could have done this the entire time. Honestly I think Roland just didn’t want to deal with Raphael. We can blame this on Roland, right?

PS we never see this building again in this episode.

I don’t know........why they bothered showing this. If anything it makes the next plot twist more weird because it’s like...what was the point of the random ass earthquake and the random ass concept art building if we, in fact, aren’t coming back here???

I mean I guess it’s a nice shot for your Artstation portfolio, good on you, Yugioh background artist.

Unfortunately this chip contains Seto Kaiba’s greatest weakness. (SanDisk card? Jump drive? Which PS--if they had jump drives this whole time, why was Seto using floppies earlier in the season? Like what happened there?)

And then, with the hatch of their helicopter just wide open, no one in a seat belt, and walking away from the destruction of one of the largest buildings in San Fransisco, finally the cops showed up. Real cops this time, not possessed cops. Also, it’s the Marines.

Am I going to get my Monty Python ending? I mean...if cops can recognize these kids in this universe...I might get my Monty Python ending. :) :) :)

For some reason, back on the mean streets of San Fransisco with no people left alive in it, Rebecca just kinda started losing her mind. Maybe this was to make up for the 2 seasons I had to watch Duke Devlin flirt with a 12 yo? That now we have to suffer Duke saddled with this small crazy person?

This small crazy person who is painted as this intolerable person next to Duke Devlin, but is also a love interest for the main character? Like Yugi’s into some weird ass angry girls.

PS the orcs were no longer needed for the plot so they have turned into streams of light in order to join with the Leviathan mass. So now Rebecca and Duke Devlin will just have literally nothing to do for the rest of the season. I guess they can go to Ghiradelli square...someone’s gotta eat that ice cream before it melts.

Also this happened.

In case you were like “Wow Rach, you didn’t update the Death Count, how dare you”--it’s because I uh...completely forgot that the Oricalchos crew is immune to fall damage. Raphael’s just fine now. He fell down 50 stories...and then 50 stories fell on him...but don’t think about it.

Meanwhile, on the back of some aircraft carrier, far into international waters, the kids get recruited into the military of a foreign country and it’s just as weird as you think it is.

Hey guys.

So, Bandit Keith was weirdly in Hell this season for no reason, right? What if he died offscreen because, earlier in the season, the US military threw him at Dartz because they couldn’t get a hold of Yugi or Kaiba? What about that headcanon? What if that’s why his angry ghost wanted revenge?

Anyway, they join the ranks of Shadow T. Hedgehog, which makes sense because...these guys look like human OC’s of Shadow the hedgehog already.

Sorry I just had a moment because Shadow uses guns a lot despite not needing them at all so “people won’t get uncomfortable with how powerful he is” while in Yugioh they can’t even...show a gun. That really is...you ever think about how weird that is? That Shadow the Hedgehog, a strange remix of a 90′s sega mascot, has a million giant guns but Kaiba’s actual gun (which, apparently he does have in the Japanese version of this show) got edited out completely?

Sometimes it just dawns on me and I have a moment.

Now the US Military just hand delivering them to Dartz is so wild because their reason for the USA not doing anything on their own with their fleets and fleets of ships is:

Have you MET the US? I live here, and if we were like given the choice to shoot the ocean...or just die...we’d be like “wait...for reals? So no one gets hurt, we just shoot guns at the water? You mean we finally found our true calling? For REALS? I just shoot this water bucket!??? FOR REALS????” and it would become a national holiday. All pop songs would be devoted to it. Our ancestors would make movies about it.

I mean, our dumbass president considered nuking a hurricane in 2019...in case you forgot because damn, it’s been a STUPID 4 YEARS. (And you better have voted already because for reals do not make me go through 4 more years of this. I do not think this blog would survive it...or the hurricanes that will keep getting nuked.)

Also....the show actually threw the word “proof” out there. Seriously show? You OK?

I figured the mind control situation would be a better reason not to arrest Dartz other than “Dartz is just so good at covering up his tracks” when the TRACKS have a broken down Caltrain on one side of them, and the other side of the tracks have the rest of that same Caltrain at the bottom of a river.

Seto is not amused but he never is. He will take this Nobel Peace Prize and step up to the microphone at the UN and be like “I WANTED IT TO BE A CARDS PRIZE.”

PS--we HAVE a map already, right? Raphael died to give us this map--and then didn’t die, but it’s not like anyone else here knows that. So like...why did we need the US Military to show up at all? Why is this scene important? Other than to look cool, I guess? Like...

...why is the US military here we already have a Deus Ex Machina delivered by Raphael? At least that one was deserved--the whole point of that duel was to get this MAP.

A map that we are never going to use.

...There’s a good chance that two writers wrote this episode in two different buildings and just...glued the two halves together. Animation is wild. Weird ‘Cinema sins’ things like this happen...all the time. This one though, this one is kind of funny because it’s a ton of wasted effort on the very best storyboarder.

Anyway I broke this up into two segments because I’m tired, and also, while a lot of people like long posts, the smaller posts are kinda easier to read. More will be upcoming in like...I dunno it really depends on a lot of things right, now, I’ve been having a time, but at least Yugioh is always there to enjoy. Maybe I’ll need so much distraction you’ll get an update tomorrow? Good things can happen, and it’s not like I get to do anything else for Halloween.

Happy Halloween Y’all! Lets make the most of it!

(here’s a link to read these in chrono order)

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Guardian of creatures; AU! Queen x oc female x reader Chap. 6

*Author’s note*

Hey gang well even though Halloween is over, I’m still gonna continue updating this story but I think I’ll end the Hallowqueen tags since it’s no longer the spooky time anymore. Also this chapter is the one I’ve been dying to write along with the next one coming up, because now instead of just a quick scene or mention of his name, Freddie Mercury our beloved Naga finally makes a real appearance in this story, and from here on out he will. Also please listen to the song choices I have selected for you all to help you get into the mood of the scene.

Warnings: Snake-like mentions (for those that are afraid of snakes), attempts of drowning, some fluff, magic, and mentions of killing monsters.

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​ @waddles03​  @psychosupernatural​  @ixchel-9275​  @simonedk​  @queensdivas​  @queen-paladin​  @queendeakyy​  @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​  @dancingcoolcat​  @geek-and-proud​  @kinole009x​  @wormzteef​

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Chapter 6,

The Final Test

Days went by and you were learning more and more spells each day.  As each day that went by, your magic grew stronger and stronger.  Soon enough you were at the very level of magic that John and Serafina were by the time they were in their 2nd year.

But soon came the day that you would never forget.  The day you met—him.

*May 21st, 1926, 9:25am*

You just woke up from a long night’s rest.  You flick the sheets back up to fold themselves up and then you snap your fingers as you say your destined clothing choice for today. The wardrobe opens up and flicks you your clothing of choice and you get yourself dressed.

Walking down the stairs you come into the kitchen to see breakfast is ready but no one is in the kitchen.

“John? Serafina? Roger? Brian? Hello? Is anyone here?” as you walk along the kitchen that’s when you finally take notice of a note with your name on it.  You pick it up and unfold it before reading it out-loud. “Had to go into town to handle something at the club. No need to worry everything’s alright just some scheduling mishaps. Prepared your favorite meal so it should still be warm. After breakfast go downstairs to the basement for a meeting that you are now ready to have. Love Serafina.”

You set the note down confused at first.

“‘Meeting that I’m now ready for?’ what does she mean by that?” Wait…….she couldn’t mean.

‘It’d be best to come downstairs now. I hate it whenever someone comes smelling like food when I’ve yet to have my meal.’ A voice says in your head.  That very same hissing, haunting yet soft voice you heard the night you were taken by Jarod. You feel your heart beating faster and your anxiety starts to race.

You were finally going to meet the mysterious and most dangerous mythical creature the world has ever known.  You were finally going to meet Freddie.  Remembering how you were told that Naga’s don’t like to be offended, you quickly race towards the door that led to the basement.  You had never been down there but you knew where the door was thanks to the tour they gave you when you officially moved in.

Gulping nervously you reach for the door handle and slowly turn it downwards and the door creaks up.  Inside you could see nothing but darkness.  Taking out Serafina’s wand you say.

“Lumos.” And the tip of her wand lights up as you slowly begin to descend down the stairs.

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You begin to notice that the further down you got, the less of a house it became.  Soon enough you were walking through what looked like a cave.  The cold breeze brushed against your arms, the rhythmic drip-drips of water that fell from the ceiling of the cave to the puddles down below, and it was so dark that you couldn’t even see what was in front of you anymore.

“F-Freddie?” you softly call out.  Only silence was your response in the cave.  “Freddie Mercury?”

“Well, at lasssst we meet.” You quickly turn around and all you can see are coils slithering about.  The coils were thicker than the most muscular man’s thigh, and was dark green with a hint of yellow. “(Y/n) (M/n) (L/n). Their power ssstill growing.” You turn around again but all you still see are coils slithering about on top of one another.

Jesus just how big was he?

You keep spinning about trying to find his face when suddenly as you turn one last time, he is suddenly there.  You jump back slightly at the sudden appearance of his human half and you finally get a look at the Last of the Nagas.

Long, madded black hair that reminded you of a lion’s mane that framed his face perfectly and rested just above his shoulders. Yellow-snake-like eyes that stared straight into yours, piercing your very soul and sending shivers up your spine.

Green scales also came up along his arms, decorated across his chest, neck and face.  You also saw a couple of golden gauntlets resting along his forearms, his fingers were long, slim and sharpened at the point with long claw-like fingernails. But what really frightened you the most was the noticeable overbite he had.  Instead of normal teeth, they were curved and sharp, like a real pythons teeth.

And true to what everyone said, just below the waist the rest of his body was a snake’s tail instead of human limbs.  He slowly slithered across from you as he said in that chilling voice of his.

“Are you afraid of me? Darling.” You take a hesitant step back and stammer.

“N-no.” you jump as you feel the brush of his coil at your back and your eyes follow it only to now see Freddie right in your face and he says as his index and thumb cup the bottom of your chin.

“Sometimes fear….is the only intelligent responssse.” You knew you should look away from his eyes less you be hypnotized but your fear made you freeze and choke up as you were forced to keep direct eye contact. The hint of a sadistic-like grin spreads at the corner of his lips as he toys with you by saying, “Don’t you think?” you don’t respond.

The grin falls from his face as he released your chin and slowly slithers to your right.

“Say something.” He softly demands you. “Or I shall get bored.” He then slithers towards a portion of his coils and slithers around on top of himself.  

It was almost kinda sensual to watch as he would stretch his arms out, or curl in on himself, and were you hearing a slight purr come out of him? Do snakes even purr?

“And when I get bored…..” he groaned out, but then faster than lightning he appeared right before you again as he growled out angrily, “I get HUNGRY!” his fangs bared and you could see the rows and rows of teeth behind his overbite.

Shit he was getting offended! Don’t fuck this up (Y/n) they told you it’s never a good idea to offend a Naga and you really didn’t want to get eaten today.

“I know you wish to speak your mind. Now talk!” he hissed as he came around behind you and hissed in your ear.

“Why did you save me from Prince Jarod of the Faes?” that was the first thing to come out of your mouth.  Now whether or not that was what you really wanted to ask him when you got the chance to meet him, you couldn’t answer that.  But it was already done.

You hear him hiss in slight surprise and his coils got riled up as they began slithering about faster as Freddie said.

“Why do you think these misfits brought you here to live with them? Why do you think we sought out John and Serafina to be the King and Queen pieces in this game of Ultimate chessss?” Freddie questioned out as he slithered around you.

You didn’t take your eyes off of him for a second.  King and Queen of a chess set? Bringing me to live here? Just what the hell was going on?

“What are you talking about?” you demanded.

“Oh come now, even you must think this is unusual.” Freddie said as he had himself raised up over you, probably now standing 7-9ft tall. His forked tongue poked out as he continued to glare down at you. “One human out of billions of you in the world, learning the ways of the Magic wielders. Learning of Elves, and Nokkssss.”

Suddenly you felt this excruciating pain all over your body. It was almost as if you were trapped underneath a car and it was continuously sinking down on top of you. You tried to free yourself but you found your legs were trapped together and your arms were starting to close in around your side.

You also felt yourself being lifted into the air and you then realized just what was happening.  Freddie had trapped you in his coils! And he was squeezing you tighter and tighter.

All you could do was scream in agony as his coils continued to wrap around you tighter and tighter.  You cries fell on Freddie’s deaf ears, in fact you thought he was taking pleasure at hearing your screams and cries of pain and agony.  In the darkness of the cave, your senses were heightened.  The pain felt twice as agonizing and you were powerless to fight back.

Blood rushed to your head as your neck was now the last thing to be coiled up as Freddie’s voice echoed through the darkness.

“I think it’s time you realized dearie, that you are the Knight in which our plan can fully execute.” And just like that. Freddie’s coils set you down and you quickly took in as much air as you could.

Coughing and feeling around for Serafina’s wand to try and light the cave back up to give you some sense of comfort.  But you fearfully turn towards the wall of a cave as Freddie slithers right towards you, his eyes now starting to shift and spiral.

“Every day, as your complete each test.” He hisses out. “Every day, you come closer to our goal.” He’s now once again standing over you, his hypnotic eyes staring down at you and you soon begin to see flashes of multiple wars, fire burning homes and forests, and wizards in black suits or dresses.

You also heard agonizing screaming and creatures of various forms and sizes being slaughtered in cold blood.  A wicked maniacal witch’s laugh echoed through your head as you saw creatures being killed.  How could anyone be so cruel as to do something like this and just laugh about it?

‘For too long we have been hunted. And killed. But now the time has come. For us to finally take our stand! With John and Serafina at the lead.’ You then saw John and Serafina standing side by side before a crowd of various mythical creatures.  The two of them raised their arms up almost like they were giving a battle speech. ‘What say you now? Our human knight?’ you then saw yourself surrounded by fire.

You looked all dirty and covered with ash and blood but in your hand you were holding something but it was unclear just what it was. But you saw your eyes were cold, distant, and ready to kill whoever it was you were facing.

“Do you hear?” You snap out of the vision as Freddie slithers past you and he stares upward.  Faintly you could hear the sounds of thunder rumbling in the sky. “The final test—commences.” He then turns back towards you and he says with a grin, “I shall be watching.”

Feeling the wand being placed in your hand you quickly mutter the Lumos spell and quickly race back up the stairs.  When you finally reach the safety of the main level, you slam the door shut and slowly collapse to the ground, your back leaning against the wooden door.

The adrenaline finally died out from your body and you were left trembling so hard, it was like you had just come out of a winter’s storm. Your shoulders shaking and tears falling down your face.  Dear god you had never felt more afraid in your entire life.

A hand gently cups the side of your head and you feel this immense warmth overflow your senses.  Your anxiety stops and you can feel your tears drying up.  Lifting up your head you see John sitting in front of you.

“The first meeting with him can be frightening.”

“That’s an understatement.” You mutter shamefully as you turn your head.

“We told him to not go over the top but you can never tell whether a Naga will keep his word. Here, eat this.” He then takes out from his pocket a piece of chocolate.  “It always helped Serafina calm down. Plus it’s the one thing I’ve admired that humans help improve. Putting chocolate into a bar, genius engineering.”

Wow.  This was probably the first time you’ve ever seen John act so—nurturing towards you. Like a father consoling their crying child.  You take the chocolate bar and take a small bite of it and immediately you start to feel better.  Chocolate always did that after all.

“He…..” you start off saying but Freddie’s voice came into your head, hissing.

‘Bessst not let them know what we’ve talked about. What happenssss in the basement, ssstayssss in the basement.’

“He what?” John asks you.  Fearing that Freddie may come up and squeeze you to death in his coils again (maybe this time even eat you) you shake your head.

“He……is he always like that?” you say after a moment of silence. He scoffs softly and says.

“In more ways than one. He doesn’t like to show it but he does have a soft side. It’s just in the nature of a Naga to be defensive as well as cunning. But they are wise. It was said that Balthazar himself sought council with the Nagas.” You think back to the visions that you were shown of all those creatures being hunted and killed, John and Serafina leading an army and of course you holding the mysterious weapon.

“You said that you would monitor my final test today right?”

“Yes. But we’ll do that after you’ve calmed down. When you’re ready meet me by the lake.” He stands up and walks out, but he advises you one last time to finish the chocolate bar.  You smile and didn’t hesitate in finishing the rest of it.

After also getting a tall glass of your favorite drink to wash the chocolate out of your mouth, you did as John said and met him at the lake. The sky was grey and dark as thunder was gently rumbling from the sky.

“So what’s my final test?” you ask him.

“You’ll see.” He walks right up to the lake and looks down at his reflection.  You stand next to him and he turns to you saying. “Swim down.”

“What?”

“Is there an echo in here? I said swim down.”

“How far do you want me to go?”

“As far as you can go. I’ll be right behind you.” his eyes showed that he wasn’t joking or messing around with you.  you look down at the still lake and take a deep breath before diving right on in.

You open your eyes just enough for you to see what was in front of you and you swim down.  You began to notice that no matter how far you swam down, you still didn’t see the bottom.

As you continued to swim down, your lungs soon felt like they were on fire.  So you decided it was time to go back up for air.  But suddenly the water around you began to push you sideways every time you tried to swim up.  

It was like you were in a washing machine as the waves kept thrashing you around.  Exhaustion and lack of air soon began to hit you hard as your vision turned black, but before you felt yourself pass out, a force of magic grabbed you and pulled you out of the water and you took a desperate breath of air.

You coughed out harshly as you felt yourself being lowered down to a mushy pebbled surface.  On your hands and knees you coughed and gasped in as much air as you could, all the while shivering from the sudden cold breeze that was blowing across your body.

You look up and saw nothing but dark thunder clouds and a vast ocean ahead of you.  Wait an ocean? You were swimming down a lake and now you’re at a beach of some sorts?

“This is where your final test begins.” John’s voice soon spoke up.  You turn behind you to see him standing there, staring beyond the raging sea.

“And it took nearly dying to get here?”

“Water transportation can be tricky, but you know you could’ve given yourself gills to breathe right?”

“Well thanks for the suggestion!” you exclaim sarcastically. You stand up and rub your arms trying to warm yourself up. “Where are we?”

“The Norwegian coastline. A part of the island where the country and the sea stand before a sacred island. And what your final test will be. You and I will cross the sea until we both reach the island.”

“But how are we gonna do that? Even if we built a strong enough boat, those waves would drown us.”

“Who said anything about building a boat?” he said bluntly. He took off his overcoat and you suddenly realized what he meant.

“Y-you mean run across?”

“Remember we’re not normal humans. We can use our magic to assist us to cross the sea. But we must not leave the other to drown against the waves. Is that understood?”

“Yes Professor.” You say.

“Good. Now strip out of your clothes.” He says as he unbuttons his shirt.

“Excuse me?”

“You wouldn’t want to get your clothes trashed in the waves do you? Or ripped against any corals and rocks?”

“No but—do I have to do it in front of you?”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, there’s a boulder you can undress behind. And I’m not asking you to get fully naked. Just till you’re in your trousers. Serafina would kill me if you came back with a cold.” You turn and see a fairly large boulder that stood about a foot taller than you.

You go behind and did exactly as John told you to do.  Once you were in your under garments you come out from behind the boulder and are stunned at what you see.

While he was fairly lean, John Deacon did have some muscle to him but what caught your eye was layered all over his back were scars. Deep, white and faded scars that looked like they came from either a whip or a knife.  They decorated all over his back and even part of his collar bone as he turned towards you.

Play video

How in the world did he get them? And just who or what could do something like that to a man like John?

“You ready?” you snap out of your dazed state and nod determinedly.

“Let’s do it.”

“Alright, stand right next to me.” You come right up to him and you both stare out towards the raging sea.  It’s waves seemed to grow higher almost as if challenging you both to dare enter it’s domain. “On three, we both run and use the frozen pad spell to help us cross the water.”

“Right.” You nod.

“One……two……” you take a deep breath in and hold Serafina’s wand tightly in your hand. “Three!” you run across the peddled sand and you both cry out. “Hypoducto!” soon with each step you both took, a frozen patch of ice came out to help you guys across the sea.

As a huge wave soon came for you guys, John dived through the wave while you tried to walk over it but it only resulted in you getting flown onto your back and washed back to shore.

You shake yourself off like a dog as you stare back out towards the sea.

“Dive with the wave. If you try to outsmart the wave, it’ll just keep dragging you down.” John says as he levitates himself down beside you.

“I thought I could do it.” You say.

“Well now you know it won’t be possible. Trust me I know from experience. Again on three.” You stand side by side and after he counts down, you both take off running again.  Jumping across the frozen pads once more as a wave comes towards yu both, you follow John’s lead and dive right through the wave.

He helps you stand up on top of a boulder just barely big enough for the two of you to stand on top of.  He then extends his hands and makes a ice slide for you both to slide down on.  You both race across the sea and this time an even bigger wave starts to form.

“HYPO-FINITE!” you both exclaim and soon the center of the wave freezes over giving you guys enough time to race up the icy ramp.  But just as you both got half way up, the ice began to crack and break apart as the wave started to come down over you two.  

Your footing starts to falter and soon it’s all too much as the icy path before you both crumbles and you both are sent down over 12ft into the deep water below.  You feel yourself sinking down until you manage to catch yourself and try to search for John.  He soon comes up to you and he touches your neck and soon you begin to feel a ticklish feeling in your neck.

You let in a sudden gasp of air and at first panic cause water would get in your lungs but when you felt they didn’t you turn to John confused.

“The merfolk spell I mentioned earlier. It’s only temporary though. Come on, we have to get to the surface and try again.” You swim behind him until you stop when a sudden figure appears just a few feet away from you. The flashes of lightning from above the surface gave a faint light on the figure as haunting bluish white eyes were staring at you both before suddenly vanishing in the darkness of the sea. The figure then reappeared, this time right in front of you and John.  It was a horse formed entirely out of water.

It slightly reared itself up as it stared at the two of you. It then turned to John and narrowed it’s eyes before vanishing once again in a blink of an eye.  John takes your hand and pulls you up to the surface. You both let out a gasp and you say to him.

“Wait! Was that Roger?”

“Afraid so. And he’s in one of his moods again.”

“Moods? What do you mean moods?” you look under the water and soon see Roger charging full speed towards you two.

“No time to explain. Quick!” he then lifted his hand out of the water and formed a quick ice raft just a couple of inches away from you. “Get on quick!” without question you pull yourself onto the raft and tell John to swim fast.  But just before he could reach your hand, Roger shoots out of the water like a missile knocking John high into the air and sending him further away from you.

“JOHN!!” the waves continued their relentless breaches as you searched aimlessly for John till finally he came out from the under the water just behind you. “JOHN! Hang on I’m coming!” you paddle the ice raft towards him but from the wave coming towards him, you saw Roger’s horse form charging straight for John once again. “ON YOUR LEFT!!”

But it was too late.  Just before John could turn around, Roger leapt out from the wave and pounced right on top of John.  Fearing for John’s safety you quickly dive back down into the water.

You see before you Roger’s back legs kicking hard as they dived both him and John deeper into the sea.  You also saw his front hooves literally pressed against John’s ribs, while John’s hands were trapped in Roger’s muzzle, preventing him from doing any magic.

You quickly take out Serafina’s wand and think of a spell and do the motion and soon Roger’s motions halted as he froze into a statue before quickly fading back within the water.  John takes back control and swims towards you and takes your hand, quickly swimming you both back up to the surface.

You both breach but before either of you could say a word, this time you are sent flying through the air as Roger’s dark whinny’s and neighs echoed over the crashing waves.  You land hard on your back against the water, you also felt like you might’ve gotten whiplash from the impact of the water on your neck.

Now Roger is coming in hot towards you.  His eyes narrowed with what almost seemed like pure hatred.  You quickly shot a magical blast of ice towards him but he breaks through it without a scratch and rams straight into you, before your vision goes black for a brief second.

When you come back around, all you feel is water slapping you right in the face.  You soon end up coughing and sputtering out water shielding your face with your non-dominant hand, while you feel your dominant hand that held Serafina’s wand was trapped in something.

You look up to see Roger running through the waves with not only your hand but John’s hands in his mouth.  John was parallel to you, however he looked like he was knocked unconscious and—wait was he bleeding.  Oh my god he was.

From his right temple you could see blood trailing down the side of his face.  And Roger—he didn’t even care.  He just kept running with both you and John trailing at his side while water continued to splash you both in the face.

Alright that’s it! I don’t care if he’s a friend or not! He hurt John! And if Serafina loses him—there’s no telling how she’d react. You then remember a binding spell Serafina taught you that works on a Nokken and you claim out.

“LORUS!!!” the wand soon sparks out a glowing blue lasso which soon wraps around Roger like real horse reins.  With a sudden burst of energy, you pull on the reins and soon found yourself on top of Roger’s back.  Quickly pulling up John onto his back, Roger soon rears himself out of the water neighing and roaring furiously.

Soon like a real wild stallion, he began to buck and leap all over the place trying to get you both off his back.  But you were holding strong as you kept a tight grip on the reins with one hand, while keeping John steady with the other.  Roger snarled at you as he turned to face you before continuing to buck and kick even harder.  As you hear John groan you tell him urgently.

“Hold onto me!” without question, his arms go around your waist as Roger soon run over a wave and continues to race on ahead over the water. Now free to take the reins with both hands, you continued to try and break him down.  But Roger proved that he wasn’t one to break so easily.  

As his neighs and whinnies of anger continue on, he tries every now and then to buck the two of you off his back.  After awhile you notice that the waves are now calmer and Roger’s running was now a nice, even trot.  His anger subsided as he now just simply ran forward.

You hesitantly place your hand against his neck and he gives you a soft neigh.

“You managed to hold onto me and to Roger’s reins. You could’ve died trying to do that.”

“The test was to not abandon your partner right? I wasn’t gonna let you drown just to save my own skin.” Up ahead you soon see an island.

It almost looked like a paradise for there was nothing but rock and the purest green grass growing out all over the island.  There also seemed to be a strong force of magic on that island for it was also glowing a pure golden light at the center of it.

“Is that the island up ahead?” you ask.

“Yes. Now tell Roger to go onward.”

“Full speed ahead Roger!” you gave him a gentle kick to his side and he obeys your command and runs faster.  Finally you both reach the island and get off of Roger’s back.  As you look around the gorgeous island, you hear Roger’s voice say.

“I must say I’m impressed. Only one witch has ever thought to use that spell on me. Guess she knew it would come in handy for your final test.” You turn to Roger and soon your bliss turns immediately to anger.

“You’re lucky I did otherwise you would’ve killed us! Especially John! Look I get it if you guys like to try and outwit or sass off each other but that gave you no excuse to knock John unconscious and then nearly drown him! What the fuck is wrong with you!?!” Roger’s eyes widen in shock at your sudden anger.

“Whoa (Y/n) calm down……”

“Calm down? Calm down!? You don’t tell me to calm down after what you nearly did to John! What would Serafina say if she saw what happened here!?”

“She’d say that you did wonderfully.  Better than any other Hollywood actors on the screen.” A spark of red came from the corner of your eye and when you turned around, walking out of it was Serafina herself.

“Okay I’m totally lost here.” You gave up as you raised your hands in the air in surrender.

“As I told you, the test was to see if the two of us could make it across the raging sea to this island.” John explained before Serafina continued.

“But it was also to show whether you were willing to save someone you hardly knew in any form of danger. By entrusting your lives in the other, you both showed trust in one another.” You look at Serafina in slight confusion before turning to Roger.

“So you—weren’t trying to really kill John?”

“If I had done this test with Serafina you’d never would’ve put forth the effort you did to save John. Because you’ve seen how the two of us are together.” You turn to each one of them and say.

“You guys have some sick sense of humor for your finals.” They all laughed and Serafina said.

“Well I think this calls for a celebration, everyone back home for some tea and cookies.”

“Please tell me you made my favorite ones.” Roger pleaded.

“Of course Rog. Why wouldn’t I?” he walked up to her and kissed her cheek and said.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“Watch it stallion.” John warned him.  Roger cheekily grinned and quickly snuck in another peck to Serafina’s cheek before walking through the portal. “I swear every time……”

“Leave him be my love it’s just his nature.” She said as John came up to her and wrapped his arms around her.  She lifted her hand and gently placed it on John’s cut and with a wave of her hand, his cut was healed and the faded blood was gone from his face.

She kissed the corner of his lips and your two professors turned to you and ask.

“You coming?” you nod and follow behind them and soon the portal closes.

After celebrating with tea and cookies you were exhausted so Serafina helped tuck you into bed.  Your clothes from earlier were now hanging over the fireplace to dry off.

“Now you’re sure you’re warm enough?”

“Yes, the bath really helped me too.”

“I’m glad. So how does it feel to have passed your final test?” she asks as she sits down beside you.

“Honestly, draining. Is this how you proved at your school that you were ready to be a wizard?”

“Well, let me tell you a little secret.” She leans in closer and whispers, “John and I are the only witch and wizard to ever do magic without the use of a wand.”

“What?!” she nodded.

“Yes. We at first thought that we only needed a wand to help further enhance our magic but—when we first met Freddie, he told us that we could do more. Be more powerful than any wizard and witch before us, without the use of any magical object.” Wow. So Serafina and John are basically two powerful wizards. “And hey, just be thankful you didn’t have to take the test John and I did to prove ourselves to him.”

“What did you guys do?”

“Well, John and Brian were to go out to investigate what had been attacking a nearby village’s cattle. But just before they reached the village, a stampede of elk broke out. Brian and John tried to run for safety but they were soon caught in the middle of it. Nowhere to turn and too many to try to make peace even with Brian’s gift of the animals. Eventually Brian spotted a way out by climbing up the side of a cliff, so together the two of them worked together to dodge through the stampede and scale up the cliff. But it was too unstable to hang on forever, it was then Freddie appeared before them, he said he could save them but he could only choose one.”

“Oh my god.” You muttered.

“One would be spared—for the other, the point of no return. With their grips slipping, Brian told John to save himself while he took the fall. Of course John being the stubborn man he is, refused. He wanted Brian to save himself while he took the fall.”

“I can’t imagine having to choose which one to save in that type of situation. It’s lose-lose.”

“Indeed it was. But eventually John looked Freddie dead in the eyes and told him to save Brian. Brian tried to refuse but it was too late, Freddie wrapped his coils around Brian while John got Freddie’s fangs.”

“Wait Freddie actually bit him?!” you exclaimed.

“John told me it was to numb the pain of the fall. Then he—tossed John over the side of the cliff like it was nothing.”

“But—but how did he survive it? He’s not a….a zombie is he? Or a ghost?”

“No. Because Roger was right there amongst the stampede to catch whomever took the fall. But since it was John who willingly sacrificing himself to save a sacred creature like Brian. A deity of pure light, John showed compassion for mythical creatures. A kindness and sacrifice that had hardly been known to be between wizard kind and magical creatures.”

“Whoa. I don’t believe it. I can only imagine what your test was like. What was yours like?” her face grew solemn as she looked down for a brief moment before her red eyes shifted back to you.

“My test—was a bit more challenging to say the least. But first answer me this, what is a Hydra?”

“No. I don’t remember reading about them in the book of magical creatures.”

“Well the book we had you use is pretty old. At the time we believed they were extinct but low and behold I got to fight the last one. To make it brief, they were once a very dangerous creature known in Greek mythology.”

“Wait I remember reading about Hercules back in school!” you suddenly remembered. “Those are the creatures that can grow their heads back right?”

“Yes. Unfortunately I didn’t know that at the time I did my test. Plus when your life is on the line and your panicking you do stupid things. I cut head after head after head till I was standing before a 64 headed Hydra.”

“Whoa. How did you come out of it alive?”

“Well as I was pinned up against a mountain in its grip, I used my power to reach deep within the rock itself and made the mountain collapse in on itself. Of course I didn’t come out of it unscathed.” She lowered her nightgown just barely over her left breast and you saw the start of a long scar. “It basically a crescent shape from the top of my breast down to my hip. I was bed ridden for weeks even with Brian’s healing.”

“I’ll bet John had a few things to say to Freddie after you got hurt.”

“There was colorful language yes. But Freddie’s tests always have a purpose. Soon enough you’ll find out the true meaning of yours.”

“But wasn’t it trusting in John and John trusting in me?”

“That’s only a small part. I mean the deeper meaning of your test. Again you’ll soon learn in time. Just as John and I did. But enough for now, it’s time for you to rest.” You nod and lay your head down on the bed.

Serafina softly strokes through your hair and whispers to you.

“Sweet dreams, our little protegee.” You hear the door close as the lights go off leaving you in a room of darkness.

Suddenly you feel this sudden spark in your chest.  Like a static shock just ran right through your chest and touched your heart.  You groan in pain as you rub your chest to numb out the sudden quick spark you felt. For now you left it alone as you slipped off to dreamland.

But you wouldn’t know at the time that that one little shock, was meant for something bigger. Something dangerous that would soon be coming your way.

[danetobelieve]

Out Of Ctrl || Shiloh and Winston

Winston hadn’t taught anyone about coding in several years. They loved teaching other people, explaining things to them and helping them understand what they could do with this newfound knowledge was fascinating to them. The prospects of what could come from something like that were beyond interesting and when they had agreed that they were going to teach Shiloh, they hadn’t really been joking. So when they had agreed to do this, Winston had immediately begun working on what they could show Shiloh. They had decided that they were going to teach them some basics within Python, it was a nice good language to start with and it would give their new friend the right sort of introduction that they would’ve wanted. They had asked Shiloh to meet them within the computer labs. It had all of the suites that they would need and it had all of the resources. When Shiloh arrived outside of the door, they ran over to it and pulled it open, pulling their glasses up their nose and grinning at them. For once they felt really confident, this was where they were really in their element. “Hey, Shiloh right?” they said, grinning widely.

Shiloh was interested in learning something new and coding had interested her at one point. However, she felt she didn’t have an opportunity to fully explore it so she never tried to. So when Winston suggested helping her, she was excited but wasn’t sure exactly if they had meant it. But once they made plans to do it, she was actually looking forward to it. It was gonna be nice, she knew it. Even if she struggled, she was going to enjoy spending time learning something at her own pace and not dealing with the rest of the confusing things she’d encountered some time ago. With a smile, she entered the building and headed to the computer labs; it had been a while since she came into the university building, but being on their alumni association, she still had her access. She gave a small wave through the door, entering when Winston opened it for her. “Yeah, that’s me. Winston? Hey.” She greeted him as she came inside. “I wasn’t really sure if I was supposed to bring anything but I brought a notebook.” Surely, she’d have to write some things down. Either way, she had it just in case it became necessary.

Nodding, Winston held the door open for them and followed them inside. It was not late in the day but the room would’ve seem dim if not for the fluorescent lights that flickered overhead. Not Winston’s favourite part of the room, sometimes they worked in the dark, but it seemed rude to do so on their first time meeting someone, not to say creepy if nothing else. “Nice to meet you,” they said with a bright smile and a quick nod, “you can definitely write notes if you think it will help you, you could even like type them up and then email them to yourself later,” they led them over to where they’d been sat before. “You can use one of these if you want, cause, it’s probably easier to just show you and get you going straight away rather then like … uh I guess like have you watch?” They shrugged. “Honestly, whatever works best we can do, but I learn better by getting involved so I thought you might too.” They didn’t have a stop button to their mouth sometimes and Winston honestly regretted it.

“Oh, good point.” Maybe typing them out would help Shiloh better than writing them down. She turned her attention back to the computers, opting for one of the ones close to her. “We can do both? You can show me and I can try and do it myself. I do learn better getting involved though, I know that much.” She chuckled as she set her notebook aside, pushing her chair aside so she could sit at an angle and half face Winston and her computer. It didn’t take that many years of school for her to figure out what was the best method for her to learn. Yet, it definitely wasn’t figured out soon enough where she didn’t know what it was like to struggle. “So where should we start first?”

“Honestly, whatever is going to help you to learn this stuff the best is what you should go with,” Winston replied with a shrug, “I am happy to help however, but we can get stuck in and see if we want to make any adjustments. Please feel free to stop me and ask me anything if you need to, I can also go slowly or go back over anything that is confusing but I’m sure you’ll get it very quickly.” Winston opened up the coding suite and looked at the blank black screen with a single flashing white dot on it. “So this is just your coding suite, coding is super easy, all you’ve got to remember is that the computer is clever but incredibly stubborn, it will only do what you tell it to do, so if it is not doing what you want then that’s usually because you’re not telling it to do what you want.” They paused before typing out a quick series of commands. “This is a very simple line of code, all we’re getting the computer to do is print a bunch of text.” They pressed a button on the keyboard and the line of text, “Hello, my name is Winston.” Appeared on the screen. “Now you try … all you have to do is put the print command in and then type out what you want to say…” 

Shiloh watched as they opened the coding suite, watching what they did more than listening. Which wasn’t a good thing but it was a bad habit she’d never been able to break from school. However, it seemed simple enough. She knew she could do this. “Okay, so I do this,” She glanced over at Winston, making sure they had their eyes on her screen to make sure to point out something that she might be doing wrong. As she pressed a button, the line of text didn’t come out like theirs. “Oh, man,” she chuckled at her mistake. “I guess I missed something?” She looked over at Winston, hoping they had caught what she had messed up on. They did say that if it messed up it was that you hadn’t correctly told it what to do. Maybe she missed a bracket?

Smiling gently, Winston shrugged. “It’s cool, don’t worry too much about it, like anything else you can make mistakes and learn from them. This is just another one of those things.” They looked at their screen for a moment before showing them how to reset it. “Just check through your code compared to mine, see if you can spot anything that is different from what I’ve got.” They clicked back to their original code before they heard a scuffle. Raising an eyebrow, they turned in their chair, a hand reaching up and adjusting their glasses so that they sat more comfortably on their face. “Did you hear something?” they asked, a gentle shiver of nerves running down their spine. 

Shiloh leaned over, trying to figure out what she had gotten wrong. It was a bit tedious, looking at everything and making sure it matched. Already she felt like she was going to have a tough time with this. Shiloh softly muttered to herself, trying to keep focused. However, she finally managed to see what she had gotten wrong. She moved to her screen to fix it when she heard something and picked her head up. “Yeah, I heard it.” What could it have been. “Might have been a rat or something.” Gross to think about there being rats in the university, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing. She returned to her screen, pressing a button and seeing that her line of text came out just like Winston’s. “Hey, look, I did it!” She exclaimed, leaning back into her seat.

Coding could often be tedious. Winston had spent far too much time writing out coding processes by hand to try and work out what the hell was going wrong and understand whether they were asking for the coding processes to be completed in the correct order. But in this moment Winston wasn’t particularly concerned with Shiloh’s coding. Looking around them once more, they were convinced by the lack of any further commotion that this really wasn’t something that they were going to have to deal with or should worry about. “That’s gross if it is rats…” Winston replied with a frown, “I’ll tell someone who looks after the cleaning and stuff and maybe they can look into it.” They grinned as Shiloh managed to complete her task. “Hey, second time lucky! Good job. You’ve officially written your first computer program and can now call yourself a computer programmer.”

Shiloh chuckled, not believing they were serious. “I don’t know if I’d call myself a computer programmer just yet.” She hardly knew what was going on and was just trying her hand at it to begin with. But it did give her a great confidence boost. “But thanks.” She was about to ask Winston where they’d move to next but then heard the same sound again. “The rats sound kind of heavy.” Big. Either it was a lot of them or a big one and for some reason she felt like it was neither of the two. She pushed back on her seat, trying to figure out where the noise came from and waiting to hear it again. She was quick to brush it off once but for some reason something was telling her not to do it again.

“But you literally just wrote a computer program, so by the definition of the activity you’re now one of us.” Winston replied with a grin. “You’re welcome, are you ready to try something new …” they trailed off as Shiloh mentioned the rats. “Yeah, seems kind of weird that they would let rats into this place at all and not exterminate them, it must be expensive if they chew through the wires. As Shiloh moved back in her seat, Winston took it a step further and stood. Looking around, wondering if this was some kind of prank that their friend Todd had come up with. “Hey, is someone … there?” they swallowed as they felt a chill run down their spine, hoping and praying that this was really just a prank and not something else. 

Shiloh watched as Winston stood up. She didn’t believe that it was anything to be worried about. It probably was just rats. Really big ones but the fact that Winston called out as if it had the potential to be someone else in this computer lab… it made Shiloh stand up too. If someone were here they’d have to have been crouched down and for a while too since she didn’t hear anyone or see anyone when she came in and didn’t hear or see anyone else since. Just then another noise and a chair from a table on the other end of the room rolled back with some force behind it. “Okay…” Shiloh moved back. She wasn’t really wanting to be caught in some supernatural nonsense. “Maybe we should just get out of here?” Shiloh suggested and just then caught the sound of a shut door. She pursed her lips trying to think of a logical reason for all this. The wind? It’s possible. Right? Another scuffling sound reached Shiloh’s ears and she turned to where she heard it and wished she hadn’t. A thin, small but so very thin creature came out from under the table. “Oh man.” What the hell is that?

As a mottled set of fingers reached around the edge of the table, Winston couldn’t help but swallow apprehensively as the knuckles clicked gently against the table. Pulling itself out from underneath the table. At the end of its fingers were a set of long dirty finger nails, that looked almost claw like and in that moment Winston decided that this definitely was not something mundane. This was not a prank. This was just some more White Crest bullshit that they were now going to have to deal with. “I think you’re right,” Winston replied taking a step backwards and quickly grabbing their bag and laptop as they backed away from the … thing. “I don’t know what that is but I don’t want to find out.” They weren’t sure why, but they tried to keep themselves between Shiloh and whatever this was. “Do you think we should run?”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here.” But to where? And did they really want to get chased by that? Shiloh had no clue how fast it was. No clue what it could do. All she knew was that she was defenseless in a small enclosed room. She tried to get a better look but Winston came in front of her. Could they do something she didn’t know of? “Where do we go?” She asked Winston, hoping they knew something she didn’t. They didn’t know what that was though which meant they didn’t know what it was capable of. And that was frightening enough for Shiloh. What did it want? Would they have to kill it?

“Yep,” Winston was not about to argue with what they saw as a good thing, “getting out of here sounds like a really good idea.” They took several small steps backwards, trying to calm themselves and focus on the inner peace that they had been told that they needed to access to access their magic. But their heart was pounding, their head filled with blood and they forced themselves to take some calming breaths. “I don’t know where we go,” Winston admitted as they pulled their rucksack slowly onto their back, creeping backwards towards the door hoping that they weren’t going to startle whatever the hell this was, “I just know that the sooner I get out of here the better.”

“Okay,” Shiloh agreed, slowly moving back. “On a count of three we both make a run for the door okay?” She waited for their confirmation, not wanting to jump to the countdown. She couldn’t really see it as they kept between her and the creature. It seemed like a bold move for someone that didn’t know what it was but they didn’t seem too surprised by it so they must be at the very least aware of the supernatural. “One,” she began to countdown, still slowly moving away from the monster, not wanting to make any sudden moves just yet. “Two.” Almost there. Shiloh could feel her heart begin to race now that they would soon be making a run for the door. “Three!” She spoke loud enough for Winston to hear and she started to bolt to the exit.

Winston honestly wished that they had said on a count to one, they felt like their legs might just moving at any moment. “Sure, on three.” Winston agreed as they tried to take a step back, they wanted Shiloh to be able to keep track of the monster too just in case it somehow made it past them. Honestly in that moment they weren’t sure why they were putting themselves in danger. They just wanted to make sure no one got hurt. Ironically they were at the top of the list of people they didn’t want to be hurt here. As Shiloh began her count down, Winston could feel their entire body itching as they prayed that they would get away safely. “Oh fuck,” they yelped as Shiloh hurtled towards the door just behind Shiloh, they were nearly there, they were maybe feet away when they felt a felt sharp claws rake their one of their ankles and they tumbled to the ground. 

They were almost on their way to freedom when Shiloh heard Winston fall behind her. “Oh no,” Shiloh cried and turned around to try and help Winston up. “Are you okay?” She turned her attention to them, wondering what they tripped over. “What happened?” Either way she tried to help them up, knowing they needed to get out of there. She only hoped they didn’t twist their ankle or any other immobilizing injury. Not that she’d leave them behind but it was a lot harder to run from something when you couldn’t run. 

For a moment, Winston was sure that as Shiloh helped them up that they would be able to just stand. They couldn’t feel the pain just yet, but their ankle was strangely wet and as they tried to stand they felt their ankle buckle and had to lean heavily on a desk. “I’m not okay,” they affirmed as they felt blood pour into their trouser, “I think whatever the fuck that was scratched me and it must’ve cut me because I can’t really put any weight on it.” They winced and looked for whatever it was that had done this, but they weren’t able to spot it. “We should try and get out,” they said, wincing as they took a squelching step forward, their shoe filling with blood. 

Everything would be fine, Shiloh was sure of it and as she managed to get Winston back on their feet, her hope returned. Then it was gone again once Winston almost collapsed. “Whoa,” she muttered, trying to look down at his foot to see if she can see any damage and then she saw it - blood. Oh that’s not good. She looked back at Winston. “I can help you, just lean on me okay?” Shiloh hoped she was reassuring to them, putting their arm over her shoulder and gripping their side. It was a moment like this that she appreciated the time spent at the gym. “We can do this together,” she encouraged them, not feeling much of a weight on her, hoping that Winston wasn’t holding back.

They weren’t too proud to accept help, Winston wrapped an arm gratefully around Shiloh and wished that they had done more reading about healing magic. But despite all of that, Winston wasn’t about to focus on their regrets now. “Thanks, I don’t know what the hell that is but we should definitely get out of here,” they took a shuddering step forward, leaning fully on Shiloh as they heard scrabbling around them, “I need you to set the pace, I can force myself to keep up but if you let me choose how quick we go then we’lll never get out of here.” They fiddled with the strap of their bag over their shoulder and winced. “We definitely need to get out of here too.” 

“Okay,” Shiloh understood their reasoning. It was a little awkward with the height difference but all Shiloh needed was to be given the okay. She picked up her step, keeping a firm grip on Winston’s side, not wanting to look back, she didn’t need it to distract her. She focused on getting out the door. She could pick up the sound of whatever it was behind them and with just that she could tell it was closing in on them. She didn’t waste any time, as soon as they cleared that doorway, she turned, placed one foot down and gave the door a kick with her heel, sending it back with a slam. She heard it make contact with something but ultimately shut. It wasn’t long before there was banging on the door. “Come on, let’s get out, I don’t want to wait to see if that door can hold it.” Or if it could open the door.

This wasn’t how Winston had imagined this going and this might be the last time that they offered to teach someone something. Why was it that whenever they tried to do a good thing for people they got shot down all but immediately by the universe choosing to throw some other form of supernatural bullshit their way. Sweat poured down their neck and soaked into the collar of their shirt. As soon as they were out of the door, Shiloh kicked it slamming shut behind them. There was a crunch as whatever it was slammed into it, and then continued colliding with it over and over again. “I agree,” they turned and looked at the lock, they could try and do some magic but right now they didn’t think they could do it without passing out, “thanks for this,” they stammered as their breath grew ragged, “sorry that your first time learning to code has been interrupted by what looks like some sort of rage monkey.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Shiloh gently responded as she remained focused on getting both of them out of there. Winston surprisingly wasn’t much of a weight to carry, it didn’t take long for Shiloh to get used to it and move at a quick pace. However, she could hear their breathing and while her breathing remained even, she knew theirs wasn’t because they couldn’t keep up. “Do you want me to take you to the hospital?” Shiloh asked, wondering just how much blood they were losing. She didn’t even want to look back and see. It was better to keep moving to the parking lot.

Doing their breath to catch their breath, Winston wiped the back of their palm across their forehead, a cascade of sweat sloughing away as they did so. “Uh, I think that it might be a good idea if you did take me to the hospital,” they said before they heard scuffling and spotted the little goblin thing again. It’s claws were dripping with blood. Winston’s blood. The thought alone made them want to be sick but they steeled themselves, “fuck, we should keep going,” they muttered as the thing scuttled after them, gaining ground in the corridors of the university, blood trailing from both Winston and their pursuer. 

“Okay,” Shiloh responded, keeping calm. If they needed to go to the hospital she’d take them there. Her ears picked up the familiar sound and she glanced back, seeing it coming towards them. Shiloh quickly thought of something. “Sorry about this, Winston,” she tried to be as unoffensive as she could possibly be but this was turning into a life or death situation. She wasted no time to scoop Winston up and started running. Maybe it was the rush of the situation but Winston didn’t seem as heavy as she would have thought they’d be, carrying a grown person and all. Either way, she didn’t let that cloud her priorities. They needed to get out of there now. “Is it still behind us?” She asked as she finally made it outside, but not stopping to look as she remembered where she parked, coming closer to her car.

Being swept off of their feet like a damsel in distress was something that Winston could get used to. “What the-” they managed to exclaim before Shiloh had doubled the speed that they were going. Winston was left with no choice but to cling awkwardly to her neck and pray that she didn’t drop them. Yet despite all of that, her grip seemed firm and strong and Winston knew better then to question someone who was in the midst of saving them from a little gremlin that seemed intent on attacking them. “I --” Winston squinted through their glasses which had fallen somewhat lopsided on their face, “I can’t see them,” they replied as they arrived at the car park, “you’re really really fucking strong, thank you, I honestly don’t know if I’d have gotten away without you.” They leaned against a car, pulling their hoodie off and wrapping it around their leg in a poor attempt to stem the bleeding. 

Shiloh finally let herself relax when Winston said the coast was clear. She sighed as she gently set them down, mindful of their leg. “It’s a good thing we were together then.” Shiloh wasn't sure how she would react if she came across something supernatural herself. She was grateful pretty much all her supernatural experiences were with someone else with her. She was thankful all her time at the gym had been worth it. Although she was positive some adrenaline had something to do with lifting Winston so easily. “My car’s just over there,” just a few cars away. She pulled her keys out and started to unlock it, the headlights blinking for a moment. She put her keys back in her pockets, ready for them to keep going. “Let’s go.” She took their arm over her shoulder again and walked to her car, opening it up and helping Winston in. She gently shut the door behind them and went into the front seat. The last thing on her mind was blood on her car seats, she was worried about Winston’s safety more. “Alright we’ll be there in a few minutes okay?” She glanced over at them before beginning to drive off. 

[triple-a-enderdragon]

End of Act 1

But far from over

First | Previous | Next

Something was very wrong, that much was apparent. Without checking his comms, Tango knew, as he had with Cub and Xisuma, that Iskall was dead. That's not what was so troubling, though. The flash of blue and the sudden horribly alien glee rippling through him freaked him out.

Now, more than ever, Tango needed to focus. Never mind that every hermit who came to watch was also dead, but Iskall dying was critical and Tango didn't have time to find out why.

He could hear TFC–or Earth, rather–directing Stress and Grian to stay in position, and for that he was grateful; he could focus on what he needed to do.

Which was–he now realized–to facilitate a little chat.

~~~

He never felt himself hit the ground. One instant he was falling in incredible pain, the next he was standing in front of a massive pillar of fire.

Iskall expected to be afraid, but he wasn't. He was furious; part of him realizing the fury wasn't entirely his own.

As the pillar of flame walked closer to him, a voice rang through the thick air:

How dare you.

The pillar stopped. Again, the voice rang out:

How dare you.

The pillar looked as if it would speak, but it never got the chance; it disappeared in a flash of smoke. Behind the clearing smoke, however–

Was Xisuma.

~

Xisuma's base was a whirling inferno. The only thing keeping the four avatars from burning was Tango's sheer will; a will he directed at the inferno itself.

"Fire! As I am bound to you, so you are bound to me! Answer!"

I need not answer you!

Tango looked at Fire grimly. "You already have." He layed his hand on the altar's southern point, the other avatars mirroring him.

Do you even know what that does?

"I do," said Earth, calm and unfazed. "It calls forth the wronged, and you have just committed a grave mistake without considering the consequences."

Another flash of brilliant blue light and Fire was thrown into the wall, a sparkling diamond figure where he had stood.

How dare you! You thought I wouldn't interfere!?

Wh–I don't understand–

Because you don't think! You never think! Now your avatar has to do it for you!?

~

"X?" Iskall, still in shock, was trying to process everything. "I thought you were dead. Or am I dead?"

"We're both dead. Though, I'm wondering who the diamond-blue person behind you was; he seemed furious," said X, looking past him.

"Diamond? Huh." Maybe that would explain a few things. "What have you been doing this whole time?"

X looked amused. "Saving you and Python from mobs of pigmen for one."

"Ah, that was...quite nice. Thank you."

A pause.

"So now what do we do?"

~

What have you done with him!?

Nothing yet! Why would you even care!?

Why would I care!? WHY WOULD I CARE!? Surely you can't be this blind. Release him!

As if I'd listen to the likes of you.

Don't make me force you.

Oh, you're threatening me? Is this how you want to handle this!?

YOU WRONGED ME.

...

RETURN HIM.

For a moment nothing moved but sparks and embers. The internal conversation that took place must have made an impression; Fire's flames dampened. He seemed almost afraid.

...alright geez. Calm down.

A flash of light.

~

Joe was kind of glad he hadn't gone. When he'd asked Cleo if she wanted to watch the spectacle, she'd reminded him about Cub, and about how he might wake up alone and utterly confused. And even though Joe was ready to go outside and safely die from a creeper-induced heart attack, she was right. He thrived on confusion, but that would be just tacky.

They had been conversing quietly—Cleo was telling him of a weird dream she had earlier—when an explosion went off, in the distance, from the direction of X's base. Joe could think of a few reasons why that would happen, but none of them were good. Evidently, Cleo came to a similar conclusion and started to head outside.

But before they could make it far, a noise could be heard from the Ministry.

Cub was waking up.

~

Whatever panic Python had when Iskall passed out in the tunnel now returned tenfold. As he laid Iskall's body next to X's, he tried his best not to think about his situation. He already disliked the Nether; hours and hours of quartz mining had seen to that. Now, alone with no foreseeable way out, Python knew he would never go back in if he could help it.

But all that dread soon turned to relief as two of his friends, one just recently taken, started to stir.

~~~

Several days had passed since Cub found himself in the Ministry and X, Iskall, and Python walked out of the Nether. Outwardly, things returned to a normal rhythm. But know everyone knew they weren't alone. Besides the Four Cardinal Directions–as they were now known–no other avatars were revealed. Some hermits, however, had their suspicions.

X had been in his base for the past day or so, sifting through world data. He had suspicions on a few counts, and both had finally borne fruit.

First, he'd confirmed his (suspicions) about the shadowy being who approached him years ago. They had been an Element from the End, yet his encounter with them left him scarred and definitely not an avatar. He hadn't yet found why.

His second findings were on the diamond-blue person and his connection–if any–to Iskall. And hoo boy, was there a connection. There was the same connection between the two of them as there was between Tango and Fire, or Stress and Water. Iskall was Diamond's avatar.

Curious, X had searched the other hermits for a similar connection, and found two. Doc and Ren. Doc had been fairly easy to figure out; his scary ability to mold redstone to his liking, his eerily accurate diagnostics on whatever was wrong with a circuit, his strange cybernetics. Doc was Redstone's avatar.

But Ren. Ren was a mystery. The only reason X had figured out Iskall and Doc's Elements was because he already had had an idea of who it could be; but with Ren, he had no such idea.

All X could do now was wait.

~~~

"I don't know why I wasn't killed by the magic blast, Tango. I was kind of hoping you would know."

"But you were killed when you hit the wall..."

"Are you trying to figure out why?"

Tango looked at Zed, amused. "And you don't want to know?"

Zed laughed, saying, "I just thought it was my wonderful personality."

"To save you from a incredibly powerful magic blast?" Joking as they were, Tango was deep in thought. And in a situation like this, there was only one thing to do, experiment!

~~~

As he approached the entrance to the Stock Exchange station, Mumbo was pleasantly surprised to not hear angry yelling. Entering the station proper, he couldn't immediately see Doc, but he knew he was here.

Sure enough, Doc was working on the departure/arrival area of track, fine-tuning the minecart dispensing and re-uptake system.

"Doc? You here, mate?"

A head poked up from behind the platform. "Yeah, man. What's up? Checking in on me?"

Mumbo looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, kind of. You all right? Redstone no longer going haywire?"

Doc climbed out of the rail pit and looked at the vending machine. "No, it's weird. After this whole 'Element' dealio, everything's gone back to normal. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I don't really want to know, either."

"Yep, I can understand that. don't want to mess with anything."

"Yes, that."

They both stood in companionable silence for a few moments before Mumbo asked, "So, you want any help with this one?"

Doc looked at him, amused. "If you're up for it, then I won't turn you down."

As they worked, Mumbo was constantly amazed by how intimately Doc knew his redstone circuits, able to pinpoint exactly where a change needed to take place without needing visual contact with it. Between the two of them, redstone powerhouses in their own ways, the minecart circulation system was one of the most beautifully constructed machines either of them had seen.

~~~

"They really aren't leaving you alone, are they?"

"I feel like they think I've been away too long."

Stress laughed as one of the huskies tugged on Iskall's sleeve as he tried to leave the lab. "And what makes you think that?"

"Hercules! Honestly! I'm not going very far! Sit!" Hercules obediently, if a bit reluctantly, let go of Iskall's sleeve and sat. "I'll be twenty minutes, and I'll be back, ok?" Iskall scratched Hercules' ears and said, "Good boy. I'll be back soon, I promise." Hercules whined, but stayed put.

Finally able to take off, Iskall went after Stress, who was already in the air, waiting for him. When she'd contacted him about the ice farm (of doom), he welcomed something fresh to do.

"From how he acts, you'd think it's been weeks since he last saw you," said Stress as they flew side by side.

"Well, he's always been more attached to me that Venus is. Besides, I think he could feel what I went through. You ever had that feeling? That your dogs know what you go through?"

"That hadn't really occurred to me, but now that you mention it, I could believe a few of them do." Stress paused for a moment, before continuing, "The rest, I'm not to sure about."

The rest of the way to the ice farm, they chatted; mostly about their animal companions and future plans for the lab.

~~~

It was dark. The sun was far overhead, but under the dense jungle canopy, it was dark. A shape edged through the shadows, careful to not disturb whatever might be lurking beyond them. A parrot, intrigued by this movement, perched nearby and started chattering.

"Where did—? Shush! Not now, dude!" Ren was desperately trying to quiet his stubborn new friend, who was quite happy to argue back.

"Of course I can handle myself, I'd just rather not tangle with anything if I can help it! Don't you have someone else you can bother?" Ren listened to the bird. "Fine. Come along if you must, but please. Be quiet!" The bird settled herself on his shoulder, quite pleased.

Now thoroughly distracted, Ren had to get back on track. He was looking for an ocelot, though why he wasn't quite sure. Even if he did find one, he wasn't sure he could get very close. He wasn't stealthy like Python, or fast like Grian; and ocelots were notoriously difficult to negotiate with. Negotiating was still his best bet.

It took the better part of an hour for him to glimpse a flash of yellow in the dense foliage. Crouching down, he once more impressed the importance of silence to his parrot passenger; he didn't want to spend more time than he had to out here. She ruffled her feathers and stayed quiet.

When he moved closer, Ren heard a small mew. Tentative, inquisitive.

"No, I'm not going to hurt you." He listened to the ocelot meowing, answering, "No, nothing like that. I just want to talk."

As the ocelot slowly crept from it's hiding place, Ren became aware of a gentle green glow from behind him. Turning around, a figure seemed to emerge from the trunk of the nearest tree. If that wasn't enough to make him faint, she spoke.

Welcome. The forest has accepted you, you are finally ready. Come, walk with me.

Utterly shocked, Ren fainted dead away. Maybe it was a bit to much.

[silvernightwalker]

Dancing through our love

Pair: Deceit x Roman

Plot: Deceit and Roman grow closer over a few encounters and they're just cute together.

Warnings: smut, screaming, bit of angst and violence.

Word count: I don't know. I lost track lol

▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪

"HOLY MOTHER OF HAIRBRUSHES WHY IS THERE A SNAKE HERE?! WHO'S IS IT?!". Roman's voice echoed through the mindscape and a dark chuckle followed, giving the prince shivers. "I see you've met Dolosa? Come here, baby girl". Deceit stepped out of the shadows and kneeled down so the snake could circle around his arm.

Roman was glued against the fridge, not moving a muscle since the snake had entered the room. "W-what...why...you gave that thing a name?!".

Deceit shot him an irritated look. "You give your friends names too, right? Oh silly me, I must have mistaken. And she's not a thing. She's a beautiful python in a very rare color".

Roman snorted. "Why not befriending humans? Are they too low for you?".

Deceit chuckled, this time with more sincerity. "You actually think I don't want to be friends with you?". Roman made some confused noises. "Please, do figure out if that was a lie or not". The lying side walked away with a mocking laugh and Roman stayed still, slowly letting his breath escape. Oh he was so gonna get it!

It was a few days later when they had their second, friendly encounter. Roman was singing in the ballroom he created in his room while dancing dramatically with another prince he made up in his fantasy realm. Slowly the hands of the prince started to change into yellow gloves and the white outfit transformed into black and yellow. His eyes, that Roman made like blue, shining diamonds, slowly got brown with one yellow iris.

Roman gasped and tried to let go, realizing he couldn't escape the grasp of the lying man. "Oh come on, my dear prince. Let's have one dance", Deceit's voice sounded through all his thoughts and the prince looked into his eyes, slowly giving the control of the dance to the dark side.

They twirled through the ballroom, Deceit's cloak flapping around his body. Roman was mesmerized by the strong lead Deceit was and slowly their bodies came closer, almost as if they hungered for each other. Roman noticed two things. Deceit was a bit taller, which was odd since they were supposed to be the same height. Second was his body temperature. He was way cooler than Roman was and it wasn't just because he had been dancing for a while.

"You're so cool", he whispered and Deceit looked surprised. "Thank...you?". Roman giggled, making Deceit blush a bit. "I meant your body temperature".

Deceit almost stumbled from embarrassment and Roman laughed. "What is this? Deceit blushing and being embarrassed? Who are you and what have you done with Deceit?", he exclaimed dramatically.

Deceit growled and pulled Roman tight against his body before he dipped him down, leaning over him and their lips almost touching. "I am not embarrassed or blushing!".

Roman let out a nervous giggle, but Deceit pulled him up and wildly spun him around. Their footwork somehow matched and they didn't take their eyes off each other. They didn't speak anymore, simply enjoying their dance together. Soon they would go back to being enemies, but for now the were simply two humans enjoying a dance.

The ballroom eventually changed back to Roman's original red and golden bedroom and their dance ended. Deceit bowed and placed a soft but promising kiss on his knuckles. "Till soon, my prince", he whispered and turned around to vanish in dark smoke.

Roman sat down on the bed with a racing heart, completely dazed.

What just happened?

Their third meeting went less...dreamlike. Deceit stood in the middle of their living room, being yelled at by Virgil. Their argument was mean, hard and simply hateful. Patton had left the room with tears in his eyes, not able to handle these kind of fights. Roman eventually instructed Logan to follow the moral trait and make sure he was alright so that Roman could stop their arguing.

"Alright time out for tee and time out for tee, focus on issues or focus on-"

"SHUT UP!", came their harsh response and the fanciful side painfully collided with the wall by the force of their powerful voices. Virgil immediately got a panicked expression and quickly sank out of the room after he whispered a sorry, feeling extremely bad for hurting and scaring one of his friends.

Deceit growled and rushed over to the prince, kneeling in front of him.

"Are you alright?", he asked curtly and held his hand out. Roman groaned with a painful expression on his face and swatted his hand away. "I'm fine".

Deceit stood up with a sigh and Roman followed, his back sore and bruised.

"Make sure you go somewhere private next time you have a fight. Don't you dare upset Patton again", he snapped and walked away, holding his back.

Deceit bit his lip. "That went totally as planned", he sighed.

Roman walked back to his room, feeling sore and hurt. Emotionally. His friend and...other friend? hurt him while he only wanted to help and solve their problem. They used their dark powers on him, even if Virgil didn't mean to. Did Deceit mean it? He was disappointed since he felt a certain attraction to him. Was it really impossible to be friends with the dark sides? He and Virgil had connected and he was a dark side too...

Roman sighed, not able to feel less restless. He was about to close his door to shield himself from the rest of the world when a foot blocked it. He looked up and met the dark eyes of Virgil. They were filled with worry, guilt and sadness.

"I'm sorry...it happened before I realized it...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do it".

Roman relaxed a bit and slowly raised his hand. Virgil's head ducked a bit and Roman could feel his anxiety radiating from him. He gently placed his hand on top of his hair, sending some calming vibes to him to let him know it was alright. He knew Virgil could be a unpredictable when he was angry or anxious.

"It's fine, Shadow. I know you didn't mean to. But next time, fight somewhere else. Patton was very upset and I hate to see him like that".

Virgil blinked, the feeling of guilt only getting worse. "Is he...okay?". Roman smiled. "Why don't you check up on him yourself? I'm sure he would like that".

"But what if-", he started, but Roman interrupted him.

"No buts. Go and see him. Talk about your problem with Deceit and let him know what happened. He's much better in comforting you then I am".

Virgil gave him a small smile. "You're not bad, Roman". The fanciful side chuckled. "I know when someone is better at something than I am. Now off you go".

He pushed Virgil gently towards the hallway. Virgil saluted in his typical way before he sauntered to Patton's room and knocked on the door. Roman caught a glimps of Patton sobbing and crying into Virgil while pulling him inside his room. He chuckled, knowing they were gonna be alright.

He walked to his bed and slowly lowered himself on it, his back hurting even more now. He was flat on his chest and closed his eyes while summoning his imaginary prince. They immediately knew what Roman wanted and with a snap of a finger he was naked so the warm hands of the imaginary figure could massage the sore muscles.

Roman sighed and whimpered, feeling relief going through his body. Just what he needed!

It was after fifteen minutes when Roman could feel the prince, who had straddled his legs, shifting a bit. He suddenly got a bit heavier, but he was too dazed to realize the difference. He moaned softly when he felt some warm oil dripping on his back and some very smooth, cool hands. They somehow knew the exact places to find and soon the pain started to fade. "I didn't know you had healing powers", Roman sighed, arching his back a bit. "It's all gone...hmmm you sure are a keeper".

The figure smirked and leaned down to press soft, wet kisses on his back, going up to his neck. Roman giggled and wriggled under him, secretly enjoying the feeling. "You naughty prince. I didn't taught you this. Just a massage, remember?". The lips didn't stop and then teeth sank into his skin, just at the nape of his neck. He gasped and moaned, a wave of arousal shooting through his body.

He felt a cool tongue easing the skin and suddenly he realized this wasn't his prince anymore.

He turned around between the strong legs and looked right into Deceit's eyes. "Took you longer than I expected", he smirked. "I was getting bored".

Roman swallowed. "What are you doing?". Deceit smiled, his cool, scaled hands sliding over the hot skin of Roman's chest.

"I may or may not have been planning on apologizing and seeing if I could ease your pain. It's not like I feel the need to press you against the bed and have sex with you until you can't make a sound anymore".

Roman was completely hard and willing when Deceit had finished talking in his deep voice, his cock erected and exposed against his belly. "That- that's hot", he said, moving closer to the lying trait, but Deceit moved away with a serious look. "I'm serious, Roman. I came here to apologize to you for my actions. Virgil is the only one who won't accept me and I can't force him. I understand where he's coming from, but hmpfmmm-"

Deceit's words were muffled by Roman launching forward and kissing him. It felt weird to kiss another side, let alone a light one. He lost his balance and stumbled forward on top of Roman, who in his turn wrapped his arms around his neck, cupping his head to keep him close. Deceit's eyes shut and he started to kiss back, feeling the dark power inside him coming to live with an erotic power.

He pressed himself against Roman and both their cocks twitched in excitement. The prince even leaked pre cum already and Deceit let his fingers slip down to tease the tip. Roman moaned, parting his lips so Deceit could slip his tongue in and oh did that feel good!

They pressed themselves against each other, almost trying to melt together.

"Bite me. Mark me. Make me yours", Roman begged and Deceit growled. "Are you sure you want that?". The man under him nodded and whimpered when he asked and it was enough for Deceit to lick his neck before biting down. Roman gasped and moaned, arching his back and freeing his legs to wrap them around Deceit's body.

"Need you inside me", he begged and Deceit smirked against the bruised flesh. Roman was so different from his usual behavior. He was a begging, needy mess and Deceit happily made it worse. He moved up, parting from Roman and leaned on his knees to take of his cloak and fold it neatly to put it away. After that the rest of his clothes slowly got off, teasing Roman who tried to rip his clothes off.

"Ah ah, be patient, my pet prince". Roman moaned softly upon hearing the nickname and practically devoured the snake man with his eyes. "Just fuck me already", he said with dark eyes and Deceit raised an eyebrow. His hand shot between Roman's legs and grabbed his cock, squeezing it as a punishment.

"What did you say?", he hissed and Roman whimpered again, trying to get more friction.

"I-I'm sorry...Dee...please...not now. Another time. I need you", Roman whispered breathless and Deceit's face softened. "Alright then". He quickly took his black boxers off and Roman licked his lips when he saw how big he was. He was definitely going to enjoy that!

Deceit captured his lips again while his hand blindly summoned some lube.

Soon his fingers circled around Roman's entrance and he pushed a finger inside, feeling how he almost sucked him in.

"Just give it to me. I like it rough", he said and Deceit gave him an uncertain look. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you". Roman nodded and grabbed Deceit's hard cock, putting some lube on it. He wrapped an arm around the dark trait and pulled him closer to watch his expression change when he slowly guided him into his tight heat. Deceit squeezed his eyes shut, his mouth falling open in concentration not to cum immediately. They both moaned and gasped, Roman letting him move slowly until he was completely burried inside him.

Deceit slowly opened his eyes to look down at Roman and brushed the hair out of his face. "You're so beautiful", he whispered and Roman smiled, feeling butterflies in his stomach. "Not as beautiful as the man I'm looking at".

Deceit snorted. "You know we're the same person?". Roman laughed and kissed him softly, moving his hips.

Deceit got the hint and they slowly started to move in a steady, relaxed pace. There was no hurry and he wanted Roman to have a slow building orgasm. They kept looking at each other, not able to break the contact since it made them both feel like it was only them in the world. Roman's hand cupped his face, caressing the scales on the left side of his face while both their right hands linked fingers.

Slowly Deceit started moving a bit faster, his hips rolling in a deep and sensual way. Roman's legs automatically spread wider to take him all the way in, his free hand stroking the scales that scattered all over his body.

Suddenly the prince gasped, his legs quivering a bit and Deceit smirked, realizing he had found his pleasure spot. He snapped his hips forward, making Roman scream and dugging his nails in his shoulder. "Fuck! Right there", he cried out and Deceit made sure to keep thrusting like that in the pace they had.

Roman was completely losing his mind, not able to form normal English sentences as he felt the orgasmic tension slowly building inside him and he clenched around Deceit's cock. The dark side moaned and kissed him again, jerking him off. He was close and he could feel Roman was also not able to keep it in for longer.

"Let's cum together, Ro. Can you do that for me, baby?". Roman made some noises and kissed him again and again. Soon Roman arched his back, spreading his legs and sucking him in as deep as possible, stuttering: "I'm gonna...gonna cum...Dee!".

Deceit thrusting inside him hard and biting down his neck pulled him over the edge and small tears escaped the corner of his eyes when the insane pleasure ripped through his body. He cried and moaned, scratching Deceit's back in the process and soon he felt warmth flooding inside him, knowing his partner came too.

Deceit moaned loud and stilled inside him, filling Roman with his seed. They were sweaty and panting, but so satisfied and tired that Roman hid his face in Deceit's scaled neck and quickly fell asleep, the dark trait following soon.

When Roman woke up he felt complete and warm, but cool at the same time. He looked up and saw Deceit's face, his eyes closed in a peaceful sleep while their bodies were pressed together. Roman moved a bit and suddenly the realization hit him that Deceit had never pulled out. A goofy smirk appeared on his face and Roman gently turned them around so he was on top. He started moving his hips and both their cocks responded immediately.

As soon as Deceit's cock was completely hard he started bouncing on him rough and fast and the man under him moaned and gasped. Slowly his eyes opened and he saw Roman riding him like his life depended on it.

"R-Roman, stop!! I'm gonna...", he warned him, but it was already too late and Deceit could only grip his hips, slamming himself deep inside him before he came again. "Fuck yes! Fill me up, daddy!", Roman moaned dirty between his gritted teeth.

Deceit panted, his toes curling and he grabbed Roman's bouncing cock to get him off. Soon Roman felt himself tensing up and came with a loud cry over Deceit's hand. "That's it, baby. Cum for me", he cooed and worked him through his orgasm. When Roman whimpered he pulled away and licked his hand clean while looking at the creative side. "Hmm you taste amazing", he smirked and Roman moaned softly.

"That was really good". They laughed and Deceit slowly moved up to grab Roman and lift him up for a shower. They both whimpered from overstimulation, but Deceit was afraid if he pulled out now, everything would drip out on the carpet, since his loads were pretty big.

They got showered, which took very long since they couldn't keep their hands off each other and eventually ended up downstairs on the couch, being lazy and watching movies. Roman was stretched on the couch with Deceit on top of him, keeping him warm since he wasn't very active and he wasn't wearing his cloak. Their limbs were tangled with each other's and Roman gently stroked Deceit's curly hair, enjoying the soft sensation between his fingers. Dolosa was curled up in the fluffy carpet on the floor, feeling relaxed with her friend and his friend.

At a certain moment Virgil walked into the room and almost stepped on the snake, screeching when she hissed softly. "HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THAT THING DOING HERE?! WHO'S IS IT?!".

Both sides shot up, looking startled at Virgil. It was then that the anxious side noticed the two on the couch.

"Excuse me, but what the flipping fuck are you two doing?", he snapped, mainly at Deceit.

"We're building a tower of cucumber and olives", Deceit said deadpanned.

Roman's shoulders shook from laughing and he bit his lip.

"She's not a thing, but a python in a very rare color named Dolosa. And she's my boyfriend's snake", Roman said as if it was completely normal. Deceit's mouth fell open, letting a happy squeal out and kissed him passionately, earning a surprised look from Roman.

"You...called me your boyfriend", he mumbled with a blush. Roman laughed and kissed his forehead. "Yeah, I figured that's what we are now. Unless you don't want to?" Deceit shook his head. "If I'd say that I would lie". Roman snorted. "Yeah, we can't have you lying. That would be horrible". They looked at each other before they started laughing.

Virgil blinked, completely baffled by the whole situation. "Wha- boyfriend?? What the actual-", he stuttered and walked away in complete confusion, leaving the two lovebirds alone. He needed another session with Patton before he could ever function again...

[conceptstage]

Life Lessons {Part Two}

AO3    ~    Part One

Jester frowned at the beer that was offered to her. “I don’t know,” she said. “Do you really think it will help?”

Nott paused as she downed her beer and nodded emphatically. “O’Course. Whatever it is that’s bothering you, this will make you forget it. There’s no better therapist than booze.” She smacked her lips and sighed. “This shit sucks.” But she finished off the mug and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Jester picked up the mug but just swirled it around for a moment. “Have you tried, I don’t know, an actual therapist?”

“Booze is cheaper.”

Jester was still dubious but she took a sip and instantly spit it onto the floor. “Bleh! That’s gross! You like this stuff?”

Nott shook her head. “You don’t drink it cause it tastes good. In fact, anything you can do to avoid tasting it is probably the best way to go. Just tilt your head back and pour it straight down your throat, don’t let it linger on your tongue too long.”

“This is a weird hobby.”

“It’s the most popular hobby in the world. Just try it. If you don’t like it, you can stop.”

Jester sighed heavily and stared at her own reflection in her beer. “Maybe…”

“Or, we could talk about what’s bothering you like adults and try to work it out responsibly.” Nott suggested, though the tone in her voice said it was the last thing she wanted to do. Jester sneered at the idea of giving voice to the swirling thoughts in her mind and tilted her head all the way back, pouring the beer into her mouth. She swallowed with a grimace and Nott cheered. “Atta girl!” Then she ordered another round for them both.

“I’m still on my first one,” Jester complained when their second drinks were brought over by the waitress.

“If you don’t drink it, I will,” Nott said with a shrug.

Jester finished her first mug and felt herself begin to feel delightfully light, like all her bones were suddenly hollow. She was smiling as she started the second mug. “You know…” she mumbled. “This is kinda nice, actually.” She took a swig and shuddered at the taste. “If only this didn’t taste so bad.”

Nott laughed. “The sacrifices we make…” She let it trail off like she had forgotten her point and started a new sentence without prompting. “So, what bothered you so much that it made you agree to come here with me tonight?”

Jester knew someone in the back of her mind that she shouldn’t answer. This was a secret and Nott was a notorious secret-blabber. It was her gossipy tendencies that had sent Jester down this spiral in the first place. “Beau. I think I’m in love with Beau.”

Nott spit her beer out in surprise and ignored the angry ‘Hey!’ of the woman at the table next to them. “Oh for fuck’s sake! Really? Now?”

Jester nodded and crossed her arms on the table, laying her hot forehead against her arms but speaking loud enough that she thought Nott could still hear her. “I think I’ve loved her for a really long time but I didn’t put the right words to it! When you told us at Molly’s house the other night that she used to have a crush on me, I started having all these thoughts. We sleep in the same bed all the time! We cuddle, we hold hands, we go to the theater to watch bad movies every week and giggle together in the back row.”

Nott’s mouth twisted up in disgust. “Beau giggling? Ew.”

Jester sat up straight and charged forward, either ignoring Nott or not hearing her at all. “I mean, we’re practically already dating, but without the sex!” Her eyes widened and she gasped. “Oh my god, I wanna have sex with Beau. I wanna kiss her so much and see her whole body turn red all over. And I wanna -”

“Aht!” Nott reprimanded. “Nope. Stopping that line of thought right now before I hear shit I can never unhear.” After a moment of quiet, Nott sighed and reached over to take Jester’s wrist and remove her glass mug from her python grip. “Okay, okay, don’t break the glass. I’ve already got a tab going here and I can’t afford any more broken shit on it. Alright, let’s start at the beginning. You told us all years ago that you were straight.”

“I know and I still like men. And it’s like…” she paused and looked around the bar, pointing to the attractive purple haired woman behind the bar. “Like, look at her. She’s beautiful, right? Super, extra sexy even. I don’t wanna have sex with her. But Beau… It’s different with Beau.” She picked her mug back up and downed it. “I want more. It’s starting to taste kinda good.”

Nott frowned. “I don’t know. You’re already spiralling.”

“Nott, just this once? Please?”

Nott couldn’t resist those sad eyes, even if they were a little wild and loopy right now. She sighed and ordered another round. “Alright. Write down your address on that napkin before you forget it.” Jester looked confused but too a pen from her purse and started jotting it down. “You give that to the taxi driver. If you remember nothing from here on out, remember that, alright?”

She did remember nothing but that. 

She vaguely remembered arriving at her apartment building, staring at her bright green front door for a few seconds, and then walking away from it instead. She must have had a destination in mind, but she couldn't remember it at all.

-

Jester woke up in a familiar bed that was not her own. Her eyes felt like they were on fire and her throat felt like Frumpkin had crawled inside and slept there last night. She smacked her dry lips and forced her eyes open long enough to start mission ‘Find Something To Drink’.

There was a sports drink by her bed.

Mission accomplished. 

She was pretty good at this hangover thing.

She popped open the bottle and downed it in large gulps. There was a mostly empty bottle of the same kind of drink next to it and she finished that too. She nearly missed the bottle of pain pills behind them, but she knocked it over by accident when she had tried to sit down the second bottle and thought ‘Oh good, feel-better medicine’. She couldn’t really count right now and when she tried she wasn’t sure which pills in her palm were really there and which were double vision from how dizzy she was, so she just took out what felt right and swallowed them.

Beau’s room, she realized as she started looking around.

She was in Beau’s room but Beau was nowhere to be seen.

“Beau!” she groaned. “Beeeeaaaauuuuu!” She needed one of Beau’s magical ‘make-everything-better’ hugs right now.

There was the sound of shuffling footsteps from the bathroom and Beau stuck her head out, a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. She smirked and leaned against the door frame. “Morning, Drunkie. How you feeling?”

“Like fucking shit.”

Beau laughed and stepped back into the bathroom long enough to spit, rinse and wipe off her mouth, then she walked over to the bed and climbed in beside Jester, letting the younger woman wrap around her like an octopus. “That’s the great thing about alcohol, it comes with its own life lessons.”

“Then why do people drink?”

“Why did you drink?”

Jester looked up at her blearily and blinked. “I forget.”

“That’s why.” She sighed and let Jester rest for a moment, gently brushing her fingertips through her friend’s hair. “So. You gonna tell me what happened last night or am I gonna have to piece the evidence together like a detective?”

“Second one. No talkie. Not me.”

Beau hummed thoughtfully. “Well, you would never drink for the first time all alone. You weren’t with me, you weren’t with Caleb and Molly, Yasha is in Xorhas for the next month, Caduceus doesn’t drink, and Fjord would never let you get this fucking plastered. So you must have been with Nott. Nott is banned from most bars in town so that narrows down where you went. You smell like smoke and you have peanut shell under your fingernails, so you must have been at The Leaky Tap.”

Jester nodded her head against Beau’s collar bone. “You’re really good at that.”

“Not really, that was all bullshit. You actually have a napkin from the Tap stuck on the ass of your dress,” she said, pointing to the dress on the floor. “With… I think that’s your address written on it.” Jester didn’t turn to look, instead snuggling closer to Beau’s body like she wanted to disappear inside of her. “How did you get to Dairon’s though?”

Jester frowned and finally turned her head up to look at her. “Dairon’s? What was I doing at Dairon’s?”

“Apparently, you drank so much booze that you were transported magically to a time when I lived there,” she teased. “You called me from her phone and I came to get you, in case you were wondering how you got here.”

She hadn’t been wondering that, she was just glad that she was. “Thank you. You’re the best.” I’m in love with you. But she didn’t say that out loud. Beau was over her, she’d said so herself. There was no use bringing it up now, not when Beau had moved on. Beau started running her fingers up and down Jester’s spine and Jester sighed, closing her eyes and letting herself drift off.

[nagisasstunningpersonality]

Day two - red/blue

Please read day one first! Otherwise this will seem a little odd lol

Nagisa actually showed up at his apartment, he was seven minutes early on the dot. Which was fine, because Karma was already ready. His fake costume wasn’t the most complicated thing in the world, but it didn’t need to be. He was passable, cape and everything. All they needed to do then was actually sneak in, come across some criminals, and wait it out.

“I still think it’s a bad idea,” he said, orange outfit clashing with the tone of his hair.

“It’s just a normal hotel,” Karma said, gathering the rest of his things. “Just act like we’re on holiday. There’s a bar on the upper floor, that’s where it’s going to go down.”

He didn’t actually complain after that, as the two of them took off. A part of Karma wondered if Nagisa just really wanted the excitement in his life, deep down. As much as they tended to get dragged into crazy things as reporters, it wasn’t an every day occurrence. Like sneaking in the city’s fancy new hotel, a skyscraper that blended in with the rest of the buildings surrounding it.

When they were outside, he could still feel Nagisa’s apprehension

“What now?” Nagisa asked.

Karma eyed the reception desk. “We sneak in. If someone stops us… we’re going to a convention tomorrow.”

They were dressed the part, anyway. Thankfully, they had a good combined amount of experience when it came to dangerous stealth missions. Honestly, he enjoyed that part more than the satisfaction that came with actually getting a story. Because, he and Nagisa were a good team, always had been, and the thrill that came with it was a little addictive. They balanced each other, where Nagisa was cool calculated blue and Karma was fiery red.

Nobody actually did stop them, and they made their way to the stairwell pretty smoothly. They both knew better than to take the elevator from the ground floor, which naturally had the highest amount of people. A couple of floors up, they could brave it, soon travelling up to the bar. It was packed by guests, but probably a great place for some subtle dealings.

“Okay,” Karma said, “now we wait.”

“I thought you wanted to stop criminals.”

“Not at all,” he eyed them up. “We wait for our hero to do it, then we approach… maybe we were late or something.”

Nagisa sunk down the wall. “They’re hardly violent. How do you know it’ll even get his attention?”

“I noticed a pattern,” Karma admitted. “He’s got to be intercepting some kind of information. Some of these mysterious arrests,  he must be targeting criminals on the watch list before they actually have the chance to complete the crime.”

“And if he doesn’t want to talk to you?”

“Then at least we’ve proven he exists.”

Nagisa didn’t seem so sure. “Do you mind if I go to the bathroom?”

After such a long time working together, Karma was more than familiar with Nagisa’s weak bladder. Some of the times it struck seemed to be so inconvenient that fate itself was screwing with him. Karma wouldn’t have any other partner, though, even if they had better habits like that. It was fine, anyway, he didn’t need Nagisa beside him right at that moment.

“Sure, I’ll keep watch.”

For a few seconds, everything went completely fine. Nobody moved significantly, and Karma was able to keep a close eye on the people he’d identified as criminals. All he needed now was for the hero to show up. Before anything like that happened, though, he was distracted by a pretty large bang. And Karma couldn’t help his human reflexes to flinch and turn towards it, taking his eyes away from what he was supposed to be watching, before he even realised

The criminals had been completely apprehended. Karma wasn’t sure what he was seeing at first, it was so fast, but they were definitely tied up, looking just as confused as him. The next thing he knew, security were rushing in, capturing the men to presumably take them into custody. There was only one way- the hero was here. And, by the looks of things, he somehow knew Karma was watching him. But how?

“What happened?” Nagisa said when he returned, sounding weirdly unbothered.

Karma didn’t even know what to say. Yes, he’d known his plan was bound to be a bit of a long shot, and yes, he hadn’t actually been trying to catch the criminals himself. But, that bang… He felt like he was being toyed with and he really didn’t like that. They’d come this far, anyway. Karma wasn’t about to just give up after that minor blip.

“Come on,” Karma said, “we’re going to the roof.”

“Why?”

But he’d already started to move. “Maybe that’s how he exited.”

Of course, there was nobody on the roof. Nothing but the hum of the city from down below. But that wasn’t necessarily what Karma wanted, anyway. He stripped off the cape, leaving him dressed a little more normal, before stepping further out onto the roof. This was the closest Karma had come, and he felt it internally- there was no way he was turning back. So, he kept going, walking right over to the edge of the building before he turned.

“What are you doing?!” Nagisa yelled, almost like he was going to follow after him.

Karma stepped backwards again, until there was no more roof left. “We know he’s in the building somewhere. Well then, heroes are meant to save people, right?”

“Y-you-“

“Just get a good picture,” he said, before letting himself fall.

Nagisa screamed his name, but he didn’t hear it so well. Falling… It was a feeling like no else. His heart dropped right through his gut with the rush of the weightlessness. Somehow he found himself laughing as a blur of lights and buildings passed him by. It was even a little peaceful, in a sick way. He didn’t even know how long he was falling for, everything just slowed down.

Until the motion stopped. For a moment, Karma wondered if he’d hit the concrete, and he was too dead to even feel the pain from it. But no, he blinked, coming back to his senses. He was being carried, warm arms supporting him in what he recognised was the bridal style. As much as he tried to scramble away automatically, that grip was firm, and then he looked up.

Never, in Karma’s twenty something years of life, had he felt more like a teenage girl than in that moment. But the man, the hero, looking down at him was so attractive it took Karma’s breath away. Or maybe it was the fall that had done that. The fall… Karma looked down, only to realise they were flying, hovering a considerable amount of feet off the ground.

The hero didn’t put him down there, though, and instead took off, and then they were flying properly. Karma didn’t even know what to think of it, heart beating so fast with the adrenaline that he was sure it was going to fall straight out of his chest. At the very least he could pride himself on not screaming, as they shot through the city he’d called home for the last few years of his life at lightning pace.

Finally, he seemed to find a place that was out of the way enough to put him down, on top of what seemed to be a regular block of apartments. Of course Karma had so much to say, things he couldn’t possibly try and voice when they were flying. But where to even start? He’d planned and planned for this moment, but not being carried through the air. The hero set him down, though, and Karma’s legs shook so bad he could barely hold himself upright.

“Be more careful next time,” he said, like he was about to just zoom off again.

“Wait!” Karma shouted. “I’ll throw myself off again!”

The hero turned, and Karma could see him a little more clearly. Half his face was covered by a mask that extended down into a bodysuit. It was hard to tell exactly what it was supposed to be, though Karma could see it was made up of scales. The green colour complimented the blue of his wide eyes and tied back hair, which was practically shining under the light of the moon.

“There might not always be someone there to save you,” he said deeply, as though he was straining his voice.

Karma found it in him to smile. “I guess it was my lucky day. I’m Akabane Karma, reporter for Kunugigaoka Daily.”  

He turned again. “I’m not interested in any interviews.”

“You saved me-“ Karma said, stepping towards him like a man possessed. “Half the city’s police forces probably saw you do it, based on the guards running into that bar. It’ll come out now, whether you like it or not. Around the city, I can bet a dozen reporters are writing horrifically inaccurate stories as we speak. Trust me when I say I’m one of the good ones.”

Hesitating, he turned over his shoulder. “I just want to help people when they need it the most.”

Karma forced himself to be completely alert, knowing he’d have to remember every part of this conversation. “All the rumours and conspiracies recently, would you take responsibility for them?”

“…Yes.”

He swallowed. “What are your actual powers?”

The hero blinked, as though he hadn’t been expecting such a trivial question. “Maybe I shouldn’t give everything away.”

“In case of super villains?” Karma smirked. “Flying… Superior speed and strength?”

“I can also hear it,” he admitted, “when someone needs saving.”

Karma thought of something. “How come you’ve been so shy about it, when you’ve already helped so many people?”

“I’m not doing it for fame,” he turned away again. “I have these abilities… And I want to use them for good. That’s all I want.”

“You should show yourself to them,” Karma looked out over the city. “People are kind of hopeless these days, they could use a hero.”

A soft smile came over his face. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

It almost hurt him to say something so selfless, but he somehow felt he had to. “I don’t have to write this story, if it matters so much to you.”

“But then you threw yourself from a building for nothing,” there was that smile again. “I mean it though, don’t do it again.”

“One more thing,” Karma realised. “Do you have a name?”

His shoulders stiffened for a moment. “You can call me… Python?”  

Karma supposed that made sense, given the details of his costume. He really didn’t seem really sure about it though, not in the slightest. But then again, if he was trying to stay out of the spotlight, he wouldn’t have necessarily thought about that kind of thing. He couldn’t help but think that it suited him, though. Interesting.

“Wait, wait,” he realised. “…Is there any way you can take me back to the building I… jumped off. My partner’s probably waiting for me. In fact, he’s definitely freaking out right now. You might have seen him- about as tall as a middle schooler, too cute for his own good?”

Somehow he looked scandalised. “Cute?”

Karma sighed. “You’re a super hero. Listening to people’s love life problems isn’t part of the job description.”

A flush came over the exposed side of his cheek. “I-if you like someone, you should probably ask them out.”

Yeah, like that was going to happen. “Alright.”

“L-let’s get you back now.”