#the ability to change life is right there

[cider-and-isekai]

Ok, here we go:

You've been aborad Lost Light for a while. How long? You couldn't tell. Probably not years, but months? Weeks? It wasn't impossible after all.

You didn't remember much about your abduction. It just... happened. It was all but a big nothingness among your memories.

The gigantic robots treated you well, you couldn't complain. But the orange and red mech liked you more than the others. You couldn't help but notice no one understands you nor are they treating you seriously. Like a person. You were more like a pet to those who have seen you. Red and orange mech seemed to hide you from everyone. Was he afraid? Jealous? You were not sure for you couldn't make a thing out of his words. The language was surely alien, mix of buzzes and other mechanical noises. You sometimes wondered how you do sound like to them. Like something cute, you thought, remembering one time when your "owner" made a very cute face when you tried to speak. It was then when you realised nothing is going to change. You began to accept this is your life now and there's no way back to Earth. You were free from job and other responsibilities, but you still missed your independence and ability to go wherever you please. Here it wasn't an option. You were constantly under the supervision of the red and orange mech or left alone in the makeshift sleeping space made for you.

Then one day when you were almost falling asleep in the mech's room you heard deep baritone in the distance:

- So where's this pet I've been hearing so much about?

- Oh, they're right here! Let me show you!

You blink twice. No. It's not a dream.

You've heard them speak English.

Bastard knew your language all the time?

You almost jumped to your feet, your face probably radiating with anger.

- Here. They know tricks. Come on, speak Buddy! - he said in pure english.

The blue and red mech seemed shocked at the sight of you. Whatever he expected it wasn't you.

- Care to help me? - you turned to the red and orange mech - and you. You knew my language the whole time? Or did you conveniently forget? Oh for fucks sake - you facepalmed and rubbed the top of your nose.

- Rodimus. This is a human. From Earth. It is a sentient being.

At the last two words mech froze.

- O... Optimus. I'm... I'm so sorry.

- It is not me you should apologise to.

Then you felt hope.

Hope you'll see Earth again.

First contact AU + human pet AU

Optimus: *visiting the Lost Light* So where's this pet I've been hearing so much about?

Rodimus: Oh they're right here 😊*holds out hand, showing the human*

Y/N: 😐

Optimus:....

Optimus: that's a human-

Rodimus: They know some tricks too! Watch this! Speak Little Buddy!

Y/N: please help me!

Optimus: It just spoke an earth language. That's a SENTIENT BEING

[selenepsyche]

Placements That Could Indicate Seeing or Attracting Spirits

Moon in the 12th House - With this placement, you could be highly sensitive to the unseen. You could deal with psychic dreams, have an emotional openness to spirits, and a natural connection to the other side.

Neptune in the 4th House - With this placement, your home environment could feel spiritually charged. You may have grown up sensing presences, hearing whispers, or seeing shadows out the corner of your eye.

Pluto in the 12th House - With this placement, you may draw in intense spiritual energy. You could attract spirits that have trauma tied to them or spirits that change you in someway, such as your perception, beliefs, or life path. You may feel a need to talk to them.

Neptune conjunct Moon - This placement blurs the boundary between the spiritual and physical reality. This may give you very easy access to spirits, and spirits may appear in your dreams, visions, or sudden emotions.

Pisces Stellium - Having a strong Pisces influence opens up intuitive and psychic channels. You may be a beacon for spirit communication.

Scorpio IC - Your home may be naturally attuned to hidden energies. Your childhood may have involved unexplainable phenomena or you had psychic gifts ever since you were a child.

Neptune or Pluto in the 8th House - With this placement, you could be naturally in tune with the afterlife and spirit realms. You may have frequent visits from the deceased, especially during emotionally intense periods.

South Node in the 12th House - You could have past life karma tied to mysticism or spiritual services. You may carry a soul imprint that attracts spirits seeking guidance or release.

Neptune trine Moon - You could be very psychic and empathic. You may have the ability to feel spirits intuitively and may have nurturing energy that draws them in.

Thank you for reading this! I know I'm shadow banned right now but I still posted this because why not lol. It'll still reach some people. If you have questions, comment them down below!

dividers: @omi-resources pictures: Pinterest

© selenepsyche - All Rights Reserved

[poetictarot]

[PAC] Them Again?!! Girl...

Do you seem to keep thinking of them? No matter how much you try to move on? I know it can get frustrating if you feel like you’re still attached to someone you feel like you shouldn’t be. So, this reading aims to unpack a bit of that frustration, and nudge you in the most authentic direction. As always though, the power is in yourself and not in the cards. What you choose to do is completely up to you. Additionally, the messages for this reading got very specific. So, if none of the messages resonate, this is not the reading for you today. Choose the photo that appeals to you first—or the most—then scroll down to the corresponding reading. Thank you so much for your time and energy <3

[ PILE 01 ]

You are no longer attached to them. This is because you are determined to release the burdens that came with your relationship to them. So, stay determined to keep them out of your life. Specifically, they had a sort of double standard towards you. They expected you to behave a certain way while not owning up to their own words. You saw clearly through the illusion and the deceit, that this person had no sense of integrity, and was constantly lying first before anything else. Honestly, the only reason they keep popping up in your head sometimes is because they want to come back to you. Their broken ego is pulling on you. I know this is just a tarot reading, but if this is resonating, do not let them back in because a) you want nothing to do with them, b) they have hurt you so much already, and c) they will not change and have not changed. 

You do not have to keep dealing with that, you do not have to keep cleaning up after them, figuratively or otherwise. This person made you feel crazy for being honest about your emotions and your boundaries. I’m getting heavy gaslighting vibes from them. Because you have to understand you are not crazy. Especially if you say no. You are not crazy for saying no. This person has likely tried to convince or coerce you into saying otherwise…which is insane to me. They were the one acting out of line. This was someone completely mistreating you and undermining your worth. 

The key to this situation is choosing yourself and your freedom. Sometimes, the key is destroying the door completely, no longer giving them any chance to reach you. If they still want to be friends, do not allow them that. Or if they still have means to contact you, block them. It will be the most thrilling thing to just finally be yourself again, without restraint. Reclaim yourself, and reclaim yourself as many times as you need and want. You have a sense of self stronger than you believe. You have the brilliant ability to cooperate with your strengths and weaknesses, your fears and your hopes. It’s not even about how this situation made you stronger because you have always been strong. You have always been intelligent and capable. Sometimes you don’t even have to give the situation or this person any credit at all. There’s no lesson to learn except for the one that teaches you about your irreplaceable worth. 

A song for you: Doubtful by Gregory and the Hawk  “It’s a step in the right direction / it’s a tough and final decision…”  [ PILE 02 ]

You are still attached to them, because knowing them changed you. Although you did the work independently and grew on your own terms, you’d admit that you wouldn’t be the same had you not known this person. You built your sense of self alongside them. The same is true for your person, who also admits that knowing you changed them for the better. I have a feeling you’ve known them for a long time, or they came at a very significant point in your life where you were starting out to realize who you were. Again, this person feels similarly. They will always feel and remember the impact of your presence in their life. In a profound sense, you’re unforgettable to them. This is probably why you still have a deep affection or fondness for them, because of the role they played in your life. This attachment doesn’t feel like something toxic, or bad at all tbh. There’s just a lingering sadness that you don’t want to admit to because you seem to be forcing yourself to move on. 

You believe it to be the more rational decision to completely forget this person, and I understand why. You’re moving into a new part of your life where you can’t afford to keep carrying emotional baggage. Where you have more ambitions, more responsibilities, and more successes ahead of you. But I feel like you’re forcing it to all to disappear too quickly, when it’s not meant to. There’s no pressure to let go of this person emotionally or mentally. It’s kind of like forcing yourself not to overthink will just lead to more overthinking. Ignoring the fondness or the memories can slowly build unnecessary resentment. Which is a much heftier baggage of emotion. 

I don’t mean this to say you have to return to them, because I do see that that’s not what you want to do. I have the feeling that you both separated from each other because both of you grew so much that it was just time to part ways. Both of you seem very mature, and so the ending was mature as well, though maybe a bit difficult. But you can accept the love you had for them without needing to go back—to them, to the relationship, to the past.

You can move on, but you do not need to forget them completely. You’re allowed to remember. You’re not weak for remembering. The past is in the past and yes, it can stay that way. You know how to differentiate nostalgia from the memory, anyhow. So let your memories nourish you, even for just a bit. 

A song for you: Butterflies (feat. Tim Bernardes) by Liana Flores “Waiting for the day we turn the page for good / You and I are butterflies / Flying, leaving chrysalis behind….”  [ PILE 03 ]

You still seem to be attached to this person because they made you feel happy, accepted, and seen. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. It’s likely that you don’t usually feel safe to feel your own emotions. It’s possible you don’t open up very much to anyone at all—but you opened up to them. They made you feel so safe it felt unbelievable. If the one person you trusted, turned you down or rejected you in some way, of course it hurts. Especially if they didn’t do so in the most caring way.

It’s not like they’re a bad person, and you’re not taking the rejection personally either. But still, you wish and you hope just a little bit; even though you know you shouldn’t. Emotions are not rational, and you’re not acting from those emotions anyhow. But it’s like you’re back to square one…back to the walls, back to the guardedness. And it’s all the more confusing…because I have the feeling that they still want to be your friend, or connect to you in one way or another. 

This is honestly a really difficult situation. What you’re trying to process is not easy to process at all, and you shouldn’t ignore how much this is hurting you. Yes, and how much it hurts you to keep talking to them. This is why you’re not as open as you used to be, this is why they’ve observed you talk differently now. This is why they may have said you’ve changed. You may wonder, constantly, how they feel. But how they feel is not the point.

You really need to let go of them, you really do, and that won’t happen if you continue to hold them as tightly in your heart as you do. But try not to make any impulsive decisions either. You don’t even need to make a choice right now. Just… rest. You need to save your energy for your own joy… I know you’ve been making choice after choice, being as decisive as possible. But you need a break. Innovate new dreams, new wishes, and yes, ones without this person. Yes, you felt what you felt for them, but start admitting to yourself that you’re letting it go. Whatever you need to tell yourself, tell it now. The realest thing you need to admit to yourself right now, admit it. Then surrender.

More than anything, do what it takes to stop the hurting. Even though I’m skeptical of the word “healing,” it can still arrive. Your heart will heal, even if it doesn’t happen overnight. Commit to letting this go…then your own life & the whole world begins to open up to you.

A song for you: Love Again by Carly Rae Jepsen “Time will take you back to believing / You’ll learn to love again.”

[whereserpentswalk]

Angels are beings of pure cosmic order. They exist in opposition to most other cosmic entities, considering demons, fae, gods, and elder things to all be their enemies. They exist purely to uphold the laws of the multiverse, protecting the laws of physics and upholding reality, occasionally keeping breaks in reality at bay.

Because angels are very hard to make from scratch they tend to recruit other entities into their ranks. They'll take from anything, though they tend to prefer to incorporate entities that are weaker then themselves as a way of keeping them under control. To incorporate an entity they can't simply change their allegiance, they must fully transform them into an angel, destroying their identity as anything other then angelic.

We know the most about humans who've been turned into angels. Partially because humans are common in the multiverse, having convergently evolved countless times, and partially because humans make easy targets. Sometimes they'll prey on humans from universes with limited knowledge of the supernatural, sometimes they'll prey on humans from cultures that worship angels, sometimes they'll recruit humans curious about magic.

Physically transforming into an angel can be a horrifying process. It sounds liberating, and mabye for some it is, but it's a destruction of so much of one's self. All your smallest flaws, everything someone could consider an imperfection, is stripped away, anything about your face that's considered ugly, anything about your body type that's considered unusual, any scars or tattoos or signs of age or markings that tell the story of your life, it all goes away. You'll find yourself looking in the mirror and you aren't yourself anymore. You're like someone else's idea of a better, more easily digestible you. Even things you might have hated will be gone, but your self will go with it. Most people who want to be that perfect blond haired blue eyed doll are shocked when they realize that their face is no longer their own.

Not to mention what they change about you to make you less human. They take away your reproductive organs, your digestive system, your need for sleep. Even your ability to feel pain or to cry is taken. Depending on what role you're given you might not even be humanoid anymore. Your body will no longer exist for yourself, anything that doesn't serve the higher goals of angelkind is stripped from you, regardless of if you want it to be taken from you or not.

And the most terrifying part is the loss of free will. You will be assigned to whatever role is thought to be most useful for you. You'll be cosmicly powerful but your powers will only have the uses you're meant to. And it doesn't matter if you like the job you're given or not, what's supposed to matter is what you're good at, and if you don't like what you're good at then you're screwed. Even your very body and your powers were meant to do one thing and one thing only. You might see the multiverse, you might get to talk to people, you might find out more about magic, but it will never be for yourself.

And the worst part is the loss of free will. The one thing every other being in the multiverse has, will be gone from you. You cannot disobey orders. And even when your lack of free will isn't directly effecting you, you will always feel it, always understand that you are truly no longer your own person. Even when you're just sitting there you can never really know if it's your choice to do what you're doing or not. And everyone you interact with, you'll understand that if the evoke the right rules they can force you to do exactly as they please with enough creativity.

People always say that they wish they could just have a single purpose that they know. But to truly have that can be horrifying. No wonder so many fall.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

At risk of sounding like a warhawk, I feel like a ceasefire will just put a lid on this problem for a few years at most, after which we'll be right back where we started.

It depends, really. Where at the point where nothing more can really be done with bombings. If we want to enact regime change, we need boots on the ground and neither Trump or Israel are willing to do that. Which is the right choice, because regime changes through invasion rarely work out as intended and we don't need to be putting American soldiers directly in harm's way for this. But the last two years have completely changed Iran's position in the middle east.

Before, they had multiple proxy forces. Syria, Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah. Syria fell and the new government is no friend to Iran. In fact they allowed Israel into their airspace to bomb Iran. Hamas is all but destroyed and has no ability to attack Israel. Same with Hezbollah. Same with the Houthis. Iran no longer has any insulation. Iran's nuclear capability has been destroyed. All their infrastructure is gone and most of their nuclear scientists are dead. It will be years before they can even think about getting a bomb, and meanwhile Israel has shown that they can destroy 20 years of nuclear build up in about a week and also infiltrate Iran at will, since many of the strikes Israel carried out were carried out wither by, or with information gathered, by Mossad agents in Iran who have been there for months. All the Iranian military leaders are dead. The mullah's regime gets its legitimacy by claiming to be divinely ordained to not just rule Iran, but to usher in the apocalypse so Islam can win and rule the world. They talk of the great honor of martyrdom yet the supreme leader just spent the last two weeks cowering in a bunker, and everyone knows it. Iran hasn't been this weak in generations. Even if the people( many of whom hate the current regime), don't rise up, the Ayatollah will be fighting off anyone in his regime that senses that weakness and wants to grab power for themselves. They're also surrounded by Muslim countries of a different Islamic sect, and both Russia and China, their greatest global allies, have shown that they won't come to Iran's aid against the US or Israel. Putin basically told them "sorry, you've got the wrong number" and China didn't even pick up the phone.

All this means Iran is no longer the threat they used to be. And they won't regain that position for a long time. Maybe never. Obviously the best outcome is the people rise up, overthrow the Islamic theocracy, and institute a modern secular republic. But even if that doesn't happen, the world is safe for a long time and the biggest impediment to the current trend towards westernization and stabilized relations with Israel in the middle east has been defanged. There's a very real chance that, no matter what happens internally with Iran, we might see real peace and stability in the middle east.

Either way, a massive problem has been solved long term, and we didn't lose a single American life in the process. That's definitely something to celebrate, and it's one of the most competent and effective pieces of governing I've ever seen.

[justabigassnerd]

The Right Guy

Pairing - Isaac Lahey x Dunbar!reader

Word count - 17.6K

Warnings - canon Teen Wolf violence, manipulation, jealousy, angst central, injuries, blood, fluff, Theo in his villain era

Summary - believing Isaac's heart to still belong to Allison Argent, you begin to distance yourself from him and the pack, finding comfort in Theo Raeken instead, infuriating Isaac who can tell Theo isn't one to be trusted (while battling his intense jealousy because he knows he's the one for you)

A/N - wow y'all it's my first Teen Wolf ficccccc! I genuinely had so much fun writing this one, especially since Isaac is one of my favourite characters from the whole show. I am debating a second part based in the events of season 6A (maybe 6B too, but I'm not sure yet), but that entirely depends on how y'all feel about this :). as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

You never could’ve predicted how much your life was going to change when you transferred to Beacon Hills High School after your brother, Liam, was kicked from Devenford Prep after an incident that led your family to his diagnosis of Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Within a few days of joining the school, you and your brother were bitten by Scott McCall, an Alpha werewolf who had turned the two of you into werewolves with said bite.

In the time you’d spent with the pack, you’d developed a crush on Isaac Lahey, the only other Beta werewolf within the pack who wasn’t you or Liam. He was soft, kind, and gentle, but had the ability to fight back viciously when he needed to in order to protect his pack or his Alpha.

After almost a year of learning to be a werewolf and keep control on full moons or when your emotions got too much, you were on the brink of starting your senior year, bringing about the stress of college and life.

“How much longer until Scott and Stiles get here?” you ask after checking your phone for what feels like the millionth time as Isaac shrugs.

“They said they wouldn’t be much longer,” Isaac comments, glancing over your shoulder to see the time displayed across your phone screen, the close proximity never failing to make your cheeks heat up. You knew both Scott and Stiles had volunteered to keep an eye on Liam after his last full-moon incident until the time you’d all agreed to meet up for senior scribe.

“If they’re late after all the demanding Stiles did, I swear,” you joke, laughing along with Isaac, who shakes his head.

“They’ll be here,” Isaac assures as your phone buzzes in your hand, lighting up with a text.

“Stiles is on his way. Scott’s gone to get Kira,” you relay to Isaac, who nods.

“See, I told you they wouldn’t be long,” Isaac responds as the two of you glance around as the heavens open and rain begins to pour, both of you silently grateful you’d already taken shelter under a roof. The two of you patiently wait, being joined by Malia and Lydia as you wait, seniors begin to rush past through the rain to get to the library, everyone excitedly chatting to each other about what’s about to happen.

“I’m here!” Stiles calls out, rushing over to you all.

“Everything okay? Is Liam okay?” you ask, your focus instantly on Stiles as he nods.

“He’s good,” Stiles replies.

“He didn’t lose control or anything?” you continue to ask.

“Nope,” Stiles responds, clearly trying to move on from the conversation and focus on what you’re actually at the school for, and you take the hint.

“Should we head in?” Isaac asks, gesturing with his head towards the library.

“I’m gonna wait for Scott, you guys go ahead though,” Stiles says with a dismissive wave, making you all nod as you turn to head into the library with Lydia and Isaac while Malia stays behind with Stiles. The three of you mingle in the library, chatting with each other and other classmates, eagerly anticipating the years-long tradition you are about to partake in.

Before you could all get prepared to join the line, Stiles came running up to the three of you, panic written all across his face.

“Scott’s in danger.”

The five of you, plus Liam, who had run all the way from the hospital to inform you of the danger Scott could be in, run out into the rain with you, Isaac, Liam, and Malia sniffing at the air, hoping to catch a scent.

“Anything?” Lydia asks, looking around desperately.

“The rain’s too heavy. I can’t catch a scent,” you say apologetically, everyone suddenly tensing up when they hear a roar coming from across the campus before rushing off in the direction of the roar, filled with the urge to protect your Alpha.

When you make it to where Scott and Kira are, you bare your fangs, you, Isaac, Malia, and Liam snarling at the large werewolf with blue glowing claws that dug into Scott. You longed to step in, to protect your Alpha with everything you had, but the moment you saw Scott begin to fight back, you knew you didn’t need to. You watched as Scott fought back, sending the mysterious werewolf running off with his tail between his legs.

And that’s when you met Theo Raeken for the first time.

All eyes were on the mysterious newcomer who had supposedly gotten there before you and the rest of the pack to help Scott. You watched as Scott studied him carefully before muttering a quiet.

“Theo? Theo Raeken?” Scott asked, shocked at the arrival of someone he hadn’t seen since the fourth grade.

“Who?” The question slips past your lips without even thinking, grunting slightly when Lydia’s elbow suddenly digs into your side.

“You moved away. What are you doing back here?” Stiles asks, immediately suspicious of Theo’s sudden return.

“I heard rumours that there was a True Alpha in Beacon Hills and I had to come and find him,” Theo says with a smile, glancing at Scott as everyone’s eyebrows furrow.

“You’re a werewolf? Since when?” Stiles asks, his question falling short as no one pays him any attention, too focused on Theo.

“We can worry about this all tomorrow, right? We’re here for a reason,” Lydia says, exasperated by the questioning that was happening.

“You’re right,” Malia agrees with a nod, already turning on her heels and heading in the direction of the library.

“Okay, fine, we’ll pick this up later,” Scott says with a slightly apologetic look towards Theo, who simply shrugs with a friendly smile. You all make your way to the library, thankful that the rain is beginning to ease off slightly. As everyone heads into the library, you quickly catch Liam by the shoulders, turning him away from the library as he groans.

“What are you doing that’s such a big secret?” he questions, making you roll your eyes at his question. Ever since he’d found out that you and the others were going to the school in the middle of the night for something, he wouldn’t stop pestering you about it, begging to be told what it was you were doing.

“Just wait until you’re a senior. Then you’ll find out,” you grin, reaching out to ruffle at Liam’s hair, laughing as he swats your hand away with a glare. With one last joking smile, you head into the library, leaving Theo and Liam to their own devices.

The library was bursting with excited chatter, groups of friends huddled together as they talked about their futures and the importance of tonight. You stuck with the pack, joining the line of excited seniors.

“Have you thought of any colleges yet?” Isaac asks casually, leaning against one of the shelves as you wait for the line to move, his eyebrow quirking as you purse your lips, thinking carefully.

“Nothing solid yet. I’m still worried about leaving Liam behind,” you admit quietly, only allowing your gaze to meet Isaac’s for a brief second before looking back down to the floor.

“You know Liam will be okay, right? You’re allowed to want to do things for yourself,” Isaac says, his voice softening as he straightens up, watching you carefully.

“I’d just feel guilty leaving him behind. What if he needs me?” you ask, worst-case scenarios whirling their way around your head, gleefully dragging you into overthinking.

“Then he can call you. Liam’s a tough kid, he can handle himself, you know?” Isaac says as you nod slightly.

“I know it’s just… I always promised myself I’d be there for him if he needed me. I feel like I’m abandoning him,” you mumble, your gaze dropping to the floor in embarrassment.

“You’re not abandoning him. We’re growing up, and that means moving away to do new things. Liam will understand, and you’ll still be there if he needs you,” Isaac says softly, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder and squeezing softly.

“I know,” you mutter, relaxing at Isaac’s gentle touch, thankful for the comfort he was providing you with without even being aware of it.

“I can’t imagine it would be easy for you. We all know how much you care about Liam. But you deserve to live your life for you and not anyone else,” Isaac says, his voice never wavering in softness as he talks. After losing his brother, Isaac had regrets about not spending time with him as much as he should’ve, but he knew that with how much you loved and cared for Liam, Liam would never feel like he wasted a second spending time with you.

“You’re right,” you admit quietly, both you and Isaac smiling shyly at each other.

“I usually am,” Isaac jokes, releasing his grip on your shoulder as you roll your eyes, shoving his shoulder playfully, unaware of your friends watching with raised eyebrows.

“Scott, you have been telling Isaac to make a move, right?” Stiles whispers into his best friend’s ear.

“I’ve tried. He’s pretty insistent that she doesn’t like him like that,” Scott replies quietly, making Stiles scoff quietly.

“Is he talking to her with his eyes closed or something? She’s head over heels for him,” Stiles says, gesturing towards you and Isaac as you chatted, both of you smiling widely.

“Trust me, she’s just as oblivious. I’ve tried telling her Isaac likes her, but she just won’t see it,” Lydia shrugs, remembering the times she’d tried talking to you about it.

“I’m gonna lock them in a room together until they figure it out,” Stiles mutters, quickly regretting his words when Scott whirls around to glare at him.

“No, you’re not. y/n would kill you because if Isaac had a panic attack and hurt himself, she’d never let it go,” Scott says firmly, remembering how Isaac had reacted when he and Allison had been locked in a room by Ethan and Aiden. Since then, Isaac had opened up a little bit more about his past with his dad and how his claustrophobia often resulted in panic attacks when he felt trapped.

“Okay, then what else can we do?” Stiles shrugs, glancing at everyone.

“Maybe just let them figure it out for themselves?” Malia suggests with a shrug, turning around as the line starts to move.

The line continues to move steadily, your group of friends inching closer and closer to the front. When your friends reached the shelf, Stiles was handed the marker, and you all watched as he scribbled his initials onto the library shelf alongside all the other initials of your classmates. The marker is then passed to Lydia, then Malia, and then Scot,t who wrote down two sets of initials before handing the marker to Isaac.

As you watched Isaac approach the shelf, you noticed how he stiffened at the sight of the extra initials Scott wrote. You heard his heartbeat pounding as his hand hovered over the shelf, his gaze fixed on the ‘A.A.’ It was at that moment that you realised that you could never compare to Allison. Whoever Allison was, she had stolen the hearts of both Scott and Isaac, and there was no way you’d ever be able to compare to her in Isaac’s eyes, and you knew it. You always knew having a crush on a friend was risky for your heart. To get attached to someone and to love them wholly while knowing they most likely never saw you as anything more than a friend. But this felt worse. To know that someone had been so loved by Isaac before that no one could possibly replace her in his heart.

“y/n? It’s your turn.” You shake yourself from your thoughts, noticing Isaac holding the marker out towards you expectantly, all eyes on you.

“Sorry,” you apologise, taking the marker and approaching the shelf. Without thinking, you hastily scribbled your initials on the shelf and handed the marker to the person behind you before crossing to your friends.

“Are you okay?” Scott asks, noticing your increased heartbeat.

“Yeah, fine. I just need some air,” you say quickly, turning away from the pack as you feel tears burning in your eyes. You knew Scott, Malia, and Isaac would be able to pick up your heartbeat pounding, but you weren’t in the mood to be grilled for answers. Instead, you rush out of the library, almost running straight into Theo and Liam, who were waiting just outside.

“y/n? I thought you guys were going to be in there longer?” Liam asks innocently as he and Theo watch you.

“What are you guys still doing out here?” You try dodging the question, laughing nervously.

“I need a ride home,” Liam says with a shrug.

“I just thought I’d hang out and get to know my new classmates,” Theo responds, folding his arms across his chest with a smile.

“Shit, of course, I’ll take you home now Liam. I’m not feeling up to staying here much longer,” you say, plastering a smile on your face as you usher Liam in the direction of your car.

“But I wanted to find out what you guys were doing,” Liam grumbles.

“You’ll find out when you’re a senior, buddy,” you say, trying not to let irritation slip into your tone as you continue to guide him towards the car, Theo hot on your heels.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t catch your name. Is everything okay?” Theo asks, approaching as Liam gets in your car, making you turn to face him.

“Hi, sorry, I’m y/n, and I’m fine,” you say dismissively, moving to turn towards your car again before Theo gently takes your arm, turning you to face him.

“Look, forgive me for using my werewolf abilities, but you reek of sadness right now. I just want to make sure everything’s okay. I mean it’s still a full moon, we don't need anyone running off with a thirst for human blood,” Theo jokes, smiling slightly when you let out a light scoff.

“I appreciate the concern. But I’ll be okay,” you say softly.

“Here, give me your phone. I’ll give you my number, and if you need someone to talk to, I’ll be there,” Theo says, releasing his soft grip on your shoulder and holding his hand out.

“That’s very forward, mister.” You find yourself joking, pulling your phone out of your pocket and handing it to Theo, patiently waiting as he inputs his number before handing it back to you with a smile.

“Don’t be afraid to text me if you want to talk. Deal?” Theo says as you take the phone from his hand.

“Deal,” you agree, bidding Theo goodbye before climbing into the car, where Liam was sitting with his headphones in.

“You’re done flirting then?” Liam’s quiet voice made your eyes widen as you turned to look at him.

“We were not flirting,” you splutter, turning the key in the ignition as Liam nods, clearly unconvinced.

“That’s why he gave you his phone number, huh?” Liam muses as you pull out of your parking spot.

“He was just being friendly,” you insist, focusing on the road in front of you.

“A bit too friendly if you ask me,” Liam mutters, his gaze fixed on the scenery passing by.

“He’s come back to Beacon Hills after a long time, it’ll do him some good to have some friends,” you explain further, trying to justify what happened.

“I heard what you guys were talking about. Theo’s right, you’re really sad. Is everything okay?” Liam asks, glancing over at you.

“I’m fine, buddy. You don’t need to worry about me,” you say assuringly, not wanting Liam to worry about your silly unrequited crush.

“You always say I can talk to you about anything. You know you can always talk to me, too, right?” Liam says softly. You could hear the worry in his tone and smell the anxiety surrounding him, making you sigh lightly.

“I know I can. But part of my job is to protect you and-”

“I’m not five years old anymore. I’m a werewolf now. You don’t need to protect me from anything,” Liam insists.

“I know. I know. I’ve just been so used to the idea of keeping you protected from my shit. I just never wanted you to have to worry about me,” you say softly, tightening your grip on the wheel slightly.

“I always worry about you,” Liam says softly, making you briefly glance over at him before focusing back on the road.

“I didn’t know you felt like that,” you mutter, your heart panging in sorrow.

“I mean, you’ve been looking out for me my whole life. You demanded that Scott turn you into a werewolf when you found out what happened to me. You’ve been protecting me and helping me without complaint. You do so much for me and the rest of the pack, and you expect nothing back. You always listen to my problems. You deserve to have someone to listen to yours,” Liam says, a firm yet gentle tone to his voice.

“Just don’t fall in love, Liam. It can hurt,” you mutter.

“Did someone reject you? Who?” Liam demands, looking over at you as you shake your head weakly with a smile.

“No, no one rejected me. It was just a silly crush. I never should’ve even hoped they liked me back,” you shrug, finally pulling into the driveway of your house and climbing out of the car with Liam mirroring your actions.

“But did you talk to them? Do you know for sure?” Liam questions as you approach the front door.

“I don’t need to talk to them. Sometimes you can just tell, and that’s okay. Some things just aren’t meant to be,” you shrug, unlocking the front door and letting Liam in before entering behind him.

“Well, it’s their loss. You’re one of the best people I know. They’re just too blind to see a good thing even when it’s right in front of them,” Liam says, kicking his shoes off at the door.

“You have to say that, you’re my brother,” you laugh, taking your shoes off and placing them on the shoe rack.

“I don’t have to say anything. I’m saying it because it’s true,” Liam says, smiling over you as you soften.

“How did you turn out so sweet?” you ask gently, moving to bring him into a hug.

“I guess I had a few good influences,” Liam jokes, making you laugh as you release him from the embrace.

“You should head to bed. It’s your first day of being a sophomore tomorrow,” you say, nudging Liam in the direction of his bedroom.

“You should do the same. It’s your first day of senior year,” Liam states, looking pointedly at you as you roll your eyes.

“Alright, smart-ass. I’ll see you in the morning,” you bid Liam goodnight before making your way to your room. You get ready for bed and climb into bed, staring up at the dark ceiling, trying to find a way to fall asleep. Every time you tried closing your eyes, you were reminded of the way that Isaac had inspected Allison’s initials, forcing your eyes open again so you didn’t have to relive the moment. After half an hour of failed attempts to fall asleep, you reach over for your phone, unlock it and find the newest contact that has been added.

‘Hey Theo, it’s y/n. I think I might take you up on that offer to talk.’

By the next day, you felt more confident going to school for your senior year. After you watched Liam meet up with Mason and head into the building, you glanced around the parking lot, catching a glimpse of Scott, Stiles, and Isaac climbing out of Stiles’ Jeep before beelining straight into the building, colliding with someone who quickly catches and steadies you.

“Whoa, careful.” You look up to lock eyes with Theo, who grins, with no malice in his eyes, as he releases the grip you don’t even realise he is still holding onto your shoulders.

“Sorry, Theo. I wasn’t paying attention,” you apologise as Theo shakes his head with a soft laugh, waving a hand dismissively.

“No harm done. You doing okay?” Theo asks, making you shrug.

“Just distracted, I guess,” you reply, both you and Theo making your way through the hallway to get to your lockers.

“Is this what we were talking about last night?” Theo asks softly.

“Yeah. It’s like I can’t stop thinking about it,” you admit quietly. You’d confessed to Theo the bare minimum about your situation, not disclosing the identity of your crush and what it was that prompted you to realise that they didn’t have any feelings for you. But Theo had been patient with you, listening carefully and offering advice where he could.

“Maybe all you need is a distraction?” Theo offers, both of you grabbing your books from your lockers.

“What would you suggest then?” you reply with a light laugh, slamming your locker door closed mere seconds before Theo places a piece of paper on top of the books you had in your hands with a grin.

“I’m gonna need a hand finding all these classes. Fancy being my tour guide?”

As you and Theo chatted, leaning up against the lockers, Scott, Stiles, and Isaac entered the building. When Isaac spotted you with Theo, his eyes narrowed.

“Why is y/n speaking to Theo?” He couldn’t help the question from slipping past his lips the moment he noticed what was happening.

“Maybe she’s just being friendly,” Scott shrugs, already moving to get to his locker while Stiles and Isaac stay put.

“I don’t trust him,” Isaac mutters, already wondering what Theo’s ulterior motive could be.

“I think that’s the first time we’ve agreed on anything,” Stiles muses, glancing over at Isaac as the two share a slight nod of understanding.

“I’ll take it,” Isaac mutters, following Scott to their lockers while keeping a careful eye on Theo’s proximity to you.

Throughout the day, Isaac carefully monitors you, noticing how you barely speak to anyone from the pack and spend the majority of your time with Theo. You only spoke to him or one of the others if they initiated a conversation with you, but even then, you kept it brief, clearly wishing to be left alone. While Isaac was opting to keep his cards close to his chest and figure out Theo’s motives before anything happened, Stiles was much more willing to lay his cards out on the table for the pack to see, and so summoned you all to the library to show off the information he had found.

“You think Theo’s lying because the signatures are different?” Scott questions, looking at the two forms signed by Theo’s dad that lay before him.

“I know he’s lying,” Stiles insists.

“Stiles, come on, no one’s signatures are going to be the exact same every time. If you asked someone to write their signature a bunch of times on a piece of paper, it wouldn’t look the same each time,” you argue, not seeing Stiles’ point.

“I’m telling you there’s something going on with him, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it,” Stiles insists as you roll your eyes, pushing your chair back and standing up.

“And on that note, I’m leaving. Good luck with all that, Stiles,” you say, gathering up your books and leaving the library, ignoring the calls of your friends as they beg for you to stay.

As you head out of the library, you walk down the hallway, finding Theo leaning against his locker, grinning as you approach.

“Where did you sneak off to?” he teases, pushing himself off the locker and joining you as you walk down the hallway.

“Library,” you shrug, smiling slightly as Theo bumps your shoulder lightly.

“You a secret bookworm or something?” Theo teases, chuckling as you shake your head.

“I wish, my grades would definitely benefit from that. I was just meeting with the others,” you say with a soft laugh. You knew that you wouldn’t be able to lie to Theo, so you figured you’d tell him the truth, but not the whole truth.

“Fair enough,” Theo grins as you continue to walk together, only separating when you make it to your classrooms.

By the end of the school day, you found yourself searching for Theo in the sea of students trying to make their way home for the day. It didn’t take you long to locate him, grinning as you approached.

“You waiting for me or something?” you tease, shoving your books into your bag at your locker as Theo quirks an eyebrow.

“My locker is right here too, you know,” he retorts, knocking on the door to his locker lightly with his knuckles.

“But maybe I stuck around to see you, too,” Theo then adds with a smile as you close your locker, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

“Are you trying to soften me up or something, Theo?” you joke, the two of you then making your way out of the school building. It doesn’t take long for Liam to track you down, bounding up alongside you with a smile and Mason at his side.

“Hey, Liam, you ready to go home?” you ask, glancing between your brother and his friend.

“Yeah,” Liam says with a nod, bidding Mason goodbye and heading in the direction of your car as you mingle behind with Theo.

“I’ll see you around. If you need me, text me,” Theo says with a smile as you nod slightly with a shy smile of your own before turning and heading to your car, where Liam was waiting impatiently, jiggling the door handle as if it would unlock the door by itself.

“Can you not potentially damage my car?” you scold jokingly, unlocking your car so Liam can get in.

“Am I going to have to wait for you to flirt with Theo every time I want to go home now?” Liam grumbles, shoving his bag on the back seat before settling into the passenger seat while you get behind the wheel.

“You could always take the bus or catch a ride home with Mason. No one’s forcing you to get in my car,” you say, glancing at Liam out of the corner of your eye as he rolls his eyes, unintimidated by your joking threat.

“You’d never make me take the bus,” Liam says, calling your bluff almost instantly.

“True, but I’m not above making you Mason’s problem instead,” you joke as Liam scoffs lightly.

“Maybe, but I know you love me,” Liam says, glancing over at you with a grin.

“Unfortunately, I do,” you tease, laughing as you pull out of your parking spot.

“And you know that Mom and Dad would kill you if you left me behind,” Liam then adds with a chuckle.

“That too,” you confirm, smiling as you focus on the road. 

The journey back to your house was uneventful, and once you made it home, Liam disappeared into his room to do his homework, and you went to your room with the intention to do the same. Only you ended up spending most of the time texting Theo, seeking comfort in how he listened and offered advice. You’d barely known Theo for the best part of a day, yet you felt like you’d known him forever. You had no idea if it was something that came with being a werewolf and the desire to find a pack, or if it was just Theo’s alluring charm, but you felt yourself wanting to be around him more.

You talked with Theo until he told you he was about to head out somewhere, and he’d have no service. Taking that as your cue to actually make a start on your homework As you work diligently on your assignments, you hear the front door open and shut, making you sit up slightly when you don’t hear the jangling of house keys, signalling to you that someone had left the house instead of coming home. Knowing Liam was the only other person in the house, you instantly beelined for Liam’s room, knocking on the door and furrowing your eyebrows when you got no response. You opened the door enough to stick your head in, quickly realising that Liam had left the house, making you pull your phone out of your pocket and text him.

‘Where did you disappear off to?’

“Guys, she just texted me, she knows I’m gone,” Liam says, leaning forward from the backseat of Stiles’ Jeep, holding the phone in front of him so Isaac and Stiles could see the text.

“I mean, she is a werewolf too. She definitely heard you leaving. Just lie to her, man,” Stiles says, returning his focus to the road.

“And say what? If I can’t tell her you guys have dragged me out of the house to go and stalk Theo, then what am I supposed to say?” Liam questions wildly, panic preventing him from having a rational thought. In response, Isaac takes Liam’s phone, types out a response, and hits send before waiting for your response.

“There, she thinks you’re at Mason’s, now text him and tell him to cover for you,” Isaac says, handing the phone back to Liam when he sees your response. Nodding quickly, Liam types out a message to Mason, begging him to cover for him if you contacted him.

“The sooner we find out what this guy is hiding the sooner we can get y/n away from him,” Isaac mutters, settling back even further in the seat, folding his arms across his chest and closing his eyes, willing for time to go faster so he can figure out what it was that was going on with Theo so he could get you away from him.

‘I went to Mason’s, I’ll be back later.’

“Could’ve said bye,” you mutter with a soft laugh as you close your phone, returning to your room to finish your homework. You went about your evening, oblivious to your brother’s activities with Stiles and Isaac. You were unaware of them tracking down Theo, trying to catch him in the act of doing something treacherous, but instead found him paying tribute to his sister.

Defeated by the lack of evidence and after being caught by both Scott and Theo, the trio called it a night and headed home, both Stiles and Isaac particularly dejected at the failure of their plan.

‘Has your brother got a tendency to trail along with your friends to follow people?’

Theo’s text made you furrow your eyebrows, your eyes scanning the question over and over again, trying to make sense of Theo’s question.

‘Are you sure it was Liam? He said he was with his friend Mason.’

You hit send on the text, chewing your fingernail as you pace your room, hoping Theo was just joking.

‘Pretty sure it’s the same kid I saw at the end of the school day with you. I can’t think of any other sophomores that would hang out with seniors.’

You bit your lip harshly when Theo’s response came through. Just as your thumbs readied themselves to send another text to Theo, you heard the front door open and close, making you jump out of your skin before you realised that Liam was home. Knowing this was a perfect opportunity to find out what happened, you headed downstairs, greeting Liam from the stairs.

“Hey, how was Mason’s?” you ask with a smile, leaning against the bannister as Liam stops in place, his heart rate instantly picking up, something you couldn’t have missed even if you tried.

“It was good. We just played some video games,” Liam shrugs, clearly trying to get you off his back, his heartbeat so loud it was almost like it was being drilled straight into your brain. Part of you wanted to drill him further, to find cracks in his lies and get the truth out of him. But the other part of you was betrayed enough by his lie that you couldn’t be bothered to try questioning him further.

“I was going to order some pizza, you want in?” you ask, keeping your smile on your face, waving your phone in the air.

“Yeah, okay,” Liam stammers, clearly caught off guard by you dropping the subject.

You tried to spend the rest of the evening acting as normal as possible around Liam. You had dinner, cleaned up and managed to hold a civil conversation with him the whole time. By the time you got ready and collapsed into bed, you couldn’t help but stare at the ceiling, squeezing your eyes shut when tears threatened to build.

“Damn it, Liam,” you mutter tearily to yourself. You couldn’t believe that Liam lied to you. You weren’t naive; you knew he’d probably lied to you hundreds of times prior to the two of you becoming werewolves. But the two of you had always been close, and Liam had never lied to you about where he’d been and what he’d been doing, especially when he knew you could tell when he did lie. You just couldn’t make sense of it. You couldn’t understand why Liam would’ve lied to you, and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t shake the gaping hole in your gut as your thoughts consumed you, sending you spiralling even as you fell asleep, continuing to plague you into your dreams.

The next morning, you dragged yourself out of bed and got ready, not feeling up to going to school at all but knowing you needed to. Once you were ready, you went downstairs and made yourself breakfast, waiting for Liam to join you. Despite the conflicted emotions you were feeling, you knew you couldn’t abandon Liam to make his own way to school, so you forced yourself to wait, texting Theo as you waited to pass the time.

When you and Liam were both ready, you climbed into your car and drove to school. The drive was awkward, both of you knew that Liam had lied to you last night, and neither wanted to approach the subject with a ten-foot pole. Once you made it to school, you got out of your car, quickly locking eyes with Theo as he offered you a friendly wave.

“I’ll see you around, Liam,” you say haphazardly, throwing your bag over your shoulder and heading over to Theo.

“Hey, are you okay?” Theo asks the moment you reach him, clearly picking up on your conflicting emotions.

“Just confused about last night,” you shrug, heading into the school building with Theo by your side.

“We can talk about it at lunch if you want?” Theo offers softly, lightly bumping your shoulder in an attempt to cheer you up.

“Only if you’re okay with listening to my problems,” you say with a small smile.

“It’s fine. You need someone to talk to, and I’m happy to be that guy,” Theo says, slinging an arm around your shoulder with a grin as you both make your way to your homeroom.

When lunchtime came around, you met up with Theo, both of you grabbing some food before finding a quiet place to sit down where you wouldn’t be bothered.

“So, talk to me about yesterday,” Theo says, instantly digging into his food.

“I just don’t know what to think. You told me one thing and Liam told me another,” you shrug, poking at the food on your plate with your fork.

“I’ll tell you what happened, and you can listen to my heartbeat the whole time. I went out to the woods to bring some flowers to where my sister died. I haven’t been able to do it for a few years, so I figured I owed her. While I was there, I heard your friends, Stiles and… Isaac, is it? Clearly, they brought Liam along too. I asked what they were all doing, and Stiles was pretty open in confessing that he thinks I’m suspicious. I’m pretty sure Isaac thinks the same, but he’s not the kind of guy to say that to your face. I mean, I get it, I show up out of the blue after years, wanting to join Scott’s pack, but I would’ve appreciated them coming and talking to me instead of following me into the woods. Those two made their stances pretty clear, but Liam? He’s the mystery. I can’t figure him out yet. But he’s definitely tougher than he looks.” You listen carefully to Theo’s heartbeat, unable to pick out a single increase in speed. His heart beat as steady as a drum the whole time.

“I just don’t get it,” you mumble, still trying to make sense of everything in your head.

“Does Liam not lie to you often?” Theo asks, his voice soft.

“Not since we became werewolves. He knows that I know about him lying last night. I don’t know why he’d lie to me,” you say, lifting your drink to your lips and taking a sip.

“Sometimes people lie to protect people they care about,” Theo shrugs, his gaze never leaving you.

“But what was he trying to protect me from? He knows I get on with you. I trust you.”

“Maybe it’s because Liam knew Stiles and Isaac didn’t trust me, and he wanted to protect you from that?” Theo suggests, briefly glancing over your shoulder, fighting back a smirk when he locks eyes with Isaac, who was glaring at him from across the cafeteria, clearly hearing what was being said between you.

“He doesn’t need to protect me from anything. I’m his big sister, it's my job to protect him,” you argue, glancing down at your plate and missing how Theo twitched slightly, feeling a pang in his heart as he thinks of his own sister, wondering if she had ever thought the same about him. Not that he’d blame her if she didn’t after what he did.

“I mean, he’s a sophomore now. He’s gonna become more independent and you can’t hover over him forever, especially with college around the corner,” Theo says with a shrug as you slump slightly, your fork hovering over your food as you digest his words, frowning as the reality sets in. He was right. You knew that you wanted to go to college, to go out into the world and begin your life. If you wanted to do that, then you had to accept that you’d be leaving Liam behind, too. You knew it came with growing up, that you and your family would grow up, and you and your brother would start lives of your own. Liam needed to have time to figure out who he was and where he fit in the world. You’d spent so much of your life looking out for Liam and worrying about him that you’d forgotten that you could live life for yourself.

“Just for the record, I hate when people are right,” you mutter, smiling as Theo lets out a breathy laugh, helping to ease the tension.

“Hey, how about we hang out after school today?” Theo offers, smiling at you. At first, you went to interject, ready to say that Liam had lacrosse practice, so you had to stay to take him home before you stopped yourself, instead nodding at his question.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Cool, I’ll catch a ride with you after school then?” Theo says, grinning as he looks at you. The moment your gaze slipped away, he once again looked over your shoulder, cocking an eyebrow when he notices that Isaac had not stopped staring at the two of you. You and Theo continue to talk until your gaze drifts down to your phone, seeing the time, which makes your eyes widen.

“Shit, I just remembered I was supposed to meet with the guidance counsellor. I’ll see you later,” you say apologetically, grabbing your tray and leaving the cafeteria, clearly in a rush. Taking advantage of your absence, Isaac gets up from his seat, crossing to Theo and sitting down opposite him, where you had been sitting previously, a set look on his face.

“Can I help you?” Theo asks, turning his attention to his food, uninterested in Isaac before the conversation had even started.

“Yeah, you can. Stay away from y/n,” Isaac says lowly, resting his arms on the table and leaning forward, attempting to intimidate Theo.

“I’m just being friendly. I don’t know why you’re acting like I’d hurt her,” Theo says, glancing up at Isaac with a look that only served to irritate him further.

“I don’t know what your plan is here, but it’s going to get y/n hurt if you don’t leave her alone,” Isaac says, fighting the building growl in his throat. At first, Theo stays silent, studying Isaac’s expression carefully before leaning back, a smirk drifting across his face.

“You like her, don’t you?” Theo asks, putting the pieces together in his head as Isaac scowls.

“She’s my friend,” Isaac says, his glare hardening. Despite Isaac’s words, Theo was unconvinced, picking up on the skip in Isaac’s heartbeat, something that gave away his true feelings.

“You can lie to yourself, lover boy, but you can’t lie to a werewolf,” Theo says, tilting his head slightly as Isaac clenches his jaw, fighting the urge to leap across the table and strangle Theo.

“If you hurt her, I’ll rip your throat out,” Isaac growls, his warning not having the intended effect as Theo chuckles.

“Look, man, I don’t know what to tell you. We’re just hanging out. She needed someone to talk to, so I stepped up. I’m not the one following people into the woods when they’re trying to pay respects to their dead sister. How did Scott feel about that one by the way?” Theo queries, resting his arms on the table with a raised eyebrow. Sensing that Isaac was struggling to come up with anything, Theo shrugged.

“You can hate me all you want. I’m just here to find a pack. You’re gonna have to get used to me,” Theo says, turning his attention back to his food, finished with the conversation as Isaac gets up from his seat, crossing back to the others with a scowl on his face.

After your meeting with the guidance counsellor, you made your way to your next class, still trying to wrap your head around everything you had discussed. College was the next big step for you. You needed to get your grades up and decide where you was you wanted to go for college, so as you entered your next class, you were ready to work your ass off to get the grades you need to get into a good college.

By the end of the day, you were ready to head home and spend time with Theo, desperate to spend time enjoying being a teenager instead of worrying about what supernatural threat might come and attack you next.

“Hey, Liam, I’m heading home early today, so you need to catch a ride home with someone else tonight,” you say, catching Liam in the hallway.

“What? Why?” Liam asks, stopping in his tracks as he looks at you.

“I’m hanging out with Theo tonight. I’m sure Mason can give you a lift,” you say, nodding over at Mason, who grins.

“Yeah, I can drop you home,” Mason says, clapping Liam on the shoulder.

“You always stay for practice, though,” Liam mumbles, his head dipping slightly.

“Come on, Liam, you don’t want your sister hanging around you all the time, right? You’ve got your friends, your lacrosse team, you can handle things without me,” you say, clapping him on the shoulder as he shrugs.

“Okay,” Liam mutters grumpily, turning and walking off with Mason in tow. You couldn’t help but feel guilty as you watched Liam walking away. You didn’t like having to ditch Liam, but you knew you needed to have time for yourself, something that had been in short supply since you became a werewolf.

“You ready to go?” Theo asks as he appears alongside you. Just before you can turn to face Theo, you catch a glimpse of Isaac and quickly turn your back to him.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” you say quickly, ushering Theo out of the building as he raises an eyebrow at your switch in demeanour.

“Hey, you okay?” he asks, following you as you beeline to your car.

“Yeah, fine, just saw someone I didn’t want to talk to,” you mutter, pulling your keys out of your pocket and rushing to unlock your car. As you focus on your keys, Theo spares a glance over his shoulder, smiling to himself when he sees Isaac exiting the building with Stiles, both of them clearly looking for you. He could smell their anxiety and stress from a mile away.

“Let’s go.” Your voice pulls Theo’s attention back to you as he nods, climbing into the passenger seat as you get behind the wheel. As you drive out of the parking lot, Theo clears his throat awkwardly, glancing over at you.

“Okay, I don’t want to make assumptions or anything, but… is Isaac the guy you like?” Theo’s question was quiet, no sound of judgment in his tone, but you couldn’t help but clench the steering wheel tighter in response, your heart pounding out of your chest.

“Am I that obvious?” you ask, embarrassed.

“Not to most people, I just saw him in the hallway when you were rushing us out of there. It would also explain why you’re avoiding him,” Theo shrugs, keeping his voice soft.

“I just know he doesn’t like me like that. I need to move on somehow, but it just feels so hard,” you admit, sparing a quick glance over at Theo before returning your focus to the road.

“He’s the idiot who can’t see a good thing when it’s right in front of him,” Theo says, making you laugh under your breath.

“I’m nothing special, Theo. I’m no different to anyone else,” you say with a roll of the eyes.

“You’re a werewolf, for starters, which makes you different to a lot of people. You should give yourself more credit; you’re awesome. I can see that after only a couple of days,” Theo says softly, leaning back against the seat, his gaze focused on you as you drive. Unused to hearing any sort of compliment come from someone outside of your family, you fall silent, feeling your cheeks heat up as you fight to keep your focus on the road.

When you finally make it back to your house, you lead Theo into the building, giving him a brief tour as he takes in every inch of your home.

“Are your parents not home?” Theo muses as you enter your room.

“They work long hours, they’re usually home super late or early morning. We’ve got the whole house to ourselves until Liam gets home from practice,” you shrug, perching on the end of your bed as Theo mimics your actions.

“That gives us some privacy to hang out, especially without another werewolf’s prying ears,” Theo jokes with a laugh, making you roll your eyes.

“Trust me, even if Liam were here, he’d never think my life was interesting enough to pry,” you retort, raising an eyebrow at the mere thought of Liam wanting to pry into your private life.

“I’m kinda glad he’s not here,” Theo mutters, making you glance at him, confused.

“You’re glad Liam isn’t here? I thought you wanted to make friends with the whole-” you’re cut off by Theo suddenly pressing his lips to yours, taking you aback for a brief moment before you came to your senses enough to reciprocate the kiss.

“Wow,” you mutter quietly as you pull away, unable to wipe the grin off your face.

“I told you, you just needed a distraction. If Isaac wants to miss out on someone like you, then it’s his loss,” Theo says, his eyes fixed on yours.

“You’re calling yourself a distraction?” you question with a laugh as Theo scoffs lightly, shaking his head.

“I walked into that one, didn’t I? Well, I was hoping I’d be a bit more than a distraction,” Theo replies, shifting closer and placing his hands on your middle, pulling you even closer.

“You’re certainly confident,” you tease, your lips just inches away from Theo’s as you both laugh.

“Should I not be?” Theo asks, his voice low as he moves just close enough for your lips to brush up against each other, sending a shiver down your spine as his lips connect with yours once more.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” you admit with a laugh as you pull away.

“Just cute? Not jaw-droppingly handsome?” Theo asks, quirking his eyebrow as you roll your eyes.

“Do you want to add ‘has a massive ego’ to that list too?”

“If it gets me another kiss.”

Theo pulls you impossibly closer, his lips grazing yours once more as you giggle, placing your hands on his chest and putting some distance between the two of you.

“Slow your roll there. Let’s take it easy, maybe watch a movie or something?” you suggest, watching as Theo nods.

“Okay,” he says, getting to his feet and tugging you up with him, both of you grinning as you head downstairs. You grab snacks while Theo picks a movie. Once you’re all ready, you curl up on the couch, Theo instantly tugging you into his side as the opening credits of the movie play.

The two of you watched the movie cuddled up together, sharing comments and laughing at unrealistic moments of the film. Just as the film was nearing its conclusion, you heard the door open, and you glanced over as Liam appeared in the doorway, stopping and furrowing his eyebrows when he saw the scene in front of him.

“Is practice over already?” you question, glancing down at your phone to look at the time.

“I wouldn’t be home if it wasn’t,” Liam mutters through gritted teeth, folding his arms across his chest as you sit up, shocked by his sudden attitude.

“I should head out, my parents are probably wondering where I am. I’ll see you tomorrow, y/n,” Theo says, sensing the tension between the two of you and getting up, but not without pressing a quick kiss to your lips. As Theo walked past Liam, the two brushing shoulders, he smiled, only to be greeted by Liam’s vicious scowl.

“Liam…” you warn lowly as Theo exits the house, Liam suddenly rounding on you when the door closes.

“You ditched me at practice to kiss some guy you met like two days ago?” Liam asks, making you clench your jaw, frustrated with Liam’s attitude.

“Liam, seriously? Firstly, I didn’t ditch you, I told you before practice so you could find someone else to take you home. Secondly, yes, okay, I just met Theo, but he gets me, and I can talk to him about anything,” you argue, turning the tv off and beginning to clean up after yourself as Liam trails behind you, following you into the kitchen.

“You can talk to me about anything, remember? You don’t need to protect me from anything,” Liam says, reminding you of the conversation you had two nights prior.

“I thought you liked Theo,” you mutter, swiftly changing the now awkward subject.

“I liked him when he wasn’t kissing my sister.” You hear Liam mutter, making you glare over at him.

“Liam, he’s not doing anything wrong,” you scold, frustrated with the way Liam was acting. Before Liam could respond, you finished shoving everything away and stormed off, not wanting to continue the argument, instead choosing to hide away in your room.

The next morning, you made your way downstairs, shocked to find Liam in the kitchen. Usually, you were the one up and ready first, but judging by the set look on his face, you could tell he didn’t want to talk to you.

“Mason’s picking me up today,” Liam says gruffly, barely glancing your way as you halt, glancing over your shoulder at him.

“If that’s what you want,” you say with a shrug, returning your attention to your breakfast. When you finish eating, you tidy up, moving to grab your bag as Liam’s phone buzzes.

“Bye,” Liam says quickly, rushing past you as you stand dumbfounded.

“Is the air chillier in here, or is it just me?” You turn around, startled at the sound of your stepfather’s voice, seeing him leaning against the doorway with a smile.

“Everything’s fine,” you say quickly, scrambling to pick up your bags as you hear a soft chuckle from behind you.

“Do you want to try sounding more convincing?” You’re asked as you sling your bag on your shoulder.

“Dad, it’s okay, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“It’s not like you and Liam to act so cold with each other. You’ve been close as anything since the day I met you both.”

“Seriously, you don’t need to worry about us. I need to get to school anyway,” you say, scrambling for an excuse to leave the house while your stepfather regards you quietly.

“Have a good day at school, kid.”

“I’ll see you later, Dad,” you call over your shoulder as you exit your house, letting out a slight sigh of relief after freeing yourself from the awkward situation before making your way to your car, mentally preparing yourself for school.

When you arrived at school, you met up with Theo and Scott, ignoring the not-so-subtle glances from Stiles and Isaac. Even if some of your friends weren’t keen on Theo’s presence, it meant a lot that Scott was willing to have an open mind about Theo despite his closest friends insisting otherwise.

Unbeknownst to you, while you, Theo, and Scott were making your way down the hallway, talking and laughing as you went, Liam sidled up alongside Isaac and Stiles.

“I think Theo and y/n are dating now,” Liam mutters, glancing at the older boys as they gawp, glancing at each other before focusing on Liam.

“Wha- what do you mean?” Stiles questions, turning to look at Liam, fighting the urge to shake him by the shoulders when Liam remains quiet for a moment, gritting his teeth as his gaze flicks to the floor.

“When I got home from practice last night, I saw them kiss,” Liam says, glancing over at Isaac when he hears Isaac’s heart rate pick up and a low growl form in his throat.

“Are you doing okay there, buddy? You’re looking a little… tense,” Stiles says, noticing how Isaac’s posture had shifted, like every muscle in his body had been tightened.

“I’ll be okay once Theo’s gone,” Isaac growls lowly, his eyes fixed on you and the others talking, and how Theo had unashamedly wound his arm around your middle, tucking you into his side as you all laughed.

“And as much as I love the ‘let’s get rid of Theo’ train. You can’t start a fight in school. That’s a surefire way to get yourself in trouble and probably make y/n hate you, which I’m guessing is not your end goal here,” Stiles says, placing a hand on Isaac’s shoulder, regretting his action slightly when Isaac glared over at him.

“You’re right,” Isaac mutters, shrugging Stiles’ hand off his shoulder as Stiles gawps slightly, looking over at Liam.

“Did you hear that? He said I was right,” Stiles says proudly, his laugh falling short when he sees the unimpressed glances from Isaac and Liam.

“Hey, Liam, do you think you could try to keep an eye on Theo for us? If he’s at your place, just listen in or do what you can to see if there’s anything off about him,” Isaac requests, turning to address Liam, who nods quickly, keen to help out despite the nagging feeling that he was potentially betraying you and Scott who both trusted Theo wholeheartedly.

A few weeks down the line, any hope of a normal senior year had gone completely out the window. You had been forced to confront what you quickly learnt were chimaeras, people that had been killed and turned into a mix of different supernatural creatures by a trio of scientists that called themselves the Dread Doctors. You had no idea who they were and why they were so desperate to experiment on people in such a way, but you did know that you had to stop them, whatever their plan was. You worked with the pack and Theo, and you could tell that even despite being forced to work together, Isaac and Stiles refused to give Theo the benefit of the doubt.

Despite the looming threat of the Dread Doctors and their chimaeras, you still had to go to school as usual when you could, carefully keeping an eye on your fellow classmates, looking for anyone who was acting out of the ordinary. As you entered your English class, ready for another class on intensely watching everyone else’s moves, you made your way to the nearest table to sit down.

As you sat at a table in your class, you smiled as Theo entered the room, gesturing him over and just as he reached your table, Isaac barged his way in, forcing his way into the seat Theo was about to claim.

“Isaac, what the hell?” you question, your eyes widening as he pulls out his books, ignoring Theo, who just rolled his eyes and walked away.

“The seat was free,” Isaac shrugs, unbothered.

“Theo was clearly coming to sit here,” you point out, glancing over your shoulder at Theo, who was now sitting at the back of the room, shooting you a slight shrug.

“I’ve not been able to hang out with one of my best friends in forever, and I’m the bad guy here?” Isaac asks, raising an eyebrow as he looks over at you.

“I’ve been helping out with the pack, I’ve not gone anywhere,” you argue with a glare.

“Okay, I’ve not been able to talk to you alone for a while, and I missed you,” Isaac then says, clearly attempting to appeal to your softer side.

“We could’ve had this conversation outside of class. I know it’s because you don’t trust Theo,” you mutter, opening your notebook and trying to focus as the teacher begins the class. To your relief, Isaac stayed silent for most of the class, only talking to you when the teacher requested you to talk to the person sitting next to you, but the moment class was over, and he realised Theo was staying behind to talk to the teacher, he trailed after you.

“I don’t think you should be dating Theo,” he says quickly, following you through the hallway as you step out of the building.

“You don’t get to do this, Isaac,” you say lowly, your grip tightening on your bag strap as you stop in place, frustrated by the constant hounding.

“I’m not trying to do-”

“The one time I finally have something good going for me and you want to step in and ruin it?” you say, running a hand through your hair, exasperated at Isaac’s words.

“I’m not trying to ruin anything. I just don’t think you should trust him,” Isaac tries, attempting to step closer to you, his eyebrows furrowing slightly when you step back, a far cry from the times you had cherished his presence.

“He’s not done anything to make anyone consider him untrustworthy. I don’t get why you won’t trust him,” you say, confused as to why Isaac was acting like this.

“Because I know what it’s like to have someone manipulate you. To use love as a cover for when they do bad things. Ever since Theo showed up, bad things have happened, and I don’t want you to go through what my dad put me through,” Isaac says in a brief moment of vulnerability, something you’d only seen a sparse few times since meeting Isaac.

“Isaac… Theo’s not like that. I’m sorry that your dad put you through that, but… Theo wouldn’t do that. He’s not done anything bad towards me, I swear,” you say, trying to get Isaac to understand that you trusted Theo wholeheartedly, wanting him to at least give him a chance.

“He’s not the right guy for you, y/n,” Isaac says, making you roll your eyes, irritated at Isaac’s recently constant desire to insert himself into your life. Before, you might’ve found his insistence to be around you endearing. Now that you were finally happy with someone, you were beyond pissed off that he was trying to take it away from you.

“Oh, and I suppose you know who the right guy for me is, then, huh?” you argue back, glaring up at Isaac, the two of you locked in a standoff.

“I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” Theo’s voice broke the apparent staring contest between you and Isaac, making you look over at him.

“No, you’re fine. I was just looking for you anyway. I’ll see you around, Isaac,” you say quickly, crossing to Theo and smiling as Theo’s arm winds around your middle, tucking you close against him as the two of you walk away, leaving Isaac alone.

After that, tensions were high between you and Isaac, and you began to make an effort to avoid him as much as possible until the pack needed to come together.

And then your brother went missing.

The Dread Doctors had taken Liam and a chimaera called Hayden, and you felt like you were going insane with worry. The argument that had hovered over you and your brother was suddenly non-existent; you were just terrified for your brother’s well-being. You were snapping at everyone when you couldn’t find any hints to your brother’s whereabouts, and you were running yourself ragged looking for them. Despite Theo’s reassurances that you’d find them, you couldn’t find it in yourself to believe anything until you saw them safe.

‘Come to Scott’s house, I’ve got a surprise for you.’

The text you received from Theo while on the outskirts of the woods at first sent a wave of frustration over you, making you think he was making light of a situation that was beyond terrifying for you. But after taking a breath and reading the text again, you realised that Theo wouldn’t have sent a text like that if he hadn’t had a good reason, so you headed back to your car and drove to Scott’s house. The moment you enter the house and peek in the living room, you catch sight of your brother and Hayden sitting on the couch, and tears spring to your eyes.

“Liam,” you whisper, relief washing over you as Liam gets up from the couch. The moment he reaches you, you grab him in an embrace, holding him close. You knew the slight argument between the two of you was unresolved, and it still hung in the air, but you wanted to ignore it for the moment, desperate to reassure yourself that your brother was okay.

“Are you guys okay?” you question, holding Liam at arm's length to check him over before glancing over at Hayden, who was still on the couch.

“We’re fine,” Liam says, nodding as he pulls away from your grip slightly before crossing back to the couch, wrapping an arm around Hayden, holding her close and pressing a kiss to the top of her head as you watch quietly. You were surprised to see the way they interacted, especially knowing what went down between them in the sixth grade, but you did want your brother to be happy. Finally tearing your glance away from the two, you locked eyes with Theo, quickly striding over to him and capturing his lips with yours in a kiss.

“Thank you for finding them,” you say after pulling away, winding your arms around Theo’s neck.

“No need to thank me,” Theo replies softly, his hands settling on your waist. You keep an eye on Liam and Hayden while Theo calls Scott, letting him know that Liam has been found, and while you wait for the others to arrive, Liam and Hayden end up dozing off on the couch, curled up in each other’s arms. You move to cover them with a blanket, regarding them softly before moving to sit with Theo, the two of you embracing as you watch over the two, waiting for Scott to get back.

You had naively hoped that with Theo saving Liam and Hayden, it would’ve earned him some trust within the pack, but Stiles and Isaac remained steadfast in their lack of trust. Even Liam was hesitant to trust Theo fully. It was clear that Theo saving them had at least gained a little bit of Liam’s respect, but he still opted to keep a distance, and you couldn’t help but wonder if it was Stiles and Isaac who had convinced him that Theo was untrustworthy. That thought hurt your heart slightly, wondering if Liam didn’t value or trust your opinion. All you could do was continue to push forward, hoping Theo would finally get his moment to prove his worth to everyone.

Instead, everything backfired on you.

It happened on the night of the full moon, a full moon that just so happened to be a super moon, making the pull of the moon stronger than ever, setting everyone over the edge. You couldn’t figure out what it was the Dread Doctors wanted to achieve with their experiments, especially when they were branding them ‘failures’ and killing them. You were beginning to find yourself frustrated with the lack of progress in the pack’s investigation, just wishing it could all end.

“Hey, I was going to go looking for that chimaera who went missing later to see if we can get some answers, you want in?” Theo asked, pulling you aside in the animal clinic. You hesitated at his question, glancing out at the setting sun before your gaze flicked to the examination room where Liam was anxiously watching as Melissa did her best to save Hayden’s life after the Dread Doctors had pumped her full of mercury.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? With everything that’s going on, wouldn’t it be safer for us to stick together?” you questioned, glancing back over at Theo, whose expression softened slightly before he took your hand in his.

“You trust me, right? I’m confident we could track him down easily,” Theo says softly, squeezing your hand as you purse your lips slightly, debating with yourself quietly.

“If you’re sure…” You mumble, your gaze flicking to the floor before looking back up at Theo.

“I’m sure we can find him. The others can focus on saving Hayden,” Theo says, his voice reassuring as you nod slightly.

“Okay. If this can lead us to the Dread Doctors, we might be able to find a way to help Hayden,” you say as Theo smiles, squeezing your hand once more.

“I have some things I need to do first, okay? I’ll text you when I’m ready to go looking,” Theo says, pressing a quick kiss to your lips before backing away and leaving the animal clinic. You turn your attention back to helping Melissa with Hayden. You knew the tensions were high after Scott had rejected Liam’s request for him to bite Hayden to turn her into a werewolf so you felt like you were stuck in the middle of it all until Theo sent you a text asking to meet you at the preserve, which you did so happily, especially when Melissa was beginning to talk about transferring Hayden to the hospital.

“You going somewhere?” Scott asks, all attention suddenly on you as you nod.

“Theo and I were going to go look for Lucas, he could lead us to the Dread Doctors, and maybe we can find a cure for Hayden,” you say, noticing how Liam perked up slightly at your words.

“Be careful out there, y/n,” Scott said as you nodded, giving him a small joking salute before leaving the animal clinic, hoping Scott and Liam can stay civil long enough to help Hayden.

You make your way up to the preserve, meeting Theo, who was leaning up against a nearby tree with a small smile, pushing away from the tree as you approached.

“So, do you have any idea where it is we’re going?” you ask curiously as Theo begins to walk off with a sense of purpose as if he knew where to look.

“I’m just guessing he’ll be hiding away somewhere. If he’s starting to show signs of being a failure, we might be able to catch a scent of mercury or something too,” Theo shrugs, continuing to walk as you chase after him.

“Do you think he could be near where you found Liam and Hayden? If the Dread Doctors were operating in that area, he could be nearby, right?” you ask, glancing over at Theo.

“I can’t say for sure, it depends on how he feels about the Dread Doctors,” Theo replies as you both quietly sniff at the air, trying to pick up a scent.

The two of you look around the abandoned water plant first, your search coming up unsuccessful with not a single other person in sight, human or otherwise. As you both exit the abandoned building, you turn to Theo.

“Where did you find Liam and Hayden? We should look there next,” you say, glancing around as you await Theo’s response.

“I don’t think he’s there. I have an idea of where he could be,” Theo says, gesturing with his head for you to follow him, which you do without question. Theo leads you to a sewer grate, lifting it with relative ease and climbing down the ladder, with you following close behind.

“We’re never going to catch a scent down here,” you grumble the moment the stench hits your nose.

“And that’s why it would be the best place to hide,” Theo says, smiling at you as you reach the bottom of the ladder.

“I’m glad you had the sense to think of this place because I wouldn’t touch it if you weren’t here,” you laugh as you follow Theo, the two of you navigating the damp sewer. As you follow Theo, a sudden sense of unease begins to wash over you, a shiver running down your spine mere seconds before Lucas springs out from around a corner, growling, his face inches away from Theo’s, who barely flinches.

“Theo! Get back!” you cry out, worry instantly clutching at your heart at the closeness between the two, expecting Lucas to lunge at any second. Instead, you watch as Lucas backs off with a grin.

“What’s going on?” you then question, glancing between the two.

“I could ask the same question. I thought you were coming alone,” Lucas says, turning to look at Theo as he scoffs.

“I did say that, but there was a question I needed to ask y/n, and it was best to have a little privacy and some backup,” Theo says, quirking an eyebrow as he glances at you and Lucas.

“Theo… what is this?” you ask again, beginning to feel your heart pound, something that didn’t go unnoticed as both Theo and Lucas focused on you.

“You don’t need to be scared, y/n/n. I just have an offer to make you,” Theo says, and despite his friendly smile, you could sense the sinister undertone, making you take a small step back out of fear.

“Theo, you’re scaring me.”

“I told you, you don’t need to be scared. I just want to offer you a place in my pack,” Theo says, standing before you as he folds his arms across his chest.

“Your… pack?”

“Yes, my pack. That’s why I came back to Beacon Hills. When I heard about the True Alpha and his pack, I knew I had to have it for my own,” Theo states as your eyes widen.

“I…”

“Think about it, you could take Scott’s power for your own and we could run the pack together,” Theo offers, his voice dropping to the soft tone you’d grown accustomed to hearing, attempting to sway you as you started to understand what he wanted you to do.

“You need me to kill Scott,” you mumble, remembering the times you’d been told that as Betas of Scott’s own making, only you and Liam had the capability to take his Alpha power from him. When Theo fails to respond, you shake your head, getting ready to run to warn Scott of Theo’s betrayal. However, Theo was quicker, ordering Lucas to attack you.

Lucas’s attacks came hard and fast, and no matter how much you tried to fight back, once Lucas got his poison in your system, you found it harder to fight. You soon collapsed to the floor, dragging yourself to sit upright against the wall as you heard Theo quietly urging Lucas to run away, muttering something about the Dread Doctors.

“You know, as much as it’s disappointing that you won’t join me, there is a silver lining. With you out of the way, it’s going to make getting to your brother so much easier. After all, between us, he’s the strongest Beta out of the two of you. If I can talk anyone into killing Scott and taking his power right now, it’s Liam, and that will leave me free to take the power from him,” Theo gloats, turning to face you as he shows off his claws, admiring them with a smirk.

“If you hurt Liam, I swear,” you snarl, baring your fangs as your eyes glow a vibrant gold, attempting to intimidate Theo as you struggle even to try to get to your feet.

“Oh, don’t you worry y/n/n. I’m not going to hurt Liam. Not until he can give me what I want,” Theo taunts, crouching down and leaning in close as you continue to growl at him, clearly unintimidated by you.

“Theo, please, don’t do this,” you then plead, tears filling your eyes as you sit back against the wall, fighting the urge not to writhe in pain.

“I need a pack of my own. And to do that, I need the power of an Alpha. I’m not going to let anything stand in my way,” Theo says, straightening up as you try one last feeble attempt at a growl in his direction before Theo stalks off, leaving you alone.

Isaac was lost; he couldn’t escape the violent twist in his stomach that something was wrong and that you needed help wherever you were. You weren’t responding to his texts or his calls; all he knew was that you had left the animal clinic with Theo, something Isaac would never get used to.

“Come on, y/n. Give me a sign you’re somewhere,” Isaac mutters, shifting his gaze to look up at the supermoon, watching it silently for a moment. He could always feel the pull of the full moon once a month, but controlling himself got easier with each month. But the supermoon was different. Its pull was stronger than ever, and he felt like any little nudge could set him off.

“Looking for someone?” There was the little nudge. Isaac felt irritation mixing with his anxiety as he clenched his jaw, turning to face the source of the voice.

“Where’s y/n? I know she was with you, so don’t lie to me,” Isaac says, stalking over to Theo, a growl building in his throat while Theo remains steadfast, leaning against the tree.

“Lover boy’s certainly gotten himself worked up. I’m sure she’s fine,” Theo says with a shrug, smirking at how easy it was to rile Isaac up.

“Where. Is. She?” Isaac snarls, baring his fangs as he steps as close as possible to Theo, his incessant snarling not having an ounce of an effect on Theo who simply cocked an eyebrow.

“Are you done? Because if you keep snarling at me like a wild animal, you won’t find her in time,” Theo says, a smirk playing across his lips as Isaac steps back, a mix of worry and anger playing across his face.

“Where is she?” Isaac demands once more.

“Giving that away would take all the fun out of this little game. All I can suggest is you hurry up. I don’t know what Lucas’ poison will do to a werewolf this time around. You might want to run, lover boy,” Theo shrugs as Isaac’s heart begins to pound, his head whipping around in every direction, desperate to catch a scent, a hint that you were anywhere nearby. As he desperately racks his brain for any ideas on where Theo could’ve taken you, a few locations come to mind, making him sprint off in the direction of one of the areas. As Theo watched Isaac disappear into the woods, he pushed himself away from the tree, smiling to himself. Now that the pack was out of the way, he could finally put his plan into place.

As you lay in the darkness, your hand pressed firmly to the wound that was beginning to burn, you felt tears continue to pool in your eyes. You felt like you deserved every second of pain you were experiencing. You were the one who had turned your back on your pack, tossing them aside just because a boy had finally looked your way. And now you had to lie helpless, bloody, and alone, all while knowing Theo was about to manipulate your younger brother into killing his Alpha just to steal the power for himself.

“y/n? y/n, are you down here?” You couldn’t help the sob that escaped your lips at the familiar sound of Isaac’s voice. Somehow, he had cared enough to look for you in your absence, even when you’d treated him awfully.

“Isaac, I’m here! Please help!” you beg, the tears now flowing freely as your breaths begin to quicken. You wait anxiously, listening for Isaac’s footsteps as they grow closer, and Isaac’s face comes into your line of sight as he worriedly checks you over.

“Did Theo do this to you?” Was the first question Isaac asked, identifying your injuries and carefully assessing them.

“He wanted me to join his pack. When I told him I couldn’t turn my back on Scott, he… he let Lucas attack me.” You wince as you attempt to move, the burning sensation beginning to spread viciously across your body.

“That asshole,” Isaac mutters, a slight growl behind his words.

“You need to get to Liam before Theo does; he’s going to manipulate him into killing Scott,” you say, attempting to push Isaac away to get him to save your brother and your Alpha.

“I’m not leaving you,” Isaac argues, shaking his head.

“Isaac-”

“No, y/n, I’m not leaving you here. Scott can handle himself. It might be bad of me to say, but my priority is you right now,” Isaac says firmly, making your defences come crashing down as tears well in your eyes.

“I just want to get out of here,” you say tearily, making Isaac nod quickly, wrapping your arm around his shoulders and easing you to your feet, apologising as you whimper in pain. Isaac carefully navigates you through the sewer, helping you up the ladder and into the fresh air.

“I’m going to take you to the animal clinic first, okay? I have Deaton’s number; he can help me treat your injuries over the phone.”

“My car… It’s parked at the edge of the preserve, you can take that,” you say, weakly digging in your pocket and pressing the key into Isaac’s hand. With a determined nod, Isaac helps you to your car, easing you in carefully before getting behind the wheel and driving you to the animal clinic. Isaac drove with a sense of urgency you’d never seen from him before, and you felt like you arrived at the animal clinic in what felt like record time.

“Come on,” Isaac urges, helping you out of the car and into the clinic, helping you sit on the table before fumbling for his phone to call Deaton.

You wait awkwardly after explaining what happened to Deaton over the phone, feeling utterly useless as Isaac rushes around, grabbing the ingredients to make something that’ll help ease your pain and hopefully combat the poison.

“Okay, chances are it might sting, but you need to put it directly on the wound.” You hear Deaton’s voice crackle through the phone as Isaac finishes making the paste that made your nose wrinkle once the smell hits it.

“Is there not any other way?” you ask weakly, attempting to lean away from the noxious mixture.

“If you want to try to treat that poison, then it’s the best thing we can do. I’m sorry, this mixture should help a lot,” Deaton says, making you groan slightly. You listen as Isaac hangs up the phone, promising to contact Deaton if anything else happens before turning his attention to you.

“Could you… lift your shirt?” Isaac asks awkwardly, looking anywhere but at you as you nod, carefully lifting your shirt to expose the wound that sits on your side.

“You can look, it’s okay,” you say softly, making Isaac finally look over at you, his eyes fixing on your injury. Wordlessly, Isaac applies the mixture to your wound, making you gasp at the stinging sensation. As if he acted on instinct, Isaac grabbed your wrist, and the moment you felt him trying to take your pain, you wrenched your arm away.

“What are you doing?” you ask, looking at Isaac, whose eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“I’m trying to take some of your pain, let me help,” Isaac says, watching you expectantly as you shake your head, your eyes once again filling with tears.

“I don’t deserve your help. You have done all this for me when I’ve done nothing but treat you badly. You shouldn’t have even come looking for me in the first place. I pushed you aside because a boy finally looked my way and I’m so sorry.”

“I meant what I said a few weeks ago, you know? You’re one of my best friends, and I’d do anything for you. I had a feeling that something was wrong, and I wasn’t going to just sit back and let something happen to you. I care about you so much, so let me help.” Isaac’s words were firm yet gentle as he watched you carefully, tenderly reaching out to wipe a falling tear from your cheek. When you do nothing other than silently nod, Isaac gently takes your hand in his, taking some of your pain as you relax.

“Thank you,” you mumble, gratefulness in your tone as Isaac squeezes your hand softly before letting go, moving to bandage your injury, making quick work of the task before looking up at you.

“I should get you home, you need to rest and heal,” Isaac then says, helping you off the table and leading you out to the car.

“Once you drop me off, you need to find Scott; he might need your help. Theo would’ve gotten to Liam by now, and he’ll need you to help him.” Your words came out quietly, but Isaac heard you all the same.

“I will, I promise,” Isaac assures you.

“If Liam is there, please don’t hurt him,” you then add, your hand resting protectively on your injury as Isaac pulls out of the animal clinic’s car park.

“I’ll try my best,” Isaac says. You understood why he couldn’t promise, with Liam’s IED combined with the strength of the supermoon, he might not listen to reason, and if needed, Isaac may be forced to fight back. The drive was silent, your thoughts consumed with the evening's events and worry for your younger brother. When Isaac parks your car outside your house, he quickly moves to help you out of the car.

“I’ve got it from here, Isaac. Go and help Scott,” you urge Isaac, pushing him away from you slightly, trying to encourage him to leave. At first, Isaac hesitates, glancing at you worriedly before letting out a soft sigh, nodding and running off in the direction of the school.

You entered the house as quietly as you could, wincing with each step taken. While you were beginning to heal, you could still feel the slight burn from the poison that was making its way through your system. As you made your way to your room, you heard a door open, making you stop in your tracks as you waited to see who it was, worried you’d woken one of your parents. Instead, you see Liam entering the hallway, his eyes locking with yours. Seeing Liam took you aback slightly, expecting him to be somewhere else, but when you see his red rimmed eyes that are filled with tears, you know you couldn’t let yourself fall apart yet. Not when Liam needed you.

“Come here, buddy,” you urge quietly, opening your arms for Liam to walk into, holding him close as he clung to you desperately.

“Hayden’s gone.” You hear Liam say through his tears, ignoring the pain that shot through you when he squeezed tighter.

“Oh, Liam…” you mutter sympathetically, moving to escort him back to his bedroom, sitting him down on his bed as you tuck him against your side.

“I almost killed Scott,” Liam admits after a small silence, his voice so quiet you wondered if he’d meant to say it out loud at all in the first place.

“That wasn’t your fault,” you say quietly, attempting to hold Liam closer, stopping when he pushes against you, putting distance between you so he could look you in the eye.

“Did you hear me? I said I almost killed Scott,” Liam reiterates, his eyes flicking between yours, waiting for your reaction.

“I heard you, Liam. But I know it wasn’t you. You were upset because of Hayden, and Theo used that and the supermoon against you,” you say softly, not letting a single ounce of judgment slip into your tone as Liam’s eyebrows furrow, putting pieces together in his head.

“How did you know it was Theo?” he questions, making you sigh slightly, realising your slip-up and knowing you needed to be truthful or else Liam would know.

“Turns out Theo has a tendency to monologue just after letting someone almost kill you,” you admit with a weak chuckle, wincing as a flash of pain sparks through you.

“He tried to kill you?” Liam asks, his eyes blown wide as you shrug.

“Not Theo himself. He let Lucas have at me, though. I think the Dread Doctors made him stronger; this poison is really taking its time to heal. Deaton says I’ll live,” you say, your hand drifting to the tear in your shirt.

“I’m so sorry,” Liam apologises, his gaze drifting to where your hand was resting.

“You don’t need to apologise, Liam,” you begin, stopping as Liam shakes his head, tears beginning to well in his eyes.

“I should’ve been there. I could’ve helped you. Instead, I let Theo talk me into-” you cut Liam off suddenly, cupping his face in your hands and lifting his chin gently so you could look him in the eye.

“Liam. Do not blame yourself for this. I’m the idiot who let Theo separate me from the rest of the pack. I let him come between us. You’re my brother, and I shouldn’t have turned my back on you. If anyone should be sorry, it’s me,” you say softly, gently wiping away the tears that rolled down Liam’s cheeks. Your heart felt like an iron hand had it in a vicious grip, squeezing as hard as it could. You hated seeing your brother upset, no matter the context, but seeing him upset because of you shattered you in a way you didn’t know was possible. Feeling your eyes burn with tears, you shifted to hold Liam closer, cradling his head close to your chest as he clings to you, reminding you of the times you had comforted him when he was younger.

“Did someone help you? Or were you…” Liam asks, his voice a quiet mumble, as you hold him close.

“Isaac found me. I don’t know what I did to deserve having a friend like him to come looking for me after what I did to him,” you admit, finally allowing a smile to tug at your lips as you think of Isaac, the selfless boy who risked everything to come looking for you just based off a hunch that something was wrong. You couldn’t believe that even after you made it clear you didn’t want to be around him, he still cared enough to come looking when you went missing.

“I’m glad he was there,” Liam mumbles softly as you hold him impossibly closer.

“So am I,” you mutter, the two of you falling into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“I just want to forget about everything that happened,” Liam says quietly, neither of you moving to break the embrace.

“Why don’t we watch a movie or something? That might help,” you offer, moving your head away slightly so you could look down at Liam, who lifts his gaze to meet yours, nodding.

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, you stay here and pick which movie you want to watch. I’ll grab us some snacks,” you say, moving to excuse yourself from the room, wincing when the pain flares up once more and before you could get too far away, Liam grabbed your hand, taking some of your pain for himself as you soften, tears building in your eyes once more at your brother’s kindness.

“Thank you, Liam,” you mutter softly, moving to hug him once more before finally making your way downstairs to raid the kitchen for snacks. You grab a variety of snacks, grabbing what you knew Liam liked before scooping up some drinks and making your way back to Liam’s room with armfuls of food and drinks.

“Did you just take everything?” Liam asks with a slight laugh as you enter the room.

“Pretty much,” you admit, closing the door behind you before dumping the snacks on the end of the bed and placing the drinks on the bedside table. Once Liam had picked a movie, the two of you sat up against the headboard as you tucked Liam against your side, hugging him close as the opening of the movie played.

About halfway through the movie, a knock at the door rings out, making you and Liam stiffen slightly, both of you looking at each other.

“You stay here, buddy,” you say quickly, forcing yourself to your feet as you make your way to the front door, your hand hesitating above the doorknob for a moment before you bite the bullet, tugging the door open.

“Isaac?” you question, your head tilting slightly when you see Isaac standing before you, a bag slung over his shoulder.

“Do you think I could crash here for a little while? I didn’t get to Scott in time, and Melissa didn’t take it well. I don’t blame her for reacting like that, so I figured I’d find someplace else to crash, give her and Scott some space,” Isaac explains, smiling sadly at you. It upset you to hear what had happened, especially given that Melissa had become an important maternal figure in Isaac’s life after losing his own mom at a young age.

“Come in, we’re watching a movie, so just dump your stuff in my room and join us,” you say, gesturing for Isaac to come into the house. You lead Isaac to your room, letting him put his bag down before bringing him to Liam’s room.

“Hey Isaac,” Liam says, offering Isaac a kind smile as you entered the room.

“Hey, Liam,” Isaac replies with a curt nod and a small smile of his own. You sit down alongside Liam once more, wrapping an arm around him again while patting the free space alongside you, encouraging Isaac to sit with you. As Isaac sits down alongside you, you grab his hand gently, squeezing it softly as you both smile at each other. The three of you then continue to watch the movie, enjoying each other’s company and putting the day's events behind you.

As the closing credits of the movie begin to roll, Isaac shuffles slightly, preparing himself to make a comment that falls short the moment he sees you and Liam fast asleep, his head on your shoulder as your head rests atop his. Isaac couldn’t help the soft smile that covered his face at the sight. He carefully eased your hand out of his and crossed to grab a blanket before carefully covering you and Liam with it, before moving to sit on the beanbag in the corner of the room so he could get at least a few hours of sleep himself.

A few weeks down the line, Isaac was still staying at your place after an awkward conversation with your parents, as you and Liam tried to explain the situation without exposing your family to the supernatural world.

The pack had come back together after a lot of apologies, and you had to focus on finding and defeating a creature called the Beast of Gevaudan, which had been brought back by the Dread Doctors, learning that their chimaera experiments were dedicated to.

On top of that, Theo still had the audacity to keep showing his face after what he had done. He had revived a number of chimaeras, Hayden included, to make his own pack, and it took everything within you not to rip his throat out every time you saw him in the hallways. Thankfully, Isaac stuck to your side like glue and helped keep you calm and away from Theo, especially when he tried to get involved in the pack’s investigations.

After what felt like forever, you learnt that the Beast of Gevaudan had been Mason the whole time, making the pack realise that you needed to do whatever you could to save him which seemed fruitless, especially when the Dread Doctors had been successful in using Mason as a vessel to revive the true monster behind the Beast. But thanks to Lydia’s banshee scream, she was able to bring back Mason after a long, hard battle that left most of you knocked off your feet before Theo showed up, keen to use his newly gained powers he had gotten from killing off members of his pack.

Then you watched as Kira stepped forward, protecting you all from the electrical blast Theo had sent your way before telling him that the skinwalkers she had been training with had a message for him. You watched in horror as Kira stabbed her katana into the ground, and a sinkhole opened up. You saw Theo’s sister clamber out of the hole, grabbing Theo and dragging him down with her as Theo begged and pleaded for someone to help.

“y/n! Help me, please!” You were shocked when Theo called out to but you didn’t move from where you were on the ground, just watching as Theo was dragged under the ground, which then sealed itself up, leaving everyone speechless for a moment before Isaac crossed over to you, extending a hand to you. 

“I told you he wasn’t the right guy for you,” Isaac muses softly as you groan, in too much pain and annoyance to deal with his jokes.

“Are you ever going to tell me who the right guy for me is, or am I going to have to keep making mistakes like Theo?” you ask, sitting yourself up against the wall as Isaac falls silent for a moment, clearly thinking before he speaks up again.

“I can do better. I can show you instead,” Isaac says, inching closer. Your heart pounded as he moved closer, it was so loud you were sure Isaac could’ve heard it without his supernatural hearing. Just as his lips were millimetres away from yours, he stopped, his eyes flicking up to yours.

“Is this okay?” he then asks quietly.

“Yes,” you whisper, your voice breathy before Isaac closes the gap, pressing his lips to yours, as he cups your face gently. Isaac’s kiss was soft and full of love, and you couldn’t help but melt into his touch.

“I thought you guys would never figure it out,” Lydia’s words made you and Isaac pull apart, the two of you smiling shyly as the rest of the pack laughed softly as you rolled your eyes, leaning against Isaac as he wrapped an arm around you.

“Come on, guys, let’s get out of here,” Scott says, making everyone nod. Isaac helps you to your feet as the rest of the pack make their way out of the dingy tunnels, desperate to leave the Dread Doctors in the past where they belong.

After getting a phone call from Deaton, Scott and Liam rush off to the animal clinic to check on Hayden, who had been attacked by the Beast and found her way to the clinic despite her vicious injuries. All you could do was hope that it wouldn’t end up the way it did last time. You could tell Liam loved Hayden, and you didn’t want to see his heart get broken all over again.

“Let’s go,” Isaac says softly, leading you away from the abandoned water plant and away from everyone else, leading you to a secluded clearing so the two of you could have some privacy. Once you are confident you’re away from prying ears, Isaac turns to you.

“How are you?” he asks softly, brushing a strand of hair away from your face without a second thought.

“I’m fine. I’m healing pretty quick-”

“No, how are you feeling? I saw the way you looked when Theo got taken.”

“I couldn’t care less about what happened to Theo. I’m glad he’s gone after all he put my pack through. Wherever he is, I hope he’s suffering.” You’d never been filled with so much anger towards someone before. The bitterness was clear in your tone, and you could tell that Isaac was concerned.

“It doesn’t change the fact that you liked him.”

“Yeah, past tense, liked. Anyone would be creeped out seeing someone getting dragged underground by their dead sibling. It’s fine, I’ve got my pack, I’ve got you,” you say softly, taking Isaac’s hand in yours.

“If you ever want to talk about it, I’ll be there,” Isaac says softly, squeezing your hand as you nod wordlessly.

The two of you then spend an hour or so in the woods together, relishing in each other’s presence and talking about everything and nothing at the same time. When you call it a night, the two of you head back to your house, entering the house and heading into the living room when you hear the tv playing.

“Hey, you two,” you greet Liam and Hayden, a smile on your face as you lean against the doorframe, stifling a laugh when they jump, turning to look at you.

“Look, Hayden’s okay!” Liam says excitedly, showing off Hayden to you as you nod.

“I can see that. Did Deaton figure something out?” you ask as Isaac sidles up alongside you, winding an arm around your middle.

“No, I think being a chimaera made things a bit more complicated for him. Scott gave me the bite,” Hayden explains as you nod, happy for the two younger teens.

“That’s awesome! You know it’s great to have another female Beta, I was beginning to worry I’d stay outnumbered forever,” you joke, squirming when Isaac lightly pokes you in the side and Liam jokingly glares.

“We’ll leave you two alone, but don’t stay up too late,” you say, pointing between the two as Liam groans.

“Yes, Mom,” he grumbles.

“Love you, Liam,” you say as Liam rolls his eyes before softening.

“Love you too.”

Deciding to leave Liam and Hayden alone, you make your way up to your room with Isaac, the two of you instantly curling up on your bed together, your head resting on his chest as he pulls you close.

“This is nice,” Isaac admits quietly, his hand drifting up and down your back as you hum contentedly.

“I feel like I can finally breathe after everything that happened,” you murmur, your eyes slipping shut at Isaac’s soothing motion.

“It’ll be nice to go back to normal. At least until the next supernatural problem.”

“Please don’t tempt fate. I wanna get through my senior year with as few issues as possible,” you grumble, opening your eyes and lifting your head to look at Isaac.

“I’m not tempting anything, it just seems to happen,” Isaac says with a soft laugh as you roll your eyes.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” you mumble, pressing a soft kiss to Isaac’s lips, something he reciprocates quickly.

“If being cute gets me kissed, you won’t catch me complaining,” Isaac says as you pull away.

The two of you spend the evening cuddling and kissing until you fall asleep in each other’s arms, a sense of relief you hadn’t felt in a while settling over you.

The next morning, you both begrudgingly get up and ready for school, heading to school with Liam and Hayden in the backseats. At first, you had expected Liam to complain about being delegated to the backseat, but he was more than happy to be sitting in the backseat with Hayden, the two engrossed in each other’s presence and barely giving you a second thought.

When the four of you arrived at school, you bid goodbye to Liam and Hayden as you all went your separate ways to begin the school day. Unbeknownst to you and Isaac, as you walked down the hallway hand in hand, you were being watched by the rest of the pack who couldn’t stop smiling.

“What? What are you all smiling at?” Stiles asks, his back to you, making him unaware of the progression with you and Isaac’s relationship.

“Behind you,” Lydia mouths, looking pointedly over his shoulder as Stiles finally turns around, his eyes widening when he sees you and Isaac kissing.

“Wha- when did that-”

“Yesterday, after everything went down with the Beast, Isaac finally ‘fessed up,” Scott says, folding his arms across his chest with a smile.

“The one time I’m not there and they finally kiss? Does Isaac really not have a sense of timing?” Stiles complains, gesturing over to the two of you, blissfully unaware of Stiles’ rant.

When the pack meets up in the library at lunch, it was relieving to talk about school and life instead of researching some historical werewolf. You loved moments when you got to feel like a normal kid again, even if it meant dealing with your friends joking about you and Isaac’s newfound relationship.

By the end of lunch period, everyone but you and Isaac cleared out of the library. You both stayed because you had a free period, and you wanted to talk about colleges with Isaac, finally ready to take the leap. You were aware of the closing window you had to apply, and you were finally able to accept that Liam would be okay in your absence; he had Hayden, and he had Mason. He was going to be just fine.

Just before you and Isaac looked at anything, you found yourself drawn to the shelf you and the others had signed the night of senior scribe, and you carefully removed the books, a soft smile on your face as you regarded all the initials while Isaac approached you.

“You know, the night we did this, I saw how you looked at Allison’s initials, and I thought there was no way you’d like me in the same way you loved her. I let my feelings get the better of me, and that drove me right into Theo.”

“Hey, you don’t need to worry about that. I did love Allison, you’re right, but I also love you,” Isaac says softly, making you look at him with a soft smile.

“I love you too,” you say quietly, pressing a soft kiss to Isaac’s lips before focusing back on the initials, Isaac wrapping an arm around your middle as you lift a hand to ghost your finger along Allison’s initials.

“I’d love to hear about Allison someday. She meant a lot to you, so I want to help keep her memory alive,” you then say, looking at Isaac, who nods, pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head.

“I’ll tell you some stuff someday. But I can say wholeheartedly that she would’ve loved you,” Isaac says, helping you put the books back on the shelf before you head to a free table to start your college research.

It had been a long and rough beginning to your senior year, but it made you more confident. You knew you had your pack beside you, and it helped you and Isaac finally confess your feelings for each other. You knew you were ready for the next step in your life. You’d be okay.

You found the right guy to help you through it all.

[halfbloodfics]

Could you please do an angsty Snape x reader with a happy ending imagine in which reader is his wife and wants them to leave the uk and escape before the war starts because she understands it will end badly and they argue over Severus part as a double spy and he just tries to comfort her and hold her, promising nothing will happen and later after naginj bites him reader finds him and saves him angrily, like you are my husband, you are not allowed to die because of *some insult to Voldemort*

(A/N): im feeling angsty. mainly because my life is falling apart in my hands and in true snape kinnie fashion, everyone hates me for things they can't know and nor understand! also im touch starved and desperately need a hug! woo!

anyways.

im high again. sorry if this sucks. this ones gonna be long af too.

title: work song

rating: angst, fluff, happy ending

warnings: threats of death, mentions of suicidal thoughts, brief insinuation of war time sexual violence towards women, blood, gore, trauma, loss, grief, angst

song: work song by hozier

MASTERLIST

The day of the final challenge of the Triwizard Tournament, she awoke with the same sinking feeling in her gut she had for weeks now. She was a bright Witch. A trait Severus had always admired of her; her ability to pick up on things, understand them. Perhaps it was why their friendship came to by, why it turned into a relationship and eventually a marriage. She could understand even him before he did.

Because of this, she knew why the once faded Dark Mark on her husbands skin was getting darker by the day. Why he tossed in bed a little longer before going to sleep. Why his appetites for her cooking slowly subsided.

He assured her it was nothing, a change in seasons, a minor cold. But she knew, and he knew, that she knew the truth. The Dark Lord was returning.

When Harry emerged with the portkey, holding Cedrics lifeless body, she hadn't seen it at first. At first, she was watching her husbands face as he stared into the quiet maze ahead. He was so focused. His dark eyes set on a determined gaze at the hedges in front of them. And she found herself admiring this, worshipping it even. Until her husbands brow furrowed. Until his lips twitched. Until his right hand gripped his left forearm.

Her eyes flicked to the clothed skin of his arm. "What?" She whispered, though the sinking of her stomach seemed to finally hit the bottom.

Severus opened his lips, parted them to speak, but he couldn't. For a moment he looked at her, dark eyes praying that that intelligence of which he loved so much wouldn't pick up on the stirring of the Dark Mark against his pale flesh.

When his gaze finally tore from hers as the victor arrived back from the maze, she watched as the expression in his eyes only she could decipher turned from dread to.. horror.

She turned to see what the commotion was just as Severus stood up beside her. Harry was crying but she could hear only faintly what about. He was holding Cedric...

No.. Holding.. What was Cedric.

Cedric was dead.

Mr. Diggory's sorrow rang out like a violin in an empty hall. The bands cheerful music stopped. Only the song of his grief played as he made his way down to his boy.

Dead.

As Severus undid his cloak, placed it over the boys still body and glanced back at his wife. Part of him wanting to comfort her, another part wanting to comfort himself that she was still there. That he hadn't lost her already.

It wasn't until Barty Crouch Junior pulled up his sleeve, Snapes wand against his cheek, did she really start to panic. That same mark, that same, evil symbol, once dead, stirred alive under her husbands skin.

The Dark Lord was back.

In the weeks that followed, she begged.

She had never begged. Not a single soul. For anything. Especially not Severus. She never had to. He would have given her the world if he even had an inkling she desired it. But he couldn't give her this.

"Severus, please," She pleaded. "I'm begging you."

He stood with his back to her so she would not see the truth in his eyes. Hands on the windowsill, he allowed himself only that much vulnerability. Only her to be able to see the slump in his shoulders.

How could he tell her that he knew this day would come all along? That he was bound to follow it through till the end? No longer out the love he thought he'd never escape, but now out of duty? Out of fear?

It used to be Lily. It was. It was her so deep in his bones he could barely decipher which traits of him were really traits of his. But the day he met her. His wife. Something changed he didn't even understand. The bending, breaking and mending of a million tiny things inside him he believed impossible to reach.

In that moment he could have ran away. No longer chained to the promise of protecting Lily Potters son. But there was a price to this. He saw it everytime he looked in his wifes eyes. The happiness inside them wouldn't be possible in a world ruled by the Dark Lord. How would she be able to teach at Hogwarts, in a school that would be taken over by Death Eaters, knowing the pain that would plague those walls? And what of her, a half-blood? Would she even be spared, like his "devotion" had spared him? And in the likely, near certain event, that he died, what would become of her? Pawn in their games, to be used for their cause, what of the other muggle-born and half-blood women? The spoils of war-

No.

The day he fought against all better judgement and decided to be selfish for once was the day he married her. And on that day, he vowed he would protect her. To hell with trusting the Order; Dumbledore and his lies. He would keep her safe. Her fate would be in his hands. No one elses.

He would not break that promise.

So he lied by omission. He never told her about how he knew the Dark Lord would one day return, how he knew he'd have to fight again and how dangerous that would be. He knew she'd be devestated, furious. And when she looked up at him with those bright eyes... He just, couldn't.

Now, she had figured it out. Not in its entireity, but enough. She knew the Dark Lord was back. And she was damn smart enough to know what that meant for him.

He remained still with his back to her. He couldn't look at her pleading face.

"Severus, please." She begged, "Don't fight. You can tell Dumbledore you don't want to be a spy, you can't do it anymore-"

"Even if I could, I can not tell the Dark Lord that."

He heard her shaky breath from just behind him. "Run away then. Leave with me. We'll go across the sea, America. Anywhere."

"Do you remember what happened to Karkaroff?."

"We could try-"

"We could die." His voice was firm. Gentler than it had ever been around anyone else. He turned, bringing himself for the first time in such conversation to meet her gaze.

Her eyes were desperate, looking up at him with naive hope he had to crush. "Severus... Please. I can't.. If you die, I can't-"

"Don't." He nearly whispered. "Don't."

She parted her lips, closed them again.

"Running is certain death. Trust my knowledge about the inner circle I've been infiltrating for years." He spoke lowly, calculated, as if he were drilling the knowledge into her head. "To spy is our best chance at survival."

He was a liar. Maybe she even knew it.

But all she did was look up at him, blinking for a long moment until that wasn't enough to stop the tears that began to flow down her cheeks. She buried herself in his chest, inhaling the smokey, herbal scent as if she were trying to memorize it in case of the worst, and she cried.

~

The day he made the unbreakable vow he had never seen her so angry.

They had fought a few times in their marriage. Stupid, petty things. Barely even fights. Mainly her nagging him about taking better care of himself and him doing the same to her. Frustrations over his jealousy, which at times bordered on toxic. But they all were brief, fleeting moments. Never spoken in a raised voice or with malice.

The way she was talking to him then. he'd never seen before.

They were in the living room, just the two of them now, the presence of Narcissa and Bellatrix still fresh in the cramped room. The rain pelted against the window outside in beat with her curses, which were thrown around as she paced in front of them.

"Severus that's not the point! This isn't part of the necessary obligation! This isn't simply spying anymore! You're trying to go above the bare minimum!" She practically yelled, stopping only to throw her hands in the air.

Severus stood still. It had been quite awhile since anyone truly raised their voice at him. But he wasn't frightened, even saddened. He understood. He only watched as she paced.

"He is my Godson-"

"I am your wife!" She practically hissed, stopping dead in her tracks.

Silence filled the air. They both stared at each other for a long time.

That night, after she'd spent the rest of the day in silent anger, she crawled into bed, into his arms. She whispered apologies in his ear and it only made his stomach churn.

She didn't. Know.

~

The day he killed Dumbledore, she cried harder than he'd ever seen her cry before.

She knew then, of course she knew. Even if he hadn't told her the reasoning. She looked into his eyes and never had to guess about his loyalties. She was too bloody smart for that.

So when she stood under the floorboards with Harry, after awaiting his arrival with Dumbledore, it didn't suck the wind from her the same way.

Harry, beside her, allowed only his breath to hitch. She was sure he felt betrayed, shocked.

But all she felt was dread.

She didn't have to know his reasons. She knew their consequences.

That night, hiding away in Grimmauld Place, she sobbed in Severus arms as soon as he returned from clearing the jinxes and hexes set up around the house.

Sobbing, she clung to him as if he was already slipping through her fingertips. Her breath quick and shallow, whimpers incoherant. Nothing she could say would change anything anyways. It was done. His fate sealed.

Severus couldn't say anything either. Nothing worth saying. He tried to murmur assurances in her ear as he held her, stroking her hair and rubbing his back.

So he lied.

"My love...." He murmured, "Shh.. I am alright..."

And he lied again.

"Shh... I'll be alright. You know I'm strong."

And again.

"I'm not going to die, darling. I promise. I promise."

Nothing calmed the shaking of her except for exhaustion. When she'd finally worn herself out, she fell asleep in his arms. He stayed awake.

~

May 2nd. 1998.

The castle came crumbling down.

Bodies scattered on stone. Flashes of green and red putting an end to lives that had barely begun. Children dead. Predators feasting on their flesh.

The stench was everywhere.

After abandoning his position as Headmaster, Severus and his wife stayed at the Malfoys manor. When Lucius knocked on their door, Severus took their conversation down the hall. When he returned, his expression was unreadable. He stared at her for a long time, as if memorizing her, before ordering her to stay put. He would be back, he whispered, so quietly she could barely hear it. He promised, he would be back.

But she was never one for following instructions. Not after walking down the stairs of the empty home to find a letter at the bottom step.

She would recognize the thin, crooked hand writing anywhere. Even if "My wife" wasn't sprawled across the envelope.

With shaking hands, she opened the letter.

{My wife,

I trust you ignored my instruction to stay put. Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this.

You always were too stubborn. Too stuborn to be stupid. Too intelligent. Perhaps that's why I fell in love with everything about you. You were too stubborn in your ambition to never give up on me. For that, I am deeply sorry.

I didn't know what I was doing when I joined this cult. I thought I did. I thought I wanted the glory, the belonging, the pride. It gave me none of it. From the moment the mark was seared into my skin. It gave me nothing.

I joined Dumbledore for reasons I've since told you. But forgive me for hiding the whole truth of our fate. I hid it from you, decieved you, out of nothing but love. I wished, that by protecting you from the truth, I could protect you from interferring from a fate where you'd be unhappy.

I mean it unpridefully when I say I don't believe The Order able to win this war without me. If I did, I would have listened to you years ago when you told me to run away with you. You know, I would follow you anywhere.

But it's not the war that needs me. Not some, self rightous, determined wish to save the world. It's you. My bright, happy, wife. My wife that loves teaching more than anything. My wife who loves fiercely, loyally and wholly. You loved me for reasons I still can not fully comprehend. But I love you none the less.

I know to lose this war would be to lose you. You'd be shattered watching the Dark Lord stay in power. Watching your students, your family, those you love be tortured and murdered by the masses. Even if I were alive, the two of us together. The wife I know, would be dead.

I am sorry there is not a scenerio where you would not be crushed. I am sorry I could not have done more. I am sorry for everything I have not ever said sorry for.

For awhile I fought this war out of duty to a "love" that chained me. Now I fight it out of duty to a love that is seered into every part of my soul.

I lack the foresight to see entirely where this night ends, but I doubt it will end gently for me. When Lucius said the Dark Lord wished to speak to me, I knew immediately it was about the elder wand. I think you knew too, before me, the night I killed Dumbledore. You were always too smart for your own good.

I do not care for you to clear my name. I know throughout those years its remained untarnished in your mind, and that is all I ever wished for.

I do ask you to be brave. Be strong. Be kind. You are a strong, fierce woman; the brightest Witch I've ever known and an even more incredible wife.

My love. I love you. I love you achingly, desperately. With every part of my being. I love you. Truly. Madly. Deeply. I love you.

I love you,

Severus.}

She sprinted out the door, letter abandoned on the last step, reaching only for the bag she'd dilligantly carried for the past dark months.

When she stood on the stoop, she saw only the night air looking back at him. No low hum of his voice, no smell of him on the air.

Emptiness.

Her wand was out in an instant. Without thinking of the dangers, she intended to apparate to Hogwarts. Yet for reasons she didn't know, she apparated just outside of Hogwarts grounds, collapsing in the inbetween of forest and lawn.

Thorns scraped her knees as she stumbled to her feet, her head swinging around widely trying to gather her surroundings. The Viaduct Court in front of her, the Shrieking Sack to her ri-

A Voice.

She heard voice. A dark, slithery voice that sounded like the onset of cruel death. Like the biting of a winter cold over exposed skin, hungry, maliced, unwavering.

And then she heard a thud.

Severus's wife was smart. Too smart.

She felt it. She couldn't describe the feeling, so unlike anything else she'd ever known. Unlike any trace of magic she'd studied or read about. It was primal, something deep inside herself she couldn't place. The knowledge that it was Severus's body, thrashing against the doors of the creaking boathouse. It was his blood staining the walls.

She moved without thinking, running desperately across the small clearing to the Shrieking Sack. Pebbles and sticks stabbed at her bare feet, she hadn't even put on shoes, had she? It didn't matter.

He could very well have still been in there when she threw the door open. He could've killed her right then in there and it would have been the last thing Severus would see before succuming to his own fate; the idea that once again... He failed.

But when she swung the door open, the Dark Lord had already apparated. Collapsed against the wall, Severus lay in his own blood, his breath a ragged song. He looked at her, and like all the times before, she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Anger. That she had come.

Fear. That she'd be found.

Dread. That she'd be killed.

Relief. That she had come.

She ran to his side, hands shakily hovering over his pale body, examining it. He was bleeding, a lot, from his neck. She'd never seen so much blood in her life.

"The snake?" She panted. "Did it bite you?"

Severus swallowed, nodded. He couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off her.

Her hands where in her bag before he even finished nodding. Rummaging for the potions she'd thankfully kept packed. It was lucky, a miracle even, that since the war had begun she'd kept healing potions in her bag at all times. A miracle, yes. She hoped it was enough.

With trembling hands, she popped the cork off the anti-venom potion first. It would take less than two minutes for Nagini's venom to kill him. How many seconds did she have left? How long would the potion take to work? Severus would know, but she didn't ask.

The second it was forced down his throat, she forced another one down. A blood replenishing potion. Enough, if it worked, to keep him from bleeding out. If the two worked together on time, maybe it would be enough.

With the second empty vial tossed to the floor, she focused her attention soley on Severus. Her hands pressed firmly yet gently onto his neck.

Warm. His blood was so warm. And there was so much of it. Coating her fingers, turning her palms red, dripping down her wrist.

Why wasn't it slowing? Why wasn't it stopping?

His breath was laboured as he whispered her name, barely audible. "Go... Home," he whispered.

She looked up at his paling face; looked into his eyes.

He was scared.

Her hands against his neck shook. "Don't," She said firmly. "Don't say anything. Don't talk. And don't die."

He swallowed back blood, eyes fixed on hers.

"You aren't allowed to fucking die? You hear me?" She hissed. "Not at the hands of some no nose, bald, wanna-be pureblood fuck who couldn't even kill a bloody baby!"

If Severus weren't bleeding to death, perhaps he would have snorted. But instead, he inhaled shakily, looking into her eyes and asking nothing in return.

Keeping his dark eyes on hers as he whispered: "I'll.. crawl.. home.. to you."

She stilled, eyes flicking widely between his as he watched something in them shift. They fluttered shut, his body going limp underneath her.

~

For the next few days, she clinged to him in the medical ward. Though she had to fight to get them to treat him, had to convince them of his true alliance to the Order by telling them things Severus surely wouldn't have wanted them to know, in the end, the medical infirmary agreed to treat him.

He was unconcious, barely breathing by the time they got to him. But they worked dilligently. Nimble hands casting spells, charms, forcing potions down his throat.

In the end, all that was left to do was wait. So she did. With her hand gripping his, she watched all day and night. She kept waiting for any slight movement, a twitch of the lip.. an eyebrow.

Any moment he'd wake up. His voice groggy and tired as he scolded her about why she'd chased after him. Never understanding fully the hole his absence would bring, how the threat of it nearly killed her out of terror.

It took a few days, but Severus did wake up. His eyelids opened slowly, eyes taking in the bright light. When they'd adjusted he thought he was in heaven. His wife... Those eyes staring into his.

But then, if she were here that would mean..

His eyes widened just as hers did, just as she threw her arms around his neck as delicately as she could manage. Crying, shaking, saying a bunch of incoherant ramblings as she held him.

Weakly, his left arm wrapped itself around her.

"You didn't lie," she sobbed, clinging to him.

Severus didn't understand that she was talking about his promise right before everything went back. He thought she was talking about what he wrote in the letter. But it didn't matter. He held her as tightly as he could manage and murmered the truth. "I.. didn't."

~

gang this was long af and lowkey tragic like ik u said angst but this is highkey ANGST. like even with the happy ending im l ike wow. brutal. anyways. sorry if it sucked LOL.

cheerio

~

editing bc i forgot to add my taglist oopsies

@graciesbow @niftysnazzy @plecosylvia @dark-st  @3hrysfiction-blog @ilovegrapes-world @darkvoidz @lexiitaylorrrr @theheartwants-what-itwants **@aperol-with-izzy**

**@herbologygremlin @kittenlittle24 @aleck-cross @macaroni7932 @xodilfluvr @unclosetedrickmaniac**

[crush-itis]

i love your writing sm! makes me go warm and fuzzy, your blog is so cute as well... id cry tears of joy if you'd write something about sebek... perhaps something about him admiring and looking up to his beloved and ghem just completing each other... 💚

໒꒰ೆ ◞ ◟ ꒱১ FANTASY TURNED SHOUJO ! 𝜗𝜚

⊹　 　✤ 　fluff, twst sebek x gn!reader ﹒ 　

(HI I AM SO SORRY THAT IT TOOK LONG TO POST THIS AND IM SORRY IF ITS NOT CHARACTER ACCURATE 💔💔💔💔💔 i dont really know sebek that much im sorry guys 😔😔😔😔)

The life of being a Night Raven student is like diving into a world of fantasy, and mystery.

Magic is everywhere, and the face of adversary could be lurking right at your doorstep.

The life of living in a Twisted Wonderland is unpredictable.

You could never expect another to transmigrate into your world.

You could also never expect your life—your entire goals centred around learning magic, and praising your young master could spiral, and twist into trying to get your newfound crush into liking you back.

At first, Sebek was dumbfounded that he had actually fallen in love with that one student that had claimed they did not live in this universe, and possess magic-less talent.

He had been pacing around in his bedroom, contemplating about this compromising position he is in.

There was no way.

No way that a crazy person like you captured his heart.

He could have never expected he’d fall for a person with no magical abilities.

At first he denied it, practically giving you the cold shoulder every shared class you have with him.

But he had to admit you were cool—crazy cool you managed to soothe the ruffled feathers of the overblotted boys in school.

Especially Malleus.

To think you could save his hero.

His life went from an unrealistic fantasy to a romantic reality.

His loud, beaming voice would always hush whenever he noticed you were near.

His cheeks would blossom a bright red colour, and his heart would hammer away the moment his nostrils flare at your familiar scent.

He wondered what perfume or hair conditioner you used that made him so flustered.

He looked up, and admired the way you did all of these cool things.

He used to think it was worthless, and stupid for someone magicless to be attending a school that is all about magic, and sorcery.

But he changed his mind when he realized your character meant more than being a mere human without having any magic imbued inside you.

Yup, the freshie who is known for his loud mouth would always go silent near you.

He just can’t help, but have his lips zipped sealed when he sees you passing by.

And perhaps if you’re listening carefully, you’d hear the romantic, pop melody of a shoujo opening play in the background.

He becomes speechless the moment your presence is acknowledged because even mere words can’t describe how he feels about you.

While he is silent, quiet, and flustered when you’re close by, behind closed doors, his heart is screaming as he scribbles in his notebook.

Just in the midst of his studying, your face would pop up in his brain.

He’ll even accidentally rip his homework into shreds in frustration.

He really likes you.

You’re cool, admirable, and your kindness towards everyone else makes him shiver in love.

[nicki0kaye]

Route 2;)

This one went on WAY longer and a LOT happened so I'm gonna be summarizing way more and focusing more on the plot points.

Unit 4522 is respectful and eager to please the Spectres, especially Zeb, who they have a Huge crush on. Unfortunately, once they begin actualizing into A Real Person and that Person is nothing like the sardonic, confident bitch Kallus was, Zeb dumps babysitting duties on Rex, mostly out of fear that Zeb's interest in Kallus will force this new innocent being Just Figuring Themselves Out to try and squeeze themselves into a Kallus mold to make him happy. ESPECIALLY when he finds out that 452' is actively researching Kallus and found his decades old Space-Myspace page.

Rex and Unit 4522 immediately imprint on one another--the former an old hat at helping someone who looks full grown but is only Just Now learning autonomy adjust; the latter desperate for direction and comfort. 452' says they really like the name Kallus used to call himself (Sasha), but it isn't theirs to use. Rex suggests the name Ma'reycye, or Mareysha, meaning 'a discovery, something valuable you’ve been looking for a long time. A treasure'

452' thinks that might actually be too pretty of a name, but is quickly going by Reysha.

The new name and an ever increasingly solid personality makes Zeb comfy enough to start being around Reysha more, quickly becoming their other older brother figure. Super cute, everything is fine, Reysha's starting to get really close to Deacon, the Medtech in charge of rolling back restrictions and ensuring Reysha remains stable. Found family vibes all around.

obviously this is too much stability for my tastes, so next comes the curve-ball that is the 'defensive sub-routine'.

while out scouting around Yavin IV, Reysha is attacked by hostile wild life, triggering the sub-routine. Their conscious awareness basically goes offline while the sub-routine is running, leaving them to parse what happened by reviewing their internal logs.

Within that missing time chunk, all of their internal records change to Old Tongue--Kallus' first language--and begin to unravel into the extremely untidy thinking of a human who initially mistakes the trees for pillars and ultimately crashes as they realize that's the fucking sky above them.

They immediately return to base for Deacon to run some tests, where they all learn to their horror that the sub-routine is a fraction of Kallus' lived experience accidentally pruned and preserved in order to give the Unit combat abilities should its owners want it. With the restrictions already in place, the programmers had no idea this splinter would quickly stabilize into the facimaly of Kallus pre-Empire. Back when he was a gang-lord's son going by Sasha.

And Sasha fuuuuuucking haaaates thissssssss

Wakes up in the future to realize a) the future Sucks and b) he's forced to share a body with what he assumes is a droid. Worse; everyone likes the droid way more than him.

It's a Hot Minute before he's told outright that Reysha is not a droid or an AI or anything like that, and they are, in fact, his biggest advocate. They are protective of him.

The relationship--really anyone's relationship with Sasha--is super rocky, but slowly Sasha begins adjusting.

Zeb getting captured helped in its own way, too. Mareysha is not field ready and neither is Sasha, but together, they're about as deadly as Kallus has ever been. It's fucking Jeiger time, baby, and Deacon is scared for them. Thankfully Zeb is brought back safely and Hoth has like. Infinite Bacta to expend on his recovery, so everything can go back to normal, right?

Wrong. Mareysha is pissed. They are not normally pissed, it's more like them to worry and focus on problem solving, but Zeb? Being hurt? Unacceptable. And there is no one to take it out on but Zeb, and apparently they want to take it out on him physically too, threatening him with a duel.

Of course, once they leave that conversation, they realize all of that kark is from Kallus, not them.

Which, cool, great, Kallus, if you are in here, you aren't allowed to use them as a proxy, fucking actualize like a normal person instead of leaking all you maladaptive bullshit onto their side of the shared headspace.

This does not happen, at least not on base.

When it does happen, it's on what everyone thought was a milk-run one system over, and it's because Kallus can literally clock an ISB honeypot in his sleep--or in this case as a fractured dormant personality.

Not exactly wanting to be 'out', Kallus tries to pass himself off as Reysha, but Zeb sees right through that bantha shit. He doesn't out Kallus in front of the crew of greenhorns he's been sent to look after, but oh, when he gets Kallus alone, they are having Words.

Despite knowing since Sasha popping up that there was a possibility Kallus was still in there, somewhere, Zeb hasn't allowed himself to hope. And now that they're here, he's levelling all that grief and frustration onto Kallus. He is PISSED, because Ezra TRIED TO GET KALLUS OUT and KALLUS DID NOT TAKE THE OUT. And now they don't even know if he'll stay around or if it's 'more stable for everyone' for him to be reabsorbed into Reysha and Sasha. AND YES. HE DOES BLAME YOU FOR ALL OF THIS.

Kallus matches energy because uh FUCK YOU, he didn't get lobotorobotized on fucking purpose, you jackass, and is not in any way prepared for Zeb to grab him by the face and tug him close and whisper fervent insults in Lasana at him;

"You [miserable pond-scum, you wretch, you heartbreaker.]" Their anger goes sideways as Zeb takes hold of their face and starts slipping into anguished Lasana. They blink at him, one hand locked around the Lasat's wrist as reality rearranges itself for what feels like the third time today. Maybe--fuckit, say it. Now or never. "Stop complaining and kiss me while I'm still me."

Zeb says he can't bc the stupid headpiece is in the way. Kallus, not understanding that Lasat kisses involve scenting their lover's cheek, takes it upon himself to grab the back of his head and close the distance.

They don't get to honeymoon long; there's still like four other ppl on this ship and none of them need to know about this giant messy situationship rival thing they have going. Also the Empire will be tracking them since they stepped foot into the Honeypot and they need somewhere to lie low.

will add a part two bc there's still a lot that happens and this is already super long lol

have I posted Lobot!Kallus? I keep meaning to I genuinely can't remember

vacant, only speaks when spoken to, has to be guided by hand bc his spacial awareness has been intentionally fucked with, is either In There behind all the programming, unable to jailbreak himself without permission which no one has thought to give him OR has been fractured so severely, his identity may as well be gone or only exists as a subroutine that only triggers under certain circumstances and is so buried by restrictions it's unrecognizable.

just things I do to my favorite characters uwu

[bichitosdecolores]

i was making a silly post about the book i’m reading and it got out of control. long text down there

i’m a genetics at heart and i really like to do that annoying science thing where i try to find a logical explanation to everything. yet i was reading my book (about genes) and the author got to a part where he discusses the genetic link of gender identity and identity in general and for some reason i dont like it? i mean, i agree. everything is genetically determined (or influenced). and it makes lot of sense right? the cascade of molecular signals orchestrated by genes is so large and complex we barely begin to understand it. so it makes sense to think that a change in some part of that chain may cause my genetically female genes to fail to signal binary biological femaleness causing me to not have the identity or physiology of a female. but the thought of it makes me feel weird?.

i have always been really curious about the biochemistry and genetics of transgender people but i have never actually made any research on it partially because i feel scared that by finding any “true” biological reason behind my identity it will be less valid or something.

genetics are so weird because they are us and they are everything. they are inescapable and all controlling (almost? kinda), yet they are so abstract and we are so limited by our ability to visualize and understand them that we end up having to talk about them in political, moral amd cultural terms. like gender and identity and illness or disability or violence. but those things are so marked by our interaction with our environment and our need to categorize things that we end up taking a lot of unrelated meaning with them when we try to understand something so uninterested in us like genes and anatomy. it’s weird. but it’s not like we can do much to help it can we. am i making any sense now? i love genetics but god they are a difficult area to understand in not science terms. and the history of genetics is so so messy and complicated and cruel at times. and we haven’t even started to play with genes yet. i’m happy gene therapy and transgenics and crisp technology are so regulated. i don’t know how much longer we can week ignoring them for though.

[starleska]

a handful of promotional shots for the upcoming Doctor Who episode Lux, featuring The Doctor, Belinda, and Mr. Ring-a-Ding!! photos courtesy of The Black Archive (more available there) 🫡

[lovereadandwrite]

he cooked ! he served !! HE ATE😮‍💨🥵

[aliusfrater]

[psychopomp-namine]

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[seventh-district]

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[hypodermicfroggy]