#the rest are probably stuck in the ball pit..

[cryinginyourwalls]

Behold, the nuke.

[helaintoloki]

Keep Your Enemies Closer

pairing: sparrow!ben x reader

warnings: language, angst, suggestive content, minor spoilers

notes: the new season has brought me back from the dead so pls send in any tua requests you have <3 also this technically could be read as a sequel to relenting

summary: attending Grace’s birthday party forces you to confront the man you’ve been trying your hardest to avoid

The scent of pizza and spilled soda invades your senses as you help continue to set up birthday decorations in Lila’s absence. You have no idea where she’s run off to now, but you hope that taking over the rest of the work load will ease some of the stress from the tired mother’s shoulders.

The party center is loud, shrill shrieks of kids and music blasting from the arcade games splitting your ears and giving you a headache, and you’d be lying if you said you wouldn’t rather be anywhere else but in some children’s play place. But, you are Grace’s favorite aunt, and you firmly believed in always showing up for family, so here you are.

Just as you finish setting the last place mat on the kid’s table an overly excited voice calls your name from the back of the room. A smile creeps upon your lips at the familiarity, but it immediately drops when you see that it’s not just Luther heading your way but also the man you loathe with your entire being.

“Hey, you made it!” Luther cheers animatedly before pulling your tense body into a tight bear hug. “It’s so nice to see you, y/n.”

“It’s nice to see you too, big guy,” you agree with a dry laugh and awkward pat to his back. You can feel the daggers being burned into your skull, so you have no choice but to acknowledge Luther’s companion for the day. “But you do know you’re supposed to leave the trash outside, right?”

“Like I haven’t heard that one before,” Ben scoffs with an indignant roll of his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be at the hospital ‘saving lives?’”

“Shouldn’t you still be in jail?” You fire back with ire, and if not for Luther keeping you both apart you’d probably be fist fighting in the middle of the ball pit right now.

“Uh, Ben got out early on probation for good behavior,” Luther explains with a nervous chuckle while attempting to keep the peace as best as he can without losing an eye in the process. “And now he’s here to spend time with us as a family.”

“Yeah, let’s see how long that lasts.”

“Hey, I technically am family,” the Sparrow boasts with a taunting smirk, formulating just the right insults to get under your skin. “You were a late addition added to the Umbrellas to pick up the slack Viktor left behind after Dad suppressed their powers. You’re not even a Hargreeves. Isn’t that right, Luther.”

“W-Well, I wouldn’t say that,” the man is quick to defend only for you to speak over him.

“Fuck. You,” you snarl through gritted teeth, palms clenched tightly at your sides as you adamantly work to not let him get the best of you. “Ben was family, and you’re not him. You’re just the shitty replacement we’re stuck with.”

“And yet when you thought the world was ending you still slept with me.”

The smug smile on Ben’s face is immediately wiped off by the impact of your open palm colliding with his cheek, and the sheer force of your hit as him tumbling back into Luther. Your assault earns a few bewildered gasps from a nearby table of parents, but you couldn’t care less about what a group of wine moms thought of you in that moment. Your chest is tight with rage, but you will yourself to walk away before the situation can escalate further and ruin the party.

“What did I miss?” A curious Five notes after arriving to the scene, but he soon finds himself forced to match your brisk pace as you grab him by the arm and drag him with you to the bar.

“I need a drink.”

~~~

You do your best to avoid him for the rest of the night, but eventually Ben is able to corner you by the gift table where you sit nursing a spiked lemonade.

“Drinking at a kid’s party, huh?”

“Did you come here to get slapped again?” You retort with a wry chuckle before taking a quick swig of your drink.

“Actually,” he starts, hesitating as he struggles to get out the words, “I came to… apologize.”

“You? Apologize? What, is the world ending again?” You scoff in disbelief before finally settling your gaze on the shaggy haired man before you. Maybe it’s the alcohol, but you think prison might have made him hotter, and the fact irks you to no end.

Obviously annoyed by your defensiveness, Ben shakes his head and says, “I don’t even know why I bother. I only came here for Luther’s sake because he wouldn’t shut up about making ‘positive changes’ now that I’m out of jail.”

“‘Don’t even know why I bother?!’” You repeat in indignant disbelief. “I gave you so many chances to prove that you weren’t a complete asshole and every time you screwed me over! You are not the victim in the situation.”

“Oh, spare me the sob story,” Ben remarks dismissively with a roll of his eyes. “I lost someone too, you’re not the only one that has to deal with the fact that you’re stuck with a completely different version of your dead partner. At least I’m trying to make the most of what the universe has given me.”

“By getting yourself thrown in jail over some stupid crypto scheme?”

“Jesus, by trying to make something with you!” Ben cries out in frustration. “You won’t even try to just play along!”

“I already told you, I’m not your y/n. She’s dead,” you remind him harshly. “Sleeping with you was just a moment of weakness and a mistake that shouldn’t have happened.”

“Really? Because if I remember correctly you seemed to really be enjoying yourself,” he taunts with a suggestive smirk that has your face immediately growing hot.

“God, you’re so insufferable! I could just-“

“Kiss me?”

“-choke you!”

A heavy silence falls between you both as you stare at each other in bewildered shock. It takes you a moment to recover from Ben’s words as you swallow harshly and ask, “What did you say?”

“What did… you say?” He retorts in an attempt to remain as inconspicuous as possible. The tension between you now is so thick you could cut it with the knife sitting by the birthday cake, but instead you just sit and stare at each other.

“Does your car have tinted windows?” Ben asks suddenly, prompting you to raise a brow.

“Yeah, why?” You reply with an inquisitive raise of your brow, but when Ben gives you a pointed look you’re then quick to catch on. “If we go now we’ll be back in time for cake.”

“Let’s go,” he says, eagerly rising from his seat so fast it almost knocks over the presents. Anxiously taking your hand in his, you both scan the room to make sure no one’s eyes are on you before bolting towards the exit.

You know you’re going to regret this, but in the moment you couldn’t care less what consequences would come from your romp in the backseat of your car with Ben.

Because as much as you hate to admit it, you’ve really missed him.

[martiansodas-blog]

Art x reader meeting the readers parents and it's an absolute mess:(

(bonus points if he finds her old room and plays with her calico critters and plushies)

ok my brain automatically went to older! art soooo…

your parents knew 2 things about your new boyfriend.

1- he’s successful.

and 2- he’s a couple years older than you.

a couple years is an understatement.

but you figured once they met him and saw how sweet he treated you it wouldn’t matter!

this did not turn out to be the case.

your mom and dad took one look at him and made a snap judgment.

they knew his type, (supposedly.)

old money. a younger girl on his arm. cold and aloof. power hungry.

it’s a shame. this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

art donaldson may be a weapon on the court, but behind closed doors he’s the little spoon who makes you heart shaped pancakes.

“so. where did the two of you meet?” your mother asks, more to be pleasant and less because she wants to know the answer.

“at work,” you said , fondly remembering the exchange, “he was-“

“heckling my daughter in the workplace?”

“mom.” you warn “no.”

“honey,” your dad reigns her in

she huffs and crosses her arms in defeat.

“i was needing some more tennis equipment, actually.” art chimes in,

“yeah he was looking for these fancy sweatbands but we didn’t carry any, we just sort of got to talking.”

your dad gave you both a soft smile

“well, you seem to make our little girl very happy.”

incoming call from: tashi

“speaking of little girl, that’s probably her saying goodnight. excuse me.”

art very politely stepped out onto the porch.

“he has a kid?” your mothers eyes looked like they could pop out of her head at any second. “honestly why on earth would you think this is a good idea?”

“yes he does and she’s very sweet. her names lily.” you said firmly.

“so what? you’re gonna be a stepmom in your early twenties? is that what you want?”

“i wanted to introduce the person i love to my parents. but obviously that was a bad idea.”

your dad ushers your mom into their bedroom. he gives you a apologetic glance before he closes the door.

you stood there, frozen in the entryway for an unknown amount of time. as long as it took for art to finish his call and rest his hands on your shoulders from behind.

“hey hey, what’s the matter? what happened?”

you didn’t realize you were crying until you started to speak. well, tried to speak anyway.

“they,” you sniffed, “she…i’m sorry,”

“oh honey,” he pulled you into a hug.

you buried your face in his toned chest.

“i should’ve known this would happen” you heaved, gripping his shirt.

“shh, shh it’s ok. this is most definitely not your fault.”

he stroked your back and pressed feather light kisses to your hairline until you calmed down. when you removed yourself there was a wet patch right in the middle of his torso.

“let’s go upstairs, yeah?” he suggested gently.

he was almost using his dad voice.

you nodded, grabbed his coarse hand and guided him up the steps.

“so this is your childhood bedroom?”

art took in the whimsy filled room. the ceiling was only about a foot taller than him.

“the one and only.” you managed to crack a smile.

it was just how you’d left it at 18. the walls were pink and green. a choice you’d made at 7 and never got around to changing.

you’re glad you never painted over it now, though. it makes you feel innocent again, like a time capsule you can walk into.

art strolled around the room. looking at drama club trophies that lined the bookshelf, the collection of calico critters and the photo booth films stuck on your mirror.

there was a good amount of dust on everything. it caused a pit in your stomach to open up.

“you ok?”

“yeah” you nodded, “just got a little carried away by nostalgia.”

art wasn’t sure if touch would be the right thing for you right now, so he opened his arms, giving you the option.

you hugged him without a second thought. like an instinct. you squeezed him with all your might, like a stress ball. art hardly felt it, though.

figures.

“meeting my family will go better. my grandmas already looking forward to it.”

you lifted your head to look at him.

“really?”

such a simple sentence gave you butterflies.

“yeah,” he chuckled, like it was obvious “i’ve told her all about you.”

you truly didn’t know what to say. so touched by the sincerity and excitement in his tone. it. it caused you to break into a smile, a real smile, for the first time since you’d got to your parents house.

“i’d like that very much.”

[heartfullofleeches]

Sorry just asked about the fast food reader (if tumblr didnt eat it) but what would happen if fast food reader was pulled into the ball pit yan’s pocket dimension

"Sleep....Rest..."

Work was hell. A bus full of suspiciously clad individuals held up the already hectic lunch rush, awhile the mascot attempted to braid your hair as you managed the register. As if matters couldn't get worse, the ice cream machine had unlease a slurry of thawed cream at your coworker for kicking its side when it refused to dispense ice cream for them. With so many new hires, it's hard to keep up on who knows that machine wouldn't allow any hands on it besides yours and who didn't. The flood was catastrophic. You had to wheel yourself around the kitchen using the Janitor's cart which was - actually pretty fun, but navigating around the sunken body within the river didn't share that same thrill.

At the end of the chaos, all you wanted to do was go home so you could curse the domino effect of evolution that eventually resulted to you getting this job, but you couldn't go anywhere without a trip to the ball pit first. Those hands had the touch and grace of God on your joints and muscles - a statement likely truer than you'd like to think about. If someone asked you why you kept this job they would probably be your first answer. Besides trying to play sneaky and dragging under a few times, they were the most useful of the entities claiming this location, and you, as their territory. There was always a part of you that did wonder - a lingering thought in the back of your mind.

What would happen if you went down there?-

Seems the day you'd find out as come at last.

"You're tired... don't fight us anymore..."

After the day you've had, your body is about as useful as a wet paper towel. The ball pit's hands lower your ailing husk into their plastic prison; nimble fingers and palms jutting the exact points that weight you down. You feel defenseless in their embrace. They meticulously knead your stress away and with it goes your will to fight as the dingy ceiling lights disappear in the sea of colorful balls. You can feel them drag you further down between each palpitation, but you had neither the strength nor the broom to free yourself. Was there even anything you could do at this point if you did? You weren't sure if you could wrestle yourself out of so many hands. It seemed like there were a dozen more than you remembered; pulling your weightless self through the sea of plastic and forgot memories.

"We will treat you with the care that you deserve.. Our idol. Our love. Close your eyes and rest."

Your head breaks the surface - and everything goes dark.

-

When you wake, everything appears normal. From the checkered titles around you, you're laying on the floor of the play place - surrounded by balls. Nothing unusual there. It's when you sit up that you notice something to be...off. There are other items amongst the orbs. Happy meal toys, wallets, jewelry, IDs. You pick up the closest to you. The missing persons flyers get swapped out pretty quickly, but you always remember the face that was once there - when no one else could.

"Do you prefer silver or gold?"

You look around for the source of the voice. A pale arms extends from the figures equally as pearl robes. You can't see their face. You couldn't see much of anything that was a couple inches from your face. Unable to stand on your own, you take their hand. It's uncharacteristically cold. On your feet, you can see a basket in their other arm - full of discarded belongings scattered across the ground.

"Where am I?..."

"Home....for now. We've been stuck here for eons, a pocket between your world and the next. Come, we can talk more once we get out. Stick close to me and if you hear anything, hold your breath. We are never alone here"

The figure moves your hand to their shoulder and begins walking. You follow behind, praying your eyes to adjust enough to peal a layer of darkness. Whispers and intangible mutterings sworn from all corners. They pause - briefly as the figure bends down to pick something up and either place it into their basket or inspect it more closely. There comes a time when you hear paper tearing or glass shattering, but it's hard to locate where they're coming from. Soft light emits from the exit doors as you approach.

"run."

The doors fly open. Squeezing your hand from instinct, you find that you are alone - and that the play area is no longer the same. You're in the forest behind the restaurant; skies block out by a sea of mass manufactured balls. There's something in the distance. A writhing, pale mass it takes your mind a minute to process. Hands. Hundreds of white limbs all tearing and fighting over the spilled contents of that same wicker basket you saw before. They raise family photos and handheld mirrors into the centers of their horde; a single, calm hand in the storm ripping the objects free. It turns them over in its palm before raising it height above its body. Torso, shoulders - there's something in there and its eating the lost memories. A torn photo falls at your feet. It's the manager that tried to fire you your first week.

"... They're still here. Everyone's that's gotten lost in that pit. Their bodies were lost as soon as they came, but their spirits still hunt for what's let of them so they can be remember. So they can go home... Just like I want to."

A hand meets your cheek, followed by another at your waist. They're everywhere - swarming.

"If you're curious if you're dead, don't be. You are still of body and mind, as I could never eat the one who's made this purgatory tolerable. Please, allow me to hold you just a little longer and I will send you back. I want to look at you with these tired eyes and to know peace. Please, accept me."

The god reaches its hand out to you. It reeks of blood, and is stained with their tears. You take it - and there you are back laying on the play area floor.

[fishermanshook]

GANJI GUPTA HEADCANONS.

( batter ) aka GANJI GUPTA.

TW: MY H/C’s 😨 , this layout is giving cheese , grammar and spelling warning

INTRO

Who is Ganji Gupta? And how do you know him? As a friend, a loved one, or as a nobody?

*manor au where they are trapped inside.

꒰wc꒱ 641

GANJI GUPTA, also known as the manor's one and only Batter, acts as a lone wolf. He most likely won’t start conversations and will keep his answers short. Though, it’s just another barrier he puts up out of the need for protection. He doesn’t know who he can confide in here and, in his eyes, everyone seems to be another untrustworthy person out for their wants and needs. That’s all that they are sized down to at the beginning.

GANJI GUPTA struggles with being alone, at least, less than most others. He has experience with the feeling, but everyone caves eventually. He, on the other hand, can withstand it for quite some time.

GANJI GUPTA who, after quite some time, starts to warm up a bit more to the manor inhabitants. Realizing that it’s better not to hold any grudges if you’re going to be stuck here for all eternity.

GANJI GUPTA enjoys the company of others most when they play cricket with him. It doesn’t even matter if they’re good or not, he finds the act endearing and appreciates it more than anyone could imagine.

GANJI GUPTA would need a partner who takes things slow with him. Someone who understands that he (sometimes) has his moments, and will give him the time and space to sort through them. That might mean leaving your side for a while or hitting some cricket balls as far as he possibly can, imagining that all his anger flies away with it.

               ↳ However, there are moments where neither of these things can help him and he needs you instead. Help him to breathe again, and talk him through it instead. Distract his mind from thinking about why he was so upset in the first place. Just, don’t treat him like a child.

GANJI GUPTA who can’t help but feel jealous as you laugh and joke around with the others. There’s a part of him that sometimes wishes he too could enjoy the company of the rest but is too shy to say it. Although, if you happen to pick up on it, grab his hand and pull him into the conversation. He’ll find the flow, eventually.

GANJI GUPTA also hates the pit of spitefulness that pools in the bottom of his stomach when he notices someone else flirting with you. He goes red in the face with his arms crossed and looks furious. The Batter can’t seem to grasp how other people aren’t yet aware of your relationship and is quick to wrap an arm around your waist and come up with some lossy excuse to pull you away elsewhere.

↳ You can't help but whine a bit as the Batter pulls you away. You had a friendly conversation going on with the “Prisoner”, what’s the matter? As you continue your complaining, it dawns on Ganji that, you hadn’t realized he’d been trying to court you the entire time.

GANJI GUPTA will always use his last cricket ball to benefit you in a match. Whether it’s to save you from your third chair or to help prolong your kite, he never hesitates to use it for your sake. He’s gotten some rather harsh comments on it before, but he just ignores them and carries on with his day.

GANJI GUPTA deals with frequent night terrors that wake the both of you up. He’s quick to apologize, brushing it off as if it were nothing. Unfortunately, the tears in his eyes give him away. You don’t ask what they were about, and you probably shouldn’t for now. All he wants is to fall asleep in your embrace with the reminder that you’re here. That you are alive.

note: you thought I was gonna post that painter fic? erm whattttt? why would you ever think that???? that’s so weird what….

fishermanshook — no stealing , translating , plagiarizing or reposting my work on other any other sites + reblogs adored !!

[mdhwrites]

So, how does Discord from MLP fare as a chaotic god creature who gains redemption from friendship? Considering your issues with The Collector, what made the idea that Discord could be redeemed by Fluttershy's friendship work better?

So, the ask that caused me to finish watching the finale. Let's do this. *cracks neck*

Discord is less human and empathetic.

That... Is actually most of it which I know probably sounds a little weird. After all, shouldn't a kinder character be easier to redeem? Shouldn't it be more satisfying to see them change from their negative influences? Well... Yes. For most characters.

Discord and The Collector are not most characters. They're all powerful gods who mostly get enjoyment from chaos and causing problems. You inherently need a different approach to how they function when it comes to their morality. After all, neither one sees the death or loss of autonomy for a massive amount of people as a big deal so long as they had fun. That hedonism is a core part of both characters.

And this is where the Collector's humanity becomes a problem for the reason why it works with Discord: When Discord fucks over Fluttershy in his redemption, he doesn't expect her to be fair. To be good to him. His expectation, and desire even because of how he sees things, is that she'll snap. She'll get mad, break her word, and he'll be proven right about how all of this is bullshit. Sure, he probably gets turned to stone again but he's immortal. Time doesn't matter as much victory does. Even better if she snaps but keeps her word while swearing him up and down because now he gets to do what he wants.

But... He doesn't get that, does he? She keeps her word... But cuts ties. Doesn't get mad (and sorry if I'm misrepresenting any of this), doesn't throw a fit, doesn't do much of anything. Instead, she lets him know this isn't what friends do, that they aren't friends anymore, and leaves.

He won... But didn't get a prize. Didn't get the reward of breaking Fluttershy's patience. Doesn't get the reward of moral superiority because she dropped her mask and that's a CRUCIAL part of this. He NEVER believed that Fluttershy was being sincere. In his eyes, no one ever is. His chaos is actually revelatory more than anything else to him. Push someone to brink and where do their allegiances lie. That's literally what he does when he first shows up in S2 and shows how weak the element bearers can be when pitted against their own desires and vices. All but Fluttershy who annoyed him because she wouldn't play ball. She stuck to being kind.

I'm actually kind of loving how I expected to say I didn't think Discord's redemption was great but I actually love how even back in his first appearance, you can see the blocks they built on for it. But... why does this redeem him then?

Well because it proves him wrong and gives him something he's never had: A friend. Someone who doesn't wear a mask with him. Someone who genuinely cares about him. He's never had that and so yeah, he's free forever since the elements won't be used against him but... In return, he never gets the kindness he just finally experienced. A kindness that by the show's logic is the most powerful thing in the universe, literally. And so he decides that the only way to win is to lose and gives up so he can be friends with Fluttershy.

All of this btw explains why he never bothers trying to connect with the rest because he just sees them as masks which helps keep him antagonistic, even if he's not a villain now.

So what does this all have to do with The Collector? Well, see, with Discord, before his change, you could never win making a deal with him. You don't matter to him so you actually have to exchange something. With the Collector... You matter.

People matter to him... Which makes EVERYTHING he does WAY WORSE.

And this isn't even about killing people. For as fucking stupid as him not knowing what death is, and just a straight up lie by the show that goes fucking nowhere and has no payoff, that is not actually important here. Sure, it shows a lack of understanding to what he does, but the dehumanization is enough. He does horribly monstrous things to EVERYONE on the Isles. Full stop. He is a monster and this link takes you to something more comprehensive on that.

And he does that... While understanding his actions upset others and that he doesn't like that.

The smoking gun here is the line "King will hate me now." He knew going in that the dreams would piss off King. That hurting Eda and Luz had consequences. Consequences HE DIDN'T WANT. Discord thought there was no losing play because he could not imagine actually hurting Fluttershy in a way that mattered to him. It is VERY easy for the Collector. It's actually why King has so much power over him. He is desperate to keep his friend around.

But if he can recognize the humanity in one person, why can't he for literally anyone else?

And that's the killing blow. Even if you buy into EVERYTHING about the death stuff, he still knows he's doing monstrous things. That he has done monstrous things. This is why he doesn't like King reading about his brothers. Admittedly, you also have a moment like him asking for Grudgby buddies but... Why? The evidence is overwhelmingly stacked that he knows the people hate him. Otherwise he wouldn't have stars hunting and making people into dolls. Making them into nothing but toys instead of even giving them a chance to be his friend. Terra and Odalia live in fear of annoying him AT ALL and getting turned into a puppet, which happens to Terra. He treats people TERRIBLY... While knowing what he does is wrong.

While knowing King doesn't like this. That he doesn't like how King looks at him in those moments. He himself in the finale admits that the friendship is a lie and it hurts but he'd rather have that than not have a friend. But... He's been at this for months. He has been doing these things, with King by his side, for MONTHS.

Why did none of these people get even a chance? What is the underlying philosophy for the Collector? That he thinks they'll lie and cheat with him? It's not like King wasn't getting something out of their deal so King should be just as untrustworthy as everyone else. More so honestly because he IS immune to his magic so the Collector is defenseless if King decides to shove him back into the mirror. But... He gives King a chance. And he needs proof to believe that someone is out to get him. That's why Belos needs to have him check on King. He doesn't assume people are lying like Discord does.

And also... What does he get out of fucking with people? Discord genuinely takes pleasure in your misery. In you losing your mind. We get the death games in the finale but why that scale? Why the unfair rules? He's cheating like he accuses others of doing. But... He wants others to be honest with him. Discord lies because he doesn't expect anyone to bother being honest with him, not if they can get something out of lying.

That's why I describe it as the Collector being too human. He is too genuinely a person to have his crimes be as easily dismissed. For a simple shift in outlook, one thing proving his hypothesis wrong, to be what changes him.

Mind you... That doesn't happen either. The Collector isn't redeemed in the TOH finale. The one rushed part of the finale is when he should have been convinced that Luz was right. When he should have apologized for what he'd done or done a grand gesture to show he had changed how he viewed things. Instead, there's brief talk about forgiveness and kindness, which is not what the Collector is actually asking for because he claims during this section to not have actually done anything wrong (refer to everything above), he mumbles about it, and then I guess his big redemption moment is trying to use the theory on Belos. Except, you know... He spends the entire episode wanting to make friends. He is told a way to make friends and bluntly uses it like he did Belos' plans that started the episode and the death games. He hasn't grown or changed which is probably why the moment is treated as a complete joke. Then Luz dies ten seconds later and I guess figuring out that death exists SCREAMS makes him go save people. Hurray?

It's bad. At least Fluttershy's moment was genuinely built up. They showed how Discord viewed things and then presented a choice that actively asked that he either stay to his old mindset and beliefs or change to face a scarier, uncertain future. The Collector is still mostly just going off of "Friends are great! Do what makes you friends the easiest!" which isn't a new mentality for him. I guess you MAYBE get it when he fucks off in the end but also not really. Kind of like how Luz gave the demon realm a middle finger, him leaving without actually fixing like 90% of the damage he did, something that would be really easy for him but takes the citizens of the Isles FOUR YEARS, feels a lot more like that. Like these people don't like him, won't be his friends, so he tries a new planet instead. Maybe with a bit less forcing people to be his friend but why? His viewpoint seems to still be what it always has been, especially since he DOESN'T stick around to try actually be King's friend. To actually work with him and give him agency. He does all he has to to not make King hate him and then... Leaves. Instead of, you know, actually putting the work in which would have taken one line of "The Collector agreed to a power dampener to help everyone else feel a bit easier and is now working with King on what their friendship will be instead of telling him how it will be." Maybe even with showing him losing at Jenga, King getting nervous but then the Collector just laughs it off because he doesn't need to be in control anymore. He can lose and still be happy.

And again: This is the ONE part of the finale that's actually rushed. For as painfully slow and wasteful as the rest is, redeeming the Collector was just left on the chopping room floor I guess. Then again, that happened with Amity too, who never makes up for the bullying she did or actually apologizes for the years of bullying, just for the original sin (and then leaves Willow high and dry). It also happened with Hunter who always states very selfish motivations for wanting to be away from Belos and never actually disavows the things he did or the mindset he did them with. It's why I say he left Belos just because otherwise he'd be dead because it all still feels self serving. It doesn't feel like his worldview or his morality actually changed besides understanding his uncle wanted him dead.

TOH is just bad at redemption. At actually changing a character and having them rebuke their past. At least with Discord, the show is bluntly honest about even the initial attempt having a carrot on a stick for him. That if he doesn't play nice, it's back into the statue. It's why it's important that that carrot is gone in his moment of redemption. We know what he wants: Freedom and Chaos. Fluttershy won't put him back into the statue so he has those. But he chooses friendship instead because they've genuinely changed his mind and so he gives up both some of his freedom, and some of his chaos, to behave and play nice, even when Fluttershy had no reason to actually be nice to him even when he changed everything back in the end. He could have just lost. He didn't have to be honest and straightforwardly kind to another, things that the episode itself was asking whether or not it was possible for him to do.

There just isn't anything like that with the Collector and reminder: Discord is redeemed in his second appearance. He gets an hour of airtime where he can even show up before this happens. The Collector has more time to be fleshed out, genuinely, than Discord did. But... The Collector doesn't actually change. He might claim it but we don't see that. We don't see him do anything that would actually sell us on him having changed his worldview. After all, he forgave the Titans by still wanting to befriend one. He showed plenty of kindness to King with stuff like not forcing him to give Francois.

He already was like this so why does the little trip down memory lane do anything? Especially when for most of it, King, Eda and Luz are barely paying attention to him so the writers can circle jerk about the plans they had or about the amazing story they made. Even his big moment is undercut by being a joke. By obviously being the wrong move and then costing Luz her life. Just another dumb plan he enacted because someone told him it would get him friends.

That's not different and unfortunately it doesn't fix the awful things he did to others. The things he knows were wrong that he did. Discord never had to apologize for it because he'd never thought of them as wrong. Not until the moment everything changed for him.

Nothing changed for the Collector. Not a single thing.

======+++++======

Something that is just kind of an undercurrent of this but that I cannot stress enough for why the two are different: Discord can do what he does so quickly because he is a genuinely consistent character with clear goals and motivations. Meanwhile, the Collector is maybe the most inconsistent character I have ever seen which kind of makes redemption impossible in the first place. How do you redeem a character who seems to change core elements of himself every episode?

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[witchersmistress]

The Damaged and Rage

hello my darlings!! here is another portion of the blood empire for you!! Have a safe and happy fourth of July!!

Trigger Warnings: Sex, anger, drugs, no usage, blood and violence

Word Count: 5.4K

As perusual my dears you do not have permission to copy, translate or use part of my work. if you do ill find you and haunt you for the rest of your days.

August’s pov

“You doing okay?” King asks quietly, studying me with way too fucking much intensity. “Fan-fucking-tastic,” I say, switching lanes. “Not like I’m stuck in a literal pit of hell. Speaking of, why exactly are you visiting Georgia  in July?” “I’m not visiting Georgia,” he says. “I’m visiting you.” “No one asked you to come,” I mutter. “You don’t have to ask,” he says. “I’m your brother.” “Lucky me.” He sighs. “We’re still family, August. Eliza, too. She can’t travel in her third trimester, or she’d be here, too. We can’t bring the baby on the plane for a few months, and I don’t want to be away from them any more than I have to once the baby comes. I didn’t want to wait until Christmas to see you, and you didn’t come to New York this summer, so here I am. Whether you like it or not, I’m still a Walker.” “How the twins doing?” I’d rather talk about them than myself. When they wanted to spend the summer in New York with Ma, it was a blow, but once they were gone, it’s been a relief. They needed to be out of harm’s way, and that means out of my way. They need distance from the guilt, or from the crime, if they don’t feel remorse. Getting them away from any suspicions that might arise in town was the best way to protect them, even if that meant I couldn’t watch over them. So I told them to go, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave. We all needed time apart, anyway. 

A summer to forget, to put it all behind us, so it’s just another shadow lurking in our dark past. Or I hope that’s what they’re doing, that they’re not revisiting the place in their minds like I visit the place north of town, drawn back by some invisible cord tying me to the swamp. I found a dirt road that leads in behind it, so I don’t have to park on the side of the highway. No one ever sees me out there, and if they did, they’re probably backwoods rednecks who wouldn’t think twice about me tromping into the swamp in rubber coveralls that just about bake my balls after ten minutes. The twins aren’t around to ask questions, to demand why I’m going there. They’re not around to talk sense into me and tell me not to go. I tell myself it doesn’t matter. No one’s going to find her now. And if they do, there’s nothing linking us to her. We burned her clothes, and I burned all my notebooks. I don’t write anymore. I don’t want to know what fucked up shit would come out. I still go to the Slaughter Pen every Saturday night, but I don’t go to Hockington. I’m a legitimate part of the Walker empire now, with shares in my name and a spot on the board of directors. King seems happy to fill the drive from the airport with tales of the twins’ exploits, so I let him talk. They’re off partying on our old stomping grounds and getting high on this Alice shit, and I’m here with Dad, learning the business I’ll someday inherit by day. By night, I wander the streets or haunt the swamps like some fucking forlorn specter of revenge. It’s done. I killed her. So why can’t I forget her?

I’ve been by her house a couple times, but I don’t want anyone getting suspicious, so I stopped after the second time. I’ve also asked about her casually when the blue-haired girl who lives next to her was outside. I even tracked down Maverick, the piece of shit she used to fuck before me. She’s not anywhere. “You should come back with me,” King says. “It might do you good to get away, too.” My back stiffens, and I glance at him, trying to figure out what he means, what he knows. The twins swore they wouldn’t tell him what we did, but they trust him enough that they probably spilled it. Whatever. I’ll deal with it. It wasn’t doing them any favors to be around me right now. I’d die before I admitted it to anyone, but everything’s been shit since Harper. My insides are raw, jagged edges. From the start, I only meant to destroy her life, not take it. But after what she did, what choice did I have? I did what anyone in my shoes would have done, what everyone expected of me. She fucking deserved to die. She didn’t just sell my darkest secrets and deepest shames to my enemy. She sold our relationship to him one dirty detail at a time. It was all fake. And she didn’t just play me. She didn’t just make me fall for her. She made me believe that someone could do the same in return. That’s the lie I can never forgive. And it’s not that I care if she’s fucking dead. It’s the fact that she vanished like that, without a trace, just like Crystal… “Just stay the fuck out of my business, okay?” I say, weaving around traffic and pressing my foot harder on the gas pedal, ready to get home and out of this trap. My brother sighs. “You could have come back to New York. Then he shakes his head. “I’m doing what I have to do so that you don't get involved like I did.” “Because if you didn’t work for Al Valenti, I’d have to,” I say flatly. I know it’s the truth, even if no one else has the cajones to come right out and say it. King could have gotten out of working for our great-uncle. Yeah, our parents promised him their first son, but Al’s a reasonable guy. He’d have taken me, the best man for the job, if everyone had told him King wasn’t the right fit. It wasn’t our parents or Al Valenti who insisted on keeping the contract. It was King. He sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “You have a choice, August. That’s all I’m saying.” “And I made my choice,” I say. “You think you’re the only one who can make sacrifices for our family? The twins don’t graduate for another year.” I’m not leaving them with Dad. I know what he’ll use them for. If it’s the only thing I ever protect them from, at least it’s more than nothing.

“Our brothers told me about Harper,” King says quietly. “Did you tell Dad?” So, there it is. I knew they couldn’t keep their fucking mouths shut. But better to get it all out in New York than to let it slip in this gossipy little town. “No, I didn’t fucking tell Dad,” I snap. “She wasn’t his mark.” “She’s a Darling,” he says. “He’d want to know.” “What, you think he’s doing business with some trailer park junkie? She���s not one of the Darlings he’s concerned with.” “And the ones he is concerned with?” he asks. “You’re telling him about them?” “There’s nothing to tell,” I say, gritting my teeth in irritation at the shit I’ve had to put up with for the past year. Now that I’m working with Dad, I’m starting to understand why it’s necessary. But Preston doesn’t make it easy to leave him alone when he’s constantly fucking with us, poking us, trying to get a reaction. It pisses me the fuck off that there are Darlings walking around this town with impunity. “Maybe that’s a good thing,” King says. He thinks the Darlings paid for Crystal’s death already, and maybe he’s right. But he’s not her twin, and she’s not the only one the Darlings killed that winter. “Until we get the casino running, the Delacroixs are untouchable,” I say. “After that… All bets are off.” Once the twins graduate and I get rid of the Darlings, I’ll be on the first flight out of Georgia. The place makes my skin crawl. There are too many ghosts here, too many reasons to look over my shoulder. The girls who die in this town don’t get funerals, don’t leave bodies. They simply vanish, as if the town itself swallows them alive. The boys don’t get funerals, either, but they don’t disappear. The boys leave bodies—with nothing left inside them. Our ghosts haunt Georgia, too.

Harper’s POV

* A few weeks later*

Every week is the same. I go through the motions, but I’m frozen inside, as if it’s not really me there at all. There’s a Harper-sized doll in my place, someone I used to be but am no longer. The world has forgotten my existence. Only the Phantom remembers. I wait for him, for the clean smell of his house, the polished hardwood, the curl of his hard body around mine, the detachment I feel when he’s inside me that’s the closest thing to freedom I can imagine. When I’m not there, I’m a ghost walking the street at night, waiting for him to come back. He always does. Two days a week, he takes me home, feeds me. He fills half his closet with new clothes for me, shoes, jewelry, an expensive purse to carry my phone and keys and wallet. Everything comes to his house in boxes or bags delivered to the door, so he doesn’t have to leave the house except to get me and take me home. He checks the ring he put through my bellybutton to make sure it’s healed, puts dark-colored contact lenses in my eyes, touching my eyeballs like they are his own. I think maybe he’ll pluck out my eye and replace his blind one. But I don’t move, don’t try to stop him when he reaches between my lids and sets the thin lens over mine. “Good girl,” he says, stroking my cheek. “Beautiful.” He opens the closet door and sets me before the mirror. He tells me I’m perfect now, that I’m ready. I stare at the stranger in the mirror with dark eyes and dark lips and brown-black hair, and I think she looks ready, so he must be right. I don’t ask him what I’m ready for. It doesn’t matter. None of it matters.

A few weeks later, I notice the dark green field outside the Phantom’s window turning hay colored as the grasses droop in the late summer heat. Daisies and Black-Eyed Susans and wild asters dot the grass now. The Phantom stands there, looking out with his hands clasped behind his back, like he’s looking over an empire and not an overgrown field of weeds. “Have the Walkers contacted you?” he asks. I have the same phone number, but no one ever contacts me. Why would they? I haven’t contacted them, either. Everyone texted on the OnlyWords app, and I didn’t download it on my new phone. I didn’t have friends, anyway. Only the Walker boys and their friends got close, and they left me to die. They washed their hands of me, and I have no need to change that. I give my head a single shake, then realize he won’t see it. “No.” He rubs his jaw. I can hear the rasp of stubble. “It’s not enough,” he mutters. At dinner, he gives me a little black dress and tells me to put it on and do my hair. The dress is low-cut but not too revealing, and it hugs my curves and falls around me like it must have cost thousands of dollars. I roll on the stockings and garters he left with it. I put in the diamond teardrop earrings he left sitting on the dresser. I put my hair up the way he instructed and dab on some of the makeup he left sitting there for me. The lipstick is too dark, but I smear it over my lips anyway. I’m no longer startled when I see a stranger staring back at me from behind the closet door. Does it matter who she is? I know she’s a good girl. The Phantom walks behind me and puts a necklace around my neck. I can feel it resting cold against my chest, and it makes me shiver. I touch the charm, a diamond ballerina. He runs his knuckles up the back of my neck, skims his fingertips along my bare shoulders. “You look like…” He bows his head, so I can only see his golden hair, not even his eyes or mouth to give away what he’s thinking. I’ve never wondered what he’s thinking before. It never mattered. After dinner, he orders me to the bed without the usual shower. He doesn’t undress me, just commands me to lie on my back while he pushes up my dress. Then he picks up his phone, angling it so it gets my whole body. “No faces,” I cry, my voice echoing in the high-end apartment. I throw my hands over my face, surprised I can still react that passionately to anything. He’s shot dozens of homemade porn clips of his dick going into me, but he promised me no one would know it was me. Usually he fucks me from behind, anyway. I feel exposed on my back, vulnerable and scared in a way I haven’t felt with him before. Suddenly, I’m shaking all over. “Keep your hands over your face,” he says, laying a reassuring hand on my thigh. “No one will know it’s you.” He plays with my underwear, rubbing his cock against the outside of them, pulling them between my lips, then down my thighs. I pull a pillow over my face. He tugs it a little higher, setting my necklace straight before going back to work. I try not to feel what he’s doing, rubbing his cock between my lips, getting me wet. Finally, he pushes inside me. He lifts my leg and swings it around so I’m lying on my side, so he’s filming my hip with the tattoos. Someone could definitely recognize that. Above my hip, there’s a D branded into my skin. What if my attackers see it and come back for me? “Stop,” I gasp. “I’m almost done,” he says, moving my leg back where it was, so I’m on my back. He cums quickly, shooting once over my belly before pushing back inside me to finish. He doesn’t lower his phone until he’s gotten the whole messy scene. “Good girl,” he says. “You were perfect.” Then he steps into the bathroom, and I hear the shower running.

I get up, my limbs shaking, my pulse racing. Something’s happening to me. Something awakening, some horrible monster that’s rising like a tidal wave inside me, like Godzilla emerging from the ocean. I can’t breathe. I want to race up the ladder onto the roof, to suck in the night and shriek into the sky. I want to sail over the edge, arms and legs wide, and soar to my death below. Some impulse in me rebels at the expensive silk constricting my waist, the heavy pads of the bra. Suddenly, I’m revolted by the body I’m in, by what I’ve allowed to happen to it. I yank off the dress, tearing at the strangling fabric, kick off the heels he put me in, rip off the garters and stockings. I throw them aside and pace the floor in my bare feet, naked as an animal. My heart is skittering erratically around my chest. I feel trapped, caged, though he’s never once told me I couldn’t leave. In fact, he made me leave. I’ve been free all along, and yet, I’m not free. He’s treated me better than anyone ever has, than anyone should, and yet, I think I’ll scream if I see his mask again, if he calls me his good girl one more time. I pull off the earrings and reach for the box they were in, my fingers shaking. I lay them in the jewelry box. There’s a sleek black paper bag with the jeweler’s name on the side because he bought them just for me, maybe just today, and had someone deliver them. There’s a little tag stapled to the bag, the kind that comes on flowers. The kind that tells a delivery person where to send them, since the Phantom never leaves his apartment. There’s a name written on the tag. In looping cursive handwriting, the words Mr. D.

August POV

My phone chimes with a notification on the seat beside me. I check the screen. Lo again. I haven’t seen her all summer. After I found out what Harper did, I was in a bad place for a while. I don’t remember much of the rest of the year. The monster operated in my place, holding space for me until I was ready to come back. When our mission ended, and I had time to think things through, I stopped thinking about what Harper had done and finally looked at the facts behind it. Of course, my mind went straight to the one person who could have told her about Hockington—Gloria Walton. They’d gotten close, thanks to me, and I fucking paid for it. For letting a Darling into my life, letting her get in with my friends. That’s what I get for letting anyone close to me. Still, it’s a dick move on my part not to at least give Lo a chance to defend herself. If she wasn’t the one who told Harper, I cut her off for nothing. Harper could have bribed someone who worked there, seen me leaving with someone and tracked her down, rooted through my stuff or Dad’s when she was at our house and somehow put it together. It’s better this way, though. Better not to have anyone around me who knows shit about my life. When Lo found out about room 504, it felt safer to keep her close, to give her a reason not to tell anyone. Even if we never talked about it, never talked about our families the way I did with Harper or any real shit, our friendship was real. But letting people into my life is a mistake. People blackmail and betray. And if it was her, if she told Harper… Well, Preston can fucking have her. When my phone rings a minute later, I sigh and pick it up. 

We can talk once. Just to clear some things up. I’m not going to give her a ride anywhere, like I used to when she didn’t have gas money. My car smells like a swamp from all the times I’ve dropped my muddy boots and rubber coveralls in here this summer. Gloria would ask questions, and I’m not about to answer. “Hey,” she says. “I figured you’d ghost me again.” “What’s up, Lo?” I ask, my voice sounding weary. “Do you use the OnlyPics app?” “No,” I say flatly, bristling at the insinuation. “Why would I?” “That’s not—I didn’t mean you’d put stuff up.” “Why?” I ask. “You don’t think people would pay to see my dick?” “No!” she says quickly. “I mean, they would, if you wanted to put it up. That’s not why I was asking, though.” “So, you don’t want to see my dick? That’s not how I remember it.” I’m being an asshole, but she’s basically calling me a whore. She knows better than to ask if I use an app that’s basically a sex worker platform. I don’t get paid for sex, and I don’t need to sell pictures of my body for money.

The OnlyPics app was supposed to be a companion to OnlyWords, which is a texting app with, as its name implies, only words in the messages. Everyone likes OnlyWords, but it has no photo sharing capabilities. So the same company made OnlyPics but it was basically a knock-off Instagram where you can’t use captions and the hashtags are hidden, only used by the algorithms to know who to show them to. It probably would have died a quick death if it weren’t for the sex worker industry, who cashed in on three key features—the ability to add a link to profiles, where they added their payment link; the fifteen-second video limit, which let them put up teases to get people hooked; and the private chat feature, which let them send someone the rest of the video for whatever fee they wanted to negotiate or even video chat for a live show. I don’t use the app because I’m not an amateur porn star, and if I want to watch porn, I can do it for free like everyone else. If I need a live feed, I have a phone full of numbers of chicks who would be happy to put on a show for me, and I can do more than watch and jerk off. I’m not interested in that any more than I am this app. “Okay, let’s try this again,” Gloria says. “You remember how Harper disappeared off the face of the earth when you dumped her?” I stiffen in my seat, yanking the wheel to pull off at the nearest exit at the last second. The car behind me lays on the horn, but I ignore it. The noise is almost drowned by the pounding of blood in my ears. “Yeah, what about it?” I ask Gloria. “Well, I think I found her.” “On a porn site?” I ask, hoping like hell someone just uploaded the video of her sucking dick from last year. It fucks with my head to think that one year ago today, I didn’t even know the name Harper Avery. It was another month before I would see her giving head in the parking lot behind the tampon factory. “Hey, don’t judge me,” Gloria says. “Your brothers have been out of town all summer, and you’ve been ignoring me. I’m having a dry spell.” I could tell her the twins are back, but if she ran her mouth to Harper, I don’t want her around my house, running her mouth to my brothers. So I point out the obvious. “There are more than three dicks in this town.” “Once you go Walker, you never go back,” she says lightly. “And anyway, I only saw it because she sent it to Dawson.” I’m glad I pulled over at the exit, because I’d probably run someone off the road right now if I were still driving. I grip the steering wheel with one hand and close my eyes. My voice comes out so normal you’d think I was just a guy who dumped a girl and didn’t give a fuck about what happened to her since. “I’m afraid to ask, but… Does your brother always share porn with you?” “No, you weirdo,” she says. “Someone DM’d him, and I’ve been obsessing about her all summer, so he showed it to me. He thinks it’s funny as shit.” “Why are you obsessing about Harper?” I demand. What the fuck.

 Maybe I should have kept in touch with Lo. She could find out shit, maybe even the truth. “I don’t know,” she says. “Don’t you think it’s weird that she just… Vanished? I mean, I’m not saying you’re not worth going off the deep end over, or that you couldn’t eviscerate her heart so completely she could never love again. She liked to play it cool, but she really loved you, August. Like, the kind of love that eats you alive, and you’re never the same again.” “Put that shit on a ninety-nine cent Valentines card. You could make real money.” “Keep playing you didn’t feel it, too,” she says. “But y’all broke a lot of hearts when you broke up, not just your own. Everyone figured you’d get back together after spring break.”

“What’s your point?” I snap. I don’t need a fucking lecture about how much I disappointed everyone. She can add it to my fucking tab for all the times I fucked up and pissed off everyone who matters. “My point is, even if Harper was devastated beyond repair, she’s not the kind of chick who would let a breakup destroy her. She’s stronger than that. You may be irreplaceable even to her, but you’re still a boy. And it would take more than one boy to break Harper.” Maybe not one boy. But one boy who shared her with two more against her will? A broken hand and a rope she couldn’t get free of, a swamp full of snakes more poisonous than her? Yeah. That could do it. “Then it obviously had nothing to do with me,” I say. “Maybe she got hooked on Lady Alice or Pearl Lady or whatever the fuck they’re calling it now, and she’s selling herself to pay for it like a regular junkie. Hell, her mom basically said as much.” “It did blow up the scene right around that time…” Gloria muses. “Maybe she’ll tell you for the right price,” I say flatly. “That’s all she’s ever cared about.” “August…” 

“What?” “Look, I don’t know everything that went down between you, but I know what it’s like to walk away from love. Just because you broke up doesn’t mean your heart wasn’t decimated, too.” My laugh is brittle, like stepping on glass. “You’re funny, Lo.” I could ask her, just come right out and be blunt, like King. Did you tell Harper about Hockington? But I can’t acknowledge that much aloud. The hotel is its own world. When we leave, we don’t mention what goes on there. I don’t tell the school that Gloria is a scholarship kid. I elevate her, take her to prom, win her crowns. And she never tells anyone that I get a room there every few months. Would she risk telling someone, knowing she could lose it all? Even if she hates me, she loves her status too much to risk it. What would make her turn on me like that? Harper didn’t tell that creep where she found out the information. But it has to be Lo. No one else knows. So, I hung up the phone, letting her think this is about a breakup. That it’s not about a murder, not about a girl coming back from the dead, a ghost dragging her broken body from the swamp and crawling back into my brain to fuck with it even more. I open my email, the one connected to the OnlyWords and OnlyPics apps by default because it’s all made by the same company. I barely remember thumbing away the automatic notifications I got when someone sent me a message this summer. I ignored them all, knowing they were porn spam. My chest is hollow as I open one from my spam folder. It tells me I have twenty-four new messages on OnlyPics. I follow the link and open my direct messages. The first one is a thumbnail of a video, sent this evening. If it’s from Harper, she changed her handle from BadApple. For a few seconds, all I see is a closeup of part of her tattoo. I take it in, examining it until I realize it’s her hip crease, and pressed along the back of her thigh, an expanse of pale skin. It takes me a minute to make sense of what I’m seeing. Whoever she’s fucking, he’s got her folded in half like her legs are over his shoulders while he nails her into the bed. There’s no caption, and there are no words even on the messenger, so I have to click on the profile to find an explanation. Apple Cream Pie, $1k/min.

Time seems to skip. Some caveman part of me must take over, because the next thing I know it’s five minutes later, and I’m five thousand dollars lighter, and I’m slamming my phone against the top of the steering wheel over and over. I feel it crunch and snap, but I keep pounding it until there’s nothing left in my hand, and the pieces of it are scattered across my lap and the floor. Time skips again. I’m in my driveway at home. Blood is dripping down the steering wheel and into my lap. I open my hand and find pieces of glass jutting from my palm in a dozen places. And all I think about is that day my car was bombed, and Harper tried to pick the glass from my face with her tiny, careful fingers. I climb out of the car. There’s a black Jaguar parked on the gravel, a tall figure leaning against it. I walked up to him. Something in me seems to have been knocked loose, and I think I might fucking kill him, even though it’s just Oliver Finnegan, who never goes inside. He doesn’t approve of the family business. “Hullo, August,” he says, his Irish accent distorting the words. Or maybe it’s the ringing in my ears. “Am I in your spot? I can move the car.” “Don’t worry about it.” He cocks his head, his weird, pale eyes taking in the blood on my pants, my hand. “You alright, mate?” I shrug and head for the house. Just as I’m about to step inside, his brother steps out, a black duffle in one hand, probably full of cash or those fucking pearls everyone’s on about. 

Colin Fucking Finnegan. My eyes narrow, my fists clenching until I can feel the glass biting deeper, piercing through my skin and into the muscle and sinew. “Was it you?” I grind out. Part of me knows it’s impossible, but maybe he sent the photo on his way here, or maybe he took it earlier. I need Baron to find the date signature on a video, if it’s even possible. For all I know, Harper’s dead, and she took those videos herself while we were together. If she’d sell my dignity for a scholarship, why wouldn’t she sell videos of herself fucking other guys when she was with me? “Whatever it was, I bet it was me,” Colin says, flashing me a knowing grin that shows off his chipped front tooth. “Are you still sore about that beating you took last spring?” “You know what it’s about.” “If it’s not that, you’re pissed you didn’t get a cut of this,” he says, jiggling the bag. “Don’t fucking push me right now,” I warn. His creepy eyes go smug. “Or… You still on about that whore? I figured that’s what set you off last spring. Everyone in town knows I fucked her first. Are you just finding out?” “Where is she?” I demand, grabbing him around the neck and slamming him up against the wall. “Where the fuck do you have her, you cum guzzling, festering wad of infected dick cheese?” A cocky, defiant grin stretches his lips. “Aww, did you catch something off her?” he asks. “Wasn’t me, mate. I popped that cherry when there were barely three hairs on her pussy. Haven’t touched her since.” I don’t know exactly what happens next. I don’t see Colin Finnegan in front of me anymore. All I see is red. The next thing I know, my brothers and Dad are holding me down on the steps, and Oliver and their uncle are holding Colin back while he curses and struggles and spits. The white gravel is painted red like the day the Darlings vandalized our house, but this time, it’s blood.

“Let me up,” I growl, shoving off the step and wrenching free of my family. I stalk toward Colin, who writhes like a cat getting a bath. I can feel blood trickling down my face, the jagged edges of a few broken teeth, and the throb of one eye that’s already swelling shut. But I don’t feel pain. The other thing that lives inside me has swallowed it, and I can’t feel a thing. “Come on,” Colin yells, dancing in the grip of his brother. “Let’s do it again. I can go all night. Whoo! I feel alive!” I stop in front of him, ignoring my brothers, who have rushed up behind me to grab me if I lose my shit again. But I’m calm now. “Enjoy it while it lasts,” I say to Colin. My lip is broken and swollen so thick my words come out slurred. “If I find out you’re the one who sent those videos, you won’t be alive much longer.” I turn and walk inside. I don’t know why I care. I watched two guys fuck her. I gave them permission. I made sure to watch, so I knew I could never want her again, never think she was mine. I broke her on purpose, but piece by piece, I’m the one falling to pieces.

[clemblog]

Caine’s Lesson - Part 18

•

The pair then found themselves in a new more intimidating adventure. They descended into a large area with yellow walls and gross beige carpeted floors. There was a deep annoying hum from the florescent lights above them. It didn’t seem like the most pleasant place to be… It was made abundantly worse by the awful looking scrawls on the walls made by claws and some kind of ink that was writing notes on the walls, attempting to give some kind of advice of how to traverse the land.

“This… place looks so eery..” Murmured Pomni with a frown. “I- really hope their isn’t anything in here with us-“

“Unfortunately, don’t think that’s gonna be the case darlin’.” Grimaced Gummigoo, running his hand along some of the indents in the walls.

Pomni faulted at this flushing slightly, before quickly brushing the thoughts off to focus on the situation at hand.

“That’s.. not great-“ She frowned, walking over to his side to take a look.

The claw makes looked to come from a creature with paws bigger than her head… She really didn’t want to run into that thing even more now-

With nothing else left to do, the two linked hands wanting to find comfort in one another and started to walk through the new area together.

“Hey, what do you think that is?” Hummed Gummigoo, after around a few minutes of walking.

Pomni looked over and followed his gaze, eyes widening in fear.

There was a dark void hole sticking out from one of the walls. She recognised that void. Why did she recognise that void? Said void began to open several coloured eyes with dark slits in the centre of them.

Oh.

That’s an abstracted being.

Crap.

“What the heck is that?!” Exclaimed Gummigoo, with a jump as Pomni pulled him to start running.

“That- is what happens to me and my circus crew if we get our reality shattered-“ Eeked Pomni, quickly, doing her best to focus on out running the creature.

“What?!” Frowned Gummigoo.

“Uh- Heh- Yeah- Unfortunately- That’s why I escaped to your adventure- Helps keep me sane-“

“That’s sweet, darlin’ but probably not the best time to talk about it-“

“Yeah- You’re right- Let’s just go-“

The abstracted creature let out a loud screech at the two, causing them both to flinch. They managed to keep their footing and continued on to try and escape it.

The growls and screeches got fainter as they kept running.

They found themselves in a large clear room with several pieces of wood.

“Uh, what do we gotta do with these?” Muttered Pomni, picking up a few pieces with her hands.

They looked to be broken pieces of a larger wooden object.

“Try and put them together?” Hummed Gummigoo, picking up all the other pieces.

“Alright-“

The two ended up making a small wooden ladder from the pieces of wood which magically stuck back together when they put the right pieces together.

A little further down the room was a large gap which looked like it was perfectly in reach of their newly fashioned ladder.

The two walked over to it and set it up, moving quickly as the abstracted grumbles got louder and they wanted to get out quick. They climbed up and fell into a slide.

Said slide then lead into a ball pit which clipped them through to a new room.

“Okay- Hopefully the fracture is around here somewhere.” Said Pomni, hopefully.

Gummigoo nodded in agreement. “Yeah- Uh what did you say earlier about you guys and that creature-“

“Oh yeah- Uh, unlike you and the NPC’s we can’t really be rest of our memories- Our… build is more complicated to say the least- It can’t be fixed once it’s broken-“

“…I see, that sounds… scary.”

“…It is. It’s why Ragatha is always so worried about us.”

“I get that. But don’t worry, if I have any say it, you won’t be abstracting anytime soon.”

“Naw-“

The two soon got back up again and explored the new room they found themselves in. It was a large parking garage with a an array of weirdly shaped cars.

They were in an array of colours and were placed all over the area. Gummigoo spotted what looked to be a door in the corner and walked over to investigate. The door had a keypad coloured in various colours. The colours matched the colours of the cars-

“Darlin’, you think you can tell me if theirs any numbers by some colours if I shout them out?”

“Oh! Yeah, I can do that!”

“Perfect, Red?”

“Uhhh five!”

“Blue?”

“Mmmm, two!”

“Green?”

“That is three!”

“And finally yellow?”

“Hmmm, oh! That’s one!”

“Alright we have a cod of 5231.”

“Alrighty then!”

Pomni made her way over and watched as Gummigoo typed in the code. The elevator slowly opened and the two stopped inside.

“We did it!” Beamed Pomni, gently. “I really hope we can find the fracture point in here sooner rather than later- Cause this place is super creepy.”

“No kidding, it just gives ya this super uncomfortable vibe even if theirs no active danger.” Hummed Gummigoo in agreement.

The ring of the elevator music began to drone on, the two stood contently next to each other with their pinkies hooked as they waited for it to stop. It did stop after a few minutes but the doors didn’t open.

“Huh.” Frowned Gummigoo, going to try and pry the door open with his hands which unfortunately didn’t work at all in the slightest.

“That’s weird, elevators are supposed to open-“ Began Pomni, the elevator swiftly moving back into motion this time going upwards at a fast accelerating pace. The two clutched onto one another with brief yelping. Pomni shut her eyes tightly just in time to miss the elevator roof opening up and flinging the pair into the sky and fortunately into the next fracture to their next adventure.

Part 19

[xxrainshadowsxx]

New Elite Chapter 6

The day of the Hunte’s ball, you were nearly beside yourself with worry, although you were doing your best to conceal that fact. This was the ultimate test. Could your secret courtship survive a huge, New York style event? Or would you be found out, far sooner than you were ready for?

At least you looked decent this time around. You were actually allowed to wear a color now, so you’d chosen a dress of light blue. The corset your mother had once again insisted on was nearly constricting you, but you were a little more used to it, and you could breathe easier than you could at your debutante. It was a small victory, but you would take it.

Since the Hunte’s lived on the other side of the upper-class neighborhood from you, your mother had actually sprung for a vehicle rather than fighting your way through the light flurries of snow that were beginning to fall. You were hoping you were close. The constant motion was aggravating to your stomach.

Miraculously, it seems your prayers are heard, for mere minutes later, the automobile comes to a stop and the driver exits to help you and your mother out. For better or worse, it was time.

From there, it's a short walk to the foyer of the Hunte’s grand estate. There's a small line of people preparing to enter, and you could see the whole Hunte family waiting and greeting their guests at the entrance. You follow your mother into the queue, as you attempt to be discreet while looking for Mr. Onceler. You were sure he’d be there. Society always had to invite other members of society, no matter if they were new money, or even if you disliked someone. Manners and etiquette ruled supreme in this world, and most followed the rules strictly and exactly.

As you reach the front of the line, you can’t help but notice that Thomas Hunte’s eyes seem to follow you. He smiles warmly as he and the rest of his family greets you, causing your mother to get an awful smug look on her face. You tried faking cordiality as much as possible, but you couldn’t stop the pit that's quickly forming in your gut. You had a strong feeling that this was going to cause a problem.

But thankfully, the problem could be postponed, at least for a little while. You had made it inside, while he was still stuck at the front. You resume your careful scan of the room, eyes searching for Mr. Onceler, but before you get far, you hear a voice call out “Darling!” from behind you.

You turn on your heel and spot Alice Eaton, who, after Nellie, you’d probably consider your closest friend. Your parents and her parents had been close as well, so you’d spent a decent amount of your childhood with Alice. However, you hadn’t seen her in over a year since she’d gone to England with her family so her father could collect an inheritance from a relative who’d passed away.

“Oh, Alice, it’s lovely to see you!” you smile, genuinely happy to see her again. “You should’ve written to me, I hadn’t known you were back yet.”

“Oh, where’s the fun in that?” Alice laughs. “I would have said something, but we only arrived back in the states a week ago, and when Mother told me about this invitation, I thought it would be a fantastic idea to surprise you here.”

You beam at her. “Well, your mission has succeeded. I’m thrilled you made it back in time.”

Alice smiles back at you before beckoning you over to the side a bit. You knew exactly what was coming next. Like many New York women and girls, Alice simply loved to gossip.

“Do you see that man in the corner? The tall one with the dark hair?” she giggles as soon as you’re close enough. You have a very shrewd suspicion as to who that could be, and sure enough, when you glance in the direction she points out, you finally find Mr. Onceler, standing in the middle of a group of men, smoking a cigar.

He’s also blatantly staring right at you.

You quickly turn away and back to Alice, though you can still feel his gaze burning into your back. “Yes, that’s Mr. Onceler. I met him about a month ago at my debutante,” you say, doing your best to keep your voice even.

“Then you’ll know exactly how rich he is,” Alice trills. “Father’s been absolutely pressuring me to start seriously thinking about getting married now that I’m out, and I think I’ve found my preference. I mean, look at him. Wealthy and handsome? I don’t think it can get much better than that!” She takes out her fan and gives herself a bit of a breeze, seemingly unaware of the surprising agony her words just put you through.

“You’re not worried about your father rejecting him? He is new money after all,” you say, probably too quickly to sound natural, but Alice doesn’t pick up on it. She’s too busy waving away your words before you’re even done speaking.

“That won’t matter to my family,” she insists. “At least, they’ve never brought it up before. I know your mother has lectured you on the ‘dangers’ of new money, but it’s an archaic way of thinking. We’re both eventually going to be rich in our own rights with no brothers to steal our inheritance, so it doesn’t matter if husband’s are bad with money. We’ll be protected.”

You feel an unfamiliar hot streak run through your body at her words, and it takes you a moment to realize the feeling is jealousy. It doesn’t make any sense as to why you would feel that way, however. You knew Alice’s family was absolutely not experiencing financial worry, and she didn’t know that you were. It had never bothered you before. Why would you suddenly care now?

Then she glances towards Mr. Onceler again, and that hot streak flashes through you once more, making you start from shock.

Oh. Oh no. That can’t be right. You couldn’t possibly be getting jealous over her obvious interest in Mr. Onceler. That was absurd. Besides, there was nothing to fret over. Alice, though indeed a good friend, could be a bit flighty, and she was also perfectly mannered around men. She didn’t seem like she would be his type.

And yet, your reassurances to yourself still couldn’t stop the twinge of jealousy. Alice was regarded as a beauty, one of New York’s brightest jewels. You weren’t plain-looking, but you knew Alice’s beauty far exceeded your own, and her ever-present smile fit her playful personality. By contrast, you were a bit quieter, preferring to sit on the side and observe every once in a while. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that he would take notice and at least consider her…

God, what was the matter with you? Poor Alice had done nothing to earn your ire; she had no idea the two of you were courting. And you certainly didn’t care if he thought someone was fairer than you so long as he didn’t break the courtship. You weren’t trying to gain his utmost affection. So long as your arrangement went through, he was at perfect liberty to fancy whomever he pleased.

You must just be having residual doubts that he would actually go through with the courtship if another girl caught his eye… yes, that was the only explanation. Your sole concern was for the security he promised you, nothing more.

At least, that’s what you were telling yourself. And you would continue to do so until you were fully convinced of it. Because it had to be the truth. There was no other possible reason.

Meanwhile, during your turmoil, Alice was still chatting away, as if she noticed nothing. “I’ve seen him looking this way several times. I hope that means he likes what he’s seeing,” she sighs. “I very much hope he asks me to dance first.” She hums happily at this thought, while you’re made more and more uncomfortable. “Although, speaking of men, I’ve also noticed a certain young Mr. Hunte glancing in this direction a few times as well,” she grins devilishly. “He’d be one to meet your mother’s one requirement. The Hunte’s are one of the most established families in New York, and rich as far back as anyone can remember. He’d be such a lovely match for you.” She sighs dreamily again, seemingly unbothered by your lack of response. 

Still, it was probably time you offered one anyway. “Alice, your ability to dream is remarkable,” you say with a soft laugh so that she would know you were jesting. Mostly.

Alice flashes another grin at you. “Well, as Mother’s always reminding me, we’re only young and beautiful once. We have to enjoy it and all the perks that come with it while we can.” She calls over one of the wait staff and grabs two glasses of champagne, one of which she hands to you. “To a night of thrilling romance as befits us!” she toasts.

You raise your glass with her, though you’re unable to match her smile. It seemed as though she, your mother, and probably several of the more observant members of society, had already decided you were a perfect match for Thomas Hunte. Perhaps a month ago you would have thought the same, but no longer. You’d never done anything remotely scandalous in your life, and yet here you were, carrying a secret that could become the source of gossip for months.

And the more people who seem determined to box you in, the more likely it was that this secret would be revealed. If Thomas Hunte approached your mother, you would have no choice but to tell her you were already in a committed courtship, and that you had done so without her consent.

It was too much to bear. Your vision starts to tunnel, the edges going black… your head feels fuzzy…

The next thing you’re aware of, you’re looking up into the bright lights of the ceiling, countless featureless faces hovering over you. You blink a few times before it registers that you must have lost consciousness. But instead of lying on the hard floor, there’s a pair of arms encircling you.

And sure enough, when your vision slowly starts to come back into focus, the face that’s by far the closest to you, and looking more concerned than all the rest combined, is Mr. Onceler.

“Are you alright?” he asks, worry coating every word. Something about his tone made you feel as though you were the only two people in the room, even with just that simple sentence.

God almighty, what was he doing to you? The more you were around him, the more you seemed to lose your mind.

You stare up at him blankly for a moment, trying to control your emotions, before you realize he’s probably waiting for an answer. “Um, I’m fine. It’s just hot in here,” you mumble. “I think I just need some air.”

“Of course,” he says as he gingerly helps you to your feet. Several other people surge forward to help, Alice and Thomas Hunte among them, but he brushes them off without a second glance. Keeping one hand firmly holding yours, the other hovering near the small of your back, he leads you out to a blessedly deserted balcony, though he’s careful to at least keep the door open so you’re in view of the rest of the party.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asks again the second you’re alone.

“I’m fine,” you reiterate, a bit stubbornly, but you weren’t lying. The cool night air is revitalizing, and all you really feel is embarrassment that you fainted in the first place. “There is one thing I don’t understand,” you say, mostly to stop him fretting over you. “How did you reach me so fast? The last I saw you, you were on the other side of the room. I doubt I was unconscious for more than a couple seconds, and lack of pain tells me you must have caught me before I hit the ground.”

“I noticed you growing pale,” he murmurs. “Therefore, I hastened over as quickly as I could. I’ve noticed that high-class women are particularly prone to swooning. Thankfully, I reached you in time to catch you.”

The swooning comment makes you glare at him. “It’s only because of the corsets,” you huff indignantly. “They very much constrict our ability to breathe. I assure you, this is not a common occurrence for me.” He still looks a bit amused at your assertion, so you turn away from him. He really did delight in vexing you, but you were in no mood for it at present.

It’s quiet for a few moments before he speaks up again. “I fear I might have given our situation away,” he says haltingly. “Your friend was giving me odd looks when I escorted you out of there. Is she likely to figure us out?”

“Possibly,” you sigh. Alice was sharp as a nail when it came to how people interacted with each other. She was a whiz at spying who was having affairs amongst your peers. “Her look could have just been jealousy, though. She’s quite determined to have you for herself.” You glance in his direction to try and gauge his reaction to this revelation.

“Is she?” If anything, his amusement only grows. “Well, if that’s the case, I’m afraid she’s going to be disappointed. I have no intention of breaking off our arrangement to pursue her.” You have to work hard to conceal the delight his words give you, which bothered you a bit. It was far too extreme of a reaction for a courtship of convenience.

“She’ll be most upset,” you say, hoping to sound blasé. “I don’t know if I can continue with this, knowing I’ll be hurting a dear friend of mine.”

“You have the power to end this, if you want,” he says, though he’s smirking as he does so. He knows you’re bluffing, and he’s also fully aware that you have no desire to end this either. You’d see this through to the end, to secure safety for yourself and your mother. And hopefully, she would soon see that your choice would indeed save you.

But seeing this through meant… oh, God, you just realized something. This man next to you was going to be your husband. You knew from the moment you said yes to having him court you where it was leading, but this was the first time you’d actually fully understood what that was. This was not just someone you were in a courtship with. Despite not being engaged just yet, there was no doubt in your mind that Mr. Onceler would indeed be your future husband.

Something about your face must have changed, because he quirks an eyebrow and takes a step closer to you. “What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice lower than usual. “You don’t feel lightheaded again, do you? Do you need to sit down?”

“No… no, I feel fine.” Had his eyes always been so blue? They were deeper than the Long Island Sound. “I'm perfect actually,” you hear yourself whisper.

The change in the atmosphere is palpable. Something had happened between the two of you, though you weren't quite sure what it was just yet. But you're certain it's there, for he seems to feel it too; his eyes darken and he takes a tentative step closer to you.

“There you are!” The loud voice of Mrs. Ryan rings through the night, making you snap your head over to her, and utterly shattering whatever moment had been building between the two of you. “You better get out there if you want this to remain a secret; your absences have been noticed,” she says while gesturing for you both to follow her back in.

Mr. Onceler reaches her before you do, and she uses the opportunity to grab him by his collar and drag him down to her level. “You better propose to that girl quickly after the mess I just had to clean up for you,” she hisses. You think that was supposed to be meant for his ears alone, but you hear every word.

You can't figure out his reaction, however. He keeps his face carefully away from you and declines to give a verbal response as he stands to his full height, straightens out his jacket, and heads back into the room. Mrs. Ryan shakes her head after him.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with that boy,” she sighs before turning to you. “Alright, honey, I think we need to have a quick conversation if you intend to keep this from your mother until you get a ring on your finger.” She beckons you closer with a stern look, though beneath it she still gives off a motherly aura. You sigh, but figure it’s better to keep her happy. She was an ally, and one that you did not want to lose.

You walk over and the two of you reenter the party together. “I know you didn’t faint on purpose, but you need to be careful,” she stresses in a surprisingly quiet voice; you can only just make her out. “There was no way to stop him from catching you, that’s not in his nature. But you could’ve just thanked him and gone about your night, and it would’ve been fine. But when you go off on your own after such a spectacle, well, everyone’s bound to notice that. It took everything I had to convince your mother that nothing was going on, and that he only wanted to make sure you wouldn’t pass out again. You can’t afford any more public spectacles until you’re declared for each other. Dot’s not a stupid woman, and he has not done a good job of hiding his preference for you. She knows that he’s interested, and that terrifies her. You need to get engaged quickly, or she will catch on, and it will cause a state-wide scandal,” she warns with massive gravity.

Her words cause you to wilt a bit. “I know she doesn’t approve,” you say carefully. You can’t be as free with your words with her as you are with Mr. Onceler. “But I am a woman grown, and I must have the liberty to make my own choices. He has afforded me that opportunity. I shall not go back on my choice now.”

Mrs. Ryan gives you a look, and for a moment you fear she’s going to remark on your bluff. His giving you the power of choice was only one reason you had agreed to his courtship, and not even the primary reason. But Mrs. Ryan couldn’t know about the financial aspect… could she? Had he told her?

But the look passes, and she says nothing. You can breathe freely once again. Instead she just says, “I’ll help you in what ways I can, but I can only do so much. I told him, and I’ll tell you again: the quicker you get engaged, the better.” She tips her chin in a direction behind you. “Your mother’s coming. Be careful,” she insists before she waves her hand in acknowledgment of your mother. “She’s fine, Dot. I’ve got her here, and she’s right as rain.”

You turn to face your mother, who’s more frazzled than you’ve ever seen her in public before. “Yes… thank you,” she mutters to Mrs. Ryan before turning her full attention to you. She takes your arm and pulls you to the side. “What were you thinking? Causing a scene like that! And then going off with him,” she hisses in your ear.

“It’s not like I planned it,” you huff. “I told you before we left, the corset was too tight.” Your mother at least has the decency to look abashed at that comment, as well as being offended that you would speak to her in such a manner. But she was going to have to get used to it. If you could learn to stand up for yourself now, you’d be better prepared for when you told her of your relationship (for want of a better word) with Mr. Onceler. And speaking of him…

“I did not know he was behind me when I fainted. How could I?” you say, hoping that by speaking the truth now, it would make your pending lie more believable. “I didn’t even realize who I was with until he led me to the balcony. Even then, he only stayed to ensure I did not faint again. It was all very cordial, I assure you.”

Your mother now seems quite taken aback, so you can only assume you’ve convinced her. However, true to form, she recovers to scold you again in record time. “Whatever might have happened, you must work doubly hard to ensure Thomas Hunte that he has your affections. We are on the precipice of what will save or ruin us. You cannot allow foolish mistakes to lead us to ruin, especially not with New Money.”

“I know perfectly well what I am to do, Mother,” you say coldly. “I fully intend to secure our fates, and I know what I must do for it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rejoin the evening. I can’t give us a future from here.” With that, you turn your back on her, leaving her looking more affronted than ever. You even think you spotted the tiniest hint of shame.

Head held high, you walk back into the throng of people, and before a minute has passed, you see Alice, looking to be well on her way to accosting you next. “I’m fine, Alice, really, don’t make a fuss–”

“Why did you not tell me you and Mr. Onceler were courting?” she interrupts, acting like she didn’t hear a word you just said. You feel your eyes go involuntarily wide.

Oh no.

[ririumuwashere]

Hi! May I request a one shot or headcanons (whichever you prefer) a scenario (friends to crush) with Sun and/or Moon getting a new animatronic (reader, they/them) at the daycare who is rumored to be a scary and beastly dragon that breathes fire, but upon meeting them they’re super small (think child/teenager size) and very kind and actually very squishy (think beanbag texture). Their role is to do magic tricks and entertain younger audiences. Thank you for your consideration! Have a good day!

I don't know why but when I was thinking about what the Reader looks like I thought about a mini Charmander-

Sun & Moon x Animatronic Dragon Reader

You had just finished your last magic show of the day when a notification from one of the staff higher-ups popped up on your display. “You're free for the rest of the evening ____.” the message read.

“Ooh! Goodie! I can go explore now!” you squeaked out in a happy rush before fluttering to the higher floors. They had only activated you for use for about a month and only had the time to meet the Glamrocks. There were still probably loads of animatronics you hadn’t met, and you were just so, so, so excited!

“I heard the staff talking about a daycare on one of the high-level floors…” you mutter to yourself before continuing in the direction you assumed the daycare was.

Meanwhile, Sundrop was tidying up the daycare while listening to Moondrop talk about a new animatronic that apparently could fly. He also had said something about this animatronic being scary and being able to breathe fire?

Moon thought the Fire breathing was just an over-exaggerated rumor though. Although you sounded rather intimidating to Sun, he still was bouncing with excitement over the idea of finally meeting you. [Timeskip]

It didn’t take you long to arrive at a slide that said ‘Slide into fun!’ on top of it, and boy oh boy, you just couldn't contain your excitement. You carefully plopped down onto the slide before pushing off and sliding down. The whizz of colors flashing by made your sensors confused, and it almost felt like what humans had described nausea to be. At last, you tumbled into the ball pit with a somewhat loud crash that caused Sun to look up frantically.

After a while of trying and failing miserably to get out of the ball pit, you called out for help in a mere squeak. You heard loud footsteps and the sound of balls moving suddenly, which caused you to turn around in alarm only to be met by Sun’s face. “Hello there, new friend! Need some help there?!” Sun said with a grin that seemed to grow even more. “Yes please, I’m a bit stuck.” You responded meekly.

Sun picked you up and got out of the ball pit before putting you down. “I Don’t recognize you, Friend! You look like the Glamrocks, but I’ve never seen you. Are you the new animatronic?! Are you? Are you?” He asked in quick succession while idly doing a handstand.

You nodded excitedly Before snorting a puff of fire. “Oo! That's so cool! We wish we could do that! Moony said you were scary but We think you're Adorable! We're going to have so much fun!” Sundrop squealed and squirmed in excitement before sweeping you up in a hug.

Headcanons?

After your first meeting with Sun, you collaborate and have magic shows at the Daycare constantly. Which the kids absolutely love!

Moon asked you to come up to the rafters and vents with him once and now you guys constantly hang up there.

Since you can breathe fire, Sun got the bright idea to teach the kids proper fire safety

You and Moon sneak around the Pizzaplex at night and scare the other bots. Freddy scolds you both afterward but it never deters you two from doing it again.

[shinebrightlikeanarwhal]

Travis, Sal, and the Gang get kidnapped by demons to "entertain them by making them fight demon, not knowing that by capturing Travis, they drug along the red-eyed demon, who has been training Travis to use his power, and Travis being a menace, decides to have fun with the demons they're technically all sent to fight.

Absolute powerhouse Travis with this like only black mouse that sits on his shoulders with bright red eyes.

The rest of the gang are terrified after being told they were pretty much food for demons. Meanwhile Travis is feeding Red some crackers he had in his pocket and giving the nicest chin scratches to what may as well have been demonic royalty. The lesser demons thought he would be a good example and threw him into a ‘battle pit’ with some grotesque beast like demon.

Thé démon laughed and took the time to try and make fun of Travis. The jovial demonic event would end in tragedy when red broke out of their mousey form and swept through the crowd in a mist of pain and torment. Ripping off limbs and gouging out eyes. The demon stuck with Travis watched in terror when brown eyes flickered into a bright red and he melted into the shadows.

Probably the scariest thing Travis has ever done was re-emerge from the shadows and claw out the demons throat while mimicking their dead mother. As I said before, he’s a bastard. He will maim the demons watching and waiting while eviscerating the ones sent to handle him.

Sal just covers his eyes while Todd tries to understand how half of the shit he’s doing is possible. Larry and Ash just think it’s fucking metal. This angry church twink with demon powers is beating up and tearing a bunch of demons to shreds. WITH a demon that has been terrorizing their town/WORLD for years!

At one point I’m certain The red eyed demon called in some of their friends to play ball with one of the demons they wanted to use to kill the kids and they toss it around like a ball. Like a bunch of cats smacking around a toy. It was… terrifying when they tossed it to one and the demon unhinged their jaw like a snake and swallowed it whole.

Sals therapist will hear ALOT about this.

[feralmoonlight]

THE BOYS BEING STUCK AS ECLIPSE MUST BE SO STRESSFUL FOR THEM. Do you know *why* they’re stuck, or is that too spoilery? If it is, then what would the Reader’s reaction be to this whole Thing if they don’t get a proper job description? Does it take them a bit to realize Eclipse is two animatronics, or are Sun and Moon immediately panicking about that? 🌻

I mean, if you were trapped in a single room and left alone(awake) for 12 hours at a time and every other adult human you encountered saw you as little more than a fancy washing machine to be dismantled and tampered with on a whim regardless of your own concerns since the moment you came into being, you might get a bit stressed too? Constant threats of decommission, random upgrades and swapping parts on the same scale as having an organ transplant while conscious, getting ordered to parts and service because the 'new tech' wants to poke around and familiarize themself with your inner workings. CASUALLY TAMPERING WITH THE BASE AI and fucking over your entire sense of self until you manage to work with this new normal that never feels normal? There's a lot. But mostly it's just it finally got to be too much. Eclipse wasn't programmed into them. It just... Happened. And it's not responding to it's usual protocols. Because Eclipse has no programmed protocols or rules. It can hurt people. It can move around freely. It can, will, and has injured the P&S guys that tried to drag him down for maintenance. He's probably been stuck like this for a few weeks while people try and figure out that if it's someone that's obviously trying to force them to get help, they reject it. Moving into Reader's reaction~ The gist of "Help the Daycare Attendants" is vague enough. They'd know Sun and Moon are a thing from just general advertising for the plex through osmosis, like those commercials you can't totally ignore so you know about it even if it's not something you look into a lot. The first reaction of them walking into the daycare, half lit, mostly empty, and in an absolute MESS (Half destroyed jungle gyms, craft supplies thrown everywhere, some of the floor padding thrown up and some unfortunate staff bots that got sacrificed for science) it would be startling. THEN you've got this looming, jittery, MASSIVE animatronic just perched at the top of the tower, mostly in shadow, that just rumbles out this dual tone, static heavy "Go AWAY." Nope nope nope, fuck that. Fuck ALL of that. Except the employee that showed you to the daycare locked you in. HA HA HA fuck. alternate option is trying to go up the slide to the ball pit. BUT... that means getting closer to the thing that wants you out. Full on panic. But you're not leaving. Granted you CANT, you're still there. And he's getting twitchier. Agitated. Banging on the door and yelling at the person on the other side to open up, at least maybe it can see you WANT to leave. And maybe he does. When you look back up, it's gone. This isn't comforting. It takes a few hours, till the end of your shift, before someone finally comes back to open the door and you could PUNCH them. You didn't see him again, so at least that's ok, but fuck. For some reason you come back the next day, and the next. If he's just gonna hide, you'll take the free pay for dealing with this creepy ass room. Eventually it would click that the Daycare Attendants are kind of both active, in varying levels. Different vibes from the short first interactions would lean more towards an anxious fidgety Sun or a dark, dangerous, spiteful Moon. It's a coin toss on who's more present at the moment. Some days it's nothing though. Some days he just perches and hisses static at you from the tower. ON THE FLIP SIDE for Sun and Moon, they're in a really weird state. Like the AI Have blended. They're only really aware they're two AI when the swing is REALLY HEAVY one way or the other. If one goes dormant and lets the other lead while they rest (usually after exhausting their reserves). The true blend of eclipse is dual speech overlaid with heavy static, conflicting words and phrases, showing off the torrent of mixed emotions inside. The more they can split and flipflop between one or the other, the better off they'll be. If they can fully split their minds, they can undo the Eclipse state. But as long as they're so fucking stressed and distrustful, and one is latching onto the other mentally, they're stuck.

[crumbledcastle28]

Leo Valdez: Always You (Part 2)

Pairing: Leo Valdez x fem!reader

Summary: Things do happen for a reason.

Warnings: discussions of past trauma, sadness, depression, discussion of death, Festus is the best, Leo is the best, crying, confession of feelings (why am I obsessed with this trope?), and of course, smooching.

A/N: thank you to anyone who read part 1. Sorry this took so long! This has been really fun to do. If you’d like, you can listen to this song or this or if you really want to get emotional this one is good too. I love you all, thank you for everything :) (also once again please let me know if my Spanish is incorrect).

If you would like to leave a like, reblog, or comment, that would be much appreciated <3.

Part 1 I Part 2

That night in your room was absolute agony.

Every emotion that you could possibly feel waved through your mind at least once as you laid in bed, staring at the ceiling into the early hours of the morning.

You didn’t feel guilty for letting yourself feel, which was the first time in a while, but it didn’t feel as good as you expected it to.

Sadness, obviously, and deep grief were the main pits in your stomach. They twisted and turned inside your organs until they made their way up to your heart, only finding their escape through your tears.

You were just tired. Tired of being so torn up inside from grieving a life you thought you were destined to have. You were so stuck for so long, and it was wearing you down. You started to wish you could just move on.

You didn’t view this as completely moving on from Leo. You knew you could never do that, and even trying to do that would be living more of a lie than you already were.

Leo had your heart in such a tight and relentless grip for so long, even through all the pain he has inadvertently caused, and trying to fully peel away from that was impossible. A piece of you would always remain with him, and you’d always love him.

You started to think that maybe the only way to move on was to just roll your feelings up in a ball and bury them. Just compress them somewhere deep down inside of you, never allowing them to see the light of day again. If you pretended enough, the lies would eventually turn into a truth, right?

Good Gods you were tired. Was it 3 AM already?

Of course they wouldn’t turn into a truth. Hadn’t you been compressing your feelings since you finally opened up to Reyna? It destroyed you to keep that all in. Pushing them down even more would just make things worse. They would eventually bubble over and ruin everything.

But maybe…maybe telling Leo wouldn’t ruin everything. Maybe just throwing it all at Leo’s feet and saying, “hey, do you want me or not?” would actually make things better.

Better? you thought to yourself. Yeah, cause dumping your feelings on a man who just got dumped would fix everything, wouldn’t it Y/N?

You flipped onto your stomach and let a scream out into your pillow. The fabric against your face forced your eyes to finally fall shut. You didn’t even remember falling asleep.

You were convinced that you had to be the most exhausted demigod on Earth.

~~*~~

Leo had to be the happiest demigod on Earth.

He wanted you, and you wanted him. You wanted him. You wanted him. He had to be in love! This had to be what love felt like. All these butterflies and excitement. Hell yeah he was in love. It’s been love this whole time. This. Whole. Time. This is Y/N five star review book worthy. This is like, running in the rain for the final kiss book worthy. Come on Leo. You can’t screw this up. Not now.

While you were laying in bed, trying to dissect your endless web of feelings, Leo was in Cabin 9, putting together his most important invention yet. All the rest of the campers had gone to sleep already, probably hours ago honestly, but he wasn’t even near done with his idea. He ran straight to his workshop after his talk with Reyna (more like his lecture from Reyna, in his opinion), and he refused to leave until it was absolutely perfect.

The sun was beginning to rise through his large window. Its golden rays reflected off all of his tools and gave his hair a more reddish tint, but he didn’t even notice.

When Leo Valdez wanted something done, it got done.

Festus was behind him, nudging his hair every few minutes, and being the opposite of helpful.

“I know you’re excited buddy,” Leo said to him after another bop on the head. “I am too. Gods you have no idea how excited I am.”

Festus breathed out smoke, right into Leo’s face of course, and Leo pet his nose with a laugh. Luckily, Leo had his welding helmet on. He flipped it up to look at his dragon, who was beaming back at him with what looked like a smile.

“I’m gonna need your help here man,” he said. “Are you up for it?”

Festus shoved his nose into Leo’s stomach in reply, knocking him back into his tool collection. Wrenches and rulers fell around Leo’s head from the impact, hitting the floor with a loud clang.

“Okay,” Leo said. “I guess that’s a yes.”

He shook his head and stood up, chuckling to himself as he went back to work.

He flipped his welding helmet back down to cover his face, and continued with his project.

“I think she’s gonna love this,” he mumbled behind the mask. Festus breathed in reply before laying his head down against Leo’s back to give him a place to rest. He leaned back against the warm dragon and yawned, shaking his head to keep himself awake.

“Come on Leo. If anyone deserves this in the whole galaxy, it’s Y/N.”

~~*~~

You really didn’t know what you did to deserve this.

After finally drifting off, you fell into a light, dreamless sleep for maybe 4 hours before you had to get up for breakfast.

Your alarm beeped loudly in your face, waking you at once, and you could barely see anything through your swollen eyes.

It took you about ten seconds to even realize that your alarm was going off before you groaned and snoozed it. You rolled onto your back and tried to rub the sleep out of your eyes, but switching positions just made your body weaker with fatigue.

Your eyes fell shut again, torturing you with the thought of even five more minutes of precious sleep.

Just…a few more seconds…that’s all I need…

Your body started falling back into rest, and your mind started slipping away as well, before BAM! Your alarm blared in your ears once more.

You wanted to scream again.

You slowly peeled your body from the warm sheets, but your heavy muscles could barely hold up your body weight. You stretched your arms above your head, making your body shake with chills, before shutting off the alarm.

You stared at your wall for a second or two, trying to emotionally prepare yourself for the day ahead.

You had no energy to do anything or deal with anyone. Your goal was to just survive through your daily tasks and get back in bed as soon as possible. That was the goal. That was the plan.

~~*~~

Your plan was not going well.

Not only did you show up late for breakfast, therefore getting the cold and soggy pancakes, but because of your tardiness you were late for chores. This resulted in you being forced to stay even later in the kitchen, scrubbing away at the pots and pans until the sun disappeared into the night sky. You could feel the exhaustion from the night before crawling its way up to your brain, and your eyes stung in desperation to finally be closed. You felt airy and gross. You honestly just wanted a shower.

A really nice, hot, long shower. There were so many things you wanted to just wash away.

You breathed through your nose after putting the last dish in the sink to dry, and looked at your soap-soaked hands.

Almost there Y/N. Almost.

You dried yourself off and got out of that kitchen as soon as you could. You looked up into the night sky as you left, and you noticed that the stars were extra visible. You hoped that was a good sign.

You smiled up at them, thinking of all the friends you lost. No matter how bad your days got, you never forgot them. You hoped they were thinking of you.

If only you knew what they had in store for you tonight.

You started the walk towards your cabin with your hands in the pockets of your jeans. The wind had a slight chill to it, making you shiver slightly. Goosebumps erupted along your arms, and you were really starting to regret only wearing a T-shirt.

Due to the extra hour you had to work in the kitchen, there weren’t any demigods outside but you. This gave you a chance to actually enjoy the peace and quiet, and the only thing you could hear were your footsteps on the cobblestone and the cicadas on the trees.

You saw the outline of your cabin up ahead and your entire body relaxed. You were seeing home after a long day, and you were so ready for that shower.

You picked up the pace a little bit and had your eyes on the door. There was a single light for the outside porch, but everything else was surrounded by darkness.

As you started getting closer, a large, animal like shape started to become more visible next to your door. Your immediate thought was that it was some sort of monster, and your heart rate picked up a bit under your chest.

You squinted your eyes more, trying to make out any sort of defining shape. You did not want to wake up the entire Ares cabin with a false alarm.

Before you could start to get really scared, a golden tail flicked in the light, and a tired, happy smile made its way to your face.

Festus.

“Festus!” you said and ran up to the dragon. “What are you doing here buddy?”

He stomped his feet loudly and pushed his chest into your face in excitement. You laughed and hugged him back.

You always really liked Festus, and he seemed to like you too.

“It’s been a while,” you said and he bopped your head with his nose.

“Ouch,” you laughed. “I see you. You don’t have to remind me.”

He then rubbed his nose into your hand, and your eyebrows wrinkled.

“Don’t mess with me,” you warned. There was still a drop of humor in your voice, but Festus was getting really pushy.

“Is there something wrong? Where’s Leo?”

Leo.

That’s the first time you said his name all day. It felt foreign on your tongue.

The dragon just kept on stomping and shoving you. You wished he could just tell you what he wanted.

“Do you want to take me somewhere? To Leo?”

He roared loudly at this comment, and you hopped on his back immediately.

“It’s ok buddy. We will help him,” you said and combed behind his metal ear. That was his spot, and he kicked his leg out as you pet him.

You wrapped your legs and arms around him tightly before he took you to the skies.

You normally would take this time in the air to look up and try and catch any shooting stars, or even take in the view of Camp Half Blood from so high up, but this time around, you searched the ground for any signs of an injured or troubled Leo.

The wind chilled down your spine and blew your hair away from your face. Your teeth chattered as well, and you wrapped your arms around you as tight as you could. You kept your legs squeezed tightly against Festus, partially because you didn’t want to fall to your death, but also because he was way warmer than you were.

He started flying lower and lower before you recognized where he was taking you.

The hilltop, from the night before.

Festus was dropping altitude so fast that you didn’t see any sign of Leo until you landed. You could see a small light in the very center of the hill where it looked like Leo was standing, so you patted Festus after you jumped off his back.

“Thanks Festus, I’ll take care of him,” you said and took off.

To be honest, you could have walked here, like you did every night. The few porch lights that were still on from the cabins illuminated the hills just enough so you could see where you were going, but Leo’s light led you straight to him.

“Leo!” you yelled as you ran to him. He turned to his right to look at you, and you saw that his face had a golden tint from the lantern he was holding. It made his brown eyes look like honey, and that stupid sword that had been stabbing your heart for months now made another fatal blow.

It made your breath hitch, but you had to focus.

“Are you ok?” you said out of breath. “Festus was scaring me. He kept nudging me and being all weird.”

“When has that dragon ever been normal?” he laughed and rested his free hand on his belt buckle.

“Good point,” you laughed. “But still, you’re ok right?”

“I’m more than ok.”

He looked…happy. Really happy. His dimples were showing more than normal, which made a smile creep to your own face. He was scanning your body with his eyes, but he was mostly looking at your eyes. Not even at them, in them.

It felt….it felt good. It felt like he was looking at you, and your cheeks heated up slightly.

“Okay…” you chuckled awkwardly. “What’s that behind you?”

He smiled, with an emotion in his eyes that you couldn’t quite place, before stepping to the side.

“I think you should tell me.”

He dipped his chin down lower as an invitation, and you walked up to the structure with your eyes still glued to his mischievous ones.

You peeled your eyes away from him finally, and he shone the lantern closer to the…what even was it?

There were three black poles sticking out of the ground, and a silver cylinder was resting on top. The cylinder was aimed towards the sky, and the end of it was exactly at your height.

It was pointed…directly at the stars. You circled around it once, looking in all the nooks and crannies, and dragged your fingers over the lens.

That’s what it was. A lens.

A lens…pointed directly at the sky…

Wait…

“Is this a…” you started. “Is this a telescope?”

Leo’s grin said it all, and his heart doubled over when you realized what it was.

“It is.”

Your jaw fell to the floor, and your knees weakened with the weight of what he did for you.

“You…you made this, for me?” you said. There was hardly any breath in your lungs.

“I did.”

“To see the stars.”

“Yes,” he responded. “Now you can see them whenever you’d like. I call it, ‘El Buscador de Estrellas.’”

He listened. He watched. He learned what you liked, and spent all that time making this for you and solely you. It had to have taken so long to measure the lens, mold the silver, he even designed it for your exact height…

Your mind was overwhelmed and completely blank all at once. You had to mentally smack yourself to even try to decode the Spanish.

“The star…” you began, creasing your eyebrows trying to remember. “The star…the star finder!”

“Correct,” he laughed. You gave him a bright smile, and all the hours he spent last night were more than worth it.

Who was he kidding. Just seeing you soar through the skies on Festus’s back, having what he thought was best view in the world, but still staring at the ground looking for him made last night worth it.

Just the sight of you was enough. How could he have let you slip through his fingers.

“I don’t know what to say,” you said breathlessly, and he shook his head.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he replied. “I do.”

What?

He set down his lantern and pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket. You stepped a bit closer to him, and you could see the small open wounds on his fingers from picking at them. It was a nervous habit of his.

What does he have to be nervous for?

“Leo…” you began sweetly.

“No no,” he said. “I’ve got this.” He cleared his throat and looked down at the paper unfolded in his hands.

“Y/N,” he said shakily. “I just want to say that I am…I am so sorry…”

He’s sorry?

“The way I have treated you these past few months is not ok. Don’t say you don’t know what I’m talking about, because I know you do. All I’ve done is complain about my own problems and dumped them all on you as if you could fix them. I didn’t even bother to ask what was going on in your own life, and that is….I can’t believe I did that. Seriously, what kind of friend am I?”

Your emotions were creeping up your throat already.

“But that’s not all,” he continued. “I had a…talk, sort of, with Reyna last night. After you left. She told me some…things…”

Your eyes widened and your stomach fell to the floor.

No no Reyna. Please no…

“And I um….” he said, eyes glued to the paper in front of him. He spent so long trying to get his scattered thoughts down on paper, but all the words were meshing together in his brain and his eyes were fuzzy from his tears. His hands were shaking so bad and his brain was exploding and—

Screw it.

“I want you too,” he said, throwing his paper to the side. “Gods, it’s always been you. You have been the one who makes me feel like I’m enough. No one else.”

Me. Me. Leo wants me. This can’t be real…

No oxygen was going to your brain. Absolutely none.

“And I’m so sorry I’m only realizing this now. I could have saved you so much pain and suffering. I can’t imagine how painful it had to have been to watch me think I loved someone else when I didn’t. I don’t even know how much I can iterate how sorry I am. If I was the one who saw you with someone else…I genuinely don’t know what I would have done.”

He started pacing a bit, and throwing his hands up on the air dramatically.

“And that’s why I’m so frustrated. How did I not see you? How beautiful and kind and amazing you are. I’m so sorry Y/N, I really am…”

“You don’t have to apologize…”

“Yes. I do,” he said. “Do you know who I thought of before I died?”

A tear dripped from your eye, and an electric shock went through your body, freezing you where you stood.

“It was you Y/N,” he said, breathing heavy and in disbelief. “I didn’t think about Calypso, or my friends, or if my plan would even work! All I could think of was how I didn’t tell you what I was planning. I could see you, sitting right where I’m standing, completely alone. Without me sitting next to you. That killed me. I thought about how, if all went well, you would see me return and be so confused and angry at me. How dare I just walk right back in to Camp after forcing you to watch me die.

“But you weren’t angry. You screamed for me and jumped into my arms, and I think that was the moment I knew you were the one for me. I felt it surge through me, and to be completely honest, that scared the hell out of me. The power you hold over my heart is…insane. It’s just crazy. You have me wrapped around your finger.

“And I think…I think that’s why I was with Calypso. I tried to…to push you away. I thought I could loosen the grip you had on me, without even consciously realizing I was doing it. It’s like I knew what I was doing but I also didn’t. That doesn’t even make any sense, does it?”

He combed through his hair, still pacing and shaking.

“And that’s why I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. How did you continue to want me through everything I put you through? How can you be a real person?”

You laughed a bit, and licked the tears from your lips. “You’re quite easy to love Leo.”

You said it. You said the L word.

It’s now or never.

“And I love you Y/N. So much it’s scary,” he responded.

You closed your eyes, letting the relief of his words wash over you.

“And even though I didn’t realize it then, I want you to know that when I said I love you last night, I meant it. I love you in a way that two friends can’t love each other. Like, I want to wake up to you every morning, cook dinner for you every night, put my arm around the back of your seat in movie theaters,” he laughed out. You shook your head in disbelief.

“I’ve thought about kissing you so many times. I should have kissed you last night,” he said.

You could kiss him right now.

“You were right last night. Things do happen for a reason, and i truly believe we were meant to meet. But, I know I broke your heart, and hurt you even more in the process. I don’t deserve a second chance. I really don’t. So I promise you this right now. No matter what you choose to do, and I really mean this, I will do it. Happily. I will continue to love you, I can’t promise to stop doing that, but…but I will do what you ask. You deserve to be happy, in whatever way that ends up being. Even if that’s not with me.”

He looked at you for a few moments, and the ghost of doubt started forming behind his eyes. The thoughts of you saying no. You could see it growing, and you tried your best to smile with your burning throat.

You opened your mouth to chase his fears away, but he started looking frantically around his feet. You followed his gaze on the ground until he found what he was looking for.

“Did I forget anything?” he mumbled to himself as he picked up his prepared speech off of the grass. He sniffled and read through it quickly, and his hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

“I swear I had something in here about…” he began, but he flinched when you held his wrists gently to keep them steady.

“Look at me Leo,” you whispered. His glossy eyes met yours, and your bottom lip quivered. You never wanted to see him cry again.

“Through everything that we have been through, I have loved you regardless. I forgive you, and I understand.”

Leo’s body visibly relaxed at your words. His pulse shrank to a steady rhythm underneath your palms.

“We did meet for a reason, and we went through all that pain for a reason. That reason is right now,” you said. “I choose you, Leo. Forever.”

The seed of doubt grew smaller and smaller in his eyes, and he pressed his lips together. Tears were falling down both of your faces, and you both felt hundreds of pounds lighter.

You stripped your souls and laid them down at each other’s feet. All the ugly, beautiful, and mistakes. But yet, you both still said yes.

The pieces of your heart had finally mended back together.

After a few beats of silence, Leo started laughing. A laugh of pure joy and relief, both for him and for you. He felt free.

“I….I’ve gotta be honest I don’t know what to do now,” he laughed. “I’m so happy,” he whispered to you. His eyes were the brightest you’d ever seen them.

“You can start by kissing me.”

His face changed quickly. He looked like a scared puppy.

“Are you—wait really?”

You nodded.

“Ok. Ok yeah, I can do that. I can definitely do that. Are we talking like a…like ashort one or like a uh…I don’t know… I have only ever done like, short ones I guess. I don’t know how to like, I don’t wanna mess it up—”

You had enough of his rambling and kissed him instead. It was a short peck, but you pulled back with a smile on your face.

The brightness returned, and Leo placed his hands on your face.

“Let’s do that again,” he said and you both laughed into the next kiss.

This one was a real kiss. He felt warm and gentle, but added more and more pressure as the seconds ticked on. You kissed him back as much as you could, and started moving your mouth against his. Your arms tightened around his waist, and he turned his head for more access. You both moved in perfect sync.

His hands felt so good against your skin. You had daydreamed of this moment for…gods know how long, and you were finally here. It was finally happening.

Leo was surprised he wasn’t floating off the ground.

You both finally pulled away and giggled. The lovesickness was prevalent on both of your faces, and there was no way you were leaving each other’s side any time soon.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Leo said and pulled you back towards the telescope.

“I named the telescope the star finder…” he began, and turned the contraption so it pointed right at you.

“…because it helped me find my star!”

You were almost knocked off your feet, and Leo laughed harder at the face you made.

“I’m very cheesy,” he said, and you nodded.

“I love it, Leo. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

You then spent the rest of the night looking at the stars with Leo, pointing out the ones you knew the names of and the ones you didn’t. He listened intently, but of course cracked a joke now. He always kept one of his hands either connected with yours or resting softly on your back.

Festus joined you eventually, and he kept you both nice and warm when you finally passed out on Leo’s chest.

It was always going to be him.

Tag list:

@leahkenobi @spacemochi-x @acciocriativity @lisedanie

[obeiii-mee]

Hello! Can I request an hc about a shady MC who's not phase by anything in Devildom with the brothers (and Diavolo?? he deserves love!!!)? Like, when Luci's like "i CaN KiLL yOu hUmAN", MC's reaction was like "Oh... congratulations then." i need more shady mc who may or may not be planning to ruin your life😂😂 Thanks and take care!!❤❤

The Brothers + Diavolo with an MC that is not phased by DevilDom

__________________________________

Pls I need more shady MC, they would not take any shit from the brothers. Put any Gen Z-er with these guys and you’ve got yourself a suicidal and reckless human exchange student.

They wouldn’t know what to do with one of those ahaksbakanhaka you’re right, Diavolo deserves all the love >:(((((((

You better take care too >:( thanks for sending me this big brain request. I’ve been preoccupied with other projects so I took a while to get to this ask. Hope you’re doing OK💙

____________________________________

Lucifer:

-He thought having a human exchange student was going to be bad enough as it is but this…..this was so much worse than he could have ever imagined

-The moment you arrived, he already knew you were going to be a problem child and a persistent one at that

-Literally the first thing you asked him was : “Why do you look like an off-brand Levi Ackerman?”

-And he was left there, astounded, confused and offended because he had no idea who you were talking about (cuz at that point you hadn’t met the third eldest) and the tone you had was, frankly, pissing him off

-You kept wondering off on your own????? Without looking like you gave a shit even though you almost walked into a butcher’s shop that specialises in human meat???? Tf MC?

-Also really irritated that you couldn’t be intimidated and that DevilDom was like a playground to you, for some reason? Like, MC get out of the fiery pits of eternally tormented souls- this is Hell, not the McDonald’s ball pit ffs

-Things did not improve for him lmao, by the end of the first week he had already ripped out a good chunk of his hair because of you

-“MC, you should know by now provoking demons like this for no good reason is only going to make life harder for you. Keep this up and you’ll get killed in no time because of your behaviour.”

-“Great, can we have a hip-hip and a hurray?”

-In the span of one day, he’s had to come to your rescue six times (approximately) because you’re too nonchalant about your surroundings around literal creatures of hell

-He doesn’t have enough coffee or will to live for this bs

-“Lucifer, I found this dead plant and brought it here because it reminded me of you.”

-“…..sigh. Why? Why does it remind you of me?”

-“Because it’s cold and unresponsive.”

-He made the consecutive decision to ignore you

-(low-key kept the plant tho)

-Honestly, you get on his nerves a lot and he has definitely contemplated killing you in the past but at the end of the day he really can’t bring himself to do it

-We both know he tried a few times lmfao

-“I will tear you limb from limb, human-“

-“Can I finish my tea first.”

-“You…wait, what?”

-“You’re crazy if you think I’m letting this tea get cold. Try to kill time before I’m done and I’ll smash this cup against your head.”

-If you try hard enough, you might even elicit a laugh out of him, especially if your shadiness is directed at any of his brother which results in him patting your head affectionately

-Nowadays he’s just concerned because you seemed to have made an alliance of sorts with Belphagour and Satan and that’s not a good sign

-For his sake, if not yours, at least try to survive the year without getting chomped on by a random demon please

-He’s too stubborn to let you die just because you’re unbothered by everything so cut him some slack and help out damn it

Mammon:

-“Oi Lucifer, how come I’m stuck babysittin’ this stupid human?”

-“And how come I’m stuck with this asshole for a tour guide, with his fake ass designer shoes and no brand sunglasses. That’s a lot of smack talk from someone with crow shit stains covering the back of his jacket. Also, did you stick your hair in a bucket of mayonnaise?”

-……..

-He was so offended lol

-Normally, humans like you cower in fear whenever demons are as much as mentioned because of the whole “I can eat you whole” thing

-And here you are; insulting the Avatar of Greed and one of the princes of Hell himself just because you didn’t like his attitude

-Don’t worry tho, he warms up to you in less than a fucking month simply because you still come to his rescue whenever his brothers start insulting him and wow, look at that, his heart is now combusting on the floor

-“Y’all have no right to criticise Mammon when he has the most self control out of all of you.”

-“Since when does Mammon have any self control? He can’t keep himself from nicking anything that looks shiny.”

-“Motherfucker, I don’t see him trying to choke me to death, respectfully pls shut the fuck up. I don’t want to say I have favourites but if I do, it’s definitely him.”

-While Mammon’s in the background, with hearts instead of pupils in his eyes like ❤️👄❤️

-He doesn’t even mind running around after you anymore (will still complain about it though because your ass is in constant danger and he’s had enough)

-Honestly, you keep starting shit with random demons, some of which are quite powerful mind you, and you don’t back down even when he’s there to step in

-Would low key love to watch you fight one of your classmates at RAD and organise a ticket selling booth for the event but Lucifer will hang him a new one if he does

-So for now, he sticks to baring his teeth at the aggravator in question and you’re there, giving the same demon the middle finger

-The way you sometimes match his energy gets him so hyped up lmao

-“Mammon, did you steal Levi’s money again?”

-“T’s none of her business human. Now go away, shoo!”

-“Bitch, don’t ‘shoo’ me, I ain’t a bird. Now tell me, did you?”

-“…..Why do you ask?”

-“Because a new flavour of instant noodles just got announced, called ‘Super Hell-Sauce Flavour’ and I thought you might be more interested in that than wasting the money on gambling.”

-“….ok but only if you come with me to buy some.”

-This…this is true love right here

Levi:

-Oh no, now there’s two of you

-Why do I feel like his energy would match MC’s almost immediately? Maybe it’s because he spends too much time in his room on the internet like the rest of us do

-“What do you want, you stupid normie?”

-“300…..”

-“….300 what?”

-“300 mangas collected, thousands of episodes of anime watched, over 60 character figurines, plushies, body pillows, merchandise and several posters only to be called a fucking normie by a demon weeb that’s only known me for 10 minutes.”

-Boom, instant friendship

-He becomes attached to you almost immediately and now that he knows how unphased you are by DevilDom, he is seriously worried

-Hell, you’re making him consider going outside his room just to make sure you’re alive and not dead in a ditch somewhere because you decided to get on someone’s nerves that particular day

-Even during the quiz thing, when he almost kills you, you’re just sitting on the floor and awkwardly watching him as he throws a sissy fit

-Levi feels sort of conflicted with you because one one hand you’re good company and he loves having you around, you’re his Henry after all

-But on the other hand, you put yourself in so much danger it makes him paranoid so often to the point where he wants to keep you locked in his room and wrapped in bubble wrap

-Nearly had a heart attack when you almost walked right into a pit of lava like MC???? This isn’t one of his video games???? You’re not gonna respawn if you die????

-Besides all that, he gets a bit jealous of you confidence and your ability to just do whatever without fearing death or consequence

-“MC, how do you do it?”

-“Do what?”

-“How do you go about your life without a care in the world?”

-“I guess I’ll tell you my secret Levi. I’m not like other humans that’s why, I’m just so unique I do things differently.”

-“You sound like a pick me-“

-As long as you’re OK and not injured because of your carelessness, he’s indifferent about your behaviour and will even applaud you for your bravery when it comes to this sort of thing

-“lmao the human exchange student just dumped Solomon’s cooking in the trash while looking him dead in the eye 💀💀💀”

Satan:

-Your attitude towards DevilDom and demons in general kept him entertained, if nothing else

-You rarely seemed to consider how much of a threat that place really is and usually you were just running around, completely ignoring Lucifer’s rules and doing your own thing

-Which, you know, he’s all about

-I can’t say there were no incidents between the two of you

-With his short temper and your tendency to say things without caring about the consequences, there were definitely moments when he might’ve snapped on you

-“MC for goodness sake, what happened to my room?”

-“What do you mean?”

-“It’s an absolute mess! I just told you to bring me my spells and curses book, not mow through everything!”

-“It’s not my fault this place is built like a fucking labyrinth. You should be grateful I went to get it for you at all, I almost tripped and died several times on my way back. Also, you should get a new ladder for your shelves. It did the broken.”

-“MC….”

-“Yes?”

-“You are so lucky I love you.”

-Other than the fact his anger takes over him when things like these happen, he not so subtly encourages you to keep going because seeing Lucifer scowl at your antics gets him wheezing his lungs out

-I like to think Satan would be very impressed, even in the beginning, at the amount of nonchalance you can radiate at times

-I mean, you sure as hell don’t see it often and he loves how unpredictable you are more often than not

-If anything, he should probably thank you-idk how, but his patience has increased significantly every since you got here and he appreciates having some more control of his emotions

-“I’m gonna go put oil in Lucifer’s shoes.”

-“Do you have a death wish?”

-“Satan, I am old enough to make my own decisions and I concluded that this action is necessary.”

-“Necessary for what?”

-“Raising everyone’s morale! All of you seemed to feel down lately so I thought this would be fun for everybody!”

-“Except Lucifer, right?”

-“Except Lucifer. He grounded me from my D.D.D like I’m a fucking teenager who needs to be supervised-pssshht, I’m the most responsible one here.”

-“Yes clearly.”

-“Goodbye dear Satan, I may die today. But it’s for the greater good! (Dramatic exit with sound effects)”

-“WAIT MC!”

-“(pops head back in) yes?”

-“May I offer you my assistance?”

-You’re basically taking turns pranking his brothers and it’s hilarious

-Satan is not too worried about your well being simply because he knows his siblings and him are always going to be nearby to save you if you pull something stupid again

-Even so, he checks up on you throughout the day; just to make sure

-“Where were you?”

-“Running from a bunch of demons. Who wanted to go munchy crunchy on me, I assume.”

-“……”

-“Either that or people here are a lot friendlier than originally expected.”

-You can be such a handful and it really tests him, especially when he’s angry enough to begin with

-But despite your amazing talent at either getting completely lost around Hell, purposely walking into a prohibited place just because you felt like it or riling up others with how blunt you are, he still cares about you deeply

-You may be a pain the ass, but you’re his pain in the ass <3

Asmo:

-He should’ve known something was up with this particular human when you stood there, completely calm and collected, while Beel salivated at the thought of eating you on your first day

-Asmo just brushed it off for a while but it kept happening???

-The first time Lucifer ever told you off, you really went and said “Or what? Are you going to eat me? If so, you can go ahead and start with-“

-He came to your rescue and covered your mouth before you got to finish and before Lucifer unleashed his wrath on to everyone in that house

-“OOPSIE! I think MC has been spending too much time with me. Sorry Lucifer, we gotta run now! We have a party to attend, don’t we MC darling?”

-“You mean the one hosted by the guy that tried to kill me because I shoved into him on the hallway at school and then proceeded to tell him to go fuck himself right back into whatever hell hole he was born in before you came and charmed our way out of it?”

-“Yes.”

-“Ah OK. “

-You’re tiring for sure but you’re not exactly unlikeable

-You have a certain charm hanging about you that Asmo loves

-“I almost died like…30 minutes ago.”

-“WAIT WHAT?? WHY?? WHAT HAPPENED-MC ARE YOU OK???”

-“Yeah, I almost drank some poison today because someone told me it was water. It smelt off though so I didn’t.”

-“….”

-“Anyway, I got you this bracelet on my way home.”

-He really does wish you would take things a bit more seriously

-This is your life on the line, you know? What would he do if you died?

-“MC, you’re not immortal, you can die so much more easily than I can, you know that right???”

-“I don’t care.”

-“Well I do! And you should too….”

-A lot of people don’t see past his vanity tbh, because he can be such a caring person towards the people he loves

-The amount of videos he has of you appearing to be completely calm while pure chaos is descending in the background is pretty impressive

-Every time he uses his charm on you to try and get you to commit his sin, it just doesn’t work???? For some reason???? And even if it’s just with simple, innocent affection for now, he is determined to tempt you into it

-“MC~gimme a hug!”

-“But that’s social interaction and I don’t support it- do you have a charger for my D.D.D by any chance?

-Or at least die trying to ig

-Asmo loves having you around but you’re giving him wrinkles and that’s not okay >:(

Beel:

-The moment he realised how carefree you actually were, he sort of started checking up with you quite frequently throughout the day

-It’s his way of protecting you but if he could, he would follow you around all the time

-Becomes your body guard because you may not care enough about your safety but he certainly does so get ready to be carried everywhere

-You will not get hurt nor will anyone mess with you if he has a say in it and let me tell you, he does

-Thing is, his brothers mostly know him for being slightly dense in some aspects of day to day life

-He’s not perceptive of things that don’t involve food or his loved ones

-And because you most definitely are a loved one of his, he does notice how careless you are really often

-And it scares, rather worries, him because DevilDom is an incredibly dangerous place-even with all the precautions they had taken when you came

-“MC get down, you could fall.”

-“But Beel, look-I’m finally taller than everyone else! Taller than you even! Hey, should I do a backflip?”

-He has no idea why you thought jumping from 60 meter high cliff into a small river of squashed demon blood was a good idea but he wasn’t going to risk anything just because you felt like showing off your diving skills

-Proceeds to carry you away, completely unfazed

-In this case, I feel like Beel is not someone who gets bothered by the horrible things happening around there either

-As long as he has food and his family is safe and happy then he’s also happy, as mentioned above

-But he knows he’s alright with DevilDom because he’s been living here for centuries now

-A bit curious as to why you’re so unbothered

-And even more curious as to why you weren’t terrified of him transforming in his demon form after he lost control when he found out you ate his pudding

-Or more like Mammon did and pushed the blame on you

-“YOU. ATE. MY. PUDDING!”

-“Beel I love you but if you did not just see Mammon shoving the damn container in my mouth two seconds prior to this, then you might need glasses.”

-He apologised to you later for it but even so, you didn’t seem to mind like at all and he didn’t really understand why

-Unless you end up explaining why exactly you feel so indifferent about your life being in potential danger, he won’t really pry

-But now he has even more reason to follow you around like a lost puppy

-Since it’s clear you don’t really care about protecting yourself

-So now it’s his job to do it

-MC protection squad? Mostly Beel and Mammon

-ahhh he cute

Belphie:

-Oh

-You piss him off so much

-He’s trying to have his moment, you know?

-Finally getting that glimmer of satisfaction after killing a human as a way to avenge his sister’s death

-Trying his hardest to make it as miserable as possible because he has so much rage in him, he needs you to suffer

-“Harder Daddy-“

-“Oh fuck off.”

-Nah but for real, what the fuck MC

-Why does he even bother, he feels like he should be sleeping instead of dealing with your bullshit

-Even afterwards, when your future self shows up and he tries to kill you again, you look more thoughtful than irritated???

-Lucifer and Beel are literally holding him back from doing another Chocky on you and you’re standing there, looking at him with your eyebrows raised

-“Hey Belphie, I have a quick question. I know you’re trying to kill me and everything but do you like the colour blue?”

-“HUH??!?!”

-“It’s a simple yes or no question Belphie. Do. You. Like. Blue?”

-“WHAT DOES IT MATTER???!!!”

-“BELPHAGOUR, AVATAR OF SLOTH-YES OR NO, JUST FUCKING ANSWER!”

-“YES! FUCK YOU!”

-“Ah ok thanks. I like blue too :)”

-????????????

-Pls he felt like sticking his foot down your throat

-As of late, he’s kind of glad he didn’t manage to scare you away that day and that he didn’t traumatise you or something

-At the time, he was mad because he didn’t understand why you weren’t scared but now he just wants to make it up to you

-“You didn’t deserve any of that. I’m sorry MC, I won’t blame you if you decide to stay away from me now.”

-“Stfu dipshit, what’s gotten you so depressed? Did you have another fight with Beel? I told you not to eat the last slice of cake.”

-“Rude ass, I was trying to apologise for my past mistakes-let me repent will you?”

-“Said no demon ever. Now let’s go hang out you emo bitch.”

-Y’all vibe together on a spiritual level once that shit gets sorted out

-But he’s kinda scared you might pull out a knife on him ngl

-Obviously, you’re still annoying as fuck with that indifferent attitude of yours but he can live with it

-He appreciates the fact that you’re not scared of him, even after what he’s done

Diavolo:

-Ah yes, the future King of DevilDom himself

-He’s very enthusiastic about the idea of you having fun this year…..and to keep you alive….

-He, of course, expected a range of reactions from you when he first summoned you here

-None of which were “Ok but could you not have given me a heads up? Before the whole teleportation thing? I face-planted your onto marvellously polished the floor and now I think I lost even more brain cells than before.”

-He felt so bad gagajajahahwgehhsb

-He apologised for bringing you out here without any warning like that and then proceeded to introduce you to everyone

-Diavolo is actually kind of relieved to see you’re handling everything pretty well

-He thought that maybe DevilDom was too much for a human to deal with

-Meeting Barbatos also went incredibly smooth

-“Barbatos? The one that cleans the floors right? Big fan of your work, I could eat off the floor of the main hall.”

-He’s so glad to see you getting along with everyone and not getting intimidated by the brothers

-It gets him excited thinking about how the exchange program is gonna work and all three realms will be united

-But he’s not stupid so don’t think he’ll allow you to stumble around, getting up to all sorts of mischief

-He always has someone watching you because he would hate to see you die, despite being pretty fond of your carefree attitude

-“MC, please be careful. Most demons here aren’t all that nice.”

-“Aye aye Captain.”

-He fears that many demons would take your indifference as a challenge and try to assert dominance or something by kidnapping you

-As far as creatures of hell go, they love installing fear in people

-So he always keeps an extra eye open for you

-And he’ll be there to help you if something goes wrong

-But other than that, he’s pretty chill as well and he finds you so hilarious, it’s been a while since he’s seen someone as eccentric and dramatic as Mammon and Asmo

-Idk what else to add here, Diavolo is very accepting and as long as you don’t get hurt, he’s glad you can get used to your new surroundings so easily

———————————-

Al~

[top-tier-tickles]

Dark Deception Tickle AU

Last part of chapter 5! I hope you enjoy it! Lemme know what you think!

______________________________________

Chapter 5: Part 3

Taking a long, deep breath, Doug left the notes behind. He had collected all of the shards in the train tunnel, and now he had to grab the last few near the center of the maze.

His mind was still foggy, and it stayed that way until his foot slipped and he tumbled into a huge ballpit.

Surprisingly, this thing was deeper than your average ballpit, it reached up to his knees if he stood up. Doug was attempting to regain his footing when suddenly-

"Hey! Hey, Mortal! Catch me!"

He looked to see a singular gremlin rushing towards him, before taking a massive leap into the ballpit.

Out of pure reflex, Doug caught the creature in his arms, cradling it as the thing cackled its little head off. It was like some game to it!

Scared, and a bit pissed off, Doug spidered his fingers on the clown's stomach.

Time for some revenge.

"EEEEHEEHEHEEK! MOHOHOHORTAL! HAHAHAHA!" the clown erupted into high pitched, raspy cackles.

Doug chuckled along with it, continuing to tickle its belly. The clown didn't even try to escape.

"He's in the ballpit!" A voice came from the distance.

Doug stopped and turned back, seeing a hoard of clowns coming at him.

"Dog pile!" The one leading the charge screamed.

Doug yelped, attempting to crawl out of the pit in vain. The clowns piled on top of him, pulling him down deeper into the pit.

Plastic balls flew up into the air, falling back onto them, the monsters didn't pay any mind, however, as they were already busy tickling their victim to pieces.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHSTOPHAHAHAHA! I CAN'T TAHAHAHAHAKE IT!"

They writhed in the pit, none of the gremlins letting their death grips loose. And they seemed to come from everywhere! Doug couldn't tell where one was and one wasn't.

The claws were absolute torture, scratching and scribbling in the most meticulous tickle spots that drove out the most laughter.

"AHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHO! PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE!"

Almost mercifully, he was taken to the death screen, probably due to his weak state in that moment.

Doug toughened up, returning to the clown maze and making a mad dash for the rest of the shards, collecting all of them in no time.

"That's it! Now get to the ring piece!"

Doug bolted towards the ring piece, barley evading the clowns as they jumped at him.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?!" Malak boomed, his voice was gravely with rage.

The yellow arrow on his tablet lead him to a green portal, his ears ringing more and more as he passed through it.

The portal brought him back to the tent with the piece, and upon grabbing it, the tent began to rotate as it did before.

Two clowns started chasing him around, a quick blast of Primal Fear made short work of them.

Another portal appeared, and Doug entered, and was transported back outside.

A path lead through some clown arches, mechanical teeth snapping up and down. Between the two, a note was stuck on the wall. Another note from E.

E described how they felt themselves getting weaker by using their relic. And how they didn't understand why they were put into this hell. They couldn't remember anything, and they didn't know what was going on. They also explained that the Clown Gremlins were from the souls of tricksters, their souls forever encased in what they made themselves out to be in life.

Despite not know them, Doug couldn't help but feel bad for E. It's bad enough knowing what you did to be here, but he couldn't imagine being punished for something you don't remember. He felt like he somehow knew them personally, I mean, they were both mortals stuck in this place, they had to be similar in some way, right?

Doug pocketed the note, and continued on towards the exit. He walked through the cage circle, ready to kiss this place goodbye-

And a purple barrier blocked his way.

"Ah-ah-ah! I've got you now, Mortal~" Malak said.

The red demon stood on the carousel, the fake animals spinning all the while. The gold accents on his suit glimmered in the lights of the circus.

"Here we are, yet again." He started, "It's not going to go ao well for you this time. I'll finish you off here and take. Your. Soul..."

"That said, seeing as you're so...capable, let's up the ante a bit, shall we? I don't want to keep underestimating your luck."

He snapped his clawed fingers, and the giant clowns from earlier were suddenly transported around them, every direction there was one. Doug's heart leapt into his throat.

"Keep him laughing while you die, won't you? Hahahahahaha!" Malak left.

Doug's legs felt like jelly, what could he do against clowns as tall as skyscrapers?! Like a miracle, the mallet from the strength game appeared in his hands, giving him some way to defend himself.

He ran in circles, smacking clowns away as he looked for a means to escape, only stopping to catch his breath.

As he stood, a goliath dragged its claw up his spine, eliciting a squeal from the mortal, who swung the mallet at the hand. The goliath shrieked, holding its hand in pain.

The others grabbed at him, earning smacks as well, a hoard of the tiny fuckers following suit. It seemed that their hands were their weak spots. All he had to do was wait until hands came down...and SMACK!

With two hits for each of the goliaths, they all disappeared in a puff of smoke and confetti, and the barrier was now gone.

"No! Impossible!" Malak shouted, "Mortal....Your suffering will be enternal!"

Thankfully, the portal to freedom was close by, Doug barely managed to jump through with Malak close behind.

Back in the ballroom, Malak's eye staring daggers at Doug.

"You're only delaying the inevitable, Bierce. You can't keep me out of your little pocket dimension forever..." he said, ignoring Doug's presence.

The eye's emotion suddenly became more aggressive.

"I'm coming to collect what is owed! And I'm bringing your worst nightmares with me! You and the mortal are both going to pay...with interest. You give her that ring piece and you're going to regret it..."

"More lies and empty threats! You really expect him to trust you, when you've tried to kill him at every turn?" Bierce shot back.

"Enjoy your moment. It won't last..."

"What difference does it make?! Bring the piece here, love."

Something Malak said lingered in Doug's mind. His worst nightmares? What could that mean? If Malak knew everything, didn't he know what his goal was at the end of it all? He didn't want to find out, but he had to.

5 portals to go...

______________________________________

END OF CHAPTER 5: PART 3

Chp. 1-1, Chp. 1-2, Chp. 2-1, Chp. 2-2, Chp. 2-3, Chp. 2-4, Chp. 3-1, Chp. 3-2, Chp. 3-3, Chp. 4-1, Chp. 4-2, Chp. 5-1, Chp. 5-2, Chp. 5-3, Chp. 6-1, Chp. 6-2, Chp. 6-3,

[roger-that-cap]

wildest dreams

witch!wanda x reincarnated!reader 

summary: wanda had walked around the earth for centuries with no magic and hardly any soul left after losing her soulmate. she thought that her lover would never return and that the only reunion they would have would be in the afterlife, but a run-in with bucky changes everything after he insists that he met the long gone y/n at a fountain in the park. 

yet another au by me... 

word count: around 6.5k?

imma tag one person bc she gets upset when she isn’t tagged- and idk if anyone else would actually be interested?

@teenwonder

also this picture is not mine, and the dividers are by @firefly-graphics !!

without further ado, it’s almost 6 in the morning but i give you this!!

She held you tight, fingers digging into your skin as she trembled above you. The rose bushes were rustling in the wind next to you both, the sweet smell of the flowers contrasting with the moment. You were halfway gone already, eyes far off but trying to swim back to the surface, wanting to look at her one last time before the inevitable happened. 

  “S…” you tried to say, but she hushed you immediately, tears falling down on your face and mixing with your own. You shook her head at her as hard as you could, begging for her to let you continue. “Say you’ll remember me,” you ground out, fingers tightening around her hand. 

  “What?” Wanda asked, voice already thick with grief as she tried to decide whether or not it was better to keep the knife lodged between your ribs inside of you.

“When I come back-” you cut yourself off by coughing up blood, and Wanda didn’t even wince when it splattered on her cheek. “Back for you, promise that you’ll remember me.” 

 “Darling,” Wanda whispered back, her voice cracking as she bent over and rested her head on your stomach for a moment, hiding her sob. She could feel her magic tingling inside of her; under her skin, in her bones, dancing on her fingertips. “I wish I knew- I wish I just knew how-”

  “Please.” You said, a desperate look in your eyes as you halted her words, already knowing what Wanda wanted. But natural magic was nothing to mess with. She sobbed again with her lips pressed together, no sound escaping her. You squeezed her hand tighter as the sun started on its routine descent, basking the two of you in an orange glow that you would have stopped to admire in any other moment in time. But Wanda would grow to hate that shade of orange with every breath in her. “Please.” It would always remind her of the sound of your begging, voice reaching for something that she couldn’t see. 

Maybe it was the desperation in your voice, or the way that she just knew that you were well within your last moments, because she looked up at you one last time. “Of course I’ll remember you, darling. I couldn’t even dream of forgetting you.” There was a wheezing sound that came from your chest as you cracked a bloody smile, and then you gave one last squeeze before you looked away from her, your soul settling in the afterlife. 

  Wanda Maximoff would never forget it. Suddenly, her previously  irrational fear of losing her magic became real, but that feeling didn’t even come close to the one she got when you grew lifeless in her arms. 

Ever since you knew what a normal person was supposed to be like, you had identified that you, in fact, were not the normal person that you were probably supposed to be. Normal people didn’t daydream to the point where it felt like their bodies weren’t in the present anymore. Normal people didn’t have birthmarks under their ribs that aced and burned. Normal people didn’t feel out of touch with their world, like they weren’t even meant to be in the century they were in. Normal people didn’t feel like they were searching for something tirelessly, something just under their noses. And normal people surely didn’t dream of the same set of hands, same pair of eyes, or the same voice over and over again, a new setting every time, but always the same, faceless person. You either drew the same faceless person or rose bushes, and every sketch book you ever had was full of them. 

At first, you were sure that you were going insane. Every time you closed your eyes, you would see a flash of reddish brown hair, or the same set of eyes, or the same pair of pale hands. You kept seeing this person without ever seeing a face for nights at a time before you went to see a therapist, who just ended up telling you that worrying about it was only going to make it worse, whatever it even was. But eventually, you learned to get used to it. 

Acceptance turned into expectancy. You went to sleep knowing that there was going to be a pair of hands accompanied by the same slender fingers as always before you, sometimes intertwined with your own. You knew that there was going to be a set of eyes on you, watching you intently with no ace to go with them. You knew that you would hear whispers of the same voice, speaking so clearly in a language you didn’t even come close to understanding, and soon, you were craving to see and hear those things. And wanting to see them led to something that you never told your therapist; drawings. 

You drew nearly every day under the sky, trying to find different park benches to see the sun rise and set at different angles for inspiration. You loved the sky, moon and stars alike, but there was something special about sunrises and sunsets. Sunrises and sets both meant new beginnings to you, out with the old and in with the new, and each rise and fall filled you with a strange feeling of nostalgia. You were watching the sunset on a park bench by yourself, a sketchbook sitting on your lap as you held an idle pencil, still thinking about the way you wanted to draw the hands. The birthmark between your ribs started to tingle, letting you know that it was about to burn again. That damn birthmark. You dropped the pencil and scratched at it, trying to beat the annoying feeling at its own game. You cursed the mark, but your eyes didn’t leave the sky, and you noticed your heart swelling in your chest, faint despair in the pits of it, churning around like the middle of the deep sea. 

 You shook your head and put your pencil in your hand again, brain not even having to work hard at all to see the features of the faceless person who was in your every dream. 

Even before she ever met you, Wanda didn’t sleep well. She would toss and turn for at least an hour before she finally found some temporary, flimsy form of peace. Her sleep was always light and she hardly ever had dreams, which was customary for a woman like her at the time- an un-blossomed witch. 

It was hard for her to remember the time where she didn’t have magic, but that time certainly existed. It lasted nearly thirty years. She never aged a day past twenty one, time moving past her without a care in the world. She was stuck right there, no magic except for the little bit in her bones that was keeping her young. And then she met you. 

You were the person that kicked her magic into gear. You were her kindred soul, her other half and the power to her magic. Meeting you had flung her right into the world of magic and spells, things that she only watched others do, but even as she was introduced to an entirely different world, she could remember only really wanting you. Her heart and soul called to you far louder and stronger than spells called to her eager mind. When she met you, it all fell into place. It was an easy love, one that was never going to be disputed or questioned, and loved it. She was prepared to move heaven, earth, and the gods for you, if she had to. Your arrival into her life had caused her to finally blossom. 

But now, she had bloomed and flourished and wilted all the same, and she was just waiting to decompose. 

“Have hope,” was all that Bucky, a warlock who had been tortured enough in his own way, would tell her. “Have hope that something good will come to you, and it will.” 

She never had the heart to tell him that good things hardly came to those who waited. He himself was a product of waiting, and it had served him well. Before he met his other half, he was taken by a rival clan and experimented on with spells that were so far past illegal that they made the casual witch shudder. Eventually, he was broken out and the rival clan was defeated, but he returned to them as an empty shell of a man. But then, Steve came, and then the man was nothing but a ball of light. His magic grew to be strong and so did Steve’s, and together they became known as some of the strongest practitioners of magic in the world. 

 But what did Wanda have to hope for when you were gone? What did she have to wake up for and smile at when she knew that she had buried you hundreds of years ago? It wasn’t even about the magic. She couldn’t care less about the way she felt the energy leave her- and it was dramatic- leaving in a singular burst of light the second you left. She only knew that you were gone, and that was the only thing that mattered, and it seemed to be the only thing that she even really felt. 

Well, she did feel one other thing. Exhaustion. Exhaustion caused by the lack of you by her side. And exhaustion was exactly why she assumed that she was hallucinating when she felt a small tug at her heart, in a part of her brain that had been dormant for years and years. She shook her head and tried to take her thoughts away from you and the nagging feeling in her gut. 

“Oh, no…” you exclaimed, voice tapering out into a whine as you watched the ruined paper sink deeper and deeper into the fountain, a fist clenching at your side in disappointment when you realized how many hours were lost, just like that, and then even tighter when you realized that part of you wasn’t even truly upset about the time spent on the ruined art. You were mostly upset that you lost the only vision of the hands that you had during the daytime. 

You were on your knees, sleeves still all the way down as you reached into the water frantically, causing the paper to move even further away. You weren’t even worried about your sketchbook that had fallen open onto the pavement, more focused on the rapidly deteriorating piece of paper. You hardly even noticed the man who knocked into you talking, trying his hardest to make the situation better. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, is there anything I can do?” 

“I mean,” you breathed out, taking the nearly disintegrated paper from the water and grimacing. When you realized that the man was fumbling to say something from behind you, celery apprehensive over the fact that you were upset, you took a short breath and turned around, giving him a small smile. He had dark brown hair that was cut short and crystal blue eyes that were striking, but you knew that they held thousands of stories by looking just once.  He was holding your sketchbook, and by the way he was gripping it tightly, you could tell that he had flipped through it for a second. “It’s just a drawing. I guess I can make another one.” 

  His eyes widened. You saw his jaw slacken and his neck stretch out, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He blinked three times, and his parted lips trembled for a second before he slammed them shut. You cocked a brow at him, your sadness about losing the drawing being replaced by a weak feeling of uneasiness. “Sir?” 

  “Knew it.” His face was clear from any type of emotion as he watched yours, and when you opened your mouth to ask him if he was okay, a grin spread across his face. “I’m Bucky, what’s your name?” You furrowed your brows at him, asking what the hell had just occurred without saying a single word. “I’m sorry, you just looked really familiar.” 

 Just like that, you smiled. You knew that feeling, you felt like you got deja vu far too often to be normal. You hated when people made you feel strange for it, you always had, so you tried your best to ignore it with him. “You’re fine, don’t worry. I’m Y/N.” You extended your dry hand for him to shake it. He stared at it for a moment, and then with an eagerness that made you smile, he shook your hand. 

“‘I’m Bucky.” 

  For a moment, you could have sworn that you had done more tha just seen him before. Could have sworn that you had shaken his hand, met him before, been at the receiving end of his blinding yet somewhat shy smile. It flashed through you warm and bright, and you cleared your throat before pulling your hand away and realizing you had held it for too long. You cleared it again when you saw something flash in his eyes, a weak smile lifting on your lips.

“It’s not her.” 

Wanda was furious. She was insulted more than anything, really, angry that Bucky could even mistake the light of you for someone else. She knew that you would never grace the earth with your presence again, and she was so used to the fact that she was going to have to die before seeing you again. And for one of her closest friends to try to convince her that you were back? 

 “She would have already found me.” And Wanda believed that with her whole heart. You had asked her so long ago that you remember her, like she could ever forget. Your scent was so flowery that whenever she walked past a growing garden that she smelled you, your smile was so bright that she saw it in the way the rays of sun came down on the earth. She heard your laugh in the chirping of the birds every morning, and she saw your playfulness in the running waters of the stream by the cabin. She could never forget you, because everything was traced back to you. And you would never return without finding her. 

“I don’t think she even knows it yet, but she is looking for you.” Bucky insisted, stepping forward and receiving Wanda’s burning glare while Steve stepped to the side and let it happen. “I bumped into her and she dropped her sketchbook. I saw her drawings- she drew your eyes.” 

  Wanda’s heart skipped a beat. “What?” 

“She dropped the drawing of hands in the water, but I saw she had drawn eyes that looked just like yours, hair the same shade as yours, even drawn the necklace you used to wear. She draws roses, too. I swear to everything above, it’s her.” 

She could feel herself getting warm, the sort of emotions stirring inside of her that had the potential to turn into a singular weapon. The thought of a rose bush made her sick to her stomach. “It’s not her.” 

“You forget that I knew her, too,” Bucky stated, and Wanda’s desolation was replaced by some ancient feeling of possessiveness. “I could never forget her face, and that was it right there. That was her face, without a shadow of a doubt, And her voice-” 

Wanda’s face curled into a snarl. “Stop talking about her.”  

“Hey, Wanda, take a deep breath,” Steve cut in, ever the mediator, but Bucky was hardheaded. If he thought something needed to happen, he was the one to push for it to happen, and he needed her to see. 

 “She looks the same as she did the day she left.” Wanda let out a choked noise. For a second, all she could picture was her lover dying by the blooming rose bushes in the sunset, ruining two of the most beautiful things in life at once. The third (but first) was you, but not even your horrible death could taint Wanda’s memory of you. You would forever be the brightest and most beautiful thing to grace the earth. “I got her number, we’re meeting at a coffee shop a few blocks away.” 

“Leave her alone.” Wanda said through gritted teeth, tears welling up in her eyes. When she saw the brunet’s eyes widen and his mouth drop open, she spoke before he could get a word in. “Just stay away from her, Bucky.” 

All she could think about was your death. The way you choked on your own blood. The way you cried and looked up at her, but still managed to smile. And as she was consumed by rage and memories, the only other thought in her mind was that she was yours and you were here, and that she couldn’t save you then. But she was surely going to preserve your memory from Bucky’s mouth. 

  “I know you feel it coming back. You haven’t felt it in so long, but it’s warm, right? It’s powerful. You always were the strongest, and you’re not dormant any longer. Stop lying to yourself and depriving yourself of love, Wanda. You know Y/N-”

  She saw red. Red as red as the fires that burned in the magma underneath the ground, as red as embers in a fire. “You don’t get to say her name.” She saw so much red, so much hot anger that hardly covered her sadness, that she didn’t even see the way that she had her hand out red coming from her palm as she lifted Bucky right off of the wooden floor of their shared home. “You don’t get to talk about her.” There was a warbling noise in her ears, whispers that sounded like her name, getting louder and louder until she finally realized it was Steve trying to get her attention. 

  “Wanda.” 

Instantly, she dropped her arm and watched Bucky fall to the ground, landing in a crouched position. She watched him catch his breath on the ground. She opened her mouth to apologize, to say that she felt terrible and that she had no idea what happened, what took over her, but she was stopped by the brilliant smile that came onto Bucky’s face. 

  “You used magic.” He said, slowly and steadily, not a hint of hesitance or animosity in his eyes or voice. Instead, he seemed more proud than anything. “You can’t deny this now, Wanda.” 

She was hyperventilating, the pain in her chest intensifying as she tried without any results to get the right amount of air in her lungs. She felt her knees hit the ground before she knew that she did, her hands covering her face as she sobbed into herself. Her heart ached, tugging in so many different directions as her brain fought to rationalize what everything meant. She had used magic,  and that meant that you were back, in one way or another. She was in disbelief. She was in despair. She was in shock. 

“I know you do, I know you do,” It was Steve’s arms around her, and Steve’s voice in her ear, and she realized that she had been saying I miss her, I miss her, over and over again until the words jumbled. “We know you do, Wanda. We miss her too.” 

But he didn’t understand. He hadn’t lost Bucky since he had found him. He hadn’t walked the earth for centuries after losing the only thing that mattered to him as an empty shell of the person he used to be. He would never understand, but that wasn’t his fault. In fact, she prayed that he would never understand. 

“I’m sorry I approached you like that,” Bucky said, crouching down and hugging her just as Steve was, enclosing her into a hugging circle. They were coven, related by magic, and just being around them made her tears subside. “But you know that I would have never said anything like that unless I was one thousand percent sure. I would never do anything to hurt you, Wanda. All I want is for you to be happy. And I know that I found her.” 

And how could he want anything but the best for her? He knew her just as much as Steve did. Just as much as she probably knew herself. He and Steve were the ones who stormed the coven that took you from her by her side, and they were the ones that helped her send them to their graves. They supported her through thick and thin, through revenge and peace, and mostly, they loved you almost as much as she did. Why would Bucky lie? 

Wanda blinked, staring down at her hands in fear and wonder as her heart beat started to get away from her. Steve’s warm hand landed on her shoulder, and she flinched from the sudden touch after such a rush of power. 

“I think you should go with him, Wanda.” Her heavy breathing was all that filled the air for a moment. “Just take a look at her from outside so you can leave if he was wrong without anyone knowing, but you should at least try. I think Buck’s right.” 

Wanda’s breaths were still labored. Her hands trembled as she moved hair from her eyes, and her lip quivered before she found the strength to mutter a few words. “Will she- will she remember?” 

“I think she will,” Steve said softly. “But she’s probably just a human. It may take more than just seeing you for her to remember everything.” 

 Her eyes were wet with tears, and her heart was so big with warmth and need that she was scared that it would burst open at the seams. But she was even more terrified to lose the idea of you. Slowly and shakily, she nodded, her head bobbing up and down as she sealed her own fate. “I’ll go.” She saw Steve give her his fatherly and supportive smile, small yet full. “I’ll see her.” 

You didn’t know how you were gently swindled into giving Bucky your number. You knew that it was nothing but friendly, but he was so charming that you felt like you could never not know him. In fact, it felt like you already did know him. He said something about maybe commissioning an artwork of yours, and of course that excited you. You were going to meet him at a coffee shop, in a public place even though you weren’t the slightest bit afraid of him. But something felt different. 

 It started once you got into your car. You were driving to get to the shop when tingles came down your spine, and bumps raised on your arms, like someone was whispering against your skin. You started to feel warmth come and go in waves, brushing against your mind and then retreating again. You shook off all of the strong feelings as you turned your car off, parked in front of the coffee shop while the music from your speakers filled the silence, soft piano music that was perfect for the weather. 

  It was drizzling, the kind of weather that you liked to call a “lover’s drizzle” because of how often it was seen in romantic scenes. Scenes of confession, of reunion, of desperation between two lovers- more often than not, they had the mild rain to stand in. You turned the music down before shutting your car off and then stepping out, closing the door and locking it immediately before walking briskly to the entrance of the coffee shop with your recent drawings in hand. 

 Bucky wasn’t there when you arrived. In fact, hardly anyone was there besides the few employees, who smiled at you when you entered but otherwise fell back into conversation amongst themselves, which was fine with you. There was one beefy blonde man who was sitting with a laptop and a ball cap on. He glanced up for a moment and then took a double take, blinking hard at you with a star struck look on his face, and then he shot his gaze back down and went back to typing.

You sat down at a table for two, the only type of table that was there besides the long, awkward study tables that they had set up in the center of the room. You would much rather take the intimate setting of a two-seater than to sit in the middle of the shop, so you did just that. You flipped through your work, looking at it closely now that you had the time. He had mentioned something about possible portrait work for a friend of his, so you naturally brought most of the drawings that you had done with hands, arms, eyes, hair, nearly everything that was the closest to your heart. You rested your palm on top of them and watched your fingers trace the slender ones that you had drawn in what felt like by memory at the time, like you were just remembering the way an old friend’s hands used to look. You peeled that one back and looked into the eyes, the strangest and prettiest light green color that made your heart pound every time you looked at it. You took a deep breath in.

  “That’s gorgeous.” You jumped in your seat as the chair in front of you pulled out from under the table, and there was the charming brunet that you had met by the fountain, giving you the same welcoming smile that he first granted you. You smiled back without hesitation, your heart warming at the sight. “You sure can draw.” 

  “I try,” you joked, your grin nearly splitting your face. “Do you drink coffee?” 

“Nah,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “But I like tea, though.” You gave him a thoughtful look. 

“Are you into herbal healing?” 

You could have sworn that there was some sort of excitement in his eyes, but you weren’t sure enough by the time he opened his mouth again. “Yes, actually! What, does it look like I’m into it?” 

“No,” you answered, and it was true. Bucky was huge. He had the kind of build that intimidated other guys at the gym, the kind that made athletes jealous. He looked like the typical meathead, but he was sweeter than you could have imagined. But he looked nothing like a man who would be into herbal healing. “Just a guess.” 

“Pretty good guess,” he mused, and you grinned back. Your head was in the clouds of some strange deja vu when he asked you if you wanted something, and the entire exchange of whether or not you were going to pay was on the back burner as you sifted through your thoughts. By the time he came back, you noticed that you must have told him that you liked hot chocolate, and that he must have paid. You scolded him before he sat back down, waving you off. It was silent for a few moments as you looked out of the window, the rain still steadily working through the atmosphere. The cup was comfortingly warm. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

  With any other man, you would have immediately told him no, or at least have your guard up. But there was just something deep down, so buried that it was faint, but it was there, that told you that he was nowhere even close to being a threat. “Yes.”

 He nodded, taking a sip of his tea and then putting his cup down gently before giving you an intense look. “Who’s the girl?”  

You frowned. “What girl?” 

He raised a singular brow. “The one you draw.” 

Your breath hitched in your throat. You blinked twice, and then tilted your head to the side. “I don’t draw just one person,” you said slowly, the lie dragging its way out of your mouth and through your teeth. “They’re different people.” 

“Oh,” he said, but the smirk on his face told you that he knew you were lying to him and to yourself. You sipped your drink and something tugged at you, telling you to look out of the window and into the rain again, just one more time before you spilled your guts about seeing things- and then something caught your eye. A flash of a familiar reddish-brown. You turned your full body to look that way, and once you did, you nearly dropped your cup. 

  There was a woman staring back at you, eyes wide and full of so much emotion that the artist in you wanted to rush to make an unworthy attempt at capturing it. Her lips were parted in pure shock, but you were watching them tremble even from far away. She was getting slightly damp in the rain, but she stood there like it didn’t even matter, just locking eyes with you and sending your heart rate through the roof. When your eyes finally came back to hers after looking at her for what felt like the quickest eternity, you gasped. You knew those eyes. 

  If you weren’t so deep into gazing at the woman stuck behind the glass, you would have noticed the pleased and content look on Bucky’s face, and the look that he gave the big blond sitting with a ball cap on all by himself. You would have noticed the way that the blond man was turning his body towards your table, watching with the same amount of anticipation as Bucky was. You tried to understand why she looked so familiar, why she was scratching the part of your brain that always tried to convince you that you were much older than twenty something- and then it hit you. 

  You had been drawing this woman. And you had been thinking about her ever since you knew how to think. It was just the first time you were ever seeing the full picture. “I-” you muttered, eyes stuck on her and the way she looked like she was about to topple over from emotions. The words got stuck in your own throat as you weakly tried to get your mind to take you back to the conversation. “I- excuse me. I have to- I’ll be back- excuse me.” Your chair made a loud noise as you stood from the table in a haste, pushing the door open and walking towards the woman who was still standing on the sidewalk, dumbstruck. 

Before you even knew you were outside and into the rain, you were standing not even four steps away from the woman, who was now looking at you with an incomprehensible look on her face. You couldn’t even feel the rain on you. All you could feel was her gaze and the warmth that was settling in your stomach and chest, and the same intense familiarity that was hitting you when you looked at Bucky. But it was so much stronger. 

“I-” you frowned, taking a step closer and resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. “Do I know you? Have we met?” You had to have met. You had seen her in your sleep, in your daydreams, in your sketchbook. And still, you never could have imagined how beautiful she was. 

She was silent. 

“I know this is random and that I just bum rushed you, but, did we go to school together or something?” You were embarrassed. You had never begged someone to remember you before, but this woman was different. She hadn’t said a word to you, and you didn’t even know her name, but you were enraptured. You swore you knew her. You swore you saw her eyes glaze over for a second. 

“You really don’t remember, do you?” Her voice struck something familiar in your chest, something warm and comforting. It was so familiar, so far back in your memory that it felt like home. Her accent, her inflection, the way she spoke slowly yet deliberately. It was all there in your mind, but you just couldn’t figure out how you knew it so well. “You don’t remember who I am?” 

 That had you closing your mouth. You tilted your head to the side at what could have been a hostile question, but her tone made it sad. Did you forget a high school friend? “Oh, um, I know you from somewhere, but I can’t really-” 

 “Think.” The desperation in her voice made your knees shake. If she were anyone else, you would have told her to go away, but you couldn’t. You didn’t want her to go away. But you couldn’t quite place her either, even though your own heart was screaming at you to remember. 

  “I’m sorry,” you said, a hurt expression on your face. You braved yourself to leave, taking a deep breath and giving her a weak smile that embarrassed you even further. “This was weird of me. I’ll just-” 

 She was reaching for you. Time started to run slower as her pale arm extended towards you, long fingers that you had committed to memory and to paper a thousand times outstretched. Your mouth dropped open ever so slightly as you stood in place for a second, body still until you subconsciously leaned forward, your nerves buzzing under your skin. 

  For a second, the only thing you could do was look at the point where her skin touched yours. 

  You had seen magic before. You had seen it in movies and at theme parks and when miracles happened, but nothing ever like when her skin touched yours. You swore that the warmth that your body had been feeling kicked in even stronger, surrounding you in comfort. Her hand was wrapped around your arm, gentle yet begging, firm yet wishing all the same for something you couldn’t quite see yet. You looked up and into her eyes, the eyes you had drawn and seen so many times, and then you saw it. 

   You saw it in more than flashes. They were coming in at the speed of light, but somehow you were able to catch every moment and every feeling that came along. You heard her voice as clear as day, ringing with laughter. You saw the two of you attempting to skip stones. You saw her enchanting your stones behind your back to make you think you had actually done it. You saw her mouth brushing over your cheeks, your mouth, your forehead. You could feel her hands on you, holding you, protecting you, cherishing you all the same. You could remember the way that you felt when you saw her standing in traditional witch’s clothing, being inducted into her coven as a blossomed witch. You saw everything and nothing, and you remembered it all. 

Wanda. 

A strangled sound escaped your body, so feral that it scared you, but you didn’t care. You pulled her forward, your head clashing against her chest. You could feel her shaking, like she wanted nothing more than to hold you just as tightly, but she was hesitating. “Wanda,” you called out, hugging her tighter, and then, like something in the universe stretched too far and then snapped right back into place, she was returning the embrace. 

  “I thought I had lost you forever,” she said, her voice hollow yet so full, so expressive. “I lost you, darling.” 

  The memories were all there, like all it took was a touch, but you were still coping with the knowledge. You had been murdered. Murdered by witch hunters, way back when witches were known and feared. That had to have been hundreds of years ago, you knew it. But still, your focus was on Wanda. It always would be on Wanda, forever and always. Just like hers was on you. 

“You didn’t,” you managed to say, your own voice thick with emotion as you buried your face into her neck, finally feeling the texture of the hair that you tried so hard to get right. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere ever again.” 

“I’m sorry,” she said, suddenly sobbing in your arms. You had no idea how you weren’t being interrupted in the crowded streets, but when you took a look back inside of the cafe to see the men who you so clearly remembered as Steve and Bucky, you knew it had something to do with them and their fulfilled smiles. “I wasn’t able to save you. I let you die, and I’m so sorry, darling. I’m so sorry.” 

  Her words brought you back to the present. “Wanda, no. No, no, no.” You wanted to pull away and look at her face, but the second you started to, she held onto you even tighter. You leaned your head back onto her chest. “It wasn’t your fault. There was no way any of us could have known, and no way that you could have saved me. It was beyond us.” 

  “Nothing should have ever been beyond us.” She argued softly. “I’m so sorry.” 

“But it was,” you said. “And now it’s behind us. Don’t apologize, Wanda.” You wiggled around and got free enough to look up at her teary face. “I may not have recognized you, but now that I do, I can’t believe that I ever forgot you.”

   “A new life will do that to you.” 

“Is it really a new life if I remember everything?” You said softly, the rain long gone as you stood with each other, bodies nearly molded together with how close you were. 

  She pulled away to look down at you, her eyes and overall expression tense, and then there was a look that you recognized from a long time ago. It was a look of sweet desire. You closed the cap between the two of you, pressing your lips to hers in a way that proved that you were both two lost souls who had wandered their way back to their other halves. 

“It can be whatever you want it to be, darling.” Her lips brushed your again, soft and tender and eager for more touch. “As long as you let me be in it.”