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garbagevanfleet · 4 years

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Brightest Blue (series)

SURPRISE VALENTINE’S DAY UPDATE!

PART FIVE

Pairing: Josh x reader Warnings: flirting, alcohol, mentions of smoking Summary: Things are changing. New state. New school. New roommate. You just pray things are going to click into place. Notes: This chapter is so cute to me. Pajama party anyone? As always, thanks to the actual best editor alive today, @lantern-inthenight

MASTER POST

taglist: @valleyd0ll @satingrass-maidensfair @guitarfingers @thebohemianpenguin @peaceisouranthem @oblvions @hansonobsessed

@bigblack-catattack @myownparadise96 @lara-gvf @anditsmywholeheart @kill-fear-the-power-of-lies

It was undeniable that winter was on its way. The weekend brought predictions for temps in the lower 40’s and, even in the warmth of the apartment, you felt perpetually chilled.

Kate had messaged you late on Friday asking if you wanted to get coffee Saturday morning, and you had excitedly agreed to meet her at the local cafe called The Daily Grind (which, admittedly, you chose because of the cute name).

She had seen you bundled up like a burrito in two sweatshirts and a long-sleeved tee underneath and laughed, but you explained to her how you had never really been in temps this cold before.

Your fingers were wrapped as tight as they could go around your mocha as you watched her sip her black coffee, her maroon-painted lips leaving a mark on the white mug.

“When we’re done here, would you want to go with me to a thrift store? My mom sent some money for me to buy warmer clothes when she saw the weather for this area,” you said with an excited tone. “She’s afraid I’m going to get pneumonia.”

She hummed in an interested tone. “That sounds like fun. Which one do you wanna check out first?”

“You’ve been around here longer, so I’ll let you pick.”

“The one on Maple is the one where all the rich sorority girls go, so I bet you’d find some good stuff there,” she informed, tapping her nails against the ceramic.

You beamed a smile, relishing in the sunny feeling that only spending time with other girls gave you. “You wanna drive or me?”

+++

“Do you think if I buy a pair of jeans a size too big I could get away with wearing leggings under them?” you asked, flicking through the hangers. “I feel like the wind here cuts right through my denim.”

“Maybe two sizes bigger so you can wear sweatpants.” You knew she was teasing you by her playful tone, but that was actually kind of brilliant, you thought. “You should try this one.”

You had to get onto your tippy toes to see her over the long rack. She was holding up a soft-looking sweater, multicolored horizontal stripes running across the fabric. The color pattern reminded you of Twiggy from the ’60s.

“It’s cute,” you agreed, taking it as she handed it to you. By the time you were ready for a fitting room, you had a pile of things and the employee on duty looked not very excited to have to put them back when you were done, but luckily she wouldn’t have to. Pretty much everything fit perfectly.

You were shocked to see the total - where you were from, all of that would have been well over $60, even second hand, but you ended up forking over a measly $35, and you figured most of that total was from the nearly new jacket you had found.

As she was driving you back to the coffee shop, you exclaimed giddily, “I’m so excited to have warm clothes. Now Josh can finally have his sweatshirts back.”

She looked over at you surprisedly. “That’s Josh’s?”

“Yeah, he gave me three and I’ve been alternating between them.” You reached forward to turn her radio up a notch, Janet Jackson’s “All For You” perking your ears.

“Are you sure he wants them back?” she asked, giving you a coy smile that you didn’t understand.

You adopted a puzzled look. If she was alluding to something, it was lost on you. “Why wouldn’t he? They’re still perfectly fine - I was even careful not to get my perfume on them.”

Now stopped at a red light, she turned to give you a squinty look until she seemed to realize you were serious. “Nevermind,” she relented, smirking forward at the road.

When you got back home, Josh was gone. You shot him a message inquiring as to his whereabouts and started snipping the tags off of your new clothes with a pair of pruning shears. You were exponentially grateful for the fact that the washing machine in your building had been repaired - and with a shocking amount of haste too.

The smell of the laundry room down the hall was pleasant. It reminded you of the times when your mom would wash all the towels and blankets in the house, and that was a job that either required a laundromat, or an entire day switching loads.

At the end of your shopping day, you made out with three new sweaters, two pairs of thicker jeans, a new coat, a winter hat, and an actual pajama set, which would be infinitely warmer than the shorts and tank top you’d moved in with.

You cheerily popped your new clothes into the washer, along with a tide pod, some of your bras and underwear, and closed the lid.

Around 1 pm, Josh still wasn’t back and hadn’t replied, so you decided it was a perfect time to work on some self-care. The yoga mat you had packed had yet to see the light of day in Michigan, so you dug it out, unrolled it in your room, changed into some easy clothing, and pulled up a beginner’s tutorial on your phone. By the thirty-minute mark, you were sweating and tired, but the stretch in your muscles was oddly pleasant on top of the discomfort, so you pushed yourself to keep going until the video was done. The cute blonde running the tutorial suggested you take some time in your cool down to look inward, as she thought that was a big part of yoga. So, you laid there on the mat, staring up at your ceiling for a good, long while, just taking time to reflect and enjoying it.

Your room, and the whole apartment really, had become home so quickly. You hadn’t ever had the opportunity to test the theory before, but you had always imagined that leaving home would make you feel out of place.

But you didn’t.

Sure, you missed home in the way that any human that came from a loving and supporting family would, but you were expecting to ache for it. You had taken a long time in your backyard and in your favorite spot back home, just so you could have a final fix, but all that was to you now was a fond memory.

After a few moments of being alone with your thoughts, you were going to get up and take a shower, but you had decided to postpone it. While you were staring up at the ceiling, you realized that there was a lot of unused space that the sun hit toward the top of the room. Wasted sun was a felony in your book. You spent about an hour pulling down your curtain rod, removing the fabric, and replacing it with hanging pots of all sizes and lengths.

Your string of hearts, your pearls, your golden pothos - the thought of them being the first thing you saw when you opened your eyes in the morning was one that made you feel sentimental. You’d just have to be careful with watering.

Once you were satisfied with the placements, you made your way to the bathroom. As you waited for the shower to heat up to a tolerable temperature, you took some time to pluck any stray hairs around your eyebrows and gently brush the knots out of your hair. Self-care had always felt like a long term investment to you - one well worth it.

The warm spray of the shower felt amazing on your tired muscles, so you took your sweet time getting clean and enjoying it, then blow-drying your hair on low heat when you were finished. After, you excitedly got out your new pajama set, clipped the tags, and put it on.

Shortly thereafter, you heard a key slip into the lock on the front door. You were cuddled up on the couch, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric on your freshly scrubbed skin as you watched through the complete second season of the Simpsons, popcorn in your lap.

When he stepped into the house, he raised his eyebrows at you, surveying the area.

“What?” you asked, giving him a confused look.

“Just looking for the books and the homework.” You rolled your eyes at him before he continued on with, “I just always assumed that when I wasn’t around, you were doing boring, adult things.”

You gave him a playful shrug as you gestured to the noticeably book free space around you.

He squinted at you suddenly. “Are you in your pajamas? You know it’s like 3:30 in the afternoon, right?”

“They’re new!” you quipped. “And I was excited to wear them. You don’t have to be jealous, you could go get yours on and join me.”

The offer seemed to be tempting him. “I have a better idea. How about you go change, and we’re going to go to a party tonight.”

You scowled at him, crossing your arms over your chest. “Are you crazy? I’m already in my pajamas. I’ve already taken my bra off! Once it’s off, it doesn’t go back on.”

He laughed, loud and unabashed, showing you all of his teeth. The sound made your cheeks flush.

“C’mon, I bet Kate will be there,” he reasoned. “And I obviously will be. And I’m positive Jake will be too. This might be your chance to get them to hook up.”

You bit your bottom lip in consideration. “The timing would be kinda perfect; she could have the whole day tomorrow to process it and then tell me about it on Monday.”

He was smirking at you when you looked back up at him, making you tuck your hair behind your ear anxiously. “If I come, do you promise not to leave me alone?”

He nodded at you confidently. “I will not leave you.”

The very first thing you did was message Kate. It was vital that she was there, just in case Josh got too drunk to remember his promise. You didn’t have a hard time socializing, per-say. You were just nervous about your first real social event here.

Josh was right though - it wouldn’t kill you to make some more friends.

When you were in the bathroom brushing your teeth, Kate messaged back saying that she would never miss getting to see you drunk, and you didn’t have the heart to tell her you had to drive, so you opted to leave that part out. You worked on picking out a good, sensible outfit and took your time to put on makeup again. Admittedly, it felt kind of nice - you used to wear a full beat all the time, but somewhere along the line it started to feel tedious, which is something you never wanted any of your favorite things to feel, so you put the whole idea of it on the shelf for a while.

When you finally emerged from your room around 8, Josh was sitting on the kitchen counter, phone in his hands as he furiously typed out a message. You listened to the pleasant sound of his fingers tapping on the glass screen for a moment before speaking.

“Who are you messaging?” you asked, but it didn’t grab his full attention right away.

“Just one of the other theater guys,” he said through a near sneer. The only time you ever saw him looking distressed was when it came to his production. “Trying to tell me what I can and can’t do with my own production-”

When he looked up at you the rest of his thoughts seemed to escape him, all the emotion in his face and posture crumbling away.

You folded your hands together, giving him a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

He tucked his phone into the pocket of his pants, abandoning whatever he had been so intent on doing just seconds ago.

“Yeah, I just haven’t ever seen you dressed up before.”

The extra attention made you slump back against the hallway wall, giving him a nervous grimace. Through pursed lips, you asked, “Is it too much?”

His eyes popped open, along with his mouth. It took him a moment to speak actual words - like he wanted to say a lot all at once. “What? No! I’m just stupid,” he assured, running his fingers through his curls. “It took my brain a moment to process.”

You gave him a forgiving smile, opening the fridge and grabbing out a carton of juice. He watched as you took a swig, letting you swallow before asking, “Do you want me to drive?”

Your eyebrows raised in surprise, finger swiping away a stray droplet. “Can you?”

“Drive?” he laughed. “Yes. I can drive.”

“Legally?” you pressed, handing over the carton to him when you caught him eyeing it. He took a drink right from the spout as well, giving you a wink that made you lovingly roll your eyes.

+++

You two seemed to unintentionally match. He was in a pair of khaki pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, and a denim jacket on top. You were positive he was going to freeze solid one of these days because he always seemed to be way underdressed for the weather.

As you went to get out of the car, he stopped you with a touch to your knee. “You should take off your jacket and hat and leave them in here; I wouldn’t ever trust leaving them unattended at a party.” He paused before speaking again. “Not that anyone would necessarily steal them, just that people get drunk and think stuff is theirs.”

“Like you did with the wallet?” you teased, making him rub at the back of his neck.

“Yes,” he said pointedly through a grin. “Like that.”

He held the sleeve of your jacket as you shrugged out of it, abandoning it into the back seat. You took just a second to mourn the fact that it would be cold when you went to put it back on.

In the rearview mirror, you fixed your hair, having been mussed by the removal of your hat, and then stepped out. He ushered you along first, reaching past you and pushing the door open for you when you had reached it. The music hit you like a wall, loud and energetic - followed quickly by the smell of alcohol. A cloud of smoke hung subtly near the ceiling, giving the room an air of mystery. You realized you hadn’t made a move to enter the house when you felt his hand on the middle of your back.

“Everything okay?” he asked, just above the volume of the music. You nodded, feeling silly for holding him up, and stepped inside.

People were moving to the music like blood reacting to a heartbeat, swaying around to the rhythms all in a pleasant unison. The scene was oddly hypnotic as the colors danced around.

The second that people could see Josh behind you, they started calling his name. Your stomach lurched for a second, scared that he was either going to leave you or drag you to a group that you didn’t know, but he waved them off instead.

“I’ll catch you guys in a minute,” he shouted through a grin so charming they couldn’t seem to muster up a shred of annoyance toward him. Then, he spoke the next part right against your ear. “You want a drink?”

“Just one,” you agreed with a nod, shivering ever so slightly as his breath hit your cheek.

In the kitchen, huddled around an island covered by bottles, was a group of people, all very visibly drunk. One of those people was Kate, dressed in a crisp looking pair of jeans, a white crop top, and a red checkered flannel shirt, left open to expose her midriff.

When she caught sight of you, she gave you a big, toothy smile. The sharp fringe of her bob moved just enough to sometimes expose a pair of gold disk earrings.

“Need a drink?” she asked as she broke away from the rest of the crowd. “I’ll make it for you.”

You put your hands up, laughing at her enthusiasm. “I’m going to let Josh make it for me,” you informed, knowing full well that she would make it strong enough to get you drunk and keep you in that state for the whole evening.

The one that Josh ended up making for you was, undeniably, a rum and Coke. Not your most favorite thing ever, but then again, this one was mostly just Coke. You made a mental note to thank him for being so considerate.

The three of you ended up in the living room, right in the throws of all the action. You’d been to a few parties back home, but this felt kind of different. Back home, it was always hot, so the parties usually spilled out into the yard in all directions. Come to think of it, you’d never been to a party where the guests weren’t making prominent use of the pool. But here everyone was packed in tightly, making a large house feel tiny.

Kate found you all a nice little corner with a love seat and some kind of weird puff you think you were meant to put your feet on. Settling in there meant you’d have to share the space with a couple of other people, but it felt worth it to not be standing in the middle of the room. Being out in the open made you feel nervous - like you were being circled by sharks.

The songs changed, but the beat seemed to stay pretty much the same, making it easy for the time to slip by without your acknowledgment. By the time you checked your watch, it was nearly eleven.

True to his word, Josh didn’t leave your side the whole night. People kept popping in and out to get a word with him. You couldn’t hear them well because he was sat across from you, but he was laughing quite a bit. Some of it looked kind of forced, but most of it seemed genuine - like he was actually having a nice time.

It wasn’t until you were close to getting ready to leave that you saw Jake making his way down the stairs, one hand on the wooden railing to steady himself and the other wrapped around a red cup. You flashed him a smile when his eyes landed on you, and he gave you one back, giving you a feather-light punch to your shoulder when he reached you.

“Move over,” he demanded in Josh’s direction, sitting nearly on top of him on the couch, with only light complaints from his twin.

“You smell like sex,” Josh said through a fake grimace, pressing his elbow into Jake’s ribs.

“Can’t imagine why,” Jake responded with a smirk, lifting the cup to his lips as you giggled at him.

The realization struck you as his eyes landed on Kate next. “Oh, Jake, this is my friend Kate. Kate, Jake Kiszka.”

She reached out and took his hand to shake and at the same moment, Josh laid his hand on your leg and through a grin, asked, “Should we take off?”

You laughed, giving him a nod.

“Kathrine, Jacob,” Josh started, clapping his hands together in front of him. “We are leaving. See you guys soon?”

“We should actually get tacos,” Kate stated seriously to the group as a whole, and then just to Josh said, “And my name is Kathleen.”

#brightest blue fic #josh kiszka fic #josh gvf #Greta Van Fleet #greta van fleet fic #greta van fleet fan fiction #josh gvf fic

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its-a-humanriot · 3 years

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Common Language, pt. I

(This is the beginning to a bunch of Fallout 3 works I have knocking around my brain. I’ll post bits and pieces here and then post the full work to ao3 once it’s done)

(pt. I) / (pt. II)

---

Charon realises very quickly that he does not understand his new employer very well.

In the first instance, this is very literal.

Not many words were exchanged during her introduction as his new employer and him subsequently blowing Ahzrukhal’s brains all over the walls of the Ninth Circle. It’s not until after they make a very rapid exit and they are out in the quiet of the museum atrium catching their breath that he really pays any attention to her. Not much about his employer’s appearance immediately seems wildly unusual – she looks pretty healthy for a wastelander, if somewhat pale, and probably one of the youngest people to come through Underworld in several years. Her face is grubby with the expected dust and dirt of travel under her mop of short curly brown hair, slightly pink from sunburn across her nose and a clean strip of pallid skin around her eyes from the goggles that now hang around her neck (the look of it reminds him briefly of some small animal from before the war, though he can no longer recall its name). Although they look relatively well maintained, her armour and rifle have clearly been scavenged at least third-hand, and a faded red bandanna is tucked around the collar.

Charon takes all this in with a practiced eye, trying to evaluate what kind of person he is now bound to – as satisfying as it is to know that Ahzrukhal’s head is now spread all over the Ninth Circle, it has come at the cost of knowing his opponent. The girl in front of him does not look wealthy to be spending the number of caps he knows Ahzrukhal would have asked for his contract, nor hardened enough to have carried out whatever unscrupulous task he would have accepted as alternative payment. He can’t quite pinpoint it, but something doesn’t seem right. When she opens her mouth, his instincts are proved right.

“Well, fuck. I came to Underworld to cop a flop and a sling and hang loose for a while, maybe zee out for the night, and buddy up with you. I was not expecting to have to beat feet with a dead body behind us.”

Her accent is like no wastelander he has ever heard, and he doesn’t understand half the things that come out of her mouth. Charon can’t claim to be up to date with young people (as so few of them come through Underworld and most of Ahzrukhal’s associates were people who should absolutely not be allowed anywhere near children) but even among the various communities in the Capitol Wasteland there is usually a fair amount of common ground. This – whatever this is – is something else entirely.

His well-practiced poker face seems to keep his confusion hidden at least up until she turns to him with an uncomfortable smile on her face – she certainly has cleaner teeth than a lot of wastelanders, and not even any missing that he can see – and sticks her hand out in his direction.

“This isn’t how I was expecting to have this go but, uh, I’m Billie. Nice to actually meet you properly, Charon.”

He stares at it. A lot of people would avoid unnecessary physical contact with ghouls, even if they weren’t outright ghoul haters, and certainly none of his previous employers have ever tried to engage in something as cordial as a handshake. When he doesn’t react, she leans in a little sheepishly. “…I think you’re supposed to shake hands when you meet someone new, right?”

His stare moves up to her face. She looks about as confused as he feels. What rock has this kid crawled out from?

“What?” It’s hardly the first thing that he means to say to his new employer now they have time to talk, but this whole interaction is leaving him feeling entirely unfooted. She tilts her head at him and looks even more awkward, her outstretched hand dipping slightly before she withdraws it entirely and starts to comb it through her hair instead.

“Uh…I’m not used to meeting new folks? A couple of people have told me what passes for manners above ground but honestly, I’ve not had so many chances to try it on people who weren’t trying to vent me first.” Her face twists in an embarrassed grimace. “Is it the accent? I’ve been told it’s a little hard to understand. I can try, uh something else,” She drops her hand, brushes some stray curls out of her eyes and clears her throat. She offers her hand again and manages to take him by surprise yet again: saying clearly in an almost perfectly pronounced pre-war Transatlantic accent “Hello Charon, my name is Billie Morgan. Pleased to meet you.”

The sound hits Charon like ice cold lead in his stomach, a noise he hasn’t heard in decades beyond the occasional old holotape. It rings in his ears as fresh as it was then with all of the other memories he’d tried to bury - the cloying surgical smell of the lab in his nose, the claustrophobia of the sim pod – Scanning vitals… Welcome subject: 2875, identifier Charon. Beginning training simulation in 3, 2…

A hand touches his arm and the tension in his body spikes – Charon finds himself staggering backwards into a defensive stance. His hand, still moving on instinct, gets as far as the handle of his combat knife before his conditioning kicks in with a short shock of pain – the subject cannot harm the employer – and the opposing reactions form a strained stalemate and force him to a standstill, buzzing with adrenaline, as his presence of mind returns. His employer is now a few feet away, her brown eyes wide as she raises her hands.

“Woah, okay. Won’t do that one again. Sorry.” The artificial enunciation is gone and her original accent has returned, but she is speaking more slowly and clearly than before. He can’t tell if she’s just doing it to try and pacify him or if she is consciously trying to make herself easier to understand. Now that he has the frame of reference for it her natural inflection definitely has something pre-war about it, but it’s hard to pinpoint. “Easy there, big guy. I’ve got no scrap with you and I’m not gonna hurt you. Okay?”

Charon has at least a full foot of height on this kid, and while she looks healthy she does not look strong – the idea that she would be able to hurt him in a close quarters fight is almost laughable. Slowly, he forces himself to let go of the knife handle. The tension in his shoulders stays where it is.

“I am unable to harm my employer. Physical violence on your part invalidates our contract.” The default line gives him something to fall back on for a moment while he straightens back up to his resting position.

“That’s…something.” She doesn’t look reassured, but she drops her hands. “So we’re shiny? Cause you looked real ready to stab me for a second there.”

“I am unable to harm my employer.”

“…Right.” She appears to wait a moment for clarification that does not come before continuing. “So about your contract – it’s kinda hard to read and I didn’t really get the full shakedown before you greased Ahzrukhal so I don’t know what your rates are. I’m a little low on caps at the moment but I can pay you some upfront and then I can earn a bunch back from whatever scavving we do in the next few days to get you the rest of your cut, then we can work out an arrangement. Sound okay to you?”

“I do not require payment.”

“So what, I keep you watered and fed and breathing and we’re square? Seems like a pretty cheap deal to me.”

“I do not require protection and you are not required to provide for me, though several previous employers have chosen to do so.”

“Wait.” Her brow creases. “What does the contract say?”

“The holder of my contract is my employer.” The words come readily to his tongue after many decades of repeating them. “My employer has my services in combat and in any other duties as they see fit and I am honour bound to do as they command for as long as they hold the contract. The contract prevents me from harming my employer while I am in their service. Physical violence by the employer against me invalidates the contract.”

She stares at him hard for a long moment before she speaks again with horror in her voice.

“You’re a slave?”

“I belong to no one.” The response is automatic, the only protest he is able to make. The words taste sour in his mouth.

“You’ve just told me that you don’t require payment of any kind and that you have to do what I say. If that’s not being a slave, I don’t know what is.” She turns away and pulls on her curls for a moment while she paces before turning back to him, her face stormy. “If I’d know that skeezer was a slave owner on top of everything, I might’ve taken a pop at him myself before you ventilated his face. Fuck.” Her eyes widen again. “I bought you from him.”

“If you find the terms of my contract objectionable, you may pass it on to another.”

“I object to you being bound to the contract. Passing it over to someone else doesn’t fix that.” Pulling a face, she pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs, then pulls his contract out of her pocket. She looks over the worn paper for a moment, then a takes a single step closer to him and thrusts it in his direction. “Here.”

The ebbing tide of the adrenaline rush in his veins suddenly leaves all at once, and he is left staring at his employer’s hand again. There must a misunderstanding here. Again.

“You wish me to…hold the contract for you?”

She rolls her lips together before making deliberate eye contact with him.

“I want you to have it. Permanently, free of charge. The contract belongs to you - no more employers to boss you around.” Turning her eyes skyward for a moment, she takes a deep breath. “I’m hoping that greasing former employers of yours isn’t like a tradition or something, cause I kinda like being alive out here in the fresh air despite everything. And I have someone I really, really need to find.”

He stares at her for a long moment, stupefied. She stares back, with an expression that is perhaps supposed to be comforting despite the fact that her hand is shaking slightly. After the events at the Ninth Circle, she doesn’t have much reason to suspect that anything else will happen apart from her apart from the inside of her skull being spread all over the atrium.

“I cannot accept.”

At the sound of his voice she seems a little calmer, and gives him a warmer smile.

“Sure you can. No charge, no nothing, just like I s-”

“You misunderstand. I am physically not able to accept.”

“What?” The look of confusion is back.

“I am not able to hold my own contract. It is stated clearly in the contract terms.”

“You didn’t say that thirty seconds ago!”

“The contract terms are long. I paraphrased.”

“You paraphrased.” With a furrowed brow she pinches the bridge of her nose again with the hand holding the contract dropping to her hip, though her mouth pulls up at the corner – whether it’s from amusement or concealed frustration, he’s not sure. She takes in a breath, then drops her hand. “Right. Okay. And if I destroy the contract?”

“I am compelled to stop you from doing so, through any means necessary.”

“Even if you harm me? I thought you said you couldn’t do that.”

“Preservation of the contract takes priority over the life of my employer, though I must also take all possible actions to preserve your life.” Comforting people is not a talent Charon considers to be in his skill set. From the look on his employer’s face, he evaluates that this is still true.

“There must be a section in the contract for how it ends though, right? Surely no contract is gonna be able to hold you forever.” The naivety of the comment grates on his nerves more than he expects. Maybe it’s the aftermath of the adrenaline rush and the bewilderingly abrupt turn that this already baffling interaction has taken, but Charon’s response come out with more of a bite than he means it to.

“It’s not that simple, smoothskin.”

“But you don’t want to be bound by it, right?” Seemingly undeterred by the epithet or the warning in his tone, she continues earnestly. “If we just-”

“I said -” His voice is sharper than he would ever dared let it be speaking back to Ahzrukhal, louder than he has spoken in so very long, and he wrests control of himself back too late – his voice echoes back to him from the polished granite walls so that it rebukes him as much as it does the kid in front of him. Her eyes are wide, shoulders bunched up to her chin level, and he realises that he has unconsciously drawn up to his full height. The echo hangs in the air for a moment, and when it dies his words are back to their normal volume, even if the tone is strained: “ – it is not that simple.”

The moment continues to stretch out thin and the young woman doesn’t move or answer – just keeps staring at him. The silence leaves him feeling as unbalanced as the conversation did - worse now that he feels exposed in the wake of his outburst. Charon takes a rattly breath and fills his ravaged lungs to their full extent as he winds himself back under control – shoulders down, arms by his sides, he reverts to his typical guarding stance. When he speaks again, it in the direction of the young woman’s clenched hand rather than to her face

“For good or ill,” Charon says towards the faded scrap of parchment “I am in your service.”

#fallout 3 #fo3 #charon fo3 #lone wanderer #oc: billie morgan/hundred dollar bills (lone wanderer)#very excited to start getting this out there #nom writes stuff #common language

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nastybuckybarnes · 4 years

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Jolly Sailor Bold

Pairing: Pirate!Peter Parker X Mermaid!Reader

Summary: Pirates once ruled the seas, and they’re wanting that power back. All that stands in the way are Mermaids and Sirens. For all of history the two have been slaughtering each other with no remorse. So what is it about you that’s so intriguing to Peter? And why do you, in turn, find yourself wanting to protect the sailor?

Warnings: Language, Old Language, Slow burn, Angst, Pirates, Violence,

Word Count: 6.5K

A/n: So plot twist I’ve already worked 40 hours this week so I’m a little behind with my writing but you guys can have this while I finish up some other things. Happy Ficmas!!!

Peter Parker IS AGED UP IN THIS

~*~

Inspired by ‘Prates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ and FreeForm’s ‘Siren’

“Upon one summer's morning I carefully did stray Down by the Walls of Wapping Where I met a sailor gay”

‘Beneath the surface of the water, past the line of the reef, lies a danger beyond any man’s comprehension. A danger concealed by soft skin, enticing eyes, and a melody that lulls sailors and pulls them from their ships to the depths of the ocean. The creatures, beautiful in appearance, roam the depths of the seas, living in deeper oceanic waters during the times of tired men, when the victim count is lower.

Female as they appear, deadly as they are, enchanting as they sound, they are often confused with their close relatives. But Mermaids be far worse than the Siren’s they’re confused with.

Upon a glance they seem similar, side by side the naked eye may not be able to tell them apart. But the one thing that separates these creatures is the undeniable bloodlust that Sirens feel, contorting their once beautiful faces to a hideous mask that never leaves. The hunger whenever they smell human blood. While mermaids are more equipped to handle the hunger, better at concealing it, the sirens show no shame in claiming men, in giving in to their animalistic desires and draining the life of a helpless sailor.

Mermaids appear a more peaceful creature, although deadly. Hardly capable of refusing the smell of fresh blood, they only seem serene on the outside. Below the surface lies teeth sharper than sharks, a voice that can command and compel the strongest minds, and a strong body that is capable of destroying a thousand ships.

Sailors beware, Pirates be warned, for the mermaids are ruthless. Heaven forbid ye ever fall into their path for they will grant no mercy. Pray a Siren finds you and ends you quickly, for her looks will be none too pleasing, but a mermaid will distract and drain, her eyes alight with desire, as she deludes yer weak-willed mind. So swords high, guns aimed, and never look at a dame in the water, for that will be yer undoing!’

“I see you’re trying to scare my new crew member, Buck!” A blond-haired man slaps the brunet’s shoulder, smiling warmly at the young man he was talking to. “Who might you be sailor?”

The boy looks down timidly. “P-Peter. Peter Parker,” he says quietly. “Well Parker, I’m Captain Rogers, this is my first mate Bucky. We’re happy to have you aboard!” Peter nods enthusiastically and gets up from the stairs leading to the forecastle.

“Well kid, go make yourself useful. And remember what I said. If you see a woman in the water, do not look at her. You find someone who’s good with a gun and shove Seaweed into your ears. Don’t let her sing. If she sings you’re done for.” The boy swallows hard and nods again, watching as Bucky walks away and takes the helm.

He leans over the thick wooden side beams and looks out across the water, his eyes scanning for anything unusual. A sudden pat on his back startles him and he whips around, clutching his chest. “Woah, calm down Parker. It’s just me,” Ned says softly, looking around then leaning against the side beams as Peter was.

“So, how’s it feel to be a real sailor? I mean we’re basically pirates now.” Peter snorts and looks out across the water again. “I feel like Pirate is a term used by those who fear people who go and get what they want. We may be Pirates, but it’s not like we’re bad people,” Peter says softly. Ned nods, looking around with a smile on his face. “You know Captain Rogers’ first mate Bucky? He was telling me about the dangers of the sea. Mermaids and Sirens. Do you... do you believe in any of that stuff?” He asks.

Ned looks over at his friend and shrugs. “I mean, we hardly know anything about what’s under the water. There’s probably something.” Peter bites his bottom lip and shakes his head no.

“I’ve heard stories you know,” he begins, “of people who survived attacks, saying they remember beautiful voices and enchanting looks. I think it could be true. I just hope we don’t come across anything like that.”

Ned shrugs then walks away, finding something to keep himself busy as they sail to deeper waters.

“Okay lads! We’ve made it out to sea! First night always ends in celebration so celebrate we will! Take what you can!” Captain Rogers calls loudly. “Give nothing back!” Bucky calls just as loud. “All of you now. Take what you can!” Rogers repeats. “Give nothing back!” The crew shouts, throwing their hats into the air and clinking their bottles of booze together as they celebrate. Peter chuckles as Ned downs a whole bottle of rum, not envying the headache he’ll surely have the next day.

He looks out across the dark water, tired after a long day at sea. He sighs and shakes his head as he thinks back to the tale Bucky told him earlier, chuckling lightly at how ridiculous it seems now. He turns away from the water, freezing in his tracks halfway through the turn. He slowly turns back and catches sight of something bobbing in the water a short distance from the ship. His eyes widen and he leans forwards, inspecting the object as it moves closer slowly.

The object stops and Peter nearly screams as it turns and dives into the water, an iridescent tail flashing above the surface for a moment. Peter glances at the bottle of alcohol in his hand and shakes his head, hurrying away from the side of the ship and down to the crew’s quarters to try and sleep off whatever alcohol is making him hallucinate.

The water brushes up against the ship, rocking it from side to side gently. You watch curiously as the humans cheer and drink from aboard. A young man breaks off from the group and leans over the railing, looking out across the water. You raise your head up a bit and watch him closely, your eyes widening as you make out his face.

He has curly brown hair, and light skin; his cheeks are flushed from the alcohol and his eyes are... you can’t exactly make out what colour they are. Letting your instincts pull you, you slowly move forwards, watching the man as he starts to turn away.

He suddenly stops and turns back to look directly at you. You move closer still and watch as he nearly subconsciously leans forwards. A high-pitched call gets your attention and you stop then dive under the water, desperate to find your sister, the person calling you, and tell her of your findings.

She calls out for you again and you reply, your voice deeper than hers, resonating throughout the sea and echoing off of rocks and reefs. Cutting through the water effortlessly, you spin towards the cavern the two of you share. You pull yourself up and break the surface of the little air bubble-esque cave. “Where were you?” She asks as soon as you’re inside, her voice a high keening call.

“I was exploring. I found something... someone.” She raises her eyebrows and wrings out her long raven hair. “Who? There are no mermen for miles around here. They recognize this as our area. It isn’t a siren, is it?”

You roll your eyes and shake your head no. “I didn’t meet anyone. I found people, Ariadné. Humans! They’re on a ship. I think they’re pirates.” She frowns and shakes her head. “You do know that pirates killed mom and dad, right? They should all be killed for what they did.” You sigh and lower yourself into the water again, leaning your head onto your arms.

“Not all pirates deserve to suffer for what a few did. Blackbeard and his crew were punished for their doings. We got our revenge. What more could you want?” She sighs and mimics your position. “I want them all gone. It’s enough that we don’t eat them, but they all deserve to suffer as we did. As our pod did.”

“Ariadné, what would mother say, hearing you talk with such hatred? She raised us better than this. She raised us different than the others. We have more compassion in our hearts than they do. We mustn’t lose sight of that. I understand the hurt, but we were raised to protect the humans. When our brand is on a ship, other pods of Mermaids and Sirens know not to hurt them.” Your older sister scoffs and shakes her head.

“Our parents died because the Pirates were afraid!” You flinch away from her and she sighs. “I did not mean to frighten you. I’m just scared for you. If I lost you as well... I don’t know what I would do.” You smile gently at her and nod, leaning your head onto your arms again. “I don’t believe he saw me. I’m careful, Ariadné, I promise.” She sighs and nods once, wanting the little argument to be over with.

As your sister drifts off to sleep, your mind travels to the sailor who may have seen you earlier in the night. A pulling in your gut shoves an idea into your mind. A terribly dangerous idea that spikes your curiosity.

You glance over at your sister and, after making sure she’s sound asleep, you venture out of the cavern and swim quickly to the warmer waters closer to the surface.

Slowing as you see the large shadow of a ship, you carefully raise your head above the surface, looking around then up to the deck, trying to find the man from before. You look around carefully, smiling as you see him leaning against the railing again. He looks out across the water, his wrists crossed over each other. You tilt your head to the side curiously and swim slightly forwards.

"What're you doing up at this hour?" A voice calls from behind him. He turns and you watch as a man comes up beside him. “I... felt like I needed to come here. The water... does it ever call you?” The other man takes a deep breath then nods.

“Quite often. It’s why I do what I do. I love the water, I can’t be away from it. It’s my home now. And it can be yours too, if you’d like.” The brown-haired boy who you’ve been watching smiles.

“I’d like that, thank you, Captain.” You watch as the taller blond man pats the other man’s shoulder. “You’re a good kid, Peter. Don’t let Bucky’s tails of the sea scare you. You’re safe.” The Captain walks away, leaving Peter alone.

You risk moving closer, wanting the see more of his beautiful face. He sighs and looks at his hand before tossing something into the water not far from your head. You reach out and grab the object, frowning in confusion. It’s a very smooth rock, bright red.

You look up at him and carefully toss the rock back at him, smiling as it lands right past him, clanking on the deck.

He spins quickly and stares at the rock in disbelief before grabbing it and inspecting it. He looks out to the water, his eyes finding you again.

“You again?” He asks in a whisper. You slowly swim forwards and raise your shoulders out of the water. “Am I hallucinating? Are you... real?”

You stifle a giggle as he battles with himself. He glances down at the rock in his hand then back up to you, an idea popping into his head. He tosses the rock at you and you catch it before it hits your head.

“You are Peter,” you state, tossing to rock back to him. He freezes at the sound of your voice, the rock hitting him in the chest then falling onto the railing.

“You-you can talk. Your voice is... wow.” You smile brilliantly up at him and he slowly steps back. “I need... where’s Bucky. Oh, Gods, I need to find Bucky.” He shoves his fingers in his ears and runs away from the side, the rock tumbling into the water. You frown and grab it then swim back to the cavern where your older sister is sleeping.

“Dude, slow down! What happened?” Ned asks from the empty crew’s quarters. Peter looks around then grans Ned’s hand. “I saw a flipping... woman. In the water. She talked to me. I threw a rock at her and she caught it and threw it back. She... I... I swear- Ned, don’t look at me like that! I’m not crazy!” Ned holds his hands up in surrender. “I never said you were. I just... I think maybe the saltwater is getting to your brain a little bit.” Peter scoffs and turns away from his friend.

“I know what I saw. What I heard. She’s out there.” Ned nods slowly, “okay, then why didn't she eat you? Why didn’t she sing? You said she spoke to you but didn't sing. That doesn’t sound like mermaid behaviour.” Peter furrows his brows. “Maybe she... maybe she isn’t like the others. Maybe she’s different. Doesn’t hurt men.” Ned scoffs incredulously, shaking his head no.

“I can’t believe I’m friends with a lunatic. You know, people like you are where all those bad rumours about Pirates and Sailors come from.” Peter sighs and gets up, walking away from his friend and back up to the main deck to look in the water again, desperate to find any proof that he actually saw a woman... a mermaid. That he heard one.

‘You are Peter.’ It replays in his mind over and over, the melodic yet somewhat deep voice that has been haunting him ever since it happened.

Peter takes a deep breath and walks towards the helm, finding Bucky right where he thought he’d be.

“You alright Sailor? You look like you’ve seen a sea witch,” Bucky says while patting Peter on that back. Peter looks up at the man with a weak smile. “Mister Bucky, Sir... do you actually believe in Mermaids and Sirens? Or was that just you trying to scare me?” Bucky sighs and looks around for a moment before rolling up his sleeve.

“It’s how I lost my arm. Why I’ve been so apprehensive on these waters. Not far from here... a storm was brewing. We briefly lost control and a few of us fell overboard. I was one of them.” Peter waits patiently for Bucky to continue.

“They were waiting, rocking the ship with their tails. They were mermaids. Their beauty... was unparalleled. The most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen in my life. One of them grabbed me, dragged me under the water while singing one of her bloody songs. I broke free, hardly, but as soon as I was above the water she grabbed my arm and pulled me back under, her sharp teeth locked onto my shoulder and she ripped my arm clean from my body.”

Peter stares at the metal arm in shock and slight awe. “Steve, the Captain he is, shot nearly all of them. He helped me up and we made berth in Tortuga. I got this arm and when we got back on the sea... Steve and I made a vow to kill any single one of these creatures. We lost a lot of men that day. We refuse to let anyone else get killed because of those horrible beasts.”

Peter nods slowly then looks out to the water. “And it ain’t like Mermaids and Sirens just stick to specific waters. They live all over. Migrate with the tides or stay where they are. They live all over the world. Nowhere will be safe until they’re all gone.”

“Genocide,” Peter whispers to himself, fearing for the life of the mermaid he only met yesterday.

“Are all of them... bad like that?” Bucky shrugs, pulling his sleeve back down. “I don’t wait long enough to find out. As soon as I see a woman who ain’t drowning in these waters so far from shore, I shoot first.”

The colour drains from Peter’s face and he shakes his head trying to get rid of the strange feeling of dread that’s suddenly filling him.

“Why?” Peter looks up quickly, a forced smile on his face. “No... no reason. I was just wondering after the whole story the other day. I just want to know what to do in case I come across something so... heinous.” Bucky nods and grabs a pistol out of one of the many holsters on his body.

“Here. Keep this with you. You ever see a woman out there, don’t let her open her mouth. Shoot her and shoot her fast.” Peter slowly nods, accepting the gun and looking at it carefully. “Now go on. I’m sure there’s something else you can do. We make Berth in Nassau in a few days to gather supplies.” Peter walks to the helm stairs but pauses at the top of them. “What kind of supplies?” Bucky grins, “we’re off to find something special."

You watch the ship from afar, holding the red rock tightly in your right hand as you think of Peter. A hiss from behind you gets your attention and you spin quickly, relaxing as you see who it is. The Siren lets out a high pitched cry, asking what you’re doing. You reply in the same tongue.

“A boy on the ship,” you begin in a keen, “he is interesting.” She shakes her head and grabs onto your arm, her scaly face scrunched up with fear and mistrust. “He saw me yesterday and he did not hurt me.” She shakes her head again and pulls you under the water, swimming quickly away from the surface with you right behind her. “Ryn! Ryn wait! Where are you goin?” You ask. She halts just underneath a deep-sea reef, her hands coming up to her face.

“Does Ariadné know that you’ve been sneaking around near humans? Pirates none the less? She’ll kill you herself if she finds out!” You sigh wistfully and roll your eyes.

“You do not understand. He... he is different.” She scoffs. “You don’t even know him. He is a pirate. If any of them see you you’ll be dead in moments. You know that.” You look down and nod slowly. She cups your cheeks and lifts your head, smiling with her pointed teeth. “C’mon. Let’s go find something big to catch. I’m in the mood for a challenge.”

She pulls you forwards, swimming quickly while calling out, listening for any echoes or replies to clue her into the whereabouts of a large fish, preferable a swordfish or young shark.

She suddenly perks up, the stabilizing wings on the sides of her tail flattening against her tail then shooting straight out as the gills on her neck move swiftly, taking in oxygenated water and disagreeing with everything else. She speeds off in the direction of the hunt and you follow, moving ahead of her as you catch the scent of a young adult great white shark. Your tail forces the water away from you, pushing you forwards.

Ryn comes up beside you and glances over at you, her sharp teeth bared and her once white eyes now fully purple with the promise of a meal. You slow down as you see the shark, your enhanced eyes finding it a few miles away. “Let’s have some fun,” Ryn says while swimming directly at the shark. You smile and swim after her, chasing her as she chases the shark.

It’s terrified. You can smell it. It turns around after a few more minutes of chase and you grin at the challenge it’s presenting. It snaps its jaws at Ryn and she squeals, moving out of the way as the fifteen-foot great white shark swims after her. You jump in, grabbing the shark’s dorsal fin and digging your nails into its side. It turns it’s head as much as it can and tries to snap at you. Ryn uses its distracted state and bites into its neck, tearing out a chunk of meat. You quickly do the same, catching some of its gills. It slowly stops struggling, bleeding out. You take another bite out of it, taking your time and eating the shark with Ryn.

“Save some for your sister. She hasn’t hunted today. She could use some food.” You nod and look around, hearing the calls of nearby Mermaids and Sirens as they smell the shark carcass.

“We should go before we need to fight for our catch,” you say, ripping a large chunk of meat off of the shark and swimming away from it as the calls get closer. Ryn grabs a chunk and swims after you, giggling happily.

“You’re back. I thought for sure you would’ve gone with the humans by now,” your sister says sarcastically, a relieved smile on her face. You nod and offer her the shark chunk. She smiles and takes it from you graciously. “Have you heard?” Ryn asks after a moment of silence. You look over at her with a frown, hoping she’s not going to tell your sister about the whole Pirate fiasco.

“I hear Pirates are going to Nassau to stock up then they’re going to find a kind of ancient treasure. Knowing them it’s probably a dead end.” You nod your agreement and sigh, thinking about the brown-eyed pirate boy.

“I hear with the moon coming they may not make it. The Sirens want them and they’re not stopping this time,” Ariadné muses around a mouthful of shark. You frown at her, “we must brand the boat then. Protect the sailors.” Ariadné and Ryn both look at you as if you’ve grown a second head.

“Why would we do that? They go out of their way to find us and kill us. Let them be claimed by the Sirens,” your sister says carelessly. You slap your tail against the water and glare at her.

“That is not how we were raised! We aren’t careless creatures. We are not ruthless hunters! We help. Protect! You forget about that,” your voice trails off and you look at the two expectantly.

“Nothing. So that’s just it?! You leave them to be killed?” They both slowly nod. “Not me. I will not. I cannot.” With that you turn and swim out of the cavern quickly, your eyes hurting. Your sister and Ryn call out for you, their cries echoing in the deep sea. You roll your eyes and search for the old cave where your parents raised you.

“The full moon is coming. The sea has been too quiet these past few days. I fear the worst,” Steve says to his first mate. Bucky sighs and looks around the Captain’s quarters. “Tonight, isn’t it?” He asks, remembering the strange conversation he had with Peter a few days ago.

“Yes. As the sun sets I fear we won’t live till morning.” Steve stands up and walks to the door. “Do not alert the men except those who know the dangers that lurk in these waters. We will need someone on watch tonight. I’ll take aft, you take astern. Find someone for Starboard and Port. Leave no section unmanned.” Bucky nods, knowing the first person he’ll get to watch.

“Parker, I have a task for you.” The young man looks up from his book as Bucky walks to the helm stairs. “Yes sir?” The metal-armed man sighs and looks around.

“Tonight is the full moon. The most dangerous time of the month. I would like you to be in charge of watching the starboard side of the ship tonight. You see anything, you shoot it then report to me. Understood?” Peter nods his head frantically, stuffing his book under the stairs and getting up.

“The winds are in our favour tonight. We should reach Nassau by dusk tomorrow,” Bucky says while walking away to take his own post. Peter leans over the rail and stares into the water, looking for any sign of anything resembling the woman he saw a few nights prior.

You carefully press the shell against the back bottom of the ship, burning your family’s brand into it. A shrill cry from behind you nearly makes you drop the shell. You look over your shoulder and bare your teeth, hissing at the Siren behind you.

She balls her fists and cries again, clearly frustrated with your claim on the ship. You hiss again and move away from the ship, claiming your space further. She reluctantly turns and swims away, crying out every now and then to let other Siren’s know of the change in plans.

You’re suddenly thrust away from the ship, sharp nails raking down through the brand. You hiss at the person, recoiling as you see who it is. “I told you to leave the Pirates alone!” Your older sister snarls, her voice still melodic.

The Siren stops and looks back, intrigued by whatever’s happening. “And I told you that I will not!” Your voice is threatening. “I can’t believe you. These people have taken everything from you. Your mother and father. Some of your friends. I will not have you defend them!” She grabs your arms and you wail loudly as her nails dig into your skin.

The Siren circles back to the ship and is quick to scratch the brand fully off. “No!” You thrust your elbow back and catch your sister in the ribs. She falls back and watches you in shock as you swim quickly to the Siren, grabbing her hair and slamming her head against the ship. She cries out and holds her heard, snarling at you. You dig your nails into her throat, slicing one of her gills. She shoves herself away from you and swims away quickly, clutching her neck.

“You are a fool!” Your sister exclaims. You turn to her and bare your teeth. “I will not have you ruining my chances of saving innocent men!” She chuckles and looks at the ship. watches as it rocks in the waves.

“How do you know they’re innocent? How do you know that they do not slaughter us and our sisters? You don't! Do not go and defend people when you do not know their actions!” You shove her shoulders again. “And do not go and kill people without knowing their actions! If you do it makes you no better than them!” She stares you down then looks up, watching as the ship sways some more.

“I will not go out of my way to defend people who have killed my family. If you wish to that is your choice. But if you get hurt do not come crying to me.” She turns and swims away from you, shunning you from what’s left of your family. You cry softly, high pitched and sad, but your sister doesn’t so much as flinch. You look down for a moment, saddened by the fact that you’ve lost the remainder of your family.

Peter looks out across the water, darkened by the fallen sun but lit up by the stars and full moon. All throughout the night, he’s been hearing light calls that sound similar to whales and he’s kept his gun high.

A rock suddenly hits his chest lightly, surprising him. He looks around the ship but upon finding no one, shrugs and looks back at the rock, his eyebrows jumping almost off of his face. The exact same red rock that he lost in the water a few nights before is lying right on the rail in front of him. He looks out into the water, searching for you.

Little does he know that you’re just below the surface, your eyes on the gun in his hand.

He glances at the rock again and carefully picks it up, placing the gun down and tossing the rock back into the water. You raise your head out and catch the rock, smiling gently as Peter looks at you. “It’s you,” he whispers, recognizing you. He glances up at the moon as Bucky’s words bounce around in his head then grabs the gun, aiming it at you.

The smile falls from your face and you watch as Peter seems to fight an internal battle. You look down at the rock in your hand then back up at Peter, holding the rock up for him to see. He opens his hand and you toss the rock to him. He holds it in his hand carefully then looks at you, noticing how you’re staring at the gun. He gently sets it down and offers you the rock again.

You catch it and swim forwards a bit, keeping your senses on high alert for any hostile movement from under the water or above.

He glances over his shoulder, noticing the man keeping watch on the port side is fast asleep and Bucky and Steve are nowhere to be found. He looks back at you, surprised to see you so much closer.

“Are you going to hurt us?” He finds himself asking the question before he can think. You’re surprised by him directly talking to you. “I don’t hurt,” you reply. Peter nods, entranced by your voice.

“Do you have a name?” You smile up at him, lifting your shoulders out of the water. “Yes. I am (Y/n).” He tests the name and grins. “I-I’m Peter.” You giggle lightly, the sound dazing Peter.

“I know,” you whisper. He blushes and looks over his shoulder. “If you’re not going to hurt us... why are you here?” You look down at the water for a moment then back up to him. “Because I am intrigued. You are humans. I have never... met a human.” Peter nods slowly, trying to understand why you’d want to meet a human.

“Well, look you can’t be up here. The others aren’t like me. They see you and they won’t wait for you to explain. They’ll kill you in cold blood.” You tilt your head to the side.

“But not you?”

He shakes his head ‘no’ and smiles lightly. “Not me. I haven’t been raised like them. Your kind hasn’t given me any reason to want to hate you.” You find yourself in awe of his spirit. “You need to go though. If anyone sees you... you’ll be in trouble.” You swim back a bit then look up into his eyes. “Will I see you again?” You ask desperately.

He looks over his shoulder, his eyes widening as he sees Bucky emerge from the Captain’s quarters. “Peter?” You ask. He looks back at you then at the rock in his hand. “We make port in Nassau by tomorrow night. I’ll walk along the beach and find a doc. Leave the rock somewhere you can go and I’ll find you.” He tosses the rock to you and you catch it, ducking under the water and swimming away quickly.

“Parker? Is there something there?” Bucky asks, jogging to his side quickly. Peter looks at the man and shakes his head no. “I... I just thought I saw something. I threw a rock at it and it was nothing though. Can... is there any way I’d be able to switch shifts? I think my eyes are playing tricks on me. I need to get some sleep.” Bucky pats his shoulder and nods.

“You go get some shuteye, I’ll take over for you.” The young man glances across the water again then heads away from the rail and below deck to the crew’s quarters.

“Alright, everyone. Make quick work of rowing to shore. We don’t want to be in the deeper waters for longer than we must,” Steve says, taking the first of a few longboats.

“I’ll... I’ll catch up. I want to gather my thoughts,” Peter says as the second last boat goes. “You’re alright rowing by yourself?” Bucky asks from inside the longboat. Peter nods, needing time to himself. Bucky nods and rows away with the boat full of people, leaving Peter to himself.

After a few moments he lowers the longboat then jumps in, grabbing the oars and slowly rowing towards the shore.

“Peter,” you whisper while breaking the surface right beside him. “Jesus!” He tosses the oar half a foot away from him and nearly tips the boat over in his state of fright. “I am sorry. I did not mean to scare.”

He looks at you then does a double-take, your beauty so much more enchanting in the daylight. “(Y/n)...” You rest your arms on the side of the boat and look up at him. “Yes, Peter?” He simply stares at you, taking in your form for the first time up close, enjoying your strangely accented voice.

Your eyes are a striking shade of (y/e/c), brilliant and bright. Your skin, smooth and (s/c) is covered in iridescent scales. The scales are light on your face, only on your jawline and by your hairline, not covering your face. On your neck, they gradually get more concentrated and underneath your collarbones, they cover you like a skin-tight suit.

Peter slowly leans forwards, his eyes moving down past the edge of the boat and into the clear water where your tail would be. “Peter?” His eyes snap back up to your face and he backs up a bit. “You’re out... It’s bright outside. Someone could see you.” You look around then back up to him. “I have never been this close to a human before,” You whisper, raising a hand off of the boat and slowly extending it towards him.

“Can I touch?” He looks at the webbing between your scaly fingers and the stabilizing wings on your forearm then nods, looking to your eyes as you run your fingers over his shirt, feeling the fabric carefully. “It is soft,” you whisper after a moment, looking back up to his eyes. He nods then looks towards the dock. “I need to go to shore. They’ll be waiting.” You frown and pull your hand back.

“We’re staying here for a few days. Then we’ll be back on the water.” You nod your understanding and bite your bottom lip. You slowly move away from the boat and head swim backwards.

“Bye Bye Peter.” You turn around. “Wait! Will I see you again?” He asks. You smile to yourself and raise one of your hands out of the water. “I leave the rock where I will be.” He smiles and watches as you submerge yourself, your tail flicking above the water as you swim away.

“Tonight, good men, we splurge! Find a dame, a woman. Let yourselves go! We leave in a few days so enjoy yourselves!” Steve cries, his arm around a brown-haired woman with a British accent. Bucky is with a different brown-haired woman, this one voluptuous. “Don’t expect to see us around anytime soon either,” Bucky adds while kissing the woman.

Peter turns away and walks out of the bar and down to the beach, sitting in the sand as the moon shines down brightly, a warm breeze blowing through his curly brown hair. He looks down either side of the beach, stopping as his eyes rest on a pair of legs on the dry sand. He follows the legs and stops on the face, his heart stuttering.

He runs through the sand, probably looking ridiculous, and slows when he nears you.

You’re lying on the sand, unconscious and naked.

He pulls his sweater off and drapes it over your body before carefully shaking your arm. “(Y/n)?” Your breathing is heavy and it concerns him a bit, the concert getting shoved away as you slowly open your eyes.

“Peter?” You ask softly, pushing yourself up onto your forearms. The sweater falls off of your skin and Peter blushes, pick it up and draping it over your shoulders. “How... how do you have legs?” He asks, his fingers hovering over them for a moment before he pulls his hand back. “Mermaid can be human out of water.” He nods and looks around.

“You stay here. I’m gonna go grab you some clothes. Then we’ll... take it from there, okay?” You nod your head yes and watch him with wide eyes as he stands up and walks away from the beach. You look down at your own legs and wiggle your toes, giggling a little at the feel of it. You dig your feet into the sand and throw your head back laughing at the tickling feeling of the sand between your toes.

Peter hears your tinkling laugh and can’t help but smile, wondering what’s causing it. He grabs some clothes from a store with no one watching and hurries back to you.

“Here, I got you some pants that looked your size and I figured you could keep my sweater.” You look up at him with a smile on your face. “Peter is kind. Why?” He hands you the clothes and shrugs, “because (Y/n) is kind.” Your eyes soften and you look away, down to the clothes.

“Can Peter help (Y/n)? Please?” Peter nods and takes the pants from your hands, straightening them then gently taking one of your ankles and putting it through the leg hole. He does the same on the other leg then takes your hands and brings them to his shoulders.

“I’m going to stand up with you. Hold onto me.” You nod and let him pull you to a standing position. His hands grab the waistband of the comfortably tight pants and he pulls them up all the way, a fiery blush staining his cheeks the entire time. His fingers rest on your waist for a moment before he pulls them away to help you into the sweater.

As soon as it’s on properly you grab his hand and look at it closely, your eyes flashing to his as you rest your hand against his. He stays perfectly still as you bring your other hand to his chest, his shirt unbuttoned and open. Your hand rests on his bare skin, tracing over the crisp lines of his muscles.

“Peter is soft,” you whisper, your fingers trailing down lightly below his bellybutton, following the line of hair until you get to his pants. “Yeah, my skin is soft. So is yours.”

You smile, “(y/n) is soft too?” He chuckles and brings his hand up to your face, his fingers lightly tracing your cheek and down your neck. “Yes. (Y/n) is very soft.” You close your eyes as Peter’s hands move down your neck. He pulls away only to grab your waist, his fingers pressing into the soft skin under the sweater.

“So soft,” he mutters. You sigh and slowly open your eyes. “Will Peter tell (Y/n) about humans?” You ask quietly, looking up into his soft brown eyes. “Uh... sure. W-What do you wanna know?” You bring your hands to his shoulders and usher him down to the sand. “Everything.”

Peter lies down on the sand with you beside him, your hands in his as he tells you everything you want to know.

#jolly sailor bold #mermaid #mermaid aesthetic #mermaid au #pirate au #siren au #siren #pirate #Peter Parker #Pirate!Peter #freeform siren #ryn inspired #Peter Parker x reader #peter parker x y/n #Peter Parker x mermaid!reader #Peter Parker x reader mermaid au #Peter Parker x reader pirate au #pirate!Peter Parker x mermaid!reader #pirate!Peter x mermaid!reader

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nightlock-1989 · 4 years

Text

Side-Parts and Skinny Jeans

A short story about what happens when Millennials find out Gen Z is ripping on their precious side-parts and skinny jeans.

Context: I am a 31 year old proud Millennial. I graduated in 2007. One day, scrolling through Tik Tok, I kept seeing things about old people and their side-parts and skinny jeans. I googled it and what do you know? Forget the Boomers because the Zoomers are targeting us now. Thought it might make a good Everlark story. You can also find it on AO3 here.

Takes place in September so that school could be in person again. Enjoy!

September 2021

The first week back when school begins is always taxing on both the students and staff. Add in 18 months of virtual learning at home and it’s a surprise that everyone isn’t already passed out in Haymitch Abernathy’s yard a victory.

It’s always been a tradition. The principal hosts the school staff the first Friday after the school year begins for a barbeque and alcohol. Normally alcohol is always aplenty since it’s Haymitch but this year everyone is a little even more stressed.

Effie Trinket, the school secretary is walking around with a tray of Jell-O shots.

“Thanks, Trinkie,” Haymitch gruffs before slurping down a green one and handing one to the English teacher Peeta Mellark. He hesitates briefly before Delly Cartwright, pulls it out of his hands and slurps it down.

“Very nice,” Haymitch remarks.

“Thank you, Mr. Abernathy,” she responds.

“You know you can call him, Haymitch; right?” Finnick O’Dair, history teacher, reminds.

“HA,” Peeta responds.

“He’ll always be Mr. Abernathy,” Delly tells.

“You’re 28,” Finnick says

“Doesn’t matter,” Katniss Everdeen, biology teacher and Peeta Mellark’s lifelong crush strides forward.

“Sweetheart,” Haymitch gestures.

“Mr. Abernathy,” Katniss greets.

Peeta and Delly both point fingers at Finnick.

“Grill’s ready,” Effie hollers.

Katniss takes a Jell-O shot and sighs before tipping it back.

“Is this the first time we’ve all drank together?” Delly asks gesturing between Peeta and Katniss.

Katniss, Peeta, and Delly were in the same grade at District 12 high; however, only Delly and Peeta hung out. Katniss kept to herself for the most part, having a difficult life. Katniss was the newest hire at District 12, having transferred over from 8 last year. She didn’t attend last year’s barbeque to Peeta’s sadness.

When Peeta saw Katniss in the auditorium for in-staff training, he nearly fainted and when he realized she lived in the same apartment village, he thought he would have a heart attack. Although she still sports her signature braid every now and then, she’s taken to wearing her hair down and walks with a new-found confidence that has only made her sexier. Everyone knows how much he likes her, except Katniss.

“Probably,” Katniss answers heading over to the kiddie pool filled with beer. She bends down to pick one up, giving Peeta the perfect view of her ass. Her jeans fit like a second glove and Delly smacks Peeta in the chest to get him to stop gawking.

The food is ready, and everyone dishes up. The alcohol and conversation flow generously.

Haymitch begins telling a story about how for seniors, they have alternatives for the seniors who have a lot of detentions left to serve. Instead of serving one detention at a time, they can pick up trash or volunteer for a student event.

“So, we needed someone to remove the gum from under all the auditorium seats.”

Katniss groans.

“All 896. I offer to free up 4 detentions. Sweetheart had 12. No one is taking it, but I can tell that I’ve got some interest peaked. I get up to 7 and Katniss sees Johanna about to pounce. She screams, “I volunteer, I volunteer.””

“Well, I wasn’t the only one who volunteered,” Katniss reminds before looking at Peeta.

“Sweetheart, you aren’t even the butt of this story. Then, the boy over here,” he says while gesturing to Peeta who puts his face into his hands, “also volunteers. I was only looking for one.”

“You let us both though,” Katniss says.

“The deal was for seven detentions total,” Haymitch emphasizes.

“But seven of mine did get wiped out,” Katniss says.

“Exactly,” Haymitch points out. “The boy didn’t even have any detentions.”

Everyone but Peeta and Katniss roar with laughter.

“Wait, what? I’m so confused,” Katniss says more to herself because she’s at that point of intoxication.

“You really always have been Brainless,” Johanna Mason, physical education teacher teases. “Let’s get another beer,” she says, pulling Katniss with her.

Delly’s phone chimes so she takes a look. Peeta, still mortified is keeping his eyes on the two girls but he stops staring when he hears, “Miss Cartwright, Miss Everdeen, Miss Mason.”

“What’s that,” he asks looking towards her phone. Delly has open the Tik Tok app and the short video shows video of the respective teachers at the same time as their name.

“Side parts and skinny jeans…….so old,” the voice in the video adds.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” Delly shrieks as she chucks her beer bottle into the yard.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Johanna asks.

Delly is in such a mini-rage that she picks up her fold up chair and also chucks that off of the deck. She reaches for the outdoor end table before Finnick grabs her wrist and pulls her into him.

“Are you okay, Delly?” Katniss attempts to rush forward but trips in the process. Peeta rushes to help her up.

“We,” Delly emphasizes by pointing to all the young teachers, “have all had to deal with fucking everything. School shootings, terrorist attacks on live TV, two fucking wars, the housing market crashing, a great fucking recession, $4.00 gallons of gas, a global pandemic, ANOTHER FUCKING RECESSION….and now THIS. I’M NOT EVEN 30,” she finishes before letting out a guttural moan. Katniss leans in closer to Peeta, obviously scared before Johanna marches up to Delly who is holding up her phone.

They all crowd around and watch the offending video. It is showing the various female teachers and on the bottom is a tally marking all the women who have a side part and skinny jeans.

Johanna is first to break the silence by grabbing her folding chair and hurling it off the deck.

“Those little Tide-Pod eating Zoomers can go rot in hell.”

“Yeah, why can’t they just nearly succumb to alcohol poisoning in the cornfield like we did?” Delly cries.

“I like my side part,” Katniss says to herself.

“I have full-bodied hair. A middle part is boring,” Delly whines.

“Do they want us to wear the stupid mom jeans that they’re donning?” Johanna volleys back.

“Would they like it if we just went back to fucking ultra-low-rise jeans and had our thongs on display again because I’m not going back to that, Finnick,” Delly sobs into his chest.

“I didn’t say anything,” Finnick interjects staring cluelessly at Peeta. “Wait, wasn’t this like a thing in the spring?”

“They didn’t make a fricken Tik Tok that specifically targeted us then” Johanna states.

“Does this mean I have to give up my skinny jeans?” Katniss asks to the empty space next to her.

“Don’t even think that, your ass looks fantastic in them,” Peeta answers.

Everyone goes quiet and stares at Peeta. He is perplexed before he realizes he actually said that out loud.

“No—I didn’t mean that,” Peeta begins before backtracking, “You know what, I didn’t mean that either…. I’m just going to go over there.” He heads down the deck stairs and grabs one of the chairs and plops down on it.

There is an awkward silence before Finnick says, “you should just side part your hair even harder.”

All three girls light up before agreeing. Katniss looks out and sees Peeta sitting alone. Delly tilts her head in a “go talk to him” motion, Finnick smiles and nods, and Johanna mimics a blow job.

Katniss orders an Uber before she heads over to Peeta.

“Peeta,” Katniss begins. He looks up with such sadness that Katniss interrupts him before he can even start, “Why’d you volunteer?”

“Um,” he stalls. “You know what, fuck it,” he resigns. “I had a huge crush on you growing up and I just wanted a reason to hang out with you.”

“So, you volunteered to remove chewing gum off hundreds of seats during our spring break?”

“Yep,” he answers with a pop.

“You know you only said like four words that whole time we were cleaning up?”

“That’s because when I’m around you, I feel like a mumbling idiot. Even now, 10 years after high school, you make me feel like- “He is interrupted by Katniss’s lips. She pulls back and smiles.

“Um, how drunk are you?”

“Definitely Ubering……. but I’ll definitely remember this in the morning.” She leans in again. He breaks apart long enough for him to stand and continue the kiss. Cheering can be heard from the deck causing both of them to laugh.

“Did you mean what you said about how good I look in these skinny jeans?”

“They look amazing on you.”

She leans up and whispers in his ear, “I think they’d look a lot better on your bedroom floor.” An alert sounds on Katniss’s phone. “Uber is here.”

Peeta wastes no time in grabbing her hand and practically dragging her to the car.

Effie comes out with another round of Jell-O-Shots while Haymitch grabs one.

“To young love,” he says.

“To side parts,” Delly adds.

“To skinny jeans,” Johanna finishes.

“We’re going to tease them mercilessly on Monday; right?” Finnick asks.

“Duh,” Delly states while everyone laughs.

Monday morning comes around and true to what Finnick suggested, their side parts are more pronounced, and they are all donning skinny jeans, their own form of mini rebellion.

And once again, Katniss’s pair ends up on Peeta’s floor that night.

#everlark

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petersasteria · 4 years

Note

💌- sam holland//mad hatter

I don’t write for Sam Holland, but I’ll make an exception.

𝐌𝐀𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 - "𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢'𝐦 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢'𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧��"

Warning: it gets weirder and it’s not for the fainthearted. Probably not for minors as well. There’s no smut tho... only mentions of sex. You have been warned. Welcome to the weird side of my mind. 2.5k words

“Hello, Sam.” The psychiatrist greeted with a smile. Sam looked at her and only gave her a nod. “Is there any reason why you’re here today, Sam? A little birdie told me you needed some help. What happened?”

Sam looked at her with fear in his eyes as tears clouded his vision. He shakes his head and whimpered, “I’m not crazy. I’m normal! I swear, I am! I’m not crazy, but she is.”

“No one’s saying you’re crazy.” The psychiatrist smiled. She had a kind face and she was mother-like. The job suited her because her voice is calm and soothing. “Who is she?”

Sam closed his eyes as vivid flashbacks replayed on his mind. It flashed in his mind like it was being played on a projector and he was the only audience. He took a deep breath and said, “She lived two streets away...”

Sam never really went out a lot, but when he would go out, he’d stay out all day. The rest of the family wouldn’t question him as long as he got home safe and sound and unharmed. When he received a bike from his uncle, he thought it’d be best to try it out. After all, it’s been years since he rode a bike and this way, he’d be saving the Earth from pollution if he biked to work instead.

He popped his earphones on and got on his new bike and pedalled. He had no destination in mind and he was confident that he wouldn’t get lost because he grew up in the area and he knew a lot of places like this back of his hand. It was safe to say that he trusted himself and that was important.

He went through a few turns until he reached the other street. There wasn’t much to see, but he waved at a few of the neighbors he knew. When he turned again, he reached another street. It was at this time when he figured that he should go home. Instead of going back the way he came, he just biked straight ahead. He can’t possibly get lost. The streets have names and he knew what his street was and he knew how to get there from different ways.

He eyed at some of the house and inwardly judged at which house he liked best when suddenly he saw an abandoned house. He stopped in front of it and realized that not only was it abandoned, but it was also ruined.

The windows were no longer there and there were shards of glass on the ground. There was no grass and the steps of the front porch were broken. The second floor of the house was nonexistent, but two pillars were there. The walls on the ground floor were destroyed and it looked like the whole place was burned down.

Sam was in shock. He had never seen a house like that before. What he failed to notice was a girl about his age emerging from the bushes that had no leaves anymore.

“Hi there!” The girl grinned. Sam didn’t want to comment about her fashion sense and the way she grinned, so he gave her a small smile and said hello.

The girl moved and stood next to Sam as they faced the ruined house together. No one said anything for a while, but the girl broke it.

“What a shame.” The girl said. She was dressed in quite fancy yet eccentric clothing. She even had a fancy hat and laced gloves on her hands. She was wearing socks on top of her boots as well; another thing Sam failed to notice.

“Yeah, a shame indeed.” Sam nodded. “D’you know the person who lived here?” The girl nodded. Sam asked, “Who lived here?”

“Me.” The girl giggled. “I burned this place down because I’m having a party.”

“I’m sorry. WHAT?” Sam shrieked. He’s never met anyone who would burn the whole place down.

The girl laughed, “All this for a party. How extravagant!”

“What’s the occasion?” Sam asked.

“My whole family died in a tragic vacation accident. I felt the need to celebrate.” The girl grinned.

“Celebrate? Why would you celebrate? You lost your whole family! That must be so traum-”

“It’s the most tremendous news I’ve ever received. They think I’m crazy and I’m glad they’re all gone. That way, no one would judge me and my eccentric ways of living anymore.” The girl clapped happily.

“What’s your name?” Sam looked at her. Despite her weirdness, she was pretty.

“Y/N. What’s yours?”

“Sam.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Sam.” Y/N grinned. She shoved her hand in her pocket and fished out a crumpled card that had very fancy printing. Sam took it from her and he tried to read it, but failed. It was crumpled up really well.

“That’s an invitation to my party later tonight. Wear your BEST attire.” Y/N looked at him up and down, “Don’t wear any of that garbage.”

He was dressed casually. He wore khaki shorts, white sneakers, and a long sleeved shirt, the type of shirt Troy Bolton would wear. On top of that was an old jacket that never closed anymore because the zipper is missing.

Sam nodded and said, “I’ll, uh, do my best then.”

Night time came and he wore a button up and some pants and old sneakers. He hoped it was eccentric enough for the party. He told his family that he was invited by a friend and he went to the party.

Upon arriving at the house, he parked his new bike outside and saw fairy lights everywhere: on the trees, around the two pillars on the second floor, the grass-less ground, the wires and just- everywhere. The party also had balloons, streamers,

He walked to the backyard because he saw that everyone was there. Y/N saw him and grinned, “Sam, you made it! You’re just in time for musical chairs.”

‘Musical chairs?’ He thought to himself. ‘The last time I played musical chairs, I was about 10 years old.’

Y/N grabbed his wrist and led him to the long table. She made him sit next to her and just when he got comfortable, Y/N and the person on his right grabbed his hands as they all got up and moved around the table as if playing “Ring Around The Rosie”. They all sang a song for about a minute and sat down again. Only this time, on different chairs.

Sam looked around the table and he saw everyone eating and talking. He figured he’d do the same, so he grabbed a cookie and took a bite. He hummed in delight as the sweet flavor of the cookie swirled on his taste buds. When he looked up from the cookie, he saw everyone looking at him.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked Y/N.

“You ate the cookie.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just that I saw everyone eating and I figured I should... eat as well.” Sam explained. He felt foolish and embarrassed.

“Only females who have the red tide can eat the breast cookie.” Y/N said.

‘Did she fucking say ‘breast cookie’?!’ Sam asked himself while maintaining a cool expression.

“What’s a breast cookie?”

“The one you just ate. It’s made of breast milk. Regular milk is overrated. We all thank Madame Amanda for providing us with such great breast milk.” Y/N smiled towards a lady who sat a few seats across from her.

“And because Y/N’s guest ate the wrong food, we must fix the curse. Move!” One of them said.

Before Sam knew it, his hands were grabbed and they moved around the table once more. When they got comfy on their new seats, Y/N handed him the food he’s allowed to eat. An hour and 5 more times of switching seats later, ‘musical chairs’ was done.

Everyone stood up from their seats and moved to the center of the backyard. Sam followed Y/N’s actions and was surprised to hear that it was time to drink.

‘Finally some alcohol!’ Sam thought.

He was wrong. He seemed to forget that the people around him weren’t like him.

“What are we drinking?” Sam asked.

“It’s actually a drinking game. We’re all split into three groups and whichever group finishes the fastest, wins.” Y/N grinned and clapped her hands excitedly causing Sam to be excited too.

While everything was being set up, Sam conversed with Y/N a bit and then Amanda, the breast milk lady, said, “Split yourselves into three groups! If you wish to not join, you may watch at the side.”

Sam looked around and saw a few people moving to the side. He saw them having a look of pure disgust. He was about to approach one of them when Y/N grabbed his attention, “Sam, it’s rude to stare. The cum shots are ready.”

‘The cum shots? What?!’ Sam inwardly said to himself. Surely, he heard his wrong.

“The what?” Sam asked.

“The cum shots. Alcohol is overrated and this solves over population. Besides, it’s not just anyone’s cum. They’re from the guys here and some of the girls. It’s a wild card.” Y/N said with a grin.

“I’ll pass, then.” Sam said with a tight-lipped smile.

“Pass? Why?”

“I’m, uh...” He thought of a lie quick. “I have a fatal cum allergy.” Sam said and pretended to be upset.

Y/N laughed and said, “A fatal cum allergy? I knew I liked you. Guys with that allergy are so rare to find. Go and stand over there, then. Have fun watching.”

Sam wanted to vomit as he watched everyone down the shots like there was no tomorrow.

“Disgusting, innit?” A guy next to him said and Sam nodded.

“Very.” Sam said, looking away from it all.

“Run while you can before your mind gets ruined forever. Whatever you do, never come back here after this. People like you end up in The Pod.”

“The Pod?” Sam asked in confusion.

“That’s what we call a mental hospital.”

“Why would they end up in The Pod?” Sam asked, afraid.

“They told everyone what happens here and no one believed them. These people that you see right now? They’re not like this sometimes. They’re actually normal people. Sometimes too normal it becomes creepy.” The guy explained.

“You’ll go insane if you tell anyone because no one will believe you. Run while you can.” The guy said and walked away when he saw Y/N approaching.

“What did he say to you?” Y/N asked.

“Nothing.” Sam lied. “We just talked about my fatal cum allergy.”

“Ahh, yes.” Y/N nodded. “Anyway, it’s time for my favorite part. Popping the balloons.”

“Okay.” Sam said, thankful that there’s a normal activity. Sam went back to the center of the backyard with Y/N. She handed him a gun and said, “Since you’re a guest, it’s your job to pop the biggest balloon.”

Sam eyed the gun and the biggest pink balloon. ”The prize is inside.” Y/N giggled like a high school girl.

Sam nodded and gulped. He aimed at the biggest balloon and pulled the trigger. Lucky for him, the bullet went through the balloon and it popped causing the contents of the balloon to fall.

Inside the balloon were: confetti, condoms, tea bags, heart shaped candies, pregnancy tests, and a small flashlight.

“Go on and pick the ones you want, Sam. You’ll definitely need the flashlight later for another game.” Y/N said as she picked up a few things.

“What do I need the flashlight for?” Sam questioned.

“Us girls are hiding something inside us and you boys have to find it. That’s what the flashlight is for.” Y/N explained before leaning in to whisper, “I’m hiding a small ring inside me.” She winked and smiled.

“What happens after that?” Sam asked.

“Sex.” Y/N shrugged. “It’s not just any sex, though. All the fair light will be closed and we’ll all have sex out here in the dark. The best part is we wouldn’t know who we had sex with. It’s a wildcard.”

“Just like the cum shots?”

“Just like the cum shots.”

Sam never thought he’d say words like that. In fact, he knew he should’ve declined the invite in the first place, but he figured it’d be nice to meet new people. He knew Y/N was weird, but he didn’t know she was bonkers.

“I actually have to go home now. I’m not feeling well.” Sam said politely.

“Oh, what a shame.” Y/N pouted. “I hope you’ll join the orgy next time you’re back and healthy. We’ll be painting white roses with blood on the next party. See you there.”

Sam gave her a tight-lipped smile, bid her goodbye, and left. He never came back, but the thought of keeping everything to himself made him antsy. A few days later, he finally cracked and told everything to Harry.

Then Tom.

Then Harrison.

Then Tuwaine.

The 4 men were concerned about him. After all, who wouldn’t be concerned? Sam told them the most absurd thing. Sam went as far as taking them to the house and sure enough, it was still ruined just like the day he saw it.

The only difference is, Y/N is nowhere to be found.

“I swear she’s here! You have to believe me.” Sam pleaded.

Tom looked at him and asked, “Sam, are you on drugs? If you are, that’s so unlike you.”

“I’m not on drugs! I’m telling the truth!” Sam said. He looked around and he saw Y/N wearing normal clothes and she seemed to be walking her dog.

“That’s her!” Sam pointed.

“Excuse me, miss!” Harrison called out causing Y/N to look over. He motioned for her to walk closer and she obeyed.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know him?” Harrison nodded his head at Sam as Sam looked at Y/N with pleading eyes. “He claims that you drank cum shots and have orgies at your party the other day. He also claims that you threw a party because your family died in a tragic accident. And is it true that you burned your own house down just for the party to make it extravagant?”

Y/N smiled sadly and said, “It’s true that I lost my family, but I would never throw a party to celebrate such loss. I would also never burn down my only living space. It was an accident; I left the oven on and it burned everything.”

“I’m so sorry.” Harrison said. “You may go now.”

Y/N nodded and left without sparing Sam one more glance.

“Liar!” Sam screamed and lunged towards her. Before he could do anything, Tom held him back and nodded at Harry.

“We’re scheduling you with a psychiatrist. You need help, mate.” Harry said, tapping away on his phone.

“That’s why I’m here now.” Sam said and finished his story.

The psychiatrist nodded and told him that it could be a realistic dream or something that linked to his past. To Sam, the psychiatrist didn’t make sense. He nodded along nonetheless. He wasn’t prescribed with anything, but he was told to stay away from the ruined house.

When Sam got home, he checked their mailbox and saw nothing except for a note. He grabbed the note and it read:

‘I hope you learned your lesson from silently judging people. Just because someone else’s normal isn’t your kind of normal, doesn’t mean it’s less normal.

- Y/N x’

* * * *

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 (bc he’s the twin so why not): @sufwubi @abrielleholland @purplepizza-summerrain @euphorichxlland @marshxx @lizzyosterfield @justanamesstuff @croissantwriting @blueleatherbag @givebuckyhisplumsnow

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @marvelousell @justasmisunderstoodasloki @rubberducky-jrr @allyz @osterfieldnholland @miraclesoflove @god-knows-what-am-i-doing @drie-the-derp @hollands-weasley @itstaskeen @call-me-baby-gir1 @the-panwitch @iamaunicorn4704 @geminiparkers @holland-styles @calltothewild @fancyxparker @whatthefuckimbisexual @justanothermarvelmaniac @unsaidholland @musicalkeys @lost-in-the-stars03 @hufflepuffprincess24 @hollanddolanfangirl @parkerpeter24 @bellelittleoff @agentnataliahofferson @aqiise @lexirv @blairscott @pearly-pisces @theonly1outof-a-billion @u-rrose @speedymaximoff @theliterarymess @beequeen8020 @justafangirlduh

add yourself to my taglist if you’re cool x

#k's 1k sleepover #k's 1k 💌#sam holland #sam holland x reader

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emilywaters · 3 years

Text

2021 Pride Month Oneshots - Day 3

30 Queer Oneshots in honour of pride month

Day 3 - Soukoku

Ao3 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/31735966

Wattpad - https://www.wattpad.com/1080421227-2021-pride-month-oneshots-day-3-soukoku

Summary - Dazai and Chuuya create a react video together. That's it. That's the fic.

When I was trying to come up with ideas for this chapter I couldn't decide between - https://www.tiktok.com/@ded_midorich/video/6918991434267757825?lang=en&is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6948319693262308865

and - https://www.tiktok.com/@mellowmess_cosplays/video/6968870386083564806?lang=en&is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6948319693262308865

So I just did both 🏳‍🌈✌🌈🦄

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"Is it recording? Yeah, okay."

Chuuya waved at the camera. "Hey, girls, gays and non-binary baes! Welcome to another episode of Double Black React." Dazai squealed in the background, spinning around in a wheely office chair. "Last week, I asked you to comment some assumptions about us, and you delivered. So today, we'll be reacting to them." He pulled the brunet next to him, "Behave." He muttered in a low voice.

"Oh, we already started recording?" Dazai grinned excitedly, "Hey girls, gays and non-binary baes! Happy pride month! In honour of pride, he's a video of us making out."

Chuuya pinched Dazai's side, making him yelp, "We are NOT posting a video of us making out-"

"So, you admit there ARE videos of us making out!"

Chuuya rolled his eyes, but he didn't deny the claim. "Let's get back on topic. Okay, first comment; 'Chuuya and Dazai are one hundred percent dating, I take no criticism."

Dazai gulped his coffee, "Yeah, no. I have a thing called standards."

"Oh please, you will date any pretty girl willing t die with you," Chuuya snarked.

"Exactly. You neither a girl nor pretty."

"Believe me; I wouldn't date you either. I prefer people with souls."

"You pain me, Chu-chu," Dazai draped himself over Chuuya dramatically.

Chuuya snorted, "Pack it up, Oikawa kinnie."

Dazai recoiled in indignation, but Chuuya had already moved onto the next comment.

" 'Idk if you are dating, but you have fucked at least once'."

Dazai winked, looking directly at the camera, "That would be telling."

Chuuya pushed him away from the camera, "NO, we haven't had sex. He'd be awful in bed."

"That's not what you were saying when you were moaning my na-"

"MOVING ON; 'Chuuya puts cereal first, milk second, Dazai puts bleach first, tide pods second'."

"Believe it or not, this happens monthly," Chuuya smacked Dazai, probably for some disturbance out of the camera's view. " I actually had to buy a lockbox for all the poisonous cleaning products in the house."

"It's true," Dazai nodded sagely, "it's called tide pod Tuesday."

"So, this is not about us, but I'll read it anyways; 'Are White tiger and Rashomon dating?' If you didn't know, White tiger and Rashomon are two of our friends and fellow YouTubers. And to answer your question, no, they are not dating."

"They should, though," Dazai added, "The sexual tension is beginning to overwhelm me." Dazai swallowed a cookie whole then gagged on it. "That cookie is homophobic." He stated after chewing and swallowing, glaring at the plate of cookies in offence. "It tried to choke me."

"Choke on it and die."

"How about you choke on my-"

"You are insufferable. Next comment; 'Dazai is a chaotic bisexual with a preference for women and Chuuya. And Chuuya is omnisexual with a preference for Dazai.'"

Chuuya took a sip from his mug, "Well, what do you think, Dazai? Are you bi?"

Dazai leaned back on his chair, "I don't know, Chuuya. Are you gay?"

They turned their attention to the camera.

"I guess we'll never know," they chorused.

Dazai grabbed the phone from Chuuya and began rapidly scrolling, "Now that we have seen all the normal comments, let's look at some of the more interesting ones."

"Oi! Shittydazai, give me back the phone!" Chuuya tried to grab it, but Dazai jumped on his chair and held it out of reach. "I swear to god if you pick some obscene comment, I will fucking murder you."

"Oh please, like I have to be obscene with your filthy mouth around." Dazai tripped, and the wheely chair whizzed under him. Dazai crashed to the ground in an untidy heap. "I think I broke something," he groaned.

Chuuya cursed under his breath and rushed next to Dazai. "Where does it hurt?" He demanded.

"My ego," Dazai groaned. "And my wrist."

Chuuya helped Dazai sit on a chair and gently placed his hand on the table. "I can't see anything because of your damn bandages," Chuuya grumbled, unravelling them. He carefully examined Dazai's wrist, noting the redness and swelling. Dazai winced whenever his fingers grazed his skin. Chuuya finally got up and disappeared out the door. He returned with an icepack, bandages and scissors.

"Lucky for you, it's just a sprain." Chuuya returned to his seat. "I've told you so many times not to climb on the chair. Maybe this will teach you to listen to me more often." Chuuya continued reprimanding Dazai as he placed the ice pack on his wrist. Once the swelling went down, he wrapped his hand with fresh bandages.

Chuuya glanced at the camera still recording the duo. "We're going to have to edit this out," he remarked, releasing Dazai's wrist from his care.

"Oh, if we are going to edit this out, might as well do this," Dazai leaned forward and kissed Chuuya's cheek. "Thanks, babe."

"Don't call me that." Chuuya's face turned red, and he busied himself putting the things away. He didn't speak until the two were reseated and ready to continue recording.

"So to recap the crash you heard, Dazai stood on his chair, then he fell off it and sprained his wrist, but he's fine now. Let's pick up from where we left off." Chuuya picked up the phone. " 'Dazai is actually the better cook, but Chuuya is amazing with desserts and sweets'."

Chuuya gaped at the screen in shock. "Where are the cameras? Where are the fucking cameras?" He checked the username, "Dear Chuuyaisabaker, how tf did you know this? Like where are the fucking cameras?"

"Chuuya once burnt a pot boiling pasta. He also added salt instead of sugar. To." Dazai gave a shit-eating grin. "And this one time, he put soy sauce instead of syrup on his pancakes, and he was too proud to admit he made a mistake, so he ate them."

Chuuya poked Dazai's injured wrist, making him shut up. Chuuya glared at his partner, "You don't get to talk, Mr substitute-whipped-eggwhites-with-whipped-cream. Not to mention the time you got a stomach bug from eating the cake you baked."

Chuuya was about to retell every one of Dazai's baking disasters, but the brunette cut in, "And that's our cue to end this video! It was great fun seeing us from your pov. Keep sending us comments, Like and Subscribe, if you haven't already. Bye, hoes!"

Dazai stopped the recording and relaxed onto his chair. He kept glancing at his wrist and wincing. Chuuya sighed to himself. He knew the stubborn asshole would never tell him if he was in pain, which is why he had acquired the acute ability to sense Dazai's thoughts through mild changes in posture and behaviour. Dazai no doubt could read Chuuya like a book, so of course, he picked up on the redhead's worry.

"Don't worry about me, Chuuya," Dazai said tersely. "I'm fine. It barely hurts."

Chuuya rolled his eyes, "You're a terrible liar."

Dazai laughed, "Actually, I'm an amazing liar. So much so you don't believe me when I'm telling the truth."

"I'm going to the pharmacy to get painkillers," Chuuya stated, standing up.

"Oh, do you have a headache?"

"It's for you, you dumbass," Chuuya huffed before walking out the room. Dazai heard the familiar click of the front door and the usual slam of Chuuya leaving.

He smiled softly to himself, fingering the delicately wrapped bandage. Chuuya had him wrapped around his thumb, and he didn't even realize it.

#soukoku #bungou stray dogs #bungou gay dogs #nakahara chuuya #dazai osamu #fluff #gaypride #doubleblack #youtubers

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dontasktheradiodemon · 4 years

Text

Tower #2 (1/2/2021)

Click here if you’re like “What the heck is this about?”

Direct follow-up to this chat log.

Rhedd @sackreligion ducks in on Alastor @usedhearts and Alastor @dontasktheradiodemon. He’s eaten a chunk of soap. These things happen.

Anyway Dontask Alastor wants heelies now.

Rhedd

Hiccup. A soap bubble flits down from the ceiling, so innocuously. And then another, until a *certain radio demon* can be seen if one only looks up. He's peeking his head out upside down from a black portal.

usedhearts Alastor

The sound doesn't make Alastor jump, or start. He doesn't even look up from his phone for a second or two after. But then, slowly, his eyes lift, trailing up the wall until they lock on Rhedd, dangling out of a portal from the ceiling. Well!

"Can I.....help you?" He asks, raising a brow.

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

Alastor is ALMOST out of hearing range when his alternate speaks. He immediately ducks back in, curious. “Oh!” His eyes light up. ... More. “Well, speak of the devil!”

Rhedd

His hand raises (or lowers?) and though his mouth doesn't move at all, his voice is heard.

<<HELLO! This isn't a HIDEY PLACE, is IT? I thought I'd DROP IN and TUNE IN to my FAVORITE FREQUENCY but I MAY have THE WRONG NUMBER! HAHA!>>

usedhearts Alastor

Oh! Were they playing that game? Alastor's teeth lock in place as well, and when he speaks, its far more tinny and static backed than before.

"_Not to much a hidey place as a tucked away place! Not sure which frequency that is, but there are a lot here! Numbers and dials and buttons, oh my!_"

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

Y’all are being silly, Alastor’s talking with his actual mouth. “It would make for a poor hidey place, a broadcasting station inside a lighthouse! Why, we’re just about the most noticeable point on the island, ha! If we’re not broadcasting on your favorite frequency already, I’m sure we could pirate it!”

Rhedd

He slips back into the portal, only to crawl out of someone else's shadow. Feels like seaweed.

<<WELL! That's POSSIBLE! After all, WHEREVER I AM, they! ARE! >>

He's wearing a horrible hoodie, shutter shades and look at that glittery black lipstick. His ear tag jingles.

He's petting the red radio in his satchel. And as SOON as Rhedd opens his mouth, a sea of foam escapes. He looks like he's in pain,

usedhearts Alastor

Oh that terrible hoodie. Alastor's decidedly NOT looking at it. Instead he looks at the foam coming out of Rhedd's mouth. This time he doesn't stop his mouth from moving as he speaks.

"What in the world happened with you, my good man! You look positively rabid!"

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

He takes one look and asks mildly, “Tide pod?”

Look, it’s not a bad guess. He’s been there. He understands.

Rhedd

"-oap!"

His voice is more akin to a gurgle, and he lifts a finger, opening a portal to shove his head through. There's nothing, no sound, but he's clearly straining....

And then he pulls his head back out, coughing and wiping his mouth as more bubbles pop up.

"Took a BITE! Couldn't RESIST!"

usedhearts Alastor

"Was it one of those ones that look like cupcakes? Or that are just shaped in general? Always tempted to take a bite out of one of those!" Alastor laughed, his foot bopping to unheard music where it sat on the table.

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

Alastor cracks up when Rhedd's head disappears. He manages to wheeze to his still-headed alternate, "Headless horseman." Cue the neighing sound effect.

When all of Rhedd is back in the room, he says, "Nice of you to return to us! I was afraid you were *heading out!*" He laughs again, slinging an arm around Rhedd's shoulders. "But come now, I'm sure the taste is atrocious, but it's not worth losing your head over it! What have you been going around saying that's so awful you need to wash out your mouth so thoroughly? Hah!"

Rhedd

OHHHH! He loves a good joke, ESPECIALLY at his expense.

"OHH! AHAH! HAHAHA! No, NO! It didn't look ANYTHING like FOOD! I just took it and BIT IT without HESITATION! And due to my NATURE when IT! COMES! TO! FOOD!" He taps at his mouth, then drags his claw down his throat, playing a very cartoonish GULPING sound. His own audience laughs, "Ideas POP IN and I am UNABLE to hold myself BACK from them!"

usedhearts Alastor

The jokes have him and his audience laughing as well! Some high chortles! This is the good stuff, being around other hims!

"Ah, yes, I see! The classic impulse to put something in your mouth and the other classic inability to stop! I understand completely. Sometimes you just need to take a bite out of the fake fruit!"

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

"I hope you're getting enough *real* food, though!" He gives Rhedd a critical look, has he been fed? "How full is that tank right now? Aside from the suds."

Rhedd

Rhedd grins at the two Radio Demons looking at him. What fun, having so much attention. He nods his head at the one, and a winning buzzer sound plays, before Rhedd turns to the other Alastor addressing him. He opens his mouth and a burp comes, to which he immediately covers his mouth with both hands, just after bubbles came up. His audience *roars* with laughter, and his ears flick, the tag jingling. *De nada.*

<<I beg your PARDON, friends! I've got NOTHING in my stomach, but it SURE! IS! CLEAN!>>

usedhearts Alastor

That's enough to get Alastor up out of his seat. His sauntering over with his usual, unhurried but jaunty, step, and then his arm goes around Rhedd. Just ignore the sweatshirt, Alastor. Be strong, be strong for Mother.

"Well that simply won't DO! Can't have another one of us wandering around with only bubbles in his gut, now can we? What sort of duplicates would we be?" The back of his free hand is on his forward and he's in Full Drama mode.

"Oh the humanity! What little we have left, that is!" He looked over at other Alastor and winked. "Think we need to correct this situation, don't you, good chum?"

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

Just two Alastors smothering Rhedd from either side, no big deal, he doesn't mind being trapped in all these arms does he? Alastor winks back. "I think we do! I've got the leftovers from a few culinary experiments left in the kitchen, it should be enough to fill a plate. Knowing your appetite, though, I think we'll need more than that!"

Rhedd

He doesn't mind being trapped in all of these arms at all, he has more than enough layers on to avoid *feeling* it, as it were. Though he felt a little bad for burping--there goes another one. Rhedd winces, though his mouth is still covered.

<<I would be HONORED to come to DINNER! I was in the MIDDLE of a RIVETING GAME of HIDE AND SEEK with my X-0-X-0, but before THAT I was IN THE MOOD for a MEAL!>>

usedhearts Alastor

"That's the good thing about games-- you can always continue with them after eating! The number of times I scarfed down dinner as a child to go running back out to play tag, well, they're incalculable!" He laughed and shared a look with Alastor before starting to steer Rhedd out of the broadcasting tower.

"Let's get that meal and then you can get back to your game!"

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

"Are you hiding or seeking? We'll stand guard at the kitchen door on your behalf if we have to!"

Rhedd

<<SEEKING!>> It's actually so easy to steer him, because he's leaning back on his heelies. Literally just steer him in the direction you need him to go. <<My! Dear! Engi! Is off HIDING!>>

usedhearts Alastor

"Engi? Not sure if I'm familiar with that nickname. Is it another one of us?" Zoom there they go.

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

Alastor's been entirely distracted by the heelies. He's staring at them. "Where did you get *those?*"

Rhedd

Rhedd opens his mouth, and just. Drools out soap. Amazing. He covers his mouth again as his eyes change to radio dials. Everything is fine.

<<Oh, these? Do you LIKE THEM? I picked them UP after a MEAL! Fun little THINGS! I can imagine myself, GLIDING through the SCENE!>>

usedhearts Alastor

"They certainly up your maneuverability! It's so easy to guide you along! _Allons-y!_" He catches sight of that soap drool. That's going to need to be taken care off. And he's summoning a hankie to hand off to Rhedd. There you are old boy.

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

"I want a pair."

Uh. He pets Rhedd's back. Hopefully dinner isn't going to be interrupted by him vomiting everywhere.

Rhedd

Absolutely he'll be fine. He takes the hankie. He's almost out of soap.

<<I can GET YOU ONE! I'm SURE of it! Just have to FIND another DEMON WEARING some!>>

usedhearts Alastor

"Think! You could install them in your dress shoes-- no one would see it coming!" He laughed.

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

"Just make sure they're the same size as me!" Studio laughter. "That's exactly what I was thinking! One second I'm tap dancing, the next I'm literally gliding across the floor! Imagine that!"

Rhedd

<<What an ACT! They take some GETTING USED TO so he CAREFUL you don't BREAK A LEG while you BREAK A LEG! HAHA!>>

usedhearts Alastor

"Yes! Practice makes perfect, after all! Don't want to be falling all over yourself like a baby deer!" He laughed.

dontasktheradiodemon Alastor

And then they went off to get food. Further banter is probably involved. Musical numbers MIGHT be involved.

#extermination party palace #sackreligion #usedhearts #chat log

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scribbles97 · 4 years

Text

Left Behind - Chapter 32

PART 1 / PART 2

Chapter 22 / Chapter 23 / Chapter 24 / Chapter 25 / Chapter 26 / Chapter 27 / Chapter 28 / Chapter 29/ Chapter 30 / Chapter 31

It hadn’t been Val’s plan to go the the simulator quite so soon after they had gotten home, but John had said something about familliarising himself with Thunderbird Three and Alan had been on the edge of another teenage temper tantrum. It had seemed like the easiest compromise to diffuse the situation.

When she had heard Thunderbird Two launch, both had looked at each other, concern on both their faces. A quick call upstairs had confirmed the launch to rescue a father and son trapped aboard an out of control hot air balloon. John seemed to have taken control of the situation, claiming his mother’s desk to work from whilst Scott had hovered over his shoulder.

Val had left the pair to it, trusting both to support each other and hoping they would manage to find their feet quickly whilst on the clock. John had been right, they did need a full time qualified pilot for Thunderbird Three, and when she had looked into it his stats from both NASA and the simulators placed him as the best man for the job.

Except, perhaps, his younger brother.

As a challenge she had thrown up the live feed from Little Lightning, Beta Team had launched just as they had arrived home with Lucy. A TV satellite knocked out of orbit and into the path of another orbiting station needed realigning. Alan had taken it in his stride, reacting exactly as the other team had done, talking through his actions and glancing up to her for reassurance.

The kid was still just a teenager though, not even old enough to drive or vote. Lucy had made it clear, he had to do it the same way as his brothers, specialist training at the academy. He wouldn’t be allowed near an actual Thunderbird for another five years.

Not that Val could see him waiting patiently.

“What’s your closing distance?” She prompted, hovering at his shoulder, the first time he was flying without someone as Copilot to assist his actions.

“Thirty meters.” He responded with only the briefest of pauses, “Rotational vector still matched. Twenty meters… Ten.”

The simulator jolted as the grappling arms engaged, lights above Alan’s head turning green to indicate a secure lock.

“Confirm successful lock?”

He nodded.

“Verbally.” She prompted again, “Remember your black box can’t see what you’re doing.”

“Lock to satellite successful.” Alan confirmed, “Firing thrusters to counter spin.”

She kept watching as her phone buzzed in her pocket, making Alan look up with a grin,

“I didn’t think there was any signal in space?”

Laughing, she shook her head at him, “You watch your flying,” Glancing to the caller ID she frowned slightly, “Take her for a spin, but don’t crash whilst I’m EVA.”

Alan sat straighter, eyes wide as she turned away and left him to it, stepping out of the simulator before she answered the call.

“Casey.”

“Val, it’s Ridley.”

She had known the from the caller ID, what she didn’t know was why she was receiving the call.

“Not that it isn’t nice to hear from you Ridley,” She smiled perching on the steps up to the simulator, “But I would have thought you’d call John.”

Ridley tutted softly, “I didn’t want to stick an idea in his head before I’d okayed it with someone higher up.”

Val hummed and tilted her head to herself slightly, “Scott would be the one to speak to in that case.”

“Scott won’t like what I have to say.”

Val couldn’t help but snort as she looked down from the training balcony to the rest of the hangar where Thunderbird One sat, belly open and guts spilled out across the floor.

“So you want me to tell him to listen?” She asked, shifting to stand so she could watch Hiram and his pet robot as they organised the mess of wires trailing from the ship.

“The parts have arrived here for Thunderbird Five’s retrofit. I know the focus is on Lucy right now, but from what John and I have read and understood, this retrofit is our best chance at finding out if Jeff is out there.”

Val sighed, they had all read the update Kyrano had provided them with to ensure everyone was on the same page regarding Gaat, the Mechanic, and Jeff. How much he had downplayed Lucy’s desperation, Val wasn’t sure. On reflection, it explained a lot though. Lucy had been antsy for weeks, constantly chasing an order for parts and making a point of reminding them that Five was due an upgrade.

An upgrade she had insisted on completing.

“John said the upgrades were based on a program he wrote, he probably has a better idea than anyone on what needs to be done up there.”

With the explanation, the problem became clear.

“Scott still isn’t convinced John should be on the team.” She sighed, “I am working on persuading him.”

“As is John,” Ridley murmured, “I don’t understand why Scott won’t let him up there immediately. This is their father we’re talking about.”

Val knew the exact problem, but she knew she couldn’t voice it to Ridley.

Whether it was fate or convenience, she would never know, but it was right at that moment that Scott walked across the hangar floor to talk to Hiram.

Dropping her voice, Val turned back to the simulator, “Make plans for John and yourself to go up to Five for a week. I’ll speak to Scott.”

The smile was clear in her voice even across the line, “F.A.B. Val.”

“Scott!” She called across the cavern as she leant over the raillings of the balcony, “Get up here.”

The frown he shot at her was visible even at the distance, making Val roll her eyes. The young man took more after his father than he realised, the furrowed brows and deep lines that cut into his forehead when something bothered him. Like his father, Scott would never admit it, not openly at least.

She was still leaning on the railing when Scott approached her from behind, his frown deeper again as he stood next to her.

“What is it?”

She kept her focus on thunderbird One as she spoke, “That parts have come in to upgrade Five.”

His swallow was visible as he turned and leant on the railing alongside her, hands clasped together in a single fist as he took a long slow breath and let it out.

“I’m not sure that should be a priority right now.” He uttered, “We haven’t exactly the man power.”

“We could spare John and Ridley.”

“No.”

The statement was quiet but firm. Scott had a decision made and it wasn’t going to be easy to make him change.

“Your father could be out there Scott.”

His head dipped, eyes screwed shut as his forearms tensed. The dimples in his cheeks deepened as he pressed his lips together, shaking his head.

“I know.” He whispered, “I knew all along alright? But she told me not to get involved! To worry about keeping my team safe.”

“Scott,” She started, watching him carefully, able to feel the hurt and anger radiating from him.

“No. Listen Aunt Val.” He snapped, blue eyes snapping open and piercing her, “Mom is down there in a coma because she made a rash decision. For once in her life she made a decision based on how she felt and what she wanted, and it damn near killed her.”

She wanted to cut in, break him off and make him see that it wasn’t the case. The floodgates had opened though and she would have been fighting against the tide.

“It was my rash decisions that made her tell me to not get involved.” His voice dropped again, the rush of the flood gone as quickly as it had come, reduced to a trickle.

“I can’t trust myself to make a decision on this. Not when we almost lost Mom. Not when it could mean losing someone else.”

It was as Val had expected, a man with the weight of his family’s safety on his shoulders and a fear that he wasn’t the right person to protect them. Except he was forgetting just how that fear helped him.

“Don’t you think,” She murmured, reaching out to touch his arm, “That being afraid will make you more cautious? That it could remind you to stop and think before you sent your brothers out there, or did something yourself?”

He nodded with a sigh, “Yeah. It does. I was going to go with Virgil before John sent him on his own. I thought it would be safer than using the autopilot and wrist controls.”

His point was right, and she made a mental note to bring it up with John later.

“Good,” She nodded, “So what’s the danger with sending John and Ridley to Five for a week?”

Scott snorted, shaking his head again, “Space.”

It sounded like the single word was meant to answer her question. Scott must have seen the confusion on her face though as he continued.

“Space is the worst, it only takes one tiny thing to go wrong for everything to go wrong. And when it goes wrong, it goes wrong in a big way. Do you know how many space calls IR gets that we physically can’t respond to fast enough?”

“What if there was a way to respond faster?”

Val turned, wary of the voice of her second nephew at such a vulnerable moment for Scott. Not that she needed have worries, John was a master of managing his older brother and apparently knew that approaching too close at that moment was a bad idea.

“Rids and I would watch each others backs. Plus if we were up there semi permenantly, we could respond to those calls that would take too long otherwise.”

It didn’t seem to phase him that Scott hadn’t turned to look at him. From where she stood, Val could see that the oldest didn’t want to be listening to John. That he hadn’t simply walked away from the conversation was definitely promising.

“Dispatch are getting more calls by the day, too many for the current team to handle. Five acts as relay for the calls anyway and I’ve run comms enough times for NASA--”

Scott turning to face him cut John off. Val stood straighter, ready for the eldest to snap at the younger.

“You said you needed to join as someone to fly Thunderbird Three. Now you want to sit up on the space station and run comms?”

John shook his head, “With the space pods we could still run rescues from up there. Little Lightening would be able to manage most other space rescues, Thunderbird Three would only be needed for anything further than the Moon.” He tilted his head with a small smile, “I thought it might make it seem a little less like I was stealing Alan’s ship.”

Val glanced to the simulator that had long since become still and quiet. She wondered where Alan had got to, if he’d heard the conversation and was simply remaining quiet, or if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Scott’s face fell as he sighed, looking away with a shake of his head, still clearly not convinced about the whole suggestion.

“This is our chance at finding Dad, Scott.” John murmured, “We can’t pass that up, can we?”

Val would have looked back to Scott, except movement from the corner of the simulator caught her eye. Alan approached, looking to John with wide eyes.

“You can’t live in space all the time though John! It’s dangerous. I don’t mind you flying Three, not really. I was just being a brat before.”

John shook his head, “It won’t be all the time Alan, we’d work out a rotation or something.”

“You’d do that?” Scott raised an eyebrow, “Actually work on rotation? You won’t get obsessed?”

John scoffed and shook his head, “Coming from you?”

Val could see his point, the eldest pair were as bad as one another for becoming too determined in their goals. She’d seen it before, each of them becoming obsessed with something so wholly that it took over their entire lives.

In her eyes Scott was the one at a higher risk of falling into that trap.

“I have Ridley now,” John shrugged, “She’ll keep me straight.”

Scott’s sigh was loud in the open space, his shoulders tense as he shook his head, “If you get in to trouble out there…”

“You can ground me for the rest of my life.” John shrugged, “We always said Scott, five of us, five ships.”

“Best place for star gazing.” Alan murmured, eyes widening, “Hey, maybe I can--”

“No.” Both older brothers stated, making Val snort as she shook her head. At least there was something the pair of them could agree on, even if Alan didn’t approve.

“So?” She prompted, “Does this mean we can get Ridley to bring the parts over when she comes home?”

Scott shrugged and nodded to John, “Talk to him about it, she’s his girlfriend.”

John grinned, “Oh so it’s going to be like that is it?”

Val had to hide her snigger behind a cough as she shook her head at the pair. Yes, she didn’t doubt, it would be exactly like that.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds 2015 #Scott Tracy #John Tracy #Alan Tracy #Aunt Val #Lucy AU #Lucy Fic #scribbles writes #Left Behind Part 1 #Left Behind Part 2 #Left Behind Part 3

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happyhollow-mellowmarsh · 3 years

Text

S.H.R.E.C.

“Hello and welcome to Sharing How Related Elements Contrast, or S.H.R.E.C., for short. My name is Eleanor Eglantine Ambrose II, the author of the… Controversial book Forbidden Temptations: I Can Eat This But You Can Not as well as one of the apprentice of the Grand Witch Treat. Today I’ll be joined by two of my fellow apprentices as we go over the way that different magical elements contrast, interact, and change based on their relationships with one another.”

A short pink haired girl with elven ears stands in what looks to be a kitchen, the type used for a professional cooking show. How she and her companions got the rights to film here is a mystery. Grey eyes flick to the two men accompanying her, and she gestures at them, clearly unaware the camera is going to pick this up. One of the men, the one with white highlights and scars all over him, simply stares back at her, clearly confused as to what the hell he’s supposed to do here.

Elle nudges the scarred man with her elbow, aggressive whispers, “Introduce yourself!” She knows this is getting picked up by the mic, right?

He hisses a bit at the nudge before slowly turning to the camera. He seems a little...shy. “I’m...RJ Mendoza. Another one of Treat’s apprentices. Mm.” Doesn’t seem like the talkative type, either.

The other man, on the other hand, is all smiles and appears to be more than comfortable in front of the camera.

“And my name is Maui Nguyen, also one of Treat’s apprentices. It’s so great to be with you all today!” He says with an enthusiastic wave at the camera. “Especially you Elle, thank you for lettin’ us join you,” he says, gesturing towards Eleanor. “I can’t wait to see what you got in store for us!”

“It is no problem Mr. Nguyen.” No thanks for RJ though. Elle moves off camera briefly to bring two… Interesting smoothies. Given they each have a tide pod floating on the top of them, they are clearly deadly.

“Today,” she continues. “We are going to be testing different ways to negate poison using magic. Poison is my primary specialty, and as a result I have studied a variety of ways to use it and negate its effects. Mr. Mendoza also has magic that can negate poison.”

RJ nods, but there’s a short pause before he realizes that he should probably say something. “My primary element is Salt.” He then pulls out a salt shaker from his pockets. “This is just regular table salt, but I can use it with my magic to make poison stuff edible.”

Maui oos exaggeratedly as if this was his first time hearing their elements, picking up a tide pod from his “smoothie,” showing it off for the camera to see. “Edible you say? Even this?” He says, waving the tide pod in front of them, clearly trying to put on a good show for the audience.

Elle clapped her hands. “Oh yes! With my magic, and Mr. Mendoza’s I suppose, you could definitely consume a Tide Laundry Capsule! I have heard that this was a fascination for youths online for a considerable amount of time. I thought it would help us get wider appeal.” She remembers she’s still on camera, right?

After a brief pause, she turns back to the camera. “Ah, yes. Mr. Nguyen is not immune to poison, and as a result, he will be our test subject for this endeavour. You, of course, consent to this, correct? You need to say it for legal reasons.”

Maui, with a flashy smile, nods his head and gives them all a big thumbs up. “Absolutely! With you two magic masters, what can go wrong?!”

“Excellent! Mr. Mendoza, will you start us off?”

RJ nods and simply sprinkles a generous pinch of salt into one of the smoothies. “Should be good now.”

Maui claps his hands in performative amazement, before taking the cup and sloshing it around. “Still lookin’ pretty thick. Anyone have a guess at what this’ll taste like?” He asks the audience, before giving another cheeky smile. Someone is having fun. “Well, bottoms up!”

Without wincing at all, Maui begins to chug, taking huge heaping gulps, and in no time at all shows off his empty cup to the camera. It was only then did the man shudder slightly. “Eu-eugh, salty…”

“And, he suffers no ill effects- Oh, wait, I meant to show how deadly… Maui, can we edit this to go before the drinking?” Who does Elle think is editing this? Either way, she runs off screen and grabs a potted plant, pouring a bit of the remaining drink in. It immediately starts wilting.

“I customized the poison so it would be far more potent than the average one,” the girl explains, far too cheerful about something that could have killed her test subject if the magic failed. “Now, Mr. Nguyen, to test the second glass, I’ll be siphoning the poison out of you before it causes you any harm. Would you prefer I hold your hand, or do you want more contact. The more contact, the easier it is.”

“Uhhhh-” Maui stutters, momentarily disarmed before realizing he was still on camera. With cheeks steadily getting rosier by the second, he flashes another smile and sticks out his hand. “Sure, why the hell not?! … Bu-But just in case, how much skin contact do you need for -uh- ease? Do I gotta take off my shirt er somethin’?”

“No, I think that would get us demonetized… Just let me hold your arm. Like this.” The pink haired girl wrapped both her arms around Maui’s right arm, binding it in place for the time being. “I should easily be able to pull out any poison before it becomes a problem.”

Maui flushes quite a bit as Elle suddenly wraps herself around his arm, his on camera persona breaking for an instant. “U-Uhh- Yea, this is nice. Suure doesn’t feel like anythin’ is happenin’ right now though…”

“You need to consume the poison before I can really do anything.”

You can’t help but notice RJ sighing and shaking his head in the background.

“Ha-Hah, right…” Not wasting another second, Maui swipes up the second glass and chugs it all down once more, his face squinching slightly at the soapy taste. Elle squeezes his arm tightly, clearly focusing on filtering everything out. She made this really deadly and didn’t want to kill him.

Killing someone accidentally with a super poison again would be horrible.

“Are you doing alright?” Elle asked, after she finished dealing with the poison.

“Hmmm, other than feelin’ a little warm I think I’m doin’ jus’ fine. Maybe I shoulda drank even more-! Hey RJ, grab me another cup will ya?” He jokes, laughing.

It seemed Maui might have said the wrong words here, because Elle absolutely preened at that. “I suppose that means you find my method of poison extraction to be superior to Mr Mendoza’s salt bath. Of course. Salt is impressive in some ways, but Poison is by far the superior element.”

RJ glares at Elle, disgust and annoyance evident in his face. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Rather hear it from Maui then from you putting words in his mouth.”

“He all but said it already!” the girl huffs. She unwraps herself from Maui’s arm dramatically while looking directly at RJ. “See, I’m not influencing him. I have no doubt as to his answer.”

Uh oh. Wrong words said indeed, this was NOT how Maui envisioned his joke to land. Now with both of his friends looking towards him for an answer to an impossible situation… there was only one thing left to do…

“Whoaa guys- guys,” Maui says raising his hands in hopes of pacifying the building tension, “This is… This is all jus’ fun ‘nd games, yenno? A-Actually- That reminds me!”

Without skipping another beat, Maui flees offstage, still blabbering as he does.

“I actually got you guys some gifts while I was travellin’ around that I’ve been meanin’ to give- OH FU-“

Suddenly, a crash. The camera topples onto the floor, the last thing the audience sees and hears is a big meaty brown man cursing and apologizing at the same time before the broadcast abruptly ends.

Happy Hollow: Mellow Marsh is a tumblr submission trials game with Discord ooc and a Discord thread server, and the sequel game to Happy Hollow. This game is 18+ with the exception of returning players. We will be accepting a cast of 16-18 people including mod ocs, and characters should be aged 16-24. The events of the previous game are not public knowledge to characters, so catching up on the last game is not necessary!

Apps close on April 12th, one week away! A three day extension is available upon dm request.

About || How to play || Application || FAQ || Hopefuls || Hopefuls chat

#fanganronpa #mkg rp #fangan ronpa #dr oc group #dr oc rp

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bearpillowmonster · 4 years

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Houseki no Kuni Review (Land)

ART They're like porcelain figures with hair made of jelly, think of a Tide-Pod personified. I would purposely be skipping if I didn't mention the CGI/3D graphics. Yes, it uses CGI for the characters and sometimes it looks uncanny in a way, mainly due to the fps, but it was tolerable. The camerawork can look crazy good at times, that was one of the things I heard about it beforehand. I saw one of the key fights years ago online and thought the same thing about the camerawork but seeing it in actual context made it so much better.

The things they fight are called Lunarians which you've guessed, come from the moon. They're sort of like the Angels from Evangelion, they create portals in the shape of Rorshach ink blots (which they call sun spots) and come through those to collect and harvest gems. The sheer amount of portrait like substance in this anime is great, instant 9 out of 10 for the art overall. The one thing I will ask is the future content be in different landscapes, this season looked fine as is but I imagine a green field will get tiresome after so many battles. Judging by what I've heard of the manga, that problem has already been thought of and fixed before it even became an issue though. CHARACTER I mainly started this because of its high ratings but also Steven Universe is over now and I miss it and this is pretty darn similar. I'm a huge Lapis Lazuli fan so when I heard that this universe had their own Lapis, I hopped on board, however this is Season 1 and Season 2 has yet to come out and where Season 1 ends...is apparently right before Lapis makes her appearance in the manga. But it is what it is. So if Lapis isn't in it (yet) then who's my favorite? Probably Diamond though Antarticite is a strong contender. I guess you could say I have a water waifu with Lazuli and a snow waifu with Anta. There is a scene where Anta comes out of a bathtub though and it's quite cool. But Diamond...

...is like a beacon of light! Our main, is Phos (-phophyllite). I was indifferent with her because she has some good moments but she's not my favorite, she's seen as the weakling and the youngest which is fine but things really shift when it hits episode 9, I was shocked at just how much changed, just how much growth there was because that was one of my main gripes with her character. That came at a cost though and is it worth it? You tell me. For that alone, I'll give it an 8. MUSIC If I had to describe the music, the word I would use is "majestic". I gotta give it an 8 because it's very fitting STORY Each gem has their own strength, fragility, and hardness. If one is broken up into pieces, they can just be put back together but if one is poisoned then they must be chipped and that might cause memory loss. Does that lower the stakes? No, you'll find as soon as the second episode that they test that theory, plus if the Lunarians take the pieces, they get brought back to the moon and sometimes used for weapons, you'd have to do a lot of collecting to reform after that. I'm not too sure how to summarize because it has goals but it's more "implied", like that's not the point of the series. They mainly just fight the Lunarians but it's not a monster of the week style. I suppose the earliest goal is for Cinnabar but I wouldn't say that's what makes up the series, it's more one anomaly after the other. That's actually similar to how Steven Universe worked before it started with the Diamonds, so give it some time. So if I have all these high ratings, where does it lack? What makes it better than that initial interest because on paper a lot of stories may sound good but may not deliver on the hype? Well, it gets better as it goes on, the ending kind of left on a high note, a cliffhanger even, that season 2 will be quite interesting for more reasons than one. I'll pull back and give the story a 7 or 7.5 to get specific for now.

ENJOYMENT I almost want to say that the art is too good to be true, that there isn't a cohesive enough story that could fulfill it but I know that's wrong. The story isn't bad, it's not unfitting but I've never felt this mixed because it's good in hindsight but given everything else, it falls behind, I feel like this could very easily be a Vocaloid style music video with orchestrated music in the background and anime girl action and cool visuals to accompany it. I want to like it more and give it a 9 overall, I really do, but I can't help but feel that a good chunk of it isn't going to leave a lasting impression. I guess we'll see how it stands a few years from now. 8 for enjoyment, 8 overall.

#land of the lustrous #review #anime #houseki no kuni

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noonachronicles · 5 years

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Everlong Pt. 10 - Final

Kwon Jiyong/ G Dragon X Reader

Word count: 10k

Warnings: Language. An uncomfortable, mildly sexual moment.

Genre: Hades/Jiyong. Greek God AU. Fantasy.

A/N: This is it guys. I am so sad this is over and so proud of what it became. For me it’s so much better than what it was when it was just an idea. I’m really so in love with everyone that stuck around for every part. Everyone that liked and shared or commented or sent an ask. You all are really the motivation that kept me going and brought me to finishing this story. I appreciate you all so very much. I’ve worked hard and hope that the ending is everything you wanted!

Update Tag: Here’s hoping the tags work this time! @kathrynwynterbourne, @keepthelightoff, @blue-lungs , @violagoth, @un-idntfied, @optimizche, @de-gabyconamor, @134340-cm, @wonderful39530, @ohgeezitsbreadgenie

Moodboard by Bae @memoiresofaneternaldreamer

Nobody bakes for the baker, nobody cooks for the chef. It was something you’d heard a hundred times. It was completely unfair. And unfortunately, you knew it to be very true. Usually you didn’t find it too heartbreaking. You loved to cook and you loved to bake, being in the kitchen brought you peace and joy like nothing else could. Sometimes however, you imagined, it might be nice to be pampered. Jiho had never been really great about doing that for you. That’s why the smell of bacon hitting your nose before you even opened your eyes for the day was new and surprising.

“Wake up, y/n.” Jiyong whispered against your ear.

His scruff scratched your cheek before he pulled away. You were convinced this was a dream, everything good had been recently. You sunk deeper into the heavenly pillow, a smile spread over your lips. You were glowing.

You felt his body lean back into yours, “No, seriously. If you don’t wake up I’m eating all this bacon and leaving you nothing. I don’t care. I won’t feel bad.”

Smile replaced with a pout you opened your eyes. Jiyong was dangling a piece of bacon in front of your face. He was leaning on the pillow next to you, a broad smile spread across his face.

“Good morning, sleepy head.” he said before pulling the bacon to his mouth and taking a bite. Your mouth fell open and you stared at him. “What? Oh! Did you want that?”

“Why are you being mean this morning?” you whined.

“Would someone who’s being mean make you this feast?” he asked as he pushed himself up.

With a groan you followed suit and sat up. You weren’t sure why but the sight made you laugh. There were four breakfast in bed trays lined up down the center of the mattress. Each of them overflowing with breakfast food staples. It almost made you cry. You’d never seen anything like it before, no one had done anything like this for you. Looking over at Jiyong you blushed, but of course, he would.

“You lied!” you said grabbing a slice of bacon off one of the trays, “You said you couldn’t cook.”

“Usually I can’t. You were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t want to wake you up, so I decided to make breakfast and when the first dish came out so well I tried another and then another and then…” he gestured towards the trays.

“Jiyong,” you said poking your fork at the plate of eggs benedict, “you poached an egg. That’s very impressive.”

“Yeah, see, I don’t know what that means.” he said drinking from a cup that he’d had hidden in his lap between his crossed legs.

“What are you drinking over there?” you asked with a grin.

“Coffee, same as you.” he nodded toward your cup.

You looked at the milk mustache that sat atop his real mustache, “Give me some chocolate milk, Jiyong.”

He pulled his glass to his chest, “No! It’s mine!”

“Fine, you don’t have to share.” you laughed and muttered under your breath “My god…”

“Well, if you’re gonna call me that.” he smirked but just for a second before the both of you froze.

The blood in your veins started to prickle at the memory of your dream. The feeling of his hands moving over your body ghosted over you. His mouth hot against your skin, teeth dragging against your lip. The sound of his breathless voice in your ear, ‘Yes, I am your god’.

“Y/n?”

Your eyes fluttered towards him, “huh?”

“Oh I- are you ready for today? Are you excited to see Jiho?”

You hesitated and then asked, “Don’t judge me?”

“When have I ever?” he asked in return.

“Do you think...would it be okay if we stay here a little longer? I’m just not ready yet.”

With something of a pout he nodded, “Of course. We can stay as long as you need.”

“Just a few extra hours.” you said quietly, “Nothing crazy.”

You felt guilty. You should have been more excited to be back with Jiho. To go home. To get back to life as you’d known it. Thinking about how guilty you felt only left a heavy weight on your chest. Part of you wished you didn’t know exactly why you didn’t want to leave and why you weren’t excited. You wished you weren’t fully aware of your thoughtless, selfish desire to stay with Jiyong just a little longer. To just sit and enjoy the feeling you had when you were around him. You’d been so worried about what you’d do if you saw Jiho and lost that feeling. You worried about what that would mean.

“We haven’t even gone down to the beach.” Jiyong said suddenly, seeing the distraught look on your face and the way your mood had dropped. “You can’t leave paradise without even going to the beach, right?”

“Yes! Exactly.” you brightened, “We have to eat all this food and then go down to the beach. Me and you and the best day ever.”

With a nod he grabbed the syrup from one tray and poured it over waffles from another. “I’ve never heard a more perfect plan.”

You looked over the trays feeling better, and hungrier. On one of the trays he’d even placed a narrow vase with several flowers. You noticed one of them had snapped and was limp against the others. Your finger brushed against the soft red petals and you smiled.

“Do you remember…” you started and shook your head, of course he wouldn’t. “Nevermind.”

“Remember what?” he asked expectantly.

“These are the same kind of flowers that you brought me...at the cafe. One of them was even snapped like this.” you smiled fondly at the flowers before turning back to your plate.

“That’s funny, I hadn’t noticed.” Jiyong smiled and took a big bite of waffles.

There was no reality where two people could finish off as much food as Jiyong had made, but luckily you were in paradise. It did take a while, probably hours, but you hadn’t been paying attention. You’d been preoccupied with Jiyong and how he was being particularly funny this morning. He often made you smile but today you were red in the face, pained cheeks, tears rolling down your neck laughing. All of it was made even better by the fact that he was too. Not a smirk or a grin, but huge teeth and gums laughter. He tried to turn away or cover his face with the back of his hand as if embarrassed by the way he laughed. You saw it anyway, and you cherished it.

Once the plates were cleaned you left his room for your own to get ready for the beach. With no surprise to you the water had felt perfect beneath your feet. The sun was warm but not too hot. And your favorite part of all was that the sand didn’t cling to your wet body so you were free to move between the ocean waves and the sandy beach as often as you wanted without discomfort.

The two of you even swam out into the water to a rock island not too far off shore. You snorkeled around the island, exploring a brilliantly colored coral reef. You’d loved the different fish and their beautiful patterns. Jiyong loved the way you’d excitedly point out every single one of them to him as if he wasn’t right beside you the whole time. There’d even been sea turtles that came close enough to touch, and you watched a pod of dolphins as they swam passed the island.

When you got back to the shore you laid out in the sand. You were still close enough that the waves moved over the tops of your feet before moving back with the tide. Jiyong laid beside you, arms behind his head.

“This is so nice.” you said after a while, eyes closed, enjoying the feel of the sun on your face.

“It really is perfect.” Ji mumbled beside you, so relaxed he was nearly asleep.

“There’s really only one thing I can think of that would make this better.” you smiled and envisioned your perfect scenario.

Both you and Jiyong jolted up into a sitting position at the feel of the earth shaking beneath you.

“What did you imagine?” he asked with genuine concern, “An earthquake?”

Still smiling, you pointed over his shoulder. Just as you’d pictured it you watched as Cerberus pounded down the sandy beach with complete elation at the sight of the two of you. All three tongues dangling from their respective mouths. Jiyong’s mouth fell slightly ajar until the three headed beast skidded to a stop before him kicking sand onto his legs. He closed his mouth and scrunched his face as a long wet tongue slid up his cheek and then another, and another.

“My do-” he paused petting two heads with his hands while you gave affection to the third, “You, me, and Cerb? This is your perfect idea of paradise?”

With a little blush you nodded passed the three headed pooch, “Oh, it gets better.”

He gently pushed two of Cerberus’ big heads to the side so he could see just passed him where six three headed puppies were clumsily sprinting their way through the sand. In that moment Jiyong was sure he had never been so in love in his life. He’d never felt so much warmth or happiness in all of the millennia of his existence. He knew without a doubt that he would never find anyone that got close to you for the rest of eternity. And if you didn’t choose him, or at least choose life he wasn’t sure what he would do. Wanting to kiss you, damn the repercussions, he turned but you were already getting kisses all over your face and arms by no less than twelve tiny puppy tongues. You were absolutely radiating with joy.

Giggling as you looked over at him you said, “This is the best day of my life.”

He grinned as Cerberus nudged his chest for attention, “Mine too.”

Apparently your best day couldn’t last forever and Jiyong advised you that if you really didn’t want to stay another night, which he assured you he’d be just fine with, that you should make your way to the pavilion before the sun started setting. Part of you was already overwhelmed with guilt for even staying this long and enjoying yourself this much. With an almost pathetically sad goodbye, you sent Cerberus and the puppies off back down the beach. Then you and Jiyong went inside to get ready for the last leg of your underworld adventure.

Standing in the bathroom doing your hair and makeup made you think back to when you were getting ready for Jiho’s funeral. It felt like years ago. Everything felt like years ago. The reality was it hadn’t even been an entire week since the afternoon you’d seen Jiyong and he offered to take you on this insane trip that you’d been half convinced was just going to be him offing you in a dark parking lot outside the city.

In the closet you found the clothes you’d been wearing the whole time and a second option, a dress. The decision really made itself for you. The dress was beautiful, a vintage swing style dress in a red and black brocade fabric. It had three-quarter sleeves and a deep v neck. Sitting beneath the dress was a pair of bold red shoes. They had a low heel and buckled around the ankle. After you dressed you stood in front of the mirror for sometime. You gave a small twirl and watched the skirt flair up. You thought the only thing missing was a necklace.

Walking out of the bathroom, you saw the pen on the dresser and next to it was a black velvet box. Inside of the box was a gold necklace with some sort of gold leaf pendant hanging from it. Looking at the closed bedroom door you wondered if Jiyong had left it or if you had conjured it up. Either way, you shoved the pen in the pocket hidden in the folds of your skirt and clasped the necklace around your neck. The pendant fell at just the perfect length against your chest. The completed outfit made you feel pretty.

Pretty for Jiho, a very judgmental voice in your head wondered, or pretty for Jiyong.

When you opened the door Jiyong was leaning against the back of the couch with his hands in his pockets. As soon as he realized you were coming out he stood up properly. He was frozen as he looked at you, but you’d never notice since you’d been too busy staring back at him.

He was stunning. Of course you thought he was always beautiful but this was a level of perfection that made you want to scream. His suit was pinstriped, with a black vest and a black shirt underneath. There was a vibrant pop of color with a red tie and matching pocket square. His hair was perfectly coiffed, and showed off the flawless fade of his undercut. A jaw so sharp you could cut your lips off if you tried to kiss it. One of his perfectly shaped eyebrows raised slightly, and there was a sweet pout on his lips like a boy looking fondly at something he wasn’t allowed to have but wanted desperately.

“You look beautiful.”

“You shaved.”

The two of you spoke at the same time and then laughed awkwardly.

“You look so...professional.” you said giving him one more look over before dropping your eyes to your shoes.

“I have some business to take care of after I drop you off.” That had you looking back up at him quite curiously, but he quickly changed the subject. “You look amazing. Jiho is a really lucky soul.”

“Oh, no…” you blushed, “It’s just what was in the closet.”

“We match.” he noted quietly.

Your face brightened with a smile, “We do! Come here.”

You snatched his hand in yours and pulled him into the bedroom. Standing in front of the mirror you adjusted his tie and then stood beside him. He stood perfectly still as you tucked your arm under his, and rested your hand at the crook of his elbow. Looking over at the mirror you smiled fondly and then lifted your free hand and made a clicking noise with your mouth.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“Mental picture.” you said dropping your hand to your side, “I can’t believe we only took one this whole time.”

“Make me a copy?” he asked and you turned to face him.

In an instant you forgot what you wanted to say. You were still tucked into him pretty close. A breathless gulp made its way down your throat as your eyes found his lips. When you looked up to catch his eyes he was staring at your mouth. Instinctually you ran your tongue over your lip, and you watched him inhale sharply at the sight. It was so quiet between the two of you. You didn’t really want him to say anything. You wanted him to kiss you and you didn’t care about the rest of it anymore.

“Ji-”

“Where’d you get that necklace?” he asked.

So taken aback by the question you physically stepped back from him.. “What?”

“This necklace,” he said lifting his hand to cup the gold pendant in his palm, “where’s it from? What does it mean to you?”

You shrugged, “It was on the dresser. I thought you’d left it. I actually...I’m not sure what it is. I just thought it was pretty.”

“So you just conjured it up?” he asked and you nodded. A hint of a smile crossed his mouth, “It’s, um, it’s a cypress leaf.”

“How do you know?” you asked looking down at the gold leaf in his hand.

“The cypress leaf is used as a symbol of Hades.” he said quietly and dropped his hand. ‘’Should we go?”

With your hand now wrapped tightly around the gold cypress leaf you sighed, “Yeah, I guess it’s time.”

The walk to the Judgement Pavilion was the shortest one you’d had to take the entire trip and you were endlessly annoyed by that fact. There wasn’t even a valid excuse to hold Jiyong’s hand one more time. Internally you felt like being a whiny brat and stomping your foot with frustration at how this was all ending. Instead you just walked quietly, slightly behind him, with a miserable pout on your lips. Jiyong too upset on his own to even notice how unhappy you were.

The pavilion itself was made of the same black onyx with gold marbling as the walls of Erebos. It was large to say the very least. You’d have probably described it as massive. At the front there were easily two hundred steps that led up to the platform where the building sat. A dozen columns lined the entrance, though the entrance itself was too high up for you to see. There were people all over the stairs and near the entrance and suddenly you felt very nervous.

You didn’t have to worry long. As you stared up at the daunting staircase and the strangers that occupied it, Jiyong grabbed your hanging hand in his and pulled you around to the side. There wasn’t anyone around, that you could tell anyway. And you were happy about not having to take the stairs it seemed. Mostly you were glad to have his long, warm fingers wrapped around yours one last time.

“What do we do if we get caught?” you asked quietly.

“We won’t, no one ever comes this way.” he said confidently as he found the opening he was looking for.

For a while it was too dark for you to see anything, but it didn’t worry you. You trusted Jiyong and as long as you had his hand you’d keep walking into the dark with just the sound of your clicking heels surrounding you. Then a bright light finally started to grow in front of you. It turned out it was coming from an open doorway. Through the door there was another hallway, this one lined with lit sconces. You followed Jiyong down that hallway as well which just led to another hallway and another until you were dizzy and had zero sense of direction.

“Where are we going?” You whispered finally.

“Almost there.” he said quietly, and squeezed your hand.

He took you down two more hallways, all of them having looked exactly the same. If anything were to happen and you had to escape without him you knew you’d have no chance. However you’d been worried very little by the idea of not having Jiyong by your side.

Then he stopped you in front of yet another turn down another hallway. Only this hallway was much darker. It was long and the only light was down at the very end. A single sconce beside a silver door. With a sigh he lifted your hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against it, he gave your fingers one last gentle squeeze and let it fall to your side. With a frown you looked down at your empty hand and then back up at Jiyong.

“You’ll find Jiho through that door.” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down the hall.

“Wait,” you shook your head, “You’re not coming with me?”

“No, I can’t.” he frowned back at you, “I told you, I’ve got some business to take care of.”

“Oh, right.” you were trembling and he wanted to hold you but he held himself back.

“I promise you’ll be safe from here on out. There’s no need to be scared. You don’t need me anymore.” he said with a small smile.

He was wrong and you thought you should tell him so. You were always going to need him. You looked down the hallway at the door and then back to Jiyong before taking a deep breath.

“I’ll see you later?” you said with uncertainty.

You’d assumed this whole time that the two of you would just meet up back home at the bakery some afternoon and you’d get him his big mug of espresso shots like normal and everything would go back to how it was. Standing here now you felt unsure that was actually the case. Would you ever actually see him again?

“Or I guess, if I don’t… thank you. You know for bringing me here. For everything really, you’ve done so much.”

“You know I’d do anything for you.” he said quietly, and then, “I um, I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

You nodded and then looked down again at the long dark walk ahead of you, “I guess I should go. You’re sure you can’t just come with and hold my hand the rest of the way? Maybe just be my designated hand holder for the rest of my life.”

He laughed, if only you realized how badly he wanted to be just that. “Unfortunately, I can’t, but you’ll be fine. I promise.”

A deep sigh escaped you, you were running out of things to say to prolong this moment. Already uncomfortable at just the idea of not having him by your side anymore. The longer you looked at him the more tears built at the backs of your eyes and you knew soon you’d just be staring at him crying, again, and you felt you should spare him that. He already had too many memories of you breaking down. You thought maybe you could leave him with one where you weren’t.

“Do I look pretty?” you asked.

Lifting his hand he tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear, and he smiled, “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.”

“Okay. I’m going.” you said as enthusiastically as you could muster and turned on your heel. You’d only gotten a few feet before muttering under your breath, “Just ask me to stay with you.”

Jiyong stood there watching you move further and further away, his heart ached. A voice at the back of his mind was screaming furiously. Tell her! Tell her everything! And he called out your name.

You swiped a stray tear from your cheek before you turned to look at him expectantly. The two of you stared at one another and he found himself once more unable to get out the words he needed to say.

“Good luck.” he said instead.

You shot him a weak smile and turned back down the hall. With every step you felt more alone, until you were standing just in front of the silver door. One hand on the doorknob you turned around once more but Jiyong was long gone, and you knew he would be. Another deep sigh escaped your lips and you pushed the door open.

The room you found yourself walking into was huge. It looked even larger with just the single bench that was sitting dead center. The floors were a blinding white marble, the walls a pitch black, and the ceiling was arched high and a brilliant gold, emitting a glow like the sun down onto the room.

Jiho was sitting on the bench. He hadn’t noticed you there yet. His leg was bouncing anxiously, thumb tucked between his lips as he chewed at the nail. You watched him quietly as you processed the sinking feeling in your stomach.

It felt like wanting to turn around and run away. It felt like disappointment. It felt like the guilt of not being as happy or as excited as you’d expected to be, as you thought you should be, to see him.

“Hey.” you managed a single word. You’d been quiet but your voice still echoed through the empty hall like you’d shouted.

Jiho looked up at you, an instant brightness illuminating his face. He smiled so brightly at you, so happily, it only made you feel that much worse.

“Oh my god, you came!” He stood up from the bench and quickly made his way to you. Once his arms were around you he leaned in for a kiss. You tried to kiss him back but something inside of you felt off. “I knew you would! I missed you so much, bug.”

Face scrunched at the pet name he’d chosen for you, you pulled away processing the moment, “Wait, you were expecting me?”

“Of course. Didn’t he explain it to you?”

“Who?” You asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Hades. Didn’t he come for you?”

“No...I came here on my own. Well, with a friend. What’s going on?” You asked utterly confused.

Jiho sighed, he wasn’t really prepared to explain why he’d wanted you there. He thought Hades would have told you, that he wouldn’t actually have to explain it to you himself. “I wanted to ask you for a favor.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “On top of coming to the underworld to find you and get you out of here?”

“Well, you can actually, that’s the favor I was going to ask you for. You can get me out of here.” He said enthusiastically.

“What is it?” You asked, “Obviously let’s do it, that’s why I came.”

He bit his lip nervously and asked, “Anything?”

“Of course, you know I would. I love you.”

“I knew you were the one.” He whispered, grabbing your face and planting a kiss on your lips.

You pulled away uncomfortably but Jiho didn’t notice. “What do we do? Do you already know?”

“Yeah,” he patted your hair down and gulped lightly, “You just have to exchange your soul for mine.”

All you managed to do was blink up at him. “What does that mean?”

“We meet with Hades and you offer your soul in place of mine.”

“Then what?” You asked, “I just go back without a soul? How does that work?”

“No...not quite.” He was more cautious with his words now, “You would stay here in my place. I would go back alone.”

“So I die.”

He nodded, “I guess.”

“Everyone already thinks your dead.” You said quietly, looking down at your feet. “This is really what you want? Not to sound vain but I came all this way for you, and you’d ...be just fine living without me?”

“No, bug,” he cooed pulling you closer, “of course I wouldn’t be fine. But...you know how close I was to a breakthrough with my art. And we both know how unhappy you are with how things are in your life just in general, you know. I mean, how long were you really going to last without me?”

Your heart crushed in your chest. As you blinked you felt tears slip over your cheeks and quickly swiped at them. “Oh, yeah, of course. You’re totally right. No ...it makes so much sense. I would have just wasted what time I had left anyway. We should do this.”

“I love you, bug.” he smiled, and gave you another kiss. “This really means so much to me.”

“I,” you hesitated, “love you too.”

He reached his hand up and cupped your face before leaning in to kiss you again. He pulled your lip between his and it was like you couldn’t feel anything. It was as if your soul already left your body and you were just kind of stuck in this experience. When his tongue slipped passed your teeth your eyes squeezed shut in a cringe. He groaned against your lips and with the hand that was at your hip he pulled you closer.

You lifted your hands to his chest, you wanted to push him away but felt it seemed almost unfair of you. He was your boyfriend after all, you should have wanted it just as much. All the gods in every religion would have known by now how much you’d been lusting over Jiyong, but this man you were supposed to actually love want to be with was making your stomach churn.

“You’re so beautiful.” he muttered against your skin as his lips dragged down your face to your throat. His hands dropped to your ass and he tugged the fabric of the dress up until it was scrunched in his fists.

Don’t give up your soul for him. You could hear Jiyong’s voice from your dream in your head. It echoed through your body like it had when he was bringing you back from the nightmare you’d had that you’d lost him.

“Stop.” you whispered weakly as his fingers dug into your skin. He didn’t stop he kept going, he let out a moan against your neck. His hips pressed into yours and you could feel him getting hard against you. Dropping your hands to his wrists you pushed him off of you, “I said stop, Jiho.”

He stepped back and looked at you. His face read hurt but mostly anger. “Seriously, y/n? It’s been like a month.”

“I’m just not comfortable doing that here.” you wrapped your arms around yourself protectively.

Jiho’s nose flared as he inhaled. “You were fucking someone. Weren’t you? After I died. Who? That guy? The one from work?”

You sighed, already exhausted. Maybe it would just be better to be dead at this point. Maybe you could talk Hades into letting you go to Asphodel. That could make this worth it. “You really want to do this here, Jiho? You really want a fight right now, after what you’ve asked me to do for you?”

His face softened immediately and he backtracked, “I’m sorry, bug. It’s just been hard without you and I get so insecure. I love you. You know?”

I love you. Lie. I love you. Lie. I love you. Lie.

“Mmhmm.” you nodded, “I know.”

A door opened at the opposite side of the room than you’d come in at. A man stepped through, he looked at you and his eyes raised as if in surprise and then he looked over at Jiho, “This is her?”

“Yeah, this is y/n.” Jiho smiled over his shoulder at you and held his hand out for you to take. Keeping one arm wrapped around yourself you allowed him to take the other hand. You didn’t smile at either of them.

“Damn, that’s a real shame.” the man said quietly, but it still echoed through the room, “Anyway, Hades is ready for you now. There are a couple ahead of you because of the backlog so just wait in line. You know the deal.”

Jiho thanked the man and guided you through the door. You weren’t entirely surprised to find yourself in another long hallway that turned into different hallways. This time there were the added stairs. Just a handful from one hallway, leading to the next. Down the final hallway you were stopped by the waiting line. The man from the room had been a little misleading when he said there were only a couple people waiting. Maybe if he meant a couple dozen or even a couple hundred from what you could see. You couldn’t even see where the line lead to from the hallway you were in.

Looking over at you Jiho smiled, “It’s not that bad. The last time I waited the line went back like three hallways.”

“Mmhmm” you hummed quietly.

“You do look really beautiful, bug.” he said and leaned forward pressing a kiss against your forehead. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.” you said. And that was true. You’d had a really great time with Jiyong and you were glad you had that memory. And you were glad to know the truth now, as much as it might hurt. It was better, you thought, to die with the truth than to live with a lie. So it wasn’t a lie, you were glad you’d come.

The wait in the hallway was miserable and it felt like it took ages. Longer than any line at an amusement park. Longer than any line at the grocery store around the holidays. There was nothing to look at and no one to talk to. You didn’t want to talk to the creepy guy standing in front of you, and you didn’t want to talk to any of the people that ended up behind you. You definitely weren’t in the mood to talk to Jiho.

You knew exactly who you wished you could talk to. You knew you could tell him everything that had happened in the last half hour of your life, and he’d reply with something snarky. Something harsh and true, but something that made you laugh regardless. You missed him so much already it made your stomach hurt. You realized you didn’t even say a proper goodbye. He’d sounded so convinced when he said he’d see you soon that you just believed him and now you’d never get to say the things you’d wished you had. You wondered what the chances were that Jiho would be willing to take a letter to Jiyong for you. Then you snickered to yourself at the thought alone.

Once you were through the archway and into the main room the wait was much more interesting, and way more tolerable. You were absolutely mesmerized by it. The ceilings were impossibly high, higher than you’d ever have expected from the view you’d gotten outside. The peaked arches and ribbed vaultings were perfectly crafted. Beautiful, powerful white columns lined the room. The walls were dark, maybe black, but every once in awhile there was a reflection of light and you just knew there were probably some gorgeous details you were missing out on being stuck in this line instead of wandering. Every couple of yards on either side there was a new stained glass window for you to admire. All the ones you’d seen were of battles. Clearly they were of gods wars but you weren’t so caught up on your mythology that you could name them all.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t see much ahead of you with the line of people in the way. There was a stunning rose window against the back wall that reminded you of ones you’d seen pictures of. Ones from cathedrals you’d never get to visit now, not that you’d had plans to anyway. You could, however, see the top of an unnecessarily tall throne. It was black onyx too, and gaudy with its exaggerated peaked crest. You knew it had to have been where Hades was. You knew he was in this room somewhere, so it would make sense for him to sit on the most annoying piece of furniture you’d ever seen.

“Overcompensate much?” you muttered under your breath with hint of bitterness.

Hades with his big beautiful mansion and his big beautiful gardens and his big beautiful dog. The whole trip you’d thought maybe you’d like him but with every step forward you started to really loathe him. How could anyone good agree to let something like this happen?

“What was that?” Jiho asked turning to you.

“Nothing. Just… the throne. It’s so massive.”

“Looks stupid from here, I know. Once you’re up there, it's kind of terrifying, serves its purpose for sure.” he said with a low voice, “You think the chair is big wait until you see the guy sitting in it.”

“Who? Hades?” you asked, “Is he big? Like a giant big?”

Jiho shook his head, “No, physically he’s like...well average really. Kind of small now that I’m thinking about it. It’s his energy, makes him seem forty feet tall. They really don’t fuck with him here.”

Suddenly you felt nervous. You weren’t sure why you hadn't thought about it before, not even once. You were about to be standing in front of an actual god. You were going to just offer up your soul to a deity. No big fucking deal. You clutched the cypress leaf pendant in your fist nervously as the line pushed forward.

The stained glass windows had proved to be a good distraction from your inevitable emotional and mental breakdown. They had turned from battles to the gods and goddesses themselves. It was actually kind of fun to try and decipher which one was which. When your eyes landed on the stained glass window of Hades you stared for a long while taking in the image. The storm in your stomach calmed. The image was one that was not totally unfamiliar to you. In fact it was one you’d learned well, especially over the last several days.

A beautiful piece of art, absolutely, but the image wasn’t entirely correct you’d thought. The stained glass missed the sharp angles of his face and how plush his lips could get, especially when he was pouting. The flame that flickered in his eyes, that never seemed to die out and that was constantly starting fires throughout your body, that was missing too. However, the dramatically peaked eyebrow, and air of superiority...the artist had gotten perfectly.

“Jiho…” you said quietly, still not turning from the art. You wondered if you could be mistaken, though it seemed very unlikely. He looked down at you with a small smile and squeezed your hand, “You said you’ve seen him right?”

“Who? Hades?” he asked and you nodded, “yeah, I’ve seen him.”

You gestured to the stained glass, “Is that him?”

“More or less.” Jiho shrugged, “Hair’s shorter now.”

With one more look back at the window you turned your face up towards the high ceiling in disbelief. A laugh tickled the back of your throat, though this didn’t seem like an appropriate situation for laughing. A voice in the back of your mind asked you if you were truly surprised. Maybe he had never actually said the words to you, but there were a lot of clues you should have picked up along the way. You realized that now, looking back at it all.

“You okay?”

You looked over at Jiho and gave something of a smile, “Yeah, I’m... wonderful.”

“We’re next.” he said and squeezed your hand.

“Next!” Phobos called out, and the two of you stepped forward.

Sure enough, as you stepped forward and the last soul was dragged out of your line of vision, there he was. Jiyong. Your Jiyong, sitting atop his massive throne, in his fancy suit with one leg crossed over the other as he drummed his fingers on the arm of his seat. You’d seen him so many different ways in all sorts of situations but this was new. It felt like power radiated off of him. His face was expressionless and unbiased as he looked over you. He was pouting again, a mixture of unhappy and maybe angry though you couldn’t imagine that he was angry with you.

You tried so very hard to remain serious, as it was genuinely a serious situation. The problem was as he sat there menacingly and all powerful, staring down at you and Jiho with all the judgement in the world...all you could think about was how sexy he looked. It was so ridiculous. You were about to give up your soul. You were minutes from dead and all you could think about was how badly you wanted to kiss this guy that you were starting to wonder if you ever even knew in the first place.

“Oh my god.” you muttered, embarrassed by your own immature thoughts. Then as it clicked in your head you shook your head incredulously, “My god...no wonder.”

You pressed your fingers to your forehead and did everything in your power to hold it together. Oh my god. You thought it again to yourself and with much amusement remembered thinking he’d had a god complex. Losing any self control you’d had left you let out a snort of laughter. You quickly threw your hands over your mouth to hide your obvious giggles.

“Y/n.” Jiho hissed at your side, “What the fuck, bug? Get it together.”

Shaking your head you let the thoughts drop from your head and put on your most serious face, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, it’s not funny.”

Looking back up at Jiyong, Hades, his mouth remained unmoved but you could see the laughter in his eyes as he looked down at you. You chewed on your lip to keep from laughing again.

“Name!” Phobos called out.

“Woo Jiho and Y/n.” Jiho said and looked over at you, almost annoyed, before looking up at Hades.

“So,” Hades voice came out strong, even more powerful than the energy he’d given off just by sitting there.

You couldn’t even look at him the way you wanted him now. You were honestly a little surprised, never having realized you had an apparent power kink. Or maybe it was just a Jiyong kink. Your cheeks burned.

He continued “Woo Jiho, this is the soul you are offering me in place of your own for all of eternity?”

Jiho nodded, “Yes, sir.”

Still unable to look directly at him you missed the way the laughter had left his eyes, the way his glare bore down into Jiho with unspeakable rage, “And you’ve explained to her the conditions of the exchange you have propositioned me with as was requested of you?”

“Yes, sir.”

Hades took a deep breath and asked, “And she agreed?”

“Yes. Yes, sir, she agreed.” Jiho nodded enthusiastically.

“Y/n…” he said quietly, calmly, gentle. You shook your head slightly unable to move your eyes up but now it was because you felt guilty and ashamed. “Look at me.”

You scratched the back of your head nervously and then with a heavy sigh you finally looked up and met his eyes. He looked sad in a way that you’d never seen him before and you hated it immediately. You’d never wanted anything more than to never see that sadness on his face ever again.

“What he’s said...is it true?”

You knew he was only asking you now. It wasn’t like when he spoke to Jiho and it was as if he was announcing every word to everyone in the room. This was intimate. This was just the two of you. You nodded.

“He advised you that as per the conditions of the proposed bargain you would be exchanging your soul in place of his. That he would go on to live and you…” he couldn’t bring himself to say the words, “would not any longer...do that.”

You nodded and he looked more pained than ever. He rested his elbow on the arm of the throne and roughly rubbed his face and massaged his temple.

Dropping his hand he sighed and asked, “And you agreed to those conditions?”

You nodded again. Technically yes, you had agreed to Jiho in that room under the pavilion that you were going to exchange your soul. You wished you could have a minute with Jiyong...Hades to explain. He leaned forward, he looked absolutely panicked. Taking another deep breath he looked at you, really looked at you.

And as if he was begging you outloud in front of everyone you could hear his voice echo through you once more, Don’t give up your soul for him!

You wondered genuinely if it wasn’t too late.

As if knowing your thought Hades said very pointedly, “You must say it out loud. You have to say to me that you offer your soul in place of his. Otherwise it’s not a valid exchange.”

It felt like minutes passed of complete silence, everyone in the room was looking at you. Hades, Jiho, other souls awaiting judgement. Every single face was turned towards yours waiting to hear you say the words.

“Come on.” Jiho looked down at you and whispered, “You promised me. You said you would do this for me. Just say it. Tell him you agree.”

“Jiho...are you…” you looked up at him slowly, “fucking serious?”

“What?”

“You were really going to let me give up my entire life for you! You were seriously okay with that.” You turned to look at Hades, “Did you see that? He was really going to let me do it!”

Hades was too busy dragging his palms down his face dramatically from the complete agony of the anticipation to even respond.

“You always said you would do anything for me.” Jiho said still confused by whatever was happening before him.

“My LIFE, Jiho.” You said exasperated. “You fucking asshole. I can’t...I can’t even be near you. I feel like I’m choking.”

You searched the room, anxiety washing over you as the reality of it all started to hit. You were standing in the underworld. You had spent days wandering around the underworld with Hades himself. You’d been having sex dreams about Hades. You wanted to fuck the god underworld. It was incredibly likely that you were...in love with him. Your dead boyfriend made a deal with Hades to swap his souls for yours. You were in love with a god and you were almost half sure he was in love with you too.

Your head started to spin, it was making your stomach ache, and you desperately needed air. Pretending this was just a Hades themed amusement park was no longer working for you. And everything was processing incredibly fast. You could not find a door or a window in this room to save your life. Your sight began to blur, you couldn’t even see where you’d come in from.

“Y/n…” Hades voice had become concerned as he watched you clearly spiraling. You blinked unable to focus on him, but you knew he was close because of his voice. Reaching out you could feel the fabric of his shirt brush your fingertips and you clutched onto him.

“I need out. Get me out of this room. Where is the door? Why aren’t there any doors?” You asked in a panic. “Jiyong please, I just need...I can’t breathe.”

“There.” He said calmly. You wiped at your eyes and squinted, seeing a sliver of light as a door opened not far from you. Dropping your hand you sprinted towards it and out into the light.

You were on a balcony that looked out over the underworld, a thought you tried to ignore as you tried to catch your breath. Grabbing onto the railing you took several long, deep breaths. You tried to remember the tricks you’d learned to control your anxiety. The things you’d learned to used before Jiyong.

Touch, you could feel the smooth balcony beneath your hand, you were grounded. Sight, you could see in the distance the peak of the towers of Elysium. Sound, you could hear the sound of people chatting, and looked over the balcony to see a group of people passing by. They must have been gods, you’d thought, because you were sure that one of them had been Pothos.

After that you felt much better and stood normally, looking out at everything spread before you. You could see the Towers of Elysium, and the mountain ridges that held the entrance to Tartarus. The sun was setting on all of it, a glorious rainbow of colors painted across the sky. It was beautiful here, in every sense of the word.

A cleared throat caught your attention and you turned around. Hades was standing several feet away with his hands in his pockets. He looked embarrassed or ashamed but you weren’t sure why he would be either.

“Are you feeling better?” He asked hopefully.

“Yeah. Sorry I freaked out. Sorry I’m always freaking out on you.” You gave a small laugh, you should be the one who was embarrassed.

“Was it me? Did I-“ he didn’t know exactly what he wanted to ask you. Did he freak you out? Had he scared you? Was all of this too much and you wanted to leave here and him as soon as you could?

“No, it wasn’t you” you answered, “I...I don’t think I’ve been processing everything and it all kind of hit me at once.”

“You’d been taking all of it very much in stride. I should have been more worried. I’m sorry.” He stepped towards you but didn’t want to be too overwhelming so he stepped back.

“Can we stop saying we’re sorry? Neither of us has done anything wrong.” You sighed.

“You’re not mad at me then?”

You shook your head no, you hadn’t even thought to be mad at him honestly. He didn’t say anything after that, he only stood there watching you. Waiting to see what you wanted, waiting to see what you would say. You leaned back against the banister and took him in, took Hades in. It was hard to see him as anyone other than your Jiyong. Arrogant and honest. Gentle and caring. He didn’t look as old as you suspected he was. He didn’t look scary or mean or threatening in anyway. It made you feel crazy but you still wanted to kiss him.

“So,” You started slowly, “Hades, huh?”

He shrugged, “It’s not a big deal.”

“Why didn’t you tell me then?” you asked.

“Would you have believed me?”

You grinned, “That’s fair.”

“I, um, there’s something I’d like to ask you.” he said taking a deep breath and pulling his hands from his pockets.

“What better time than now?” You smiled encouragingly. It was kind of precious the difference between him standing in front of you and him sitting in his throne room. Like he was two entirely different people.

“I’m...in love with you.” He looked up at you with big doe eyes, and a trembling lip.

“That’s not a question.” You smirked.

He let out a small laugh, gratefully for your sense of humor. “I want you to stay here with me, but I understand if you don’t want to. If you’re not interested at all. I don’t want it to be like the last time I wanted someone to love me. I won’t make you stay.”

“Still not a question.”

He sighed deeply, and smiled, “Please. Help a god out?”

Leaning back again you looked him over with a smile thinking about how you wanted to respond. It wasn’t often in your relationship with him that you held much power, and you assumed if you stayed here you wouldn’t get it again any time soon.“Your ex wife is Persephone.”

“Yes.”

“If she’s not stuck down here anymore then why are there still four seasons?” You asked. You bit your lip to keep from laughing, you could see him squirm as you got further and further from where he wanted the conversation to be.

“I don’t know.” He said frustrated, “People really like Halloween. Why take that away from them?”

“Would you not stand so far away? It makes me feel like your going to blast me off this balcony with magic hands or something.”

“I don’t have magic hands.” He said finally coming towards you.

“That’s a shame.” You laughed. “I had a dream that you did.”

He looked up in surprise, and realized you were joking. “Would you please… I asked you something very important. And really very serious.”

“You didn’t actually ask me anything.” You corrected.

“Will you stay here with me?” he finally asked, exasperated, “Could you love me? Do you want me?”

“Would you let me leave? To think about it. Would you let me leave and if I decide I want to come back and stay with you, I could just summon you or whatever? And if not then you leave me alone?”

Hades looked genuinely devastated which made you feel a little bad for even asking. He’d been nervous but he hadn’t truly believed there was a chance that you didn’t feel the same for him as he felt for you. Suddenly it felt as if he’d completely misinterpreted every moment up to now.

“Oh, um, yes. Yes, of course you can go.”

The smallest smile tugged at your mouth, “You’d really let me go?”

“You’re not a captive here. I don’t want this to be a prison. I want this to be your home.”

More than anything you wanted to kiss him then. To tell him you’d stay an eternity if that’s what he wanted but you kept your composure. “So, if say I wanted to stay with you but all the time became too much and I needed space away from you, away from here...you’d let me, I don’t know, leave for a while and comeback?”

He sighed, “Of course but…”

“Yes?”

His eyebrows gathered in thought for what, you thought, was far too long before his eyes lit up in realization and he groaned, “You’re fucking with me.”

“I am totally still fucking with you.” you laughed.

“Why are you doing this?” he pouted.

“I don’t know let’s see, you lied to me about who you were for months. Not even just that but you kept from me that you were a god. No...that’s not even accurate, you aren’t just some nobody god. You’re Hades. An Olympian and King of the Underworld.”

“You said you weren’t mad about that.” he mumbled, diggin his hands in his pockets as he stared down at your feet.

“Okay, fine. Take away that and you also kept from me that my dead boyfriend wanted my soul. That he’d cheated on me, lied to me, and in general just been a real piece of shit. You knew that about him since the first day you met me and never said a single word.” he was nodding silently in agreement, knowing you were right. “And your worst crime against me? The most unforgivable thing you’ve done this entire time? ...You still haven’t kissed me yet.”

He looked up at you for a long silent moment as he realized that you were still messing with him. He didn’t move, he didn’t speak, he didn’t blink, you weren’t sure if he was even breathing. All you could see was the way his eyes transitioned from a confused, almost pitiful gaze, to something more pointed. His eyes looked wild, they looked hungry and the blood that flowed through you was vibrating in anticipation.

Taking the few steps that closed the gap between the two of you he raised his hand to the back of your neck, just one, and pulled your lips to his in a heavy clash. It could have just been in your mind, but you’d have sworn the impact made a sound like a thunder clap that cracked across the entire underworld. Your knees gave like jelly, but he’d had his other arm around your waist before you even realized. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and he held you close.

It was exactly as you expected it might be. The way it had been in the dream. It was how you’d dreamt a kiss would be when you were a child. The way they portrayed them in foreign films and on the covers of romance novels.Time stopped around the two of you and a feeling of weightlessness washed over you. There was you and there was Jiyong...Hades, whoever. And you expected that if you had a want to open your eyes you’d see nothing else but stars, fireflies, fireworks, or something just as beautifully cliche exploding around you.

His hand slide around to cup your face and you allowed yourself to really sink into him, the way you’d wanted to for days, weeks, months now. You thought to yourself, in that moment, that you finally knew what it meant for something to feel like home. It was so warm in his embrace, it was so comfortable, and made you feel safer than you ever had in your life. You weren’t sure how long it lasted, you truly didn’t care. He could have held you there in his arms, on that terrace, overlooking the underworld until your soul left your body for judgement.

“Do you want to stay here with me,” he asked again, his lips brushing yours, “or do you want to go home?”

With one of your hands pressed against his chest you smiled, “Ji-Hades, I am home.”

He leaned back and searched your face, “Don’t fuck with me. I really can’t take any more right now. I have to know.”

“I am being very serious.” you grinned, “You’re the only thing that’s ever felt like home to me.”

Leaning forward he kissed your forehead, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” you leaned forward and gave him another kiss before a sudden realization hit and you pulled back with a frown, “but…”

“No.” he shook his head, “no but.”

“But.” you reached up and held his face while you continued, “Won’t you be so sad when you have to watch me get all old and die?”

“Oh...Oh!” he brightened significantly, “I, uh, actually there’s something I would like to show you.”

“Oh really?” you asked suggestively.

He tsk’d you and rolled his eyes, “Not that. Well…yes that, later. I was talking about something else, but that will have to wait too. Right now we should really go back in and take care of your boyfriend.”

“Ex...boyfriend.” you clarified.

“That’s right. What would you like to do with your ex boyfriend.” He grinned, “You have a new boyfriend now.”

My boyfriend, Hades. The thought made you laugh, it sounded insane. You lifted your mouth to his for another kiss. One of his hands was curved around your hip, his fingers pressed into you as you tugged on his lip with your teeth. Jiho was honestly the very last thing you wanted to think about in this moment. Hades was very persistent though and pulled away, giving you a look.

“Are you always so professional?” you asked sneaking a quick peck.

He said nothing in response, only raising his eyebrow at you, though he did grin.

“Okay, fine.” You said with a sigh and rolled your head back before looking back at him. “Can we feed him to Cerberus?”

“Of course, darling.” He leaned forward and kissed your shoulder.

You made a face at the pet name, “Darling?”

“No? Not darling. My love? My queen? I’ll call you anything you want.” you blushed as he whispered sweet names along your neck leaving kisses all the way to your ear. Then with a low voice he whispered, “Baby.”

You inhaled sharply, your face flushing crimson. “Well you can call me just about anything if you’re going to say it all erotic like that.”

With a smile he kissed your cheek, “So Cerberus. Getting off easy if you ask me.”

“I didn’t say I was done.” You responded as he slipped his fingers between yours and began walking back towards the door. “It should be done slowly. Tiny pieces, and he has to watch.”

Hades shivered beside you, “You’re terrifying.”

“Is that okay?” you asked.

He leaned over and kissed your cheek once more. “It’s perfect, you’re perfect. Perhaps you should tell him. Get used to handing out judgements. I’ll need your help if you stay.”

“Do I get a hideously gaudy throne too?” you asked with a smirk, and he glared over at you, “We can put it next to yours. Close enough that I can make you hold my hand whenever I want.”

His glare turned to a grin and he nodded, “Anything for you.”

“Wait.” You said suddenly as you stood in front of the door. He turned and you threw your arms around him, pulling him in for one more good kiss. Stepping back again you straightened his tie and fixed his out of place hair. “Okay.”

He walked you into the quiet hall. If you thought everyone was looking at you earlier it was nothing like how it felt now. It seemed as if even more people had come into the room than were there before. All wanting to get a look. Hades squeezed your fingers and led you up the steps to the platform the throne sat on.

He lowered himself into the seat and you perched yourself on the arm of the throne. His arm slipped around your hip, his hand resting gently on your upper thigh. You thought it made sense how powerful he’d seemed before. It was impossible to sit up here and not feel invincible.

You turned to him and whispered, “Really though, can my throne be as big as this one?”

He chuckled lightly, “Bigger, if you want.”

Doling out your first judgement was easy. You’d thought for a minute it would be harder, feel worse. However when Jiho cried out to you as he was dragged away, begging, pleading and apologizing the whole way, you felt less than sympathetic. The things he’d done, the lies he’d told, scrolling through your mind and you felt nothing. You’d looked down at Hades, and he looked up at you in complete adoration.

“We should have crowns.” you grinned, “Can we get matching crowns?”

“Would you like a crown, my love?” he asked, eyes dancing as they watched you. Your heart skipped a beat and he smiled at the way you’d become flustered.

You shrugged, “Couples crowns would be cute. Don’t you think?”

“It sounds perfect.”

Dragging your teeth over your lip as you looked down at him you released it with a pop, “I’m going to kiss you now.”

He nodded, “You should do that.”

You stood up from the arm of the chair, and moved so that you were in front of him. He gulped as you tugged the skirt of your dress up slightly before placing a knee on each side of his lap. You straddled him, not unlike you had in your first dream. His eyes closed as your hands moved up his chest, over his neck and into his hair. Leaning in you pressed your lips to his. Sucking his lip between yours, opening your mouth for him. His hands clutched your thighs and you moaned into his mouth.

As your lips left a trail to his ear, he squirmed beneath you and you whispered next to his ear, “I love you.”

He groaned loudly in response, his whole body shuddered in pleasure. He lifted his heavy eyelids to see the entire throne room either gawking at the two of you or purposefully staring anywhere else.

“Go. Away.” he called over your shoulder as you sucked on the skin of his throat. His voice boomed throughout the entire hall. He shivered again as he felt your hands between the two of you, gently tugging his shirt from his pants. You’d completely forgotten anyone else was in the room at this point, all you knew was you wanted him.

Deimos cleared his throat, “Sir, the souls…”

“Or don’t. I don’t care. I really couldn’t care any less what you do.” He looked down to where you’d tugged his shirt and jacket from his shoulders and were leaving pink splotches all over his bare skin. He ran his hand against the side of your face and whispered, “my insatiable queen.”

Phobos and Deimos began clearing out the hoard of waiting souls and everyone else who’d gathered in the hall.

“Oh, quit your bitching.” Phobos called out to the groan of souls, “Most of you are going to Tartus anyway. Enjoy one last night in holding before you’re tortured for eternity.”

Once the room was finally cleared he very reluctantly and very gently pushed you back so you were sitting on his lap. He cupped your cheek in his palm and brushed your swollen lips with his thumb.

“I’ve been waiting so long for you. I didn’t even realize I’d been waiting.” As he spoke you realized you’d never seen him look so impossibly vulnerable before. “I never knew it was supposed to feel like this.”

“That what was supposed to feel like this?”

“Love.” he whispered. “Is this even real? I’m so afraid of it being just another dream. It feels too amazing, too good to be true.”

You reached down slowly and without him realizing you pinched the soft skin of his hip until he jumped beneath you with an ow.

You laughed at the betrayed look on his face. “Not a dream this time. And it really is as good as it feels.”

“You’re sure this is what you want? An eternity with me? You won’t regret your decision later on and then leave me all alone?”

“Hades…” his face softened further at the sound of his name on your lips. “I swear. I promise. I vow. There is absolutely nothing more I want than to…waste away completely with you forever.”

“And ever?” He smiled.

“And ever. And ever. And ever. And ever…” you said planting a kiss on his smiling, rounded cheeks with each promise of eternity.

A kiss for every lifetime you planned to spend with him. He was a blushing mess, putty in your hands, but you didn’t stop because you meant it and you’d keep going until he made you stop. You hoped he never would.

“And ever. And ever. And ever. And ever…”

#g dragon scenario #Kwon Jiyong scenario #Big Bang scenario #Kpop scenario #Everlong #literally already cried about this being over #thank you everyone!#I hope you love it!!

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bestillmyslashyheart · 5 years

Text

unexpected tidings

No.

Fuck no.

Just...no.

No way.

No fucking way.

Liz was still talking, Alex realized distantly. The blood pounding in his ears was drowning out everything she said but he could clearly see her lips still moving.

“-ex? Alex?” He registered the voice seconds before the hand clapped down on his shoulder. Alex flinched before he could help it and the hand lifted immediately. “Alex? Are you okay?” Alex turned slightly to see Kyle staring at him with worried eyes.

He nodded absently. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Just...processing.” He paused. “Was sort of starting to think my dad was just insane for hunting aliens in Roswell.” Alex desperately wanted to say he thought his dad was insane for believing in aliens in the first place but that would be a lie. Aliens were real, Alex had no doubts about that, but he didn’t think any of them would be stupid enough to stay in Roswell.

“Yeah, I know, it’s a lot.” Liz’s voice was soft with understanding as she offered him some water. Alex took it with a small smile, grateful to have something in his hands.

“So let me get this straight,” Maria asked suddenly, her voice ringing loudly in the otherwise silent room. She was perched on the edge of the couch, her hands clasped in front of her mouth as she stared at Max and Isobel Evans. “You two are aliens.” They didn’t answer because, at this point, she wasn’t asking. “You woke up in the desert 20 years ago with no memory of your life before waking up. You have magical-”

“I don’t like the term magical,” Isobel cut her off. “I think it’s safe to say it’s not magic if it’s intrinsic to who we are.”

Maria’s face twitched like she wanted to argue but she just sighed and continued. “So you have alien powers,” Isobel nodded (in approval or assent, Alex wasn’t sure), “and now the US military, headed by Alex’s father, is hunting you down.” Max and Isobel both nodded. “Oh and there’s a third alien out there but you have no idea where he is.”

“Correct,” Max agreed softly. “There were three of us when we woke up but after our parents adopted Isobel and I, we lost track of him. We don’t even know his name.”

“Could you track him down?” Liz asked as she sat down. “He could be in danger. We should find him if we can.”

Alex bit his tongue so hard he tasted blood.

Isobel shook her head. “I asked Noah to look into it for me. He got access to the orphanage’s records but since we don’t remember his name and we don’t know what he looks like, it was a dead end.”

“Well, if you have a list of names, maybe Alex could track them all down?” Kyle suggested, drawing everyone’s attention to Alex.

He coughed lightly to suppress a groan and just barely restrained himself from glaring at Kyle. “Theoretically, I could do that.” He didn’t want to lie to them but he also didn’t want to make any false promises. Already he could see the hope in Max and Isobel’s eyes.

“So, excepting the search for the third alien, what’s the plan here?” Maria asked, mercifully drawing the attention away from Alex. “I mean, I appreciate being in the loop and all, but why are you telling me? I get Alex. But why me?”

“Because we’re going to need help,” Max admitted. “We need people who can keep an eye out for Jesse Manes and anyone else who might be a little too interested in aliens in Roswell. Liz said we can trust you so we’re asking you to help us stay safe and out of the government’s reach.”

“So basically you’re asking me to be the lookout?” Maria clarified.

“Who knows more about what’s going on in this town than the resident bartender? And psychic?” Liz winked at Maria and Maria smiled lightly. It was true, they’d always joked that Maria knew about the people in this town than anyone else. Her friendly nature and copious amounts of alcohol usually led to people spilling their guts to her late at night. She was always careful not to spread around the things she heard, treating those moments a bit like a confessional, but if anyone new came into town, Maria would probably hear about it before anyone else.

“Ok,” she agreed. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and let you know if I hear anything.”

“Thank you,” Max told her sincerely.

“And you,” Isobel looked at Alex. “We need an inside man with the Air Force. Your dad’s in charge, so you can mosey on up to him and get the dirt. Find out what he has on us and let us know.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” Liz looked faintly betrayed while Max and Isobel’s faces shuttered. Alex held up a hand to stall the explosion. “My father and I don’t exactly get along. I’ve spent ten years doing my damnedest to get stationed as far away from my father as I possibly could. No way does he voluntarily share information and no way would he believe any excuse I could come up with to try and get involved. The second I ask any questions, he’s going to know something’s up.”

Max deflated while Isobel just looked angrier. “Well, what good are you then?”

“Hey,” Liz stood up to defend him. “Back off, Isobel. I get that that’s not something you wanted to hear but I asked Alex here to help you. Don’t get pissy just because he can’t do exactly what you want him to.”

Alex smiled at her in thanks before focusing on Isobel. “I can’t join my dad’s operation but that doesn’t mean I can’t get information. I’m a codebreaker, okay? I’ve hacked foreign government’s for fun. I can get in and spy on him without him even knowing it, but it’s going to take some time. You can’t expect results immediately. If I go too fast, it’ll tip him off that there’s a security breach and it’ll all be over.”

Isobel opened her mouth to say something but Max put a hand on her arm and she stilled. “Thank you, Alex. Really, whatever you can get us will be much appreciated. We just- we just want to live our lives, okay? And we can’t do that if we’re looking over our shoulders every second of the day.”

“You just want to be safe,” Alex agreed softly. “I get it. I’ll do whatever I can.” And he would. His motivations might be a bit more selfish than they thought, but it wouldn’t change the result; Alex would do whatever it took to bring down his father and stop him from completing his self-appointed mission to eradicate the alien race.

Their little meeting broke up soon after that and Alex didn’t bother hanging around. He made his goodbyes quickly and slipped out the door before anyone could pull him into a conversation.

His phone was in his hand as soon as the door closed behind him. He held it tightly as he got in the car, as he turned the ignition, and as he pulled away from Max’s house. He held it all through the drive back to Jim Valenti’s old cabin.

Only when he was safe inside his own four walls did Alex press Call.

“It’s two in the morning,” a gruff voice answered after a few rings. Alex pulled the phone away from his ear to check the time. Sure enough it was midnight.

“Sorry,” Alex apologized softly. “I can call back in the morning but I have some news and I figured you’d rather hear it now than later.”

There was shuffling on the other end before, “what is it?” The voice was clearer, the sleep cleared from it, but also sadder. Alex closed his eyes briefly, knowing what the other man was expecting him to say. After the way he left, Alex wasn’t surprised that the other man had been anticipating a middle of the night break-up phone call but this wasn’t it.

“I had a lovely conversation tonight with Liz, you remember I told you about Liz?” He got a grunt of acknowledgement and Alex pressed on, “well her boyfriend and his twin sister had a bunch of us over to talk about something near and dear to their hearts.” He paused.

“Alex,” the sadness was gone, replaced by annoyance and confusion.

Alex hummed and leaned back on the couch, his head tilting back to stare at a knot in the ceiling. “Turns out the boyfriend and his sister are being hunted by the military in an operation spear headed by my father. Want to know why? Apparently, they’re both aliens. Woke up in these pod things twenty years ago with no memory of their lives before then.” He paused and waited for a response but the line stayed quiet. “They said there was another boy with them. He didn’t get adopted with them and they lost track of him when they were seven. They’ve tried to find him but since they don’t know his name, they haven’t had any luck.”

“Alex-” came a strangled reply. “Are you saying-”

“How come you never mentioned you’re from Roswell, Michael?”

#malex fic #rnm #my fic #ok so this is probably (like 99% likely) going to be the beginning of a longer fic #but i dont want to write another long fic so we shall see

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ericsonclan · 4 years

Text

The Comfort of a Blanket

Summary: The twins and Tenn watch a movie and have a pleasant evening together until something happens to Minnie's blanket.

Read on A03:

Minnie sat on the couch enjoying the comfort of her blanket as she watched a movie with her siblings. They were watching Spiderman: Into the SpiderVerse for the millionth time. It was one of Tenn’s favorite movies so whenever he could convince them they would sit down and watch it. Tenn’s eyes were glued to the screen as he watched the different heroes face off against Kingpin. His body leaned forward and his arms wrapped tighter and tighter with each second of the film. Sophie wasn’t paying much attention to the TV; her focus was entirely on her sketchbook.

The sound of her pencil racing across paper could be heard faintly behind the loud action scene. When they had started this watchthrough of the movie, Sophie had been hit with a bolt of inspiration. Quickly mumbling that she was drawing different people from Ericson Diner with their own superspider designs, she’d gotten completely lost in her art, only occasionally glancing up before being hit with another wave of inspiration. They were getting towards the end of the movie when Minnie leaned forward to grab the popcorn only for a drink to be tipped over, the contents of which landed directly on her blanket.

“Shit!” Minnie jumped up to her feet, causing her siblings to also stir and look over with concern. Sophie haphazardly tried to grab the remote, pausing the movie after a minute.

“Are you okay, Minnie?” Tenn looked back at his older sister who looked devastated by the event that had played out.

“I’m fine,” She let out a sad sigh, lifting up her blanket “I can’t say the same for my blanket though,” She carefully examined the stain that was forming where the drink had spilled. Renata had given her this blanket and now she had ruined it.

“Don’t worry, Minnie. We can wash it. “ Sophie walked over to stand beside her.

“I don’t want it to get damaged or anything though,” Minnie had a worried expression on her face as she looked at her twin.

“That won’t be a problem,” Sophie gently took the blanket from her sister’s hands before motioning Minnie to follow her to the laundry room. “If we use this setting and grab-'' Sophie grunted as she stood on her tippy toes to reach the laundry detergent, letting out a happy noise when she had succeeded, “Grab the unscented tide pods,” Sophie glanced over at her twin who gave her approval before she tossed the blanket into the washer along with the detergent.

With a few button presses the washer began its progress, slowly spinning around the blanket.

“Is everything okay?” Tenn called from the back living room.

“Yeah, everything’s okay,” Minnie replied, walking back with Sophie so they could finish up the movie. They only had about fifteen minutes left which felt unusually long for Minnie as she waited impatiently for the washer to be done. When the credits had rolled the three siblings sat around for a moment, not sure what to do next.

“People are going to flip out when they see these,” Sophie carefully placed away her sketchpad with an excited smile.

“So, what do we do next?” Minnie asked, hoping her siblings would come up with some good ways to pass the time.

“We could do that art challenge that I’ve seen lately,” Tenn nervously fidgeted with his fingers as he spoke.

“Oh, which one?” Sophie immediately perked up whenever art was involved.

“It’s the one where one person draws someone in the room then they pass the paper to the next person who draws them and so on until everyone has been drawn,” Tenn explained the rules as carefully and clearly as he could, hoping his sisters would agree to the idea.

“Sounds fun to me! What about you, Minnie? You game?” Sophie looked over at Minnie who seemed less excited at the idea. Unlike her two other siblings she sucked at art, especially drawing.

“I don’t know,” She paused when she saw Tenn’s face fall. “Ok, I’ll give it a shot.”

Sophie and Tenn looked over at each other, overjoyed that Minnie had agreed. Sophie soon ran off to find some paper, returning swiftly with a handful of pencils and paper. Tenn was the first up.

After finding a good angle to draw from he started his sketch of Minnie. His eyes became laser focused on the paper as he drew. After ten minutes he turned around his paper, proudly displaying his art.

“That’s really good!” Sophie exclaimed, leaning forward to get a closer look.

“It really is,” Minnie agreed, impressed that he was able to get so many of her features right.

Tenn looked away, the smile on his face growing at his sisters' praise. Minnie was up next. Picking up the pencil she began her sketch what she was sure was going to turn out to be a disservice to Sophie’s face. Her tongue stuck out slightly as she concentrated on her sketch, erasing a section before trying again. After about fifteen minutes she had decided it was as good as it could be and reluctantly showed it to her siblings. Sophie grasped the paper, bringing it closer to her face.

“I love it,” She whispered, staring at her sister’s art.

“It’s hideous,” Minnie mumbled, falling back into the couch.

“I think it’s good,” Tenn offered his sister a gentle smile which she returned.

“I’ll be right back. I gotta add these to the collection,” Before Minnie could object Sophie was gone, her feet loudly banging on the steps as she ran upstairs. After a few minutes she returned, a huge grin on her face.

“Alright, I guess it’s my turn,” Sophie plopped herself back in her spot, snatching up the pencil as she stared at her brother. She studied his face for a few minutes before she started. Her pencil lightly brushed against the page as she worked, her eyes lighting up as she continued to draw. After around twenty minutes she dramatically turned around the paper, revealing a beautiful black and white sketch of Tenn. He looked so peaceful as a kind smile played on his lips.

“Holy shit, Soph, your art just keeps getting better and better!” Minnie exclaimed.

Sophie nervously played with her cap at Minnie’s compliment, a shy smile on her face. “Aw, thanks,”

Minnie paused when she heard the washer signalling that the cycle had been done. She got up from her spot and made her way over to the laundry room, switching the blanket over to the dryer.

“Make sure to put it on the gentlest cycle,” Sophie’s voice carried over from the back living room.

“Ok, got it,” Minnie double checked the setting. Starting up the cycle, she returned to her siblings.

“So what’s the next game?” Sophie kicked her legs lazily on the side of the couch.

“I could get my guitar and we could make up some songs,” Minnie offered to which her siblings immediately agreed. Getting up, she made her way to her room where her black acoustic guitar laid proudly on its stand. Securing the strap, she made her way back to where her siblings were already trying to come up with some fun lyrics.

“So how are we going to do this?” Minnie asked as she tuned her guitar.

“We should each come up with one line of lyrics and then the next person goes until we complete a song.” Sophie suggested, sitting up from her spot.

“Alright,” Minnie took a few more minutes tuning her guitar then began to strum some notes for her siblings to start out the song.

“There once was a dog that was a poodle,” Tenn began to sing softly.

“He looked like a day old noodle,” Sophie sang out, not caring that her voice wasn’t any good.

“And he had buggy pupils,” Minnie added.

The song continued on from there. Each sibling struggled to find a good sentence to add to the song when it was their turn. After it had finished they decided to play a few more rounds which went just as well as the first time.

“Oh, Minnie, can you play that song you wrote the other day?” Tenn asked, leaning back in his chair as he hugged a couch pillow.

“Sure,” Minnie replied with a gentle smile on her lips. The song started out slow and quiet as Minnie’s voice gently entered in. Soon the whole room was filled with her singing as her siblings sat back, completely taken in by the song. After a few minutes the song had finished. Sophie quickly requested one of her favorite songs of Minnie’s. The three of them sat around, the melody of the guitar and the soft cadence of Minnie’s voice the only things audible in the room. Tenn and Sophie kept making requests until Minnie stated that she needed a little break. Her fingers absentmindedly strummed the guitar as she chatted with her brother and sister.

Suddenly she paused, the faint tune of the dryer cycle being done could be heard from the laundry room. “I hear it calling to me,” She gently placed down her guitar, rising to her feet. “Blankie!”

She was off like a shot, sliding across the floor as she entered the laundry room. She quickly opened up the dryer door, sweeping up the warm mess that was her blanket. She gave it a fast examination and noticed that the stain was gone. Moving it towards her face, she inhaled the blanket’s scent. Her nose was overcome with the sweet and spicy smell that she had grown so fond of: cinnamon.

It still smells like Renata.

The smile on Minnie’s face grew as she strolled to the back living room, happy that her blanket was okay.

#twdg #fanfic #twdg minnie #twdg minerva #twdg sophie #twdg tenn #twdg renata #twdg minata #ericson's diner au #fluff

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hedwigstalons · 4 years

Text

International Breakdown

Thunderbird Witch has a problem

Another little fic written for #irrelief set by @gumnut-logic. This is for @willow-salix who wanted anything using her OC, Selene. This is a little more sweary than my usual offerings but then so is Selene

xoxoxox

The radio was on, the autopilot was doing its thing and Thunderbird Witch was eating up the miles towards home. Selene sang along, belting out words at the top of her voice and tapping out the beat on the edge of the steering wheel.

Ok, she had been majorly sceptical of the upgrades to her little car to begin with but after a few long haul trips to the island she could see the benefits of being able to fly. It certainly made visiting clients easier. It was a lot faster in the air than on the ground and she didn’t have to worry about traffic jams. In just ten minutes she should be back on the outskirts of London ready to finish her journey on the more conventional four wheels. She considered calling out for pizza; she should be home before the delivery ready to gorge herself on the cheesy goodness. Her stomach rumbled at the prospect.

Her stomach wasn’t the only thing making ominous noises.

The engine coughed and spluttered; a disconcerting thing to happen at 15,000 feet. The radio was swiftly muted. It was one thing doing her best rendition of Les Mis while the car was purring like a kitten but an engine stutter was an instant mood killer.

The engine coughed again.

Selene urged her precious car onwards, invoking prayers to every deity imaginable not to let her plunge to her death in a twisted heap of mangled metal and glass. The car continued to do its best impression of a tractor and jolts could be felt shuddering though its body as the engine misfired.

The looming tide of dread threatened to tip the scales into full blown panic as the engine gave its largest hiccup yet. It was time to contact the other omnipresent being in her life.

“John, sweetie. Are you busy?”

Up on Thunderbird Five John’s attention instantly swivelled to the voice coming through the private comms line. His emergency responder senses latched on to the tone he only heard when Selene was stressed. Really stressed. He switched control of monitoring over to Eos so he could give his witch his full attention.

“Never too busy for you, babe.”

“So, um, if the vehicle you were flying suddenly, um, wanted to stop flying. What would you do?”

Something told him this wasn’t a hypothetical question. The stressed tone had taken on that higher pitched edge of rising fear. A quick tap into the diagnostics for Thunderbird Witch showed a serious engine fault. Unfortunately, unlike the other Thunderbirds Selene’s car only had a single means of propulsion to rely on. And no wings. If the engine cut out gravity would be making itself known very quickly.

“Selene, honey. Firstly just breathe for me. Now, are the landing controls working?”

“Landing controls?”

Ok, so the fear of falling out the sky had wiped all rational thought from her head. Like trying to land. John knew he needed to tread carefully or risk the mortal dread overriding her ability to respond. Selene had never been a particularly enthusiastic flyer and having to deal with an emergency was a step too far outside her comfort zone.

“Landing controls. The red button. I need you to press it for me and tell me what happens.”

Selene made a jab at the red button and instantly returned her hand to the wheel. He knuckles were white as she gripped the wheel for dear life as though trying to hold the car up in the sky through her own brute strength and willpower.

The automatic landing system overrode the autopilot and the car began to sink towards the ground.

“Um, I’m going down?”

“At normal rate?”

It didn’t matter that John now had the full read-outs from her craft up in front of him and could see the rate of descent himself, he just wanted to keep her talking.

“Uh, I think so. It’s a bit more….bumpy…than usual.”

He watched the holographic representation of her altimeter as it ticked towards zero, willing the car to reach the ground quickly but not too quickly.

Another jolt and the car dropped a good five foot before the engine kicked in again. The plunge towards the ground came with an accompanying yelp over the comms followed by gasping breaths as a more appropriate rate of descent was regained.

“You’re doing brilliantly sweetie. Just keep her straight and let the car do the rest. You got this.”

The altitude readings fell lower and lower. Closer to the ground and safety.

Out of the darkness the ground loomed up from beneath the rapidly descending craft, her headlamps picking out the sweep of a grassy field. At least she didn’t need to worry about avoiding civilisation. Or trees. People tended to ask awkward questions if they saw the unusual vehicle coming in to land. She also didn’t trust having to pilot the craft any more than the bare minimum of keeping it in a straight line. She felt the whirr of motors as the wheels swivelled back to their driving position and a thunk as the car settled on to the ground.

Selene jabbed at the red button again, cutting the still spluttering engine and letting blissful silence descend. She leant forwards and rested her head against the steering wheel. The only sound was the quiet plinks of cooling metal.

“Selene? Babe? Are you still with me?”

She took deep breaths as a wave of nausea spread over her, not trusting herself to speak until the feeling subsided.

“Selene, are you ok?”

“Of course I’m not fucking ok” she screamed into the darkness, causing John to flinch at the sudden change in volume. “This death trap threatened to dump me out of the sky. I’m in the middle of fucking nowhere, I’m tired and I can’t get home”

Bizarrely John found this outburst strangely reassuring. Once Selene retreated into herself she could block out the world. A Selene on the angry side of frightened he could deal with.

He checked her co-ordinates.

She was right about one thing; she was in the middle of nowhere. Rural Derbyshire if his UK geography was accurate.

“Just try stating it up again for me.”

“And then what? I’m not flying this bloody thing again. At least not until someone has checked it out. And it’s not like I can just call the AA to come give it a once over and a jump start.”

“Look. Just stay there.” He chose to ignore the muttered ‘not like I can go anywhere else’. “I’ll send Virgil to pick you up. You were meant to be heading to the island anyway tomorrow. This way you just get here a bit early. I’ll head down and meet you at home.”

The comms went silent for Selene as John contacted his brothers and arranged for a recovery service. Thankfully the green behemoth was currently deployed on a rescue but that was winding up. An inventory check showed that there should be just enough space in the pod to pick up the car without having to return to base first. He could have Selene back on the inland and in his arms before the clock struck midnight. Or should that be midday if they were going by Tracy Island time?

For Selene the silence was a chance to try and recover her heart rate. She regretted subjecting John to her verbal torrent but it had gone some way to bringing her back down to Earth.

Down to Earth. That sounded nice.

What she really needed was to feel the soil beneath her feet. To ground herself and rebalance the flow of energy. Flying always put her slightly out of sorts. Flying coupled with a near death experience left her feeling decidedly off kilter. She felt the urge to stand beneath the waxing moon and breathe the night air. To free herself from her mechanical prison. To reconnect with the Earth in a way that didn’t result in her smeared across the grass.

She kicked off her shoes into the footwell and stripped off her socks.

Before she could release herself from the claustrophobic confines of the car John’s voice came back through the comms.

“Thunderbird Two is about an hour out from you. Just sit tight and Virgil will be with you soon.”

“Great. You think that brother of yours….holy crap, what was that?

She squealed as something bumped into the car, making the vehicle rock slightly on its suspension. For the second time that night her heart rate climbed. She could feel the thudding all the way up to the back of her throat. She checked that the door locks were engaged then instinctively shrunk away from the glass, sinking down low in her seat. All thoughts of grounding herself driven from her mind.

“Selene?”

“Someone’s out there.” It came out as a hoarse whisper.

The outside world was pitch black. Selene could see nothing beyond the boundaries of the car.

“There can’t be. There isn’t a house for miles. What on earth would anyone be doing in a field in the middle of the night?”

“Well I’m here aren’t I?”

“I think the chances of two flying cars breaking down in the same place are remote. I’m not picking up any other human life signs in your area.”

“That is not reassuring. I don’t care about chances, I’m telling you, someone is out there. I’ve seen Blair Witch Project. This is not going to end well.”

“This is not like one of those stupid films you and Scott like to watch.”

“Cretin. Just tell Virgil to get here quickly.”

Selene rechecked the door locks just in case they had miraculously sprung open over the course of the conversation. John might not believe her but she knew she had felt something. Cars didn’t rock themselves. She grabbed a blanket she had stashed in the back of the car, huddled down as low as possible, and prepared to wait it out.

The night stayed silent and free of any more mysterious bumps. It had been a long day, even before her unexpected flight deviation. In the absence of any more encounters with malevolent beings Selene found herself dozing off under the warmth of the blanket.

A sharp rapping on the window dragged her back into consciousness with a startled jolt. She scrabbled at the blanket and only ended up startling herself further as she caught the horn; the sudden noise blaring through the night.

There was a rattle as the door handle was tried and then a face appeared close to the glass, hands cupped around it in an effort to see into the car better. Selene pulled the blanked over her head and lay still in a futile attempt to hide.

The tapping on the glass sounded again.

“International Breakdown. Would madam care for some assistance?”

Gordon.

Selene untangled herself from the blanket and unlocked the doors. She quickly wrapped its warm folds around herself again as a blast of icy air filled the car.

“Gordon, how the hell did you get here?”

She tried to look dignified and not like she’d had the crap scared out of her. The grin on Gordon’s face as he braced an arm against the car roof and peered down at her showed she was fooling no one.

“Duh, I flew here. Like you.”

“So why the hell didn’t I hear you arrive. And where is Two anyway?”

“Virg had to park her a couple of fields over. Couldn’t risk roasting the locals. John said you had some trouble with them.”

Selene gave him a death glare. Gordon ignored it, instead choosing to wander round the car and get into the passenger seat. He flicked the blue button that kicked the engine into life then leant across and twiddled the controls for the lights.

In the beam of the headlights that illuminated a broad sweep of the field ahead could be seen the forms of several cows laying asleep on the ground around them. The beasts associated vehicles in their field with food. Their stomachs and their natural curiosity had caused them to wander over and congregate around the small black car.

Gordon activated his comms.

“Thunderbird Four to Thunderbird Two. Car’s sounding like a tank but I think it’ll make it to your position without needing the tool kit. Heading your way now.”

“FAB Gordon.”

Accompanied by much sputtering and juddering from the protesting engine Selene coaxed the car around the cows and towards the field edge in the direction indicated by Gordon who leapt out to open and close gates as required. Really she was lucky the cows had been on the other side of the field when she first landed. A collision with half a tonne of prime dairy stock would not have been fun.

Soon the car was nestled into the pod, safely strapped down amongst all the other equipment and Selene was safely settled in the cockpit alongside Virgil and Gordon. VTOL engaged with a roar as the mighty transporter made its return to base with its additional cargo.

By the time Thunderbird Two made it back to the island John was ready and waiting for her in the hanger.

If John was expecting to be greeted as the hero of the hour he was sorely mistaken. Instead of Selene rushing forward for a hug he found himself on the receiving end of a finger jabbed in his chest.

“You, John Tracy, are a shit.”

His eyes widened as hers narrowed.

“What have I done now?”

“You told me there were no life signs in that field. You lied to me and made out that it was my imagination.”

“I didn’t lie to you. I would never lie to you.”

“So how come you were able to warn Virgil and Gordon about those bloody cows? I know you did because they told me. Did your scanners miraculously get an upgrade?”

John found himself edging backwards. He knew he was baiting the tiger but he couldn’t let the false accusation go unchallenged.

“I didn’t lie. What I said was there were no human life signs in that field.”

Unsurprisingly this did not endear him to Selene.

“I have had to put up with Gordon teasing me the whole way back because of you. If I start finding little stick men hanging up around the place I will know exactly who to blame. Now I’m going to bed. I don’t care if it’s the middle of the day here, I have been up for the last 18 hours and I’m tired.”

“I’ll come up and help you get settled.”

“No. You won’t. Virgil, who is nice, has agreed to take a look at my car but not until it’s clean. If you want to stand any chance of coming near me ever again I suggest you get scrubbing.”

Selene stalked off towards the living quarters leaving a slightly stunned astronaut in her wake.

John felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder. He turned to see smirking chestnut eyes.

“That’s one pissed off witch you have there.”

John nodded weakly and allowed Virgil to lead him towards the car which had been moved out of the hanger and on to the runway.

He groaned as a bucket of soapy water and sponge appeared at his side.

No wonder Virgil didn’t want to work on the car yet. It looked like the cows had some serious digestive issues. The usually gleaming black paintwork was splattered and smeared with cow shit from its journey across the fields. As he got closer the smell hit him as the tropical heat warmed the muck and baked it on.

“Best get started Johnny. Once you finish here you can move on to cleaning out Two. This is nothing compared to what fell off the bottom into the pod on the flight home.”

With another slap on the back Virgil was gone, leaving John to his unenviable task.

He sighed, picked up the sponge and started cleaning.

#irrelief #irrelief2020 #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #John Tracy #Gordon Tracy #Virgil Tracy #Selene #Borrowing an OC

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