#365 Stories I Want To Tell You Before We Both Die

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[thesohmaestate]

@sparklyfaerie and I were bouncing headcanons off each other about HakYona's future children:

3 kids at the very least: 2 boys (the first and middle borns) and a girl (the last born)

Yona does not know how to parent - all her father did was spoil her

Hak is the Disciplinarian and Yona thinks he's too harsh. He comments sometimes that it's like having an extra kid (she does not like that).

And since Yona is the lenient parent, there's bound to be this exchange -

Child: Mommy, may I have some sweets

Yona: What did your father say?

Child: No.

Yona: Then why would I let you?

Child: He's not the boss of you.

Yona, internally: it's a trap

The thing is, SHE is the boss of HIM, but not when it comes to the kids.

Hak and Yona's children are bonafide Little Shits™

Hak: You can say 'please' and 'thank you' to your kids a hundred times and they won't repeat it, but then you sAY DUMBASS BITCH ONE TIME-

Whoever gets appointed as the Sky Tribe General goes "Ah shit, here we go again" before going to retrieve the princes and princess, who have, once again, sneaked out of the palace grounds

Hak doesn't even bother reprimanding their nannies. The little shits are half-Wind Tribe. They can climb ANYTHING.

Yona thinks it's hilarious and says they're just like their father, until Hak starts drawing comparisons to her exploits

Jae-ha would enable, enable, enable. He would be the favorite uncle. Kija is the target of their practical jokes. Shin-ah is the one who finds them most of the time when they sneak away. Hiding from him is a game. Zeno is beloved because he always has sweets and interesting stories - probably the one who gives the best hugs and advice too.

Kija playing hide and seek with the children then literally getting the air knocked out of him because one of them hit him in the windpipe with a slingshot

He gives the children TOO MANY speeches on how they have to behave with decorum because they're the children of the Crimson Dragon King blah blah blah

Hak joins in on messing with Kija sometimes - Yona does not like that

Youngest child, the princess: "Uncle Kija, I have a present for you!"

Kija: "Why, thank you Princess, that is very thoughtful of-"

The princess: [drops a dead cicada on his palm]

Kija: [unholy screeching]

The eldest child is Hak 2.0 but resembles Yona in temperament, though he is less spoiled. Middle child looks like a good mix of both of his parents, and is the Straight Man of the bunch. The youngest looks the most like Yona, has no fear, and inherits Hak's natural genius for combat.

Hak teaches all three of them archery and swordplay personally but the youngest is the one who takes to it so naturally. He is a Proud Dad.

The poor palace staff have to deal with the little royals being A Handful. Shenanigans include: skipping lessons, hiding to startle the maids, stealing sweets from the kitchen, making fart noises whenever a noble or a court lady sits down. Hak catches them occasionally and just crosses his arms and lets them try to talk their way out of trouble, but always ending with a "nice try, go to your lessons/rooms".

The royal chef: "Your Highnesses, what would you like for breakfast today?"

Youngest child: "THE SOULS OF THE INNOCENT"

The royal chef:

Middle child: "She wants eggs"

The eldest loves feeding the cats around the palace

The youngest is a martial arts prodigy and a charmer rolled into one

The middle child gets teased a lot

Middle child: "Can't believe I'm the only one who gets things done around here!"

Youngest child: "You don't. The maids do everything around here."

They announce baby #4 when the oldest is 10 and the youngest is 5. All of them scrunch up their noses and go "Eeeeewwwwwww". Because the eldest knows where babies come from, of course he shared

At some point before baby #4, this exchange happened

Eldest child: Lord Droopy Eyes, what's an orgasm?

Jae-ha: [chokes on his tangerine]

Jae-ha tells him to ask his father because he still doesn't miss an opportunity to mess with Hak. Zeno overhears and tells the child that orgasm is another word for orange.

The next day the eldest asks for 'orgasm juice', and that's how they have 'the talk'

Hak, to Zeno: "You are really lucky you can't die."

Zeno: "Ah~ aren't children just delightful?"

(meanwhile Yona is dying from laughter in the corner)

Baby #4 is another boy

Yun is the children's nanny and most of the time he is DONE. They call him 'Mother Yun'

Eldest child: Younger brother is having music lessons. We're going to draw a moustache on the baby.

Yun: WHY?

Youngest child: He's like 85% of our impulse control.

Yun, to Hak after the kids get into some mischief: "I should have let you bleed out on that river bank, Your Majesty."

Hak: "BUT YOU DIDN'T"

At some point, Yun just gets used to the shenanigans

Youngest child: Mother Yun, can we catapult the baby out of the palace gates?

Yun, without looking up from his medical texts: Not until you're finished with calligraphy, Your Highness.

365 So Stressed™ as he is, he truly does love the children. To Yun and the dragons, the kids would be almost as special as they are to Yona and Hak. They represent how far they've come together and their happiness...

....they're also, as Jae-ha likes to say, actual living proof that Hak and Yona Did It

#akatsuki no yona #yona of the dawn #akatsuki no yona hcs #Akatsuki no yona headcanons #yona #hak #hakyona #hak x yona #yona x hak

[365days365movies]

31 (Films) to Life: The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The name’s 365. And the game: mediocre film reviews.

There I was, on a normal winter afternoon. Snow falling from the clouds, glittering white spectacle hiding the harsh cold outside. Seems like the world is that way sometimes: beautiful at a glance, but it’ll kill you if you leave yourself bare and unprotected. That’s why I stay indoors in times like this; watch it from afar, and you can’t get hurt. So I’ve learned in my 30 years of being on this planet.

I settled down, decided on watching a moving picture that day. I had settled on watching a 1941 classic, The Maltese Falcon. They say it’s the first film noir, or at least the first film that defined the genre as we know it. I fired up the television, and found the movie in HBO Max. I grabbed a drink, a cool glass of raspberry lemonade Crystal Lite, and relaxed for the first time in what felt like a long time.

But before I tell you about this, I need to ask: are you in? This is a story full of twists and turns, and some of you may not want to come along for the ride. I don’t get out much, but from what I hear, the kids today call them SPOILERS. You sure you want to hear this story? Well, then, sit down; grab a lemonade. Because boy, do I have a story to tell you.

Spoilers ahead, buster.

The picture came on, and there he was: Humphrey Bogart. This hadn’t been the first time we’d crossed paths, although that was a different time...different people. He was in The African Queen, playing a boat captain in World War I era central Africa. I was watching romance movies at the time, and had no idea what I was doing. Well, Bogart was different. I still have no idea what I’m doing on this hellsite.

Bogart was in rare form. He was playing detective Sam Spade, one of the most famous characters in script and screen. A hard-nosed private eye who takes no guff from those who’d offer it. He was mean, he was lean...he was cool. I liked him, to be frank. Admired his moxie, you could say. Spade was sitting in his office, accompanied by his secretary Effie (Lee Patrick). She was also a tough gal, and I also liked her a lot. Movie came out it 1941, but it felt like she was Spade’s real partner throughout the film. As for his other partner...ah, but I’m getting ahead of myself. My mind wanders in times like these.

That’s when she walked in. Well, maybe I should say they. Entering into my little world was my fiancée, a bright spot in my temporarily shades-of-gray world. She looked at me and asked what I was doing, and why I was wearing a fedora and in black-and-white. I just said “noir”, and she figured it out; she’s a smart dame. She sat down and played Minecraft, or something. I was too wrapped up in the movie.

Entering Sam Spade’s office was Ruth Wonderly (Mary Astor), and I knew who she was right away: the stereotypical film noir love interest/seductress/not to be trusted person. She wove some story about her missing sister, not that I or Spade believed it. Caught the interest of his partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan), and they agreed to help her out. Got Archer killed. Why? Because it was inevitable in a film like this. Partners die. It’s the rules of the game for a film noir private eye detective. As is this shot of a newspaper. Surprised it wasn’t spinning. Then again, my head was compensating for the both of us. Too much lemonade, I think. I should probably lay off, but I need something sweet to tolerate this salty and sour world.

From there, the film went on in earnest. Archer’s wife, Iva Archer (Gladys George) is another in a likely long line of women in love with Sam Spade, and believes that Spade killed Miles to get her. Which, to me, sounds like somebody needs to get off her high horse; she’s liable to get hurt. Spade turns her away, but has two more visits soon enough. Detectives Dundy (Barton MacLane) and Polhaus (Ward Bond) are on his ass, also thinking he killed his partner. Idiots. He’s the main character in a film noir film. His hands might be dirty, but not with his partner’s blood.

The last visit, though, comes from a curious character, and another familiar face to me. The large-eyed Hungarian man was none other than Peter Lorre, from the last movie, M. He was playing Joel Cairo, a crook and a smuggler looking for a priceless treasure: the Maltese falcon. He offers Spade a tidy sum for the statuette back in his possession, but I was distracted. I knew at once that I’d heard of this fabled object. Not only was it the title of the film, but it’s also one of film history’s best and greatest MacGuffins. While Joel pulled a gun and Spade knocked him unconscious IMMEDIATELY, I got to work.

You’ve been in this business as long as I have, and you’ll be able to recognize a MacGuffin when you see it. Citizen Kane had the sled, Pulp Fiction has the briefcase of mystery, Frodo had to yank around that damn ring for three movies, et cetera. It’s that item that the plot centers around, that item that the characters have, need, or have a need to get rid of. But that’s not the only reason this little bird was flying through my head.

The Maltese falcon in particular is very well-known in film history. Why? A story for later on, but take it from be; it’s famous. So famous that I already knew the ending of this movie. A pity, but I had to stick through to the end. Which wasn’t hard, since the direction and cinematography by Western director John Huston and partner Arthur Edeson made me tear up a little bit. First time I’ve cried in hours. This film was gorgeous, no doubt about that; you could see that as plain as the nose o Bogart’s face. Easy on the eyes makes for easy watching, lemme tell ya.

Spade thought the same thing about his client, the former Ruth Wonderly. I say former because, as I’d suspected, she was a sham and a pathological liar. Her real name was Brigid O’Shaughnessy, and she was in league with a group of smugglers and treasure hunters, one of whom was dead the same night as Archer. Another mystery to solve, although it’s pretty certain that the same dead man killed Archer before kicking his own bucket. 

Soon, Spade decides to bring together the gang: him, Brigid, and Cairo. Together, at his apartment, they’ll figure out where they stand. When Cairo arrives, things are tense, real tense. He introduces another player into the mix: the Fat Man. That puts Brigid on edge, and makes Spade and I as curious as a cat in a canning factory. A new player? What role is he going to play in this sordid affair?

But just then, the tension boils over! Cairo pulls a gun, Spade bloodies his nose a bit, and then there’s a knock on the door. It’s Dundy and Polhaus, the nosy ninnies. They’ve come to talk with Spade, but end up breaking up the fight between Cairo and Brigid (feisty fella and dame that they are). Cairo’s taken into custody for questioning, and Brigid and Spade get to know each other. But all the while, somebody else is watching outside.

Doesn’t take long for us to meet that other person: a two-bit no-account thug named Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr.). Handy with a knife as my lungs are with air, Wilmer’s not all there in the brainpan; a couple screws short of a full box, if you know what I mean. He threatens Spade, who takes it in stride. That’s our Sam for you; unnerved to the core. Anyway, Wilmer has a message for Spade, who’s at a hotel, waiting for Cairo post police questioning. Wilmer tells Spade that the Fat Man wants to meet him to propose a deal about the Falcon. Spade accepts, and goes to meet the man himself. And lemme tell ya...you’re gonna love this.

The minute I laid eyes on “Fat Man” Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet), I knew two things. One, this guy was one tough customer. And two, he is literally live action Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) before the character even existed. I did my research, and sure enough, Stan Lee based his famous NYC crime boss on Greenstreet, and on the Fat Man himself. I allowed myself to shed a tear in joy. Let’s go, Mets.

The Fat Man starts to dance around the topic of the Falcon, much to Spade’s feigned irritation. He throws a fit to get his way, and he gets his way alright. The Fat Man asks him to come back later that night, and he tells him the history of the little black bird. Apparently, it’s a treasure over 400 years old, and it’s worth a fortune. The Fat Man even offers Spade a quarter of the profits, were he to help them find it. But if you walk into a viper’s nest...expect to get bitten. Spade’s drink is spiked, and he passes out. Gutman, Wilmer, and the in-league Cairo escape, planning on going after the person they believe has the statue: Brigid.

From there, all hell breaks loose. See, Brigid actually smuggled the statue to a friend, a boat captain at the harbor. The two got caught by the Fat Man and his guys, leading to a burnt-down boat, a dead captain, and the statue in Sam’s oh-so-capable hands. Brigid sent him, dying, to Spade’s office, with the statue in hands. And once the Falcon is recovered, Sam rescues Brigid from the Fat Man’s clutches, only to find the Fat Man and crew waiting for them at his place.

Three dead men and one burned boat, all for this little black statuette. Spade agrees to take $10,000, right off the bat, assuming somebody can get fingered for the three murders, including that of his partner. Looks like Wilmer’s the fall guy, the poor slob. After all, he did kill the boat captain and the other dead man...but not Archer. That’s still a mystery. But enough of that; it’s Christmas time, because it’s time to unwrap our presents.

Ho. Ho. Ho. Somebody fetch the milk and cookies.

There it is: the Maltese Falcon. In the world outside of the silver screen, this little bird fetched $4.5 million at auction, making it one of the most valuable film props in film history. And in universe, underneath its black lacquer, priceless jewels rest beneath. Or, uh...so you’d think.

See, the big ending of the film, and the most ironic twist in film history, is that the statuette that was worth 4.5 big ones in real life...is a fake in the film. Three men dead, all for a useless, worthless, statue of a falcon. The owner of the bird swapped it out when he realized these idiotic treasure hunters were coming, making the entire struggle of the movie completely pointless. The world feels that way sometimes, to a film noir private eye. All that struggle, for a useless hunk of rock.

Cairo freaks out, and Gutman demands his money back. Spade takes a service fee, professional shyster that he is. Gotta admire that fella’s moxie. Cairo and Gutman make a clean escape to find the statue elsewhere, while Wilmer escapes and Brigid stays with Sam. But Spade knows the score now, and he lays the truth squarely on the liar’s head: Brigid killed Archer. And she’s gonna pay for it. No amount of honeyed words or passionate kisses can save her now. He turns her over to the detectives, and tells them where to find Gutman, Wilmer, and Cairo. One of the detective picks up the bird, asks what it is. And Spade says:

Hell of a film. My thoughts? Worth about 92¢.

Cast and Acting: 10/10

Plot and Writing: 9/10

Direction and Cinematography: 10/10

Production and Art Design: 9/10

Music and Editing: 8/10

...Also, yeah, enough of the noir speak. Got draining towards the end there. Real talk, this film is goddamn fantastic. Even knowing from the beginning that the falcon was fake didn’t matter to me; gorgeously shot and iconically written by John Huston, beautifully scored by Adolph Deutsch, and perfect acting literally all around (not a single weak point here for me, I loved it whole-heartedly), this movie...this is a great movie.

I’d have more analysis normally, but...I really don’t! It’s a great movie! My only notes are the fact that I wouldn’t really buy this sountrack (it’s good, but not playlist-worthy for me), the Falcon actually does just look like wood, and the writing is great, but also cheesy-as-hell. Still, in context, it works ridiculously well. If you’re a film fan, a mystery fan, or a film noir fan (especially if you’re a fan noir), this is your movie, hot damn! Can’t wait for another film noir! So, what’s next? 

Next: The Third Man (1949), dir. Carol Reed

#the maltese falcon #film:the maltese falcon #the maltese falcon 1941 #john huston #humphrey bogart #mary astor #peter lorre #sydney greenstreet #elisha cook jr. #lee patrick #gladys george #barton maclane #ward bond #user365 #crime film #film noir #31 to life #31 films to life #johnsonshildy #userelissa

[shoot-the-oneshot]

Counting the days: day 1

Series summary. You go to a friends bachelorette party in Italy and meet the man of your dreams, NOT, you didn’t see the part where you get kidnapped by a gangster on your friends itinerary. How will you handle being thrown into a life of guns and mafias.

Massimo Torricelli x Reader

Series masterlist

A week in Italy, your dream vacation. Only difference is when you imagined it you didn’t see the screaming girls surrounding you.

Sinking further into your seat when the squeals start up again. Your eyes shifting to to the right when Ally jumps in the empty seat next to you.

“You know I don’t think planes work like that.”

You tease, seeing equal annoyance on her face. You both loved Katie, the bride to be.

But her friends that seem determined to hit a new octave with their high pitched yells, not so much.

“Oh hush we’re already here they won’t say anything. Plus you didn’t just spend ten hours sitting next to a freakin squeaky toy.”

Laughing as you pushed her out of the way to grab your bag. Her grabbing hers as you pass her seat when the plane stops.

“Y/n, Ally, come on the cars waiting!”

Katie yells, still wearing a very inappropriate headband which is one of the reasons the two of us were keeping our distance until now. When we meet the group outside they immediately shove sashes over our heads. Ally was miss behaving, while I was hot mess. Rolling my eyes while she laughs.

“At lest you’re hot.”

After dinner we went to the resorts bar and took up a cabana by the pool. After a few hours of her housewife friends throwing subtle digs at you for being not being married yet.

“Clarity!”

“I’m just saying, Y/n is a pretty girl but she can’t wait to settle down forever.”

“Yeah I’d take your advice if I wanted my husband to be sleeping with his assistant.”

Ally coughs as she choked on her drink laughing while everyone else is still shocked that you even knew that. You didn’t, it was a guess but judging by her face you hit the nail on the head. As politely as you could you excused yourself saying you needed to find a bathroom, more like you needed the bar.

While you were still ranting in your head you accidentally bumped into a hard chest. Mumbling apologizes as you backed off, stopping as you looked at his face. Hello tall Italian and handsome. Taking a moment to look him over wearing all black, a few tattoos you can see, intense look in his eyes. As hot as he was there was something about him that send warnings off in your head.

“Are you lost babygirl?”

Before you could reply Ally comes running up, and starts shaking you.

“Y/n, that was amazing did you see her face!”

When you looked back for mystery man he was gone, so you let your guard down and let her drag you to the bar while telling you about the reactions you missed.

You’ve been here for five days. Just enough for you to fall in love with the place and your tan to be just right. You and Ally thankfully shared a room and while the champagne that room service brought every night that neither of you ordered creeped you out your roommate loved it.

And right now was a moment you were happy for the alcohol. The party was out at a restaurant while the food was amazing the company, not so much. Charity has made it her mission to get under your skin and while you found it funny Ally did not.

“Men don’t like women that drink Y/n”

“Shut it Karen!”

“It’s Charity!

“Sure!”

Seeing the two bicker you didn’t want it to ruin your friends bachelorette vacation. Taking yourself from equation was the best option, it was easy enough to slide away coming up with some lie about feeling sick and wanting to go back to the hotel.

Giving a few hugs to the people you actually like before taking your leave. The city was beautiful at night but you were definitely lost. While you weren’t exactly heading back immediately you’d like to at least know what direction the hotel was in.

Just as you were about to give in and call a taxi, the trashcans down the alley suddenly tipped over, your hand coming up to your chest to calm your breathing, laughing when a cat came running out. Turning around you bumped into someone for the second time this week and this man sent up red flags too.

And you should probably learn to listen to those instincts, because the next think you know everything went black.

The first thing the went through your head when you woke up was that this definitely wasn’t your hotel room or even the alley. You weren’t sure if you’d rather woken up here or back there. The room was beautiful, you can admit that. The dark floors and walls contrasted perfectly with the gold accents the biggest shower you’ve ever seen. Big double doors, wait doors! Almost tripping over the dress you were thankfully still wearing in you haste to get to the doors. Locked of course, you’ve seen enough criminal minds to know how this goes. They locked the doors but the windows however were open, Amateurs. They probably thought you wouldn’t risk the two story jump, but you’re pretty sure the climb down is better than what’s on the other side of those doors.

Pushing open the window, getting hit with the ocean breeze. The molding on the outside walls gave almost perfect steps for you to take down. You swear nothing had ever felt as good as the grass under your feet in that moment. you couldn't enjoy it for long before you heard yells, that was quick.

Gathering your dress in your hands you take off running. Looking for a way out when the voices started coming from all around you. You’re trapped, the only thing you can get to is the pool so that’s where you go.

Slowly getting into the pool to not create a splash, taking deep fast breaths until you see shadows come around the corner. Gasping once more slipping under the water keeping your back to the wall. You never thought you’d use anything you learned in those diving classes for once you were glad to be wrong.

All you heard was muffled voices, after what felt like forever they started to fade, waiting a few more seconds before coming up just to be safe. But before you could two hands reach through the water hauling you up.

Choking between screaming and gasping for air, barely noticing the man picking you up until he gently sets you down on a couch.

It’s mystery man! You can only see his back but you’re sure it’s him. Especially when he turned back. You didn’t see the towel that was around your shoulders until he finally spoke. Leaning on his arm that was resting above the very elaborate fireplace.

“Was the idea of being here so bad that you tried to kill yourself twice to get away?”

The words rolled off his tongue, thick with frustration and his Italian accent. Did he think you wanted to be here? You didn’t even know where here was. Oh if only you weren’t trapped in an episode of Dexter this situation would almost be hot.

“While it was incredibly stupid to jump out a window, I must admit I admire your dedication the pool was very smart. But if you try it again I will not be as kind.”

As his sentences went on the closer he got, step by step the more intimidating he became. He ended up only a few inches away from your face. Arms reaching the back of the couch trapping you between them.

“So next time don’t let you catch me”

Those were not the words he wanted to hear, he made that fact very clear but tugging the towel tighter around your neck and pulling you even closer as he growled.

“Don’t test me, If you run again I can always chain you to the bed. How would like that? Think you could run then?”

No you don’t, but you do think you can play nice and slip away once you gain his trust. So you kept quiet, taking your silence as cooperation he backs off back to the fireplace.

“Five years ago my life changed, I watched my father die by a bullet that was meant for the both of us. I didn’t see my life flash before my eyes I saw you, I’ve looked for you for years, no one believed you were real they said you were only my imagination, but when I saw you at the airport I knew I had to make you mine.”

You could see where everyone was coming from. You didn’t believe him either it was insane! “I’m not yours!” You couldn’t help but say. Now Y/n you really shouldn’t tell the psycho that he’s a psycho. You could hear Ally tell you now.

“I know, that’s why I’m giving you a chance to fall in love with me. Not because I forced you but because you want to. I’m giving you 365 days to love me and if in a year nothing changes I’ll let you go.”

Three words. What. The. Hell.

“I have a family, friends, a boyfriend! they’ll look for me!”

“My men have collected your things from the resort, your friends think you left to ease the tension with that woman. Your family thinks you found out your boyfriend cheated on you so you’re staying here to get over it. Y/n, if you give it a chance you’ll love me, I know you will. I’ll do everything to make you love me.”

DAY 2

❤️part one is done. I know it sucked but it will get better but hope you guys Liked it stay tuned for more. My request are still open!❤️

Series tag list: @calirindo

#massimo x reader #massimo x you #massimo torricelli imagine #massimo imagine #massimo torricelli x reader #365 days x reader #365 days imagine #365 days #netflix imagine

[kill-the-teen-memories]

365 So Fresh Part 5

Genre: Angst/Fluff/Humor

Word Count: 2,578

Warnings: Curse words, smoking, poly, mentions of smut, character death?

Pairings: Triple H x Reader

Summary: You just wanted to take a nap wile waiting for your friends, never did you expect the car you were sleeping in to be stolen and you would end up going for a road trip with a guy who had a gambling problem, a girl who committed a murder, and a guy who seems to just hate his life. You especially didn’t expect to have feelings for them?? 

Hui called an uber and we waited outside of the club for a few minutes. Once we climbed into the car, we were off. My leg was shaking in anticipation, I could hear the other three, whispering in the backseat. As soon as the car came to halt, the four of us ran out. Laughing and stumbling we made it to our room. Hui pushed the door open and the realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I had started developing an attachment to these three individuals and it hasn’t even been a week. “Y/N!” I heard Hyuna giggle from inside. I snapped out of my thoughts, went inside, and closed the door behind me. It all went by in a blur. All of our lips ghosting over each other’s bodies. Our clothes flying in all directions. The screams, the groans, the degradation as well as the praise. Before I knew it, I was exhausted. The last thing registering in my head was the warmth of a body covering my own and then everything went black. 

I groaned as I tried to sit up but couldn’t as I was being held down by a heavy arm around my torso. I blinked a few times, trying to get my eyes to focus. The room slowly came together and I noticed it was early in the morning. I glanced at the clock on the wall, it was nearly 5 am. I then became increasingly aware of the two bodies I was laying in between. Hui had his front pressed against my back, his face in my neck, softly breathing, and an arm around my waist. While Hyuna was facing me, sound asleep. Her chest which had been exposed to the cool air around the room was slowly rising. Images from last night came tumbling into my head all at once. Being kissed by all three of them at the same time, throwing my head back as the feeling of Hui’s dick slipped in and out of me, the feeling of Hyojong’s lips pressed against my neck as he murmured praises and groans as Hyuna pleased him with her mouth. It brought a smile to my face. I moved Hui’s arm and sat up. The blanket sliding off of my own chest. I looked down at him, brushing the hair out of his face softly. I looked over to Hyuna’s side, only to realize Hyojong was nowhere to be found. As quietly as I could, I slipped out of the bed. I pulled on my underwear and grabbed Hui’s button-up. I walked into the living room, now semi-dressed and there he was. Hyojong sat on the couch, his head leaned back as he took a drag of what looked like a blunt. His eyes were closed and he was shirtless. Though he was thin, he had a nice build. My eyes raked over his body and all the bruises forming across his chest, probably from last night. He opened one eye before closing it again, “You know it’s rude to stare.” My cheeks burned slightly at the fact that I was caught. I shook my head as I made my way over to him. I plopped down on the space next to him, leaned my head on his shoulder, and sighed. He placed one hand on my exposed thigh and used his other hand to take another drag. He exhaled, “Couldn’t sleep?” I asked. He shook his head. A few minutes passed in silence. I picked my head up, placed a hand over his, and brought the blunt to my lips. He watched me carefully. His eyes flickering down to my lips where the blunt sat. I pushed his hand away and before I could exhale, he brought his lips to my own. Gently he used his tongue to open my mouth, causing me to release the smoke into his mouth. He softly groaned at the feeling, I moved his hand from my thigh and straddled him. Hui’s shirt rose up slightly, exposing my underwear. I felt Hyojong shift under me and I assumed he placed the now dead blunt on the table since both of his hands came to rest on my hips. The kiss wasn’t too needy but it was hard. Neither of us tried to take it further than just making out and I was okay with that. I parted, trying to catch my breath as Hyojong moved his head down towards my neck, leaving soft kisses. I let my hands rake through his hair, causing him to smile against my skin. He rested his chin on my shoulder as I laid my head against him. It was a soft moment compared to what had happened the night before. Soon I found myself drifting again.      

When I awoke again, it felt like a different day. Except it wasn’t, Hyojong and I were still in the living room cuddled against each other. I lifted my head just in time to see Hyuna walk out of the room wearing her underwear and one of Hyojong’s shirts. “There you two are.” she smiled. I nodded at her while climbing off of Hyojong who seemed to have also fallen asleep, “Hey.” I yawned. I opened my mouth but stopped when I spotted Hui coming out of the room, pulling another one of his shirts on. “Oh! There’s my button-up.”  He walked over to me placing his hands on my hips. “Good morning,” I smiled as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “My shirt looks really good on you,” he said as he pecked my lips. “Oh yeah?” I murmured. Before Hui could say anything else, Hyuna lightly smacked my ass, “Come on, get dressed, I’m hungry.” A little while later we were all dressed now and climbing into the car. The windows were rolled down, the music from the radio was playing loudly, laughter and song filled the air. It was beautiful. We ended up getting the food to go. Now we were sitting on one of the many benches surrounding the park. I didn’t give much input, I was just happy to be there and observe. I didn’t feel left out though. After we all ate and threw the food away, Hyuna reached for my hand “Come on.” she pulled me towards the swing set. We sat on them lightly swinging back and forth, that was until the boys decided to come up behind us and start pushing. It wasn’t long before Hui and Hyojong turned it into a game of who can swing the highest. Hyuna and I were just laughing and screaming the higher we got. I felt free. Eventually, the swinging came to a halt and we made our way back to the car. “Hey, I know of a place,” Hyojong spoke as he got into the passenger seat. Hui shrugged, getting behind the wheel “Lead the way.” 

I looked out the window as buildings zoomed by soon turning into nothingness. Hyuna was resting against my shoulder. I looked over at her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Seriously Hyojong where the fuck are we?” Hui mumbled. We were in as some would put it “the middle of nowhere” I had no clue where we were going but Hyojong didn’t seem to mind. “Just trust me,” he said, “You’re going to lead us out here to kill us aren’t you?” Hui grumbled. “Turn right here,” Hyojong replied. “You didn’t deny it.” I chimed in. 

“There’s literally no road.”

“You’re still driving.”

“I don’t even know where I’m going!” 

“I do.” 

“We’re going to die.” 

“Stop being dramatic.” 

“It’s just trees!”

“I’m aware.”

They went back and forth like this but Hui didn’t stop following Hyojong’s directions. “Okay now stop here.” Hui stopped the car and turned to the other male, “You brought us to look at trees.” Hyojong didn’t reply to that and got out of the car. Hui soon followed him. I shook Hyuna lightly, she had fallen asleep. She stirred and looked up at me. “Come on, apparently we’re here,” I told her. We both got out. “We go on foot from here,” Hyojong spoke. Hui looked at me, “We’re going to die.” I rolled my eyes and walked past him. After a few minutes of walking, Hyojong stopped. Once we all reached him we saw what he was looking at. It was a creek. There were moss-covered rocks which caused the water to form little waterfalls. The birds were chirping from above, some even drinking from the water. It was a sight. “Wow.” Hyuna breathed. Hyojong turned around looking at Hui “Told you I knew where I was going.” “You’re going to drown us,” he mumbled in reply. We all took seats by the creek. No one said anything for a while. We all just sat there appreciating nature. It wasn’t until a rabbit came into view that Hyojong broke the silence. “Isn’t it funny how life comes out differently than what you expect?” He laughed bitterly. He leaned back on his hands, head tilted up. “I wanted to be a veterinarian.” We didn’t reply so he continued “I wanted to help out, take care of and treat animals. God knows how many times I’ve tried to kill myself. How shitty my life turned out. Before this week, I couldn’t tell you the last time I had felt anything. It’s all been so meaningless. Maybe our meeting wasn’t.” “I wanted to be an entertainer.” Hui suddenly started. “I used to play piano with my mom, haven’t touched one since she left. All I ever wanted to do was make people happy by doing what I loved which was singing and playing the piano. I wonder if she still plays…” he trailed off. “I’m not sure exactly what I wanted in life, I ended up a hairdresser which I’m not too mad about but I always felt like there was something missing,” Hyuna spoke. They looked over at me but I didn’t know what to say. “I never gave anything much thought,” I mumbled, embarrassed that I didn’t have a “dream” that I wanted. “I just kind of went with things as they came. Never was truly passionate about something. I just exist, I don’t live.” I shrugged. It was true all of my interests had been fleeting, I moved on to the next thing fairly quickly. We were quiet again, everyone seemed to be thinking deeply about how their life had taken a turn. I thought back again. Growing up I had my problems, but I figured everyone did. I left my mom and the town I grew up in not long after I turned 18. Once in Seoul, I found that Bora had been looking for a roommate. Through her, I met Wooseok and Hyolyn. Yet I was never really there. I would listen to their stories of adventures and parties they went to. I hardly participated, and it wasn’t that I didn’t want to, it was that I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how to let loose and be comfortable in my own skin. The voice in the back of my head always had something to say and made me feel unsure. And that’s when I realized I hadn’t heard that voice this whole week. It was just me. As I looked out at the three of my newly found...friends, I smiled. A smile that I wasn’t faking, a smile that was as real as our surroundings. Hui nudged me with his foot. “What’s got you all smiley?” he chuckled. “I don’t know, everything, this, us.” I shrugged. 

I don’t think anyone of us knew how much time had passed as we sat there in the woods, talking and listening. What we did know was that the sun had started to set somewhere behind the trees. So we got up, dusted ourselves off, and made our way back to the car. As regularly Hui drove, I got into the passenger seat, while Hyuna and Hyojong got into the back. We drove for a while to get back into the main part of town. “So what are we going to do tonight?” Hui clapped his hands together. “We could go to an arcade?” Hyuna spoke up. “Another bar?”Hyojong answered. Before I could say anything, lights flashed behind us. “Shit,” Hui mumbled. I looked in the rear mirror to see a police car driving closely behind us. The logical thing would’ve been to pull over. But seeing as the car was stolen, Hyuna was wanted for murder, and I was registered as “missing”, Hui did the next best thing. He made a sharp left into an alleyway and sped up. The police must not have seen it coming as they drove right by. Though I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time we saw them. As Hui continued to zoom past the streets in an attempt to lose the cops, Hyojong rolled the window down. His hair danced in the wind and he smiled. I decided to roll down my windows too. The wind was cool and refreshing. With the speed of the car and wind blowing against my face, I laughed. When lights flashed again but this time from in front of us, I laughed more. Hui made another sharp turn, narrowly missing another car. This time the cops were prepared as they made a turn equally as sharp in order to follow us. This time everyone felt the adrenaline. Hyojong climbed halfway out of the window and screamed. He then proceeded to flip off the police before getting pulled back in by a giggling Hyuna. Hui then turned onto a parking garage, the cop car that had been following us soon turned into three. Soon we made it to the top of the structure and we all climbed out messily. Still laughing, we ran over to the edge. “Wow. It’s beautiful.” I said as I looked out to the city lights. The other three nodded in agreement. We finally heard the sirens behind us and car doors slamming. One of the officers brought out a megaphone and yelled something about our hands. I couldn’t hear clearly, my ears were ringing. None of us turned around or even acknowledge the police. We all just held hands and stared out into the night. “Together?” Hyuna yelled. Without missing a beat, the remaining of us yelled back “Together!” I heard a faint “No” somewhere in a distance but it was too late. We had jumped.  I glanced over to my side in time to see that Hyuna, Hyojong, and Hui were indeed there. I wasn’t alone. I looked up to see the stars and once again, smiled. I was going to be one of them soon. Falling is a weird feeling. Knowing that you’ll soon hit the ground is a weird feeling. But it’s free. It’s all apart of the journey in the end. And with one final glance at the moon, I closed my eyes. Until I felt no more.  

When I opened my eyes again, everything was white. The deafening sound of silence was all to be heard. That was until I saw Hyuna appear, followed by Hyojong and Hui. They were all smiling and gestured at me. “Well come on!” Hyuna giggled. My smile grew as I sprinted in their direction, their arms awaiting me. I was home. And then we walked. We walked until our surroundings slowly disappeared and we were nothing but a speck.  

Taglist: @cherrycolababie @killcomet​ @coolssssssss 

A/N: AAAAA My first completed series!!! I know this part may not be the best especially with the long wait but it’s here. Pls pls let me know what we all think! 

#kpop angst #kpop scenarios #kpop series #hyuna scenarios #hyuna angst #hui angst #hui scenarios #edawn scenario #edawn angst

[tolyapleasedontdie]

A catalogue of every time alina cries in the grisha trilogy

!!!Spoiler Alert!!!

Shadow and Bone:

1.) When she is holding Mal's chest wounds from the volcra and is sobbing his name with tears streaking down her face. (pg 33)

2.) Ivan is pulling Alina to the coach to be transferred to the Little Palace and tears of frustration well in her eyes. (pg 54)

3.) Alina is at the little palace and she heard Mal's voice saying, "we'll be okay Alina, we always are". Li whispers, "I hope so, Mal" and lets her tears carry her to sleep. (Pg 117)

4.) Alina is still at the little palace. She is writing to Malyen and is cringing at the fact that Mal might forget her. "Pathetic" she thinks, and wipes away angry tears. She wants to go have a good cry in her room, but her schedule says otherwise. (Pg 177)

5.) After remembering how she evaded the Grisha Examiners, Alina accepts the fact that her and Mal are different and that he has left her behind, she has to move on, to stop pushing down her power, and she does, tears streaking down her face. She let Baghra's hut light up. (pg. 182)

6.) The winter fête is today and Alina found Mal amoungst the trackers that have to report back to the Darkling. She and Mal fight about the Darkling and how "he's all over you. Admit it. He owns you." vs. "He owns us all." She ran to the doorway, made it down the steps and finally let her tears run down. She let Mal go instead of chasing him. She regrets what she said. (pg. 231).

7.) Its a new chapter but the same reason (mal and her fought, she'll never see him again, you know the story by now). A little different in the sense that Alina closed the door to her room and is sobbing with her back pressed to the bed, arms around her knees, trying to hold herself together. She runs her thumb over the scar on her palm and is whispering to herself, "come back. come back." as her body shakes with new sobs (Pg 233).

8.) Alina and Mal found the stag and Ivan is threatening to kill Mal at the command of the Darkling. He mocks her with a fake smile and shushes her, as she screams to leave Mal alone. Tears spill onto her cheeks, freezing in the cold night air. (Pg. 303)

9.) The Darkling stabbed the stag and a sob tore from Alina's chest. (Pg. 304)

10.) The Darkling tells Alina that Mal is alive (she has been kept in a tent away from him and he is a traitor, she's really getting paranoid and scared for his wellbeing) and she stifles a sob. (Pg. 323)

11.) Alina visits Mal at his cell, the day before his execution on the shadow fold and she is holding his hands, unable to stop the sobs that shake her. Mal is saying, "Shhhh. It's okay. Alina it's okay." She barely gets the reason out for why she can visit him before fresh tears spill over her cheeks. When Mal says, "All right" in the face of imminent death, Li lets out a half laugh, half sob. Mal says that he doesn't care that she ever loved the Darkling. She wants to forget and deny that she ever did and another sob shakes her. (Pg. 331)

12.) The Darkling throws Mal over the side of the skiff and Alina, under the collar's control, has no choice but to pull back the light that was protecting Mal from the volcra. She grips the railing of the skiff and cries out in rage and in misery with tears streaking down her face. (Pg. 343)

13.) Alina and Mal burn the black kefta from the winter fête and Alina starts crying after everything that happens, but Mal holds her close until there's nothing left of the kefta but ashes. (Pg. 353)

Siege and Storm:

14.) The Darkling catches them at their boardinghouse in Cofton, Novyi Zem and Li releases a sob of frustration and rage because if they (her and Mal) were to die that very second, there would be no raised voices or shots fired. (pg.17)

15.) Alina awakes from Ivan's induced coma after a week, realizes this, and looks out the side scuttle of the boat. She sees the sea. Nothing but the sea, no Novyi Zem in sight. No freedom from the Darkling. She fights back tears (pg. 29).

16.) It's the same day that Alina has woken up on the Volkvolny. She was talking to Genya and learned (in full) of her betrayal. Sitting on her bunk, she rolls over thinks about how hopeless escaping the Darkling really is. She tells herself, "we escaped from him before. We can do it again." Then she just lets the tears come. (Pg. 43).

17.) Alina leans over the railing of the schooner and something between a laugh and a sob racks her chest as the Darkling's nichevo'ya disappear from view.

18.) During her visit with Bagrha, Alina tells her about the collar and when Baghra reaches out to touch the antlers, she ignores the tears that streak down Li's cheeks (pg. 255)

19.) The Darkling, during one of the first moments Alina and Mal had together in a long time, appeared before Alina to freak her out of a kiss between her and Malyen (who hoped that Alina would ask him to stay in the palace despite his popularity among the nobles). She bites her lip down to stop the sobs racking her chest. As the tears spill over she thinks, "That's good, that way the servants won't hear" (pg. 330).

20.) During another argument between her and Mal:

"I will" she says as tears spill over her cheeks once more. This is after Mal says to her bitterly, "Do you know how much I want that? To be with you without rank or walls or anything between us? Just to be common again together? But you won't do it, Alina" (pg. 365).

21.) Reminiscent of Shadow and Bone, Li is crying in her bed again. This time the tears are there burning hot and angry. She turned her face into her pillow so that no one would her her cry and fell into a troubled sleep after she had nothing left to cry. (pg. 368).

22.) Alina is speaking with Nikolai about Mal, of course, and as she stares at the map before her, her eyes fill with tears. She was recounting every place her and her tracker had been together so far on this campaign. Nikolai asks her, "is this really the life you want for him?" To which Alina brushes the tears from her cheeks and besidedly resigns herself to the idea (pg 386, 387).

23.) Alina is finally awake after the Nikolai birthday massacre, the massacre at the Little Palace, and the collapse of the Royal Chapel. She sees Mal, who reaches out to her. She reaches back over the litter and sobs when their fingers meet. The reason why? She was weeping with relief that she wouldn't have to live with the burden of his death but she wept with rage that she would have to live at all (pg. 424).

Ruin and Rising:

24.) After reuniting with Nikolai, a wave of relief washes over her, making her eyes fill with tears. (pg. 127).

25.) Baghra tells a story she used to tell to a boy who listened too well, who rarely laughed, ect. (you know the line, Darkling fans). Finished with her story, Baghra tries again to convince Li to "give this up" which we know she would never do. Her cheeks wet with tears, Alina replies, "I can't". Baghra claps back with "What is infinite?" to which Alina recites, "The universe and the greed of men" (pg. 224).

26.) After finding Nikolai in the woods after the Spinning Wheel massacre, Alina sobs and screams because she had to stifle her grief for a day and a half on the Bittern (pg. 263).

27.) Mal is the third amplifier. Alina noticed his mood changing, he's happy to die for her and she doesn't like that he's resigning to his fate. She kisses him and he kisses her back, she holds the lapels of his coat with tears in her eyes (pg. 314).

28.) Nikolai is the monster as he puts the Lantsov emerald on Alina's finger to which Alina responds with something between a laugh and a sob as tears well in her eyes (pg. 343).

29.) Mal shows Alina the conservatory at Tomikyana and she recounts a version of the books where Alina gets marked as a Grisha by the Grisha Examiners as a child and they both realize that the end of the story would be the same. Mal says, "I would have been different too, without you, weaker, restless, afraid of the dark" to which he then brushes the tears away from her cheeks (pg. 361).

30.) Alina stabbed Mal. She is powerless. She calls for help and Tolya and Tamar and Zoya answer. "Please, bring him back to me", she sobs. (pg. 379).

31.) The Darkling is dying. Alina stabbed him with a knife with Mal's blood and his own power she stole from him in the Royal Chapel. She was surprised when fresh tears filled her eyes as he breaths her name (pg. 384).

#shadow and bone #grishaverse #aleksander morozova #the darkling #nikolai lantsov #alina starkov #ruin and rising #the grisha series #malyen oretsev #mal oretsev #malina #alarkling #darklina #nikolina #siege and storm #the grisha trilogy #baghra morozova

[idunnoficsorsumthing]

Past mistakes

I’m sorry for my absence lol. I had my birthday this weekend, and I have been busy and tired and it has been a whirlwind. So here is something cute I wrote this night.

Also my mythology is sooo off. But, this fitted my story idea the best so deal with it lol

Dean Winchester x reader

You were sitting behind your desk typing a new legislative. You worked in the city council of some small- ish town in the middle of New Mexico. Some people had wanted a stop sign, and of course that took a lot of paperwork. The mayor thought you were the best one to do that. It was boring though. You were just finishing the last bits to the legislative, you weren’t even sure if it was in your power to put a stop sign on the road. But, you just wanted to get home. “Ms. L/n?” your secretary opened your door. You look up at her. “Yes?” you said, she seemed disturbed by something. “Two men from the FBI are here for you.” she said, you felt your heart speed up a little. You frown for a second, trying to figure out what they could be here for. “Let them come in.” you said, picking up some loose pieces of paper that you had scattered on your desk. 

You recognized them immediately. “What the hell?” you ask. They looked just as surprised as you did. “What are you two doing here?” you ask. Sam held up their FBI batches. “We are on a case.” Sam said, Dean stepped closer to you. He held out his hand and poked your shoulder once. “What the hell are you doing here?” Dean asked. He seemed surprised. “I work here.” you said, he frowned. “You didn’t go to college,” he said.You let out a nervous laugh. “I lied obviously.” you answer. You were very well aware of how much you changed to fit in this role. You sat down in your chair, Sam sat across from you and Dean kept standing. “We are looking for a Lamia.” Sam said, you look out the window for a second trying to think if you had any people you were suspicious of.  “I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.” you tell Sam, glancing over at Dean. He looked tired, and the boyish smile was gone. Six years was the last time you saw him. Six long years. “You should have nothing to worry about, this one seems to be going after kids.” Sam said, he took out his notepad. You felt your chest tighten. Alexander was at Kindergarten. You tap your foot at a quick pace to keep your nerves down. “I’ll keep an eye out.” you said, getting up from your seat. You needed them to leave now. “Thanks Y/n” Sam said, getting up from his seat. You follow them to the door. Suddenly, Dean shoved you against the wall. “What are you hiding?” He hissed. You don’t even flinch. “Nothing.” you said back. Sam glared at his brother. “You’re hiding something.” he glared.  You shake your head. “Let her go, Dean.” Sam said. Dean didn’t look at his brother. “If I find out you have something to do with those kids, I’ll kill you myself.” he said, Sam pulled his brother off you, and you glared at Dean. “You both need to leave.” you said, Sam nods. After you are sure they left, you quickly hurry out the door of the office.

Six years ago when you found out you were pregnant. You decided the best thing for your kid was to leave Dean, even though you were heartbroken about leaving him. You knew a hunters family wasn’t the life you wanted to give your kid. Either you had to join Dean on his hunting outings or you had to wait days, weeks to see him again, and it was dangerous, especially when he started messing with demons, and angels. You changed your name, and lied on your resume to get a job, and you rented a nice house, and even though Alex would eventually ask questions about Dean, you would just make up a story. But, it was just the two of you. It was watching Frozen for the eighth night in a row, and mac and cheese, and going to the zoo together, and it was nice. You would never want anything to happen to him, like a Shtriga or anything bad. You get to the school, and Alexander was playing with lego’s. “Alex, ready to go home?” Jenny, his teacher, asked him. He got up from the floor, and ran over to you. “Thank youuuu, Miss Jenny.” Alexander said, he greeted you with a hug. 

You put Alexander to bed that night, telling him one of his bedtime stories. His grandma had sent him 365 days of bedtime stories, and you couldn’t skip a day or else it wouldn’t be correct anymore. He was adamant about that. The story was about a dad and son at  a baseball game. You felt guilty Dean never got to tell Alex a bedtime story, or take him out for ice cream. But, Dean had never wanted kids, and I am sure he’d agree that this was the best for Alex. You kiss Alex goodnight, and you were about to turn off the light in his bedroom. “Mommy?” he said, you nod. “Yes?” you ask.  He sat up in his bed. You really hoped he wasn’t going to ask you the difficult question. “Can we go to a baseball game?” He asked. You didn’t feel relieved, you laughed a little. “Sure kid” you promised.

You didn’t take Alexander back to kindergarten for the next couple of days, and you left him with your neighbor that you had known since coming to live in this house, which was more than five years. She was glad to watch him for a couple of days, she had always been a stay at home mom, and last year her last kid left for college. You told her, they had a lice outbreak at the school, and you didn’t want to risk Alexander getting them. 

You were at work, sitting in the Mayor’s conference room, he asked you to sit in while the press was there, asking questions about the missing children. The Sheriff had joined the mayor in this press conference. The town gazette, and bigger newspaper journalists had come here, and the room was busy. Your phone rang, you quickly looked at who it was before you turned off your phone. Katrina Colson. You sneak out of the conference room, and you pick up the phone on the hallway. “he is gone, I can’t find him.” She said in a panic. You felt as if you were going to die.  “What happened exactly?” you ask. You try to stay calm but all you want to do is cry. “I was in the kitchen preparing lunch, and the doorbell rang, and when I returned to the kitchen he was gone.” she explained, she tried to be also calm but you could hear the panic in her voice. “I will be there as soon as possible.” you said, you race to your car. With a Lamia it was only a matter of time. If she didn’t kill him on the spot, she would keep him hostage till she was hungry. You drive to the nearest motel in town, it wasn’t that big of a town so there was only one near the center, the other was outside of town near the highway. You notice Dean’s stupid Impala. You run up the stairs, and knock on the door hard. Dean opened up the door, he looked surprised to see you, not as surprised as he did last week. “The Lamia took him, and I need you to bring him back, Dean.” You begged him. You hadn’t let yourself think about it too much. You tried to focus on finding Dean so he could find Alex. But, once you said those words, it hit how your son was scared and alone, and was sitting there waiting to be eaten. If- if he wasn’t dead. “What? who?” He asked. He pulled you inside the motel room. “My son. She took him.” you cried. Tears streamed down your face. “Your son?” Dean said, stunned. “Please, I need you to find him.” you cried.

It took Sam ten minutes to be back at the motel, after Dean called him. You sat on Dean’s bed explaining to him what happened. “Do you have any suspicion?” he asked. You shake your head. “Good thing we do.” Sam said, with a smirk. 

The three of you stood in front of an abandoned building. “Are you sure?” You ask Sam. He nods. Dean stepped inside the building ahead of the others. You stop Sam by taking his arm. “Alex is five” you said, you look at the door. “Does Dean?” he asked, you shake your head. He nods, the two of you follow Dean. He had given you a gun, and it felt comfortable. You had joined the Winchesters on more hunts than you could count. You held up a flashlight in one hand, and held the gun over the other hand. The three of you split up to cover more ground. “Alexander?” You whisper. When you hear a soft cry. You silently prayed it was him, you keep walking in the direction of the sound. The crying turned into cackles of laughter. Like a chicken laughing. “You bitch” you said, trying to point the gun at the sound. You feel her grab your foot, and pull you to the ground. You shoot in the general direction where you thought she was. Your head hits the ground hard, and you let go of the gun. The Lamia was trying to claw at your chest, she looked beautiful, and yet you knew how dangerous she was, fangs were shown in her mouth. You try to reach for your gun. A gunshot went right through her head, and you shriek, as the corpse falls on top of you. Someone pulled the Lamia off you. “Are you okay?” Sam asked. He helped you up. You nod. “Alexander?” You ask. He nods. “We found him, and another kid, alive.” he said: “Dean took them-.” you didn’t let Sam finish, you ran to the front of the building. Alex was standing there, and Dean was on his knees talking to him. A little boy was standing next to Alex, you recognized him from Alexander’s class. You take Alexander in your arms, and he wrapped his tiny arms around your neck. You start to softly cry a little. “Mom, you’re bleeding.” he said, the scratches the Lamia made had indeed started to bleed heavily. You put Alex back on the ground. You held both the children in your arms as the ride back was quiet. Maxime was brought home, and Anna cried so much when she held her son in her arms, safely. 

Dean hadn’t said a word to you, you knew he must have figured it out. When you got home, you took a shower, and cleaned your wounds, after that Alex got a bath. You were cooking dinner, you wanted to cry more. Because you left Dean because you thought it was safer for Alexander, and he still got taken. The doorbell rang, you opened the door. Dean and Sam were standing outside. Sam holding a big stuffed animal. “May we come in?” Dean asked. You nod, you tell him you need to check on dinner, and leave them in the hallway. Dean followed you to the kitchen. “Y/n” he simply said, you look up at him. “Is that my son in there?” he asked, gesturing at the living room. You stare in his green eyes, and you wonder how he could ask the question when it was so clear. Alex had the same eyes, and smile. “Yes, he is” you said, Dean didn’t look reassured by your answer. You knew his next question. “I left because I thought it’d be safer for him.” you said: “But I guess I was wrong.” you look away from Dean, you couldn’t look him in the eyes. You had only left a single note for him. Explaining that you loved him more than life itself, and that you did what you had to for a good reason. You just never told him about Alex. 

You take Dean into the living room. “Mama, look what I got” he said, showing you his stuffed animal. “Did you thank uncle Sam?” You ask him. He nods. He was only gone a couple of hours but he still looked very tired. “Let’s go eat dinner, boys,” you said, at the dinner table Dean was chatting with Alex. “I like Tacos less than quesadillas.” Alex said to Dean, and if anything Dean Winchester was a taco man. “I don’t agree with you there, buddy.” Dean said with a smile. “ the crunch of a taco is the best.” He argued. Alex looked Dean dead in the eye. “You should try my mom’s quesadillas. They’ll change your mind.” He said, the table filled with laughter as a response to your son’s comment. Your eyes meet Deans and then two of you exchange a smile.

Dean had asked you if it was alright if he could put Alex to bed. That left you with Sam doing the dishes. “When you left, he had a really hard time.” Sam said, you shrug. You look up at Sam. “I didn’t have it easy either, Sam. I didn’t do it to purposely break his heart.” you said: “ You saw him at dinner. You know that if he knew he had a kid he wasn’t going to let us go.” Sam didn’t say anything for a moment, he took his hands out of the soap water. “I know you thought that the line of work was what would put him in danger. It isn’t. It is in the Winchester blood to go head first into danger.” Sam said: “The best thing for him is to stay in a safe environment, and be protected by people that know what they are doing.” you look away, and hand Sam a hand towel. “I’ll think about it, Sammy.” 

Sam had already gone to the car, leaving the two of you standing on the porch. “He’s a great kid, y/n” he said: “I get why you did what you did.” he had his hands in his pockets. You look at the ground. “I’m sorry, Dean.” you said: “I took so much from you, and now I realise that maybe the safest thing for him is to be with his dad, and uncle who can protect him.” You look up and Dean had a small smile on his face. “Do you still love me?” you ask him. You knew you had no right asking him that. He nods. “Good,” you said, putting your arms around his neck. “ I still love you too, Winchester.” you said, kissing him.

Tagged: @akshi8278

#dean winchester #dean winchester SPN #dean x reader #dean x you #dean winchester imagine #spn #dean

[doing-all-write]

don’t be a baby part 2

Pairing: Billy x Fem!Reader

Summary: After losing Billy, Reader doesn’t know what to do with herself. After receiving some news about a millionaire who’s been murdering people, she convinces Billy’s old Sky Walker crew to train her so she can take him down. But the mission doesn’t go as planned and suddenly, there’s a man offering her a position on an elite team...

Read part 1 HERE

Word Count: 14K

Warnings: Swearing, blood, fight sequences, needles, mentions of smut and talk of depression. 

A/N: HAPPY VALENTINES DAY AND HERE IT IS!!! Part two of don’t be a baby!! Thank you all so so much for your patience, I wanted to be sure this story was perfect and I hope all love it! Once again, a HUGE thank you to @itsabenthing​ who is always a wonderful source of inspiration and helps to keep me on track and to @mrhoemazzello​ for hyping me up at all times and for letting me bounce ideas off her!! And don’t worry...there will be a third part 😉

💖💖As always, likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated! 💖💖

365 days.

That's not a long time.

A year on Neptune is the equivalent of 164 years on Earth. Bowhead whales can live up to 200 years. The Methuselah tree is 4,700 years old.

365 days is nothing.

What's one lousy year in the grand scheme of things?

Compared to one day.

24 hours to have your whole world ripped out from underneath you. To believe that up is down and down is up. To feel your feet leave the earth as you pitch forward into a tunnel where time passes both far too quickly and not quickly enough.

One 30 second phone call can feel like the longest thing in the world.

To some, 365 days may not feel all that long, but to others?

365 days is far too long.

~One Month After the Funeral~

“(Y/N)? It’s me. You doing okay?” Mark winced when he realized how dumb that question was. 

Setting the bags of food down on the kitchen table, he opened the fridge. His heart clenched when he saw the food he had put there a week ago sitting untouched. 

It had been the worst right after the funeral. When he came over on the days following the funeral she would be in the same clothes he had last seen her in, staring at the wall or ceiling. On good days her cheeks would be dry, on bad days? The tears would soak her pillow case. 

He had nicked Mary, Billy’s sister’s, number from (Y/N)’s phone. Figuring that Mary may have some professional resources she could recommend to get (Y/N) the help she desperately needed to pick herself back up. 

After a few weeks of her catatonic state, she started moving more. But it was almost worse. She was like a zombie. 

He’d tell her maybe she should shower or eat and in slow robotic movements she’d do what he asked, then crawl back into bed. Eyes empty. Flat. 

The passivity broke his heart. 

There hadn’t been a time when Mark and (Y/N) had been growing up when she wasn’t passionate about something. When that familiar light in her eyes had burned bright. 

Without it, it felt like looking at a mannequin of his sister. 

Sighing, he loaded the new food into her fridge. Taking the old stuff out he figured, if it wasn’t moldy, he could feed it to Jean, who was like a human garbage disposal. He claimed grief made him starving. 

As Mark stood up, he faced the bedroom door and felt his shoulders slump forward. He knew what was waiting for him on the other side and he didn’t want to see it. He knew he was a coward but part of him just wanted to walk out the front door and pretend that his sister was on the other side, totally fine, she was just sleeping and he’d come back next week and she’d greet him with a smile and a hug. 

Something he hadn’t seen in, well, in a month. 

Feeling his shoulders creep up towards his ears as he stood outside her bedroom door, he made a conscious effort to relax them. 

“Hey, (Y/N), you awake?” 

Nudging the door open, he peered into her room, taking stock of it. It looked exactly the same as last time he had checked on her. The soft rise and fall of her side underneath her blanket the only movement. Taking a moment to capture how serene she looked, he quietly closed the door behind him, taking a minute to send up a plea that he would do anything, anything, for his sister if it just meant that one day he’d see her up and out of her bed. 

~

A buzzing by her ear woke her up. Groaning, she slapped her hand around the bed, trying in vain to stay semi-unconscious. The buzzing came faster, one right after the other, reminding her of how her phone had acted the day Billy’d died. Heart dropping through the floorboards, her eyes flew open.

Sitting up and shoving the blankets back in one quick motion only caused her to hear a loud thud. Cursing, she crawled over to the edge, allowing her top half to go limp as her bottom half stayed put on her bed. 

Pushing her hair back with one hand she turned her phone over to see what was happening. News alert after news alert was scrolling in. They all said the same thing, 

Local Billionaire Accused of Dumping Toxic Waste in Ocean. 

Her eyebrows knitted together as she read the remainder of the story. There was something tugging at her subconscious as she read. This billionaire, Chase Casewell, had a reputation for being a real prick and after using his family's money to get through business school and have his first idea fail (an app that told Influencers when the best time to post would be) he had made his millions by starting a brand that specialized in shoes, ugly beige monstrosities if she remembered correctly. 

It had just come out that he had instructed the plants that made his shoes to dump the waste into the ocean. The chemicals they’d used had poisoned the water supply, causing the fish to become infected with the chemicals. Then, the local fisherman would catch the fish, take them home to their families, eat them, then the fishermen and their families would end up in the hospital. 

Her hospital.

She sat bolt upright as she remembered the string of mysterious illnesses that had ended up in her ward a few weeks before she had met Billy that first time. If the victims were lucky, they ended up puking their guts out for a few days and, after being hooked up to an IV to re-hydrate, she’d send them on their way.

Others would linger for a few days then quietly slip away. The chemicals flowing through their bloodstream till their veins ran thick with poison, where it finally creeped up to their heart where the poisons would wrap themselves around their most vital organ. Suffocating it until it gave out entirely. 

The one that had affected her the most was Isabella, a small girl with dark braids and a love of Frozen. The only thing that’d make her smile was when (Y/N) would come in with a stuffed Olaf and have him ask her for a warm hug. She had been holding this little girl's hand, watching Frozen when her heart just...gave out. 

She had gone to the funeral but shame and guilt burned bright inside till she felt like there was a beacon surrounding her, letting everyone at the funeral know it was her fault that Isabella had passed away. 

As the pieces clicked together in her mind she felt an inferno roar to life inside her. It burned away the sadness and despair she’d been wallowing in ever since Billy left only to leave behind rage and guilt. The emotions boiled in her stomach, bile climbing up her throat as she stumbled to the bathroom

Collapsing over the toilet, heaving and retching, she knew nothing was coming up but her body worked overtime to expunge the horror she felt in any way it could. Her body spasming as waves of emotions crashed through her system. 

Several minutes passed till she finally felt the nausea start to ebb. Slumping against the wall, she hung her head over the toilet as she took steadying breaths, making sure that her body wasn’t going to rebel again. 

When she lifted her head, she had made a decision. 

~

"Alrigh', alrigh' I'm coming. Quite your bloody knocking you crazy-"

Jean's rant was cut short when he saw (Y/N) on the other side of the door decked out in black athletic gear, hair pulled back in a tight braid. Jean's eyes widened as he made contact with her own eyes. A fire could get started with the steely glint that was reflected back at him. 

"I need you to train me." 

"T-train you?" Jean's hands were instantly coated in sweat as he contemplated what she was talking about. 

"Yes. Like how you trained Billy and Mark. Train me to be a Sky Walker. I can do this." 

Jean rubbed a hand down his face, "(Y/N)...it's late. Maybe we should sleep on this-"

"NO." That one word leapt from her throat in a growl, causing Jean to step back, half shutting the door. Slamming her hand against the door she switched tactics, "Please Jean. There's this prick who's dumping toxic waste into the ocean. So many people were sick and at my hospital because of him." Swallowing thickly, her eyes grew unfocused, "They died...under my watch." 

Jean's shoulders slumped at that admission. With Billy’s death overshadowing everything, he forgot that in her line of work she saw more sickness and death than even he had seen.

But this was the first time since the funeral that he had seen her up and moving. It was the first time that her eyes held any sort of emotion. He couldn’t bear to be the one that extinguished it. He couldn’t do that to her. Or to Mark. 

Heaving a sigh he flung his hands up, "Fine. We start in the morning,” Her eyes widened and a small smile crept across her face as she stepped forward into his apartment until he held a hand out to stop her, “Now let me go back to sleep so I don't pass out on you mid training session and we both die." 

~Three Months After the Funeral~

Are you ready for it? 

The bass thumped through her headphones, as her fists made contact with the punching bag in front of her in time to the beat. Staying light on her toes, she bounded back and forth, jabbing, punching, upper cutting, swaying in and out as she danced around the bag. 

She had been here for hours. The 24-hour gym had cleared out earlier, now it was just her and other people who couldn't sleep or worked weird hours.

As the last line of the song faded she put her hands on her hips, pacing over to her backpack. 

Rooting through it, she located her water bottle, taking long pulls from it as her heart beat slowed down. 

Boxing had been one of the only things that was able to take her mind off of, well, everything. 

That and running. Everyone and their mother had told her to try yoga after they’d heard what happened, telling her it would help to "quiet her mind" but the more time she spent sitting still, the more she could feel Billy's hand slipping from hers as he walked out of her apartment for the last time. 

She gave it up when a panic attack had taken over her system in downward dog. 

Activities that let her be alone, that let her get her aggression out, were the most beneficial. 

Plus, it helped with the Sky Walker training she’d been receiving from Mark and Jean.

After she’d shown up at Jean’s door that night, she arrived on his doorstep bright and early the next morning, knowing that she’d have to knock extra loud to make sure Jean actually woke up. Which is why it shocked her that before she could even knock on the door, Jean had swung it open to reveal him and Mark standing in front of her, looking for all the world like two parents ready to scold their child for staying out past curfew. 

Smirking she shrugged, “Sorry I missed curfew.”

Mark’s mouth twitched and she knew that, with him at least, she was off the hook. 

They had sat her down, gone over basic safety information, how they practiced moves on the ground first so they could get comfortable executing them and then took them up into the air. 

Mark’s heart broke at how alert and interested she was. It was the first time in months he saw her engage with others and it killed him that this was what it was taking to bring her back from the brink. 

Ever since then, she had been training with them to prepare for this mission, to learn the necessary skills she’d need to break in, to keep herself alive. She had convinced Mark and Jean that the plan she had for Chase was a one-woman job. She told them that if she couldn’t pick up on everything in six months then she would let one of them help her on this mission. 

But she knew she wouldn’t need their help. When Mark and Jean taught her how to fight, how to dodge opponents, how to protect herself in a fight, her Nurse Brain kicked into high gear.  

When they’d break down certain tricks she was able to picture the exact muscles, ligaments and bones that would need to be strengthened, how they would need to move to be able to complete the move perfectly. 

She was even able to break down fight sequences just from observing her opponents moves. Looking at how certain muscles tensed, what foot they’d lead with, how their fist was turned, it all helped her get the upper hand in any fight. 

Knowing pressure points and which joints were the weakest were an added benefit during these training sessions. 

(After she almost dislocated Jean’s knee, he had limped away, bellowing about how she needed to seriously remember who the enemy was and it “bloody well isn’t me! I like the ocean! I’ve never even been to Sea World, that’s how much I like the ocean!” 

 All of it added up to her progressing in her training more rapidly than Mark or Jean felt comfortable with.

They couldn’t help being impressed though. She was mastering moves that had taken them years to nail down. But she took to it with a single-minded determinism that worried them, especially Jean. 

Training was all (Y/N) cared or wanted to talk about. Mark told him that she’d started working out at all hours. Lifting, running and boxing being the newest activity she had added to her repertoire and while he felt it was a smart move, he couldn’t help but be worried. Every time she was training, he’d seen a fatalistic look in her eyes. It was a look he was all too familiar with, it was a common look in Sky Walkers. But those individuals were always the highest risk cases.

Those were the Sky Walkers who didn't value their own safety. They kept pushing and pushing until mortality pushed back and said, You want to keep going? Fine. You pushed too far and now I'm going to punish you. 

The worst part was, in his experience, there was no use trying to tell those individuals to slow down. They inevitably sped up to spite the person who told them to slow down. Jean didn't want Mark to lose his sister too. 

After a particularly intense training session, he hesitantly brought it up to Mark who only snorted, 

"I already lost her."

"What do you mean?"

Mark shot him an incredulous stare, "You're kidding right? You've seen how much she's changed since Billy left. That's not my sister. I still hope like hell (Y/N)'s underneath this new exterior but...I don't know who this new woman is. And frankly, I don’t want to know who she is.”

She hadn’t told Mark but she’d heard him say that. She knew she wasn’t the same woman but this was the one thing in her life that had made her feel alive since the funeral. She didn’t want to give it up. 

They’re just going to have to get used to it. She thought as she unwrapped the bright pink wraps from her hands. Rooting through her backpack, she made sure she had everything. Slinging her bag over her shoulders, she queued up her running playlist. 

Striding toward the front door she gave the obligatory head nod to all the members still in the facility. 

Shoving the door open, the wind that had buffeted the building all night slapped her in the face. Eyes tearing up, she adjusted the straps of her backpack, hit play and started to jog back to her apartment. 

Demons!

Come on!

You've got a vision,

You're on a mission!

~~~

He almost missed her. 

The all black clothing she had taken to wearing, combined with how the last vestiges of red in the sky were quickly being overrun by the inky black of the night sky made him worried she’d left without him realizing. 

Seeing the door open, light spilling out and illuminating her form, he breathed a sigh of relief. Watching her jog off into the night, he leapt up from his crouched position on the building next door to the gym. 

Giving (Y/N) a head start, he waited a few beats before taking off after her. Keeping her in his sight but sticking close to the shadows. Every time he saw a form approaching her, he put on a fresh burst of speed; anxiety spiking through his blood at the prospect of her getting in harm's way helping him to power through. After they passed without incident, he breathed a sigh of relief. 

He had done this for a few nights now. 

One had told him they wouldn't head out to HQ for a while, something about needing to wrap things up but he didn't question it. It gave him time to check on her. 

Recently, he was getting nervous that she had started to...he hated sounding like a hippie but...she had started to sense his presence.

Like their souls burned too brightly together so the universe made it so they would never be lost in the dark as long as they were near each other’s light.   

A few weeks ago, he had been following her to her apartment after she left Mark and Jean's. He had been wearing all black, a few feet away, on the roof of a building far above her. 

She had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, tilted her head up and stared right where Billy had been standing. He’d dropped like a rock to the concrete floor of the roof, trying to stifle his breathing, which after almost passing out, realized would be insane if she could hear that. 

There had been several other times where there was no possible way (Y/N) should have been able to tell where he was and yet...

She'd look up, right in the direction of where he was and every time, he sent out a plea, See me. Please. Know that I'm here. That I love you. That I never wanted to leave you. Just, please.

Please don't think I broke my promise.

~Seven Months After the Funeral~

She thought the knuckles on her hand were going to pop out of her skin.

Clenching the steering wheel, she chastised herself for making this process so exceedingly difficult. 

Just let go of the wheel. She scolded herself, Release your finger. Just the pinky finger. It won't be too hard. C'mon, don't be a- 

She cut that thought off quickly. 

Too many memories weighed down four little words and if she wasn't careful, they would drag her into the inky blackness of depression. She couldn't risk it. Not with a mission coming up. 

The breath leaving her mouth shuddered out of her like the wind through an old house. Her chest felt too tight, like each breath made her lungs smaller, not bigger.

This isn't how he'd want to see you. 

Like a flash of lightning, the thought illuminated everything and for a second, the world was crystal clear. Her fingers slipped from the wheel only to land dully in her lap, where they curled in on themselves so they looked like dead bugs. 

Snorting, she figured it would be appropriate they looked like dead bugs considering she was in a cemetery. 

Sun shining down, the sky a cloudless blue, made it impossible to not think of his eyes and how they had looked at her in the full light of day. That one day they’d had together.

Those perfect 24 hours. 

Funny how time constricts and bends so some events pass in the blink of an eye while others pass by like a train at a train crossing when you're running late to work. 

Shaking her head, she bowed her head and closed her eyes. The darkness was a welcome reprieve. But not always.

Sleep had become the bogey man at the end of her bed. Sleeping wasn't a relaxing activity, it was prey she had to stalk and take down before it could get her. It wasn't that there were so many nightmares plaguing her, it was just one nightmare.

It was horrible enough that most nights, she didn't even fully fall asleep, it was more like a deep meditative state. The thought that that one nightmare could overwhelm her was enough to make her not want to sleep ever again. The first time the nightmare came to her was a week after his funeral:

Fog would be swirling around her, swallowing up everything in her path. Taking hesitant steps forward, Billy's form would become clearer as she moved forward. Her heart beat speeding up as she saw Billy peering over the edge of the building. 

Suddenly, realization would crash into her like a train. This wasn't just any building. This was the building that Billy had last been seen running across. Knowing that there was nothing on the other side, she would rush forward to warn him, to pull him back, to crush his body to hers and never let him go.

She needed to warn him, to save him. But no matter how fast she pumped her legs, Billy stayed the same distance away. His legs would tense and that's when she'd start screaming. Her vocal cords stretched to their breaking point as she rushed towards him. But before she could reach him, he'd leap into the air, disappear into the fog and...

That's when she'd wake up. Face wet with tears, the last of her screams dying in her throat. 

She always screamed the same thing. 

Billy! Stay!

The first few times she hadn't realized she was actually screaming those words aloud until a neighbor of hers knocked on her door, asking her if she was okay.

She never knew how to answer that question.

It was such an odd one. Mark and Jean asked her that all the time. Whenever they did, she'd grit her teeth and spit out that she was fine because how else was she supposed to answer that question? 

"Actually Mark, Jean, I'm so glad you asked because I'm not okay and I probably never will be again because the only man I ever loved and trusted, up and broke said trust! Oh, and did I also mention he's dead?"

That's how she wanted to answer their asinine question but by the time she felt like she could get those words out, most people had moved on from Billy. Because people always do.

But not her. 

Though, it hadn't taken long for her to want to sleep with someone else. She figured it would help her heal. 

At the very least provide a necessary distraction.

It was always the same. 

Normally, they'd lock eyes across the bar. Raising her glass of scotch she got every time she went to the same bar with the sticky floors, burnt out bulbs and rickety chairs, she'd lift it towards him in a kind of salute. When he'd smirk back and do the same, she'd quirk an eyebrow only to throw back the drink in one go. The thud of glass on wood signaling to the bartender to pour her another. 

Nine times out of ten, their eyes would immediately become hooded with lust (every now and again, one would take a drink at the same time and choke on his own drink at the action.) A smirk would play across his lips as he'd bring his own glass to his lips and drain it in one go.

Men. God forbid a woman out do them in anything. She always thought ruefully as she'd watch her next victim unfold themselves from the bar stool they were seated on to slip into the empty seat next to her. 

There were rules. She refused to sleep with blondes. She had one time. She had moaned out Billy's name and immediately started crying. When the man with her had tried to comfort her she had pushed him away, screaming at him to get out of her apartment.

The other rule was, no sleepovers. Having men sleep over usually meant they overstayed their welcome and she didn't want them getting comfortable anymore than she wanted to spend the night in a bed that wasn't hers. 

Once the rules had been established, it was the same shit with a slightly different dude. They'd engage in flirty banter, a well-timed arm touch, a glance up at him through her lashes, one more drink and then they'd be in the back of a Lyft, hands everywhere, and then a few hours later she'd be back in a Lyft (one time, the same Lyft driver who had dropped them off had picked her up, alone, offering a hive five as she got out of the car) to go back to her apartment.

Alone. 

Most nights she wondered why she did it. Why she was constantly hunting for that same jolt of electricity that she’d had with Billy. Every time her encounters ended, she always wondered what the point of doing this was. Why did she bother when every man she interacted with came up hilariously short? 

She had tried to make it work, to forget him, but the entire time some man would be kissing her, caressing her, touching her, there was always a part of her that was thinking of another man's tattooed, calloused hands on her body. 

A rap on the window caused her to jump, clenching her hands back into fists as Mark waved, sheepishly, at her from the other side of the glass. The flowers grasped in his fist swayed in the breeze. 

Stepping out of her car, Mark moved to hug her. Holding out her hand to stop him she growled, "I'm already on edge. Don't make it worse." Striding around him and towards the plot of land where the box that Billy was supposed to be in laid dormant under the soil.

A place holder.

Nothing more. 

Mark's shoulders sank as he watched her go. Physical contact had been difficult for her since Billy had gone. It was small, but he noticed. Every time he pulled her into a hug when she showed up at training, she'd stiffen, then it turned into her barely reciprocating until she refused them altogether. It made his heart ache, she used to hug everyone no matter if they had known each forever or four minutes. 

But then again, she'd just become more withdrawn in general. It broke his heart to see it. Watching her light fade and dim, it was like a star becoming a black hole. 

Crunching through the sun dried grass toward the plot, she kept her head down, barreling towards her destination. Figuring that if she walked faster, she could outpace her thoughts before they could catch up with her and the realization of where she was and where she was headed could crush her. 

This was the first time they were visiting Billy's grave since she’d started training to become a Sky Walker. Mark and Jean had tried to get her to go sooner but it hadn't been until Mary asked (Y/N) if she would meet her there did she finally acquiesce.  

The only memory she had of Mary was after the funeral. Watching Mary and her mother walk arm in arm back to their car, their shared grief following them like a cloud. 

At that moment, (Y/N) had envied them. They had each other. Their shared love for Billy would be a balm, it would help them try to heal. She only had herself and her memories. Neither of which were particularly warm or comforting at the moment.

"Whoa, easy." Two hands wrapped around her biceps, bringing her to an abrupt stop. 

Looking up, she was met with the same sky blue eyes that Billy had, framed by lashes that were almost as long as Billy's. Blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, Mary smiled ruefully at her, "Just trying to get this over with huh?" 

Forcing herself to swallow over the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, she nodded wordlessly. Mary's eyes took in her form, noting how her clothes seemed to hang on her, the dull, flinty look her eyes had. Mutely, she linked her arm through (Y/N)'s, pulling her into her side. 

Taking a deep breath, they both turned to look at the headstone in front of them. Seeing his name carved into stone caused her heart to speed up. Scolding herself for being so silly for getting twitter-patted over his name. What was she, fourteen? 

But she couldn't help it. 

"It's weird." 

Humming in acknowledgment, (Y/N) didn't know if Mary meant them being here together, the fact that her brother was dead or just the world in general. 

"It's weird that that little line," Mary gestured toward the line in between the numbers that marked when he had been born and when he died, "is supposed to represent his whole life. Everything he said and did. Everyone he loved."

The emotional toll of hearing those words uttered by his sister caused all of the air in (Y/N)'s lungs to leave, her heart to splinter into even tinier parts. Wobbling, she grasped Mary's arm tightly as Mary wound another arm around (Y/N)'s waist to keep her upright. 

“(Y/N!) Easy, you okay?" 

The weight of Mark's hand on her shoulder helped ground her in reality. Her twisted reality where it wasn't Billy's hand on her shoulder. And it never would be again.

Straightening up, she tugged on the end of her coat, shaking her head, "Yeah. Yes. I'm fine. Just, it's a lot." 

Mark nodded, eyes taking in his sisters appearance, trying not to seem too shocked that this was the most she had revealed her feelings to him, to anyone, in the past few weeks.  

Locking eyes with Mary's blue ones over top of (Y/N)'s head, he mouthed a quick thank you in which she inclined her head to show she understood. 

Mark had been in contact with Mary constantly. First it was getting names of counselors and support groups to help his sister heal, then it turned into them talking and developing a...something. They had developed a relationship that neither were sure what to call but seeing her here caused his heart to flutter. 

Feeling (Y/N)’s shoulders rise and fall, he lifted his arm so she could step out from underneath them, "I'll see you guys later." 

Opening his mouth, Mark tried to protest but when he felt Mary's hand land on his bicep, he closed it. (Y/N)'s all black form grew to be a small speck on the blue horizon. 

He was surprised the whole ground didn't open up to swallow her at that moment. She looked like a specter of death. But he supposed what she really was was worse. She was a casualty of death, and there was no hope for that. 

~Nine Months After the Funeral~

A few months of intense training later, after she had executed one of the most difficult tricks Jean and Mark had designed, Jean finally told her she was ready to go after Chase. 

"Fucking finally." she groaned, wiping the sweat from her face with the bottom of her shirt, “I’m going to rinse off and change, then meet me at my apartment!” she yelled over her shoulder as she raced to the locker room. 

Jean nodded and several minutes later, hair still damp, raised a fist to knock on her front door. Before he could knock, the door swung open to reveal her laptop open and her kitchen table covered with charts, maps and blueprints of Chase’s compound. 

“What took you so long?” 

Jean whistled as he took it all in, "When did you do this?" 

"When I first read that news article about Chase. So..here's what I'm thinking." Laying out her plan, Jean couldn't help feeling impressed. It was foolproof. He was also relieved that all she wanted was to bring Chase to justice, share his personal files with the government and the entire Internet so she could expose him then get the hell out of there.

As she laid out the plan she was careful not to mention how much Chase needed to pay for all the lives he took with his negligence and selfishness. She kept emotion out of her tone, just the facts, as she walked Jean through her plan to bring Chase to justice. 

But she knew justice wouldn’t be enough. 

Justice was never enough for people like that. Because the rules of justice were skewed so men like that always got off scot free. In her heart of hearts, she knew it didn’t matter if she leaked every atrocious thing he’d ever done. He'd be back out in the public eye in a few years and no one would bat an eyelash because he had money, power and privilege. The three most essential ingredients to make any good villain. 

She wouldn't be able to live with herself if this man was able to walk away. If she didn't do right by Isabella, she didn't know how she'd be able to continue living with herself. 

"From there, I'll get the files, download them to the flash drive, hack into the mainframe, deposit them there and then get the hell out. Minimal damage, minimal casualties, maximum impact." 

"That's how most people describe having sex with me." 

"I don't have time to unpack how distressing all of that is right now but, what do you think? Is it doable? And will you and Mark help me?" 

Jean's eyes scanned the blueprints before him. He saw how her fingers were beating an erratic beat on her thighs, how her feet constantly shifted as if she wanted to take off in a million directions at once. This was the most animated he'd seen her in weeks. He knew this may be their only chance to really get her settled, let her burn off some steam with a mission and then they could get her back to her old self. 

Heaving a giant sigh, he hung his head down, "Fucking fine. We'll do it. BUT," his head snapped up and almost felt bad when he saw the smile that had slipped across her face fade. Almost. "You listen to us. Mark and I have final say in all of this. Got it? We've done this before and while you'll be the one in the field, we have markedly more experience so let us do what we do best. Got it?" 

He stuck out his hand for her to shake. Her (Y/E/C) eyes flitted over his features, seeing if he'd break or if he was just pulling her leg. When she saw nothing but sincerity looking back at her, she slipped her hand into his. "Deal." 

Jean almost started crying when a sparkle caught his eye, her thumb had a final bit of pink sparkly nail polish on it, making him wonder if he had made a terrible mistake. 

~A Week Later~

"I'm in." 

Part of her always cringed whenever she said those two words. She couldn't help but think of a shaggy haired, pre-pubescent 12-year old, huddled over their laptop, fingers clacking frantically, the glow of their computer screen the only thing illuminating the Mountain Dew bottles surrounding them.

But, it just came with the job she supposed. 

Creeping along the hall, she checked over her shoulder. Feeling the familiar flutter of adrenaline spike in her stomach, she reached for the package that was hidden in her pocket. As her fingers brushed over its cylindrical shape she felt her shoulders relax. Then, she moved her hand down further to make sure the knife she’d strapped to her thigh was still firmly in place, that really helped her to relax. 

She quickly sent up a thank you to Cassandra, wherever she was, for leaving her knife sharpening kit at Mark’s place. The linoleum underneath her feet reflected the dim red light that ran along the length of the hallway. 

"In 20 feet you're going to reach the checkpoint. Remember, there's a big ass-"

"Grid of invisible wires, yeah yeah. I know, Jean. We went over this a million times." 

"Well, with how little you pay attention during those meetings I'm surprised you can even remember the address." 

"How about you shut the fuck up and let me do my damn job?" she snarled into her comms. 

Blocks away, Jean ripped his headset off to shake his head at Mark who just sighed, eyes never leaving the computer screen where his sisters grainy form was seen lurking towards the wire netting, "I know, dude. I know."

"Fucking Billy. If only he hadn't-"

"Jean. Please. We all still wish he was here. Don't make it harder."

Huffing out a breath, Jean turned back to the keyboard, shoving his headphones back into place as he deactivated the alarms to the rooms (Y/N) needed to get in to. 

Throwing a strand of her hair into the hallway, she nodded when it settled to the floor without getting zapped. 

"You really don't trust me, do you (Y/N)?

"I trust you, I just don't trust the security protocols in this place. A fortress like this has to have backups of the backups." 

"Bitch! That's why we're here!" 

Snorting at how high Jean's tone had gotten, she continued prowling toward the door that led into Chase’s inner sanctum. He didn't let anyone but a select few into the room that was waiting for her at the end of the hallway. It was where he kept all of his documents, where he entertained foreign emissaries and got them to sign off on him dumping his toxic waste in the water because who cared about people's health when he could make a few more dollars? 

Shaking her head to straighten her brain out, she took a deep breath as she tread closer to the intimidating mahogany door that loomed before her. 

Glancing down, she saw the pad to the left of the door, they needed a retinal scan to get in. She waited as from miles away, Mark's hands were flying over the keyboard as he worked his magic. Using a close up image of Chase's eye they had captured a few weeks ago, he embedded it into the code for the lock. When it lit up green she smirked, "Thanks, big brother." 

"Don't thank me yet. Expose that fucking loser and come home safely. Then we can talk." 

Nudging the door open, she made a beeline for the imposing white desk in front of the picture window looking out over, ironically, the ocean. Rolling her eyes, she briskly walked over to his computer. Fingers gliding over the keys, fishing around in the pocket of her black athletic leggings, she cursed, "Why the FUCK do women's pockets always have to be so small."

"It's just another way for the patriarchy to keep you down. Hard on, sister."

Pausing in her actions, she raised her eyes up, fixing on a distant point as she opened and closed her mouth, ready to correct Jean when Mark's voice rang through her comms, "He's got the right spirit. Just let him have this." 

Shrugging, she bent down to the task at hand, inserting the USB, opening up files and dumping them onto the Internet and sending them to the entire UN Embassy, every government official, Greenpeace and the whole world to condemn this monster. 

As she finished uploading the last of Chase’s files to the EPA’s mainframe, she heard footsteps approaching. 

And right on time. 

"Uhh, (Y/N)? Don't mean to alarm you but Chase himself and four armed guards are barreling down on you. Get out the window NOW and meet at the rendezvous point." 

Hearing how Mark's voice shook on the last word caused her to pause for a fraction of a second, wondering if she was making the right choice. Like a flash, she shook herself from her stupor and straightened up. Pulling the USB out of the computer she dropped it into her pocket, reaching a finger up to disconnect her comms, "I know. I planned for it. Sorry boys. I’ll see you on the other side" She clicked her comms off just as she heard Jean and Mark start to protest.  

Closing her eyes, she rolled her shoulders. Reaching back into her pocket she took out the extra package she’d been carrying and set it on the desk.

Carefully, she extracted the vile and needle that was inside. 

When the door burst open, all Chase saw was a woman, silhouetted by moonlight, holding a needle up to the light, tapping it a few times. 

"Nice of you to join me, Chase. Won't you sit down?" she murmured.

"Who the fuck are you, you crazy bitch? I have the entire government on my ass, PETA has threatened with more than one lawsuit and the FBI, EPA and other three letter entities aren't far behind to pick me up and haul me off for the rest of my life. So," he stepped to the edge of the desk, slamming his palms down, "I'll ask one more time. Who.The. FUCK. Are. You?"

Watching the last air bubble pop, she smiled. She had never felt so calm in her life and when her eyes dragged from the needle to meet Chase’s, he was surprised to see a serene looking woman staring back at him. 

"You killed people. So now I'm going to kill you." 

And she lunged forward.

Her hand came down holding the needle, aiming for the largest artery in his neck. Eyes widening, he stumbled back, arms pinwheeling. Knocking the needle from her hand, she watched it twist through the air, the moon reflecting off the glass and then she lost it as it hit the plush carpet without a sound. 

She didn't have too much time to think about it because all of a sudden the four men that had come in with Chase were on her. 

Leaping onto the desk, she wrapped her thighs around the neck of the man closest to her. Thanking Mark for bullying her into never skipping leg day, she squeezed her legs around his neck as he spun wildly, trying to dislodge her. Hands scrambling at her thighs, he dropped to his knees where she unwound her legs from his shoulders, dropping to the ground and turning in one swift motion, she kneed him in the face, turning to the next man as the one on the floor tried in vain to stop the fountain of blood flowing from his nose. 

Another one was right on her as she aimed a punch right to his midsection, hearing an “OOF” leave his mouth, she kicked his legs out from underneath him. As he landed, she raced in between his legs, located his kneecap and with a twist of her wrist, dislocated it with a sharp POP. 

With a howl, he rolled around on the ground as the one with the bloody nose limped over to help. Breathing heavily she turned, only to be faced with the other two bearing down on her. 

Jesus, she thought, Star Wars always led me to believe the bad guys would come at me one at a time. Not all at once. 

It was the last thought she remembered having before she could only focus on trying to make it out alive. 

One of the men grabbed her arm, she grabbed his wrist, finding a pressure point and bore down until his fingers loosened around her wrist. Not letting up, she snapped his wrist and kicked him in the groin. 

As he slumped to the ground, the other one grabbed her ankle, yanking her leg out from underneath her causing her to face plant into the carpet. Her hands scrabbled for anything to hold onto as he dragged her body towards him. Twisting, she reached for her knife. As he reached a hand down toward her throat, she brought it up in one quick motion. 

She rolled away as the man screamed in agony as he searched for his missing finger. Scrambling to her feet, she felt something collide with the back of her head. Her vision began to swim as the carpet came up to meet her face once again. She’d forgotten about the first guard who had been attending to the second man she’d taken down. Now, he stood over her, teeth bared, blood still flowing from his nose, gun cocked and aimed right in between her eyes. 

"Wait!" 

Chase's form became clearer as he knelt down beside her, "You don't deserve to die by a bullet do you?" He cooed as he stroked a finger down her cheek. Turning her head, she tried to snap at his finger but the quick movement caused her to retch. 

Laughing softly, she heard the tap of fingernails hitting a glass vile, "You deserve to die by your own little concoction. It’s much more poetic, don't you think?" 

He leaned over her, bringing his mouth to her ear as he caressed her arm, rubbing two fingers over the crook of her elbow, "Like Romeo and Juliet but, darling Juliet" she hissed as he stabbed the needle into her arm, "This time, Romeo will live. And he'll win." He pressed the release and she felt a tear leak from her eye when suddenly, the world exploded. 

Glass fell over her form like stars falling from the sky as the bright lights of a stealth helicopter illuminated the room. The man with the bloody nose whipped his gun toward the window, firing rapidly but quickly crumpled as someone strode right up to him, and shot him point blank. 

Chase scrambled up, hands out in front of him, "What the fuck is this? Are you CIA? FBI? Listen, I have more money than God, I can set you up for the rest of your life. You'll never have to worry-"

A gunshot was the only answer Chase got. 

"More than one person can have more money than God, ass-wipe." The figure kicked Chase's body as he walked past him, his form swimming before (Y/N) as the poison leaked into her blood stream, "And besides," he knelt down by her form, fingers searching for a pulse, "I use reusable straws because baby turtles are cute as fuck."

Her head lolled to the side as she used the last bits of her strength to see who her savior was. A man with a rugged face stared back as he moved to crouch behind her, cradling her head in his hands as he yelled to someone behind him to hurry the fuck up. 

A second face looked down at her as she felt her eyelids begin to close, the hushed sounds of the man holding her head offering soothing platitudes as she made peace with the fact that she was about to die. 

As the second person rifled through the medical bag they had been carrying, hurriedly pulling out instruments, the last thing she heard was the man whispering into her ear, "Come on darling. Hold on for me. Hold on for him." 

~Three Days Later~

Bright. 

That was her first thought as her eyelids fluttered open and immediately closed upon being assaulted by blinding white light. 

For a wild second she thought she had gone to heaven. 

"I know what you're thinking. Is this heaven? No. It's not. Because if this were heaven I'd be smoking a fat blunt, drinking the finest gin while lying on a nude beach where no living person could bother me. People like you." 

The squeal of chair legs being dragged over the floor caused her to flinch. The voice that spoke was dry, making her wonder if this man ever took anything seriously. And also if he could read minds. 

"Pretty good stunts you pulled out there. You learn that shit from watching Black Widow too many times?" 

Silence. She tried to keep her breath steady so maybe he would think she was still asleep. 

"Sweetheart, I just saw your eyelids crack open a second ago. There's no way in hell you dropped back off to sleep that quickly." 

"Shouldn't I be dead?" It felt like her vocal cords were two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together. The sound that was expunged from her throat was a dry husk.  

"Should be but, like Chase, I have more money than God and a crack team of experts. One of whom happens to know exactly what was in that vial and the antidote for it. You've been stable and asleep for three days now." 

He saw her eyebrows twitch, which he figured was the most reaction he would get out of her. 

Keeping her eyes closed made it easier to digest the information he was throwing at her and to keep her poker face in tact. The voice sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't place where or when, she’d heard it before.

"Is he-?" 

"Dead? Yeah. A half dose of poison most people can come back from, but a bullet right through the skull? Much like Humpty Dumpty, we can't exactly put that back together again." 

She felt her lips twitch and scolded herself for letting any emotion show through. 

"He deserved it."

"I know. And you deserve to use your skills in a better way." Her body stilled, her breath stopped for a beat and when it resumed, the monologue continued, "I have...fuck I hate sounding like Samuel L. Jackson but I have a team. And we could use someone like you." 

Another scraping sound, the soft rustle of fabric moving as the voice sounded like it was coming over her, "Think about it. And I'll contact you. Don't worry. I always keep my promises." 

Her hands clenched, the veins popping out as those five words washed over her like a cold shower.

The clenched hands were all the reaction he needed. 

Hearing his footsteps get softer she reached a hand down and felt a piece of cardstock brush against her finger tips. When the door closed, she cracked open an eyelid to look down at it, but it was blank. 

~~~

Closing the door, One leaned up against the hallway, letting his head knock against the wall of the hospital. 

Four had warned him. 

But this made things incredibly interesting. 

Or difficult. It all depended on how he wanted to view the situation. 

And what she wanted. 

After the funeral, One’d kept a close eye on Four. He knew what kind of pull love could have over a man. And Four was young. The youngest on the team in age, sure, but he let his feelings get the better of him a lot of the time which made him seem even younger. 

Which could be dangerous. And they were already in way too much danger as it was on a daily basis so he needed to nip it in the bud. 

Closing his eyes, he thought about the first time he caught Four. 

~Two Months Ago~

It had been quiet. 

The wind whistled through the various holes that littered the planes, causing sand to get whipped up along with it, tornadoes forming and quickly collapsing. 

One had been awake. He rarely slept but he had been in the Case Room, going over some files. Trying to decide what their next mission needed to be when he heard a noise. 

Keeping his body still, he strained his ears to see if he would hear it again. When he heard the floor creak, he crept to the door, peering out to see who or what it could possibly be. 

Seeing the familiar shape of Four's hoodie, he rolled his eyes. When he saw him creep into the control room, he became suspicious. He knew how tempting the draw was to check on the ones you cared about. But with how emotionally fragile Four had been since he'd joined, he didn't think this was the best idea, but he needed to confirm that’s what he was doing before he blew up on the kid. 

Pushing the door open, he walked down the hallway, being careful to tread lightly so as not to alert Four to his presence till he absolutely needed to. 

Using his years of training, he placed his body precisely so he could look into the room but Four wouldn't be able to see him should he look around. Which, he didn't think would be an issue. Four was engrossed by the screen in front of him, One didn't think a nuclear explosion would cause him to look up. 

Taking his chances, he slunk into the room. Four had footage of an apartment pulled up on the screens. Three people, two guys, one girl, standing around a table. Four had headphones on so One couldn't hear the audio but it looked like the individuals on screen were in the middle of an intense argument. 

Nibbling his thumbnail, Four's eyes were laser focused on the woman as she gesticulated wildly. Blueprints, computer screens and maps littered every available surface of the apartment and One recognized the planning stages of a mission. He got a little closer and recognized the girl on screen as the same one who had been at Four's funeral. 

Four had told him his background on the trip over to HQ. One figured the other two were the ones that were left over from his original Sky Walker crew. 

(He’d roasted Four about that dumbass name for weeks afterward.)

Shaking his head, One heaved a sigh and reached forward to snatch the headphones off Four's head. 

"HEY! Who the bloody hell-" Four's frame twisted up and out of the chair only to come to an immediate stop when he saw who had his headphones dangling from their fingertips. 

"Didn't know The Bachelorette had a new season running! Are they in the hometown segment?"

Four blinked at him, "It's really distressing you know that much about The Bachelorette." 

"What's really distressing is the fact that you're checking up on her. What the fuck do you think you're doing Four?" 

"Look, I'm sorry but-"

"No. There are no buts here. Even if her butt is really nice, you gotta put it behind you dude. Especially her."

"I know that, One but-"

One had started pacing back and forth as he warmed to the topic before him, "Do you know how much money is on the line here? How much is at stake? Our lives, our very existence, this could all blow up at any point and we could die. For real. Or, even worse, the government comes in, blows up our spot and we get sentenced to death. Or worse, jail.  And you yourself have such fond feelings of, what did you call them? The pigs?" One shot Four a disgruntled look at that statement, noting how Four's hands were clenching and unclenching in an attempt to stay cool. 

"Look, One, I just-"

Rounding on him, pointing a finger in his face One roared, "No, Four, you just. You clearly don't want to be part of this team. Clearly I made a mistake in asking you to be part of this if you can't get over the little school girl crush you have on this girl you slept with once and she sucked your dick so well that you mistook it for love-"

His air supply was cut off as Four slammed One up against the wall. The tattoos decorating his hand popped against his skin as he gripped One’s windpipe in a steel trap. For the first time since bringing Four onto the team, One was truly afraid of him and understood why he was so good at what he did. 

The look in Four's eyes cowed One immediately as Four growled out the next few sentences, "You listen up right here, right now you fucking prick," Slamming his head back into the wall One saw stars, "Her name is (Y/N) and she is worth more than any person on this damn planet. She's the best person I’ve ever been with and I’m damn lucky she even deigned to give me the time of day. She’s the reason I even joined this bloody insane operation, so show some fucking respect or I'll have no problem slitting your throat and moving on with my life." 

One's vision was getting black around the edges as he frantically nodded his head at Four’s words. Four let him go where he collapsed to the floor on hands and knees, coughing as Four paced around the room, scrubbing at the shaved sides of his head with his fists. 

After a few seconds of coughing, One rubbed at his throat as he pushed himself up, "You're fucking crazy, dude. Really glad I recruited you. That's the kind of attitude we need out in the field." 

Four shook his head as he let out a humorless laugh as One brushed his hands off, "You don't understand One. You never will." 

"Cut the emo bullshit. We're not in Twilight. We're adults, just tell me what-" He stopped as Four  swiftly turned to face him, eyes pleading,

"She became a Sky Walker, One. She's doing what I used to do because she doesn't think her life has any meaning and that's bullshit. She's my everything, okay? She's the reason I get up in the morning. She's the reason I do this damn job. She's the reason I keep myself alive out there. She's my guiding light. She's the sunshine on a cloudy day and-and” he waved his hands around uselessly as he tried desperately to pull another cliche from thin air, “I don’t know, man. She’s every other cliche you know about how someone makes your world better and she's putting herself at risk because of me" 

One stood stock still as Four took another deep breath in, the fire in his eyes going from an inferno to embers as he stared at the screen where it showed her bending over the blueprints, tracing a line with her finger, "She's the love of my life and-" taking a shuddery breath in One felt his own eyes start to get misty, "Her light is the one thing that keeps me going in this miserable world. And if she's gone, I don't know if I'll make it." A tear made its way down One’s cheek as Four admitted this last part on a whisper. 

One wasn't sure he was supposed to hear that last part but there was stillness as the room held its breath as it waited for what One would have to say, 

"Alright. What do you need from me?" 

Four's eyes snapped to One's. Stepping closer to One, his eyes roved over his face, trying to tell if he meant it, "You're not messing with me are you?" 

"Not in this regard. Probably over something else I will but, what would make you feel better?"

Four took a second to contemplate it, "If she does seem like she's in trouble with this mission, we rescue her.” His eyes widened as he took another step closer to One, “AND, you offer her a spot on the team."

"Four-"

"One it's this or you lose me for good if she-she- '' Four's voice cracked as he turned his head away. Not even able to finish that horrible thought. 

One’s heart squeezed in his chest. Christ, he thought, I’m more invested in their relationship than any bystander should be.  

Groaning, One rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Fucking fine. I'm so going to regret this but...fuck it. If it seems like things are going sideways, we'll step in. I'll offer her a place on the team." Four started to smile but One stepped forward, pointing a finger in his face, "You have to meet with her before she makes her final decision though. I can offer it to her but she gets the final call if she wants to do this thing with us. With you. Got it?"

Nodding frantically, Four closed the gap between the two of them and wrapped One in a hug, "Oh, so we talk about our feelings for two minutes and all of a sudden we're into hugs? Weird."

Four let him go and with one last look at the screens, bade One goodnight. 

Watching him leave, One turned to the screens, watching her analyze the blueprints, writing notes on them occasionally. Leaning on the back of the rolling chair One sighed, "Oh (Y/N), you have no idea what you've done."

~~~

Reaching into his pocket, One slide his phone out, shooting a quick text to Four, 

She’s awake. And alive. Now we wait. 

Heaving a sigh, he glanced down the hallway to see Seven approaching. Making eye contact with One, he raised his arms up as if to say, Well? What's happening?

"Fuck if I know. She's insane.” At Seven’s bug eyed look he quickly backpedaled, “In a good way. I don't think she's insane in, like, a psychological way. Just grieving."

"Oh good because grief is such a good emotion to grapple with in this line of work. Oh, and by the way did we mention that the man she’s grieving is actually alive and well?" 

"You know, sarcasm is really ugly on you. Luckily, I'm not ugly so I can wear sarcasm well." 

Snorting, Seven slumped against the wall next to One, letting his own head thud softly against the wall. Crossing his arms they both stared ahead at an unknowable future.

Seven broke the silence, "What really happens now, One. I mean, I know she's good, we all saw her in action. Taking out all four of those guards? Her entire plan was foolproof. It was impressive, no doubt but this is a tricky situation, one that none of us has ever had to deal with before." 

"I know, I know." One let those four words out on a single huff of breath. Groaning he squeezed his eyes closed, "Why did I have to pick the one man on this earth who's desperately in love with a girl who so happened to be desperately in love with him and then they both went full Batman when they lost each other?"

"Because you see yourself in Four. That's why."

One's eyes slid over to Seven, "That doesn't leave this hallway."

Nodding once to show he understood, Seven pressed himself up. Twisting his body so he was facing One, his posture the only remnant to remind everyone he was once the perfect soldier, "But seriously One, what now. What can I do?"

Pressing his hands against the wall, One heaved himself up with a grunt, "Solve this for me?" The single eyebrow raise was the only answer he got, "Alright, alright. Come on. We need to go back and debrief everyone on this crazy shit. Don't know how I'm going to use small enough words to explain this to Three." 

"You're on your own for that one dude." Seven laughed as they ambled down the hall, laughter dying on his lips his face fell into a serious mask, "How do you think Four's going to handle it?" 

"If I knew I wouldn't be having this charming heart-to-heart with you." 

"Seriously man, you're not even a little bit worried?"

"I'm freaking out dude!" Seven was brought up short as One rounded on him, gesticulating wildly, "This is no man's land! Even more so than this original idea! Four's so deep in his feelings with this girl and she's clearly heartbroken about him being gone and is on a one-woman train toward self-destruction that she's determined to meet him in death and” One’s eyes widened comically, “Ooooh my god I've Romeo and Juliet-ed them. Holy shit, I'm the Nurse. I'm too beautiful to be The Nurse!" 

Gently prying One's hands from his collar, Seven looked him dead in the eye, "You have got to get a grip. You're spiraling and it's making your eyes go in two different directions."

Crushing his eyes closed, One took a deep breath in, "You're right. You're right. I need to get it together. We can handle this." Stepping back One hopped up and down on the balls of his feet, punching the air, "I need you to slap me." 

The crack of Seven's palm making contact with his cheek sent One staggering back several steps. 

"OW! What the fuck? No hesitation? No asking if I was sure?"

"I've been wanting to do that since the day you broke into my apartment." Seven shrugged as One glared at him, cupping his pink cheek.

"Fine, but it did help clear my head. So. Thanks. I guess."

Seven smirked.

"Alright, the plan. Let's talk to Four first. He needs to understand that for this to work, he needs to talk to her one on one. And it has to be her call. We can't influence her. If she wants in, fine but they need to work through their shit. And if she says no? Then we let her walk back to her life. And Four needs to respect that. He has to let her go." 

"Easier said than done. I've seen his face when he looks at pictures of her on his phone." 

"Yeah well, bet you didn't know he's also been following her? Keeping watch over her via surveillance tapes? And tracking her home?”

That brought Seven up short, "No? What the fuck?"

"I know. If it was anybody else's story I would have called the cops ages ago. As it is, it’s kind of romantic"  

~A Week Later~

"We're all ghosts down here. Except, we don't float. One because gravity's intact and two because I'm not a cannibalistic clown." 

"Could've fooled me." 

"Didn't know I recruited fucking Tina Fey over here. Anyway, here's headquarters. Or home sweet home." One said in that same drole way he had of phrasing everything.  

Walking through the punishing desert to get to the graveyard of felled planes had caused a shiver to pass through her. She did her best to suppress it but it was difficult. Passing through the giant hulking masses of steel caused her to feel like she was encroaching on the territory of ancient deities. The area felt loaded with their silence, the carnage keeping a silent watch as their footfalls disrupted the grains of sand that were being buffeted by the wind that swirled through the gaping openings in the bellies of the planes.  

It had been a week since she’d been discharged from the hospital, well, not hospital, but the private sanctuary One had kept her at while she healed.

He had come into her room the day after he had left his card, shock on his face at seeing her sitting up, arms crossed. 

"What the hell do you do and how do I fit into it?" 

The single eyebrow she raised at One prompted him to explain, in detail, everything they did and what it would entail. 

She’d been silent, eyes focused on his face, not making any sounds or moving until he finished his spiel. Then nodding, she asked one question, 

"When do I start?" 

He explained that her death would be easy to fake since she had technically almost died anyway. What he he hadn't told her was he hadn’t made it public just yet, he didn't want to make her brother and friend worry too much. Or give them a false alarm only for her to waltz back from the dead if she couldn’t handle being with Four. 

So, here she was, following One up the stairs of the largest plane carcass. Pushing aside the plastic curtains that did their best to keep sunlight, sand and bugs out, he extended an arm in an exaggerated bow. 

"I do hope it's to your liking Princess." 

"Don't call me that you prick." She murmured as she breezed past him, pausing in the doorway to let her eyes adjust to the dim interior of the plane after being out in the searing sunlight. 

The main room held more computer monitors than she had ever seen. She thought Mark's setup of four monitors had been impressive but the wall of screens staring back at her made her realize how rookie their operation had been. 

A large silver table in the middle held a commanding presence and she knew, instinctively, that One felt most comfortable at the head of it, barking orders while still being able to hit the group in front of him with a sarcastic jab or two. 

Taking a few hesitant steps forward she peered at the weapons lining the back wall. Snorting, she gestured to it lazily, turning her head to pierce One with a gaze, "You preparing for the apocalypse or do I require this much of a security detail?" 

One's face broke into a fake smile as he leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees as he wheezed a few times, "Oh my god, sweetheart, oh god, please, stop, my stomach, it can't take the hilarity anymore, please, god." With that last word the smile dropped from his face and he stood up straight, crossing his arms over his chest, 

"We're a group of vigilantes that have a specific subset of skills that makes us some of the most dangerous people on the planet. We go after the people that are even more dangerous than us. You think we just talk about our feelings and politely ask them to stop committing human rights atrocities?" 

Brushing past her he shook his head, "Unbelievable." Muttering about new blood while he started down the hallway. 

Eyes dancing over the various boards lighting up, she had the unmistakable sense that someone was watching her. One had told her there were five more that she would meet so she wondered if one of them was about to jump her as a weird sort of initiation. 

But when she turned her head to the entrance, there was nothing. 

Just the wind, blowing the plastic flaps back and forth. Scanning over the area she could have sworn the darkest corners contained something that was intrigued with her. Taking a hesitant step forward, One's voice jolted her out of her paranoia, "Hey, Amy Poehler, you coming to share more of your classic wit with the whole class or are you just going to dilly dick around all day? C'mon, I'm a busy man." 

"Coming!" She yelled back, turning on her heel to jog down the hallway after him, turning her head one last time to make sure no ghosts were following. 

~

Billy breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that today was the day he’d have to face her. He and One had discussed it extensively last night. One had been adamant, don't get attached to her being on the team before she explicitly says she wants to stick around, you know the rules, I know Seven changed things a little but this is getting into a whole new territory of softness and on and on while Billy had just sat there, taking it. 

One finally ran out of steam (Billy wondered, not for the first time, if One had a coke addiction to get all the energy he needed) and Billy nodded his head, chewing over everything One had just said. He opened his mouth, preparing to show One how much he understood, how this was him only looking out for the team and adding a valuable asset. What came out of his mouth surprised him and One, 

"I love her. I need her or else I won't make it through this life alive." He lifted his eyes to One and One took a sharp intake of breath. He had never seen Billy so open, so vulnerable. Even when he had been on the brink of dying, twice. 

Searching his blue eyes, One sighed, dragging a hand over his face, squeezing his eyes shut as he scrubbed at his hair, groaning, "Fuck me, I must be getting soft in my old age. FINE. But remember. You have to talk to her. If you two can't work through your shit, she's gone. Poof. Vamoose. Got that? This is her choice. She gets to make the call if she stays, if she wants to work with you and if she leaves. Not you. Capisce?"

Billy nodded, trying his hardest to mask the eagerness he felt at the possibility of being with (Y/N) again. Being around her light, feeling that same pull into her warmth. 

So, how could anyone blame him for wanting to see her as soon as she stepped foot into headquarters? 

He had lurked in the shadows, pulling his hood over his hair, making sure his eyes were concealed. His eyes were her favorite part of him, she had told him during those amazing 24 hours they had shared together. 

Billy couldn't believe it had been 365 days since they had seen each other. It felt like it had gone by so fast. But then again, he’d been all over the world, fighting bad guys and overthrowing dictators, (Y/N) had been living her life. 

And started Sky Walker training which he was going to have to talk to her about that. 

When she walked in, Billy had shrank even farther into the shadows, biting his tongue till he tasted blood, so he wouldn’t scream out her name. 

It was still the same (Y/N) he’d fallen in love with, longer hair, more muscles but what really threw him was her eyes. They were the same color but the warmth that he had come to love was extinguished. Replaced with a flinty resolve that if anyone talked or looked at her, they would get their ass kicked. 

It was the first time that he started to wonder if maybe this was the best idea. And let himself ponder the idea that she could potentially say no. That she wouldn't want to see him. That she would never be able to forgive him.

But he needed to know. He needed to try, he needed to show up for himself and for her. To show her that he still loved her, that he had always loved her. 

Stepping out of the shadows, he pulled his hood down, making his way to the meeting room where they’d be waiting for him.  

It wasn't till he brought his hand down from his hood that he realized his hands were shaking.

~

"Hola, Papi. Who's this lovely lady sitting here? My birthday isn't until next week." Three smirked as he pulled a chair out for himself, aiming a lazy wink at (Y/N). Her months of seducing men just like him in bars kicked in and she winked back, letting a slow smile crawl across her face. 

An intimidating blonde woman kicked his chair as she sank into her own, "I meet your mother and this is the thanks I get?" 

"You know I didn't mean it mi amor. I've only got eyes for you."

"And apparently any other attractive woman in a six mile radius." She extended her hand to (Y/N), "I'm Two. Nice to meet you."

Grasping Two’s hand in her own, she shook it, impressed with the strength of the woman's grip. 

"Well, since you and Two are so happy together, this is my time to shine. I'm Seven." Seven grabbed her hand, pulling it up to his lips and pressed a kiss to it, holding her prone in his stare. He pulled back, winking at her and she felt a blush climb into her cheeks, "(Y/N). You have a much better chance than Three does at getting into these Nike leggings." 

Seven's jaw dropped as One made a retching noise and Five stepped forward, extending her hand "I don't want to get into your leggings but I’m glad there's someone else here who's trained to keep these idiots alive." 

(Y/N) shook her hand, smiling back at her, "Surprised they've lasted this long with just one doctor."

"You and me both." Rolling her eyes she turned to One, "This the one we picked up from Casewell’s joint?” 

“The very same” was One’s reply as he flicked through the folder in his hands. 

Five’s eyebrows rose up as a low whistle escaped her lips, “Shit. Well, I’m definitely glad you came around then. I’m assuming you’re the one who brought the vile of polonium?” 

(Y/N) nodded, very aware of every eye in the room assessing her, sizing her up. It was like being in a room with Cassandra but multiplied by five.

“We saw you in action. Very impressive.” Two chimed in, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Everyone else nodded as she tried her best to tamp out the flush of appreciation building in her cheeks. Snorting, she deflected, “Thanks. I guess you guys couldn’t have stepped in earlier to help, huh?” 

“Sweetheart that’s not really our style. And in case you missed the chopper outside the building, we’re very particular about our style.” Flinging the folder down on the table, One braced his hands on the back of a chair, “So, now you’ve met everyone. The whole Brady Bunch of chucklefucks before you.” 

(Y/N) had been mentally going over everyone's names in her head, when she furrowed her brow, "Hold on, either I’m dumber than I thought or your numbers are all out of whack. Where are Six and Four?"

Seven flicked his eyes to Two. Five shifted in her seat, opening her mouth when One cut her off, "Six is no longer with us and Four will be in shortly. I wanted you to meet the whole team first, get a feel for us, then meet Four and make your decision if you'd want to stay with us."

Cocking her head she flicked her eyes to One, "Why? Is Four like a 4Chan meninist who hates women? Why would he be the catalyst for whether I stay or go?" 

Since meeting him, this was the first time she had seen One at a loss for words. It made her pulse speed up, clenching her hands into fists she tried to ignore the moisture that had started to accumulate on her palms. 

One opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, only to sigh and rub the bridge of his nose as he moved to the door of the meeting room they had been in, "It's probably easier if we just get this over with. Alright. Everyone out. C'mon hurry up." He waved his hands impatiently at the rest of the team standing around. Reluctantly they all started to move, Seven and Three grumbling about how they didn't want to miss any of the drama. Everyone stopped when her chair clattered to the floor, hands clenched at her sides as she took a step toward the door. 

"What drama? One? What's going on?" She hated how shaky her voice came out but she couldn't help it. What did they mean? Was Four their muscle? Was it a weird hazing thing? Would she have to try to kill this person? Try to make it out of this room alive? 

One was standing half in and half out of the doorway, hand closed over the door knob. Turning back, he locked eyes with her (Y/E/C) ones.  

Her blood ran cold. He looked, sorry. Almost like he pitied her. She was pretty sure One didn't  have feelings so to see this much emotion directed at her? 

She was terrified. 

"It'll all make sense. Just...do what you think is right. Okay? You seem like a smart kid. Trust your gut."

And with those cryptic words he left, shutting the door. Sealing her in to wait for this new threat to emerge. 

~

One walked out of the conference room and ran right into Billy. 

"Jesus, kid. Any closer to me and you'd need to buy me dinner and drinks before that shit."

Billy's eyes looked right through One, "Is she in there? What did you tell her? What's she like? What did she say?" 

One held up his hands to cut off the avalanche of questions, "Yes. The bare minimum by introducing her to everyone. She's like how she was a few minutes ago when you were spying on her, don't think I didn't see you, and she hasn't said anything that I would write home to my own mother about. Oh, except she did tell Seven he could get into her Nike leggings." 

Billy's eye widened and he twisted his body to where the sounds of the team were filtering back to the two of them, "I'll kill him myself if he even laid a fucking hand on her, I swear to god."

"Woah, hey kid. Easy. It was just some harmless flirting and besides, (Y/N)'s a grown ass woman who can make her own decisions. You don't get to dictate who she does and doesn't sleep with."

Billy's eyes were unfocused as he clenched and unclenched his hands. One took stock of the bundle of nerves before him and felt his shoulders droop a little. 

It was times like this that really drove home young Four was. He was the most vulnerable (in terms of emotions and in how little protection he had during missions) and after hearing how he really felt about (Y/N), well, it caused One's own shriveled heart to grow two sizes too big after hearing it. 

Even though sometimes when he heard her name, he could still feel Billy’s hand clamping down around his windpipe. 

He didn't fault Four for it. Seeing how she reacted at the sight of Four's grave almost made him cave and push Four forward, yelling at her to stop crying.

It ripped his heart apart, especially because it made him think about the family he still had out there.   

Sighing, he placed his hands on Billy's tense shoulders, feeling the muscles and sinews so tight he was surprised they didn't snap, "Hey. Hey. Look at me." Billy dragged his eyes away from the door and to One's face, "Don't go in there all freaked out. I think I already stressed her out a little bit so...be cool, okay? And remember, respect her decision. I'll give you all the space you need if she leaves but...respect her choice. That's top priority. Got it?" One gave Four's shoulders a gentle shake so he knew that Four had heard what he’d said. 

Feeling Four's joints loosen as he took stock of his words, One slapped him on the back as he walked back down the hallway, "Also, just a heads up, we will be watching this whole interaction over the feeds so just keep that in mind if you two decide to start fucking." 

~

(Y/N) had been pacing the perimeter of the room, checking for cracks, a hidden door, something so she could get out of here alive. She didn't have any weapons on her. Well, except a Swiss Army knife but that barely counted. 

Running her finger tips over the walls she felt her heart clench as she looked at her busted fingernails. They were cropped short and bare. She missed her pink sparkly nail polish. She carried it with her everywhere though. She always figured that when she started feeling better she'd paint her nails again. So far, it was still unopened. 

Hearing the door knob turn she inhaled sharply, whipping around so her back was pressed into the farthest corner of the room. Her fists clenched and her thighs prepared to pounce or run, whichever came first. Hearing her heart pounding in her chest she took a deep steadying breath as the door opened wider, allowing light to come spilling in, illuminating a silhouette in the doorway. 

She couldn't make out any features under the hood they were wearing. The light in the room was dim and compared to the fluorescent lighting in the hallway, she had to squint to try to make out any features this individual had. Her heart beat sped up the tiniest bit when she realized the figure was built like Billy. 

Then the figure cleared their throat and closed the door behind them. Taking cautious steps into the light. She opened her mouth, "Are-are you Four?" The figure stopped abruptly and nodded in response to her question. She wondered briefly if they were a mute as she ran a hand through her hair. 

Billy's heart almost fell out of his chest when he saw that her hand was shaking as she pushed her hair out of her face. He so badly wanted to be the one to do that he had to plant his feet more firmly on the floor so he wouldn’t race to her.

"They, uh, they haven't assigned me a number yet and I know you all don't do names here so, I guess we gotta wait for me to really introduce myself but I'm the new recruit. It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand, stepping forward. 

After a tense moment, Billy extended his. 

She cocked her head to the side when she noticed Four's hand was shaking. She looked up at him but she still couldn't make out his face with the lighting and his hood. She could just see his bottom lip and she was surprised when she felt her stomach clench at the sight of how full and pink it was. 

Looking down, she clasped her hand in his and felt her blood run cold. 

Running along Four's fingers were tattoos.

Tattoos that were identical to the kind that Billy had.  

Lifting her head up seemed to take an eternity to Billy. 

He held his breath as her other hand reached up, index finger extended, shaking like a leaf in a storm as she brought it within millimeters of making contact with the tattoos she had traced so lovingly during those 24 hours. 

"You bastard." 

~~~

Tag List: @itsabenthing @vroboat @mrhoemazzello @gwendolyns-stacy @alliwantfromyouistomakelovetome @desperatelytryingtosavemyself​ @jonesyaddiction​ @xtrashmammalstefx​ @radiob-l-a-hblah​ @fairestkillerqueenofall​

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[flamehairedwritings]

Lost In Hawkins

FOR HALLOWE’EN 2019

Characters: Chief Jim Hopper x Female Reader

Words: 9,719, phew

Rating: M, 16+ ONLY

A/N: This story is inspired by the wonderful ITV series ‘Lost In Austen’, an idea I’ve had for a while and my own fantasies, tbh. Crack? AU? Angst? All of them? What is genre?

Tags include: Swearing, lots of it, and mentions of a drink being drugged.

Summary: Your Hallowe’en night takes an unexpected turn.

Masterlist

Please don’t copy, steal or repost my work; credit does not count.

“Get the fuck away from me, you shitting shit-bag.”

“Jesus, Meg—”

“No, I am not having a heart-attack tonight.”

You purse your lips slightly in an effort to stop a smile as she all but bares her teeth at the poor teenager dressed as a clown, decidedly less scarier than when he’d jumped out at you both with his now stunned expression.

Nearly growling, she pushes through plastic sheets and you follow after her, secretly delighted when she finds the nearest exit and you step out into fresh, open air.

“God, don’t people know what personal space is anymore?”

Manoeuvring past a group of smokers, Meg blows out a long breath as you adjust your corset, stepping towards the only nearest free space on the worn grass.

You hum in agreement as you join her. “I think a space capacity code is being violated here.”

“You can say that again.”

The cool air of the night feels wonderful, the Fun House having been stifling with sweat, paint and something you don’t want to know having filled the air. Pulling the white blouse off your shoulders from where it has ridden up, you turn to her with a nostalgic sigh.

“Remember when we used to just throw sheets on, walk around the block to get free candy and then be in bed by 8?”

“Yeah. Those were the days,” Meg also sighs, folding her arms with a wistful smile. “But, hey, this is what happens when you get peer pressured by colleagues.”

“Well, I was ready and raring for this two hours ago and now I’m just... tired.”

“I think we’re old now, darling.”

“I’m ready to accept it.”

“Me, too.” Huffing out another breath, she casts her gaze around. “I only really wanted to come because Elvira’s here.”

You arch an eyebrow. “That’s not been confirmed.”

“It has.”

“By who?”

“Aaron.”

“Aaron Watkins? He once told me moose aren’t real.”

“He said that when we were sixteen.”

“Far too old an age to be saying things like that.”

“He was joking... I hope.”

“He certainly wasn’t joking.” Clearing your throat, you shiver lightly and rub your arms, the once welcomed cool air now just cold. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna head home.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I think the week’s caught up with me.”

“All right, how are you gonna get home?”

“Well, I can’t afford a taxi so I’ll get the bus.”

“Do you want to die?” Meg gapes at you incredulously.

“If I die on Hallowe’en, don’t I get to walk the Earth on this day every year? How fun.”

“I’d rather you walked it 365 days a year. I will give you money for a cab.”

“No, Meg, c’mon,” you protest, shaking your head as she reaches for her purse. “It’s going to cost too much, it’s too far. I’ll get the bus, there’ll be other people on it, it’s a busy night, and I’ll text you every five minutes, I promise.”

“Fine. but text me discreetly,” she orders as she pulls you in for a hug. “I don’t want people seeing you with your phone out and then wanting to steal it. And call me when you get off the bus and you’re walking home, I mean it.”

“I will, I will. Love you.” You beam at her as she finally releases you.

“Love you, too. Please don’t die.”

Thankfully, the bus stop was only a little further up the road from the entrance to the carnival grounds. Other people seemed to have had the same idea as you, too, the stop somewhat crowded with families, the kids already asleep, teenagers chattering excitedly about their next destination, and some exceedingly tired people your age, muffling yawns and chewing sweets. 

When your bus had arrived it was already half-full but you managed to find a seat on the ground level at the back, sitting beside a teenager who doesn’t look at you, their hood up, headphones on.

Perfect. No possible way of someone initiating a conversation here.

The bus had trundled along slowly, stopping at seemingly every stop known to man, and people had trickled off until now, when it’s just you, an older lady near the front on the ground floor and possibly people on the upper floor.

The bus slows to a halt on a well-lit road, and you know you’re only a few stops away from your own, relief filling you.

I’m going for you, pyjamas.

The older lady shuffles off the bus and you hear someone descending from the top of the stairs, instinctive curiosity making you lift your gaze to see who it is.

It’s Barb from Stranger Things.

Except it’s not because she doesn’t exist, but the teenager looks exactly like her, complete with the perfect hair-style, glasses and outfit. They catch your eye and you smile. They smile back but it seems more out of reflex than genuine want to.

Stop staring, you look like a weirdo.

Once they’re off the bus, the doors close and the bus moves on. As it pulls away from the curb, you just can’t stop yourself from looking at ‘Barb’. They stand on the pavement, facing the road, waiting for the bus to pass, their hands in their pockets.

Just amazing. Absolutely uncanny.

You feel slightly bad that you didn’t compliment the person on their work, they obviously worked hard, but then again, you’re at the back of the bus and they probably wouldn’t have appreciated you yelling out to them, even if it was out of the goodness of your heart. They looked a little... sad, though, so maybe it would have cheered them up.

Facing the front again, you glance down at your phone and press the button to unlock it, wanting to tell Meg.

The screen remains blank.

You frown and press it again.

Nothing.

You definitely know it was at 78% when you last—

The screen lights up, pure white for a moment, then your lock-screen appears, complete with picture, the correct time, and the notifications you’d been ignoring.

Huh. Weird.

You don’t think too much on it, your phone does tend to glitch occasionally.

The light above you flickers, then so do the others, and your gaze darts up to watch them. In a line, one after the other, they go out, then shine brightly once more after a second.

... Right.

The bus slows, the last one before your own and, again, relief washes over you.

Not long now, so close—

“Last stop, lady.”

Your eyes snap to the bus driver, who’s leaning out of his seat to look at you.

“What? No, this isn’t the end of the line.”

There’s an edge to your tone, one you wouldn’t usually have with a public services worker if it wasn’t pitch-black outside and some lights flickering hadn’t just freaked you out a bit more than you’d like to admit.

He shrugs. “Sorry, I’m gonna run out of fuel.”

Ah, so that might explain the lights, then. That’s how it works... maybe.

“Is there another bus coming to finish the route?”

“At this time of night? Hell no.”

Oh my God.

You stare at him. “... What am I supposed to do, then?”

He shrugs again. “It isn’t that far to the end of the line.”

You can hear how desperate you are. “Couldn’t you take me some of the way?”

“Nah, station’s the other direction, I’d break down.”

Right, so this is a me problem.

Huffing and knowing you’re not going to win at all, you grab your bag and march down to the front of the bus, wrestling with your conscience that you can’t yell at him because it’s not his fault and you hate when customers yell at you when something isn’t your fault but also this is kind of his fault maybe in some way but it also isn’t and—

“Fine. Fine,” you mutter as you step off the bus before quickly turning to him. “I’m not the kind of person to do this, but I’m going to send the company a rather shitty email in the morning.”

“All right, miss.” Not one ounce of sympathy or care on his expression.

Clenching your jaw, you step back as the doors close and he pulls away, making you realise you were the only person left on the bus.

Right. No one else to rant with or pair up with and be safe with.

Okay, you know where you are, it’s not that far to home, you have perfume in your bag you can use as a kind of pepper spray, and you can call Meg. Scanning the area and pulling your phone out, you unlock it and type out a message to Meg.

Just my luck, bus running out of gas so had to get off and now walking. *skull emoji*. Isn’t this how horror films start?

Sending it, you glance up again to check for anyone before quickly typing and sending:

Can I call you?

Lifting your head, you’re about to lock your phone when it vibrates. Looking down at the screen, you frown.

‘Message unable to send. Try again.’ it reads next to ‘Can I call you?’

You tap ‘Try again’.

The message reappears a moment later.

‘Message unable to send. Try again.’

What the—

You look at the signal bars and—

No signal.

What the hell?

The first message was able to send and you haven’t even moved so how the hell hasn’t the second? You’ve never not had signal in this area.

Exhaling a frustrated breath, the cold night air helps you decide you can ruminate on it later. Heading down the path next to the woods that leads home, you blow out another, quiet breath and shove your phone into your bag. 

Maybe in a few steps it’ll be okay.

You glance to the side, eyeing the woods.

Do not think about ghosts and ghouls, do not freak yourself out, do not be a bitch to yourself.

You quicken your pace, staring ahead.

It’s quiet. Quieter than usual. Usually there’s crickets chirping or an owl hooting or cars passing but... nothing.

The street lights are out, too, and you contemplate using your phone’s torch.

No. Don’t signal your whereabouts to... anyone.

like...

murderers...

... shit ...

... Just like the white winged dove, Sings a song, Sounds like she's singing, Who, who, who

Singing loudly in your head always helped to calm you. Keeping your gaze directly ahead, you continue, reminding yourself you’re only ten minutes from home.

Just like the white winged dove, Sings a song, Sounds like she's singing, Oh baby oh said oh ,

Ten minutes until you’re home. Then you can get out of this costume, have something to eat and go to sleep.

And the days go by Like a strand in the wind In the web that is my own

I begin again

Said to my friend, baby Nothin' else mattered

Maybe you’ll watch a few episodes of something you don’t have to think too hard about.

He was no more than a baby then Well he seemed broken hearted Something within him

Or maybe a bath, ooh, a bath sounds great, why did you wear these shoes, well, you didn’t think you’d be walking ages in them.

But the moment that I first laid Eyes on him—

The sound of a dull, muffled explosion echoes across the forest.

You cry out in fright as you freeze, your head whipping to the side instinctively to find the source.

Oh my God... what the fuck was that...

Your gaze darts about, and a breeze suddenly washes over you, as if pushed in your direction but that’s impossible because there’s been no wind all night and there’s none now, it’s just gone—

An orange light flickers amongst the trees, not too far away.

It’s just a flash light.

It’s just some kids playing around.

You stare at it.

It’s not moving.

It’s just kids playing about.

They’re probably setting off fireworks and one went wrong.

Then how come I can’t hear voices.

Shit, are they hurt?

Concern takes over from fear as you narrow your eyes, trying to look for any signs of movement at all. Nothing.

Check.

Go and look.

People could be hurt.

Reaching your hand into your bag, you pull your phone out and glance down.

One bar.

Fuck, yes.

Dialling the emergency services, you find that one tiny bar has given you confidence, and you stride towards the light.

It’s not until you’re a few feet away that you realise it’s not a flash light.

It’s not until you’re a few feet away that you realise your phone is still dialling and hasn’t connected, a crackling sound taking over.

It’s not until it’s too late that you realise the light is drawing you in and you can’t look away from it, can’t stop walking.

It’s not until it’s too late that you realise you can’t hear or see anything.

It’s not until you’re walking through the light that you realise you’re going to die.

The last thought you have is:

Oh my God, I’m going to fucking die in a shitty pirate costume.

You’re falling.

How is that possible?

Wait, you can’t see anything and your stomach isn’t dropping like it should do when you fall and— Holy fucking shit, yes it is, now it is, holy fuck, you’re going to be sick, what the fuck—

You land face down on something damp with a grunted ‘oof’’. Groaning, your head spinning, your hands move out slowly and you feel you’re on something solid. Squishy, but solid. Pushing yourself up, your arms shake slightly as you lift your head, blinking several times.

Glancing around, you find you’re still in the woods.

What the hell...

I must have tripped.

What the hell did I trip on?

Looking over your shoulder, you just see leaves on the ground.

Was there a rock hidden under all that? Yeah, that’s what it must have been.

Pushing yourself up with a groan, you brush the leaves and twigs from you, tutting at the streaks of mud across your costume.

I hope this bloody comes out or— Hang on a fucking second.

Turning quickly, you freeze.

Where the hell is that light?

You scan the area, still frozen.

... You must have imagined it. Or knocked it over. Or...

Just go home.

Turning, you start striding off.

Am I going in the right direction? I don’t care. Just get away from this area. No, get your phone out and Google Map it to see where—

There’s a road. Just up ahead. The trees thinning out.

Right. We’re back on track, this is where I was before, didn’t realise I was so close but hey, ho...

Striding towards it, you emerge out of the woods and stop abruptly.

Where’s the pavement?

You look one way, then the other.

... Is this a new road? Has it always been here?

It’s been a while since you walked through the woods but surely you’d have noticed if they’d been doing road works to create a new one... Unless...

Oh my God, am I concussed? This is the last thing I need.

You start walking before you realise it. Heading left down the road. You’re near to your neighbourhood. It has to be this way.

Google Maps.

Fumbling with your bag, you open it and pull your phone out, pressing the button to unlock the screen. Nothing.

Oh, not again, please...

You press it again, then again, then again, then again.

Still... nothing.

Right, don’t get upset, you’ll be fine, one way or another you’ll end up in your neighbourhood of the next one over, so at least you’ll know where you are.

You shove your phone back in to your bag and fold your arms tightly. It’s so damn cold. Why didn’t you just stay at home tonight.

You stare down the road. You don’t recognise a thing.

Everything looks different at night. You’ll be okay.

Bright headlights suddenly appear at your feet, growing larger as you hear a vehicle approach.

It slows as it nears.

Right, I’m either going to be murdered or get directions.

Steeling yourself, you also slow as it nears.

Here we go.

Turning, you’re blinded for a moment as the headlights hit your eyes. Squinting and shielding them, the vehicle, a car, pulls to a stop beside you.

Oh. Not just any car. A police car, apparently.

The window rolls down and a man pops his head out.

“You okay there, ma’am?”

“Yep. I’m fine, thank you.”

You’re not, but it’s an automatic response. He seems to know you’re not, casting a glance over you... and as he sizes you up, you size him up.

You recognise him.

You don’t know how, you’ve never had a conversation with a police officer before. Not knowingly, anyway. Maybe he’s a regular customer, or you’ve just seen him around.

“Where are you heading, ma’am?”

“Home.”

Why am I being questioned.

“And where’s home?”

“Hanover Street.”

He stares at you.

“Hanover Street?”

“Yeah.”

He’s still staring.

“Whereabouts is that, ma’am?”

God, you’re a rubbish cop.

“Just around the corner from The Lion and The Unicorn.”

“Right.” He looks you over again, frowning. “Have you been out this evening, ma’am?”

You frown in return, unease starting to creep up. “Yes.”

“Right.” Meeting your gaze, he then opens the car door and steps out, and your stomach drops. “Ma’am, if you’d just like to get in the car...”

Oh my God, this is the last thing I need.

You open your mouth, then close it because you are not about to argue with a police officer right now. Stifling an irritated sigh, you climb into the car as he opens the door behind his.

On the bright side, I might get a ride home.

You do not get a ride home.

The officer is silent as he drives, occasionally glancing in the rear-view mirror to look at you. You pretend not to notice, your own gaze darting down to your concealed phone every now and then. Still no signal.

I can’t wait until I find this hilarious.

The ride only takes a couple of minutes before you realise you’ve reached his destination. The police station.

You don’t recognise it, but then again you’ve never had a reason to go to the station.

You didn’t know the station was so close, though.

Once the officer parks up, he opens the door for you and waits for you to step out before gently instructing you to follow him. You obey.

The station is busy, phones ringing and people walking up and down.

Well, it is Hallowe’en.

Slightly overwhelmed and tired and maybe perhaps a little frightened, you do as you’re told, sitting at a desk the officer points at. You hold your bag on your lap, your shoulders slightly hunched.

You only have to wait a few moments before another officer takes a seat opposite you, not looking at you as he greets you with a weary ‘Good evening’.

Hang on. You recognise this officer, too. Maybe he’s also a customer. Not important right now.

“Right...” he slaps a notepad down in front of him and takes a pen from his shirt pocket before finally looking at you. “... What were you doing walking down a dark road on your own, miss?”

“Uh...” Just tell the truth, you haven’t done anything wrong. “I was walking home.”

“Nobody wanted to give you a ride?”

He’s making notes and you can’t help but stare at his pen moving.

“Uh, no, well, there was no one to give me a ride, I got the bus but then I had to get off ‘cause it was running out of fuel, but it’s not far to my home so it’s not too far a walk.”

“And home is Hanover Street?”

“Yeah.”

“Right.”

The fact he’s conversed with the other officer makes you nervous.

Please don’t obsess about what they might have said.

“Around the corner from The Lion and The Unicorn?”

“Yeah.”

Too late, you’re obsessing.

“And what is that, miss?”

You can’t stop yourself from frowning.

“It’s the pub, it’s only probably about five minutes away from here.”

“Right.”

The way he says it makes you feel like you’re wrong, but you can’t be, you’ve been to that pub a thousand times before. You might not have recognised the road you were on, but as it was in your woods you know the pub is close by.

“And why were you by the woods, miss? Seems a bit dangerous for this time of night.”

“Oh, well...”

Do you tell the truth? Oh, yes, deflect from whatever it is you seem to have done wrong.

You sit up a little straighter, slightly more confident now because you have vital information. “... I heard an explosion in the woods.”

His pen pauses as his gaze snaps up to you. “An explosion?”

“Yeah. It sounded quite quiet.”

Gazing at you, his eyes then lift to something behind you. “Hey, Flo, we heard anything tonight about an explosion?”

A woman wearing large glasses passes by the desk. “No, honey, just drunks and people calling about the poor boy.”

“All right.” The officer raises his eyebrows slightly, then looks to you. Then he frowns. “Hey, you all right?”

You’re staring at the woman’s back, frozen.

Oh my God. Oh my God... Flo.

“Miss—”

“What the hell is going on here?”

Your tone and suddenly sharp gaze takes him aback slightly, but he recovers swiftly.

“Excuse me?”

You stare at Flo again, then back to him.

“What is going on here?”

“Miss, how much have you had to drink tonight?”

You would have been offended by the question if your mind wasn’t racing. Your racing mind also doesn’t give you a chance to really think about what to say in return.

“Not a lot. Four cocktails.”

“Four?”

“2-4-1, all day, every day.” You’re practically trying to stare him down now, trying to make him crack. “What is going on?”

He changes tact, clasping his hands together on the desk. “You’re being questioned because you were found wandering alone on the side of the road, and you seem somewhat disorientated.”

Yes, I’m fucking disorientated.

You place your finger on the desk. “This is, this is Hawkins Police Station.”

He doesn’t react. “Yes.”

“From Stranger Things.”

Now he reacts, his eyebrows raising a fraction.

“... Miss, have you taken any narcotics this evening?”

“No.” You can’t stop yourself from lowering your voice. “Am I being pranked right now?”

His voice is suddenly gentler. “Do you have someone we could call?”

You just stare at him, trying to find an inkling of something on his features.

The joke should have ended by now, surely.

Your anger starts to turn to agitation. “May I go?”

He’s looking at you sympathetically which isn’t good at all. “Do you have someone we could call to come and pick you up?”

Your eyes dart about the station.

Everything is exactly like it is on the show. There’s no way this is a set up. How could it all have been set up? You fell in the forest and suddenly there was a road that had never been there before, an entire sound-stage and the exact actors?

Nausea washes over you as you swallow hard.

“Can I have some water, please?”

“Yeah, sure.” He rises, his gaze lingering on you, before he walks around you.

Exhaling a long breath, you stare down at your bag.

I think I just need to sober up. Probably more drunk than I realised I was. Or I’m concussed.

You close your eyes.

Shit, shit, shit, think. How can I think when I don’t know what the fuck is going on? How is this possible, what the fuck is going on, oh, God, don’t faint, don’t faint—

Your eyes open as you hear him return and a glass of water appears before you. You instantly grab it, taking a long sip. Your hand shakes slightly as you set it back down.

He sits down again, a troubled expression on his features as he watches you. “Sure you’re all right?”

Oh, no.

Don’t do it.

“Uhm...”

Don’t you do it.

“... I think...”

Don’t you dare.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Oh, shit—”

You make it just in time. Turning your head, your body lurches forward as you bend at the waist and throw up in to the waste bin by his desk. You close your eyes tightly as you vomit again, hearing people around you.

“Oh, Jesus, Flo, can we have some paper towels, please?”

“Someone’s havin’ a rough night, huh?”

Oh, no.

Oh, fuck.

Oh, no, this isn’t possible.

Lifting your head as you inhale a shaking breath, not thinking to wipe your mouth, you look up and meet the gaze of Chief Jim Hopper.

His frown is the last thing you see before you pass out.

Ah, unconsciousness.

Oh, no, not unconsciousness because you’re having a thought. A thought that unconsciousness is nice. Uncomplicated.

There’s a weight on your shoulder, a gentle weight. Slowly opening your eyes, you gaze up at the faces of three people.

Oh, fuck off.

Flo, the officer, Powell, you remember his name now, and... and Hopper.

David Harbour. Hopper.

I hope I pass out again.

You don’t, forcing you to realise you were only unconscious for probably a minute or so as you’re still on the floor.

Oh, God, it’s still happening.

“Hey, you okay?”

You look to David/Hopper.

I hate this.

I’ve masturbated thinking about you.

Oh my God, stop it.

“Yeah... yeah... Can you... Can you back off, please?”

“Uh, yeah.”

All three of them move away and stand as you push yourself up, wincing slightly. Nobody apparently caught you because there’s a dull ache at the back of your head.

Brilliant. Concussion on top of concussion, probably.

You know you won’t be sick again but you feel so overwhelmed, like you can’t breathe.

“I need some air.”

Powell, thankfully, speaks this time. “You wanna take a walk?”

“Yeah, on my own. I’ll be fine.” You’re already walking towards the exit.

Then, David/Hopper is at your side, pushing the door open for you. “Nah, can’t let you do that on you’re own.”

You take extra care to not be one inch closer to him than you need to be as you pass through the door. Stepping out, once again, into the welcome, cold night air, you inhale a deep breath. You can’t look at him.

“Am I under arrest?”

“No, we’re just concerned.”

The parking lot is quiet, half empty, small. You start to pace, still unable to look at him.

“I’m fine.”

“Is there anyone who could come and get you?”

I’d love it if everyone would stop asking me that.

“I—” Just play along, don’t look at him, don’t do it. “No.”

“Where do you live?”

“i, uhm, I don’t live here, I’m just visiting a friend.” Nice cover.

“Do you know the address?”

Oh, shit.

“No.”

“Do—”

 “Hop, come on, we gotta go, there’s a fight at McCorley’s.”

You lift your head to see Powell, calling out to Hopper/David, heading for a truck. 

You can’t stop yourself from glancing at Hopper.

God.

Season 1 Hopper.

You’ve missed the stubble.

Stop it.

“Shit. Hang on,” Hopper/David answers before turning back to you, a frown returning to his features. “Do you know the neighbourhood where your friend lives?”

“No.”

“Right.” ‘Real helpful’, you can practically hear him thinking. He raises his eyebrows and holds his hand out in a stay put gesture. “Stay here until we get back, all right?”

You nod, still unable to meet his gaze, swinging your arms slightly. “Yep, okay.”

He watches you for a moment, then nods, turning and striding away to his Blazer.

You stand still, watching as he gets in, starts the engine, then reverses and drives away. As soon as he’s out of sight, you’re moving. Where, you have absolutely no idea.

This isn’t real. This cannot be real.

You can feel the ground beneath your feet as you head down the main road and a light breeze on your face but it can’t be real.

Unless...

That was it. 

Someone’s drugged my drink. I don’t know when or how, I bought all my own drinks and didn’t put them down once, but someone has, that’s the only explanation. I’m having a very, very, very vivid hallucination and I’m actually walking around my house right now.

You suddenly come to an abrupt halt.

What am I supposed to do, then.

Like anything, you suppose; sleep it off.

But where?

Are you even in your house? You could be in the forest, that’s when you’d seen that damn light and that’s probably when the drugs had hit. Rubbing at your forehead, you blow out a breath and close your eyes. You’re starting to get a headache and you have no idea what’s going on and you just—

Stop it, take a breath.

Inhaling and exhaling three long, slow breaths, you lift your head and open your eyes.

Yep. still here.

But, there, a short walk away, you see the centre of Hawkins, lights shining brightly in the darkness.

Sleep it off.

Sleep it off.

Motel. There has to be one.

Moving forward, you’re striding now.

Play along with the hallucination, just play it out. This could all just be in your head.

Oh, God, I hope this is all in my head.

What the hell am I doing.

Coming to a halt, you groan as you bend over, your hands on your knees, your eyes closed.

Please don’t be sick again.

Or do, it’ll give me something to do.

“Excuse me, dear?”

Oh, God, what now...

Straightening up, you lift your head and find Flo, the actual Flo, standing a few feet behind you, her hands clasped together. She raises her eyebrows expectantly.

“Uh... I was just... going.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yep.” Why am I crumbling under her gaze.

“Chief let you go did he?”

“Yep.” Oh, God, this is a criminal offence. She definitely knows I’m lying.

“Where are you goin’ to? Remember where your friend lives?”

“Uh, no, I was just... I was going to find a motel.”

“Like hell you are in your state.” She drops her arms and gestures for you to return. “Come on. I got a spare room.”

“Uh...” You stare at her, not really knowing what to do. “... I could be a serial killer, you know.”

She eyes you. “Nah, you ain’t.”

Then, she turns and starts walking back to the station.

... Right. 

You follow after her. 

Because what the hell else is there to do.

Flo had said if you needed anything, to let her know.

Oh, Flo. Oh, Flo, even you can’t help with this.

Holding the blankets up against your chest, you stare up at the ceiling. 

This is mad. This is bizarre. But it’s real.

That much you’ve come to terms with.

You’ve seen enough TV shows and films to have some sort of an inkling of what’s going on.

You’ve gone through some sort of a dimension.

That, or you’re part of a prank show you’ve never heard of. 

The former seems more likely than the latter, though. Your friends would never put you up for a prank show because they know you’d hate it. and you’re not aware of having an arch-enemy. So, you’ve passed into another dimension. A dimension that houses the land of your favourite TV show.

Right. So. What’s the plan, then.

Sleep, get up in the morning, rifle through the bags of clothes Flo said you could, find something to wear, then go back to the woods and find the portal back.

A snort escapes you.

I can’t believe I’m actually thinking about portals and dimensions and how to get back to my own world. And now i’m laughing about it. I’m delirious. Maybe I will just wake up and this will all be something other than real. That would be amazing.

Closing your eyes, you pull the blankets up a little higher.

This is the weirdest night of my life. And possibly the comfiest bed I’ve ever slept in. Silver linings.

You’d followed after Flo, dutifully, like a good law-abiding citizen, even if you are in a different world, and gotten into her car.

She’d asked you a few basic questions as she drove; your name, if you were hungry, how you were feeling. You answered truthfully, still absolutely baffled by the bizarreness of the situation.

Once at her home, you’d not had much of a chance to look at where the actual Flo lives as she’d led you straight to the guest room, having told her you weren’t hungry but tired.

Add overwhelmed and incredibly confused to that.

That’s where you now find yourself.

Closing your eyes, you want to make a plan but you also don’t want to think too much about what is happening right now because you think your brain might actually explode.

Just sleep.

Just sleep, maybe this is all actually a dream.

That would be amazing.

You’re awoken what feels like only three seconds later by the bedroom door opening and knocking against the chest of drawers beside it.

Your eyes snap open and your head shoots up.

Flo stands in the doorway, already dressed, smiling at you warmly.

“Good morning, sweetie. Up you get, I’ve got breakfast ready.”

Your head drops back down as she, leaving the door open, heads back to the kitchen, your arms covering your eyes.

Oh, God. This is still real.

Rolling out of bed, you shuffle over to the bin bags in the corner, untying and rifling through them for an outfit. A dress and leggings come out in your size so you quickly tug them on, pull your boots back on, and shove your costume and bag into a tote bag you came across.

Breakfast with Flo is... interesting. 

She asks essentially what you’d been asked the night before, why you are in town, who you’re staying with, what their number is, if you’d like to call any family or friends.

You manage to deflect each one, saying you’ll be fine, you can’t remember your friend’s number or where they live, your family don’t know your friends number so it wouldn’t help.

Taking your empty plate away once you’re done, Flo places them in the sink and claps her hands together. “Well, come on, then I’ll take you back to the station.”

You nearly choke on your mouthful of water. “What?”

She looks faintly surprised. “Maybe your friend’s come looking for you or made a call. Either way, I think it’s the best place for you.”

“Yeah, you’re right, sorry, bit of a restless night,” you answer quickly with a small smile.

She nods sympathetically before grabbing her car keys.

Shit. No, don’t worry. The station is close to where the portal is. Just give them the slip when you get there, run for it, get back home.

Perfect. An excellent plan.

                                                             You’re ready.

You’re so ready to do it.

You’ve psyched yourself up throughout the whole journey.

You can do this.

You’ll be home within the hour.

You’re full of hope, you’re stepping out of the car, you’re getting ready to run, you’re—

The Station door slams open.

“Flo, what the hell?”

Oh, no.

You and Flo turn, you swiftly, guiltily, Flo slowly, arching an eyebrow.

Hopper strides out of the Station, stopping only a couple of feet from you both, his hands on his hips.

“You can’t just take a person of interest out of the Station without tellin’ anyone!”

Hang on, ‘person of interest’?

Flo folds her arms. “Well, I wasn’t gonna let her sleep here, where would she? In a cell? She’s not under arrest, Hopper.”

Hopper sighs, rather exasperatedly. “Flo, you’re not responsible for her.”

She bristles at that, her back straightening. “Well, then who the damn hell else is?”

Bizarrely, her protective display warms you but you still keep your eyes on Flo, unable to look at him. She looks at you then, smiling.

“Come on, honey, let’s get some more coffee and see what we can—”

“Actually, Flo, I’d like to talk to her.”

You don’t catch yourself in time. You look at him. His mouth is set in a thin line. He’s so handsome. You hate everything that’s happening right now.

“’Her’? She has a name,” Flo huffs.

I feel like a kid with my divorced parents.

He gives another exasperated sigh. “Well, if I was given the chance to talk to her, then I would know that.”

“Powell already spoke to her, Hop, so—”

“She’s a potential suspect, Flo.”

“Excuse me?”

You both say it together, but Hopper looks at you instead of Flo, perhaps out of sheepishness at speaking about you rather than at you, or because it’s the first time you’ve spoken.

“You’re a potential suspect in a missing persons case, miss.”

Flo inhales sharply. “You can’t mean Will’s case. Hop, look at her, she couldn’t have—”

“Flo.” His voice is quiet but firm.

She presses her lips together, then looks to you.

You’re still staring at Hopper, your heart pounding.

Shit.

Oh my God.

I’m about to talk one-on-one, completely alone, with Chief Jim Hopper.

And I’m a suspect in the Will Byers case.

That can’t be right, though, because from your somewhat extensive knowledge of Stranger Things Will doesn’t go missing until the night of the 6th November...

Don’t ask, you’ll look crazy, just...

Your gaze darts about his desk as he closes the door to his office and you take a seat.

Desk calendar, yes.

It’s November 8th.

You’ve not only come through a portal to another world, you came to it on a completely different day.

The night after Will Byers went missing.

Oh, God, why is this happening?

“So...” He rounds the desk and sits behind it, taking a few pages from the stack beside him and glancing over it. “... I read Powell’s report. You were walkin’ alone by the woods.” He then looks to you. “Why?”

We’re getting straight to it, then.

Thankfully, strangely, your anxiety at the fact you’re being tied to a crime has taken the edge off the fact you’re talking to Jim Hopper.

You lick your lips. “As I said last night, I was walking home.”

“From where?”

A fair would be too risky to say, as you have no idea if there’s one in the area, so... “A friend’s house.”

“You there for a fancy dress party?” He gestures at you. “You were dressed as a pirate if I remember rightly.”

You smile faintly. “Yeah. We were celebrating a birthday.”

“Right.” He glances down at the notes before him, then sits back. “Why were you alone, though? Powell wrote you got the bus but then it was running out of gas so you were made to get off and walk.”

As silence continues after a moment, you raise your eyebrows slightly. “Yes, that’s correct.”

His features give nothing away. “There’s no bus that passes through that route at that time of night, though.”

You have to react quickly. “Well, I was on a bus, so.”

He’s silent again, and you’ve seen enough cop shows to guess this is a tactic. You remain silent, too.

Hopper inhales a breath, then folds his arms. “Powell also wrote that you said you had four cocktails last night. Would you consider yourself a ‘light-weight’?”

The question sends a flash of irritation through you. “No. I wasn’t drunk, if that’s what you’re implying. I’d had those cocktails a few hours before I got the bus.”

“You also said you heard an explosion in the woods.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Where?”

“Close to where I was. I was going to investigate it but I was too afraid.” I wish I had been.

Hopper runs his hand down his mouth. “You don’t think it was just a firework?”

You press your lips together, trying to control your irritation. “I know what a firework looks like, nothing lit up the sky and it didn’t sound as loud as one. It just sounded like it was muffled. I did see a light shining in the trees so I thought there were people there, maybe kids playing.”

“Did you see anyone?”

“No, I didn’t see anything but the light.”

“You didn’t see anyone at all, though? You didn’t pass anyone on the road, there was no one else on the bus?”

That’s when you realise.

Shit. I have no alibi. Just the truth, which will see me locked up for insanity in a different world.

Clearing your throat, you can’t help the edge of resignation that laces your tone. “No, I didn’t see anyone else. Two people got off the stop before where I had to get off at, though.”

Two people who don’t even exist in this world. Fake-Barb and an old lady.

Hopper is silent for a few moments, watching you. Then, he clasps his hands together on the desk. “Look, we don’t have any reports of an explosion, but we do have a missing kid to find so how about you—”

Raised voices break out outside the office.

Both your heads whip to the side out of reflex, but the blinds are down, blocking your view. Hopper stands and you turn in your seat as the voices near the door.

It bursts opens.

Flo is the first person your eyes land on, her eyebrows raised. 

“Chief, I’m sorry, I couldn’t—”

“Hop, I think I—”

Joyce Byer’s, her eyes wide, her hands in mid-air, freezes as she stares at you.

“You...”

Oh, no... 

You already hate what you don’t know is coming.

She exhales a heavy breath. “... I dreamt about you.”

“Joyce...” Hopper’s voice is so gentle behind you as he moves to her, but you can’t take your eyes off of her.

You’re torn between the fact this is Joyce Byers, and that you want to comfort her because she’s so distressed.

She doesn’t stop looking at you either. “I did, Hop, I did. You. you had a phone in your hand but it was so small, and you, you were—”

Hopper stops only a step or two away from her, his voice still gentle. “Joyce, do you know this woman?”

She shakes her head. “No, no, I’ve never met you, have I?”

The way she says it is so... aware, somehow.

You find your voice after a moment. “Ah, no.”

“Then how did I dream about you.” She says it so quietly, her eyes shining with tears.

You know it’s a show. You know it’s not real. They’re not real.

But now, with Joyce standing before you, heavy, dark circles under her eyes, her hands shaking, tears beginning to fall, it feels so real. You feel your throat closing slightly with emotion.

“I’m, I’m so sorry about your son.”

She just nods faintly, still staring at you.

From the corner of your eye, you see Flo nod in Hopper’s direction, and gently takes Joyce by the arms. “Come on, honey. I need a glass of water. Let’s get one for you, too.”

Joyce allows herself to be led away, finally tearing her gaze from you as her features crumble.

Swallowing hard, you have to prevent your own from doing the same.

As the door closes behind them, you sniff and turn back in your seat to face the desk. Hopper returns to his chair and you feel his eyes on you. You don’t meet his gaze until he’s seated.

Exhaling a long breath, he then looks down at his hands.

“You’re new in town, you were walkin’ alone on a road with no bus route the night after Will Byers goes missing, you don’t come up on any of our systems, you’re convinced you heard an explosion, Joyce Byers believes she saw you in her dreams...” He looks up at you. ”... How about you start tellin’ me somethin’ that makes sense.”

You open your mouth, then close it.

Oh, fuck it.

What is there to lose. Well, you could still make a run for it. You’re not a fast runner but you could give it your damn best.

The door bursts open for the second time, making both of you jump, your head whipping round to find the source.

Officer Callahan, slightly out of breath, points at you both. “Wait, wait, wait, hang on a minute, Chief—”

“Callahan, where the hell have you been?!”

The officer waves his hand slightly, trying to draw breath. “Hang on, Chief, she... she’s tellin’ the truth...”

Both of you stare at him.

What now.

Inhaling a deep breath, Callahan continues. “I was drivin’ by the woods, patrollin’ for any signs of the kid, last night, and I saw this flash of light and this sound like somethin’ blew up, I thought it was some kids dickin’ about so I went to see but it wasn’t, there was this...”

“What, Callahan?” Hopper demands as Callahan pauses to take a breath.

“... it was this...”

You can’t stop yourself, half-hopeful, half-desperate.

“... Portal?” you murmur.

Callahan snaps his fingers and points at you. “Yes, yes, that’s it. A portal. All circular and wavy and weird.”

You realise you’re smiling, relief flooding over you.

I’ve got my fucking alibi.

Of sorts.

We must have just missed each other.

You realise, after a moment, that Hopper hasn’t said anything. Turning in your chair, you look at him. His eyebrows are raised, his mouth is open slightly and his jaw is tight.

“Well,” he suddenly says in a bright tone, as if you’re his two, overzealous children that he has to entertain. ”Let’s go see this portal, shall we?”

You’re surprisingly grateful that Callahan talks for the entirety of the ride.

He switches his gaze from the road to Hopper in the passenger seat, then to you in the rear-view mirror.

“... I ain’t ever seen anything like this in my life, Chief, I thought I was goin’ mad until Powell told me just now about this lady that had come in and she’d heard an explosion and she didn’t seem to be from around here and I knew we’d see the same thing...”

Hopper doesn’t say a word.

Each word Callahan says, though, gives you a new spark of hope.

I’m going to go home.

It’s not long before Callahan pulls up by the side of the road. It has to be the road you walked down, though it looks so different in the daylight. Stepping out of the car, shouldering your tote bag, you gaze across to the woods. It’s less frightening, even inviting—

Behind two trees, partially hidden, shines a light.

You feel the two men pause in the same moment you do.

“What the hell...” Hopper crosses the road first, his hand instinctively going to his gun.

You glance at Callahan who glances at you. You follow behind him.

Your heart is pounding. Well, you don’t think it’s been at its normal rate for 24 hours, but now it accelerates that bit more.

You’re not mad. This is real.

Don’t think about that too much or you might actually go mad.

As you approach, you hear a faint, low humming coming from the... You and Callahan had both settled on calling it a portal but now you actually get a look at it it seems more like a...

Wait, I didn’t actually see it when I came through.

You’d looked around, having thought you’d tripped on something but you’d seen... nothing.

Why the hell didn’t I?

It’s more like a mirror, shimmering and reflecting the forest.

Maybe because it was dark, that’s why I didn’t.

Hopper’s low scoff pulls you from your thoughts. He’s staring at it, his hand still on his gun. He takes a step towards it and—

You all make some sort of a sound as the portal shrinks. Hopper automatically takes a step back, and it widens to its normal size.

The silence between you all stretches on.

You’re about to announce that, well, this was great but you’re heading home, when Hopper turns sharply and locks his eyes on you.

“Tell me the truth, now.”

Slightly taken aback by A) the force of his gaze and B) trying to figure out exactly what to say, your mouth drops open slightly.

“Uhm...”

You glance at Callahan, maybe hoping he’ll just start talking and give you time, but Hopper seems to interpret the look differently.

Looking to his officer, he drops his hand from his gun and starts to stride back towards the road.

“Radio in to Powell to help you get this place cordoned off, don’t talk to anyone else, we don’t need a panic. You,” he directs at you, “Come with me.”

Before either of you can question him, he’s already at the road, crossing it to the car.

Clearing your throat, you give Callahan a light smile before you’re once again following after Hopper.

Callahan lifts his hands, then drops them.

“Right, I’ll just be... here.”

I’ve imagined this a thousand times.

But in definitely sexier circumstances.

You’re at Hopper’s trailer.

Hopper’s trailer.

You’re still hovering by the door so you let your gaze sweep the room. It’s as messy as it had been portrayed on the show. The coffee table is surprisingly clear, though, save for a local newsletter which you have to stop yourself from picking up and reading. A blanket lies draped across one of the couches.

That’s where he sleeps when he’s too drunk to get to bed.

It’s incredibly strange; knowing so much about someone you’re supposed to regard as a stranger. It feels... intrusive.

You’d both been silent for the ride here, but now you have a hundred questions. You decide to settle on the most sensible one, though

“Uh, why are we here and not at the station?”

Not that I’m complaining.

“I thought you maybe didn’t want to say what you’re gonna say in front of Callahan.”

He emerges from behind the refrigerator door, closing it with one hand, his other one holding a beer bottle. He doesn’t offer you one. Uncapping the top, he tosses it into the sink then moves across the room and sits in the nearest armchair. He gestures for you to sit, too.

You do as you’re bade, sitting on the couch next to you, the tote bag at your feet, your hands in your lap.

“Explain,” is all he says.

And, after a pause, you do.

You hardly pause to take a breath, not daring to in case he takes the chance to laugh or call you crazy. To his credit, though, he doesn’t react once throughout.

You start with what year you’re from, how you were out on Hallowe’en night and retell the story of the bus debacle more truthfully. You tell him about your phone losing its signal, how you heard what sounded like an explosion and went to investigate it, then how you felt like you couldn’t turn or look away from it, how it pulled you in. You continue on, recounting truthfully up until the moment you met him.

The only thing you leave out is that, to your world, his isn’t real. For some reason, it doesn’t feel right to tell him.

When you finish, he looks at you, silent. The beer bottle is balanced on his thigh, his hand tight around it, his features expressionless.

You shift slightly, playing with your hands.

“Well, I—”

“You’ve got to be shittin’ me.”

It’s your turn to look at him, your mouth open. He scoffs, raising his eyebrows.

“You’re tellin’ me the truth?”

“Yep, it’s all true.”

For some reason you’re... annoyed.

He scoffs again. “You’re tellin’ me I’m supposed to believe you’ve, what, time-travelled here?”

“Yes, actually.” Your back’s straighter now, your lips pressed together.

“Is this a fuckin’ joke?”

“A joke? You saw it with your own damn eyes, Chief.”

If he’s surprised by the bite to your tone he doesn’t show it, and, thankfully, he doesn’t scoff again either.

“How, then? How did this all happen?”

“I don’t know, I’m not a fucking scientist.”

“So, I’m just supposed to believe you, huh?”

“Yes.”

Your sure, rapid response makes his lips twitch slightly, and you can’t believe he might actually want to smile.

“Why is it so hard for you to believe?” you continue, your voice having risen slightly, “You saw it with your own eyes.”

“I don’t know what I saw,” he counters in a way that has you realising he’s wrestling with the facts and the impossibility of them.

Well, then.

If he doesn’t believe this, then how is he going to believe Joyce about anything.

You don’t know where that thought comes from.

"I’ll go back through, I’ll prove it to you,” you announce as you rise to your feet, lifting your bag.

“What?” He’s full-on smiling now in disbelief, staring at you.

“Take me back there, I’ll show you.”

He regards you, your arms folded, your eyebrow arched, your features determined. Sighing heavily, he sets the bottle down on a table beside him and pushes himself up.

“All right, but then afterwards we’re goin’ to the Station and we’re gonna find your friends.”

“... This is a fuckin’ waste of time...” Hopper grumbles behind you as you trudge through the dry, fallen leaves.

I’ll show you.

Callahan leaning against a nearby tree, raises his eyebrows at the sight of you both.

“Gee, that was quick.” He glances from Hopper to you. “He doesn’t believe whatever you told him, does he?”

“Nope.”

You stride past him, heading straight for the portal. Powell stands on the other side of it, finishing tying some tape to a tree to cordon the area off. You wish you had the time to get his opinion on it. You duck under the tape before you and turn to Hopper.

He stays behind the tape, his arms folded. Glancing at the portal then to you, he shakes his head wearily.

“Well, if this miraculously works and you don’t come back, it was nice knowin’ you, sweetheart.”

You hate the sarcasm dripping from his tone.

I’ll show you, you bastard. This isn’t even gonna be the weirdest thing you’ll see this month.

“Yeah, you, too.” 

You turn to the portal.

You turn back after a split second to add before you can think, “You’re such a pain the ass, even bigger than I would have thought.”

“What did you just say?”

 His words, however, are drowned out by the growing humming of the portal. You’ve turned back and your gaze is locked onto it now and you can feel the familiar pull and tug of it. 

You can’t look away. 

You can’t stop yourself from moving towards it.

You can’t hear Hopper as he tries to get closer to you, calling to you.

It’s night time.

You’re staring up at the stars in the sky.

There’s so many of them.

There’s something digging into my back.

Pushing yourself up with a groan, your hands pressing into mud and leaves, you get to your feet. Looking down, you find the source of your discomfort is your bag. Lifting it and brushing leaves off of it, you look around.

Trees. Lots and lots of trees, and...

No portal.

You can’t stop a wide smile from spreading across your lips.

There, see, you disbelieving dick, I was right, now I’m...

Home.

You’re home. You’re still grinning, looking beyond the trees. Yes, there’s the road you had walked on before this whole mess, now you can go home and...

Your smile starts to fall.

You’d been in Hawkins.

You’d spoken with Powell, Callahan, Flo, Joyce and... Hopper.

You’d actually been there, in their world.

There were so many missed opportunities. There was so much more you could have done, could have said, could have asked.

You could have...

Stop it, you’re home now, that’s what you wanted. That wasn’t real. That was... That was...

Your phone buzzes in your bag.

Looking down at it, you open it after a moment and pull it out.

You have a message.

From Meg.

UGH nightmare, that’s why I hate public transport. CALL ME!!

You release a sound, half of disbelief, half of relief.

No time has passed at all.

Your thumb moves quickly, and you lift your phone to your ear.

“I cannot believe this has happened, it is such an outrage, I am going to spam the bus company’s Twitter until you get some kind of compensation, how dare they, the absolute fucking bastards...”

As Meg rants on, a smile returns to your lips and you start to walk.

It only takes you five minutes to get home, and Meg talks the whole way, only drawing breath when you close your front door.

“... ugh, anyway, I’ll help you write up an email. Are you all right, anyway?”

You pause, placing your bag on your couch. You think back over the lost 24 hours, everything you hadn’t had time to feel. You can’t stop your eyes from filling.

“Hey, why are you crying?” Meg asks with a great deal of concern as you sniff, wiping at your eyes

“I just...” You exhale a long breath. “... It was a bit scary, that’s all.”

“O, babe, oh please don’t cry. You’re fine now, you’re back home. But the TV on and get into your pyjamas. How about I come over in the morning, we have pancakes and watch whatever’s on?”

You crack a smile even though she can’t see it. “That sounds amazing.”

“Duh, I’m going to be there, of course it will be.”

You laugh, grateful for the release it brings you.

Forget about everything. Write it off as a weird day. Never tell anyone. It wasn’t real.

Shoving everything, everything from your mind, you lose yourself in making plans with Meg, crossing the room and entering your bedroom as you laugh again.

Behind you, unseen, the lamps flicker. Slowly, then rapidly. The TV turns on, the screen flashes white. 

Then, they cease.

The lights shine warmly.

All is as it should be.

                                                     The End... ?

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[hettiesworld]

War and Peace (and Love)

Pairing: Sergeant William (Will) James x OC

Summary: Corporal Joslyn Woods has been transferred to the Delta Camp and she has to work with the bomb disposal unit, consisting of Specialist Eldridge, Sergeant Sanborn and Sergeant James. She is the first female to be put on a bomb disposal unit in Iraq and her duty is to keep James safe from snipers and gunmen, willing to attack James.

During the 365 days of being with them, Woods develops feelings for James after the ‘loss’ of the kid who sold DVDs to James, also known as Beckham. She is there to comfort him and support him throughout the rest of the days.

Warning(s): Spoilers for the movie, angst, strong language, mature themes.

A/n: This is finally the second chapter of this series! Can’t wait for you guys to read it! Some of the gifs are not mine. Credit to the owners.

Chapter 2:

363 days left in Iraq. 

There was a car left in the town centre with a bomb in it. It was in front of a United Nations building. Joslyn, Sanborn, Eldridge and their leader, Sergeant James arrived at their location. 

All of the citizens were being evacuated as Joslyn helped James into the bomb disposal suit. She didn’t want to but Sanborn and Eldridge were too busy, doing their own thing. Joslyn was trying to make herself busy putting James’s suit on.

“I’m too old for this shit.” James muttered to himself. Joslyn didn’t reply, still making herself busy with his suit. She picked up his helmet, giving it to him and letting him attach it onto himself. She picked up her gun and slung it on her back.

“What? No words of encouragement?” James shouted after her as she had her back towards him. Joslyn rolled her eyes and shouted back, “Don’t die!”

James rolled his eyes and walked toward the car, which suddenly became engulfed in flames. James walked back and got out a fire extinguisher from the humvee. He then walked back to put out the fire and began to examine the car while Eldridge, Sanborn and Joslyn took up their positions as lookouts.

James opened the trunk and found several of the same type of artillery shells he'd seen the day before. 

The desert of Israel was covered in rolling hills. Wind stirred up the wispy sand and the sun’s never ending rays beaten down on him mercilessly. Salty sweat rolled off James’s nose and stung his eyes. The suit was overwhelmingly hot and sticky. After a few moments, he takes his bomb suit off completely, knowing it won't protect him.

“What are you fuckin’ doing?” Joslyn demanded. She was the nearest lookout to James as he finally took off the helmet. “And don’t tell me it’s because of the hot weather!”

James, once again, rolled his eyes and conceded, “There's enough bang in there to send us all to Jesus. I'm gonna die, I wanna die comfortable.”

Joslyn looked over to the car and a bomb canister that James uncovered, which was poking out of the driver’s side of the car. There was enough explosive in the car to kill everyone nearby, including her teammates, even if they took cover. She sighed and said to Sanborn over the comms, “James is taking off his bomb suit.”

“What? Why?”

“I saw. There are a lot of canisters there to blow us up or something. I don’t know. Ask James or something.”

James disarmed the shells and began to search the car for the triggering device, a process that took several minutes. At one point, Sanborn tried to talk to him through a headset.

But all he did was tell him to fuck off.

So, he pulled it off and threw it aside.

A few more very tense minutes passed as James searched the car. Sanborn and Eldridge noticed several groups of Iraqis watching them from rooftops and from a minaret. They also saw a man filming the incident with a video camera. At the car, James finally found the triggering device and detached it. 

“You done?” Joslyn asked him.

James replied with a thumb up but quickly turned into a middle finger.

When he returned to the Hummer, he lit a cigarette and was promptly hit in the face by Sanborn.

“You could’ve gotten us killed, you fucker. Don’t do it again.”

He was angry that James, yet again, refused to acknowledge him or any questions he had. James appeared strangely unoffended, nor was he angry at Sanborn.

Joslyn strutted up to him, taking the cigarette out of his hand and stubbed it out. “No.”

“What the fuck?” James snapped, crossing his arms at Joslyn.

“They’re bad for you.” She claimed, also taking his whole box of the deadly things and putting them in her pocket.

“And why do you care?” 

“I’m responsible for your health and safety. That means you need to stop smoking.”

“You’re not my mom!” Accused James, pointing a finger at her. Joslyn sighed and put down his finger with her hand.

“Yeah? Well, it’s my duty to not get you killed. Whether you like it or not. And by the way, I don’t like this either. So, we both have to suck up and get on with it. Okay?” Joslyn walked off.

Before James could stop her, a colonel on the scene approached James and was clearly impressed with James’s steady nerves and ability to handle such a crisis.

Back at the base perimeter, Sergeant James confronted Beckham, who sells pirated DVDs to the soldiers. 

“I want my five bucks back, buddy.”

“Five dollars for what, man? You crazy now?”

“Yeah. The DVD you sold me was crap.”

“You crazy, man. That's impossible. It's Hollywood special effects.”

“No. It was shaky. It was out of focus, buddy.”

“What, you want donkey porn?”

“It's crap.”

“Girls on dog? Gay sex, man? Anything you want, you get. I hook you up, man.”

Joslyn was also at the base perimeter, looking over at Beckham and James. She then realised why they hated each other so much.

It’s because they had a crush on each other. Maybe?

He was handsome from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice.

“I'm gonna buy another DVD, okay? But... if it's shaky - look at me - or out of focus, or any way not 100%, I'm gonna chop off your goddamn head with a dull knife. How do you feel about... I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding.”

James handed over some money and continued saying to Beckham, “Here. You're a good kid.”

James was amused as he hugged the kid’s head. “You're a good kid, aren't ya?”

He told Beckham he could keep the money if he was able to block a shot at the makeshift goal area which was set up.

The man looked like he played soccer for his entire life. Under that uniform was a lithe body that knew how to play and his face backed that up. Within his light tanned face are eyes that twinkle. In just moments of Beckham trying to hustle James further, he broke into a boyish grin.

Beckham blocked the shot and James agreed to buy another movie from him, mildly threatening him if it's defective.

After the team went out to the desert to detonate some of the explosives they've collected on missions (and James recklessly leaving his gloves at the blast zone), she did say to Sanborn that he should stop acting so childish to the idea of blowing James up. She would have agreed to that idea, but not after James’s interaction with Beckham earlier. 

The incident with the Brits and the snipers in the middle of the desert seemed to form a stronger bond between Joslyn and her teammates. Having found that they can actually work well together as a team, they celebrate at James' housing unit.

They took turns pounding each other in the chest and drinking. Joslyn, on the other hand, was sitting in a nearby chair (which was quite comfortable). She rolled her eyes at her teammates’ antics.

By then, they were discussing why James seems to be such a maverick teammate and how he got into their line of work, James shows them a box of parts he's collected from nearly every bomb he's disarmed.

“This box is full of stuff that almost killed me.”

Sanborn saw a picture in James’s box that he got out. “Who’s that?” Sanborn pointed at the photo. James took it out and looked at it.

“That's my son. He's ' tough little bastard. Nothin' like me.”

“You mean to tell me you married?”

“Well, you know, I had a girlfriend and, uh, she got pregnant, so we got married, and we got divorced... or, you know, I thought we got divorced. I mean, she's still living in the house and she says we're still together, so I... I don't know --” 

James paused and got out an engagement ring.

“-- what does that make her? I don't know.”

“Dumb... for still being with your ass.” Sanborn replied, chuckling at him.

James kicked at Sanborn. “Hey! She ain't fucking dumb, all right? She left me, that’s all. We’re not together anymore.”

That’s when it hit Joslyn. It hit her hard. 

Her ex boyfriend’s words, in her head, were like nails and hammers breaking her heart apart, all over again. Her heartbreak was grief that came in waves, gruelling, stealing appetite and sleep alike. It was a shard in her guts that never left, though perhaps in time the edges will dull.

After Sanborn and Eldridge left, Joslyn kept sitting in the chair.

“You still here?” James pondered, as he closed the door and made his way towards his bed, putting the box back under it.

“Yeah…” Joslyn replied, knees up to her face, hugging herself close. 

“You okay?” James pondered again, walking over to Joslyn, sitting next to her.

She shrugged her shoulders. 

“I guess I wasn’t expecting --” 

Her bottom lip quivered, the same as a baby pushed past endurance. Her eyes became glacier blue under the sheen of water, constant. 

She then started to cry.

“Hey. Hey. Why are you crying?” James asked her, knowing what to do straightaway. 

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, gently rubbing her arm. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against his. She sunk into the warmth of his side, appreciative of the simple gesture. His touch made the room warmer somehow.

“I don’t know. I guess your story about your ex-wife and your son reminded me of my ex-boyfriend.”

His fingers were long and slender, easily rubbing her arm, as if casual wind fluttering across the surface of sand and shifting it into motion so easily. Unlike others' his fingers were thin and frail, shaped by prominent phalange bones and knotted where the joints curled around the ends of each long and short bone in his hands. There was no muscle tone or fat definition and his skin was only the layer of dust so fine over the polished white underneath.

“I’m sorry.”

Joslyn bit her lip, eyes everywhere but on James. Then he moved closer with those eyes that look so deeply into her own.

They both knew it was coming.

James held her gently, cupping her face with one hand, also wiping her tears with his thumb. He leaned down and softly kissed the tender area at the base of her neck. Joslyn’s body went rigid with surprise as trembles shook her body and the euphoric warmth blossomed within her once more. Joslyn was breathless with delight as he showered her with gentle, soft kisses, each with its own flicker of warmth. Joslyn gazed up at him, thrilled beyond words to be the recipient of his affection. He drew back again and spent a moment studying her face.

“Thank you," he said in barely more than a whisper.

"For what?" She replied.

"For being you." His voice wavered, exhilarated from the tension between them.

Joslyn felt her blush deepen under his scrutiny. James gazed at her lovingly, his eyes softening with tenderness before sparking with something else. He tilted her head to the side and kissed her, his lips demanding. Joslyn felt a smoldering heat deep within her as James’s grip tightened, crushing her body to his, gentle yet firm. He slanted her head further, deepening the kiss.

He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her up close against his chest. His hand gently glided through her hair, as he looked at her in a way he had never looked at a girl before. Her eyes were candles in that night, their light a spark of passion... desire. As a small but teasing smile crept upon her face, goosebumps lined her skin, not the kind that one got in the cold, but the kind one gets when nothing else matters except right here, right now.

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

Taglist:

@ilovebrandt​ @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123​ @sarabeth72​ @archerybitch68​ @dreamlesswonder86​ @carissime72​ @yavanna80​ @optimistic-dinosaur-nacho​ @axelwolf8109​ @fizzytaurus​ @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory​

#william james x oc #the hurt locker #nbarnes #masterlist #jeremy renner

[youarejesting]

BTS 365 Prompts

[Masterlist] Please tag me in your work if you use my prompts. I want to see your work. Ever your Jester.

Announcement: 500 followers where are you all coming from I post a couple of mediocre things and you guys just appear out of no where. I feel loved!!!💜💜💜🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

Tell me your birthday and I will tag you on your special day!

═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════

    February 12th - 18th

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Kim Seokjin: Evolve @red-welvet

“Alright Jin give me that worldwide handsome face, the concept photos have to be perfect for the upcoming album, yes turn a little this way” you were tirelessly working with BTS on their new concept album. Jin was usually the easiest to work with, but today was very different his handsome features weren’t really showing off the shadow theme of the album. 

“Jin get angry, you need to look more edgy” he was trying and getting annoyed, you sighed calling for a lunch break everyone dispersed and you went to talk to Jin who you knew was a little frustrated with the work. “Jin love, I’m not mad at you honey. You know that work is just that right  work when the cameras out we can get mad but when the cameras away we play”

You both agreed to try again, jokingly telling him for every hour he made you all stay longer, you would personally see that he doesn’t get to eat a slice of meat after work. Before your eyes his face evolved to an utterly pissed off Seokjin, this was gold.

Min Yoongi: Half

“Who is keeping watch?” Yoongi asked standing outside the tent. You were pretty much enemies, Yoongi was too quiet and cynical. 

“Jackson, Mark, Mark and myself” Yuta sighed watching as everyone was settling for the night.

You had finished changing into your pajamas leaving your boots on, you never wanted to experience a zombie raid in the middle of the night unprepared again. Meaning yes it had happened once before, resulting in tireless medical work on your part to repair your group. 

Except Yoongi who blatantly refused medical treatment on his ear, he openly spoke about you while you were on the other side of the door. You held in your tears and left a small basket of painkillers and ointment for his ear by the door. He thought you were too happy, too innocent for this cannibalistic world. So now he had a small chunk missing from the helix of his ear. 

“You done?” Yoongi sighed, you confirmed you were indeed dressed and he stepped into the tent switching out of his clothes with no qualms. “That’s your half of the tent this is mine, just go to sleep no talking, no tossing, no turning, don’t bother me, if something is crawling into the tent die quietly” you both drifted off to sleep but the night grew cold, you woke to see Yoongi had placed one of his blankets over you and was shivering in the corner. He can call you innocent all he wants, but you weren’t going to let him freeze to death. Dragging your pillow over next to his you slid under his blanket and piled the rest over you both. He was so cold, cuddling into his back you wrapped your arms around him waiting for him to stop shivering. 

Jung Hoseok: Library Lovers

There was a legend that somewhere in the library was a secret room hidden by the bookshelves, Mrs Pince seemed to tell the students every year how this wasn’t true. But you were determined. 

“Are you looking for that stupid room again?” Jimin said a hufflepuff boy either side of his person. One of them you recognized as he was the same age as you and Jimin. The other was older perhaps from Yoongi’s year. “Why don’t you just study instead of some make believe room full of spell books?”

“Chim, I need to borrow one of your Sasspuff’s” You said grabbing your things

“Which one?” He gestured his hands out to the two boys.

“The older one, otherwise they might think I am corrupting Tae” You held out your hand “Hello, my name is y/n can I borrow your services for the afternoon?”

“Hi I am Hoseok but everyone calls me Jhope” He smiled you laughed pulling him along “What is a Sasspuff?”

“A Slytherin assigned Hufflepuff, we slytherins are automatically assumed to be up to no good when we really aren’t and you Puff’s are really good so it balances us out, everyone has a Sasspuff” you smiled passing professor Mcgonagall in the hallway talking loudly about every flavor beans. You never did find the room that day but Jhope had such a great time he became your Sasspuff.

Kim Namjoon: Lost

Namjoon just wanted a place to sleep out of the rain and the underground train station seemed like the perfect spot. His feet and hands were dirty and he thinks the jacket he stole from the homeless cat hybrid had fleas hiding in the fabric. You saw him as you stepped off the train, you paused letting people pass as you watched the scene unfold. He was caught by security who approached and told him he had to leave and continued asking him politely to leave. He pulled out his phone. “Sir, I do not want to call the pound, please just leave”

“Honey, what happened, I told you to wait at home, did the neighborhood boys throw mud at you again, sorry sir, he is with me” You lied looking directly at the security guard who stopped calling the pound. 

“He is your Hybrid ma’am?” he gestured to the young man who had shuffled behind you so you could protect him from the guard. “This Bear is yours?”

You double took behind me taking in the ears, he was in fact a bear but you weren’t scared. How could you be he looked at the ground shuffling his feet timidly. Despite his build he looked so small. “Yes, let’s go” Grabbing his chin gently you tilted it up and he looked at you ashamed. 

He followed behind you and you pulled out your Umbrella and waved him to come closer. You explained that if he didn’t trust you, you would give him some money and book him into a hotel or you had a spare room with a lockable door and you could give him clean clothes and a hot meal. His stomach answered for him and you lead him along the footpaths to your home, you gave each other your names and explained what you do. 

You had finished dinner when he stepped out freshly showered in your biggest pair of sweatpants and shirt you “Thank you, I am sorry that I-”

“Don’t ever be sorry especially to me, you have done nothing wrong”

Park Jimin: Without

You wake up in an alternate reality, BTS never was. It was like something out of a dystopian novel, there was no internet or electricity, everyone spent their time growing their own food or taking care of animals. You seemed to unsuspectingly find Jung Hoseok who lead you on a quest of sorts. 

Finding each member along the way all searching for something wizard of Oz style. You wonder why you have been roped in but the opportunity is hard to pass up. Listening to their struggles you traveled from Gwangju to Busan to Daegu all the way up to Gwacheon-si and Seoul. It was an emotional journey, you had confided in one another cried and sacrificed everything to get them back. 

And here you stand in line for the meet and greet holding wearing the same outfit you wore the majority of your time together. It wasn’t anything spectacular, a hoodie you had stolen from Jin that was giant and hung off your body and the bow Jimin had made you one day when you had complained about feeling unpretty.

You stepped up to the table handing Taehyung an old picture of him smiling happy eating peaches his feet dipped in the lake. He paused looking at the photo and looking at you. You knew he didn’t remember and he seemed confused as it was so familiar but he didn’t know why. You saw Yoongi, Jungkook, Namjoon and Jin. Each with similar results. Jhope was the second last on the bench and he showed the most promising reaction, he looked at the small stack of photos you handed over and he retold little bits of the stories behind them. “Ah it rained later didn’t it”

You stepped in front of Jimin and he paused his eyes recognizing your face your heart racing. You sang a song, it was a song you and the boys had made up, the words stirring something in each of them and they turned to look at you. Did he remember? He didn’t but you handed over the bow, which he grabbed and held tightly in his fist. “Oh, I can’t seem to remember, I am sorry” Jimin clutched your hand. You took the final picture out, your most prized picture from your wallet and sighed.

You handed him the picture, without saying a word. You were in a white dress and he was kissing you at the front of a temple in Daejeon. The back had your vows written and the date and you handed it over going to leave. When he grabbed your hand and pulled you back taking the photo book and writing his number. “I can’t remember but I am willing to try”

Kim Taehyung: Random act of kindness @kookie-sun0097

Taehyung was waiting for his son at the school, his son usually took a long time as he would say goodbye to all his friends and make sure their mum’s and dad’s would pick them up before he would run into his father's arms. But today he walked out hand and hand with a young boy who was crying. “Daddy, Moo’s eomma isn’t here. What do we do?” 

“Dae it’s okay, I will call his eomma, you sit on the bench together, Do you have a call card in your bag?” He asked the crying boy and he nodded handing it over. Taehyung called and heard a strained and panicked voice. “Hello this is Taehyung, my son Daeho and your son are sitting together at the moment, at the school, is everything okay?”

“Not really no, I broke my leg and I am in the back of a taxi heading to the school but traffic is so bad” You were obviously in a lot of pain.

“How about you head to the hospital and I can bring your son, or I can watch him, it seems Dae doesn’t want to let him go just yet” You agreed and asked to speak with your son to explain and were greeted by two cute little boys in their yellow bucket hats and a rather handsome man carrying flowers.

Jeon Jungkook: Prince

Jungkook was lonely the only people to see him wer maids, cooks, guards and various noblemen. He had heard about the festivals and parties that occurred at night, how people would dance with whoever they pleased. During the day they would watch sports or work he wanted that. More than anything and he was ready to give it all up just to be happy for one day. 

His parents were the king and queen so no son of theirs will be caught doing anything that wasn’t proper. He wanted to fly a kite for the festival that was brewing the entertainers were apparently very good. 

With nothing to lose he borrowed one of the servants clothes and ventured out beyond the royal grounds. He followed the music the smells the laughter and watched performance after performance eating street food and cheering like everyone else. That’s when he saw the most beautiful dancer feeling like he fell in love. 

Your sister stepped onto the stage and you sat alone, you invited her dancing abilities her looks everything she was perfect. 

You noticed a rather strange looking man applauding loudly in the crowd, he wasn’t rowdy he was awfully poised and proper for someone wearing the royal eunuch clothes. That’s when you glanced at the cuff on his ear it was something so beautiful you looked further and realized this was the prince. 

How did you know? You weren’t a good dancer but you were the other daughter of the royal tailor. You helped take measurements and notes on specific fabrics and fits. He was lost in the performance, you could see the adoration in his eyes and you spotted a figure on the roof behind him a bow drawn at the unsuspecting prince. 

You ran and jumped pinning him onto the ground under the table an arrow now protruding out of it. “You have a terrible disguise, put this on and follow me, they have you marked” Grabbing his hand you dragged him through the city running though stalls gardens homes everything. 

Jungkook thought the dancer was beautiful but as you looked back to him as you pulled him along your hair fanning out behind you, delicate rose petal lips parted and a sparkle in your eyes. He didn’t care that you called him an idiot, it sounded perfect coming from you.

Next week

#bangtan #bangtan sonyeondan #bangtan seonyeondan #bts #bts imagine #bts x reader #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #jin x reader #suga x reader #jhope x reader #namjoon x reader #jimin x reader #taehyung x reader #jungkook x reader #bts prompts #bts birthday #BTS365Prompts #jin x reader smut #suga x reader smut #jhope x reader smut #namjoon x reader smut #jimin x reader smut #taehyung x reader smut #jungkook x reader smut

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Fifty-Seven: Aquarium ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura Hyūga Hiashi ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

The day after her surgery, Hinata is back in school as though nothing ever happened. In fact, the only notable difference is the now-defunct timer implanted into her left wrist. The one that, only hours after receiving it, went off when she came face to face with a boy named Sasuke Uchiha.

...it’s a bit of a long story.

Her father - furious despite the implant being his idea - immediately forbade Hinata from contacting her supposed soulmate until she turned eighteen. But blurting out her name and getting Sasuke’s in return, Hinata has found a bit of a workaround: social media.

Her father has never been big into it, so it’s safe to say that he likely hasn’t thought of the idea himself, and therefore hasn’t told Hinata she’s forbidden from doing so. Contacting the boy via Twitter that night, she got to talk to him for about an hour before they both had to call it a day.

And now, here she is, back at school and timer uncovered from its gauze.

As soon as she arrives, Ino and Sakura swarm her, trying to get a peek at the time.

“Come on, come on! Let us see!”

“There’s nothing to see…”

“What harm will it do, ‘nata?”

“No, I...I mean that literally. There’s nothing.” Holding out her arm, she reveals the clock run down to all zeros.

Both girls stare with wide eyes. “...wait..did it come that way? Did you already meet them?”

“No.”

“...so it already went off?!”

“Yesterday. At the hospital, before I even l-left.”

Sakura and Ino’s eyes go wiiide, mouths agape. “...no way…”

“Who was it?!”

“A boy named Sasuke Uchiha.” She then goes on to detail her father’s fury at the happenstance, and her sneaking behind his back to talk him.

“Wow...never thought you’d be the sort to disobey your dad,” Ino teases.

“I mean, this is her soulmate we’re talking about here!” Sakura insists. “Of course she’s gonna push on in the name of love!”

Hinata gives a small, sheepish laugh. “I-I mean...it isn’t really love yet. We barely know each other…”

“But it will be! Come on, Hinata - stop being a skeptic and accept the power of the timers!”

“...I’ll see how it goes.”

“So, any chance you’ll get to see him with your dad being such a jerk?” Ino then asks.

“Well...I was hoping I could ask you guys for a little h-help with that.”

They both immediately grin, exchanging a knowing glance. “Well, duh!”

“It won’t be for a while. I want to let things, um...die down a bit first, okay?” She doesn’t mention also wanting to get to know Sasuke better, knowing they’ll both just roll their eyes. “Once he’s not so grumpy, w-we’ll maybe have some kind of...outing! I’ll go alone with you guys, and message Sasuke...and he’ll just happen to be there…!”

“Ooh, I like where this is going,” Ino agrees with a smirk. “So very sneaky, Hinata! Well I never!”

“Just let us know, and we’ll figure it out,” Sakura agrees with a gesture. “Leave it to us!”

“Thanks, guys.”

With that plan ready to unfurl when it’s ready, Hinata just...keeps on as she always has, with the added aspect of talking to Sasuke. At first it’s all just your typical small talk: piecing together the more mundane aspects of each other to get a better feel for who they are. And slowly, things get a little deeper.

“He didn’t start acting sick until he was about eighteen. Not bad enough to really be noticed, anyway. Now he’s twenty-one, and doing all of his college courses online to stay home where he’s less likely to be exposed to something.”

“Oh my gosh…”

“It’s just kinda become the new normal, you know? He’s been doing really well. Just gotta hope that keeps up.”

“Tell him I’m...I’m rooting for him.”

“I will. Sorry for uh...kinda unloading there.”

“No, I was the one who asked. Um...want me to trade a story?”

“Sure.”

“My mom passed away due to complications with my little sister being born. I was only about five when we lost her. I can only remember bits and pieces of her…”

“Oh man...I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, it was...a long time ago.”

Then, after three weeks of talking almost constantly...the pair agree that the time has come to try meeting face to face again. This time without the shock...or Hiashi.

“So...any ideas?”

“I know, I know! Look, I just saw this trending,” Ino offers, showing her phone’s screen. “There’s a new exhibit at the aquarium!”

“...does Sasuke like fish?” Sakura asks, clearly not sure if this is the best plan.

“I...I don’t know. But it’s something to do, and pretty p-plausible for me to go so Dad doesn’t get suspicious.” Hinata’s always loved water and the wildlife in it. “Okay...let me talk to Sasuke, and we’ll iron out a day!”

“An aquarium, huh? Sure. I haven’t been to one in ages. Fish are cool.”

Snorting a bit at his reply, Hinata asks for a date. “Would Saturday work?”

“Yeah. I’ve got nothing going on, and Mom will be home to keep an eye on Itachi. Don’t think I have too much homework, either. I’ll see you guys there.”

“Awesome!”

Saturday can’t come soon enough.

But first...she has to ask Hiashi.

“Hey, Dad?”

“Hm?” Reading the paper, he doesn’t bother to look up.

“Um...Ino was telling me about a new part of the aquarium opening this week. Would it be cool if I w-went with them this weekend? Saturday, maybe?”

“Do you have any projects due?”

“Uh...no.”

He glances to her over the top of the paper. “...very well. Don’t stay out too late.

“I won’t.”

Success!

Relaying the good news to everyone, now all she has to do...is wait.

Sakura’s mother agrees to drive them, all a bit too young to drive on their own. On the way, all three gossip about their real intentions.

“So, is he cute?”

“Um...I guess so?”

“You guess? Come on, Hinata.”

“Okay, um...yes, he’s...he’s cute.”

“Details, please!”

“Uh...dark hair, kinda...messy. Dark eyes. I haven’t really seen him much. I barely saw him when we met, and he doesn’t really...take selfies o-or anything.”

“Guess we’ll just have to see when we get there,” Ino grins.

As expected, the place is actually pretty crowded given the day and novelty. The girls thank Mebuki and head inside, managing to get their tickets and find a place to wait near the lobby.

“Any word from him yet?”

“No, not yet. But I told him I’d wait by the lobby. If you guys want, y-you can go ahead.”

“And miss the introduction? No way!” Ino replies.

At that, however, Sakura actually looks a little unsure. “...maybe we should give them some privacy first, huh Ino?”

“Whaaat?”

“Just for a bit! I mean...things didn’t exactly go well the first time, right? We should butt out.”

The blonde sighs, folding her arms. “Oh, all right. But text us when you head further in, okay? We’ll stop and wait for you.”

“Okay! Thanks, guys.”

Sakura gives a subtle thumbs up as she leads Ino further in, which Hinata acknowledges with a wave. Hanging around the lobby and picking up a pamphlet, she startles when someone says her name. “W-wha-?”

Standing behind her a few paces, Sasuke perks a brow as she spins around, hands in his pockets. “Sorry...kinda loud in here.”

“Y...yeah…”Suddenly unsure, she turns around fully to face him. “...um…”

“...well, since it was a bit interrupted before…” He holds out a hand. “I’m Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha.”

Blinking, Hinata then giggles, accepting the shake. “Hinata Hyūga. It’s nice to meet you, Sasuke. Um...again.”

He gives a small grin. “So...should we head in?”

“Sure. My friends went on ahead - I’ll let them know you’re here so we can catch up.”

“Cool.”

As she types, they head a bit further in. Most of the building is rather dark to help accentuate the tanks, which are all lit from within. Fish, crustaceans, and other aquatic critters all swim and scurry around in their habitats.

“So...you like fish and stuff?”

Hinata can’t help a small snort at the question. “I-I do! I’ve always loved water…”

“It’s pretty neat. I had a goldfish as a kid for like...a few months. I wasn’t the best fish dad.”

“Well...kids aren’t really, um...prepared for sensitive pets. It happens a lot. Maybe you could try again!”

“...yeah, maybe I could. You have any?”

“No...my father is strictly against pets. He says they’re a w-waste of money.”

Sasuke’s nose wrinkles. “...no offense, but like...your dad’s a bit of a jerk.”

Hinata gives a weary smile. “He...yeah. He c-can be. He’s just a very, um...closed off person.”

“My dad’s kinda that way too. Kinda tough on us. But Mom helps set him straight.”

“Yeah...I wonder if mine would, i-if she were here.” After a pause, she notices Sasukes’s awkwardness. “...o-oh, sorry! I...I don’t mean -?”

“It’s fine. Just...was worried I upset you there for a sec.”

“No, I...I’m fine. Really. I don’t have any trouble talking about her.”

“...all right.”

They keep meandering down the mostly-linear route through the aquarium, Hinata on the lookout for her friends. Sasuke points out interesting species every so often, most of which she’s able to comment on.

“So what’s your favorite?”

“Hm…” she mulls that over. “...I really like lionfish.”

“Lionfish? There’s a fish named after a lion?”

“Yeah! I’ll s-show you when one comes up. They’re very, um...frilly.”

That gets Sasuke to snort. “Frilly...gotcha.”

“Hey! Hinata!”

Jolting a bit, Hinata brightens as Sakura waves from down the hall. “Oh, t-there’s my friends! Um...they might be a bit...forward.”

“It’s fine.”

The other pair jog back to meet them, immediately plaguing Sasuke with questions. Though he looks a bit exacerbated, Hinata notices he handles their curiosities patiently.

...she wonders if that’s for her sake.

“Come on, we’re almost to the new exhibit!” Ino then gushes once the interrogation is complete...for now.

“Right behind you,” Sasuke replies, watching them trot forward. “Ready?”

“Yeah. Um...sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I had a feeling your friends would be kinda...protective. Hard to avoid when we grow up sorta segregated, right? And I mean...our situation’s a bit unique.”

“Y...yeah…”

Considering her for a moment, Sasuke then lifts his arm a bit. “...can I...hold your hand?”

“...eh?”

“Y’know...since it’s sort of a date.”

Slowly, her cheeks go rosy. “S...sure…” Softly, she lets her hand mesh with his, finding the fit to be exceedingly pleasant.

His makes hers feel so small…

Giving a hint of a smile, Sasuke then leads them forward. But in all honesty, Hinata’s not too concerned about the exhibit. She’s not sure much can compare to this.

                                                          .oOo.

     (This is a sequel to days 355 and 356!)       More soulmate AU! With actual interaction between our two lovebirds, lol - seems Hinata's sneaky plan is working! Sakura and Ino are the best wingwomen - they know what's up xD      I guess not too much to say about this one. idk if I'll do more tomorrow or not - depends on what I can wrack my brain for with the prompt! Hopefully today's was enjoyable - I had a very, uh...rough evening, so my mind's a bit distracted. But I gave it my best shot :'D      On that note tho I gotta head to bed. Thanks for reading!

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #yamanaka ino #haruno sakura #hyūga hiashi #best years of your life [ au ] #365daysofsasuhina

[morethanithoughtofficialblog]

Chapter 14: Isn’t that punderful?

In which puns and feelings hit you like a brick.

*Your POV*

Something that still surprises me is the simplicity that the Underground people had in their daily lives. It was like living in a small town, where everyone knew everybody. Kids would go walking from their home to school and return safely, never fearing to be attacked by anyone. Because they knew them perfectly, and they knew them as well.

I've been learning that recently, hearing Asgore's stories. And thanks to all those generations and all those hidden memories, we could finally create one of the projects I was more eager to make: the Underground history book.

I must say that I had a lot of support on this project by a lot of people, either monsters or humans. Gaster provided me his scientific researches, Alphys and (surprisingly) Sans did as well. The three of them had an important role in the lab, but Gaster was the main Royal Scientist. Still, they all contributed with some information, making me understand the concept of souls and magic better.

Toriel got to meet and protect the eight humans that fell into the Underground, and that was really useful to establish how The Barrier was broken and why it was needed to be that way.

And well, every civilian helped me to know a general idea of how the Underground was: awful but full of hopeful people.

The most interesting part, or should I say person, it's Gerson: monster-turtle that has been living for a ton of years, and that was an important warrior in the war. He was alive before Asgore was even born! And so I spent some good hours talking to him...

"What... what was the name of your King when the war happened?"

"Reynor. Reynor Dreemurr, the great-grandfather of Fluffybuns"

"Fluffybuns?"

"Oh, hahaha! I mean Asgore, it's just a silly nickname I gave him! Don't mind this old man, hahaha!"

I smiled remembering that talk we had, being full of charm and comedy (from Gerson's part, of course. I'm no good at jokes). Monsters normally have the same age structure as humans do (years have 365 days usually, they turn one year older after that specific amount of days, etc.). That means that one human year is equal to one monster year: there's no difference at all.

And just like turtles, Gerson has lived a lot of years. According to his exceptional memory (that surprises me a lot, mine being not able to remember what I ate yesterday), the war happened three hundred and twenty-one years ago, and it ended three hundred and nineteen years ago. He was just a young warrior when that happened, he being in his mid-twenties (just as I am right now, yay! ...I need to concentrate).

Reyson Dreemurr lived a ton of years as well and married at a very old age. That explains mostly why there hasn't been a lot of Dreemurr generations after the war. The interesting fact, though, is that the eight human children fell into the Underground during Asgore's commandment, none of them before him.

"Those eight buckos, including the Prince Chara, fell into the Underground probably because the legends were starting to fade, young lady"

"So you are insinuating that people took the story as a joke, especially the kids?"

"Yep, like a bedtime story... just like us, isn't that right? Hahaha!"

Gerson was right: monsters were almost recently taken as fantastic creatures, as myths, and nonexistent. In all honesty, I considered them that as well. But if I was living in Ebott City since I was a kid, maybe it would have been different.

...

Maybe.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I was on the Prince Chara's place... and no, I don't mean in his current place, but to actually have Toriel and Asgore as parents and have a goat brother. I wonder how it could have been to go to school with the young monsters I know, or if I would ever babysit Papyrus and help him with homework. It...

It sounds like a good life, honestly.

Way better than mine, at least.

But I realize that, even if that would have happened, life wouldn't be full of roses and glitter (that idea doesn't sound appetizing either). And I know it's rude to talk like this, but Sans's case is a pure proof of what I'm trying to imply. But maybe there was something in his life that made him different...

After all, he has PTSD.

God, I sound like a jerk.

I mean, I have PTSD as well, so... there's no difference between his case and mine. The only important thing is that his painful past happened in the Underground, the "simple town" I was describing so cheerily five seconds ago. My painful past happened in the Surface, the place all of them cherished for years.

So even if we can go on and live in Perfection Land, our lives will never be perfect. Mine, for example, was shitty and uninteresting before they came. And I only have a general perspective of their lives, but I don't know them deeply...

And we return to why monsters are so similar to us: because they have a story behind that smile. And not all people will know that story. And that includes me.

Depression is an easy topic to talk about if you find a person with the same thing. However, the reasons behind it it's the difficult part since that's what actually shows your vulnerability. So yeah, when you already have it diagnosed it's easy to tell others "Hey, I have depression!", but to tell them why or when it started it's technically telling them your story.

And when you can't tell your story and neither can cry about it, then what's the matter in feeling like not saying it? Just scream that you have depression and, well, the rest will come later...

You: Hi Sans!

Sans: hello kid

Sans: how ya been?

You: Good good, how are you feeling?

Sans: eh, i guess i'm fine

Sans: not that i'm depressed or anything

Heh.

There's no difference between his case and mine.

You: Yeah, I know how it feels

Sans: to be depressed all the time?

You: Sans

You: I'm even depressed right now

Sans: huh

Sans: then u need someone raisin your spirits often?

And he just sent an image of a raisin.

Great.

You: Sans, you are awful

Sans: hey, whaddya mean?

Sans: i put my heart in it

You: Well

You: Thanks to you, I have no raisin to continue living

You: You jerk

Sans: oh my god, i'm sorry

Sans: i never meant to make your pain more...

Sans: unpearable

You: Nah, don't sweat it

You: My life was already a peach of shit

I laughed way too hard when I saw Sans calling me after that lame pun. It took me a while before gaining my breath and finally accepting his offer.

"Hello?" I asked in a fancy tone, like if I didn't know who was calling.

"hello, ma'am. may i have a word with you before i can let you live your slow death in peace?" he replied with the same fancy tone I used, and I instantly burst out in laughter, he following me immediately.

"Sans, why are you calling me?"

"to congratulate ya. you have my respects now"

"What are you even talking about?!"

"not everyone can joke about wanting to die, ya know" he let out a laugh, then continued "and less using puns"

Well, he's right, I guess.

"Sans, just end the call already"

"ok"

He just remained silent, but the call still continued. I stared at the phone with a silly smile on my face, then I groaned silently. I heard him chuckling at my reaction, then he said he will never hang up, which was bullshit since he hung up five seconds after saying that.

Sans: are u there?

You: No.

Sans: rude

Sans: i just wanted to say hi

You: That's the biggest lie I've heard in a while

Sans: what?

Sans: can't a skeleton cover his crippling depression?

You: Oh c' mon

You: Don't go all meloncholic over me

Sans: wow, another food pun?

Sans: please berry me alive before the world ends

You: Do you know what food I would be if I got to choose?

Sans: ?

You: A donut, 'cause I'm empty inside

Sans: same

Sans: i donut see the point in living anymore

Is it necessary to say I was having the time of my life? You can't tell depression jokes to everyone and having a partner to do so felt amazing. Medicine and therapy? More like jokes and puns!

Sans: do you want a tip to deal with depression?

You: I hear you

Sans: drink coffee

You: really?

Sans: yeah

Sans: expresso expresso, no more depresso!

And you bet I laughed, mostly because I drink coffee every day. Maybe I should start ordering expresso though.

You: Oh my God

You: PEMDAS

Sans: pemdas?

You: Please End My Depression And Suffering

And Sans called me again, only to hear him dying of laughter. We ended up telling more jokes all over the phone instead of chatting, him not caring about his brother hearing. Then we both went to tell darker jokes and really cruel stuff that a depressed person would joke about... just like us.

So I really don't understand why I take my problem as something humerus, but if one thing I've learned through all these years dealing with the same things is that crying is horribly useless. And people say that laughter is the best medicine, so I'm technically helping myself and, of course, Sans.

But hey, life hasn't been that bad lately. I was admitted to have a job interview (which I'll have tomorrow) in that small company, and I have more reasons to wake up and do things of my own. And I've been trying to put myself into drinking pills again, even if I don't like the fact that my mood depends on some medicines.

Talking about medicines...

"Hey Sans, do you have the pills you need already?"

"eh..." Oh he doesn't "crap, i forgot to go to the drug store yesterday"

Knew it.

"Well, I can gift you some if you want to. I have some spare pills here in my drawer, and I think I have the same medicaments the doctor prescribed you"

"that would be nice, but are you sure you want to bother yourself? besides, they are not that cheap, kid..." he had this slight hint of doubt in his voice, which made me smile gently.

"Eh, consider it as a present" I simply answered while I shrugged, even if he couldn't see me doing so.

"kid, if i'm gonna take the pills, then..." he made a long pause, then he sighed sadly "can you promise me something?"

Promise?

"It... depends"

"kid, you need to take care of yourself as well" he startled me a bit, and he somehow noticed how taken aback I was "if it wasn't for papyrus, i would probably have killed myself by now. so i just want to tell ya that you don't have to deal with this alone. it must suck being alone with the crap of your head all the time. so whenever you want to talk about, well, anything... you have me here, kid. and paps is more than open to help as well"

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

...

Shit.

"Hey, thank you. It means a lot to me"

"no probllama"

Seriously-

"An animal pun? Really?" I stopped right there, then I smiled "You've cat to be kitten me"

"i'm sorry, i didn't do it on porpoise"

"That's the sealiest joke I've ever heard"

"i never asked you to let minnow what you think"

"You're giraffing me crazy"

"nah, you're lion"

And so all seriousness disappeared and the puns were all over our conversation. I'm not that good on them, but Sans is clearly experienced with them. I'm better telling jokes of dark humor than silly animal puns. Still, I tried to keep 'em going.

"oh, by the way, papyrus says hi"

"Tell him I say hi as well"

"shore thing, (y/n)"

"I sea what you did there"

And after a few minutes, the call ended, me remembering that I had to give Sans the pills before the day was over. Or well, Papyrus remembering me all over the phone, screaming to his brother to go to the drug store before he dragged him himself (savage).

I took a skele-ton of pills and put them in my laptop's briefcase (since I'm too poor to buy a Gucci bag), then I ran to the bathroom to check myself in the mirror. Decent hair, no rests of make-up... perfect. I dragged a pink hoodie (because why not) that said: "Yes, I'm CUTE: Cringy Ugly Terrible Empty", some simple black shoes and I left my apartment behind... not before going back to grab my almost forgotten briefcase.

I took the subway and put my headphones on, forgetting the rest of the world while I heard some Nirvana music. Yep, this is who I've become: a young adult that takes the train every single day of her life and puts on music all the trip, trying to dismiss my problems.

What a good life.

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

*Arial's POV*

I heard some lively and deep laughter coming from Sans's room, my older child. I wanted to go on and check on him, but... does he really wants me there with him? I haven't been the best mother for my two children, especially for him, so... I let it be.

Sighing desperately, I went over the kitchen to see if I could do something, anything, with my time. I wasn't at home often in the Underground, so cooking isn't my strength. But if I really want to become a normal mother for them, then I had to start making dinner. I sighed again, knowing this was never the life I wanted out in the Surface.

I know this is really selfish to say, but I genuinely preferred my life down there. I was part of the Royal Guard (as a secretary mostly) and one of the most important roles in the Kingdom. I'll always let the King now if there was any problem at the schools, or if there was any planning of a protest. On weekends, my husband and I would sometimes have fun like our teenager times, or I would casually (and awkwardly when Sans grew older) visit the kids.

...it would be pretty stupid for me not to know what I did wrong. Sans trusted us, and he once felt happy when he was around us. But we treated them as only a partial company, and now he's angry and almost mad. Now he doesn't trust us anymore, and Papyrus is trying. We were never parents to our smaller child... but to Sans, we once were. And that's why he's the most hurt.

I first became a mother when I was sixteen years old and Gaster eighteen. It's unnecessary to say it was an accident, but I was too scared to try this method called "abortion", which was recently adopted in the Underground at that time. Gaster was afraid that our new son could ruin our professional lives, but he recognized himself that the abortion wasn't secure. And so I gave birth to Sans, which I don't know if it was the best for him. I haven't given him the life he deserves, and I deeply regret being too young and too stupid to not understand how beautiful the role of a mother can be. I've seen how Toriel treated her boys and how now she treats her girl, and I can't help but admire her for being brave enough to sacrifice everything she dreamed of and decided to make THEIR dreams come true.

But instead, I choose to make my ideal life come true. Because I never wanted any children... not until Papyrus, I guess. That was seven years after being responsible for Sans, just when I told myself I should be a better mother, and so I felt forced to have another one to take care of.  

I, however... never got to be the responsible mom I wanted to be deep inside of me. And so Sans had another problem: taking care of his little brother...

There...

There was even some time that I COMPLETELY forgot about their existence...

I just remember that, after realizing I had children, Sans started to hate me. He was overprotective (and he still is) over Papyrus, and whenever I tried to make him understand, he would say "you should not waste your words into lies".

Can...

Can I have a chance to be a good mother, even if now my grown son is twenty-two years old?

I...

Before breaking down in tears in the kitchen, I heard Papyrus running unheavenly fast through the door, then I heard a familiar feminine voice. That voice was not more and not less than the one of our dear ambassador, (Y/N) (L/N). She greeted him as kind as she's ever been, and he exclaimed happily how honored he was to have her in our home. She laughed politely, then Sans teleported to the living room, talking in an enthusiastic tone I haven't heard from him in years. I should have felt good, but it wasn't for me who he was happy for. It was her.

I...

I mean, she could get his trust faster than I'll ever be capable of.

I...

I don't know what to think.

She waved at me discretely with a lovely smile, and I felt more like crying. She's young and making her dreams come true because she was smart enough. She planned her future perfectly, and here she is: healthy, a bright future reflected in her eyes, and a beautiful heart and energy that both the kids admire.

I saw how (Y/N) gave Sans some... medicaments, I think, and he thanked her with a smile he never gave me. They joked a bit and Papyrus groaned playfully, then all of them went into a fit full of laughter.

"OH (Y/N)! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ENJOYS YOUR COMPANY A LOT! AND I BET SANS DOES AS WELL! WE'RE TRULY HONORED TO HAVE YOU HERE, YOUNG LADY!"

Yes, he's a wonderful child, but I can't be proud of him.

Because I didn't raise him...

Sans did.

#sans x reader #sansxreader #more than i thought fanfiction #more than i thought #chapter 14 #sans #x reader #undertale

[dailyaudiobible]

01/02/2020 DAB Transcript

Genesis 3:1-4:26, Matthew 2:13-3:6, Psalms 2:1-12, Proverbs 1:7-9

Today is the 2nd day of January, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it's great to be here with you as we take step number 2 of 365 steps that will lead us not only through a year of our lives together, but through the entire Bible. So, obvious, this is our second step. So, we just set sail, just kind of moving out of the harbor, land is still in sight, we’re headed out into the deep. And we realize that even as we began this journey yesterday, even on day one, the Bible gives us plenty of things to consider. And, so, here we are now to take the next step, day two. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week and our next step is back into the book of Genesis and we’ll read chapters 3 and 4 four today.

Introduction to the book Matthew:

Okay. This brings us to the New Testament, and we began the book of Matthew yesterday, but we didn’t spend any time kind of flying over it or just kinda understanding the context of it very much because we were focusing on Genesis. And we’re just kinda getting moved in, we’re just getting moved into this year. So, let's talk about Matthew for a second before…before we read it. So, Matthew is obviously the first book found in the New Testament but…but Matthew is part of a grouping of four books that are the first four books of the New Testament. These are called the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and they each give us an account of the life of Jesus. So, we get this wonderful benefit at the beginning of the year to begin moving our way through the Bible alongside of the stories and messages of Jesus our Savior. Matthew was one of the apostles of Jesus. So, Matthew…well…he was eyewitness, rights? He had first-hand knowledge of the events that…that he recorded in the book of Matthew. And Matthew had a…had a radical transformation in the presence of Jesus, previously had been a tax collector. So…so, he was not well-liked socially but then this Rabbi comes along to this person who is not liked socially at all and invites him to come and follow him. So, he does. So, this…this first witness, this first gospel of the life of Jesus that we have, Matthew, is coming from a man who had a decent life. Although he was not well-liked, he had steady reliable paycheck. He was working for the Roman government and there were plenty of perks that went along with that. He was pretty much able to abuse the people by extracting taxes that were more than they owed kind of at will. So, although he was not like he was fairly well connected and was making some money. And he left, he just left, he left it all and took the leap of faith to follow a man that he believed was the son of God. So, that's who's writing us this book. That's the story that’s being told and the story is…it is aimed at Hebrew people, so Jewish believers. And the Hebrew Scriptures we…we would we would understand them as the Old Testament today. And the gospel of Matthew quotes from the Old Testament more than any of the other Gospels do because the book of Matthew, it seems that its mission is to show Jesus fulfilling the Mosaic law and fulfilling the prophecies of one to come, a Messiah, an Anointed One, a Deliverer. And we’ll get to know this Jesus pretty well in the book of Matthew. There…there are over 20 parables. These are wisdom stories that Jesus told, and we’ll encounter them. And Jesus also begins speaking about something that we won't really stop speaking about the entire year and that is the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus said that it was near and that it was now that it was happening and that it was present within and among us. And we'll talk about that. But for now, that gives us a little bit of context for…for the territory ahead in the book of Matthew. And, so let's get to that. Today we will read chapter 2 verse 13 through chapter 3 verse six.

Commentary:

Alright, there are probably a number of directions we could go in today, plenty of things to talk about but we probably need to stick in the book of Genesis because we saw a story today that…that…that changed…that changed the story, that changed everything and affects us today profoundly. So, yesterday we had this little rare glimpse into a time of perfection and then today we saw that come to a close. So, like, we don’t have to go blow-by-blow, this is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. So, there's a serpent, there's a tree and there’s a man and there's a woman at that tree looking at that tree and there’s a serpent’s asking questions. “Did God really say you couldn’t do this”, right? “Did God really say you…you can't eat this?” So, he’s responding, “yeah, he did say that, that we can't eat it, we can’t touch it, we’re not supposed to do any…anything like this or we’ll die. Okay. What we are about to see is a shift in consciousness, a shift in awareness of how things work. So, prior to this event, Adam and Eve, God's children, His first children are in complete union and intimacy with Him, in fellowship with Him, they don't understand the concept of separation from God. They've never known anything like that. It's not a category for them. The idea that…that rebellion against God, disobedience, would carve a chasm between them and God, like they had never experienced sin or its repercussions. They wouldn't even have known what…what that was or wasn't like. They’d have to have faith that sin existed because they had no experience with it other than God's warning, “don't eat…like…like…you can have whatever you want, I've made this entire place for you to explore and enjoy and steward and care for, and you can have it all, except this one tree, this one tree with this one fruit.” So, a couple of really important things to just kinda begin to wrap our minds around because they affect our journey through the Bible continually. So, this tree. It’s really easy to wrestle inside of our minds about this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why put a tree with…with such dire consequences in front of these people to tempt them when they don't really know what's going on? So, what's the point here? What's…why the tree? And now we have to take a step back and just explore love and just explore relationship. And those things we as human beings are still experiencing and so we…we all know what these are. And, so, we know that love is not something that can be coerced out of some…someone, right? Like you could not enslave a person and…and…and be brutal to them and tell them that they will not stop receiving this kind of treatment until they love you, right? Because that person's going to do whatever…like at some level they will behave in whatever way they think you want them to behave, but that wouldn't actually be love. That would be modifying behavior to look a certain way to simulate whatever the aggressors trying to get. Love, like actual love is something that can only be given freely. Like, you can't sell your love. You can sell your body. But that…that's not selling love. You can't sell love. Love is given, its freely given and requires a choice to love. And love does not enslave, love actually can't be love if there is no way out of it, right? Like if there is no way out, well then, you’re entrapped and that isn’t love. So, God creates humanity on this planet, created in His image and He loves them, but true love has to be given back freely and love isn't love if there is no way out. And, so, we have this tree in the garden and God’s simply saying, “just don't eat this. Just trust me in this one thing. The rest of the world is yours, its your playground, its perfect, its how I intended it to be for you, just don’t eat this one thing. This is their way out and they took it. And what I said a second ago, that what we are reading here in the third chapter of Genesis is a shift in consciousness. I mean, I know that sounds kind of…kinda weird, like “okay…okay what…what kind of spiritual path are we gonna be walking here as we walk through the Bible here?” Let me just go back to the Scriptures here and let's look at this story. The serpent told Eve after she had replied that they shouldn't eat it or touch it, or they'll die. the serpent said you won't die, which is a complete contradiction to what God said. So, all of a sudden, this possibility of a different reality is introduced and then the serpent attempts to describe what that reality would be like. And I'm quoting from the Bible. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon you eat it and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” So, the serpent is fundamentally saying there is another reality that God has kept from you, has withheld from you that you are not aware of. This God is maybe keeping secrets from you, things that you might need to know, things that you should probably be aware of. And He doesn't want you to eat from this tree now because you'll die because you will become aware of things that you are not aware of. You will have a shift in consciousness or in awareness. And, so, they ate. And I am again quoting the Bible. “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.” Okay. So, in fact their consciousness shifted, and they became aware of things they had not been aware of before and the first thing they felt was ashamed. And the next thing they did was figure out how to cover themselves. Boom! That is how life on earth is lived today – naked, ashamed, and trying to hide. Look at your own life and see if it's not true. Heck, look at the technologies we use, look at social media, a wide-open platform for us to lie about our lives, to curate our lives and make them look like they are different or better in some way than they actually are. But that’s just like a modern iteration. And believe me, I’m not like bashing social media, we’re on it too. All I’m pointing out is, look how easy it is to hide. And here’s the thing about hiding, you can't be known if you're hiding. And the thing is, we as people created in the image of God deeply, deeply desire to be known and understood and accepted. In fact, that's why we hide. Because we believe that if all were revealed then that the end of us. And we’re not realizing that we are all, everyone, we are all trapped like this. The good news though about that is that there actually is good news about that, and we will be exploring that good news as we continue forward into the life of Jesus.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You. We thank You for bringing us successfully into this new year. And here we are, this brand-new year, we’re just moving in and You are already…You are already right here with us explaining things, unpacking things and helping us to move forward and we are so grateful. And today we...we did, we witnessed something very, very sad, something that really, really changed the course of humanity, and we acknowledge that we can see those repercussions, like it…we see this now. And it's easy for us to just go, “okay, let's move from there to Jesus and let's find how I get my salvation”, but we’re pausing here for a second Father and acknowledging the heartbreak that You must've felt in these moments that we read about today where You had loved and given of Yourself and in some way it was communicated that You aren't not enough. And, so, humanity, we…we have run around trying to fill every void and prepare for every eventuality with all of our knowledge of good and evil and we have filled our heads with knowledge that is simply not revealing Your kingdom. We are not moving forward without You because we can't. And, so, we bear witness to a very, very, very sad scene that we find in the Bible today and we invite Your Holy Spirit to allow us to sit with the repercussions and understand and begin to understand the story that we are getting ourselves into as we move forward into the Bible. Come Holy Spirit we pray in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, that’s the website and that's we’re you find out what’s going on around here. And I mentioned that yesterday, just…just to say get…get familiar there with what…what's going on. That’s…that’s the portal into the community, its one of the ways that we stay connected.

Another way that we stay connected is that this is a community that over the years, has…has really left me in awe od and all of how well we pray for and love one another. And, so, I just want to share a couple of different ways to reach out in that way.

At dailyaudiobible.com, in the Community section, there is a link that says “Prayer Wall” and if you using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can just press the little Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner and get there as well. And the Prayer Wall is…is sort of like an ever-present place to go for prayer and to offer prayer. So, use that as a resource if you’re shouldering some burdens that you just shouldn't carry by yourself. There is a community of brothers and sisters who are on the same journey moving through the Bible together that will pray for you and in turn ask that you will pray for them. So, the Prayer Wall is a great resource for that.

And then another way is…is what you hear at the end of a Daily Audio Bible, when you hear the voices and the stories and the struggles and the joys of life inside this community as we move forward. And there are a couple of ways to access that. The primary way would be using the Daily Audio Bible app. There is a little red Hotline button that lives at the top of the app and you press that button you're able to share right from within the app, but if you prefer the phone, there are several numbers that you can use depending on where you are in the world. If you are in the Americas 877.-942-4253 is the number to call. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number. And if you are in Australia are that part of the world 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to dial.

So, that’s kind of our little lesson for today. This is a community certainly desiring to work through the Scriptures and talk about it and do that in a year, but it is also a community of prayer and love and acceptance for one another. So, check that out. Check out those resources. If you're kind of curious about what you can or can't say in a prayer call, you can….I mean there aren’t that many rules, but you can see that at dailyaudiobible.com in the FAQ section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage, and I thank you profoundly, humbly for those of you who have clicked that link over these years. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a have prayer request or comment, you can dial any of those numbers that I mentioned a second ago or just press the Hotline button in the app.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello DAB family, hello Brian and Jill and Merry Christmas to everyone. This is Tracy calling from Edmonton Canada. I would like prayer for something that I’m doing for Christmas. My family is all coming over, I’m hosting everyone for the Christmas dinner and we weren’t going to be exchanging gifts and I just felt strange about that and I remembered that I had purchased about 10 copies of the Sneezing Jesus hoping that I would either do a Bible study or something. Anyway, I realized I have these and so that is what I’m giving out to each of my family members most of whom are not saved. So, my prayer request is that you just pray over these books and the people that I am giving them to that they will see Jesus in this new light and that there will be opportunities for the Holy Spirit to speak within them and that they may reach out back to me if they have questions or want to talk about it. But I left it as no pressure. So, I would love prayer for that. I would love to see all of my family members come to see the glorious faith and the saving power of Jesus. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s and we will be talking and listening in the near future. Thank you. Bye for now.

Good morning DAB family it’s Terry the trucker it’s Christmas Eve morning and I am in Brady Mississippi heading to the house, 6 ½ hours and I’ll be home. So, Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. I’m a little late, but better late than never. Annette Allison, congratulation on your grandbaby. So glad to hear that all is going well despite the circumstances under which the baby was born. That is truly a blessing and I pray that continue. Diane Olive Brown, my heart broke when I heard you just start speaking. I could tell by the sound of your voice that something wasn’t right. You broke my heart to hear what you said. I lost my dad many years ago. I was at my anniversary dinner with my wife and I got the call, unexpected but nonetheless very painful. But to know that someone is in their last days makes it harder. I pray that you get to go spend time with him and I pray that God comforts you. Just like you said, God don’t ever leave us, we know He’s there. But we’re human. It’s hard. It’s not to hurt and be sad. So, I want you to know I’m lifting you up in prayer. I’ll be praying for you daily. I love my DAB family and I’m praying for each and every one of you. God bless you.

This is Lori from Central Ohio and I’ve been listening often on for a few years, but this is the first year that I have successfully maintained through the entire year. As Brian chose the word maintain this year, I initially thought I’m just going to maintain, I’m going to maintain a job I was considering stepping away from, I was going to maintain a number of things but what I did not realize at the time was it was to maintain growing closer to God. This year brought the DAB supporting me through my sister’s cancer, Joni, and her death. It has brought me through strength as my son has faced legal issues. Thank you for your support and your love and your prayers. Blessings to you throughout the rest of this year and the new year. And I also want to encourage you to give a one-time gift between now and the end of the year. Just considering it like another stocking stuffer or Christmas present and let’s flood the DAB with one-time gifts between now and the end of the year. Blessings to you friends.

Hey…I’m calling in for some…some prayer requests and my name’s Jim I’m from Ohio and I’ve been a DAB listener…gosh it’s going on 10 years now and I just…it’s Christmas Eve so I want to wish everyone a blessed and happy Christmas. A really good friend of mine I’ve known for a long time way back from our days in the Marine Corps, his wife Gina is…went into the hospital last night and she had a brain aneurysm and she was in the OR for seven hours and they still aren’t able to correct it and she’s…she’s in a very tough situation. And Glen, my friend, he’s her husband and their two daughters are the same age as my two daughters and their college students. They’re really going through an awful lot right now, especially Christmas Eve. I just came from the hospital and she…she needs a lot of prayers and their family. So, yeah, just please pray for Glenn and Gina and her daughters Holly and Chloe. And, so, yeah, that’s, that’ I what I wanted to do, just ask everybody to pray for them. Thank you and have a very Merry Christmas. I love you DAB community. Thank you.

Good evening DABbers this is Running Desperately to Jesus. I’d like to welcome Daniel from Illinois into the family. You have chosen an awesome family Daniel. You will find so many people and so much love until it’s overwhelming sometimes. Although you will never…maybe never see everyone, maybe you will and never know who they are, but you will feel as though we are standing right there with you. We pray with you, we cry with you, you and your wife. We listen to each other’s burdens. We give words of encouragement and this is such an awesome family. If we had to make up a family, this is the family that I’ve chosen. So, Daniel, welcome again, Daniel from Illinois. This is running desperately to Jesus.

Good morning this is Marilyn calling from Farmington New Hampshire Merry Christmas to everyone and this is really a thank you to Brian and the DAB but thank you Brian for your amazing commentary this morning on Christmas day. In fact, I cried the whole time while you did your commentary but is just really touched something deep and my…my soul really resonated with everything that you are saying like I’m sure everyone’s. It was just like…wow! You blew it out of the park Brian. It was the best Christmas message that I could’ve heard because I know that you are making all things new in our family in my…in our blended family in our children. I know that you are making all things new. And there’s a groaning, such a groaning in my heart and my soul to just go deeper. And anyway, I’m just saying thank you Brian because that was just like, wow! It was an awesome Christmas message. Merry Christmas to everyone. I love DAB I’m so grateful for this and love you all. God bless. Bye-bye.

[traincat]

I've just read that post on bridges in TASM films, and it reminded me: Before the Spider-verse comic event, Gwen Stacy was essentially the Lost Lenore of Comics. Now Spider-Gwen is popular enough that her fans, and probably younger generations would balk at the idea of Gwen dying. I'm aware that you're a fan of The Night Gwen Stacy Died story, so I hope this doesn't come off as judgmental: It's a major part of the main Spider-Man comics, but does it NEED to be part of general narrative?

This is something I do think about a lot actually because, as you’ve said, it’s pretty well known I’m a fan of The Night Gwen Stacy Died (or a Gwen Stacy deathfucker as some of my friends have delicately and tactfully put it), but I’m also a fan of Gwen, and additionally as a woman who loves big two superhero comics I do think it’s important to consider the treatment of women within that particular media. So I don’t think this question is rude at all, and I think it’s an interesting thing to debate and to talk over. As famous female characters deaths go, Gwen’s is definitely up there, and it is a storyline I personally love and have a lot of feelings about, because, to put it simply, I love a well-done fictional tragedy. I find a lot of the rhetoric around this death to be iffy – Gerry Conway’s own statement that Gwen died because she as a “non-entity”, as compared to the current hyping up of Spider-Gwen as the “Gwen we’ve always needed”, which seems to imply that it was Gwen’s own fault that she died for not being an interesting enough character, or that Gwen is only a valuable or relatable character if she herself has superpowers or is leading a book. There’s a lot to unpack here, no matter what your stance is. I think it’s particularly telling that Gwen’s death is very up there with, say, the deaths of Jason Todd or Bucky Barnes, and yet Gwen, as a female character, does not get a violent “return from the dead” vengeance storyline along the lines of Red Hood or Winter Soldier. Even the recent reframing of Gwen Stacy-65 as Ghost Spider is totally divorced from this subject, despite the fact that the name alone seems to tease the idea of Gwen, back from the dead. The fact that even with Gwen’s resurgence in popularity following The Amazing Spider-Man franchise’s portrayal of her still doesn’t mean she gets a revenge saga the way young and tragically at one time dead male characters do is I think very telling. (I could write the hell out of a Red Hood-esque Gwen Stacy revenge murder miniseries, I am just saying, Marvel.)

But to go back to the question at hand, if I’m being a hundred percent honest, I think that to keep a version of Peter in line with his 616 character development, he needs to suffer a loss of this magnitude at this particular point in his life. Personally, I don’t think that loss needs to be Gwen, but within the adaptation that is being told I think it needs to be of equal weight and importance to what 616 Gwen meant to 616 Peter. Gwen traditionally only ever gets spoken about as his girlfriend, but if you look at the period of comics surrounding her death, it becomes abundantly clear that Peter and Gwen were planning to get married shortly before her death, which adds a certain amount of weight to the relationship that simply referring to her as his girlfriend doesn’t lend:

(Amazing Spider-Man #99)

(Amazing Spider-Man #103)

Additionally, for me, I think it’s important that Gwen’s death isn’t just a one and done – she’s dead and it means something, both to Peter and to the rest of the cast that knew her. The definition of fridging is when a woman is killed for a man’s emotional development, true, but I think a key issue is that often when a woman is fridged there isn’t much emotional development when you actually look at the text. The man is sad but then he moves on, and maybe it comes up when he gets into a new relationship with a different woman because he needs to angst about how she can’t end up just like Poor Dead Previous Girlfriend. But I think Gwen’s death has a real weight in the series. She’s not a non-entity; her absence matters. I once saw a post about how Gwen’s death didn’t really have an effect on Peter and I think about it all the time over how incredibly wrong it was:

(Amazing Spider-Man #127)

(Amazing Spider-Man #136)

(Spider-Man & Black Cat: Evil That Men Do #6)

(Webspinners #12)

So this is a loss that deeply  and consistently haunts Peter and not one he ever fully recovers from. It’s a loss with very lasting impact, like I said, not just for him, but for other people who knew Gwen.

“How lovely she was! What a wonderful couple she and made! I hoped we’d friends for life!” – Amazing Spider-Man #365

“Gwen was our light.” – Spectacular Spider-Man #250.

“She fell… and, in a sense – we all fell with her.” – Spectacular Spider-Man #200.

“Peter… loved Gwen. I loved Gwen! She was a good person.” – Spectacular Spider-Man #180

“Maybe because she knew Gwen, and was also friend.” – Amazing Spider-Man #509

Roughly speaking, I would say that to keep Peter on track with his 616 character development, the loss needs to be of a person in a serious and committed romantic relationship with Peter. The circumstances need to be duplicated, in my opinion, to track with 616 Peter’s development, but Gwen doesn’t necessarily have to be the character that dies. I personally have several WIP AUs where I’ve subbed out Gwen in this role for Harry; combined with Harry’s drug addiction and Peter’s natural protectiveness, as well as Norman’s role in this particular murder, it makes for a very interesting version of events. This sounds like I’m framing things around the man, but Spider-Man comics are a story about Peter, and so what Peter feels can’t be discounted from the story, and I do feel Peter needs to feel deeply about this. There are a lot of Spider-Man female characters death I feel very negatively about: Mattie Franklin, Ashley Kafka, Marla Jameson, Jean DeWolff, to name a few. But I feel negatively about them in part because if you’re going to kill a character, it should majorly impact the story and the main character. Gwen’s death does that in a way that the character deaths listed above don’t. In my opinion, if you’re going to kill an established character, it should matter beyond the story they die in. For me that’s a big part of what separates a character death I enjoy from I don’t.

At the end of the day, I think loss is built into Spider-Man as a story at its core. Look where everything starts: Peter, an established orphan, losing his uncle to violence. Right from the very beginning, we have an established loss. Then those losses add up: his parents, Uncle Ben, George Stacy, Gwen Stacy. Later, Harry Osborn, his and Mary Jane’s child, his clone Ben Reilly. Loss is embedded into the story on such a deep level that I think when you remove it, you ultimately remove Spider-Man’s identity itself, which has always been part of my complaint about the total refusal to even reference Uncle Ben within Spider-Man: Homecoming. And while I may love The Amazing Spider-Man 2′s retelling of The Night Gwen Stacy died as an adaptation, I also totally understand why some people might not want to watch a movie that ends in a young woman’s brutal death. As much as I joke that everyone deserves a version of their favorite problematic comics death, I also know not everybody wants that, or even has a favorite comics death scene. But when it comes to Spider-Man as a story and a narrative, I do think loss is an important piece of the puzzle. Take it away, and you end up with a less meaningful and human story. So no, ultimately, as much as I love the original scene in part because it’s so painful and haunting, I don’t think you need to kill Gwen to insure a 616-esque character development and emotional journey for Peter, but I do think you need to have him suffer a loss of the same magnitude if you’re invested in keeping the character on the same or on a similar track. But those are just my personal feelings on the story, and I do feel this is a topic where personal feelings are a make or break king of deal, and that not everyone is a slut for fictional tragedy, so I think this is very much a case that’s up to personal interpretation.

#traincat talks comics #*replies #long post/

[a-slightcatchoflightning]

January Thirteenth.

It’s been 365 days and it still hurts to think about it sometimes, but I think that’s normal. I was a kid, trapped in an abusive relationship with another person, 4 years older than me. I know you always hear about it on the news or horror stories from parents and teachers - and those boring presentations at school about internet safety, right?

I know it seems so distant and you know how to stay safe online, and you’d never ever give personal information away online, but it can happen and you don’t necessarily know it’s happening until it’s all too late, and then over.

This is my story, 365 days after it all ended:

They approached me around 3 years ago now, and we made friends. They were 18 and I was 13. It felt normal, they were just being friendly and we both liked Casualty.

They’d been on Tumblr for 4 years already, and they’d built up a massive fanbase - it was weird because, at the time, I was in absolute awe of them. They were good at that, making you feel like you were less than them, but I didn’t see it at the time - I was only 13 and it shouldn’t have been my job to protect myself against people like them. Dangerous people.

After a while, they followed me back and I was so excited, it felt like they’d noticed me and I’d earned some sort of special privilege from their recognition when they were such a big name in the fandom.

Around this period, I was vulnerable. I’d had a mental health crisis at age 13, started self-harming and I was diagnosed with anorexia. I’m pretty sure they were aware of my vulnerability, being a young teenager on the internet, with various background issues at the same time.

Once they followed me, they began making conversation with me occasionally, sending me songs and such. I didn’t see it at the time, but my low self-worth let me become trapped in a web as the conversations grew more frequent, and the music more depressing. I think, in hindsight, they knew I was going through a lot, and they played up to that a lot.

Slowly, they became more toxic - little things could make them fly off the handle, like if I had a therapy appointment and forgot to let them know in advance and didn’t talk to them, or lost wifi when out and about. They’d kick off arguments that would last for days and days.

Around this point, I was on a psych ward, and one day got so sick of that treatment, I fought back and said (and I remember exactly) “not everything is about you”.

They didn’t say anything back for a while, and I was almost relieved to just be able to focus on treatment for a bit. My team were pretty sure I was going to die by this point, and I was let out of the ward for one day with my parents, and a supporting charity. My kidneys kept packing up, and I was allowed to pick a place to go, sort of like a “last day” event. I chose a trip to Kew Gardens, because I wanted to see the nature and I knew my parents would be happy there.

Naturally, they decided to poke their nasty head, and started an argument. I spent the entirety of my would-be “last day” arguing with them, and then talking them down when they threatened suicide.

Fast forward a few months, and I made it through and was ready to go home. Honestly, to this day, I have no idea how my body pulled through, but here I am.

Their suicide threats were often as they could pull them off, and in October 2016, they even deleted their blog and blamed me for it, over something silly. We weren’t even dating yet, but they had me where they wanted me, and they could control me in whatever way they wanted.

On December 21st 2017, they asked me to date them. I was 14, and they were 18. I said yes, because I thought they loved me, and they promised me a million times that they “weren’t like other adults”, and that the age gap was unimportant because they loved me, and it didn’t mean anything. We first met on December 16th, just over a week before, and it had been exhilarating, being treated like that by somebody for the first time; we’d hung out all day and had a lot of fun, and even filmed ourselves and uploaded it online.

Things progressed throughout the whole of 2017, and bad things happened - things I won’t mention here, because I’m sure they aren’t the sorts of things people want to hear about online. The suicide threats, and responsibility for their breakdowns continued and continued, and while I continued to recover from the anorexia (until I was discharged in September 2017 woop!!), my anxiety grew.

I’d never ever been one to use my phone in school because they were banned, but it got to the point of having to be in contact with them 24/7, that they told me (told, not asked), to talk to them while I was at school. I was emotionally forced into being on my phone under the desk at school when we were meant to be working, and it was exhausting. By this point, I was 15 and sitting my GCSE’s a year early, and not even able to concentrate in class. I was literally responsible for keeping someone 5 years older than me alive, every moment of the day.

Once my GCSE’s were finished, I fell into a huge depressive episode that spanned the whole summer, and relapsed into ED behaviours a couple of times. It didn’t help that my partner starved themself so they could look like me (part of the reason), and I felt I always had to compare my weight to theirs because they constantly brought it up. We hung out at least once a month, and they’d make a point of not eating anything, making it emotionally impossible for me to eat anything, all the while constantly talking about how rubbish their mental health was etc etc.

When I started at sixth form, it was taking too much of a toll on me and a close friend (I won’t name) could see the relationship was wrong. They were 19 and I was 15, and exhausted. They would make me stay awake until 3am every morning, and force me to write stories pretty much every day through blackmail, and suicide threats, just so that I wouldn’t succeed with my A-levels. They were terrified of me going to university to become a doctor, because they knew I’d have to separate off from them, so they put everything in my way that they could manage.

In October 2017, they pulled what I thought was the final straw, calling me a girl, and I flipped out, spending my leave from work at my friend’s house instead of theirs to make them see what they did wrong.

They ended up making me apologise, with their emotional vice screwed tight around me, and I ended up staying over at theirs about a week later.

Things continued to go downhill from there, with them making every day a living hell with the emotional abuse left right and centre. On December 9th 2017, I broke up with them, and they called me repeatedly, every minute of every day pretty much, so my phone kept going off while on silent at college.

After four days, I got back together with them. They made me feel so embarrassed to have conceded to their abuse again that I couldn’t bring myself to tell my closest friend until December 16th, when coincidentally I was at his house with them.

Some bad things happened that weekend that I won’t detail, but after that, I fell apart.

I ignored them on and off for weeks, barely speaking to anyone truth be told, until the new year.

Once I was then back at school, it got to January 13th 2018. 365 days ago.

I was on skype to my friend, talking about how I had to wipe them out of my life by the time the February mocks came around, because I had a goal (and still do!!), and was never going to reach it with them dragging me down constantly.

I’d grown a lot since 2016, and realised that what he’d been saying all along was true, and it was wrong for a 15 year old and 19 year old to be together.

That night, I sent them a message, breaking up with them and then blocked them on every social media site I could. Since then, the police have been involved and we haven’t spoken.

I implore you, if you’ve read this, and feel you might be in a similar situation, please heed my advice. I know it can feel impossible to escape, and I know whoever it is you might be thinking of might be loving, or it could seem scary to break up with them. What if they follow through with threats? Or they find you? Or they do something bad because of you?

I promise you, the threats are all empty. And believe me, there is someone on this planet who will not only help you get through it, but who will want to help you. Heck, let it be me, I want to help you.

If you’re going through the same thing, or something similar, please speak to a teacher, or a parent/carer, or anyone you think might be able to help you. There are childline-related services in every country who can help you.

Please, if this resonates with a personal experience of yours, don’t let it get to the stage it did for me.

And if you’re an adult reading this, please for the love of god, save the kids and signal boost this.

Ollie.

#important #safety #anti map #tw abuse #tw relationship abuse #tw paedophilia #tw emotional abuse #tw 13