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emilyprentiss-ily · 3 months

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A new shade of red

tw: severe self harm, implied suicide, so much crying (be careful reading this<3)

summary: the team find emily and aaron’s daughter at her worst

wc: 2k

chapter: one | two

Emily couldn’t stop thinking about all the teams’ voices overlapping, their tones absolutely terrified as they panicked. In just a few short minutes, all their lives would be changed forever. Emily’s life as a mom would change, Aaron’s life as a dad would change. Their usual worries would be something else entirely.

“Hey, has anyone seen Lola?” Emily asked, her heart slightly racing as she looked at her team and her husband at the table, the volume in the room fading as they looked at Emily.

“I think she said she was going to the bathroom.” JJ answered, noticing Emily’s slightly wide eyes as she stood in front of them. The dark haired woman turned around, rushing down the hall to the bathroom, leaving the team looking at each other with frowns, confusion making it hard to resume talking about what they were just seconds ago.

JJ stood up, giving the team a small smile as she, too, walked down the hall, seeing Emily knocking rapidly on the bathroom door.

“Lola?” Four more knocks. Nothing. “Honey, you’ve been in there for a long time now.” JJ just watched as Emily breathed heavily, not being able to stand completely still. “Lola?” Two more knocks. Nothing.

Emily turned around, looking at JJ with a frown, her hands on her waist as she bit her lower lip. JJ looked at her with soft, slightly wide eyes. Emily exhaled. “JJ, I…” It sounded like she swallowed a cry. “I need you to get Aaron here.” JJ heard the desperation in her friend’s voice and she nodded, hurrying to get him.

Emily stayed there, continuing to knock, telling herself that her thoughts were wrong. That this wasn’t really happening.

After moments, that felt far too long, her husband was by her side, asking if she was okay.

“I’m fine, I just… you need to get in there.” Emily tried to open the door, mentally telling herself that maybe it would magically open. Aaron looked at his wife, seeing her eyes shining with slight tears. Her voice was laced with concern and her breaths were short. “Aaron, right now. Open the door. I don’t care how you do it, just get it open.” Her words were hurried and she got a glance of JJ fidgeting with her fingers, her eyes unsure.

Emily and JJ caught sight of the situation and their hearts hurt as they saw Aaron try to talk Lola back to consciousness. Emily covered her mouth, tears burning in her eyes the second her palm touched her skin. JJ was right behind her, tears watering in her eyes too as she fumbled to get her phone from her pocket. The seconds felt too many as her shaky hands failed her.

“One of you has to call an ambulance, right now.” Aaron called out, cupping his hands over Lola’s arm, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.

“I am. I am.” JJ’s voice trembled and she let out a relieved breath when she finally grabbed her phone, dialing 911. She grabbed Emily who had began depending on the wall as to not fall. Emily’s knees were weak and her body felt heavy as she felt an arm around her waist, pulling her away from the scene. Away from the image that was going to haunt her for years to come.

“How long, JJ?” The blonde heard Aaron ask.

“I don’t know. I’m trying to find out.” She inhaled, trying her best to comfort Emily who was seconds away from collapsing.

“Get me a first aid kit.” JJ didn’t know what to do. Her arm was beginning to hurt from trying to hold up Emily and her heart hurt as she couldn’t stop thinking about what was happening just a wall away. She couldn’t hear what the woman on the phone way saying, not clearly. She felt her lips move but she didn’t hear herself. She heard something that sounded like they were going to be there as fast as they could. JJ heard herself mutter a ‘thank you’ as she looked around for a first aid kit. She searched high up, seeing the green box she was looking for on a shelf. She reached up, her breaths uneven.

As soon as Aaron got a hold of the box, he immediately got to work, bandaging up his daughter’s arm, his chest hurting as he looked at his little girl, her face pale and head heavy.

“Lola, honey. I need you to look at me.” He said, slightly panicking as the blood seeped through the bandage. “Lola. Look at me.” His brown eyes met Lola’s dark ones. “Good. Keep looking at me.” He nodded, glancing at JJ who was barely visible behind the doorway. “JJ, get Rossi in here. You need to take care of Emily right now.” Aaron shouted, not sure if JJ even heard him through Emily’s sobs. There was no answer, but moments later, he heard hurrying footsteps and then David talking to the operator on JJ’s phone. Aaron exhaled, keeping light pressure on the bandage.

Without the phone in hand, JJ could finally keep her focus on Emily who was completely destroyed. In the corner of her eye, she saw Spencer rush in.

When Emily tried to go into the bathroom, JJ gripped her even tighter, keeping her away from the nightmare that was happening.

“No, no, no. Emily. Emily.” JJ softly spoke, her voice trembling as she lead the brunette out to the hall.

Emily leaned against the wall, hyperventilating as she slid down to the ground. JJ was right beside her, usually comforting words coming from her lips as her throat began to close up. They didn’t help much now. “Emily.” Her sobs were too loud. JJ placed her hands on Emily’s cheeks, caressing as she tried to initiate eye contact. “Emily, breathe. Emily. Emily. Look at me.” Emily looked up, her eyes carrying a certain heartbreak JJ had never seen before. Her feelings were overwhelming. “It’s going to be okay.” JJ nodded, Emily looked down, taking a short breath. “Look at me. Breathe.” Emily looked up again, her brown eyes staying on JJ’s blue ones.

“She looked like she was dead, JJ.” Emily was hysterical. The sentence made the blonde’s heart hurt.

“No, no, no. She’s not. She’s not dead. She’s not.” Emily just continued sobbing, placing her own hands over JJ’s.

“I can’t lose her. I ca—“ A sharp breath. “I can’t lose her, JJ. She’s my Lola. She’s my—“

“You won’t. They’re all helping her right now and an ambulance is coming. You will not lose her.” JJ heard her name being shouted and she panicked, not knowing what to focus on.

She quickly ran to the bathroom again, seeing Spencer in the doorway, looking at the scene with wide eyes. Quickly, she took a hold of his arms, looking into his eyes as she told him to go to Emily. He nodded, running out to the hall.

JJ exhaled as she rushed into the bathroom, seeing Lola’ scared eyes. JJ knew what the teenager needed.

Kneeling down, JJ placed her hands on Lola’s cheeks, looking into her misty eyes. The blonde tried her best to ignore just how much blood Lola was losing.

Aaron had bandaged her arm and was keeping pressure on it. David had finished talking to the operator and now all they had to wait. It was the longest 10 minutes of her life. The longest 10 minutes of all their lives.

JJ’s eyes widened when Lola’s eyes closed completely. She lightly slapped her cheeks, chanting over and over again that she had to stay awake.

“No, no, no.” Her heart picked up speed for the thousandth time that night. “Lola. Lola. Lola. Open your eyes. Lola.” JJ teared up, she had never felt so hopeless and useless in her life. “Look at me.” The teenager suddenly opened her eyes, and JJ nodded in encouragement, never stopped looking into her eyes.

Lola’s vision was blurry when she opened her eyes. Her head was pounding and her ears were ringing. It took a while for her to realize who was in front of her. Her eyes finally focused after a while, seeing JJ looking at her with tears in her eyes. She felt the blonde’s hands on her cheeks, caressing lovingly, but Lola also felt how much they were trembling. Using all the little strength she had left, Lola weakly grabbed JJ’s hand, wanting her soft skin to be the last thing she felt, instead of her own blood, before she died.

A few beats and everything went black.

Now, as Emily sat in the hospital with the entire team there, no one speaking, she could not shake the thoughts of having to prepare to come home without her daughter. Having to tell Jack that his little sister had killed herself. She wouldn’t ever survive that. None of them would.

Emily closed her eyes, trying to get the thoughts to go away. She exhaled, gently squeezing JJ’s hand. The blonde hadn’t left Emily’s side since they arrived at the hospital.

Sitting in the waiting room was almost, selfishly, as bad as seeing her daughter on the floor. All the quiet, all the time to think about how long her daughter had been doing this. Emily didn’t miss the faint scars on her arms from what seemed like months prior to this. She didn’t know how they had missed it. Didn’t understand how Lola was in so much pain and they hadn’t seen it.

Emily felt a gentle squeeze back, but this time, it meant something more than comfort. Emily looked up, seeing a doctor walking towards her. She held her breath, putting her free hand where JJ and her were already holding hands, looking at the doctor with expectant eyes.

“Emily, is it?” Emily nodded, seeing Aaron come back from the bathroom. He hurried to Emily’s side when he saw the doctor. “We’ve moved your daughter to a ward.” The woman started. Aaron sat down next to his wife, Emily placing her head on his shoulder as they listened to the doctor, her hands still holding JJ’s tightly. “She’s just come out of surgery. She’ll need to be reviewed by psychiatry tomorrow morning.”

“Is she going to be okay, then?” Aaron asked, his voice hoarse and exhausted. Emily felt the way he sounded.

“We’ll know more tomorrow.” The doctor gave a comforting smile. “Do you want to see her?” Emily and Aaron both immediately nodded. Emily turned to JJ, giving her a small smile before she let go of her hand, feeling a small bit of emptiness at the loss of contact. Aaron placed his arm around Emily’s waist, both of them slightly shaking with nervousness as they followed the doctor down door after door.

Tears burned in Emily’s time again when she saw her daughter on the hospital bed. Seeing Lola so small and vulnerable, with a bandage covering her arm, made Emily quietly gasp. She was afraid she would never stop crying.

Aaron didn’t know what to feel. He didn’t know what to do. He was mad at himself for not noticing just how much his own daughter was suffering. He was sad for not noticing how much his own daughter was suffering. At the same time, he felt numb. The feeling of his daughter’s blood in his hands made him feel so many overwhelming feelings, but he felt numb at the same time.

Two chairs were placed next to the bed and the parents hesitantly sat down, looking at their daughter who was asleep. Emily grabbed her hand, caressing it and saw how many scars Lola had on her arms. Emily quietly whimpered and felt Aaron take Lola’s hand as well. She looked at him. The love of her life, and saw how much he was hurting too. She placed her free hand on his cheek, caressing it as a tear rolled down his cheek. Her thumb delicately brushed it away. She wanted to say something. But she didn’t know what. What are you supposed to say when your daughter slits her wrists?

“She’ll be okay.” Emily ended up saying. She wanted to take it back the second she began the sentence. Aaron said nothing, he just looked down at their hands. “Aaron, honey? Are you listening to me?” Her voice was gentle. “She’s going to be okay.” She didn’t know why she said it again. Aaron nodded, a slight, obviously unsure nod. “Honey… look at me.” He did and when he raised his head, Emily saw how much Aaron wanted to cry. Let it out. Emily prayed that he wouldn’t keep this in until he eventually broke.

Aaron stared at what could’ve been Emily’s face, but she was too good of a profiler to see that his eyes were resting at a spot just past her ear. Silence for a moment and Emily was afraid that she was going to have to beg him to talk.

“…I should have noticed.” The words came so unexpectedly that Emily barely registered what he said. She blinked.

“Aaron…” Emily cooed

“We’re profilers.” He scoffed, his shiny gaze slipping back to their hands. “We’re parents. I missed it.”

“We all did.” Emily spoke. It was true. It was most likely hopeful ignorance, denial. They had all noticed that something was off but they hadn’t given her more than invitations to talk. Aaron, at least, didn’t want to believe that it was anything too serious. He didn’t like to think of his children in pain, and he’d prefer to manipulate himself than to try and fix it. The guilt made him feel nauseous.

“I thought that after Reid, I would notice things like this. Notice if people weren’t okay and be able to keep a close eye on things.”

“She hid it well.” Emily spoke, voice unsure. The words were for her own benefit as well.

“Did she?” Aaron asked, his voice cracking in the slightest way as he looked up at his wife, seeing her hesitant facial expression. Emily didn’t know what to say, so she swallowed the thick feeling in her throat, looking at her daughter again.

Hours went by and the parents fell asleep. Emily was still holding her daughter’s hand, leaning her head on her husband’s shoulder. Aaron kept a hand around her as he leaned his head on hers.

Lola heard soft snores coming from somewhere. It took a moment for her eyes to relax at the harsh light that shone from the ceiling. She swallowed, her throat dry and sore. As soon as she noticed her parents, she felt claustrophobic in her body. She couldn’t quite move. She could wiggle her toes slightly and after a beat, she recognized her mother’s hand in her own. Mustering up strength, she squeezed slightly. The way her mother immediately woke up made Lola feel guilty.

“…Hi, baby.” Emily smiled, leaning closer to kiss Lola’s hand. Aaron also woke up when he heard Emily’s voice, looking at his daughter with so much sadness.

Lola looked at her parents for a moment before she turned her head as much as she could the other way, her feelings and memories catching up to her and she began to cry. Her face contorted into the most heartbreaking frown that made Emily’s heart hurt. She leaned closer, cooing.

“Hey…” She whispered, squeezing Lola’s hand tighter. “Hey, honey.” When Lola began quietly sobbing, Emily hushed her. Aaron placed his hand over Emily’s.

“I’m so sorry.” Lola whimpered, her chest hurting at all her family’s faces. The way JJ looked at her before she had passed out made its way to her mind.

“No, Lola. Don’t apologize.” Aaron spoke, voice gentle as he too, leaned closer.

“I’m so sorry.” Lola continued, feeling so utterly humiliated and embarrassed. She felt guilty for scaring everyone, and she did it all for nothing. It didn’t even work. She was still here. Still alive and with even more feelings of sadness.

“Sweetheart, listen to me.” Emily spoke. Lola turned her head, looking at her parents who seemed to do everything not to break down. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It is not your fault that you’re hurting, okay?” Lola still felt guilty, but she nodded, not wanting her parents to worry anymore. Although, she doubted they would ever stop worrying. They would never trust her to be alone again. She closed her eyes, wanting the ground to just swallow her whole. “We are here for you. Me, your dad, the entire team too. We love you so much, baby.” Lola swallowed her sobs, wanting to ask a question.

“Are you mad at me?” She whispered, her voice trembling. “Is the team mad at me?”

“No, no, no.” Emily shook her head, the concerned frown on her face that she so often had.

“No one is mad at you.” Aaron spoke. “No one. We’re worried, honey. We all love you and we care about you.”

“I’m sorry.” Lola spoke, she couldn’t ever apologize enough for hurting everyone like she did. Emily shook her head, her eyes soft.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

#criminal minds #emilyprentissily #criminal minds fanfiction #emily prentiss #criminal minds fic #criminal minds imagine #emily prentiss imagine #emily prentiss x aaron hotchner #hothniss #jennifer jareau #jennifer jareau fanfiction #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfiction #hotchniss x oc daughter #hotchniss fanfiction #hotchniss imagine #emily x aaron

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velvetcloxds · 11 months

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come over- you asked for twd requests so what about dbf!rick who has been trying not to fall for you since he saved you from the woods while still at the farm and after lori's death you help him clean up after his breakdown and he realizes he's already fallen for you

'TIL ONE OF US CAVES | R.G.

word count: 1k

warnings: age gap, lori's death, little angsty but mostly hurt comfort- I haven't written something in like two months pls go easy on me lol

You were sort of lost when Glenn called you away from guard duty, counting guns and amo with Maggie seemed a priority, especially after everything that happened but then he said that Rick needed you and you'd never moved that fast before. It was an odd thing, whatever you and Rick had going on, nothing more than stolen glances and moments in the midst of the madness, neither of you willing to risk doing anything for Lori or Carl's behalf. But it was a sort of unspoken rule that you'd always be the first to show up for each other when the moment came and one of you needed it.

You found him sitting on his cot in his cell, lost behind blood you knew wasn't his but it didn't ease your mind at all, hands reaching out slowly towards him as soon as you sat down in front of him. He wasn't with you yet, not completely, dazed still, angry still, so you were careful when you took hold of his stained wrists, pulling them away from his head, hoping that seeing you would snap him out of it.

"Rick," your voice trembled, you wished it didn't, wished you were calmer than you were, but it was sort of terrifying, you'd seen him at his lowest before, lower than he deserved to be, and yet here he was even lower, even darker. "Rick, look at me," you were pleading, an awful sound coming from you and you wondered if he thought the same because it was merely a second later when his eyes met yours, the oceans that crashed around his pupils seemingly darker than ever, drowning with the very emotions that suffocated him. "Hi," you breathed and he sighed, a gentle breath, something that stopped your heart in its place because with it came his own desperate, pleading motions as he gripped your hands in his.

"Carl-"

"He's okay, most of us are okay," you nodded, cooed far too gently for any other day but it had his shoulders dropping ever so slightly from their tensed stance. "You're not," you explained and he would scoff if he was himself, he nodded instead and you froze when he brought your hands to his face, your fingers taking no time to cup his cheeks, his eyes closing at the touch, the comfort of such a simple gesture but it came from you, grounded him despite everything, brought him right back to the four grey walls and it didn't make his heart burn any less but the pain was bearable for at least a second, as long as he could feel the inside of your soft hands against his sticky skin he could breathe again, think again, be again.

You allowed him a second to savor it, let it sink in, panicked for a moment when he leaned his head onto your shoulder, kissed at your exposed skin, gripped at your waist, nothing he'd ever done before, nothing you'd ever allowed him before but you held his neck, brushed a hand through his hair, silently begged him to stay all while hating yourself for taking something good from such a horrifying day.

"We need to get you clean," you whispered after allowing yourself far too much time with him, squeezing lightly before forcing his head up to look at him. "You've got a little girl waiting to properly meet her dad out there," he nodded to that, and in a second the guilt found him too, but he still held onto you as you led him to the water. He refused to look away as you dragged a wet cloth over his skin, over and over, over and over, as best you could until you could see him again. He did the same for you, your comfort had left you stained as well, with his terror, with his pain, he didn't mind being the one to rid you of it, you'd rid him of his after all.

"Y/n," you weren't sure when he'd found his voice again, when he came too, but it was him holding you then, rough hands but gentle hold as he cupped your cheeks. "Baby," you shook your head, he couldn't cave now, not after so long, not after all you'd made it through, you'd been so strong, so good at hiding it, fighting your heart every moment of every day- he couldn't cave, not after you'd fought so hard not to. "She's gone, Lori-" he took in a sharp breath, coming to terms with it all over again. "I screwed it up, the last few months, I've been making a mess of everything but you- this, baby, I can't make a mess of this too."

"It's too soon, Rick," he tutted, it made you melt, stole your sense right from your mind, your heart, and led you against his chest.

"It's not, it's late, I'm too late but we've lost too much to fight this anymore," he rested his forehead against yours and closed his eyes again- like the reaction came without any control. "I cave," he whispered and the admission tingled right through your body. "I cave, Y/n, I love you and I cave."

#rick grimes #rick grimes x reader #rick grimes x you #rick grimes x yn #rick grimes fluff #rick grimes hurt comfort #rick grimes drabble #rick grimes blurb #rick grimes one shot #rick grimes imagine #rick grimes fic #rick grimes fanfic #rick grimes fanfiction #dbf!rick grimes #twd fluff #the walking dead fluff #monique's writing events #monique’s homesick sleepover

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billys-pretty-babe · 9 months

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What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

Pairing : Billy Hargrove x Fem!Reader

Summary : A summer trip with your three best friends to Vegas should be fun right?

Warnings : Underage drinking, swearing, implied smut

Word count : 2,092

A/N : Everyone is 18!

You've spent 2 days in Vegas so far and you don't think you've ever partied so much in your life. Your breakfast consisted of pain killers, electrolyte filled drinks and crackers to cure your hangovers. Tonight was different, Tommy and Carol decided on a whim to get married in one of the Elvis chapels.

Billy thought they were crazy, droning on about it in the hotel room. "So you'll never get married?" He scoffed, "Fuck no. I'm not putting my children through shit that I went through." He shook his head as he took a puff from his cigarette. "Yeah, well Neil's an asshole, you're not like him," you said as you laid in the large white bed in your hotel room. "I can see it. You meet some girl, real pretty, she's shy and quiet to balance out your craziness and you get a white picket fence and a good sized house and you'll have little Billy's running around and asking to see their aunt all of the time." He laughed and shook his head.

"Fuck that, no need for a wife or kids when I have your annoying ass." You mocked him and flicked him off and he laughed as he tossed his cigarette in a beer can and swished it around in the beer and backwash mixture. He laid beside you, slamming his feet down on the ground as he relaxed, looking at the ceiling. You looked at him, your face a few inches from the side of his head, if he would face you, the tips of your noses would touch.

"What's wrong?" He shook his head, "Nothing, they're so fucking stupid." You hummed, "They've been together since middle school, right? Maybe this really is what they want and it's not just the adrenaline of it." He hummed and nodded. "What if she's pregnant?" You laughed, "Wouldn't surprise me, they go at it whenever they can." He laughed and nodded, "That's true." You both laid in silence for a few moments before your door opened, Carol and Tommy walked inside.

"What're you guys conspiring about?" Billy laughed, "Nothing." He hummed, "Like I believe that." You laughed and shook your head. "What time do we have to leave?" Carol smiled, "Eight." You nodded, being left with a few hours of free time.

Now, it was dark outside as you and Billy sat on the uncomfortable chapel benches, his thigh pressed against yours, his pants were tight, you could hear it in his groaning and the way he had to keep readjusting himself. They signed the marriage license as Tommy popped open the champagne bottle, pouring it into four glasses, you and Billy were lucky the chapel was on the first floor of the hotel so that no one had to drive.

That was all you could remember that night, everything else was a blur. When you awoke the next morning, everything felt off but at the same time, you felt at peace, the most peace you had felt in your entire life and that all came crashing down when you heard a familiar groan and fingers under your left breast before bare thighs made contact with your own, his chest connecting with your bare back.

Fingers squeezed your own and you looked down, horrified as you saw his silver ring on your ring finger, clear tape on the band to fit you better, your own ring basically burned a hole in your back as it hung on Billy's necklace. He groaned again in your ear, his head gently nuzzling against the back of your own before you felt him still.

"Oh shit," he rasped out. "Oh shit is right." Instead of tearing himself away from you, he held you tighter. "What the hell did we do?" You shrugged, "No idea, I don't remember anything after we started to drink." He nodded and brought up your linked fingers, seeing his ring on your finger, his left hand going down his neck, tracing the dainty chain that laid perfectly on his skin and he twisted your ring in his fingers.

"There's no way they let us go through with it." You shook your head, "No way, they would've stopped it." Billy nodded. He sat up, his hair a mess and you laughed and attempted to smooth it as you saw his back, your skin heating up, your jaw dropping. "What is it?" He asked as he turned his head, pulling his skin to try and see. "Uh, you'll see." He nodded and grabbed the white sheet, ripping it from your body, leaving it for his viewing. "Damn, too bad I don't remember that." You quickly grabbed the white duvet, a few holes in it as feathers floated out.

"Damn," he exclaimed, "I was good then." You rolled your eyes, "Whatever." He laughed and wrapped the sheet around his waist, bruises and bite marks littered his stomach, v-line and the small glimpse of his thighs that you saw a flash of. He walked into your en-suite bathroom. "God damn," he exclaimed again as he walked out and waved at his body. "You got rabies or something?" You laughed and shook your head, shooing him back to the bathroom.

He leaned against the wall as you stood up, wrapping the blanket around your body, more feathers falling out. "I'm gonna shower. Wanna join? I won't touch you." You nodded and followed him, the blanket dragging on the floor and he laughed. "What're you laughing at, Hargrove?" He laughed once more, his hands going to your waist, "Well Missus Hargrove, I'm laughing at your makeshift dress." The name did something to you, like it fulfilled you.

"Shut up, William," you seethed and he let you go, laughing again as you both walked into the bathroom. "Bath or shower?" You sighed, looking at the jacuzzi tub. "Bath." He nodded and turned the water on and you turned the hot water up and he shook his head as he turned it down slightly before turning up the cold water. "Billy, no. Hot water." He looked at you, "No, I want warm. I don't need my skin melting off of me." You rolled your eyes and let him do what he wanted.

He looked in the cabinets, twisting the top off before flinging it on the tile floor as he dumped half of the bottle of bubbles into the bath water. He turned around, looking at the wall. "You can go ahead and get in. I promise, I'm not looking." You laughed and untucked the top of the blanket and got into the warm water, turning the hot water knob quickly and turned it back off as the water heated up.

"I'm not looking." He laughed and you looked at the mural that was on the wall and the water sloshed slightly as Billy got into the water, sitting across from you in the tub. "So, what are we gonna do?" You shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, is it even legal? Am I legally your wife?" He shrugged, "I don't know if we signed a license. I sure as hell can't afford a divorce right now." You nodded, "Yeah, neither can I." He shrugged, "Maybe it's not that bad." You raised a brow at him, "You were talking shit about marriage last night." He laughed, "Yeah but you're my best friend. It's not weird, I mean sure, my dick was inside you." You gagged and he laughed.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad," he said as he motioned to his stomach and to your neck and chest. "I say, we give this a chance, we actually try and then think about what we want." You nodded. "You know you have to stop fucking around now." He nodded, "I know, I don't care."

For the first time in Billy's life, he felt complete, you had always completed him but as he sat here in the hot water (which he wouldn't dare to bring up), looking at you, your skin holding a soft glow that only appeared after sex, your eyes held something that he couldn't place but it made his heart melt, he felt whole, he felt accomplished.

"I'm gonna get you a ring and then get us wedding bands." You nodded, "Okay," you softly said, the ring becoming slippery from the bubbles and the tape. You took it off, reaching over and placing it on the blanket. You got back into the water and Billy reached for you, bringing you close to him, your knees pressing into his biceps as you sat between his legs. He brought his hand up, it was soapy but neither of you cared. He placed it on your cheek, rubbing circles on the skin.

"Can I kiss you?" Faster than you would have liked, you nodded and he smiled and stopped rubbing his thumb on your skin, his hand moving down so your jaw was between his thumb and forefinger as he leaned down and kissed you, your hands immediately going to his shoulders.

A shrill shriek broke the two of you up, Tommy and Carol standing in the doorway, Carol's fingers over her eyes, Tommy's eyes wide. "What the hell did we walk in on?" Billy laughed, hand going to the middle of your back, softly scratching it. "Apparently, we got married last night." Carol nodded, "I know, I was a witness. I got it filmed too. Tommy and I have to go pick up the disks in a few hours." Billy nodded.

"Where's the license?" She pointed to the bedroom, "Top drawer, on top of the Bible." You both nodded and they left you both alone, the door slamming shut. Soon, the two of you finished up before getting dressed and you and Billy cleaned up the room as you put his ring back on your finger. He opened the drawer and there it was, the marriage license, both of your signatures on the page, sure they were wonky but you could clearly make them out.

"Move in with me," you said, no hesitation. You had moved out after graduation, living in an apartment by yourself in a city outside of Hawkins. He nodded instantly, "Okay." He put the license away, back in the drawer and sat in the middle of the bed, body sinking slightly. "No fucking way," he said as he got up, lifting the mattress slightly to see two wooden slabs broken. He looked at you, "Are you okay?" You nodded, "Yeah, I'm good, nothing hurts." He nodded and laid back down and you laughed as he slowly sank.

You laid beside him and he wrapped one arm around you, looking up at the ceiling, "Fucking Vegas, man. What happens in Vegas can't stay in Vegas." You laughed, "Sure can't." He laughed, "I feel like it would have happened eventually, there's no way we wouldn't have gotten married or stayed in a long-term relationship." You nodded, intertwining your fingers with his.

"Just sucks that we weren't sober when we did it." He snickered, "Which part?" You rolled your eyes, "The wedding, not sex." He hummed. "I think we should consummate again." You laughed, "Of course you do. You think with the wrong head." He laughed, body shaking as genuine happiness filled the room from the two of you.

Hours passed before Tommy and Carol showed back up, tossing the case beside Billy and he picked it up and placed it on the bedside table. "You're not gonna watch it?" Billy shook his head, looking down at you, your head on his chest as you slept. "Not without her, we're a team now, whether we remember it or not." Tommy nodded, hand on Carol's hip as she smiled as she watched Billy's grip tighten on you.

"So, you guys are gonna stay married?" He nodded, "Yeah, we're just gonna see what happens." Tommy nodded, a slight smile on his face, happy for his two friends. He and Carol left the room and Billy pulled your leg up over his waist, fingers barely connecting with your skin as he took mental pictures of each visible mark, scar, and everything else. You gripped his shirt in your fist and he held you closer, kissing the top of your head.

In just two years time, Billy had two mini-mes, his baby girl and his baby boy, his son carrying his first name and his baby girl carrying his mother's name. Who knew this would come out of a summer trip to Vegas when the two of you were eighteen?

#billy hargrove fanfiction #stranger things billy #william hargrove #billy hargrove x f!reader #billy hargrove x female reader #billy stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #billy hargove imagine #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove

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emilyprsblog · 5 months

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A new shade of red

tw: severe self harm, implied suicide, tears (everyone’s crying)

summary: the team finds hotchniss’ daughter, lola, at her most vulnerable

wc: 2k

chapter: one | two

“Hey, has anyone seen Lola?” Emily asked, her heart slightly racing as she looked at her team and her husband at the table, the volume in the room fading as they looked at Emily.

JJ stood up, giving the team a small smile as she, too, walked down the hall, seeing Emily knocking rapidly on the bathroom door.

Emily turned around, looking at JJ with a frown, her hands on her waist as she bit her lower lip. JJ looked at her with soft, slightly wide eyes. Emily exhaled.

“JJ, I…” It sounded like she swallowed a cry. “I need you to get Aaron here.” JJ heard the desperation in her friend’s voice and she nodded, hurrying to get him. Emily stayed there, continuing to knock, telling herself that her thoughts were wrong. That this wasn’t really happening.

After moments, that felt far too long, her husband was by her side, asking if she was okay.

Aaron grabbed the handle, crashing the side of his body to the door over and over again. It felt like forever until the door finally opened and Aaron was not at all nearly prepared for the sight he was exposed to. There she was, his 15 year old daughter, blood covering her whole arm, her clothes and the floor. He opened his mouth in a silent gasp as he rushed to her side, horrified by how pale she was. Emily and JJ caught sight of the situation and their hearts hurt as they saw Aaron try to talk Lola back to consciousness. Emily covered her mouth, tears burning in her eyes the second her palm touched her skin. JJ was right behind her, tears watering in her eyes too as she fumbled to get her phone from her pocket. The seconds felt too many as her shaky hands failed her.

“One of you has to call an ambulance, right now.” Aaron barked, cupping his hands over Lola’s arm, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.

“How long, JJ?” The blonde heard Aaron ask.

“I don’t know. I’m trying to find out.” She inhaled, trying her best to comfort Emily who was seconds away from collapsing.

As soon as Aaron got a hold of the box, he immediately got to work, bandaging up his daughter’s arm, his chest hurting as he looked at his little girl, her face pale and head heavy.

Without the phone in hand, JJ could finally keep her focus on Emily who was completely destroyed. In the corner of her eye, she saw Spencer rush in.

When Emily tried to go into the bathroom, JJ gripped her even tighter, keeping her away from the bathroom.

“No, no, no. Emily. Emily.” JJ softly spoke, her voice trembling as she lead the brunette out to the hall. Emily leaned against the wall, hyperventilating as she slid down to the ground. JJ was right beside her, usually comforting words coming from her lips as her throat began to close up. They didn’t help much now. “Emily.” Her sobs were too loud. JJ placed her hands on Emily’s cheeks, caressing as she tried to initiate eye contact. “Emily, breathe. Emily. Emily. Look at me.” Emily looked up, her eyes having a certain heartbreak JJ had never seen before. Her feelings were overwhelming. “It’s going to be okay.” JJ nodded, Emily looked down, taking a short breath. “Look at me. Breathe.” Emily looked up again, her brown eyes staying on JJ’s blue ones.

“She looked like she was dead, JJ.” Emily was hysterical. The sentence made the blonde’s heart hurt.

“No, no, no. She’s not. She’s not dead. She’s not.” Emily just continued sobbing, placing her own hands over JJ’s.

“I can’t lose her. I ca—“ A sharp breath. “I can’t lose her, JJ. She’s my Lola. She’s my—“

“You won’t. They’re all helping her right now and an ambulance is coming. You will not lose her.” JJ heard her name being shouted and she panicked, not knowing what to focus on. She quickly ran to the bathroom again, seeing Spencer in the doorway, looking at the scene with wide eyes. Quickly, she took a hold of his arms, looking into his eyes as she told him to go to Emily. He nodded, running out to the hall. JJ exhaled as she rushed into the bathroom, seeing Lola’ scared eyes. JJ knew what the teenager needed.

Kneeling down, JJ placed her hands on Lola’s cheeks, looking into her misty eyes. The blonde tried her best to ignore just how much blood Lola was losing.

“Stay awake, Lola.” JJ chanted when she saw how Lola’s eyes began to slowly flutter closed. “Look at me. Stay awake.” JJ felt Lola grip her arm, blood smearing on her pale skin. There wasn’t much more they could do than internally pray that Lola was going to be okay. Aaron had bandaged her arm and was keeping pressure on it. David had finished talking to the operator and now all they had to wait. It was the longest 10 minutes of her life. The longest 10 minutes of all their lives.

JJ’s eyes widened when Lola’s eyes closed completely. She lightly slapped her cheeks, chanting over and over again that Lola had to stay awake.

Emily closed her eyes, trying to get the thoughts to go away. She exhaled, gently squeezing JJ’s hand. The blonde hadn’t left Emily’s side since they arrived at the hospital.

“Is she going to be okay, then?” Aaron asked, his voice hoarse and exhausted. Emily felt the way he sounded.

“She’ll be okay.” Emily ended up saying. She wanted to take it back the second she began the sentence. Aaron said nothing, he just looked down at their hands. “Aaron, honey? Are you listening to me?” Her voice was gentle. “She’s going to be okay.” She didn’t know why she said it again. Aaron nodded, a slight, obviously unsure nod. “Honey… look at me.” He did and when he raised his head, Emily saw how much Aaron seemed to just want to cry. Let it out. Emily prayed that he wouldn’t keep this in until he eventually broke.

“… I should have noticed.” The words came so unexpectedly that Emily barely registered what he said. She blinked.

“Aaron…” Emily cooed.

“We’re profilers.” He scoffed, his shiny gaze slipping back to their hands. “We’re parents. I missed it.”

“I thought that after Reid, I would notice things like this. Notice if people weren’t okay and be able to keep a close eye on things.”

“She hid it well.” Emily spoke, voice unsure. The words were for her own benefit as well.

Hours went by and the parents were asleep. Emily was still holding her daughter’s hand, leaning her head on her husband’s shoulder. Aaron kept a hand around her as he leaned his head on hers.

“…Hi, baby.” Emily smiled, leaning closer to kiss Lola’s hand. Aaron also woke up when he heard Emily’s voice, looking at his daughter with so much sadness.

“Hey…” She whispered, squeezing Lola’s hand tighter. “Hey, honey.” When Lola began quietly sobbing, Emily hushed her. Aaron took her hand over Emily’s.

“I’m so sorry.” Lola whimpered, her chest hurting at all her family’s faces. The way JJ looked at her before she had passed out made its way to her mind.

“No, Lola. Don’t apologize.” Aaron spoke, voice gentle as he too, leaned closer.

“I’m so sorry.” Lola continued, feeling so utterly humiliated and embarrassed. She felt guilty for scaring everyone, and she did it all for nothing. It didn’t even work. She was still here.

“Are you mad at me?” She whispered, her voice trembling. “Is the team mad at me?”

“No, no, no.” Emily shook her head, the concerned frown on her face that she so often had.

“No one is mad at you.” Aaron spoke. “No one. We’re worried, honey. We all love you and we care about you.”

“I’m sorry.” Lola spoke, she couldn’t ever apologize enough for hurting everyone like she did. Emily shook her head, her eyes soft.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

#criminal minds fic #criminal minds #emily prentiss #aaron hotchner #penelope garcia #derek morgan #emily prentiss fanfiction #emily prentiss sad #hotchniss #lola prentiss hotchner #criminal minds oc #criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner fanfiction #parent emily prentiss #penelope garcia fanfiction #hotchniss fanfiction #parent hotchniss

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tabitha42 · 1 month

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The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 1

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Next chapter

Coughing and spluttering, she now knelt in the sand, gulping in the blessed fresh air. By some miracle she was mostly unharmed, other than a bit singed and achy. But as her eyes finally focused on the area around her, she felt her heart sink as it became clear that no one else had had the same fortune as her.

Bodies scattered the beach - some mind flayer abductees, others fishermen unlucky enough to be caught in the crash. Instinctively she ran to the closest to try to help them, but they were long beyond saving. A horrified whimper escaped her lips as she covered her mouth in shock - she’d never seen anything like this. Though maybe they were all the lucky ones… she knew what fate awaited her from this parasite if she didn’t find a way to be rid of it. For now she decided not to think about it; there were much more immediate threats to worry about.

She pushed on, hoping to find any survivors, or maybe signs of a settlement. The stink of smoke clung to her singed wizard robes, the once vibrant magenta fabric now dulled by dust and smog. The two plaits she always wore her long auburn hair in were frayed and starting to unravel, and with every step she felt like she herself was starting to unravel too. The pain, the fear… even as the wreckage of the Nautiloid disappeared into the distance behind her til only the smoke billowing into the sky could be seen, she still felt the ever-present tingle of what it left inside her.

Deep in the forest she started to fear what she might come across. She wouldn’t last long out here on her own - she knew a few basic self-defence spells, but nothing particularly powerful, and the only time she’d ever had to use them in earnest she barely escaped with her life. She feared her odds of survival were low if she didn’t find a friendly face soon, but hadn’t expected her salvation to come in the form of a malfunctioning portal. Curious and rather surprised to see such magic here, she walked up to the sparking purple light, keeping her distance at first. She knew better than to mess with unstable magic, but like any good wizard, she never had been good at heeding such warnings. Slowly, carefully, she reached out to it, ready to jump back should it prove dangerous… Again the portal surprised her, this time with the appearance of a hand.

“Hello?” A voice called out. “A hand? Anyone?” “Gods!” she gasped, stumbling back slightly, before quickly moving close again. “What are you doing in there? Are you ok??” “I will be if you can help me out of here!” Came the reply. “Oh yes, of course!” She called back, feeling a bit stupid for having asked him questions rather than just pulling him out in the first place. She grabbed his hand and began to pull, though whatever held him in there was clearly determined not to let him go. “Arg! Gonna need more than that!” he called through again, sounding a little bit pained after having his arm pulled on so hard. “Ok, um, just wait a moment!”

She grabbed his hand once more and pulled. Again the portal seemed to resist, but this time she could feel it relenting, and finally with one last burst of strength she pulled him through and the two of them crashed to the ground. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d been expecting of him, but she hadn’t been expecting him to be quite so hot.

They both stood up and she glanced over as he brushed himself down and swept his long hair back. “Hello! I’m Gale of Waterdeep,” he said, shaking her hand. “Apologies, I’m usually better at this.” “I’m… Saffron,” she said, finding herself momentarily a bit speechless. “Are you ok? How did you get stuck in there?” “Ah, now that’s a long story,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Though, it’s a story I think you know the beginning of. You were on the Nautiloid as well, weren’t you?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “Yes! Were you on it too? Taken from Baldur’s Gate?” “Not Baldur’s Gate, but yes, I was taken. Seems that ship jumped around quite a bit before finding its final resting place here. I was in one of the pods over from you, which I assume means you also found yourself on the receiving end of a rather unwelcome insertion in the ocular region?” he asked, gesturing to his eye. She couldn’t help but let out a slightly exasperated chuckle at his description of the ordeal. “That is… one way of describing it, yes. Another way might be… doomed…” she murmured with a defeated sigh.

“You know what awaits us then if we don’t deal with them,” he said, sounding surprisingly unworried about the whole situation, which gave her hope. “You know how to deal with them?” she asked, but her hopes were dashed once more when he shook his head. “I was going to ask you the same question. It seems we’re in need of a healer, and soon too. How about we lend each other a helping hand once more and look for a healer together?” The smile that spread across her face surely would tell him all he needed to know about what her answer would be. “Yes! Ahem, I mean… sure,” she said, not wanting to sound too eager. Luckily, despite her complete inability to cover up how happy she was not to be facing this alone anymore, he only chuckled. “Most excellent! A parasite shared is a parasite halved… or something to that effect,” he said, second guessing his own joke as he was halfway through saying it. It did exactly its job though, and she found herself genuinely laughing for the first time since this whole ordeal had started.

“Oh, but before you think you are about to embark on this journey with most ill-mannered a man: thank you, for pulling me out of that hole. It was an act of foresighted kindness I assure you, for I have the feeling ample opportunities will present themselves for me to return the favour.”

She smiled as he spoke, happy that not only was she not in this on her own, but she was with someone who was so polite.

“Well aren’t you a gentleman,” she said playfully.

“I do try to be,” he replied with the slightest bow. “Now, do you know which way to the nearest settlement?” he asked, looking both ways down the path. “No… but the wreckage of the Nautiloid is back that way, so I would suggest we go the other direction,” she said, nodding down the path in the direction she’d been heading in. “Sounds like a plan,” he agreed, and soon the two of them were off. “Oh! You never told me,” she said, looking over at him as he looked back at her. “How did you get stuck in that portal?”

“Ah, yes! Well, I don’t know what happened exactly, but the ship broke into pieces and I suddenly found myself in freefall. As I was plummeting to certain death I spied a glimmer quite near where I estimated my body to impact with less-than-savoury propulsion. Recognising this glimmer to be magical in nature, I reached out to it with a Weaving of words and found myself on the other side, as it were,” he explained, prompting a slight gasp of surprise from Saffron.

“You managed to cast a spell like that while falling??” she asked. She was pretty sure even if she was safe at home at a desk with a pile of relevant books in front of her she wouldn’t be able to come up with such a spell on the spot. “Yes I did,” he said with a grin, looking a little bit smug about it. There was a pause. “...Why didn’t you just… cast feather fall?” She asked eventually. There was another pause.

“Well… in moments like that we don’t always make the best decisions,” he said quickly, the smugness gone so immediately she couldn’t help but chuckle. He looked at her for a moment. “Is that how you survived the fall, then?”

“No. I was still stuck in the pod as the ship fell, then I woke up on the ground by the wreckage. I’m still not sure how I survived…”

“Well, far be it from us to question miracles,” he said with a small shrug. “Am I right in thinking you’re a wizard too then, Saffron?” “Yes, you are,” she answered with a nod. “Would you consider yourself well-read?” She paused for a moment, contemplating both her answer and what his question might be about.

“I’ve… read a fair amount. Why do you ask?” “Hmm, tell me, how much do you know about Netherese magic?” “Only the basics,” she said with a small shrug. “Why?” “I have a matter I need to discuss with a master wizard. Do let me know if you come across one.” “A matter relating to Netherese magic?” she asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“Yes. I… have something I’m working on back home. I’ve been seeking experts in the subject to help, but so far have found no one.”

“What is it you’re working on?”

“Oh, it’s not that interesting really. Not if you’re not already interested in the Netherese, anyway. What about you, though? I imagine you have some projects you’re working on.” A less naive person might have realised he was deflecting to change the subject off of himself, but she was not one of those people.

“I do! Though they’ve been going pretty slow… I keep getting distracted with buying new books instead of working,” she admitted, to which Gale laughed heartily.

“Ahh, I know that feeling all too well,” he said warmly. “What’re your projects?” “Well… my work revolves around druidic magic. I’ve been trying to learn to use magic as they do. Ultimately I want to learn to wild shape.” Gale’s eyebrows raised in curiosity.

“You wish to master primal magic? Ambitious.” “Yeah… that’s what everyone says,” she murmured with a sigh.

“It’s not going well, then?”

Her silence told him all he needed to know.

“Well, keep at it,” he encouraged her. “No great breakthrough ever came easily. I’d be curious to read your work, if you’d permit me to. Druidic magic is one of the few forms of magic I know little about.”

“If we ever get to Baldur’s Gate you’re welcome to,” she said, looking up at him with a smile. Not many took an interest in her work like that.

“Looking forward to it already,” he said genuinely. There was a warmth in his tone that filled her with joy. After a few moments, she spoke again. “You said, ‘one of the few forms of magic you know little about’. You’re pretty well-read yourself, then?” “Oh yes! I’ve been a natural at controlling the Weave since I was a child, and have spent my life studying magic. Back in Waterdeep I was the archmage for a while.” “Archmage…?? Gods…” she whispered, realising the status of who she was talking to. She went very quiet, suddenly afraid of embarrassing herself, which he seemed to notice.

“Well, don’t place too much importance on that. I still got myself stuck in that portal,” he said with a laugh, managing to bring a smile to her lips too. “And your magic got me out. So don’t underestimate yourself.” She looked down slightly as she smiled to herself. “So, who are you other than archmage? What are you into other than magic?” She asked after a moment. “Hmm, let’s see… I have a library, a cat, and a fondness for a good glass of wine. And if the mood takes me, I’m known to try my hand at poetry.” “You have a cat??” she gasped, quickly focusing in on the most important part of what he said.

“Heh, I do indeed. Her name is Tara,” he said fondly. “Will she be ok if you’re stuck out here? Is there someone else to feed her?” she asked in concern, though maybe there was another subconscious motivation for asking if there was anyone else in Gale’s life that might be able to feed his cat.

“Oh not to worry, she’s more than capable of looking after herself,” he assured her. “What about you? Any pets back home?”

She found it a bit curious that he would have a cat so easily able to look after itself, but decided not to question it. “No… just an awful lot of plants, which definitely won’t survive without me there to water them,” she said with a sad sigh of realisation. “Ah… a pity,” he sympathised. “Mmm…” she murmured, her thoughts moving onto how they’d get back to the city. “How far do you think we are from Baldur’s Gate?” “I don’t know… I wondered the same about Waterdeep. I hope we can find a settlement soon and find out where we are. I also don’t fancy being stuck out here at night…” he pondered, looking up to the sky. It was early evening by now, and while Saffron felt much safer with him than she did on her own, the two of them were still in a lot of danger out here. “Me too…” she said softly, looking down the path as it led deeper into the forest.

The walk was long, but with Gale the time had flown by. They’d spent the whole time talking, and she was amazed at how much he’d made her laugh despite the direness of their situation. She was very glad for his company, even if he could be a bit full of himself from time to time. She was especially glad for his company when they came upon a caravan plundered by goblins. The scene had left her paralysed at first to see such brutality, but he’d had the sense to look for supplies. She chose not to think too hard about what they were doing as they looted the dead bodies, though he saw her hesitation nonetheless. The dead have no use for these supplies anymore, he’d reasoned, better they aid us than we join the dead. She supposed he was right and went along with it.

With backpacks now full with enough materials for a basic campsite the two decided it was time to stop for the day and find somewhere to set up camp. Gale suggested they find a spot down by the river - it would provide them with fresh water and a more defensible position should they come under attack. It was while wandering along the riverbank looking for a good spot that they came across another camp. “Careful, we don’t know if they’re friendly,” Gale advised, taking the lead as the two of them cautiously approached the small circle of tents.

“Not another step.”

They froze and looked over to see the source of the voice. An elf, pale, white hair, almost invisible in the shadows of the trees, aiming an arrow towards them. “Wouldn’t want to get blood on those fancy robes of yours,” he playfully threatened, a small smile curling on his lips.“We mean no harm,” Gale said quickly, raising his hands. Saffron followed suit. “We’re just travellers, looking for somewhere to camp.” Hurried footsteps came from the tents and they looked over to see two others emerge - a woman, half-elf with long dark hair, and a second woman that Saffron almost didn’t recognise at first as a Githyanki. She walked forward towards them, an angry look on her face. “Who are these- argg!!” Pain ripped through Saffron’s skull. Suddenly visions flashed in front of her eyes - a dragon, a silver sword, a wolf, a dark mirror, an alleyway, her own face as seen from the other end of a bow… She gasped as she opened her eyes again and saw the others were also all clutching at their heads, wincing from pain. “Kaincha…” the Githyanki groaned before looking at them. “You both have parasites too?” “Indeed. You were all taken by the Nautiloid as well?” Gale asked. The three of them nodded. “Don’t suppose any of you have any ideas how to deal with these parasites?” “We must be purified,” the Gith said confidently. “We are seeking a creche. I believe there is one near here. Two of the horned ones said one of their kind had seen a Githyanki, we must find and question him. They are hidden somewhere nearby, though we have yet to find their settlement.” “Horned ones?” Gale questioned. “Teethlings.” “Tieflings,” the half-elf corrected with a roll of her eyes. “Fine, tieflings,” the Gith mumbled, clearly not happy about being corrected by her. “We will set out to find them tomorrow.” “Perhaps we could join you?” Gale offered. “The more pairs of eyes searching, the better.” The others looked at each other for a moment, considering. “I don’t see why not,” the half-elf decided, stepping forward. “I’m Shadowheart.” “Gale of Waterdeep,” he said as he shook her hand. “Saffron.” “Lae’zel.” “Astarion. And sorry about that,” he said, gesturing the bow he’d once threatened them with. “You know how it is. You can never be too careful these days.”

Somehow, something about the way he spoke told Saffron it was absolutely not about self-defence and he would have quite enjoyed using that bow on the two of them.

#gale #bg3 gale #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav

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webxgal · 3 months

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[Ⅳ] mala ipsa nova

bad news itself.

Havoc enters stage right.

The only thing you are able to process is “Oh my god the monorail is moving” and then the sound of static coming from a tiny device clipped on Arisato’s breast pocket. Mitsuru Kirijo’s voice echoes from the nano-radio. If it weren’t for demonic creatures attempting to kill you two minutes ago, the revelation that the student council president is involved would have you floored.

She’s barking out orders to do something, but with all the unfamiliar terminology she’s tossing in, barely anything makes sense to you. To gratify your mind, you try to flip around the possibility this is just a terrible, awful dream. However, the tremor of the monorail under your feet, and the burning, fretful gazes of Takeba and Iori are all too real.

“—You’ll have to stop it, or it’ll crash into the next train!”

You lose focus, almost knocking into Takeba when the train abruptly lurches. She’s quick in steading you upright, but her attention is fixated on Kirijo’s warning.

“Crash!?” She parrots, her voice hitching as she looks wildly at the two boys, one looking equally panicked and the other holding only a mild look of ambivalence. Her nails dig into your arm, that she has forgotten to let go of, and if there weren’t much greater things to worry about then you would have told her it hurts.

“There is a powerful reading coming from the front cart. That must be our target. You’ll have to defeat that to stop the runaway train,” Kirijo’s voice, despite being constrained to a spindly transceiver, is commanding and leaves no room for argument. Target? Defeat? Your eyes coincidentally meet Arisato’s. You aren’t sure what expression you’re wearing on your face, but it’s enough for his jaw to set. He holds your graze and looks as if wanting to say something. However, before the first syllable can leave his lips, the train suddenly sways with breakneck speed and almost sends all of you sprawling like rolling pins in a bowling alley.

Your three classmates seemed to have collected themselves, with Takeba gently prying away your grasp on her blazer that you were still clutching. The look she gives you is a mix of apprehension and pity, and her eyes keep falling to the tremor in your hands.

“It’ll be okay, just stay behind us,” She attempts to reassure you, but you’re already shaking your head.

“I think I should try and hide somewhere,” Your throat feels dry, and the corner of Takeba’s lips curl to a disappointed frown. She looks ready to argue with you, but Arisato has already beaten her to the chase.

“It’s not safe here,” He says simply and you realise this is the first time you’ve heard him speak. His tone did not sway to either impatience or harshness, something oddly soothing in the cadence of his voice, but the curtness of his words felt final. He tilts his head in the direction of the carriage door, with Takeba and (a seemingly dejected) Iori following after his cue. You had no choice but to chase after the disappearing backs of the trio, the lanyard of your camera feeling like a noose around your neck.

The sight is both morbid and breathtaking, and you feel like an idiot standing squarely as you take in the sheer enormity of the monster in front of you. It sits on the floor, legs positioned awkwardly as it takes up almost half the carriage’s size. It brandishes itself as naked as the day it was born, with only raggedy remains of a dress covering its bottom half. It’s horrifying, and it has the exact eldritch ambience to it that you wish you could capture into your camera film. Iori mistakes your gaping silence as terror, quick in telling you that he’ll keep you safe (and promptly shuts up when Takeba sends a scathing glare from the corner of her eye).

The trio move almost instantaneously after that, and you watch as they point their guns to their temples. Your eyes close instinctively when they pull their triggers, but you're immediately distracted by the manifestation of the creatures behind them. They have pretty much formed a shield around you, keeping you at length away from the monster crouched ahead. You feel delirious, watching them attack and fight, unsure of what is even real anymore. It scares you, exhilarates you, and most of all makes you wish it all ended so you had at least five minutes to just think without all the adrenaline and overwhelming anxiety choking you. The monorail briskly picks up speed, and your heart lurches when you remember Kirijo’s warning of an incoming train. All of you were on a ride straight to your graves, and all you could do was stand with shaking legs and a throbbing head.

Suddenly, someone screams your name and you barely have time to even turn your head before the air leaves your lungs all at once. You’re thrown across the compartment, your back hitting the metal door dividing the carriages. Your spine feels as if it’s split into two, and you instinctively let out an animalistic cry in pain, a sound you otherwise wouldn’t have believed came from you. Your body pulses in white hot flashes, and you heave to catch your breath labourously. You lay motionless and slumped against the door, barely able to digest the fact that the broken shards of plastic and glass that are scattered around you were once your precious camera.

You don’t notice how the trio’s attacks have become more frantic, or how the monorail begins to slow to a screeching stop. All of a sudden, there is someone’s hands holding you, Takeba’s tribulated face coming into your view. You can hear the familiar raucous of Iori’s voice, shooting questions at you as it begins to mingle with Takeba’s own exclamations of concern. Spots of colour dance in the corner of your vision, and all you’re able to process is the fact that you’re leaning on someone’s side and that they are warm.

You unwittingly close your eyes.

#p3 #p3 x reader #makoto yuki #makoto yuki x reader #minato arisato #minato arisato x reader #x reader #reader insert #p3 protagonist x reader #persona 3 x reader #persona 3 protagonist #persona 3 #persona 3 reload #webxgal writes #memento vivere

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creative-frequency · 5 months

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Raphael x Reader: Act I: The Bargain

Summary: Bloody and bruised from the nautiloid ship crash, forging a contract with a devil becomes your best and only option for survival. This is the first flashback oneshot for the main story of the series. The poem is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. Word count: 2197 Notes: Dealing with a devil, canon-typical blood and injury.

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Bottles of Ithbank and mugs of red ale rose up to meet the bright stars embroidered into the velvety midnight sky. Comforting and familiar voices of laughter and cheer bubbled around you. It was a night to remember, reminisce and celebrate. In destroying the Absolute you had faced the impossible and lived on to tell the tale. You had gained allies and most importantly, you had met people, who you proudly called your friends.

Deep in thought, you fiddled with the ring on your left hand’s ring finger. A vexing lark from the gift giver, as the ring would fit no other digit. You had bet your soul on never removing the stupid piece of jewellery, at the same time dooming yourself to the eternity of answering delighted queries about a presumed marriage.

Every time you took a sigh to explain you were, in fact, not married, you heard the devil over your shoulder laugh somewhere deep in the Hells. Out of sheer spite, you wished you could hate him. But he had given you this life and this victory, so you endured.

Wyll, the freshly appointed Grand Duke of Baldur’s Gate, sat next to you by the large table and noticed you twiddling with the ring.

“So. Do you know what became of Raphael?” he asked cautiously and nodded towards your hands.

You shrugged, not exactly keen on discussing the devil even though the wine had already spun your mind into a pleasant, relaxing buzz. You had been prepared to answer this particular question during the course of the evening and it was no shock Wyll was the one to voice it. You had met with Wyll from time to time after your travels together, but had always avoided the subject. Luckily the Grand Duke was a busy man.

“I guess your pact still stands then. I’m sorry,” Wyll said and took a swig from his goblet.

“Don’t be,” you corrected him and opened your mouth to justify why, but Wyll just looked at you with compassion.

He was the only one of your companions who truly knew what you had been through since he had made the same choice – albeit your reasons were initially more selfish than his. The only difference was that he had found a way to outwit his devil patron to get out of his pact. The Duke Ravengard still had horns, but no longer even a tiny bit of the infernal power of a warlock was coursing through his veins.

Wyll changed the subject: “It feels like the whole thing happened in another life.”

“It really does,” you sighed and raised the bottle to your lips again.

“I’m glad you decided to stay in Baldur’s Gate, though.”

“Don’t say anything about being a hero, please,” you exclaimed and Wyll grinned. You couldn’t help but grin right back at him.

“I wasn’t going to,” he assured you.

“I’m done playing the hero for now. I need time to put my feet up” – you lifted your boots and planted them on the table – “and enjoy just being alive.”

Wyll shot you a humorous look, but decided against noting how the heroics usually had happened when you had tried to avoid those situations the most.

Six months earlier

Hidden behind wreckage, you dared to inhale a shallow breath and barely held back a cough. Unknown parts of the nautiloid ship and horrifying, giant flesh pods laid scattered and broken around you. Their colourful liquids were mixed on the ground into sickening pools. There was a reek of burning something you didn’t want to think about and it made breathing even harder.

A couple of your ribs were likely broken from being thrown around by the impact from exploding tubes. It had not been one of your finest moments or the best aimed fire bolt, but at least you had lost the pursuers, for now.

You prayed to every known god and goddess under your breath. You had survived the nautiloid crash and found yourself alone again amidst the debris – only to be attacked by a group of pathetic, random looters. It was five against one and you didn’t even have a weapon on you. It would’ve been a tough fight on a good day, but you were seriously injured, bleeding and delirious from the environmental hazards affecting your senses. So you had attempted to cause as much chaos as you could to hide.

If you had thought getting taken by mind flayers was bad enough, it had been pure downhill since then. The inevitability of this one becoming your last adventure started to settle in.

You sat on the broken floor, leaning into a crevice in the debris and listened to any voices. The looter group was not far, but unfortunately they were not foolish enough to make noise as they were tracking you down. You had maybe minutes to live and there was literally nothing you could have done about it.

So you prayed. Incoherent words tumbled from your mouth under your broken breaths.

You would give anything for the power to smite those pathetic thiefs.

Anything for the power and means to save yourself from the predicament.

You closed your eyes and focused on listening to the approaching final moments of your existence.

Anything to live and die on another day.

A soft step. Then another. Your pulse surged. Someone was coming, but nothing about him was what you had expected.

A man you would have eagerly described as mysterious and handsome walked towards you. His steps were leisurely, his pace unhurried and his expression tinged with curiosity.

Maybe some poison gas had finally addled your mind and you were seeing things.

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—” he recited carefully with graceful cadence, pacing closer.

A poem? So you were either dead or poisoned. Your head lolled to the side, trying to see his face clearly in the midst of the smoke and floating embers.

“While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” His voice was smooth, almost drawling. It sent a warm shiver down your back. His hands motioned in rhythm with the words.

The stranger paused right in front of you and continued: “’Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door—”

He leaned down to have a closer look at you and his expression turned unreadable. His eyes were chestnut brown, cunning and framed by dark lashes. The high cheekbones were tinged with healthy red.

“Only this and nothing more,” he ended the verse with a contemplative note.

You blinked in confusion, openly staring and wondering could he have been one of the looters, because he certainly didn’t look like one. His clothes were fancy: a blue doublet, ornamented with gold trimmings and a frilly collar. His brown hair was combed back and waves of light curls gathered behind his ears.

Maybe you had gone mad or lost consciousness already.

“Are you really here?” you asked in a shaky voice.

“Is that not why you were rapping at my door?” he returned the question.

Delirious from the smoke and blood loss, you couldn’t understand what he meant.

“Please, you have to help me…” you pleaded, still unsure if the man really even existed.

“Wouldn’t you rather help yourself?” he remarked, tapping his chin in calculating thought. His gaze was evaluating you.

“What? I don’t…” you spluttered with desperation.

“Come.”

He took your hand and pulled you up from the floor. His touch was almost burning, or maybe your hands were just that cold from the loss of blood. A consuming inferno of bright flames swallowed you both and instantly you reappeared in an entirely different place.

The warm air and the general, faint smell of fire and sulphur ravaged your senses. Avernus.

“The House of Hope. Where the tired come to rest, and the famished come to feed,” the stranger presented dramatically with a flourish motion of his arms – an invitation for you to look around at all the lavish glamour. Paintings of devils hung on the walls and the large fireplace was lit with the most mesmerising, hungry fire you had ever seen. A massive table right next to you was loaded with mouth-watering delicacies and you were overwhelmingly reminded how hungry and weak you were.

Your legs were shaking and every muscle in your body ached, resisting the notion of staying up on your feet. Every breath now made your lungs sizzle, the air burning on its way inside.

“So you’re a devil?” you asked feebly.

The stranger crooked a smile at your quick wit and answered: “Raphael. Very much at your service.”

A devil – out of all the names of the gods you had taken in vain, this was the one to save you. The irony stung deep.

“Forgive me that I don’t drop a curtsy. I’m feeling so…” you fumbled to find the proper word and focused your energy on staying on your feet. You glanced down and realised that you had already smudged the floor with blood and dirt.

Raphael noticed the stains too and snapped his fingers.

Immediately, you felt better and stopped gripping the table edge, knuckles white. Air poured effortlessly into your lungs without any pain and although shaky, you felt that you could stand properly. Your posture eased.

“Oh, thank you,” you murmured in surprise, but at the same time your pulse started quickening. As little as you knew of devils, you knew for a fact that they didn’t give anything for free.

“You’re welcome.” Raphael bowed lightly and pulled a chair for you.

“Please, sit, partake. You and I have much to discuss,” he mused and when you were comfortably seated, he circled around to the other side of the table.

Now healed, you were positively ravenous. You hesitated only a second before starting to fill your plate with pork sausages and honey-sauteed vegetables. Raphael’s crooked smile deepened, but he only watched, evaluating.

“How did you find me?” you asked, when the silence began feeling too oppressive.

Raphael tilted his head to the side, gauging your refreshingly lame reaction to the revelation of his nature. He replied: “That delicious life or death predicament you were in did the knocking, but you, my dear, were the one to push the door open.”

You swallowed a mouthful of food. “I don’t understand. I didn’t do anything.”

Raphael hid his smile, which felt even worse than seeing it widen. He leaned over the table on his elbows, resting his chin on his intertwined fingers.

“Oh, but you did. You wanted to survive. You craved the power to burn those insignificant worms,” he explained with an intensive look in his eyes. Then he leaned back in his seat and continued: “Unless, you’re saying there has been a mistake? I can send you back with an apology.”

“No!” you interjected.

The devil’s eyes glinted. With a nonchalant wave of his hand, a piece of parchment manifested into the air. Red letters in the language of the Hells were seared on the surface. A quill hovered next to it.

Your pulse quickened again as comprehension snaked its tendrils around you: You had prayed to give anything to save yourself. Anything, including your very soul as if it were a mere trinket to be traded off. But, what else was it in this transaction between life and death? You would lose both your life and soul, if you didn’t take the deal. A soul didn’t do much good for you if you were dead already.

“Tell me, what is your name, mortal?” Raphael asked.

“Tav.”

“Well then, Tav. Let’s bargain,” said the devil in the most complacent tone you had ever heard. “I can grant you the ability to manifest my power. The power to tear through your enemies, to guile the unworthy and cull the weak – the power to survive.”

You set the utensils down and drew in a shaky breath. “You want my soul?”

Raphael cocked a brow, entertained, and leaned over the table, closer to you. He said: “Lest you have something else to offer for your salvation, but I promise you this: I take good care of my clients.”

You stared right into the chestnut brown eyes of the human facade of the devil, who was after your very soul.

And nodded slowly.

“I accept,” you said simply, forcing your tone even. “We can go over the details after I’ve killed the fuckers.”

The devil barked a laugh.

“Excellent.”

You signed off the contract for your soul. It would take a long time until the gravity of what you had just done would settle in. In the meanwhile, you would enjoy the patronage of Raphael and the benefits of the warlock pact.

In a swirl of flames, you were returned to the wreck of the nautiloid ship, right at the feet of the looting mob.

“She’s here!”

“Indeed I am,” you snarled as infernal energy crackled and surged on your palm.

There would be only cinders left when you were through with them.

#bg3 raphael #raphael bg3 #raphael x reader #raphael x you #baldur's gate 3 fanfiction #bg3 fanfiction #fanfiction #the devil wears house slippers

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ghosttalksalot · 29 days

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I low key stalked most your spideypool stuff cause chefs kiss*

Thoughts on hypermobile Peter Parker (cause self projecting) and Wade just going wtf. Or flare ups cause yummy angst and vulnerability

youre so sweet im glad you like my nonsense <3

i think the disabling aspects of mutations/powers are super interesting and as someone with hypermobility... lets do this

**ghost from the future: you said angst but i got fluffy on us. my bad. also i wrote more than i meant to, buckle in**

so peter, before the bite, wasnt abnormally flexible. sure, he was usually able to reach into weird places but nothing crazy. after the bite though, things got different. if a villian managed to get close enough to lay hands on him, sometimes theyd bend him trying to break him and it just... wouldnt happen, and their surprise was enough for him to get his comfortable fighting distance again.

and when he flips around midair its hard to tell when he bends a little odd or stretches in a way someones not supposed to, hes moving so fast and up so high.

here and there his shoulder pops out mid fight and onlookers are jaw-dropped horrified cover-the-childrens-eyes but he just clicks it right back in fast as he can and gets back to it. sure, its not comfortable, it goddamn hurts, but when you're superhero-ing you feel a whole lot worse, and its honestly lucky, he'd be incapacitated a lot more if it werent for all this

for deadpool, dislocations are not a super big deal, but for a very different reason. he knows theyll fix themselves. so when he first sees spideys joint decidedly not in the right place he definitely flips a bit. before he can offer to relocate it (he mostly kinda knows how by now) its back and spidey is back on the task at hand while wades still sorta processing for a sec. anyone else would definitely have needed help fixing that. he just files that away for later, have to finish up this thing theyre doing

then, you know, after theyve become more familiar and spidey comes over to wades apartment, sometimes wade is just completely caught off guard by the positions spidey manages to get comfortable in.

"you're just. fine? with your leg like that?"

"huh?"

its not even something of note to spidey tho, hes completely chill with it by now.

the first time peter crashes on wades couch, it's not ideal. he's just... exhausted. it feels like he's pulled just about everything he could have pulled in his bodies during tonights patrol, and he knew, he knew he shouldve stayed home tonight, but he didn't.

and wade can't quite figure out what about tonight is so bad. it's been nothing too out of the ordinary for any busy night, but he's half afraid he's going to have to carry spidey the rest of the way. (after he ends up agreeing to go to wades because it's closer) the way spideys moving is freaking him out.

wades wracking his brain as he opens up the (actually really comfortable) futon, trying to work out what was different about tonight. when spidey curls up on the futon he just groans and is breathing heavily, audible through the mask.

"is something... broken? did i miss that?"

spidey shakes his head. wade looks over him again, no blood or visible wounds. wade goes off to get him a small variety of options- tshirt, hoodie, sweatpants, shorts, whatever he can find to make sure spidey can pick something comfortable for himself. he leaves them on the coffee table for when spidey can move.

"painkillers? ....alcohol?"

"no, wade, just... nothing. nothing is going to help"

it looks like spidey can hardly move as he sits up to eye the clothing pile, and wade might be more concerned before.

peter can hardly think straight and just hopes he doesn't feel stuck on this stupid couch-bed for the next week. when wade gives him privacy to change he has to call him back to ask for help getting the damn hoodie over his head, like this isn't bad enough and he wants to explode.

when peter wakes up hes got a blanket thrown over him and wade is burning pancakes as quietly as wade is capable of doing anything. he still can hardly move without feeling the searing pain but his head feels a little clearer.

when wade notices hes awake and brings over a small plate, he speaks lower than usual, as if talking too loud would hurt peter, and it's endearing. peter rolls up his mask and feeds himself slowly, to try to not make his shoulders feel worse. he tries to explain himself, but it comes out clunky

there are better days and worse days, if he bends more than usual it might hurt more than usual. certain things that would hurt others dont hurt but sometimes everything hurts more than he can explain.

wade silently wonders if spideys multi-day absences wers due to this, and makes a note to do research. he wants to be able to help spidey out.

the next few times peter pushes it and ends up on wades couch, flaring up and having made it worse, wade is more prepared each time. at first peter is confused, and wonders how adaptive wade really is, but when he hears wade muttering symptoms and potential solutions under his breath, he realizes wades learning. for him.

wade is taking mental notes of what applies, what doesnt, what helps, and what doesnt, and is figuring out what to do in these situations.

he tries to learn how spidey balances the worse times with the hero business and eventually, peter comes to rely on him, even when flares dont connect with superhero business. he learns he can take a cab and just show up and wade will help him out. he learns about the compassionate side of wade, and eventually wade comes over to his instead. he shoots wade a text and knows he'll be there within 20 minutes to make sure peter has everything he needs and dinner is taken care of.

their relationship deepens as peter learns not only that he needs help sometimes, but that he can trust wade to be the person to help him. when things develop, peter finds himself to be not nearly as nervous as he would have expected, because he already trusts wade so thoroughly with his most vulnerable moments that it comes naturally

trusting wade is nothing new, both in patrolling and in his most personal moments, and he knows wade is so much more than what everyone thinks because hes seen it since before wade had any reason to help him. and sometimes as he watches wade wreck his kitchen with an attempt at cooking (that wade will clean up himself too) he thinks about how the first time he crashed on wades couch, in agony, wade had no reason to let him stay, or to do as much as he did. wade could have taken off his mask or anything that day, and didnt.

the day peter takes off his mask in front of wade, he isnt thinking of everything that could go wrong. hes thinking of wade's careful back rubs, slow shoulder massages, and things wade said when he thought peter was sleeping. the wade only peter got to see, the wade who would get to meet peter.

[leaving it here because this is a lot for an ask prompt lolol, might add more at some point ^^]

#hypermobile spidey boy #based on my own experiences bc i only know what ive lived #hope it's alright #forgive my typos when did it become early in the mornin g g g gg i havent slept #ghosty ficlets #spideypool #...eventually

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celedyn · 1 year

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May DWC 2023

Day 1: Forgiveness, Shadowflame

Celedyn leaned just slightly as the bartender turned to the tiers of bottles, taking a moment to enjoy the view before casting an impish grin towards the dwarven woman at his side. He paused, lips parted as though whatever he has been about to say had frozen on them, blue eyes widening “Tressa!?” Hearing her name startled the woman out of her scowl. Her eyes flitted over the high elf’s face, not an ounce of recognition in them.

He pressed his palm to his bare chest “It’s me! Prisoner 387! From the Menethil lazaret! Something about his cheerful tone made it all the more horrifying as realization dawned over her face, and worse still; he merrily helped himself to the barstool at her side, propping his cheek up on his palm as he smiled expectantly.

The memories came rushing back to her like a crashing wave, completely destroying her train of thought. She could place that face now; the way he looked when he’d been released, shuddering and pale, his features gaunt with the weight that had melted away over the weeks, and still demanding, protesting before the effort of shouting left him retching in the dirt. She became suddenly aware of the silence that had stretched on for an awkwardly long period of time. “I ah… I…” she couldn’t find what to say, mentally scrambling “I didn’t recognize ye with hair.”

She regretted it as soon as she said it.

The high elf blinked a moment, then smiled brightly, reaching up to touch the bouncy platinum locks. “Do you like it?” He left no room for dissent, merrily babbling on with an energy she had never seen You know: after having it all sheared off I decided I quite liked a shorter length. Not THAT short, of course. But when everything was growing back in I rather enjoyed the unburdened feeling of it, the bounce and tousle and far less time devoted to all that brushing! I have just moved down South to Stranglethorn and it just suited the tropical weather; plus it truly sets off my décolletage.”

She remembered the way he shrieked and begged to simply be left alone when they’d cut it. The way he’d cried that if he was going to die they should let him die with it. His protests hadn’t mattered in the end of course, everyone in the lazaret had long hair cut for matters of hygiene but he was the first to demand it be burned where he could see it, feverish and convinced they wanted to sell it. “It… it suits ye well. Ye look a fair sight better than last time I saw ye.” She shifted, uncomfortable under his bright smile. “Listen… about those days…”

He wafted a hand as though dispelling smoke, shaking his head. “It’s perfectly fine kitten. You know, they finally figured out what was wrong with us? It was the Sunwell. Arthas had gone and dipped a necromancer’s corpse into the Sunwell and used it to summon a Lich; have you ever heard of such a thing? Apparently that’s what all that necrotic magic was about, nothing you could have done for it, even if you had tried. I TOLD you it couldn’t have anything to do with tainted grain, I don’t eat carbohydrates.”

“Oh ah… that makes sense.” That did not make any sense whatsoever, but she wasn’t about to debate it. She wasn’t sure what the elf wanted, but she hoped that he could get it over with as quickly as possible. “Look, lad… about Menethil… we didn’t think the two of you were going to survive…”

“The two of us didn’t survive. She died, darling.” His tone was far too casual for his words, blue eyes flitting down as he tipped his cocktail, watching the vibrant liquid swirl. “And then after she died you left her there because you wanted to see what would happen. And then, after she failed to rise again from the grave and devour me, you realized you didn’t have any reason to keep me in your little quarantine so you dumped me out onto the docks.”

She grit her teeth, eyes squeezing shut as she braced herself against the memory “What do ye want, 387? Ye’ve come for revenge?”

He startled, blinking “Revenge? Oh, no darling. Life’s too long to hold onto things like vengeance. Scorn gives you ugly wrinkles.”

“Then why are ye here?”

“To alleviate your guilt of course! Life’s too long to be carrying guilt about; gives you ugly wrinkles. I wanted to give you proper closure, to know I made it and I’m thriving right along, and healthy and extraordinarily handsome. Besides, if I’m going to be kept in someone’s memory; it should be this way! Not at a low point. How dreadful to walk about wasting your image of me on a low point.”

She watched him several long moments; surely it couldn’t be that easy. The high elf just smiled, picking the garnish from his drink and popping the bright red cherry into his mouth. “Well, ah… that’s very decent of ye… I’ll tell ye what, next round’s on me.”

The high elf laughed and tossed his head back; downing the remainder of his cocktail in one heavy swallow. “Oh, Tressa, don’t be absurd. All the rounds are on you!”

#@daily-writing-challenge #maydwc2023

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chasseurdeloup · 11 months

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Tough Love || Solo [Flashback]

TIMING: 1996 LOCATION: Lyon, France SUMMARY: A six year old Kaden finds a ““dog”” in the woods and tries to bring his new pet home to mom. CONTENT WARNINGS: Animal death, child abuse, emotional abuse (all implied)

“Maman, maman! Look what I found! Look, look!” The door slammed behind Kaden as he carried an odd, wrinkled almost dog-like creature in tow. He wobbled as he balanced it. The animal was almost as long as he was tall, but his strength didn’t falter under the weight. It’s not like it was hard to carry. He was a hunter, after all.

“Maman!” he called out. The scent of butter and flour and sugar combined hit him and he took off towards the kitchen, following the sound of the mixer. No wonder she hadn’t heard him. Didn’t matter, he’d go to her, bursting into the kitchen with his new pet in hand.

“Maman, can I keep it? Can I, can I?” His excitement was bubbling over as he set the animal down, petting its odd hairless flaps of skin. It was a weird looking dog, but Kaden loved his new pet already. She had to let him keep it, right? This was already the best day ever, he was going to have his very own dog and Maman was baking for what felt like the first time in months now. Maybe he’d get to help after he helped the animal. “Look at him. I found him in the woods and and and he was crying so he’s probably hungry and we should give him water. Where’s the bowl? And look, did you look? Maman, did you see how cute he is? He’s weird looking but I think he just needs a bath. And I think he’s cold, do we have another blanke--”

A horrified screech cut off his excited babbling and the hand mixer crashed on the floor, batter flying as the metal whirred against the hardwood floor for a few seconds. “Kaden Arthur Langley! What are you doing?” She reached out and tore him by the arm away from the creature.

“What? What did I do? What?” His lip started quivering and he quickly bit on it to stop it. He knew he wasn’t allowed to cry. He couldn’t stop the tears pricking at his eyes though. But he didn’t understand why he was in trouble. “I-- I-- I know you said no pets but I found him and--”

“No!” she shouted back, gripping his wrist tighter and holding him in place. “How dare you bring a supernatural vermin into my house. What were you thinking dragging this filth in here? And don’t you dare cry. You should know better.”

If he bit his lip until it bled, maybe he could stop the tears. He had to. She didn’t like it when he cried. But he didn’t understand. “But-- but it’s a dog. I thought it was a dog. What do you mean s-supernatural I-- I--” He just wanted a pet. It wasn’t filth. What made it filth? He didn’t understand, it had practically snuggled into his arms while he carried it home. There was no way it could be supernatural. That would make it evil. That would mean-- It couldn’t be supernatural. It just couldn’t.

“That’s not a dog, Kaden. That’s a squonk. A squonk. How is it you can’t recognize a single squonk? Have we taught you nothing? You’re a hunter. A Langley. You know better than this.” He could feel the bruises burrowing into his skin around his wrist. He concentrated on the pain, hoping he could wait to sniffle when she wasn’t looking. But he couldn't hold it back and the fire in his mother’s eyes burned even brighter.

"What's happening?" a small voice said from the doorway to the kitchen. Kaden and his mother both turned to look at his sister standing there, holding her blankie, clearly curious about all the commotion.

He didn't think his mother could become even more enraged, but she'd found a way. He could tell even though he could no longer see her face. The way she let go of his wrist, practically throwing him to the floor, was enough. "Keira, mon chou, go back to the living room and keep playing, alright?" Her voice had changed demeanor so quickly it could give Kaden whiplash. For as much fire as he'd heard moments ago, there was just as much sweetness directed at his sister.

"Why is Kadey on the floor? Is he in trouble?" she asked, trying to sneak a little closer into the kitchen to get a peek. "And what is that?" She pointed to the squonk lying there on the laminate floor.

Horror washed over his mother's face and Kaden knew that his punishment was only going to get worse now that his sister had seen his mistake. "It's nothing, mon chou, shh, go on and play, maman will be right back," she said, ushering the little girl back out of the room, shutting the door closed as soon as the child was clear of it, separating the siblings once more.

Any kindness that had been offered to his sister was wiped clean, burned away as she turned to face him again. “Get up,” she told him, voice even and stern as she spun to face away from him again. Kaden quickly wiped his eyes and nose with the back of his hand before he scrambled to stand. His eyes darted to Wrinkles. He couldn’t be supernatural. All he wanted to do was hug the creature and go hide. Maybe he could just run away with his pet and go live in the woods. He could survive a real long time. Maman and Papa made sure he could.

Before he could contemplate running, his mother turned back to face him, something in her hand, “Come with me. Bring that vermin with you.” She walked away, out the door to the backyard. There was no question what he was meant to do. Kaden pet the animal, apparently a squonk, and motioned for it to follow him outside. It was still crying but it waddled along after the child. Wrinkles didn’t look like vermin. Maybe Maman was wrong and she was just going to show him where the dog would live.

“Here,” she said, pointing to a spot where he supposed he was meant to stand with the animal. Kaden obeyed and waited, looking up at her. She held a knife out to him. He waited a moment, hoping he wasn’t meant to take it. But there was no question and no argument from him. He tried to hold the knife steady, unwavering, but no matter how hard he tried, his hand shook. He tried to hide it, he didn't want to get yelled at again. “Kill it.”

That was all she said.

Kaden looked up at her, eyes wide with terror and confusion. “But--”

“I said kill it, Kaden. Now.” Her tone was harsh, her arms crossed in front of her chest, face set in stone. “And no crying about it.”

He tried. He really tried to hold it in. But the tears burst through the second he looked at his new pet. “I can’t. Maman I ca--”

She stomped her foot and made it clear there was no room for questioning her. “You can. And you will. You’re a hunter. That’s a monster. Hunters kill monsters. Now use that knife and kill it.”

His hand shook as he tried to raise it up. All he had to do was bring it down, plunge it into the creature’s head. Wrinkles was just standing there, still crying. Kaden couldn’t tell who was crying more, his dog or him. This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t-- He just had to bring the knife down. Just bring it--

The knife fell out of his hands and Kaden collapsed to the ground, wrapping his arms around the creature’s neck, sobbing into the folds of its skin, repeating the word no over and over again. He wasn’t there long, almost as soon as he had, a hand gripped his shoulder and yanked him backwards, away from the animal. “That is not a dog! Stop that!” He’d heard his mother's anger many times in training, but it was nothing like this. This was something else. Worse. For a moment, Kaden wondered if her anger was going to spill over, and he shut his eyes, bracing himself. Instead of pain, her hands gripped him again, picking him up off the ground and wrapping her hand around his and the hilt of the knife.

“You have to. Kaden, you have to.” Her voice had softened as she crouched over him. “This is what we do. This is how we help people. Make sure the supernatural doesn’t destroy us.”

“Are you sure,” he sniffed, “are you sure that it’s evil? It looks like a dog. I thought it was a dog. I just wanted to…” His words fell away into tears.

“That’s not a dog. I know it--” She paused, like there was something she couldn’t bring herself to say. “It’s not. I can assure you that it’s evil. I wouldn’t ask you to kill it if it weren’t, mon peititou.”

Kaden wiped his eyes again with his free hand. “You wouldn’t?” His hand was still shaking, even while it was held in hers. He tried to keep his tears at bay, but they wouldn’t stop spilling. “You wouldn’t ask me to kill an animal? You promise?”

Claire Langley’s lips pursed as she contemplated what to say next. Her son was more softhearted than she wished. Sometimes it made training easier. He always cared about helping others, so assuring him that he was learning how to be a hero was the easiest way to get him to cooperate. But in moments like these, it made it all so much harder.

She had planned to move him from stationary targets to small animals soon. It was the easiest way to learn how to hit a moving target. And it was much safer than practicing against most monsters. But she saw the way he looked at even the ugliest animals, the way he looked at this monster now like it was some kind, innocent creature, capable of love or companionship.

She knew better. And she needed her son to know better, too. If his sister saw any of this, if she got the same ideas... She couldn't handle training two softhearted children. One was enough trouble. She had to be sure her would do their family proud and carry on their legacy. It might mean making some compromises. For now, at least. He was young, maybe he would grow out of it. For now, she’d do what she had to. “I promise. I promise I’d never ask you to kill an animal. But this is a monster. And what do we do?”

Kaden gulped down the lump in his throat, sniffed back his tears. “We kill monsters.” Her hand fell away from his, knife still held tight in his grip. The knife glinted as he held it, no longer shaking, above the creature. In one swift motion, he plunged it into Wrinkles’ skull. No, not Wrinkles. A monster. Just a monster.

#writing #wickedswriting #para #solo #tough love #flashback #yes this is recycled from 1.0 but i made some edits #blame casey she mentioned squonks

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luverofralts · 1 year

Text

Arkhelios University

“Just what do you think you’re doing here? Your mother told me that you’d go through my phone, but I didn’t believe her. I thought that I’d raised you better than that. It’s that Chun boy. Ever since he purposely got pregnant to trap you, all you’ve been doing is catering to his whims. The baby isn’t in your tarot readings; it’s probably someone else’s. I don’t know why you keep insisting on-”

“Mal, it’s far too late for your lectures. You agreed about what needs to be done. We can’t allow this to continue!”

Roman blinked, hoping that the scene before him was wrong. He remembered sitting on a park bench in Murder Park, waiting to hear if Abe was about to die like the message on his grandmother’s phone had warned him.

“What are you- Abe isn’t really hurt, is he? This is a trap.”

No no no no I’m not here again. I’m not seeing this again. I don’t want to remember!

Roman could feel himself removed from the scene in front of him. He wasn’t actually the teen sitting on the bench waiting to be betrayed. He had suppressed this night in his memories for years. He wouldn’t relive this-he couldn’t.

“For now,” Kamalani said, the familiar words ringing in Roman’s ears. “But his turn is next, don’t worry. You’ll be together again soon enough.”

“Kama! That’s enough! You’re not killing my grandson!

“Why are you doing thi-”

An echoing bang cut through the air, and Roman collapsed on the ground, slumped not too far from where Abraham’s body had been found.

“Oh my god, you actually did it! Kama, that’s your son! How could you? It was supposed to be his arm!”

“We planned for this, don’t be ridiculous,” Kamalani snapped quickly.

Roman watched himself stare at the blood on his hands, unable to process what had just happened. He could remember being that young and horrified and convinced that he was about to die. All the time he spent repressing his memories of this night were for nothing. He could still remember the metallic smell of his blood as it spread across his chest. He could feel the burning pain tearing through his chest all over again. He wanted to forget this night more than anything in the world, but someone or something refused to let him.

“Roman! Keep breathing! I’m here!”

Malika sounded lost and panicked, hovering over her grandson’s body with remorse. Kamalani on the other hand was beginning to lose her patience.

“It was a clean shot. If you call Adam now, Roman should be fine. He’ll never disobey us in the future and this will bring both fear and sympathy from the other families. The trauma will either keep Roman from remembering our parts in this scheme, or if it doesn’t, he’ll rightfully be more afraid of what we are capable of and obey us. “

Roman could feel the blood pool around him on the ground. It had been so long ago, but watching the image of his past suffering had thoughts, feelings and horror come flooding back into his mind. He couldn’t be here, watching himself bleed out, hoping that Abe would somehow save him..

“Please, I don’t want to be here anymore!” Roman cried out out loud, hoping that someone, somewhere would hear him and free him from the torment of these memories. He didn’t think that his school books had mentioned that a hell existed, but if did, this was surely where he was.

“Please!”

From behind Kamalani, a glimmer of hope appeared out of nowhere. Some kind of sigil spread across the sky, calling to Roman. He didn’t need any more encouragement; he started running towards it the instant it stabilized. He didn’t even care where it led, as long it led him away from this memory.

Roman heard the crash of waves first, followed by the familiar smell of salt air. He recognized the place instantly. This was Adrian’s estate. Why would he be here of all places?

A familiar man sat on the shore, watching the waves roll up and then gently retreat back into the ocean.

“Adrian?”

Roman assumed that this was another memory or some trick being played on him by his mother. He stood, waiting for some horrible specter of their life together to begin playing to torment him, but none came.

“Roman? What are you doing here?”

“You can see me?” Roman asked incredulously. “No one’s been able to see me before.”

“A man as handsome as you? I doubt it. No one can miss you.”

Roman felt a tingle of pride at the compliment but was afraid to trust this specter of his dead husband. His mother could be making him seeing whatever she wanted to if she were behind this.

“You’ve lost the beard, I see,” Adrian continued. “Too bad, I really liked it. I really liked all of you actually, not that you could ever see that.”

Roman frowned. He didn’t remember this from any moment in his life and he’d shaved his beard off after Adrian had died, or so he’d thought. Was this really a memory or was this place somewhere different from before? Did that sigil he ran through have something to do with this?

“Are you...real?” Roman asked, completely dumbfounded. “Do you know me? I talk to you in my dreams sometimes, but this feels different. Is that really you, Adrian? Is this the afterlife? Am I dead?”

Adrian chuckled at the questions and pat the sand beside him to in invite Roman to sit.

“Sit down,” he laughed. “We’ll figure it out together.”

#sim 2 #Roman Bellamy #adrian siew #sim: adrian siew #tw: blood #tw: violence #Malika Bellamy #kamalani bellamy #arkhelios university #arkhelios

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lesbiantvfish · 10 months

Note

nightmare for the prompt?

Hi from 5am! Scheduling this one to post while I’m asleep. Thank you so much for sending a prompt ✌️

I wanted to write Sakko and my villain oc Lune interacting. I think they have buddy potential.

cw: she’s creepy and she sucks

Sakko woke up yelling from his cell. Realizing he wasn’t actively being tormented by that chain and music preforming box anymore, he sighed.

The moonbase beta prison complex gave Sakko a small bed, in a regular sized cell room. No bars, just a strong tempered glass wall in front of him, with an installed even smaller than normal speaking gap on the door. There was even a ladder installed so he could reach it.

Sakko’s attempt to fall back asleep was thwarted, with a knock at the side of his cell. He threw his blankets to the side and climbed up to his locked doors speaking gap.

“Do you need me to apologize for waking you up? just go back to sleep, idiot.”

“Would you like to have a different dream?”

Oh goddamn it, it was the new girl. His old next door cell buddy died in that cell yesterday, and she got moved in promptly.

“I’m going to be honest. You are strange, and the things you say upset me. I’m going back to sleep.”

She poked her entire muzzle outside her door and let out a whine. Why didn’t he ever appreciate his old cell mate. He was starting to appreciate his old cell mate. God save his soul, and all that.

Sakko tuned her out, as his other cell neighbor’s started outright yelling at her to shut her trap, all soon became quiet again. And he rested comfortably into his tiny bed.

“What should I do with this thing?” Sakko opened his eyes, and saw another sentient monkey species of some kind. She had dark grayish blue fur, lop ears and shiny rings hanging on tail. Her outfit looked like.. she wore a mask, and dressed similarly to a magician’s assistant.

In her hand, she dangled the object of his reoccurring nightmares. The fucking music box.

“Augh, burn it! Just get rid of it, actually! Get it away from me!”

At that, she complied. She opened her mouth and blew fire on it, until it burnt to a crisp. She waved the dust away, too.

“You see, usually I can go further into another’s mind. But the prison staff covered my eyes! I don’t know why that thing bothers you so much.”

That.. so much she just said upset him.

“..What did you do to me?”

She turned to him with a large smile.

“Oh, this? I’m just visiting your dream. That last one you had was difficult for me to move through. Did you know, my movements in your dream are set by your own set of logic? If you thought you were trapped by that contraption, it stunted my ability to move as well!”

He was asleep. Okay, great. He can lucid dream this bitch to hell. He thought hard about a piano that would fall down and crush her.

Sure enough, a piano came crashing down. However, she took a few steps away and is unscathed.

Sakko decided it was time to wake up. He opened his eyes, to see his darkened cell ceiling once more. Then..

He fell back asleep, but it was exactly where he left off. Inside the Citadel of bone somewhere, and that neighbor sitting criss cross applesauce toward him. Piano was still there, too.

“Did you ask what I did to you, earlier?”

He didn’t say anything back. This was draining enough to see a second time.

“Remember that pie you had on your plate yesterday?”

He looked horrified. “What. Did. You. Do. To my pie?”

She smiled brightly. “That was my pie! The staff gives it to me because my species needs more sugar than most prisoners. Also, since they put a locked metal mask over my eyes, I can’t read anyone’s minds anymore.. however, if I, for example, put a teeeeeny tiny portion of my fur into someone’s food, I can connect to their-“

“You put WHAT in my pie?!”

“Oh it was hardly any fur. And you didn’t even notice! Anyway, that scenery in your first dream was much more interesting than this one. Are you by chance a scientist?”

Sakko was too mortified to dignify anything she had to say. He was now scared of this woman.

“.. Well, the intricacies you dreamed into those machines was simply beautiful. You would not believe how misshapen machines become through the minds of most. Have you ever considered escaping this prison?”

She complemented him, but it still only felt like an insult. He told her. “Of course not, my sentence isn’t even that long. Just seven years, which is great after attacking a city in a giant mech. And holding a group captive to be brainwashed with a good friend.” She held her hand to her mouth. “Hm.. well, if you change your mind, you should tell me. My sentence is actually quite short. No one can prove my crime, so they can’t keep me here on what they can charge me for, for long.”

Sakko, laying down, lucid dreamed himself back into his cell. Lune was sitting outside of it, and decided to take it as an opportunity to wander around the prison that was recreated by Sakko’s memory. With her gone, Sakko lucid dreamed comforting things around him. Whatever that woman did to him, it at least seemed to bring his reoccurring nightmare to an end.

#srmthfg #Lune is aroace. she’s a creep but in the normal way #anyway she’s based on the mind reading Satori monkey legend #gil writings tag #gil answering post #gil text post

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erabundus · 1 year

Text

i was talking to @ruinlost about this last night ( who is a very cool friend, incredibly talented writer and artist, as well as a co-conspirator / enabler of scaramouche-related ramblings ) but the teaser prompted me to come to a realization.

can wanderer actually ( realistically ) die?

looking back at the fall, we already knew he was durable — but i don’t think we’ve really had evidence to scale just HOW durable he actually is. if he can tank crashing to the ground headfirst from such an absurd height, if he can sit ( completely unscathed ) in a burning building as it crumbles around him, can he even be killed at all? we know he is capable of being DESTROYED in some capacity — but i don’t think those means ( or the knowledge to use them ) would be available to more than a very, very small handful of people. the best mortals can hope to do is hinder him. i don’t even think many immortals would be able to effectively put him down for good, either. you can knock him out. you can smack him around. but he will get up again. in a war of attrition, wanderer always, ALWAYS wins by default — because he was created to last forever.

which is, really, more of a curse than it is a blessing. but wanderer’s specific brand of immortality is ESPECIALLY horrifying the more you think about it.

teyvat has more than its fair share of gods and creatures not limited by the constraints of a mortal lifespan. however, they are all subject to EROSION. wanderer, by design, is not. he has outlived humans before — but he also has the capability to outlast even the gods. and that is what makes how durable he is absolutely terrifying. he will never die. he can ( almost ) never be killed. his mind will stay just as SHARP as it always has. he is going to outlive everyone — and i do mean EVERYONE. it’s no wonder that he’s decided to live a life completely estranged from other people.

at the end of time, at the end of teyvat, at the end of everything, wanderer will still be there. he doesn’t have a choice. and if the first five hundred years were already so difficult, i can hardly imagine what ten thousand will bring.

i know we’ve had the pieces to come to this conclusion for a while, but the teaser really put into perspective just how nightmarish his situation really is. thanks, i hate it!

#𝟎𝟎𝟒 : 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥. ◟ hc .◝#( eternity really isn't fun the more you think about it 🥲 )#( ok ok ok i swear i'm going to do my work now but enjoy that )

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iidias · 2 years

Note

So like I also want to be on this wall of shame sooooo I remember my first two books lol...oh and I remember writing something in my notes on my old small iPhone-

AND I REMEMBER THE FUCKING CRINGY ROLE-PLAYS I DIDDDD (T^T)○

Anyway so there was this certain book I wrote my second one. It was all over the place I had no plot what so ever- Anyway there was this one part where they walked into a room because they heard a crash and saw their friend on top of a guy with a sharp glass in his hand pointing it towards the man's throat, The reason was because he was flirting with him. And another one is when they were playing truth and dare and the man was dared to slap his butt....yeah...

Wait a sec...I'll be right back....alright back

Everyone:

* hears loud thud*

Misono:

What was that?! Better not be something in the maison* hears laughing*

Licht: what is going on out there?

Mahiru:

Let's go check it out

____________________________________

Were the servamps were

____________________________________

Mahiru:

What is going o-

Misono:

DID THEY BREAK SOMETHING!!!? * See's something* O.. Oh O//////O

*All the other eves comes out and See's what's going on*

Sakuya:

I... It's not what it looks like

____________________________________

TO BE CONTINUED

Mahiru:

S... Sakyua....

(We see sakyua on top of tsubaki with a glass shard in his hands?)

Misono:

W... We're did you get that glass from?

Sakyua:

*gets of tsubaki* Over there *points to broken glass cup*

Misono:

T... That's my father's favourite cup....

Tsubaki:

Misono:

KNOW WHAT WE AREN'T STAYING HERE..LET'S GO TO MAHIRU'S APARTMENT

....AUGHHHHHSKQKW2KSJEJWJSJEJWJWJSJEJWJWJEJEJEJEEJEJ

___________

Lily:

Hehe

Anyways Tsubaki

Tsubaki:

Yes big brother

Lily:

Truth or Dare

Tsubaki:

Dare~

Lily:

I dare u to ( also a dare from my sister she sure is thirsty ) Smack sakuya's butt

Sakuya:

What the hell-

Tsubaki:

Sure big brother I never back down from a dare~

Sakuya:

No you just want to do this to fill your empty sadistic hole F*ck you

Tsubaki:

Maybe~

Sakuya:

STAY AWAY DEMON

Licht:

HEY THAT MY PHRASE YOU THEIF

Tsubaki:

Here I come~

Sakuya:

NO STAY AWAY

Sakuya

Tsubaki if you slap my butt you will not like what I'll do

Tsubaki

Oh and what will that be hmm?

Sakuya

I will burn all your fox plushies you have hidden and you will play dress up with Mahiru neighbor's kids

Tsubaki

You wouldn't DARE

SAKUYA

TRY ME BITCH

-----------

I also have this extra scene-

Mahiru's POV

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I have to "yes I do love it when kuro cuddles up with me it makes me feel safe and warm"

"Wow you actually admitted it" Hugh said. "Will yea you guys wanted to know so...". All of a sudden I felt warm muscular arms tugging at my waist, Next thing I know im in someone's lap? And I knew who it was from the soft finger tips to the toned abs and his soft hair. K..Kuro I managed to breathe out. Mmmmhh yes Mahi He said in a low sexy seductive way. Now this made me blush "Just because I said I liked it when you cuddle me, doesn't give you the right to do it without my permission" I whisper yelled. Than I felt his hands rub circles on my waist, and I yelped a little.

"Oi stopping being all lovey Dovey infront of us will ya" i heard Hyde say. "Oh shut up" licht said.(So cringy but who cares? Oi don't say anything person who was just about to say me)

.Hey guys I been meaning to say this for some time...". Misono suddenly said

?! "What do you need to say shrimp" Asked Sakuya. He looked up and said the most horrifying thing ever

"I think I'm being stalked"

T^T PLEASE WHAT THE FUCK!? AND YES THIS IS SERVAMP OF YOUR WONDERING-

AMI. AMI WHAT THE HECK. WHAT THE HECK IS THIS AMI. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO PUT THIS IN MY INBOX. I READ THIS. I READ THIS WITH MY OWN TWO EYES. I PUT THOSE WORDS IN MY BRAIN AND READ THEM.

#patronfeedback #user@ami

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kurt-wagner-official · 1 year

Text

Post #36: NM issues 4-7

Just four issues in, the book has a new status quo, with the X-Men back and the New Mutants no longer being the top dogs at Xavier's school. Later on, this book will distinguish itself from its sister with weirder and higher concept sci-fi and fantasy, but for this issue, Claremont leans the opposite direction, with Stevie Hunter being harassed over the phone by an anonymous villain. Meanwhile, Xavier gathers the young students and tells them that although he's been influenced by the Brood inside him, he's now free of it and still believes in the New Mutants. He asks them to give him a chance, and they all agree, because that's what he gave them. Xi'an tells Xavier about Stevie's stalker, and he tells the group to come up with a plan to help her so they can learn from the experience. This really is a very strange school. Afterwards, he confides in Lilandra his frustrations with Dani, who rebels at every opportunity. Lilandra theorizes that she's afraid of herself and of both failure and success, so she tries to defy any authority she sees. He says that he's learned from his past mistakes and this time he'll try to work with the problem student rather than against her. Of course, he's learned and forgotten this lesson many times so far, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because it's a new book and a fresh start for him. The team has come up with their plan: Berto puts a trace on Stevie's phone, and they trace the next call to a payphone. From there, Rahne tracks the scent to the local high school, where as luck would have it a dance is currently going on. It's the mixer that the kids were invited to by some other kids they met in town a few issues ago, so they go in. They discover the culprit is Peter Bristow, a member of Stevie's dance class. He runs to a car, and Sam chases after him, but he gets away when Sam saves a mother and daughter that were in the way of his car. In his rescue of these civilians, he pulls off his first successful sharp turn. It's a win Sam needed after three issues of beating himself up over mistakes. Peter crashes the car and flees into an abandoned building. There's an interesting moment with Rahne where she wishes she could live forever as a wolf while she tracks him in there. Rahne, as a character, takes two simple concepts- a person who loves her powers and one who thinks they're sinful- and mashes them together into one fascinating conundrum of a person. She tracks him down, and he attacks her until Xi'an possesses him. Because fate is terrible, this is an explosives factory, and the burning crashed car sets off an explosion that our heroes barely survive. Later, Xavier asks Dani to use her powers on Peter, which she feels icky about, but she obeys his order. Peter has a twisted affection for Stevie, but his parents have abused him all his life, and he thinks that's the only way to show love. When she was always kind to him, he thought it was a sign she didn't love him, so he wanted to make her miserable. Xavier calls CPS, and the plot comes to its conclusion. It's a horrifying ending, and there's sincerity in the sympathy that Claremont and the characters feel for poor Peter, but it also feels very after school special-y, especially when Xavier shows up at the end to tell them why they should always fight for a better world where stuff like this doesn't happen. All in all, an okay issue, but Claremont needs some time to adjust to the coming of age genre.

In issue 5, out heroes go up against their first proper supervillain. It opens with Xavier trying to walk and collapsing in pain, temporarily disabling his telepathic powers. The New Mutants are at a fair with Stevie, where a team of motorcyclists that Berto is a fan of is about to perform. The group is actually the superhero team Team America, who had their own book which I have not read and didn't know was a thing until this issue. The show is interrupted by Viper, the on-and-off leader of Hydra, and the Silver Samurai, a mutant named Kenuichio Harada with the power to energize his sword, who attack the cyclists to draw out their mysterious ally, the Dark Rider. The Dark Rider does appear, but to everyone's shock, it's the unconscious Dani. Silver Samurai escapes with her, and the rest of the team fails to stop Viper's minions without Xavier's guidance. Viper, believing Dani to be a member of Team America, blackmails them into stealing something for her. Before they can leave to get it, Xavier finds them and tells them they're mutants. The Dark Rider is a product of their collective psychic subconscious, which finds and possesses a host to fight with them in the form of the Dark Rider. Dani was the latest victim of their unknowing power, so Xavier demands they accept his training and assistance to save her. Berto is upset that the New Mutants are being sidelined for this. Actually, he's been upset most of this issue, and when he hasn't it's because he's busy flirting with all of the girls on the team. So far he's by far the least developed of the group, which is disappointing and stereotypical. Eventually he'll be evolved into my favorite of these five, but not today. Our heroes decide not to wait for Xavier to train Team America and set off on their own.

The kids attack the office of Nguyen Ngoc Coy, Xi'an's uncle and a San Francisco crime lord, who they hope can lead them to Viper. Some expository dialogue reveals that he betrayed her parents and corrupted her brother by employing him. She threatens to control him and make him walk off the roof, but he calls her bluff. Berto seems ready to kill him anyway, but Sam stops him. He agrees if Xi'an agrees to work for him, and she hesitantly accepts out of desperation. Meanwhile, the frustrated Xavier continues training Team America. But weirdly it seems like he's more focused on teaching them teamwork than about their powers. I feel like they should have teamwork down since they had their own book, but I haven't read it so maybe they all hated each other there. Or this could be Claremont's bad habit of putting down other teams to make his own shine. As Dani tried to think of an escape, The Silver Samurai tells Viper that Shingen, revealed to be his father, has died in Tokyo, and what he sees as his rightful inheritance has been stolen by his sister Mariko. He and Viper plan to go kill her as soon as they're done with this evil plot. Now that their training montage is done, Team America goes to steal the thing Viper wanted, a crystal from an A.I.M. base. They get it, but some of them seem to blow up, and a mysterious psychic attack takes out Xavier. The New Mutants locate and attack Viper's base and engage in battle with her minions. In the confusion, Dani escapes, but she and Rahne are attacked by Silver Samurai. Meanwhile, Team America miraculously survived and have a heartfelt conversation and unlock their true potential. I'm not gonna go into it cause they aren't the focus of this blog. Working together, the New Mutants drive the Samurai and Viper to retreat. Just when all seems safe, Xi'an has a hallucination of a horrible voice threatening her (she had the same hallucination when they arrived). Xavier finally re-establishes his mindlink with them just before Viper blows up the island base with them on it.

Issue 7 opens a few days later, and we learn that all of the New Mutants survived except Xi'an, who's MIA. The others are grieving and blaming themselves, while the X-Men have arrived to help search for her and her killers. Kurt tries to bring hot cocoa to the kids, and they're all terrified of him and Rahne calls him demon. He's good natured and cheerful about it, but it's very sad to watch because we know it hurts him. Xavier has news for Berto- his mother Nina is here. Through his conversation with her, we learn that Berto's father does know he's with the X-Men at Xavier's, which is good clarification cause we haven't actually seen Berto interact with his father once. His mom is an archaeologist who travels the world, and she's inviting the kids on a dig. Berto is pissed at Xavier for wanting to send them off on a vacation, but Xavier has a secret reason- he knows there was some evil voice that attacked him and confronted Xi'an, and he thinks it's taken her. He wants the kids out of danger while the X-Men confront it. Berto runs off and smashes some rocks, angry that for all his strength he was helpless to save both Juliana and Xi'an. Sam comforts him by talking about his own father, who died and left Sam with responsibility that he never expected. He says that life and death are both unfair, and you have to roll with the punches to survive. It's definitely the best character moment either of them have had in the series so far. They all decide to go with Berto's mom and give Xavier the space he needs to continue the search for Xi'an. A few days later, they arrive in Rio at Berto's childhood home. It's a mansion that his father Emmanuel worked in as a servant as a young boy. He grew up to make his fortune so he could buy it and be a lord where he and his own mother used to wipe the floors. Now he's grown up, but his riches have turned sour and caused rifts in his marriage. He and his wife argue over dinner- he thinks she's an idealistic fool going off on adventures, and she says he's killing the world for his own profit. It makes all the kids very uncomfortable. The next day they go with Nina to a carnival. Just like the last few times they all went on an outing, they have some fun for a few pages until something goes wrong, this time the kidnapping of Nina by Hellfire goons led by a big guy with an axe named Axe. They get away, but Rahne tracks them. They can't think of a plan to free her until a joke from Sam makes Berto come up with a plan based on Magnum, PI. Rahne's howling puts the goons on edge before Dani's mirages lure them upstairs and finish them off. Sam flies in and gets Nina out while Berto takes out Axe. After the last few issues, the team, and especially Berto, needed a win, and this was their first really successful mission without adult supervision. But their troubles are far from over, as we see in the cliffhanger: Emmanuel orchestrated the kidnapping with Shaw. Overall, this was my favorite issue of the series so far. Berto and Sam got their first solid and complex development, and the whole team proved themselves on their own for the first time. The plot of the book is about start getting really weird, which is where we’ll find most of it’s most famous stories, but that wouldn’t be possible without the relatively grounded character driven stories we’ve had so far.

#wes reads xmen

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