#alec do it a favor and

[carelessflower]

how much power is in the ring magnus give alec?

first, a little revisit to trsom

it's shown from scenes like this in the books that despite having the power to bring forward incapable feats or destruction, magnus doesn't want to use it, like at all. we get brief instances in the past where he used it and how much it affected him (killing his stepfather, creating earthquakes when he was upset). the status quo is set, magnus lightwood-bane and his immensely frightening, possibly corruptive magic will never accept each other's friend request again.

but then, there's this scene

the kind of power comes from the very heart of hell. we know warlocks are offsprings of demons, so it's safe to assume their heritage will somewhat show its influence in their magic. but this isn't your garden variety charm. from what the seelie girl trying to convey here, the ring literally reeks of magic from the deepest, most unpredictable and intimidating part of existence.

does alec know he's carrying a piece of magnus too-dangerous-to-not-be-unsealed-magic around him every day? and that there's no end magnus wouldn't go to, even if it's the part of himself he's terrified of, to keep alec safe?

@magnus-the-maqnificent @dustandducks @pocketoffeels

#malec #alec lightwood #magnus bane #shadowhunters #the mortal instruments #the shadowhunter chronicles #tsc #tmi #the red scrolls of magic #trsom #the land i lost #the eldest curses #tec #thoughts #meta #alec do it a favor and #never joke about world domination

[zepskies]

Being Human – Part 1

Pairing: Alec McDowell x F. Reader

Summary: Your life made sense before Alec slipped his way in. He unravels your threads without even trying. He frustrates you as easily as he weasels back into your good graces. But you soon realize that this man is worth the challenge.

AN: This is technically my first Dark Angel story, since I wrote Part 1 of this before "Bullseye." It will be four parts. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Summary: You’ve managed to keep things playful and friendly with Alec so far, despite his flirtatious nature. But when he asks you for a favor that goes painfully awry, the transgenic has to figure out something that wasn’t in his training: how to apologize. [Set during 2.06]

Word Count: 5,000

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only! Tension, angst, spiciness, implied smut.

💜 Series Masterlist

Part 1: Training Day

As sad as it is, this is probably your favorite place in the world.

Crash is as divey as a dive bar can get. And yet, it still boasts the strongest, cheapest drinks in Seattle. The music is decent, and the company is good. At least tonight it is, because you’ve met up with Max, Original Cindy, and Sketchy after a long day of slinging packages.

The only problem?

The newest member of Jam Pony, slinking up from the corner of your eye and easing into the seat next to you at the bar.

You turn an expectant gaze to Alec McDowell and his flirtatious green eyes. They take in your jeans and halter top with an obvious perusal. 

“Can I help you?” you ask dryly.

“No, no. It’s what I can do for you,” he replies. You’re about to roll your eyes when he adds, “Let me buy you a beer. Or whatever you’re drinking.”

Just then, the bartender slides you the beer you’ve already ordered. You thank him and give Alec a smile.

“Got it covered, thanks,” you reply, sipping the froth off your drink.

Alec sighs and crosses his arms. “When are you gonna stop putting the freeze on me?”

“When I’m not part of your internal checklist of Breasts on Legs,” you retort. Glancing around the bar, you note three other girls you’ve already seen him shoot his shot with tonight.

Alec scoffs and holds his chest.

“That’s hurtful,” he claims. “It really is.”

But he shifts toward you in his seat, cutting off your smile. Your face warms at his proximity.

Damn, he smells good, you think.

“Besides,” he says, “I always save the best for last.”

His smile makes your heart beat faster, though you eye him wryly. He opens his smartass mouth to say something else, but you get a reprieve when Original Cindy slides into the seat on your other side. She tosses you a wink.

It gives you just enough confidence to smirk in Alec’s face.

“Keep trying. Maybe someday I’ll lose my mind,” you say, with a teasing raise of brows.

Alec is still amused as he shakes his head. “You’re unbelievable. Insulting, yet, still somehow endearing.”

“Don’t wanna get clowned, don’t act like a clown,” you tell him sweetly. 

“I know that’s right,” Cindy quips. She orders a Cosmo to upgrade her beer. She must’ve won a bet tonight, if she was able to score enough cash for liquor.

“Hilarious,” Alec says. He pouts a little. “Hey, I’m not some mongrel on the loose. I’m just looking for some honest companionship.”

“Honest?” you laugh. “Now that’s hilarious.”

He gives you a fake laugh, but he watches you go when you slip away from him to join Max and Sketchy in the back room by the pool table. Alec’s smile fades a little.

Cindy raises a brow at him, along with a tan finger.

“No,” she says. “You actually crushin’ on homegirl? For real?”

Alec glances at her. “Where’d you get that idea?”

She gives him a flat look.

“Should I burn some sage?” she asks.

Alec shakes his head and rolls his eyes.

“Come on. I think Max is calling us over.”

When the two of them venture over to where you and Max are playing a game of pool, Alec’s cocky smile is back. His eyes catch yours when he sits down at a nearby table. Your lips curve while you lean on your pool cue.

For the past few weeks, this is how it’s always been with you and Alec. Push and pull. A sort of caustic flirtation that you can’t in good conscience take seriously. But to his credit, he always tries.

And he seems to always mean it. 

You’ll never admit it, but it’s getting harder and harder for you to resist the pull of him. He’s clearly a guy who doesn’t do attachments, and you have a bad habit of getting attached. Your life is hard enough without adding a dash of heartbreak into the mix.

So Max helps you sharpen your skills at this game while you finish your beer. And…maybe you “unintentionally” tease Alec a little with the curve of your ass when you’re bent over the table, lining up a shot.

In fairness, you’re a bit tipsy.

You spend the rest of the night drinking two more beers and laughing and losing the game—first to Max, then to Alec, and finally to Sketchy. By then, you know it’s time to cut your losses.

You haul your backpack onto your shoulder and start to head out of the bar. But who should slip into your way than Alec freakin’ McDowell?

“Hey, I’ve got a quick question for you,” he says.

You sigh. “Alec, the usual sniping was fun, but I’m tired and I want to go home.”

He stops you with a touch on your arm. He seems slightly more serious.

“It’s a favor,” he says, pulling out a small rectangular package wrapped in plain brown paper. You look down at it in confusion.

“I saw on the work chart that you’re scheduled to go over to Sector 4 tomorrow,” he says. “Would you mind delivering this for me?”

Your brows raise at him. He raises $20 in front of your face.

“I’ll make it worth your while,” he smiles.

You take the $20 and the package, though you’re still a little uncertain.

“What’s in it?”

Alec leans in close to your ear. “I’ll give you an extra $10 if you don’t ask.”

His voice washes over you and makes your skin prickle. You’re blushing, but your eyes narrow at him further.

“Make it $20,” you counter.

He scoffs. Though after a moment…he coughs up the extra cash.

“The most expensive damn delivery I’ve never made,” he mutters.

You have to crane your neck a bit, as he stands over a head taller than you, but you smile up at him brightly.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” you say.

For him, maybe the expense was worth it to get that smile.

You pull up on your bike to what you think is the right address. You don’t usually come to this side of town, even in Sector 4.

It feels a bit like a shanty town and a meat packing district all at once—complete with dodgy-looking street vendors and unmarked vans loading and unloading cargo behind them. 

“Can I help you, little girl?”

You stifle a gasp as your path is suddenly obstructed. A black man and his two white friends have crowded around your bike, but they don’t look normal. Various metal spikes and prods protrude from their faces, neck, and body, but they’re not your typical piercings. The metal is fused into their skin.

Oh shit, you think, as your heartrate picks up. Steelheads.

“I’m just making a delivery,” you tell them. Your eyes dart to your surroundings, trying to catch anyone’s gaze for a little help.

But in big cities like this, everyone knows to keep their eyes down.

Don’t look, don’t tell. Don’t get any trouble.

“I think you might be lost, love,” says one of the other men. He’s British, by the sound of his accent, and is the taller of the two. His skin is pale, though there’s a red ring under his eyes that suggests drugs, or whatever else these three are injecting into themselves.

“Uhh, yeah. I must be. I’ll just go,” you nod, and you start to back up. The ringleader Brit clamps a bony hand on your bike to stop you. He grabs the scrap of paper Alec gave you, which holds the address for your intended delivery.

The Steelhead examines it lazily, before his gaze flicks back up to yours.

“Well, well. I stand corrected,” he says. He gestures to the small package in your hands. “What’s in it?”

You shrug and try to play off your ignorance. Because the truth is, you have no idea.

“It’s not my job to know,” you reply.

“Ah, but you see, it’s our business to know,” the Brit says, leaning in towards you. You lean back with pursed lips.

“This is our little piece of paradise,” says the shortest one. His lips are damn near purple.

“We’re what you call…territorial,” says the leader. He grabs you off your bike while the first man takes the package from you.

“Hey, I don’t want any trouble,” you say, though you hate the way your voice shakes. “I can just go—”

“Oh, we’ll let you go, little mouse. You’re gonna give a message back to sender,” the Brit says. “But first, a reminder.”

He shoves you back into the nearest wall. It’s solid brick that stuns a gasp out of you. He presses in on you, grabbing your face and dragging a sharp, unnaturally long nail against your cheek, biting into the skin.

It’s painful enough to make you whimper as you feel wetness drip down to your neck. His friends laugh at your discomfort, at your fear. You’re too frozen to reach for the pepper spray in your pocket…

“What’s going on here?” another man asks. Out of the corner of your eye you spot a black uniform. For the first time in your life, you’re grateful to see a cop.

The Steelhead releases you, and the three of them are subtle in the way they back off from you.

“Nothing here, officer,” the leader says. Though he gives you a smirk. “Just accepting a delivery.”

You let them keep the package and pretend that a signature has made it onto your clipboard. You climb back onto your bike and you leave Sector 4 without looking back. All the while, your arms shake and you wipe at the blur of tears in your eyes.

When you get back to the Jam Pony base of operations (a warehouse that feels like a basement), you park your bike out front and head inside.

Your legs still feel precarious. And even though the blood is dry against the cut on your cheek, you know you need to clean and disinfect it at some point.

Of course, you have to run into Alec and Sketchy, who are palling around without a care in the world.

That all stops when they turn to look at you. Their mirth dies on their faces. Alec’s gaze runs over you and stops at your cheek. You dab at your face, tentative and self-conscious. You know you must look like hell. Of course, they can’t let you just go to your locker in peace.

“Jeez, what the hell happened to you?” Sketchy asks.

You shake your head. “Fell into a bush.”

You drag Alec aside by his arm, giving him a warning look that further lets him know you’re lying. He follows you without complaint over to the lockers, where you two have the semblance of privacy. Before he can ask you what really happened, you snap at him.

“What the hell was in that package?” you ask. “Drugs? A weapon? Some other contraband? Do you know what could’ve happened to me if I’d gotten caught with that shit? Do you know what almost…”

Tears burgeon in your eyes all over again, and you have to take a deep, shaky breath. 

Alec’s brows furrow in what might actually be concern. He grasps your arm, gentle but firm. 

“Hey, tell me what happened,” he says.

Unconsciously, his grip on your arm makes the memory flash in your mind: of that pale, greasy man grabbing you and pinning you against the wall.

You shrug out of Alec’s hold more harshly than you meant to. It makes him raise a placating hand, as his eyes widen a fraction.

“A gaggle of Steelheads,” you say. You breathe tremulously, blinking past your tears. “I was lucky…anyway. Next time you want to ask me for a favor? Don’t.”

 You brush past Alec to get to your locker. There you grab the rest of your things and head out, though it’s quite a few hours before closing time. Nothing gets by Normal, who stops you at the reception desk.

“Hey, hey, Missy! Where the hell’re you going?” he asks. “Get back here. I’ve got packages that need homes.”

“I’m taking some much needed PTO,” you quip.

“You don’t have PTO. It’s not that kind of business,” Normal says.

“Then bite me,” you snap. “How’s that?”

Most of the room stills into quiet shock. You feel the weight of their gazes, your coworkers and friends, including Normal’s slackened face.

You’re normally not one to talk back. You accept your assignments without question, not wanting to cause undue trouble for yourself. Like everyone else here, you need your job, and you have nothing to fall back on.

But it’s enough, and you’re thoroughly done with today.

Your saving grace is that it’s plain to see how shaken up you are, even when you leave. Alec approaches the receptionist desk with Sketchy, drumming his hand on the counter absently. 

“What the hell crawled up her keister?” Normal remarks. “She’s lucky I’m short staffed right now, or she’d be in the can.”

Despite his strong talk, he resumes collecting paperwork and organizing files to distract himself from how much you’d taken him aback.

Alec frowns.

“She uh, had to deal with some Steelheads,” he offers, and hesitates. “...What the hell’s a Steelhead?”

“Yeah, you know, they’re into implants and biotech stuff,” Sketchy explains.

“She would know better than to hang out with those low lives,” Normal interjects. “They’re amped off their gourds on hormones and who knows what else.”

Alec processes that with a deepening frown. He decides to head out onto his next “delivery.”

He makes it to Sector 4 on his bike within an hour, but he still envies Max’s motorcycle. When he racks up enough cash, he’s definitely scoring a faster ride.

For now, he pulls up near the address he sent you to earlier. He never should’ve given you his drugs to sell, especially when he clearly doesn’t know this city well enough yet.

Poor reconnaissance, Alec, he thinks. Sloppy.

Though when did he start to think of himself as Alec and not by his designation, 494?

He’s soon taken out of his musings when he sees a gaggle of three men outside a cargo van. Each of them is uglier than the last, with metal spikes, among other things sticking out from their bodies. Steelheads. They’ve got to be.

These are the guys who harassed you.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Alec says, climbing off his bike. The men turn to the newcomer with suspicious frowns.

“I’m looking for three fugly Steelheads that hassled a friend of mine this morning,” he says.

One is tall, pale and wiry, and he opens his arms wide. “Well, you found ‘em.”

He has a British accent. The sight of him alone grates on Alec, though all he shows is calm confidence. He teases the short one, who seems to be missing an arm. Apparently he’s “pre-op,” set to get a new cyber arm made of Japanese steel.

Fucking wackos, Alec thinks. Manticore could learn a thing or two from these guys about mutilation.

“Here’s the thing, fellas,” Alec says. “My friend was carrying a package that didn’t belong to her. It belonged to me. You guys took it, and I need to get it back.”

The first man scoffs. “There seems to be a breakdown in communication, doesn’t it?”

He approaches Alec, hands on his hips, with his two cronies behind him. Alec can already smell their stench from where he stands. He doesn’t need them to get any closer.

“Maybe your little bitch didn’t relay our message,” he says, pushing his luck.

Alec’s smile sharpens; a deadly warning in and of itself.

“Nobody around here sells Andy but us,” says another of them.

Androxtamine. Alec didn’t care to be a drug dealer. It was just a means to an end in order to pay Max back for her help a little while back. Now, his buyer is pissed that he didn’t get his damn drugs, and Alec is out $500.

He tries to explain that calmly to this group of weirdos, but the leader is just so damn cocky.

“What’s a puff like you need with $500 anyway, eh?” he asks.

Alec’s smirk deepens. He mimics the guy’s accent and replies, “Actually, I need it for a ride on your mum.”

Well, the Steelheads don’t take too kindly to that. They try their best, Alec will hand it to them. But his genetics and training make the resulting “fight” no more than child’s play. He takes his frustrations out of their asses.

He can’t help being slightly more brutal than necessary when he remembers the fear lingering behind your eyes. The bloody cut on your cheek. The way it could’ve been so much worse…

And it would’ve been your fault. Alec’s lips press into a line.

Logan Cale, Max’s rich non-boyfriend and secret “Eyes Only” vigilante, calls Alec halfway through his venting session to, surprisingly, ask for his help.

Alec agrees, because it’s mainly for Max. A creature has been killing cops in Seattle. Unfortunately, the description of a “man-dog” sounds way too much like Joshua, their fellow transgenic in hiding.

It also means Alec has to spend most of his afternoon in a musty sewer.

The job ends up being a bitch and a half, even when Max finally shows up to help out. The true culprit ends up being Joshua’s brother, Isaac, who Joshua is forced to stop before he kills any more policemen who remind him of Manticore’s abusive guards.

The gentle Joshua ends up having to take out his own brother. Something that’s both familiar, and foreign to Alec. (But he’s sure it’s not so foreign to Max.)

It’s a harrowing scene, and a touch too emotional for Alec’s comfort. He leaves Max to tend to Joshua in the aftermath and catches a ride home with Logan. Somehow though, as bone tired and grimy as he feels, Alec can’t feel right about going home just yet.

Something is niggling in the back of his mind, forcing him to hand Logan a scrap of paper that holds your address. (Alec might’ve snuck into Normal’s office before he left for the day to find out where you lived on your employee file.)

“Hey, can you stop at this address?” Alec asks.

Logan glances at the piece of paper and nods. He then looks over at Alec. They aren’t friends, but Logan is perceptive enough to know that something’s weighing on his passenger.

“Everything okay?” Logan asks.

“There’s something I have to do,” Alec supplies.

When they eventually arrive to what seems like an abandoned building, Logan looks over at Alec.

“Good luck,” he offers.

Alec nods gratefully. They aren’t friends, but he supposes Logan’s not so bad, even if he is a slave to Max’s supposed charms.

Alec gets out of the car and head inside the building. It’s old and dirty, and he really can’t believe you live like this. It lacks security and basic hygiene. If he wanted to, he could kick straight through your door with half of his strength.

Instead, he knocks.

A few moments later, he hears your feet padding cautiously to the door.

“Who is it?” you ask. Your voice is familiar and pleasant to his ears, if nervous.

“It’s me, Alec,” he replies.

It takes a second of your hesitation, but you unlock the door and open it.

He eyes your tank-top and shorts, the thin bra, your damp hair, the smell of your shampoo assaulting his heightened senses. 

But the jagged red line across your cheek draws his attention, along with the confusion in your eyes, and the wooden spoon in your hand. Was that supposed to be your weapon of choice? 

“What’re you doing here?” you ask. “How’d you even know where I live?”

“Ah, I told Normal I wanted to check on you. Make sure you weren’t going AWOL on the job tomorrow,” Alec says with a teasing smile.

You look a bit skeptical, but you let him in when he asks if he can. He smells whatever you’re cooking, spots the metal pot of pasta sauce simmering on the janky-looking stove, and his mouth starts to water. He’s starving, now that he thinks about it.

He then focuses on taking in the rest of the apartment…and it doesn’t take him long. This place is a shoebox.

At least it’s clean, as much as the peeling drywall can be.

“Why’re you here then?” you ask. Alec turns to see you have a hand on your hip. You’re staring at him like he’s a puzzle you’re trying to figure out.

You set down the wooden spoon on the counter and face him. Alec’s tempted to brush a stray strand of hair out of your eyes, but he keeps his arms down to his sides instead.

“About what happened today,” he says. “Those guys aren’t going to be a problem for you again.”

You tilt your head at him.

“What’d you do?” you ask with furrowed brows. “Something shy of legal?”

Alec starts to smile. “Maybe.”

You hmph in response. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”

Alec barely resists rolling his eyes, though he knows he deserves that. Once again, he takes in your apartment. It’s cozy, he supposes, if small.

“You live alone?” he asks. “No roommate? Boyfriend?”

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business,” you say dryly. “But no. To both.” 

That satisfies him, and yet there’s a little churn in his gut. This place is questionable at best. Doesn’t exactly boast decent security. He’s not too worried about the Steelheads trying to find you, but after the past few months outside of Manticore, he realizes how rough it’s become for humanity after the Pulse, especially for a woman alone.

“You could use a doorman around here,” he remarks. 

You scoff in amusement. “Yeah, well. It may not be the Ritz, but as long as the heater doesn’t crap out on me, it’s a decent day.” 

Alec doesn’t know what the Ritz is, but it sounds nicer than this dump. 

You catch the silent look of judgment on his face, making you frown and cross your arms.

“I can take care of myself just fine, okay, Dad?”

Alec frowns and gestures to your face. “Yeah. Right. You’re little miss Fight Club.”

That sparks your temper. You glare up at him with a defiant tilt to your chin.

“This,” you point to your marred cheek, “wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you. I’m not an idiot. I don’t put myself in stupid situations, except for that one time I ignored my better judgment to help you!”

Alec glowers back at you, but he knows he doesn’t have a good defense. You take a step into his orbit and tap a finger into his chest.

“And by the way,” you add. Your voice cracks like a whip. “Whoever taught you how to apologize did a bang up job!”

By the end of your little rant, you’re breathing deeply, and Alec is barely holding onto his own temper. What cuts through it all are the frustrated tears brimming in your eyes.

He sighs internally.

They didn’t exactly cover this in training, he thinks, but he supposes that's just…Being Human 101.

All too soon, your anger dims into defensiveness. You withdraw from him and gesture to the door.

“Now if you don’t mind, please get out of my shithole apartment so I can finish cooking in peace,” you gripe.

“Wait, wait,” Alec implores, when you try to lead him out. He lets you back him up a step or two, just to seem human, but now he digs his heels in. He looks down at you with true regret. 

“I’m sorry,” he says. His hand finds your unmarred cheek, caressing softly. His thumb swipes across your skin. “I am. I shouldn't have asked you to make that delivery. I'm sorry you got hurt.”

You stare up at him, breathing labored, and making your breasts just barely brush his sternum. Your eyes search his just as much as he is yours.  

He isn’t actually sure who moves first, him or you. But when his lips meet yours, it feels like electricity under his skin. It’s magnets that are meant to connect—it’s his arms wrapping around your waist like steel bands and you grabbing his face, sinking your fingers into his sandy brown hair.

It’s teeth clicking and tongues warring as he backs you up to the kitchen counter, and he hefts you up there by your hips.

You squeal in surprise, making Alec chuckle before he swallows your sounds with his mouth.

You start to push his jacket off his shoulders, and he helps you, letting the rest of it slide right off, followed by his shirt and your tank top. His hands smooth up your bare thighs and his thumbs dip in between, squeezing near the apex of your thighs and making you tremble against his chest. Warmth pools in your core even from that simple touch.

“W-Wait,” you whisper. 

It makes Alec pause. His muscles tense. Has he read you wrong? 

He searches your face for a sign of discomfort. If you don’t want this, it’ll be…hard, at this point (for more reasons than one). But if he has to, he’ll let you go.

He’s relieved when you only twist away for a moment to turn off the stove. You return to him with a smile as your hands come to rest on his chest. You bite your lower lip. 

“Shall we continue?” he teases. 

His thumb encourages you to let go of your lip. He takes your chin between his fingers and guides you back to him.

The next kiss burns with a slower passion. One that consumes you enough to hook your arms around his neck and your legs around his hips. 

He grins against your lips and lifts you again, this time holding you firmly against him. You make another sound of surprise, but you don’t let that stop you from delving deeper into his kiss. 

He carries you into the bedroom and slams the rickety door.

Afterwards, the two of you lay together on the wrong side of your bed. 

Alec lies on his stomach and you on your back. The night had gotten such that you stopped caring which side you typically put your pillow on. Your hair is fanned out on the mattress in many tangles he took pride in creating.

A shitty show plays on your small TV, but Alec is watching with rapt attention. 

He’s kind of cute about it actually, you think. Like he’s never seen a soap opera before. 

“Ooh, that one’s my favorite,” you point backwards. “It’s about a sexy doctor, obviously.”

“Right, because I’m sure doctors always have this much sex with their patients,” Alec quips. 

You snort and shake your head. You stare at the side of his face for a moment, rather than the TV. 

The back of his hand rubs against your shoulder, earning your attention. 

“What’re you thinking?” he asks. He’s still looking at the screen.

“That I’m even hungrier now, but I don’t feel like getting up,” you admit with a giggle. He laughs.

“I wouldn’t mind some chow,” he says. 

You roll onto your stomach, taking some of the sheets with you when your knee slides over, resting against his naked lower back. You lean your chin on his shoulder as your hand travels across his back. 

“Is that your way of inviting yourself over for dinner?” you ask. 

He looks over at you then. He’s grinning, but his eyes are a touch softer, you think.

“If you don’t mind me crashing,” he says.

You shake your head and sift your fingers through his hair. Your gaze drifts down the back of his neck and catches on a strange mark. It’s a barcode, you realize, touching it lightly with two fingers. 

“What’s this? A prison tat?” you tease. 

He chuckles humorlessly. “Sort of.”

Your amusement fades, but your soft fingers along the back of his neck elicit a small shiver out of him. Your touch is gentle. He isn’t used to gentle, and it makes goosebumps spread across his skin. He feels your lips press a kiss to his shoulder next, and he turns his head to look at you. 

Beautiful, he thinks, taking in your face again, and the hint of cleavage down the sheets covering you, hiding the familiar curves he had all too much fun exploring.

“You gonna tell me the story?” you ask. “Or save it for a rainy day?”

Alec lets out a sigh through his nose. “Let’s pencil that one under the ‘Rainy’ column.”

You nod in agreement and bite your lip. These days, everyone has a story they’re not proud of. Even something that keeps them up at night. You don’t press Alec for his.

He’s grateful for that. He leans in and kisses you, nice and slow.

From the beginning, he noticed you. Your tenacity. Your quiet confidence. How you’re always willing to help your friends, and how you’ve never taken any of his shit, even if he knew part of you had been contemplating his suggestive offers. That spark always kept him coming back for more…and somehow, it became more.

In the back of his mind, this scares him a little. Being with you feels dangerous in a way that feels both familiar and foreign, but it’s too late. He’s been hooked by the pull of you. It’s a craving he can’t help but try and fill. Hopefully, not just tonight.  

“You said something about food?” he grins.

You smile and lean in again, until you’re mere inches from his lips. 

“Hmm, impromptu dinner date?” you offer. Alec laughs quietly and nods.

“We kinda went about this backwards,” you say, “but if you like spaghetti and plain sauce, I’m your girl.”

He smirks at that, and thumbs at your chin.

“Then you’re my girl.”

AN: And there's Part 1! It's only my second time writing Alec, so I hope he feels in character. Let me know what you think of this little series so far. 😘💜

There's much more in store over the next three parts, and the next one tackles perhaps my favorite episode (2.11), even if it's the most gutting.

Next Time:

“All right, that’s enough outta you,” Alec says, and he claims you with a more demanding kiss. His fingers sink into your hair tightly.  

But you press your hand to his cheek, making him pause for a moment. The amusement fades from his eyes the longer he stares into yours. You’re not teasing or joking anymore. 

You kiss him then with meaning. With tenderness. 

You don’t know how it makes that coil of guilt grip him like a vice.

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[kaylinelizabeth4004]

Young and Beautiful

Alec Hardy (Broadchurch) x Reader

Synopsis: DS Y/N Warner uses DI Alec Hardy’s flat for some late night work

Word Count: 4890

Tags: fem!reader, fluff, smut, praise, sweet, very sweet smut, if your name is Becca look away

She didn't even bother to knock, not knowing or caring if he was in, she just slid open his sliding glass door and let herself inside. Then she plopped the case files on his sofa, pushed his coffee table to the side, and laid them all out in front of in her. He'd come round about an hour later, when all the papers lie in their own stacks across his rug, Y/N in the middle eating a slice of toast with a wild look in her eyes.

"Warner, what're you doing here?"

"There's something we're missing, there has to be, and I'm so close to it!" She said, her baby hairs frizzing wildly as her hair came loose from her ponytail. She either didn't care or didn't notice as she stood up, a paper in hand. DI Alec Hardy stood in his own doorway, flabbergasted to his DS rambling in his room at half past 4am. "I think it has to do with Aaron, it's got to be. His alibi doesn't make sense, he won't tell us where he was, and he knew Sophia well enough. At least more than some of the other persons of interest. I've tracked down the local cab company and one of the drivers says he remembers giving a bloke a ride late that night, said the lad was proper out of breath and not exactly chatty. I've already got him lined up to come in tomorrow for more information. As for the trace amounts of DNA in the victims mouth we don't have a match yet but the lab did say it wasn't as disintegrated as they'd initially thought which gives me hope! I've got -" 

"Warner!" Hardy shouted, interrupting her speech. "What the hell are you doing in my house half past 4?"

She gestured around her as though it should be obvious, "working."

"And you can't do that at your own flat?"

She giggled, and continued to ramble. When she was really tired, like proper one second away from passing out tired, like she was now, she couldn't shut up. It didn't matter if the person she was talking to didn't want to hear it or wasn't listening or couldn't hear it - having a deaf cousin worked to her favor in these instances - she would continue to prattle on about what she needed to, "no. My roommate's got her boyfriend over and they were proper loud. Could practically hear the bed rattling, and it wasn't doing me any good. You don't sleep anyway so I figured I could use the space to lay it out. I didn't think you'd not be home. Why're you dressed nice? Did you come from a date? Is that what this is? Is there some woman waiting outside?"

"No!" DI Hardy looked halfway offended at the suggestion. "I've just got back from work. Was gonna make a cuppa then keep going til you showed up."

She squealed and went for something on the floor, lifting it up then crawling to a different paper,"I take two sugars."

"I know your bloody order. Shouldn't you go and sleep?"

She waved a hand, "I'll sleep when I'm dead. What I really need is for the world to be open 24/7. If I could only call this bloke right now and half my questions could be answered. You know my order? That's sweet."

He scoffed, "it's not unique. Warner, when was the last time you slept?"

"Uhh, I slept a few hours on Tuesday. Why do you look all high and mighty? You don't sleep either, don't eat. You're practically a miserable little skeleton carting your life way through life."

"I am not -" he stopped taking. Partially because she hadn't stopped either, continuing to chatter about whatever her heart desired. And partly because he didn't know if he was going to refute the miserable part, the little part, or the skeleton part. Or if he even could refute it. He snorted, well he wasn't little. He was over 6 foot. And he could eat more, he knew that. But he often forgot about food until he had to.

"I know a fellow who took nine sugars. Can you imagine that! Nine sugars! You're drinking piss flavored juice at that point. Pardon mh French, sir. He was very strange... called himself Witchfinder as though you couldn't search on the web magic shops. Maybe we should start calling ourselves Crimefinders. Criminalfinders? That doesn't roll off the tongue, now does it?"

DI Hardy realized Y/N wasn't going to answer any of his questions in this state, so he shuffled over to the kitchen to make some tea. He took his coat off, tossing it on whatever available counter space there was with a yawn. He wanted to sleep, knew he probably had to, but he'd probably dream of something he didn't want to dream about. Lately it'd been odd mental pictures of his coworkers all hurt, Y/N choked, Ellie crying, hell even Brian made the scene with a glazed look in his eyes. He didn't know why he had these thoughts, he'd never considered himself a particularly caring individual over his coworkers. But it had haunted him off from sleep for the foreseeable future.

He made two cups of tea, disposing two sugars into Warner's as she said. Then he walked back over to his living room and sat down, elbows on his knees as he scanned her work.

"Thank you!" She said, grabbing her mug and take a large gulp of it. "What do you think of this, sir? He doesn't strike me right. Can't place it."

"The name is familiar," Hardy admitted. He went to his laptop and started typing away, trying to place the name. "Ah, he's been arrested for aggravated assault. Both charges dropped, looks like some brawls in the pubs."

"I s'pose that doesn't suggest he murdered a girl."

"Doesn't rule him out either, if he's willing to punch a stranger in a pub what would he do to someone he knows?"

She giggled and scrambled for her pencil, "I should write that down for my novel!"

"You're writing a novel?"

"Mmhmm, started it tonight. 'Adventures of Harner and Wardy.'"

Alec set his mug down, and took hers from her hand as well. "Alright, time for bed now."

"What? No! I've got more novel to write and crime to solve! We've not even started discussing the potential that Louise is lying about her husband's alibi. I mean really? She says he binged Big Bang Theory with her all night and I'm all for binging telly but of all the shows you choose that one? The laugh track is funnier than the actual show half the time - is this your bedroom?"

Hardy had helped Y/N to her feet and led her to his bedroom in the back. She was still rambling about the most irrelevant things when he guided her to sit on the edge of his bed. He didn't often make it, so he was glad to note that it was done up well. Warner hadn't slept in almost a full 48 hours and he knew that even with a brain as sharp as hers, it was dull as Katie's without sleep. He got on his knees before her, carefully untying her shoes and sliding them off her feet. He put them by the door and helped her out of her coat jacket.

"What're you doing?" She finally asked as he hung the jacket on the back of the door. "Are you hitting on me?"

"What? I -"

"Because if you are hitting on me that's totally okay, but I should warn you I'm getting sleepy so I might not be the best lay. But you are proper good looking so I wouldn't say no." She made a face, "my boss wouldn't like that would he? Noooo, can't call someone proper good looking. I'm not trying to be a knob, just communicating that you've got no problems in the looks department. None, like ever. Personality maybe but you took my shoes off for me so that gets you at least a few brownie points."

Alec felt like he was malfunctioning, his arm stuck out, frozen midair from her words. She just called him attractive. And not just good looking, but good looking enough she'd want to sleep with him! He'd never been used to such straight forward compliments and didn't quite know if he believed it. So he just worked on autopilot, helping tuck her into bed.

"Go to sleep, Warner." He flicked off the lights and closed the door. What the hell. What the hell. Alec blinked rapidly like that would make any of what just happened make any sense at all.

He stood awkwardly outside the door of the bedroom. Should he - is he- what's the proper procedure with this? He should know, he was married once, had enough sex to have a child! But it seemed all that knowledge left the moment Claire stole back the pendant, fizzling his marriage, his life, his career. Now he was left taking uneven breaths as the sun crept up, an employee who's attracted to him sleeping in his bed after 40+ hours of not sleeping.

He found himself back at his laptop, slowly typing out what to do when someone admits to fancying you. But the results were not his thing, videos of very forward men and women moving very quickly into other actions. Alec was not opposed to the action, sex. But he couldn't fathom how to get there. So he sat in his kitchen drinking old tea, and staring at his door.

An hour later he crept in to grab a different tie for work, and saw Y/N completely passed out. She was curled in a ball, cradling his pillow and lightly snoring. She looked content. It made him smile against his better judgment. He left her in there, scribbling a note on a piece of paper he taped to the bedroom door before he left for the station.

Y/N Warner woke up nearly 12 hours later. It was practically dark when she opened her eyes. She blinked away the sleep that threatened to creep in around the corners of her eyes, and propped herself up on her elbows to survey the scene around her. She didn't recognize the room she was in, blank walls and bland sheets. There was no personality to it. For a moment, she wondered if she'd gotten a hotel room and just had no memory of it.

Then she smelt a familiar, faint scent. She couldn't place it or really describe it other than she liked it, it was warm. Stupidly, she let her face fall into the pillow to inhale the scent. Oh my god.

She shot up quickly, realizing where she was. The memories of last night flooded her mind.

"Shit, shit, shit." A hand flew to her brow as she tried to process. She'd come here to work because her roommate was fucking her boyfriend into the oblivion. DI Hardy came back, made her a cuppa. She wouldn't shut up, kept rambling about the Big Bang Theory (why?) and Witchfinders (how?) before he guided her here. Then she - "no." She said audibly, she did not make a pass at DI Hardy in his bed, late at night and practically drunk on exhaustion. Her eyes flit around the room before landing on the one piece of decoration, a framed photo of Hardy and Daisy, his daughter. "No." She said again, as though it could stop her ramblings.

Y/N rushed out of the bed, scrambling to find her shoes before she saw them neatly lying next to the door. She was usually very professional, if not a little eccentric. But no one could fault you for being a lot when you were good at your job and solved cases. She brought justice to people, she knew she did. And she might have risked it all because she worked herself too far and hit on her boss. Regardless of how stupid attractive he was, that was still work place harassment.

She shoved her shoes on, forced her arms into the holes of her suit jacket and ambled out into his living space. There were papers everywhere. They covered the floor like a new rug, slouched over the chairs and clung to the walls by hall dead pieces of tape. She looked for her mobile, patting her pockets. Shit, she must have left it in the bedroom. When she turned she spotted a note on the door.

'At the office. Feel free to not come in.'

Oh she was dead. She'd lost her job forever, she would never work again. This stupid blasted career she'd worked so hard on gone.

She ran back and found her mobile among the sheets, shoved it into her pocket and ran to leave the home. Then DI Hardy stood awkwardly at the front door, bags of Chinese hanging from his hands and a weird not grimace not smile expression. He didn't look pleased to see her, but he didn't want to kill her. Good news, right?

"Sir, I am so sorry about last night-"

"Don't worry about it." He waved his hand, coming in to set the food on the counter. He got a lot of it.

"No, I can't not worry about it. I came into your home, made a mess, took your bed and propositioned you-"

"Warner, we've arrested a man for the murder of Sophia Garcia. It was Aaron Baker, his dad's golf clubs, just like you'd said."

Her mouth fell open, "shit, really?"

Alec gestured to the mess of papers while he spoke, "you'd mentioned something about the cabbie last night. When I went in I gave them a ring, and while there was a driver who picked up a grumpy lad it wasn't Aaron. Sounds like a Christie book but it was his twin. Aaron was cross town cleaning up the scene."

"Not good enough," Y/N said softly.

Alec nodded, "not good enough."

"I'm sorry, sir." She said again, her voice still quiet and meek.

He didn't answer her, just stared for a beat before gesturing to the food, "I didn't know what you liked so I bought two of everything."

"All this is for me?"

"You solved the case, Warner."

She shook her head, "I ... you let me sleep in your bed? I ransacked your house, I propositioned you, and you let me sleep and brought me food?"

Alec scratched the back of his neck. He did not like how often Y/N asked questions. It stressed him out, like he had to have an immediate answer to every single one when he figured his actions spoke. But she looked so confused. He just gestured to the food and went to grab plates.

She sat down in surprise, blinking quickly as she watched him come over. "Just a, uh, an egg roll and cho mein please."

He nodded and shoved two of both onto her plate before giving it to her. He didn't put anything on his plate. Y/N sighed and scraped off half of hers onto his.

"Eat, sir. Please."

He blinked, "wot?"

"I've known you for years and never seen you eat. Just eat the egg roll."

He stared at the greasy food. He can't eat that, he thought and was about to say as much when she shot him a dirty look. Tentatively, Alec took a bite of it. He cringed, he didn't quite love the taste but Y/N seemed pleased he was eating so he finished it off just for her.

When they both finished he cleaned up, and she stayed seated. Then he moved past her to the bedroom, undoing his tie and tossing it, along with his jacket, onto a chair in the corner. He started to roll his sleeves up round his elbows when Y/N waited by the door.

"Thank you, sir."

"No need-"

"Let me. Thank you, sir. For the food and the sleep and, uh, well thank you for everything."

"Of course, Warner. I take care of my people." Not typically this much care, but he didn't want to make her feel bad. He focused on sliding off his shoes, shoving them out of his sight.

Alec jumped - well, Alec never really jumped just blinked harshly and cocked the one eyebrow - in surprise. Y/N was now closer to him, her chest heaving as she stared up at him. She was shorter than he remembered.

"I-If I may, sir?" She asked, lifting a hand.

He had a feeling he knew what she was asking, but didn't know for certain. But all the same he nodded. He watched as her eyes fluttered shut as she leaned in, going onto her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

He hadn't been kissed in a long time, and the surprise of her initiating it made him stand there and accept her soft lips against his. When she broke, he could see the fear in her eyes as though she had done something wrong. Alec hadn't kissed in a while, and he felt the anxiety creep in that he didn't remember how. But the look in her eyes made it worth the fear.

He plunged forward, grabbing the back of her neck gently while his other hand came to cradle her jaw. Her skin was soft under his touch, melting as he held her. Y/N's hands came up to hold his jaw, scruffy and itchy in the most delightful way. Her mouth melded with his as his tongue licked along her bottom lip.

She cherished the way his jaw scratched against hers slightly, sighing when he broke to trail soft kisses down her jaw and the length of her neck. The scratch was enough to make her giggle like a schoolgirl, holding his shoulders. He shot back up, hair slightly wild but nothing compared to his eyes as he looked into hers deeply. He needed to be absolutely certain. There was no time for messing about and hurting anyone.

She smiled. He was so handsome to her, but in an understated way. She took the moment to run a finger on his sculpted jawline, along his freckled cheeks and down his crooked nose. No, not everyone might look at those features and call it handsome. But to her, he was everything. Smart, kind, and good-looking as sin. Her finger fell upon his lips, slightly open and let out harsh breaths as he searched her eyes desperately. Alec always wished he could read expressions better, he was terrified he'd make the wrong decision somewhere down the line.

But Y/N smiled, and nodded, pressing a soft kiss to his nose before taking a step back. Then she toed off her own shoes, shucked off her own jacket, and began to undress.

He followed her lead, removing his shirt and pants. Eventually, they both stood in front of one another naked. Y/N felt that pang of anxiety in her chest at being bare in front of a man. She'd made it very clear to Alec that she found him to be hotter than hell, but did he feel that way about her? She wasn't ugly, she knew that, but she wasn't a showstopper.

And yes, she could see the surprisingly length of him hardening before him. But didn't every man get hard when sex was on the table?

Alec came forward and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her forward as his eyes took in every inch of her. He ran a hand along her stomach - an insecure area for her - and up between her breasts, before settling it on the base of her neck. The simple action left her breathless.

His eyes were still on her body before he brought them up to hers. She was struck by how deep his were, how warm and brown, they seemed to go on forever.

"Look at you," he said hoarsely, his accent suddenly get thicker. "You're gorgeous."

"You think so?" She felt stupid asking it. She should be confident, she should pose seductively and tell him to strap in the way girls do on the telly. But this felt real and raw, and raw didn't shy away from the insecurities. Insecurities laced with cellulite and hair, parts that feel too pudgy there and too concave there. Never quite where it needs to be, never "ugly" enough for the world to tell you you have a right to complain.

"'Course. 'Course, look at you. You think I'm g-good too?" He asked back.

Y/N smiled, "thank you for saying that, most men don't."

"Don't they?" Alec asked in surprise, figuring that was just a part of the experience.

She shook her head and let her gaze trace along his body as well. He was lean and tall, with thin legs and arms wrapped in gentle muscle. His stomach was slightly pouchy and soft, beneath it his length was already hard at the sight of her. She ran a hand up from his stomach to his chest, mimicking his actions, and let it stay on his heart. Beneath her touch it thumped violently. Then she looked up to see his face, her favorite feature. His eyes were warm and gentle even when they didn't mean to be. "All of you is handsome to me, all of you."

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, "you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. And if it isn't too crass to say, I'd fuck every inch of you."

It was too crass to say, and even a little cheesy, but it made her blossom with a smile. She threw her arms around his neck and let herself fall into one of his all encompassing kisses she was starting to like the taste of too much. Alec's lips were firm but not overpowering as they engulfed her, setting a tingle from her toes all the way up to her head in a heady giggle. His hands held onto her waist, grasping the flesh there with a sweet intensity. His lips parted with a deep groan.

She walked backwards to the bed, leading Alec until he was over her. His arms were poised by her head, his neck brought down as he peppered open mouth kisses along her neck. She laughed lightly at his scruffy beard, moaning when his lips found the spot between her neck and shoulder that shot straight through her. Y/N writhed under his touch, heat searing her skin. His hands were everywhere, branding her, skating up her waist to grab a handful of her breast, down her back to cup her bum, and feather like fingers traveling over the top of her thighs to the place in between. She gasped as he ran a finger down her slit.

"So wet..." he murmured, not expecting her to be so aroused by him. He'd barely done anything for her, hadn't touched down there at all. Yet she was slick to the touch, heat and arousal. Alec loved the way her chest flushed, her eyes closed tightly as she savored his touch on her skin.

He ran his fingers down, keeping his touch light as he experimentally nudged around. When he found her clit she gasped, her whole body tensing and focusing on the nerves right there against his finger.

"So responsive," he murmured, starting to work gently against her clit as she took shaking, uneven breaths. Alec went to speak again, then stopped. Tess never liked when he spoke in bed, said it distracted her from her climax. So he'd learned to stay silent and focus on his partner's body, her mouth as she fought her body's reaction to grind violently against his fingers. He kissed her sternum, biting at the flesh gingerly. Despite himself, Alec growled into her as she bucked her hips to meet his ministrations.

"Keep talking," she said in a hoarse voice.

"Wot?" Alec asked, taken aback.

Y/N looked up at him, eyes heady with need, "your voice is hot. If it's okay to ask, please keep talking, sir."

Alec grinned his charming, crooked smile. He bent down to kiss along her stomach as he quickened his pace on his clit, driving her faster to a climax then she was used to. That deep Scottish voice rang our praises, some loud enough that she could hear them and clench her thighs, others murmurs against her flesh that made her head feel light and airy. She giggled at the thought of all the beard rash she'd have along her body from him. All the same he told her how well she was doing, how beautiful she was, how lovely she looked squirming underneath him.

Then, as her back began to arch and she could feel the orgasm just a hair's breadth away, he stilled. Y/N whined. Actually felt herself whine in protest. He chuckled, clearly meaning to edge her, using his large hands to keep her legs wide open.

"A-are you ready?" Alec asked, his usual confidence lost to the arousal he was trying to keep at bay for her. His hands were large and warm, holding onto the space between her hips and thighs with a firm yet gentle touch.

Y/N's eyes gazed down to his cock, hard and ready. It looked about ready to burst, but Alec squeezed her thighs to look up into his eyes. They were warm and kind. Asking for consent even in a position like this. It made her all the more sure of her answer.

She reached up for his face, grabbing his jaw and planting a warm kiss on his mouth as he started to guide himself inside of her. He was slow, letting her gasp and adjust to the length inch by inch until he was fully inside of her. Alec paused. She could feel her heartbeat everywhere, pulsing desperately for friction.

She nodded, kissing Alec again. She'd never had a kiss like that, so strong and comforting. Kisses were never her thing, she hadn't understood the fuss over them. Just two sets of lips pressed against one another, the taste of the day infecting it. But with Alec it was more than the cho mein or egg rolls, and it was more than chapped lips pressed against one another. It was full of desire, trying to communicate all that words couldn't. She drank it in fully, gasping against him as he started to move inside of her.

Alec was bigger than she expected and bigger than he was used to, and she wiggled her hips to the feeling of being stretched so full like that. He cherished the feeling of her gasps and moans, dipping to kiss every inch of skin near him.

"So beautiful, so gorgeous..." he thrusted in quickly this time and saw her body tense from surprise. "You're taking me beautifully, Angel."

Y/N could listen to his voice all day. Even before she realized he was far from an ugly bloke, she fancied the way his voice poured over her in sexy waves. Deep, guttural, it was honest and raw. He didn't lie, he didn't cover it with some pretense to be sexy. Even when his voice would break, small gasps from the sensations breaking up his sentences, she found it all the better.

Alec leaned back, not wanting to stop kissing her not wanting to miss the view. He'd pulled her hips down to the edge of the bed, him standing and her legs spread wide and resting on the small of his back. With a gentle pace that started to grow more desperate he thrust into her, watching her body flush and squirm beneath him. Y/N threw her arms up, arching her back to take him deeper. Alec was enamored with the way her breasts bounced with each thrust.

"So fucking beautiful," he grumbled, snaking a hand down to stroke her clit. He could feel that he wasn't going to last as long as he would have liked, but by the way Y/N let out little moans by his feather light touch, he figured she didn't mind all that much.

Y/N was in her own world, feeling his voice slide off her skin like oil as she chased her high. His denial of her orgasm earlier made this one all the more powerful. It seemed to slam into her, causing her to gasp wildly as Alec kept firm ministrations on her clit. Then he too reached his climax, grunting in a low voice before pouring out in a shocking spurt.

Then he pulled out, falling beside her as they both gasped for breath. Y/N quickly ambled out of the bed and used the restroom before she came back in, feeling like her limbs were absolute jelly. Alec brought her back to the bed, laying next to her. His hand held hers, thumb tracing circles on the back of her hand.

"That was incredible," he finally said.

"You could say that again."

"That was incredible." They both paused, turning to look at one another, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

#binging broadchurch #i’m happy the 12 of you who read broadchurch fics will enjoy this #broadchurch fanfiction #alec hardy #alec hardy fanfic #alec hardy x reader #in love with Alec Hardy #he needs love #sad detective boi #fanfiction #David tennant my love but also not sexualizing you cause rude #but I love you and love Alec #broadchurch #god bless Mother Nature for making Becca look away #I’m serious Becca no reading #you know too much about me

[lostuntothisworld]

Spaghetti theory time:

The "Luka lying to Ladybug about her secret identity after he was so fired up in Truth only to lie to her in Wishmaker" salt has died down for the most part, but I would like to bring it back up.

I'm gonna do you all a favor and copypasta the transcript below, because I know nobody is going to rewatch the episode.

Marinette: I'm sorry about earlier. There were mosquitoes on the boat, I thought we needed some insect repellent but the drug store was closed so I had to- Luka: Shh, listen, the song of the water. If you listen carefully at this very spot under the bridge, you'll hear a melody. (They listen to the river and smile at each other.) You know, I never knew my father and my mom would never bring herself to tell me. So when I just couldn't deal with it all, I would take refuge here and the melody of the water would console me. What about you, Marinette? Where do you go when you disappear? Marinette: Uh- Luka: You tell me, I'll accept it. If you're still in love with Adrien, I'll understand. I won't be jealous you know. Marinette: That's not it, not at all. Luka: Whatever it is, I just want it to be the honest truth. Marinette: The truth, Luka… is the only thing I can't tell you.

Then we get shocked Luka. He get's akumatized/amokized, and the scene continues:

Shadow Moth: Truth, I am Shadow Moth. I'm giving you the power to force people to tell you their most sacred secrets. Luka: (struggling against it) Truth needs to be shared, not taken by force, Shadow Moth! Marinette: (shocked what he just said) Uh! Shadow Moth? No! Luka, please resist, I am so sorry! Shadow Moth: Why should you resist when she doesn't trust you? Luka: Marinette does trust me! Marinette: I do! Of course I do! Shadow Moth: If she trusted you, then she would tell you the truth! (Upon hearing this, Luka becomes shocked, so he kneels.) Accept my power and you will know everything. And all I ask of you in return is to expose Ladybug and Cat Noir's little secrets. Luka: (succumbing) Run, Marinette! 

...

Luka does NOT want to force the truth out of Marinette. He tells her to run! And it's very much implied it triggered a traumatic past when his mother wouldn't tell him who his father was. What if his mom used the exact phrasing of "The truth is the one thing I can't tell you," when things got bad? If there's one thing Miraculous is good at is shocking the audience with traumatic backstories. I have my own theories as to what Luka and Juleka's traumatic backstories are... And are we really going to victim blame Luka for not being able to resist, especially when resisting Gabemoth and breaking akumatization was not actually known to be something that can be done at this point? Onto Wishmaker:

Lots of people are upset that Luka lied to Marinette at the end of Wishmaker with regards to hers and Chat's secret identities. They want Marinette to be angry with him, and for Luka to face consequences. Lying is supposed to be bad, isn't it? And Luka got akumatized into a villain who was dead set on finding the Truth, and he just lied to her about it. Inexcusable! Which is a valid interpretation if you take it at face value.

Now let's fast forward to Migration, and a little theory I've had since the episode aired: Secret identities and masks are a metaphor for being queer. Let me explain the metaphor in more detail: by rewinding back to Wishmaker and the metaphor presented to us then.

In Wishmaker, child Alec was bullied for his big hair, which he was very proud of. So he shaved it all off to fit in with what society wanted him to be. His akumatized form had a bald cap, and in the end Alec decides to "live his truth," (Astruc's words not mine), and essentially wear a big wig and become a drag queen. Iconic.

Oh yeah, and his nightmare in the season 5 finale was his father shaving off his hair.

Gonna have to link this shitpost here, just for an interesting comparison.

(It's interesting to note that both Griffe Noire and alternate Adrien have partially shaved heads, and should be included closer to the bald end of the chart in the shitpost)

Anyway, it's a bit of an unwritten rule that you don't out another person, even if you know they are queer. You have to wait for them to come to you with this reveal. It's sensitive information, and could potentially be extremely dangerous for the person being outed. A similar parallel to being a superhero with a secret identity.

Using this logic, it's not surprising the animators made Chat surprised when Luka detransformed in front of him in Ephemeral even tho he had a front row seat to Luka in Miracle Queen.

Onto the next scene of interest:

Marinette: If I tell you, things will never be the same between us again. (shakes her head) It'll mess up everything, maybe even destroy it. Alya:(voice breaking) Marinette, I'm your very best friend. Marinette: And I… I'm Ladybug.

I was actually shocked with this scene back the first time I watched it. Yes, the reveal, but also how everything in it is presented. To the dialogue, to Marinette's reasonings and how it'll mess up everything between the girls, and how everything will change and be destroyed, to Alya's oddly somber reaction to finding out her favorite superhero is her best friend, and then the subsequent hug.

It's framed as a coming out scene.

So let's circle back to Luka lying to Ladybug back in Wishmaker, and keeping that secret until Migration. His choices there make a whole lot more sense with a queer lens.

Don't believe me? Remember, Migration (the episode where Luka's lies and secrets are brought to light), is the episode that Luka shoves Adrien in a closet and he falls out of the closet as Chat Noir.

Those bedroom eyes at Luka sure do make a whole lot more sense here.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #cat noir #chat noir #luka couffaine #miraculous ladybug theory #ml theory #I can't believe Lukadrien and Marigami is endgame #marigami #lukadrien #viperion

[v1leblood]

putting microphone to your mouth. explain lisa wilbourn to me

these posts are the most important lisa images on the internet

i don't know how to explain lisa. she's a normal girl who has something wrong with her. her life before triggering was mundanely miserable and her life since triggering has been defined by trying to prevent the circumstances of her trigger over and over and over and over and coming out of it a 'better person' but in many ways a much sadder one. i don't think saying any parahumans character 'gets over' their trauma but lisa's someone who like. not even in the most charitable definition has in any way gotten over her trauma. outside of a few She Would Not Fucking Say That moments ward is pretty good with lisa and it's fucking tragic bc she's Still mourning taylor, she's trying to take care of aiden so he won't turn out like taylor, and she ends up getting similarly attached to victoria when she sees in just how low of a low victoria's around halfway through the story.( her rl w victoria is much healthier than her attachment to taylor bc she doesn't consider vicky a Full rex but those caring instincts still come out. )

something about lisa is that being lisa and interacting with lisa are both horrifying. lisa's power doesn't let her not know the best or worst way to talk to you. every time you're having an interaction with lisa, every time she's having an interaction with you, there has to be a conscious choice as to whether she's going to play into the informational power imbalance or whether she's going to try not to -- except, the information is still there, isn't it? unless she actively focused on something else or actively switched her attention around quickly so her power can't go into detail on things, she Knows things she shouldn't, and even if she doesn't act on that information, what you'll get out of her still isn't going to be her 'natural reaction' to what you're doing or saying. it can be the closest thing, but by having the information and not using it, the reaction she gives will still be one filtered through having the information and trying to Act as though she didn't. her power taints any social interaction. and sometimes its not a big deal, and of all her troubles i don't think this particular thing bothers her that much, but its kind of existentially horrifying that any interaction she has is imbalanced in her favor as far as knowing things about each other goes. whatever your or anyone's opinion on lisa's aromanticism, what she gave as her reason for why dating is hard/impossible for her rings true: she meets people and there's no mystery, they're almost immediately laid bare, and that changes things about the way she interacts with them and how she's willing to mentally categorize them in pretty much every context, not just dating. she took a single look at alec and immediately knew he was emotionally numbed and 'sociopathic', she immediately knew grue was concerned about putting up a tough front and about being Professional, she Immediately Knew taylor was basically on the brink of either suicide or something much like it. it taints everything. even when lisa's not being manipulative (which she often is on purpose) you can't Know that she's not just feeding you the right line or the next best thing as per her encylopedic knowledge of You. its fucked up!

and like ive mentioned other times i think this aspect of her power, having people laid bare before her, often their worst selves laid bare before her, really contributes to her cynicism and the arrogant front she puts up, because she may have flaws, but she knows that everyone else fucking sucks, too

theres more Stuff about her including the way in which shes manipulative her little neuroses and how her morality evolves throughout worm but im just rambling w/o a specific Point so idt i can share my thots on those and make them cohere in this specific post

#asks

[demetris-cocksleeve]

Kinktober Day 8

(A/n: Based on a request from @pawspurpaw; 'Italics'=thoughts) (let's just pretend it's still October 😅)

Reblogs are appreciated🛐

Hope you enjoy~♥️

Word Count:

Summary- What more can I say? You and your mate love the chase...

Navigation

Kinktober 2022 Masterlist

Warnings: Primal kink, Collaring, Brat kink, Hunter/Prey

Age Rating: 18+ Minors DNI

Alec Volturi x Hybrid! Fem! Reader

---------------

Wind rushes past, whistling in your ears as you run through the forest, dodging branches and foliage. Your heart hammers in your chest in time with your feet pounding on the ground.

You can hear him behind you, but you don't dare chance a look. You push your legs to carry you faster as you try to keep your lead. He had given you a ten-minute head start, and this is all you had to show for it. He had only started after you a minute ago and already closed the majority of the distance between you by the sounds of it.

"You can run all you want, but you can never escape me!" HIs voice echoes through the trees, sounding out with a sinister glee.

'Shit!' your mind races as you take in your surroundings.

Trees on all sides of you seemed to close in as you looked for a place to hide. You knew he was right: you couldn't outrun him, but you could try your best to hide.

There! A fallen tree with a hollowed-out hole just big enough for you to squeeze into. Rushing over, you quickly slide in, making sure to cover your tracks leading to the log. You clamp your hands over your mouth as you try to slow your breathing and calm your racing heart.

"Y/n~" You can hear his voice call out, sounding much closer than before. "Where are you?"

You're sure he can hear your heart beating its way out of your chest. He has to. There's no way he doesn't; he's just toying with you.

Your hands are shaking with adrenaline, fear and anticipation pumping liquid fire through your veins along with a different heat that's curling in your gut. Sticks are snapping under his weight as he stalks closer and closer to where you're hiding. You know he's doing it on purpose too; knows you can hear as he comes closer and closer to where you're hiding.

Then it goes silent.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four beats.

You think that by some miracle he missed you. Your hands move from covering the labored breaths coming from your mouth to hold onto the petite leather strap around your neck.

Taking the moment to rest your head against the log, you can't help but pat yourself on the back. You finally did it, you won.

And then your arm is grabbed, and you're pulled from the fallen tree in favor of being pinned against a cold, hard chest.

"Gotcha," His cool breath fans against your ear.

"Go fuck yourself!" you spit out as you struggle to free yourself.

Your attempts prove fruitless as he effortlessly spins you around and all but slams you against the nearest tree.

"Well, you see, that's kinda what I was hoping you'd do."

Before you can protest about your back, Alec is pressing his lips to yours in a heated kiss and you can no longer bring yourself to care.

Your hands come up to tangle in his soft black locks as you press yourself closer to him. He nips at your bottom lip before hiking your leg up to press even closer to you. His cock already hard and pushing deliciously against your clothed slit in a way that has you moaning in anticipation.

Alec shifts to press kisses and bites into the soft skin of your neck, leaving marks that would surely leave a bruise -even if only for a few hours, damned accelerated healing.

Getting impatient, you drag your hands down, trying to undo his slacks. He pulls away from your neck, grinning like a madman, as he grabs your wrists and undoes them himself before doing the same to yours.

When you're both free from the restrictive clothing, he's reaching down to lift you by the back of your thighs. Using the tree as support, he pushes into you, fully sheathing in one go.

"Fuck, you're so tight, love-" His head drops to the juncture between your shoulder and neck as he sucks in an unnecessary breath.

Your hand is back to gripping the short hairs near his neck when he begins to thrust.

It's a rough pace that has you shifting up against the trunk with every thrust. The woods around you amplifying the sharp slapping noises of skin hitting wet skin. It only serves to make you want him even more, though.

You swear you can feel Alec in your stomach with how deep he's hitting. His animalistic growling mixes with your high-pitched mewling as he continues to pound into your tight cunt.

Your hips are beginning to ache with each hit of his, but the slight pain just seems to add to the pleasure. You can feel the heat coiling tighter in your core as you get steadily closer and closer to your release. You can't help but have a little fun, though.

"Is this really all you've got?" you breathe out. "I have toys that have gotten me off quicker-"

Your sentence is cut off by him gripping the back of the collar wrapping around your throat so prettily.

"Do you really want to finish that sentence, piccola ragazza?" Alec growls out dangerously.

You can't help the shit-eating grin that graces your features.

"Say what?" You bat your eyes innocently. "That my bright pink dildo fucks me better than yo-!"

You're cut off with a yelp as you're pulled away from the tree and pinned to the forest floor.

"We'll see about that..."

He starts to fuck into you with a renewed anger that has you seeing black spots dance in your vision.

"Oh, god~" Your eyes roll back when the new position has him hitting your g spot with each thrust. "Oh, god, right there!"

"Still worse than your stupid little toys?" He sneers.

"A bit," you manage to squeak out between moans.

With a growl, Alec's hand wraps around your throat, cutting off your air supply just enough to make your head spin.

"If you want to keep running that smart ass mouth of yours, I can easily fix that."

Your fingers are digging into his wrist as he keeps his grip tight. The lack of air mixed with just how hard he's thrusting into you has you spiraling towards release faster than you'd like to admit.

Your moans are coming out choked as he continues to slam into you, abusing your sloppy cunt with each hit to your cervix. Every brush of his cock along your gummy walls has you inching closer and closer to an orgasm.

The nails of your free hand are digging into the leaves and dirt below you, creating drag lines as you're pushed and pulled by Alec's grip. You can feel the tension building more and more in your core, threatening to spill over with every shift of his hips.

A particularly hard thrust sends your head back as a guttural moan leaves your parted lips. You let go. Your orgasm sends full body shudders through you as your soaked cunt clenches around Alec. The pulsating of your gummy walls sends you mate over the edge as well.

His head drops to the crook of you neck as he stills inside you, his cool sperm filling any place he wasn't.

For a moment neither of you move, just taking the time to bask in each other's presence and whisper sweet nothings to the other.

Unfortunately, nothing last forever and you have to break apart. There's a beat of silence as you head back to the castle before you decide to break it.

.

"You don't actually fuck worse than my bright pink dildo..."

And then you're running yet again.

#alec volturi x reader smut #alec volturi x reader #alec volturi smut #kinktober 2022

[rollercoasterofshitposts]

RAMBLE TIME BUCKLE UP

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR TRIALS OF APOLLO AND BASICALLY EVERY PERCY JACKSON BOOK EVER BUT MOSTLY TOA, ESPECIALLY THE BURNING MAZE.

TLDR at the end.

spoilers start now ok bye

Here are some facts that we know for sure:

1. Percy Jackson is named after Perseus, the Greek hero who killed Medusa.

2. Perseus is one of the only, if not THE only Greek hero to not die tragically.

3. Rick Riordan is VERY careful about how he uses names throughout the series, something he addresses from the very beginning when Percy gets to camp. Percy says Zeus’s name (or Kronos’s, can’t remember which and I’m lazy right now) and the sky rumbles, and Chiron warns Percy that names have power and to use them carefully. Later, in Tartarus (if I’m remembering correctly), Percy and Annabeth are wary of using names because of their proximity to monster respawn points.

4. The only other main character named after a Greek hero is Jason Grace.

Here are some things we can assume, based on Rick’s writing style and the details he has given us:

1. A character’s name will tell you something about them. That’s a Riordan near-guarantee.

1a. For example: Piper being a reference to the Pied Piper since she can get anyone to do anything for her, even follow her off a bridge.

1b. Or Magnus and Alex being confirmed from the beginning because Rick mentioned that he stole the name Magnus from Cassandra Clare. (She wrote The Mortal Instruments, which contains a gay couple named Magnus and Alec (Alexander).)

1c. Or Leo being named after the great inventor Leonardo daVinci (not confirmed, but they’re so similar it’s hard to believe otherwise).

1d. A castellan is the governor of a castle who enforces the law around the land. They also have military responsibility. Luke Castellan. nuff said.

2. NAMES HAVE POWER IN THIS UNIVERSE. Sally literally named Percy after a Greek hero to keep his roots close in a subtle way, but she purposefully picked a Greek hero that lives.

2a. HUGE example: Castor and Pollux. In myth, sons of Jupiter. Castor is mortal while Pollux is immortal, and Castor dies. (Slightly irrelevant but Rick loves taking notes from other authors so: In The Hunger Games, part of Katniss’s film team. Castor dies, Pollux lives.) In PJO, sons of Dionysus. Castor dies during Battle of the Labyrinth, while Pollux lives.

The one exception to this rule is Jason Grace. Or so I thought.

If you read the myth pertaining to Jason (Golden Fleece, Argo the First, Medea, etc) you find out that Jason of the Argo dies when he falls asleep on his ship underneath the rotting mast and it falls and kills him. There’s a lot of other stuff that goes down, but for the sake of being succinct, here’s a link to the myth for your perusal:

The only other SUPER MEGA IMPORTANT DETAIL from this myth: Argo Jason, by cheating on Medea, falls out of favor with Hera, while in PJO/HOO, Hera actively names Jason 2.0 and claims him as her champion. (despite him being. Y’know. The proof of her husband being a jackass to her. quality time with the stepmom right there.)

Putting this all together:

1. Sally purposefully named Percy after a Greek hero who lived, indicating fear that he would die if she chose a different name

2. Names have power and Rick puts meaning behind every single name he uses.

3. Jason dies in The Burning Maze.

The real kicker is that they both die in the same way: having lost everything, with so much still to do, dying a completely avoidable death because they weren’t paying attention to what was going on behind them. There’s differences, obviously, because Jason Grace is actually a good person, but those are inconsequential as the big picture is all the same. (We see these similarities happen A LOT with Percy, especially when he kills Medusa.)

We should have known. Rick laid out all the pieces for us from the very beginning, even (possibly) going so far as to straight up tell us that one of the seven would die (again, not confirmed, I saw it in a meme and maybe his twitter? idk im ty ty).

so:

TLDR: Rick Riordan left a gigantic trail of breadcrumbs that should have clued us all in to the fact that Jason was gonna die long before it happened.

And no, I will never shut up about Jason. Justice for my favorite white boy.

#jason grace #percy jackson #piper mclean #leo valdez #castor #pollux #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo #trials of apollo #apollo #greek mythology #rick riordan #rick you’ve done it again you’ve bamboozled me out of my goddamn mind #i was standing in the kitchen making strawberry syrup and I got back pain cause #chronic condition #and this shit just hit me like a brick #reference/pun intended #love you jason #justiceforjasongrace2023

[justagalwhowrites]

Lavender - Ch. 42

You, Joel and Ellie find ways to survive after the encounter at the university. A continuation of Lavender Ch. 1-41 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: Results of canon-typical violence. Medical stuff. Threats of SA (does not happen.) Indications of past SA (not described.) No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ only

Length: 5.5K

The men put you in front of one of them on a horse, bringing yours alongside their own. They searched you, taking your pack, and bound your hands around the saddle horn. They rode at an easy, leisurely pace. Like they weren’t worried about someone coming for you at all. You tried not to think about why they wouldn’t be worried. 

There wasn’t much you could do to escape right now. Tied to the saddle, you couldn’t make it anywhere on your own. Even if you took off on the horse without proper control because you couldn’t reach the reins, you’d have no way to get off the damn thing when you got there. 

You tried to memorize landmarks as you passed back through the university. You knew what direction Joel and Ellie had ridden off in. You’d just need to come back here and then follow that path. Just have to wait for the opportune time to do it. 

You memorized major streets you passed over, associated them with directions to get back. You’d come back here. You knew you’d come back here. You’d find them. You had to find them. There was no other option. 

The ride felt long but you realized that your sense of time was skewed. Every second you were away from Joel - stabbed and bleeding - and Ellie - all but alone and scared - dragged. You felt every aching tick of the clock in acute panic. It didn’t matter that you were doing the only thing you could do - which was nothing. You needed to be doing more. 

The tone of the ride shifted as your group came upon a town nestled at the foot of a mountain. You’d have probably appreciated it if you weren’t a hostage. It had much of the charm Jackson did with even more to look at - a lake, the snow-covered peak. You could never have afforded to come to a place like this before. It was almost funny that you were here now. 

“Sure David’ll be happy to have another mouth to feed?” A man on the horse beside yours asked, falling into step with your mount. 

“If not, we can take care of her,” you felt the man behind you shrug. “No harm in bringing her in to check. Kinda hard to bring her back once you blow her head off. And that gets rid of a lot of the fun bits.” 

You ground your teeth as the man next to you laughed. 

“Well we can always have some fun if James ain’t interested,” he said. “Least we can do after Alec…” 

He looked at the body of a man draped over another horse, the man Joel had killed. 

“Wouldn’t have hurt him if he hadn’t tried to kill us,” you snapped. “He brought it on himself. You all did.” 

“Not doin’ yourself any favors there, darlin’,” the man beside you narrowed his eyes at you. “You want to live? Suggest shuttin’ that mouth of yours until we decide to put somethin’ in it.” 

You fought the urge to tell him you’d just bite it off. You couldn’t help Joel and Ellie if you were dead. 

They brought you to a building labeled “Todds Steakhouse,” the windows boarded up. This place wasn’t run like Jackson, then. Which wasn’t a surprise, given that you didn’t expect Jackson patrols to bring in a supply of people to enslave. 

The man behind you dismounted and unbound your hands. He nodded toward the ground and you got off the horse before he bound your hands again. 

“Takin’ you to meet David,” he said. “Want to keep that pretty head? Play nice.” 

He led you into the building. It was cold inside, the only heat source looking to be the large fireplace on one wall. There was a man seated in front of it at a large table, looking over something. He was alone. It took him a moment to look up at you but when he did, he frowned. 

“You came back with a stray,” he said, looking you up and down. “I know God calls on us to help our neighbor but…” 

“Alec is dead,” the man said, shoving you forward. “One of her companions killed him.” 

“Oh,” the man - David, you assumed - said quietly. “That is… unfortunate. He had a wife, a daughter. Truly a pillar of the community…” 

“He tried to kill us,” you snapped. David’s eyes fell on you, narrow and sharp. “He’d be fine if he hadn’t attacked us.” 

“It was wise of you to bring her back, Josiah,” he said to the man you’d been on the horse with. “Then his family can decide what to do with her. How to seek justice…” 

“Wasn’t her that killed ‘im,” Josiah said at your back. “Was her… man. He got away, him and a girl.” 

“Really?” David said, nodding slowly. Something about him made your stomach knot. “Well, that changes things…” 

“Thought James might like this one, though,” Josiah said. “Maybe she can pay a penance for her friend’s crimes.” 

David nodded again.

“Seems only fair, if that’s what Alec’s family agrees to,” he said. “But only for a short time, we can’t afford another mouth to feed…” 

“Yes you can,” you said quickly. David looked at you, brows raised. “You want someone like me around. I’m a doctor. From the looks of your town? Taking a wild guess that you don’t have one of those. You need me.” 

David grunted, amused. 

“You sure are cocky,” he said. “Assuming what we have and what we don’t, what we need here, what we’re willing to do to keep you around…” 

“Not cocky,” you replied. “Just familiar enough with what people need to survive. We’ve all been surviving a long time. We know what it takes. You’re sending men out to do the kind of shit they did today? They’ll need stitching up. You need someone who can properly set bones or you’re going to end up with otherwise young, able-bodied men who can’t walk right. Need someone who can pull out an appendix when a kid wakes up with a fever and pain in the right lower quadrant. You’ve got a roughly 8% chance that your appendix just decides to go bad at some point in your life. You really want someone here to die because you didn’t have someone on hand who could perform the surgery that interns use for practice? You need me. Alive.” 

David smiled slightly. 

“Alright,” he said. “Prove you’re a doctor and you can stay.” 

“How?” You asked. “Do you think I walk around with a med school degree in my bag?” 

“No,” he said, looking up at one of the men you came in with. “Marco, go get Simon, Elaine’s little boy. He’s been sick for days, no one is sure what to do for him.” 

David looked back to you. 

“Help Simon,” he said. “Then we can discuss the terms of you staying.” 

The boy came in a few minutes later, his frantic mother close behind, heading right for David. 

“Marco said there was a doctor?” She said. “Please, he’s burning up, he’s been in pain all day…” 

“The patrol brought someone in from outside,” David said. “She says she’s a doctor…” 

The woman noticed you then. 

“Please,” she grabbed your bound hands. “Please, please, do whatever you can…” 

“Of course,” you smiled as gently as you could. “I’m sure I can help, just once I…” you held up your hands. Josiah looked at David, who nodded once. Josiah untied you and you rotated your wrists for a moment, getting the blood moving again. You took a deep breath and knelt down to be on the boy’s level. 

“Hi,” you smiled kindly, scrambling for a name to give. Your real one didn’t seem safe. “I’m Dr. Miller but my friends just call me Doc. What’s your name?” 

“Simon,” he half hid behind his mom’s skirt. 

“Hi Simon,” you smiled a little broader. “Can you tell me how old you are?” 

He held up four fingers. You looked up at his mother, who nodded. 

“You’re four?” You did your best to sound impressed when you were so afraid it felt like you were going to throw up. “Wow! That’s so big! You’re practically a grown up!” 

He smiled and pressed his face into his mother’s thigh. 

“Let’s get you up here so I can take a look at you,” you said, nodding to a table. His mom set him on top of it, his little legs dangling over the side. “Can you tell me what doesn’t feel good?”

He looked up at his mom, his eyes wide, and she gave him a nod. 

“My tummy hurts,” he pouted a little as he said it, his eyes watery. 

“Really bad, huh?” You asked, frowning a little. He nodded. “Can you show me where on your tummy hurts?” 

He pointed to the upper right quadrant of his abdomen and you nodded, frowning a little. That ruled out appendicitis, anyway. 

“Can you lift up your shirt?” You asked. “I just want to see all those big strong muscles, OK?” 

He smiled toothily and yanked his shirt up. You forced yourself to not react to the fact that his ribs stood out starkly against his skin, his stomach swollen. This child hadn’t had enough to eat in a long time. But the upper right quadrant was swollen, too. You palpated it gently. He whimpered.

“So big and strong!” You said. He looked proud. “OK, you can put that down before I get too overwhelmed! I’m just going to check your temperature real quick…” 

You put the back of your hand to his forehead. Definitely warm. The lighting in here was too dim. You looked around. 

“Anyone have a flashlight handy?” You asked. One of the men who brought you in handed you one. 

“OK Simon, I need you to look right over at that wall over there but with just your eyes, don’t turn your head.” 

He obeyed and you shined the light near his face. The whites of his eyes were starting to yellow. You turned it off. 

“Simon!” You stepped back and smiled broadly. “You did so good! The best patient I’ve ever had, I’m so impressed!” 

He grinned and fidgeted with his shirt. 

“I’m going to talk to your mom and your friends here, OK? You sit tight.” 

You looked at David and the woman, stepping to a corner with them. 

“I’m guessing he’s been vomiting a lot?” You asked. “Sweating? Not eating?” 

His mother nodded. You nodded back. 

“He has acute cholecystitis,” you said. “Probably acalculous cholecystitis, given the malnutrition.” 

“What does that mean?” The woman asked.

“It means his gallbladder is infected,” you said. “And the form he has and how long he looks to have had it means we need to take the gallbladder out. It could perforate or the tissue could die and he could go septic. Both would kill him.” 

“Oh my God,” his mother buried her face in David’s shoulder. 

“It’s an easy procedure,” you said. “I’ve done quite a few of them. But I’m guessing there is no sterile space here? No surgical facilities?”

“We can arrange something,” David said. 

“Can it be within the next few hours?” You asked. “I don’t want to leave that in there any longer than necessary. I don’t have the tools to do any scans, I have no idea how close it is to rupture or tissue death…” 

“If you can help us get it ready,” David said. “Yes, we can.” 

You nodded. 

“Point me in the right direction,” you said. “We can discuss terms once Simon’s out of the woods.” 

There was a second restaurant in town that they had you set up in, the metal surfaces easy to disinfect. You were going to have to make do with knives instead of scalpels, tongs instead of forceps. 

“This is going to be a shitshow,” you muttered, cleaning the tools thoroughly with soap and rubbing alcohol before boiling them to get them as sterile as you could. There were, at least, an unopened pack of rubber gloves in the kitchen. You boiled a pair of those, too. 

“Please tell me there’s chloroform or ether or something here,” you said quietly to David you reviewed all your tools. “I’m not expecting anesthesia but I’d rather not cut into a screaming kid.” 

“There’s chloroform,” David said. “And sleeping pills…” 

“Good,” you nodded. “Bring me that, I’ll do what I can to keep him under. But I’ll need a few people with me - not his mother - in case he wakes up during. The instruments I have are bad enough as it is, I can’t do this if he’s thrashing.” 

You did everything you could to reassure Simon and his mother without blatantly lying to them. It was a simple surgery. It was one you’d done many times before, some on children even smaller than Simon. You’d never only had kitchen equipment to work with. You’d never done it without anesthesia. 

Once the boy was unconscious on the table, you gingerly tested his body to see if he’d respond to a sharp poke. He was still. Maybe you’d have a shot at this. 

“Let’s do this,” you said, much more to yourself than the strange men who were standing in the kitchen with you. You made the first cut. 

The surgery went surprisingly well. The gallbladder had, thankfully, not perforated yet - though it was close. You were able to resect it without complication and eventually close before the boy even knew anything had happened. 

“Thank you so much!” The boy’s mother threw her arms around your neck and clutched onto you, sobbing into your shoulder. 

“Of course,” you patted her back gently. “I’m glad I was able to help.” 

She hurried to the makeshift surgical suite to see her son, who had just started waking up when you left. 

“So you are what you say,” David said, nodding. 

“And I think I’ve paid whatever perceived debt your community held against my friends and I,” you said. “So I’ll just take my things and be on my way…” 

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” he said. Your eyes narrowed. “You were right, before, when you said we need someone like you to survive. God wouldn’t have put you in the path of our patrol if you weren’t meant to help us survive…” 

“Don’t think God had much to do with your men attacking us,” you snapped. 

David shrugged. 

“We understand that there are many who wish to do us harm,” he said. “We must take precautions to protect our own. As you saw with Simon, there are many here who need that protection…” 

“While they starve?” You asked. “While you neglect the children here?” 

“We’ve fallen on hard times…” David conceded. You just shook your head, stalking for the door. “You don’t want to do that.” 

“Yes, I do,” you snapped. “I’m going. I did more than enough for your people considering your men stabbed my fucking husband, grabbed me out of the woods, all but said they were going to rape me….” 

“And that is unfortunate,” David said. “But if you try to leave, we will kill you. You’re no good to us out there. No reason for us to leave you alive if you’re going.” 

You narrowed your eyes at him. 

“You think I haven’t killed people?” You asked. “You think I’m afraid to kill you?” 

You were. You desperately didn’t want to kill anyone else but you would if it meant getting to Joel and Ellie. You’d kill anybody if it meant getting to Joel and Ellie. 

“No,” he said simply. “But I think you’re too smart to risk trying to get out of here on your own. There are a lot more of us than there are of you. 

“What I will offer you is simple,” David said. “You’ll be safe with us, have a place to sleep out of the elements - something I don’t think you’ve had in a long time.Times aren’t always this lean, we will make sure you’re fed…” 

“Great, a glorified farm animal,” you snapped. 

“You can take comfort in knowing that you’re providing a service to your fellow man when he is in need,” he said. “It’s a better life than many can hope for, especially today. Of course, while I’d love to make sure that you’re comfortable, I can’t trust that you won’t try to run away so we’ll need to keep you a little more secure for now…” 

David jerked his head toward you and a small group of men stepped forward, two of them taking you by the arms. Your stomach dropped. 

“Tell your goons to keep their hands to themselves,” you said, hoping you sounded tougher and stronger than you felt. “They touch me? I won’t treat a single damn person in this whole town. You can just kill me.” 

“No one will hurt you,” David said. “Right?” 

The men shared a look before nodding, hauling you out into the snow. They threw you into a jail cell in an outbuilding and locked you in, leaving you there alone. 

Once you were sure no one was coming back for you, you tucked yourself into a corner of the cell, the one that let you see as much of the building you were in as possible. It was cold, your breath rising in front of you. The light was shifting, the sun setting. It was hard to believe that just this morning, you’d woken up next to Joel and Ellie, just a short ride from the university. Now, you were alone. Who the fuck knows what happened to them. You just hoped they were alive. 

You pulled your legs into your chest, wrapping your arms around your knees, burying your face in your long sleeves and sobbed there. Joel had been hurt - badly. Not the worst that you’d seen him but he couldn’t go on like that, not without help. And if anyone found them - another group like the men who’d hurt him to begin with and taken you - then he’d get killed trying to save Ellie. And Ellie… 

Ellie had been a curious kid. She’d wanted to know about first aid, so you’d shown her the basics. You hoped to a God you couldn’t bring yourself to really believe in that she remembered it, that she was able to help him. If she could just get him patched up, they could make it back to Jackson. Just lie low for a day or two, let him rest, then press on. They could do that. Joel had survived worse. You’d seen it. And Joel loved Ellie, he’d do anything for her - even cheat death. 

They’d be OK. They had to be OK. Fuck, they had to be OK. 

You passed out at some point, not waking up again until the sun was streaming in through the small window at the top of your cell, the light harsh and bright as it reflected off the snow. 

They left you there for a day. There was a bucket to use for a toilet, at least, but nothing else. You were starving. Thirsty. All you could do was think about the ways Joel might be hurting, the ways Ellie might be lost. It was dark when you passed out again. You were pretty sure just one night had passed when you woke up again.

“Good to see you’re awake,” a man you didn’t recognize was sitting on a chair outside your cell, your backpack leaning against the wall next to him. 

“That’s what happens most days,” you said, sitting up and pressing yourself back into the corner. You didn’t trust him. The distance felt good. He looked you up and down. “Can I help you with something?” 

“Went through your things,” he nudged your bag with his foot. “Took out what we thought could be dangerous - gun, some of the injectables. What are those, by the way?” 

“Euthanasia kits,” you said. “For people who are infected but haven’t turned. Nicer than a bullet.” 

“Where’d you get them?” 

“The QZ we left,” you said. “I wanted to make sure if we got bit we had a good way out.” 

“You only have two,” the man said. 

“I used one,” you replied. “On a man we ran into a few weeks back. He’d been bitten but couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger. So I helped.” 

He nodded slowly. 

“That was good of you,” he said. “I’m James. I help David lead the people here….” 

James. That’s who the the men said they were bringing you back for. Your eyes narrowed. 

“I hope you know my deal with him,” you said. “Touch me and I won’t help a single fucking person here.” 

“I know,” he said. “But you don’t need to worry about me, all I want is to help make sure as many people as possible survive the winter. That can include you, if you help us out.” 

“What kind of help,” you asked, tone flat. 

“We’d like you to start by giving everyone here an exam,” he said. “There aren’t many of us, fewer than 100, but it’s been years since anyone’s seen a physician…” 

You ground your teeth. Everything in you wanted to push back on this man, on what he was asking of you, but there were children here, people who didn’t have another option. You’d taken an oath to do no harm, it didn’t matter what the people here had done. 

Besides, the man who hurt Joel was dead. You couldn’t do anything for him, you wouldn’t be helping him. 

“Fine,” you said. “But I want to check on Simon first.”

“We can do that,” he said. “I brought you something to eat…” 

He slid a bowl toward you, all watery liquid with questionable chunks floating in it. 

“If I can have my pack, I’d rather feed myself,” you said, pushing it back. “No offense, but I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.” 

He smiled a little. 

“Fair enough.” 

He opened the cell just enough to drop your bag inside. You rifled through it and took out a few pieces of jerky. 

“David said you mentioned a husband,” James said. “Is he the one who Alec hurt?”

“Yes,” you said, narrowing your eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But he’s probably dead. It’s harsh, surviving out there. Especially just him and… your daughter, I assume?” 

“Niece,” you said, heart clenched. You were sticking with the story Joel had used before. Not that it would matter. He just nodded. 

“Take some time to mourn,” he said. “But… If you’d like to leave this cell, there is room in my home.” 

“How generous,” you sneered. “You’d better fucking hope my husband is dead. You don’t want to know what he’ll do to you if he’s not.” 

He shrugged. 

“Doubt it’s something I need to worry about,” he stood and opened the cell door. “Let’s go.” 

You glared at him but obeyed, following him to the steakhouse again. David was addressing the crowd, everyone gathered around tables. There was a pot on the stove in the kitchen, the smell turning your stomach. You wondered if they were resorting to sour meat or if you’d finally just gone so off the stuff that it just was starting to make you sick in general. 

“While we suffer tragedy,” David said. “We can rejoice in God’s wisdom as he brought us someone to help improve the health and wellbeing of our flock…” 

“You really believe this shit?” You asked James. There wasn’t a good reason for it. You just wanted to hurt him somehow. “After all this, you think there’s a god who gives a shit about you and your tiny, stupid little life?” 

“Yes,” he said, not looking at you, just watching David. 

You scoffed. 

“Man. He must really fuckin’ hate you then.” 

He glared at you. You smirked. He shoved you forward as people started to line up. 

You tried your best to pretend that you were back in the clinic - your clinic, the place that felt more like home than almost anywhere else - as you examined people. James, David and a few other men left to go hunting, leaving you under the watchful eye of some goons who kept looking at you like you were a piece of meat every time they saw you. 

The people were in better shape than you’d anticipated. The hunger must be a relatively recent development, the signs of longterm malnutrition not apparent yet. But they would be over time. 

There were a few people who had had broken bones and not had them set properly. Only one of them was interested in fixing it, though. One person had a cough that had lasted for two months but, without medication, there was little you could do. You gave him some homeopathic tips but you doubted there were many herbs or things like honey on hand, either. 

The thing that concerned you most was one of the girls. She was about Ellie’s age, maybe a year younger. 

“Hi there,” you smiled at her. “I’m Dr. Miller, what’s your name?” 

“Lizzy,” she said it almost aggressively. You smiled anyway. 

“Good to meet you, Lizzy,” you said. “I’m just going to take a look at you. Anything bothering you lately? Besides your parents because I’m sure they bother you plenty…” 

“I’m fine,” she snapped, not making eye contact with you. You tried to not frown. Something was off with this girl, outside of normal teenage bullshit. 

But you were really thrown when you were taking her vitals. You tugged up her sleeve to check her pulse and she jumped, scrambling to cover her forearm. She wasn’t fast enough. There were cuts there, some old, some still healing. 

“Lizzy,” you said gently, holding her wrist. She looked at you, her eyes wide. “Hey, it’s OK. You’re OK. Did someone do that to you or did you do it to yourself?” 

“Please don’t tell my mom,” she said, her eyes darting, voice thick. 

“I won’t,” you said quickly. “I won’t tell anybody, there are rules around that as a doctor. I’m not allowed to tell anybody else. You did that to yourself, right?” She nodded. “Why are you hurting yourself? I can help you…” 

“I’m so tired of it,” she was sobbing. She fell forward, into your shoulder, her whole body shaking. “I can’t get it out and I just…. I have to get it out…” 

“Get what out, sweetheart?” You held her, her head tucked below your chin. Your stomach turned. You didn’t need her to confirm it. You knew what it was. How it felt. “You can talk to me, it’s OK.” 

The door to the small, private dining room that you’d turned into your office for the day opened. 

“We have to move on,” the man said. 

“One minute,” you said. He gritted his teeth and nodded. You looked at her again. 

“I can’t…” She shook her head. “He’d kill me, I can’t…” 

“Lizzy,” you said, taking her face in your hand, making her look at you. “Hey. I’m not sure exactly what’s happening to you but I think I know and you need to understand, it’s not your fault, OK? It’s not. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t take it out on yourself, it won’t help. Not in the long term…” 

The door opened again. 

“Lizzy,” the man jerked his head at her. She sniffed and nodded over her shoulder before she looked at you like she wanted to keep crying. She didn’t. Instead she climbed off the table and followed him out of the room. 

You were preoccupied as you saw a few other people. There was a predator here. One who had this poor girl hating herself and horrified. And chances were, it was the charismatic man who’d gotten these people to hang on his every fucking word.

“You’re needed,” James stuck his head in as you were finishing up with an older woman who had some severe foot pain. 

“Sure,” you said, smiling at her after showing her how to wrap her foot to give her better support when walking. 

“Your bullshit God help you in your hunting?” You asked as soon as you were out of earshot of any of your waiting patients. 

James laughed a little. 

“He did,” he said. “It’s what we need your help with.” 

You frowned and he led you back to where you’d slept the night before. Just as you were about to find another reason to mock him, it died on your tongue. You saw why he’d brought you there. 

Ellie was there, unconscious on the floor. 

*** 

Joel wasn’t sure where he was. He wasn’t sure when he was. 

It was like he was floating. He had been for what felt like forever. His mind was drifting, like he was floating between this life and the next. 

He’d been here before. Back in the QZ, when he’d been shot. You’d saved him then. He’d thought you were dead then. When he saw you he thought he’d died too. 

But maybe you just partially lived in this in between world. That made as much sense as anything else. You were here now, too, but he was sure you were still alive. When he thought about it, though, he realized he couldn’t remember what had put him here. Maybe you had died. Maybe he was dying, too. 

“Joel,” your voice was warm and soft, like silk that had been sitting in the sun. Or your hair after a day spent lying by the pool. “You don’t get to just die on me out here. We’re not doing that, got it?”

You’d said it to him before. You’d saved him before. 

There was a sharp pain at his side, pulling him out of that floating place and he looked down, expecting to see you there. But it wasn’t you. It was Ellie. 

He remembered then. You’d taken off, on a horse. Trying to draw the men away. But you should have taken Ellie with you. She needed to get out of here. He couldn’t lose her, not like this. He had to save her. He had to. 

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her into him as best he could. Her dark eyes searched his own and she was scared. He could see just how scared. 

“Go,” he managed. “Run, you have to run, get back to Jackson…” 

“Shut up, Joel,” she snapped. He tried to argue but she cut him off. “No! I’m not fucking leaving you here.” 

She curled up against him instead. She was small and soft and warm. He wanted her to go. He wanted her to stay. He wanted you to be there. He was happy you weren’t. 

He was floating again. 

“Joel.” 

Your voice was so close, it was like you were right there with him. He could almost see you in front of him. Like you were in his bed, your face over his, like your lips would brush against his when you spoke. He felt the ghost of your hand on his cheek, your fingertips brushing the scar at his temple. 

“I’ll always love you, Joel. Til the day I die.” 

He wanted to touch you but he couldn’t get his body to listen, couldn’t reach for you. 

“You have to wake up Joel.” 

He couldn’t argue with you, even though he just wanted to stay wherever you were.  

There was a pain at his side again, his eyes opening and he remembered again. Ellie. 

“Come on Joel,” she was desperate, pleading. He groaned. Her face appeared over his. “OK, OK, good. Stay with me, OK? There are men coming, they’re the ones from before, they have Doc… I’m going to lead them away from you but if they find you, you have to fucking kill them, Joel. OK? You have to fucking kill them or they will kill you so you have to stay awake, OK? You have to stay awake, you have to make it…” 

He wanted to respond. Tell her to run, go get Tommy, bring Tommy to get you… 

The next thing he knew, he heard someone above him. Ellie was gone. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. All he knew was that he had to get to Ellie. He had to get to you. 

He forced himself out of bed. 

He was going to get to Ellie. He was going to get to you. 

Nothing was going to stand in his way. 

Not a goddamn thing. 

A/N: EEEEEEEEEEEEEPS! That's right, we're getting into the meat of the cannibal arc - pun thoroughly intended. I honestly can't believe we're here already WHAT! I'm so excited for the next chapter, for reals.

I have a taglist, please let me know if you'd like to be added by commenting below. If you've already asked and you don't see your name on the taglist, please comment again. For some reason, Tumblr won't let me tag a handful of blogs? Those names are still on the taglist. So if your name is there but you're not being tagged, I'm sorry! I promise, I try every time to make it tag you and it never lets me!

Thank you so much for being here and going on this adventure with me. I so appreciate all your time and kind words and everything. Thank you and I love you!

Taglist: @paleidiot@ayamenimthiriel@ginger-swag-rapunzel@drewharrisonwriter@flugazi @pedropascalsbbg@taoyuji@starstruckmusiciansartghost@splendsay@bigboiseason123@jpbplvr @ashleyandring @mrsyixingunicorn10@sloanexx@ninaminaromina @lady-bellyn @hufflepuffriver @sarap-77 @storyarcscribe @mellymbee @jasminedragoon @lemonmeli @reds-ramblings@arizonadaydreamer@mumma-moonchild@blackroseguzzi@candypeaches16@kittenlittle24@wrappedinfiction@oatmeaiboy@pedritosdarling@winchestergypsy90@imnotdatboii @lalalalemonade11 @maknimuk1@mrsdarcyinlovewithbuckybarnes@pedrosaidsheispunk@commanderawkward@n7cje@elliesgirlll@tsunamistorm123@spookyxsam@leeeesahhh @anoverwhelmingdin @untamedheart81 @pedropascalfan221 @pedr0swh0r3 @pedrobae@fifia-writes@fatima-marisa @acf2023 @1soff @encephalitiskat

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #lavender #tlou hbo #tlou fic

[jesawyer]

What's your take on game directors who also work as writers or designers on the project? Is it better to keep it church and state? Or does it depend on team size? For example, in a narrative-heavy project, it seems to make sense to me that direction should come from the writers' room. But there's also some good arguments on the side of the camp who believes the director should not be the one doing any "doing" in any discipline. What would you advise, from your experience? Thank you!

Unsurprisingly, I am in favor of directors doing some in-engine work on their projects. Confirmation bias is heavily at work here because I've done direct implementation on all of the games I've directed.

On F:NV I wrote* Arcade, Hanlon, Joshua Graham, and other characters in our editor. I also implemented and tuned all of the weapons and mods (and other system design things like perks and recipes) in the GECK.

On Pillars of Eternity, I wrote Pallegina and a few minor characters in OEI Tools. I did direct in (Unity) editor implementation and tuning of many spells and items (though Tim Cain implemented much of the code that I used). I also did some encounter work in editor.

On Deadfire, I wrote Pallegina, Eothas, and a few other convos in OEI Tools. I did less in-engine system work because I had a small team of system designers and I had more director responsibilities, but I did do some tweaking and tuning in the game data editor (GDE) of OEI Tools.

On Pentiment I wrote around 1/4 to 1/3 of the dialogue in OEI Tools and set up all of our dialogue checks in the GDE. I mostly stayed out of Unity because Matthew Loyola and Alec Frey handled most of the design tasks there. On Pentiment I did a far greater percentage of content work than I normally would, but it was also a team of 13 people with only 3 writers (including me) at any given time.

Here's what I think the "pros" are: you have a better understanding of the pipelines people are using, you are doing work under (mostly) the same conditions as the people you are leading. You are directly touching the data that is going into the game and it makes you acutely aware of what's involved in doing that (at least in part).

The cons are the obvious ones: your main job is leading people and if your nose is buried in the weeds, that can be difficult to do. Also when it comes time to cut content, you might get precious about the work you've done vs. the work other people have done.

In my experience, the important thing is to not overcommit. Do a little work, sure, but err on the side of a light load. It's not practical for you to even have a quarter of the content workload as someone working on the staff.

*Minor note but when I say, "wrote" that also includes any related scripting done within dialogue for checks, setting global variables, etc. All Obsidian narrative designers are expected to do the scripting for their dialogues, though the interface in OEI Tools makes that generally pretty painless.

#game design #game writing #pillars of eternity #deadfire #fallout new vegas #pentiment

[foodsies4me]

April Malec fic rec!

Thanking @just-add-butter and @ariella9melody for this month's theme which is a double combo of "Outsider's POV" and "Let Alec have friends!" The same rules apply as always, one fic per author, even though all of these authors have other brilliant fics you should be reading and if you want to add your own recs in the comments, tags, or reblogs please feel free to do so! 😊

Also, I have tagged the authors whose Tumblr account I know, but if you'd prefer I not tag you, please tell me! I don't want these to be annoying for the authors.

One-shots:

Enthrallment by @smilebackwards: Magnus' magic being possessive and warlocks reacting to Magnus' magic being possessive, what more could you want? OC POV!

Summary:

It does look a little bad, Parmela thinks, looking at it from outside. As more specialists had been called in for consultation, they’d decamped to one of the larger conference rooms—eschewing attendance at A, B, AB, & O: The Impact of Blood Type on Non Subject Specific Blood Magic, because this was vastly more interesting and potentially important—and there are a round dozen high-level warlocks clustered around Alec, poking at him with magic. Or: Alec attends the Magical Inventions and Advances convention in hopes of recruiting warlocks for another Downworld Cabinet. The warlocks, however, are more interested—and concerned—by the blue magical aura following Alec around.

And I am breaking my own rules by rec-ing a second fic by smilebackwards: Portable Magic

Summary:

Magnus may go slightly overboard helping Alec set up for the book club gathering. Technically, perhaps, he didn’t need to create a signature cocktail or barter a favor to Raphael for O neg blood for the vampires or source the biscotti directly from Italy. But hospitality is important and these are Alec’s friends. He wants to make a good impression. Or: Alec is in a Downworld book club and Magnus finds this unaccountably fascinating.

I'll die on this (Under)hill by @clottedcreamfudge: like all of the fics written by clottedcreamfudge, this fic is downright hilarious. That said, poor Underhill. Underhill POV!

Summary:

The point is, Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood clearly have an intimate knowledge of each other, and it has never once impacted on their work. What it is beginning to impact on, however, is Andrew’s sanity. Because apparently he really is the only one to have noticed it.

Be careful with my best friends heart by TheLostLightwood: A fic in Cat's perspective, who I maintain is one of the best characters in the series and we needed more of her! Cat POV!

Summary:

Catarina Loss had known Magnus for a long time, she had seen him cry, laugh, mourn, get injured and fall in love many times before. But she had never seen him more in love or more broken than she had in this moment. Cat's POV, as Alec is seriously injured in a fight against demons. And Magnus well he...

Alec's Little Ducklings by @to-the-stars-writing (this will be one of two recs for to the stars because I am being very bad at keeping to my rules this time around). Alec gets hurt and all of his friends appear to take care of him!

Summary:

After Alec's hurt coming home from the Hunter's Moon, he's left laid up in bed when the drug they gave him prevents his injuries from being healed by angelic or magical powers. Magnus is fully prepared to do take care of his stubborn boyfriend, only to find out that there are a few other people who are more than willing to offer their help.

the right thing by @cuubism: As the summary says, Alec's first speech as the Inquisitor doesn't go exactly as planned. Izzy POV!

Summary:

Alec's first speech as Inquisitor doesn't go exactly as planned.

nock. draw. release by chaidrivenwhore: A non human POV, but a weapon POV! Alec's bow to be specific!

the bow and arrows had tempted many, but this specific one, with its curved limbs engraved with angelic runes and sharp arrows, straight and unbending, had called out to a nine year old alexander lightwood like no other had.

Multi-chapter fics or series:

Families of Choice by MonPetitTresor, a recommendation made by @ariella9melody that I can only agree with because this fic is wonderful (as are all fics my MonPetitTresor).

Summary:

Life at the Institute takes a turn for the worse for Alec. When he's alone with nowhere else to turn, his siblings step up and help him find his feet once more with help from a few new friends along the way. Between them, Alec finally gets a chance to realize that the world doesn't begin and end with being a Shadowhunter, and there's more out there for him, so long as he's got the courage to reach out and grab it.

ask the always impossible of me by @faejilly: Some very nice Aline and Alec friendship!

Summary:

Just for one night, a magical ball where anyone can meet, when anything is possible... And that's just the beginning.

Running from the Night by @to-the-stars-writing: I love how Stars depicts Alec's struggles with his mental health and there are a lot of friends for Alec in this one!

Summary:

For a long time, Alec had felt like his life was held together by strings tied on him by the Clave, his parents, his siblings. Strings that pulled and tugged him in every which direction, heedless of the bruises and blood left behind. As much as they hurt, some days they’d been the only thing to hold him together. That is, up until the moment Alec stood on the shores of Lake Lyn and faced the death of the one person who held a piece of his soul, and the lies that followed his mysterious resurrection. There, on the shores of Lake Lyn, those strings finally pulled too hard, and Alec broke. With the permission of the Inquisitor, and the help of the warlock who Alec had wanted so desperately to allow himself to fall for (and had been terrified to do more than smile at his flirting) Alec walked away from everything and everyone. He left New York behind and made himself a home in the small town of Prayer – a joke Magnus found particularly funny. But, two years after that fateful night, Alec’s old life comes knocking, and those strings he thought he’d finally cut are tugging him home. Back to the place he never wanted to have to see again. At least this time, he’s not facing it alone.

#fic rec #these ended up mainly being one shots #and outsider POV's #because most of the Alec friendship fics involve Alec being best friends with Clary #and I just don't like her as a character #so I generally skip those #and by generally I mean by nearly always #the Alec's ducklings being an exception #just for the other characters involved #my life would be so much easier if my brain didn't go NOPE each time a Clary & Alec friendship got mentioned tbh

[relatableblorbopoll]

Round 1 of preliminaries, group 16

The first two places get a place on the bracket

Little reminder: there will be 2 more rounds of preliminaries, the losing blorbos of this poll still have 2 chances of getting in the official bracket

Propaganda under the cut

Parker (Leverage)

"Some of the weird things she says are so true. Like when she talks about past/present/future parker. Her joy at the things that she loves is so complete. Christmas every year! I too have the urge to stab people with forks when in uncomfortable social situations. And it was great when she made her security code to her…home…Sophie’s real name because it was representative of where trust stood in the team after the prison break. Oh! And her and Alec are total couple goals. (Thruple goals if you add in Elliot)"

Gudetama (Sanrio)

"A lazy egg who really doesn't want to do much of anything and would rather just go back to sleep"

Finn the Human (Adventure Time)

"finn is just a little guy doing his best and trying to help people! he's the only human in the show so he's just like us fr (the entire human race) and he starts off the series as a kid and grows up during it so he really goes through all the relatable ups and downs and friendships and relationships and mistakes and achievements that we all go through. he does a lot of idolising people and having to realise they're not what he told himself they were. sometimes he tries to distract himself from an existential crisis by running around yelling or stabbing things with a sword. relatable"

Rain O'Fire Frazier (Worm)

"Rain grew up in a conservative community that he didn't want to be part of, and rejected their regressive ideology in favor of surrounding himself with people who have gender vibes, mental health issues, and traumas of their own. Also, people give him all sorts of crap in the setting, and while he does fuck up sometimes, he's just a swell dude who's hoping to not get murdered by crazy people. Times being what they are, I think that that's something a lot of people can relate to."

Piper Mclean (Heroes of the Olympus)

"she's SO full of love!!! she loves everyone so strongly!! she has a complicated relationship with femininity, gender and beauty standards. she bullies her friends but would go down fighting for them if needed. she acts out to get her dad's attention. she believes in a balance between emotions and logic, and is not afraid to tell her friends if she thinks they're neglecting the emotional side of a problem."

Norma Khan (Dead End Paranormal Park)

"She is autistic and struggles with socialising (same) She has special interests that she will bring up at any opportunity. She can get overwhelemed and scared being in the world. Norma is also bisexual! She spends her time in a Pauline Phoneix theme park (one of her spins) and fighting demons and ghosts (another special interest). Vote Norma today!!"

"She goes through so many relatable experiences that I rarely see depicted and is just overall an excellent character. The third episode of the show has the most relatable depiction of anxiety I've ever seen (especially the intersection between social anxiety and autistic sensory overload). It's one of those episodes where each character has to face their worst fears, and with how those episodes usually go, I expected her to overcome her fears at the end of the episode and just not have them anymore. Instead, she overloads the villain by having too much fear for him to handle since she has to constantly face her greatest fears as part of her everyday life. The protagonist also acknowledges how much more severe her fear is compared to most other people, which is pretty validating. Her special interest is an actress who turns out to be a really shady person, and she has a lot of trouble processing this because it was so close to her heart. She even gets a musical number about it! I've never seen this particular experience depicted in fiction, but it's one that is sadly pretty relatable to me and probably a lot of other people on here. She also has a plot where she is rejected romantically by a straight friend, which is kinda nice to see (even if it's not nice for poor Norma) since even though this is a really common experience IRL I rarely see it explored in fiction. And she's just really funny and smart and a great character in general!"

#leverage parker #leverage #gudetama #sanrio #finn the human #adventure time #rain o'fire frazier #worm #piper mclean #heroes of olympus #norma khan #dead end paranormal park #preliminaries #tumblr polls #tumblr tournament #character bracket #character tournament

[thelostgirl21]

Okay, so I've just noticed something, and now I've got a ask...

Could it be possible for Magnus Bane - as a Warlock whose father used to be a Fallen Angel - to be able to use a stele to draw runes on Alec's body?

Because yeah, beyond the fact that Alec hasn't been seen with a flexibility rune drawn anywhere on his body before he started dating Magnus...

WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD HE PLACE IT ON AN AREA OF HIS BODY THAT WOULD REQUIRE AN INSANE AMOUNT OF FLEXIBILITY FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO REACH IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!?!

Unless you happen to be a contortionist, and/or have extremely hyper-mobile shoulder joints, please do me a favor and try attempting to draw or trace anything there using either your right of your left hand. See what I mean?

Once you've got that flexibility rune activated, perhaps it would be relatively comfortable to do so.

But without it?! It's like one the worst possible spots one could think of using to put it!

Jace's flexibility rune has been put somewhere stylishly practical that's easily within reach for him, at the very least.

But Alec's?!

I can only think of two explanations for this:

Magnus is the one that drew the rune there himself.

Someone else - most likely Jace - did it for him.

And I can't tell which one is my favorite!

Because, while part of me can't help but think how incredibly cool it would be for Magnus to be able to draw and activate runes on Alec's body...

I kinda love the idea that, at some point, right before Alec was going to head back to Magnus' loft, Jace just decided to grab his stele, lift Alec's shirt, and start drawing something on his left shoulder blade!

Alec: [Trying to wiggle his shoulder out of Jace's grasp, and bring his shirt back down.] Jace! What the Hell are you doing?

Jace: [Trying to force his parabatai to stand still.] Just relax and stop moving, alright?! Trust me about this, you'll thank me later!

Alec: [Reluctantly does as he's told, trying to ignore the stinging sensation.] I've still got a feeling I'm going to regret this.

Jace: [Laughs, as he finishes drawing the new rune.] Oh no, you won't! You're going to love this tonight, and so will Magnus!

Alec: WHAT?!

Jace: [Smugly pushes Alec's shirt back down, and gives him two small pats on the shoulder.] There. All done! It should have a stronger effect and last longer, too, since I'm the one that drew it!

Alec: [Turns towards his parabatai, eyeing him carefully.] Jace, what rune was that?

Jace: [Shrugs.] Flexibility. Oh! [Starts fumbling with the edge of Alec's shirt again, at the front this time, looking for something.] Where'd you put that stamina one again? I know it's around here somewhere...

Alec: [Glares incredulously at Jace but, to his own surprise and against his better judgment, doesn't attempt to stop him.] Seriously?!

Jace: [Triumphantly] Ah! There it is! [Activates the stamina rune, before letting go of Alec's shirt, stepping back, removing his own, and handing his stele to Alec.] Say, would you mind activating mine, too? I've got a group reading at the Book Club tonight that will probably end up late.

Alec: [Sighs and rolls his eyes, grabbing the stele to start activating the same runes on Jace's body.] You're impossible...

Jace: I think you mean caring, thoughtful, and the best parabatai in the whole Shadow World that's looking out for his big brother!

Alec: Uh-huh... [Still pretends to be annoyed, but there's a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he finishes to trace the stamina rune.] How large is that group reading tonight, by the way? Want me to activate the endurance and agility ones, too, while I'm at it?

Jace: [Beams back at him.] Okay, you win. You're the best parabatai.

I'm also amused at the thought of Jace or Izzy just discreetly walking behind Alec to activate that large "calm anger" rune through his clothes whenever he's having to deal with some idiot from the Clave, and they notice his patience is just about to snap!

Still, that "calm anger" be a rune that someone else drew there, and that's typically activated by another Shadowhunter, is something I can deal with just fine!

But FLEXIBIILTY?!?!?! How?! Why?! How?!

"I have a flexibility rune, but I'm not flexible enough to use it myself!"

Good job, Alec!

#Alec Lightwood #Jace Herondale #Magnus Bane #Shadowhunters #Malec #Alexander Lightwood #Jace Lightwood #Jace Wayland #Jace #Just Jace #Parabatai #Shenanigans #Flexibility Rune #Placement #My Thoughts #My Posts

[alexanderlightweight]

It has been a rough...month. Your prompts and writing have basically been my rewards after a long day. I love re-reading them.

For Wednesday prompts, could we get another installment of Spoils of War or Bitter Trap of Truth? Or Undertow, Tethers of Fate, or the Taste of His Magic?? Or maybe your spouse-stealing one? Or the one where Sebastian is trying to steal Alec? 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Obviously, I have a lot of favorites 😅

Thank you!!

I hope that you're doing better when you read this and that either way, this is a bright spot for you! Let me know how you're doing if you feel up for it and feel free to tell me if you want another addition to something!!

I'm really glad that my writing can be helpful for you

<3 lumine

the bitter trap of truth

(with ragnor and cat making a stop)

-

Alec becomes aware of both intruders — no, if Magnus has allowed their presence then they are guests, he reminds himself — as he comes awake.

The sky is still dark, just before the birth of dawn and Alec feels weighed down with the same longing and loneliness that crushed him for years.

It’s been mere weeks and Alec is already spoiled by his husband’s presence and to be without it has him leaving their bed to search for Magnus’ warmth.

It’s a relief, to see that it’s an emergency — that Magnus only left because he had to — rather than Magnus leaving out of want.

While Magnus still doesn’t trust him just yet, that has never stopped Magnus from sleeping in the same bed.

It only endears Alec to Magnus more.

To see how competent he is.

True, Alec would prefer to have his favor and trust, but Alec can’t blame him. Alec can only try to earn it and show that his loyalty belongs in truth, only to his husband from the moment Alec realized who he was marrying.

It’s a relief that leaves Alec shaky with it. His exhaustion is both amplified and swept away and the sleepiness that he’s carried with him softens him. It’s up to Alec to prove his worthiness and if these warlocks are dear enough to see Magnus so relaxed and allowed into Magnus’ lab, then Alec will give himself to his husband’s protection.

Because how will Magnus learn to trust him, if he doesn’t see proof that Alec if willing to be vulnerable for Magnus’ sake.

Still, there is a deep aura of concern and fear and anger around the three warlocks and Alec pauses by the door — waiting for an invitation since this is Magnus’ space — and hopes he won’t be turned away.

—

“What’s wrong?”

Magnus ignores Cat and Ragnor’s startled surprise and concern at the sudden presence and question to cross the room and cup Alexander’s face. Even with uncertainty still brewing between them, Magnus can’t help it.

His hunter has dark bruises under his eyes and his normally fluid movements are slow with exhaustion. Despite the fact that Alexander’s never met Cat or Ragnor — and that this is the first time Magnus has had visitors over since their wedding — his hunter is relaxed and calm.

There is no fight bristling under his skin and no threat in the languid roll of his shoulders.

Magnus knows for a fact that Alec had refused to sleep until Magnus returned from a private consultation the night before and it shows in how his shadowhunter is leaning against the doorframe rather than standing tall. It’s also a testament to the fact that Alec allows himself to be seen as what typical nephilim would consider ‘weak’ and ‘vulnerable’ in front of not only Magnus, but now Cat and Ragnor.

Magnus knows it’s because he’s allowing them to see himself, bare of makeup and barely dressed in a robe and slippers and that Alexander is following his lead.

“Nothing for you to worry your pretty head over.” Magnus says without thinking and there is a startled hack behind him that he knows is Ragnor.

Magnus hadn’t even intended it to be a distraction, but Alexander’s face transformed and a pleased, delighted smile curls across plush lips that Magnus has to fight not to lean forward and claim.

“Unless that pretty head can give some insight.”

Ragnor’s voice is mocking and while Magnus knows its directed at himself, Alexander seems to take it as a personal slight. It’s with a frown that he steps forward and his shoulder — his bare shoulder because of course his boy was wearing nothing but boxers to bed — presses against Magnus’ as he passes.

There is a mess in Magnus’ lab and Alexander pauses on the list of symptoms with a small frown before he surveys the table and then holds out his hand.

For a moment nothing happens and then Magnus startles as he realizes that Alexander is requesting the small bottle of contaminated blood that Cat is trying to process.

Her eyes meet his and for a moment everything hangs in the balance.

This isn’t how it was supposed to go, Magnus thinks to himself even as he nods his head in permission.

He was supposed to have time to draw out every bit of the clave’s poison from his husband before he dared risk being betrayed. Magnus is ready for the betrayal — he is — but that doesn’t mean he wants witnesses for it.

If Alec breaks any of the trust shown to him this night, then Magnus will have to have him answer for it. It’s one thing to prepare and it’s another to realize he was never going to have enough time.

Alec sniffs the vial and then his face pulls into a wretched grimace.

“Nephilim blood then—” he murmurs, even though there shouldn’t be anything that tells him that. Ragnor and Cat exchange a contemplative look but Magnus can’t look away from Alexander.

“No!” Magnus’ magic reaches out but Alec’s already turned and spit the mouthful of blood he sipped from the vial onto the floor. Magic steals the blood from his tongue and lips and mouth and sterilizes it until Alexander is wincing. “Why would you do that?”

Magnus knows that he’s going to have to deal with a concerned and worried Cat and Ragnor after this — he’d told them he was interested in Alec but he may not have let on just how dear Alexander was becomings to him already.

“To see what kind of poison it was?” Alec looks confused and this time when he raises the vial all he does is sniff, “I needed to see what it was doing to the blood. It’s a nephil poison, it reacts with our blood differently.”

Magnus knew that.

Or at least, that it had been a nephil poison was what the three of them had assumed.

The confirmation is helpful as now all they need to do is narrow it down.

Honestly, it was more help than what any of them would have expected from a clave assigned nephilim spouse.

“Thank you, darling.” Magnus murmurs and the endearment slips out before he can help it, “will you go rest now?” And hopefully stop giving Magnus and his enthralled magick paranoia.

“But I haven’t told you which kind yet.”

—

Magnus’ nephilim spouse is giving Magnus a confused and slightly haughty look.

Normally such a look would have both her and Ragnor’s hackles raised in defense of Magnus. Yet, his nephil spouse is giving Magnus the kind of haughty look that says he’s personally offended, not that he thinks himself better than Magnus.

A small bag appears in his palm.

It’s a leather pouch the size of the hunter’s hand and it’s only Magnus’ lack of surprise that keep her and Ragnor calm and quiet as he opens it up to reveal at least a dozen small glass vials.

“It’s either one of these two. The strands run too closely to be sure without further testing and these poisons work fast enough that you’ll want to create the antidotes as quickly as possible.” Two small vials are plucked from the velvet-lined pouch. There are runes decorating the leather and it almost looks as if the very threads were spun from adamas.

“Just avoid overheating any of it. Nephil poisons and antidotes typically stay in a cool area. Even the vials are runed for temperature stasis and they don’t do well exposed to heat even when they’re being created. It’s part of the reason why our poisons are so hard to find antidotes for.” The bag clicks shut and then it disappears, as if it had never been there.

The only evidence are the two small, almost innocent looking, vials on the table and and the offering of more knowledge of nephil poisons than she’s found in decades.

Then, with what can only be considered sleepy satisfaction, Magnus’ nephilim turns to leave. He brushes past Magnus with a sleepy nonchalance and even presses a kiss to a distracted and shocked Magnus’ jaw as he murmurs, “come to bed when you can.”

Then he’s gone.

“That is not normal.” Ragnor bites out quietly, “Magnus, what did you bloody do?”

Cat turns to see Ragnor giving Magnus an incredulous stare and Magnus’ slightly uncomfortable, defensive frown.

“It doesn’t matter.” She interrupts, “we can figure out what’s going on here later. Magnus, can I take him at his word for this?” It would be truly stupid of Magnus’ husband to so blatantly betray them but still…

Magnus pauses and there is a shadow to his gaze before he turns to meet her eyes.

“Yes. I’ve seen his files and records and he’s told me of his rank and specialties. Alexander is too smart for this to be a lie.”

Cat can see that he believes that and she understands now why he’s so conflicted. How difficult it must be, to try and uncover the lies in an honest enemy, especially one that doesn’t twist the offered truth as seelies do.

“Then I’ll let you know if it’s a success.”

If it is a success… than Magnus’ husband may very well have just offered up a priceless weapon in the cold battle of politics and subterfuge between them and the clave.

#lumine writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays #the bitter trap of truth #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters #malec #catarina loss #ragnor fell #team immortal

[twilight-at-midnight]

Jasper’s mate

Pairing: Jasper x reader

Requested: @choasstuff

Warnings: None

Request:

I literally stumbled across your page and I'm so glad! I can't tell if your request are open or not, but, can I request a jasper x reader where the reader is a vampire but but, can I request a jasper x reader where the reader is a vampire but they get nauseous around blood?

***

• It’s quite funny at first, you being the complete opposite of Jasper when it comes to blood

• But Jasper remains by your side through and through to figure out the best way possible to help you

• Knowing blood is your now survival source, it makes the matter a new struggle for you but you know it’s going to be just another something for you to learn

• You met Jasper while you were still human, (Alice doesn’t have a mate yet) and very few people know of a personal experience you’ve dealt with in your human days

• It’s not long after until Jasper is one of those who know soon followed by the rest of the Cullen family

• It’s because of that experience you don’t do well around blood, but you pull through the best you can once you’re with Jasper

• Now that you’re doing much better, all that you feel around blood is nausea and you feel that once you’re turned, that will be a thing in the past

• How wrong you were

• Thinking it was awful in your human days, turn out to feel even more not long after waking up into your new world as a new born

• Turns out, you still get nauseous even as a vampire when it comes to blood

• You don’t know how that’s possible but Carlisle predicted that it was the last little bit of humanity that seemed to latch onto you but assured you it wouldn’t last forever

• Even though it took you a long time to get over it, Carlisle was right and Jasper was always there when it was time to go on a hunt

• Like Edward, you favored cougars

• Since than, you look back on your early life as a vampire as a funny story to tell your future family as it grows

• When Bella comes around, you both become attached with each other after finding a lot in common

• Just as Jasper helped you, you continue to help Jasper as he seemed to still have his own issues of control

• At Bella’s party, you helped him through it after what happened

***

Requests: open

@twilight-at-midnight

Character:

• Edward Cullen

• Carlisle Cullen

• Emmett Cullen

• Jasper Cullen

• Alice

• Rosalie

• Bella Swan

• Aro

• Marcus

• Caius

• Alec

• Jane

• Vladimir

• Stefan

• Riley

• Jacob

• Victoria

#carlisle cullen #edward cullen #emmett cullen #jasper cullen #alice cullen #rosalie #twilight imagine #twilight x reader #twilight imagines #bella swan #aro #marcus #caius #alec #jane #victoria #riley #vladimir #stefan #request #requested #requests

[lakesbian]

what do you think the undersiders gas station orders would be. or just alecs

yay questions to answer while i am sick and dying

taylor: sunflower seeds (salt and no other seasonings). that's it. would consciously reject bottled cold tea in favor of waterbottles in the car already. eats them with the shells on and finds nothing unusual about the matter

brian: protein bar or somesuch. chocolate flavored protein drink also possibly because he genuinely thinks it's a delightful and tasty little treat. also having some of taylor's sunflower seeds but he's eating them normally. might get more substantial food like a hot dog if sufficiently hungry and he doesn't think it looks like it's going to kill him. also brian laborn LaCroix enjoyer.

lisa: pistachios and a can of iced tea. and maybe a twinkie to get silly with it. sea salt kettle chips. possibly going to obtain something to prod taylor to share with her like a hot pretzel

rachel: wants something of substance instead of just a snack. hot dog or chicken nuggets or burger or whatever. or multiple of the above. i think she's a bbq sauce type of girl for chicken nuggets btw. and bonus points if they have bags of dog treats for her little guys

aisha: having a very fun time in the candy section. sour gummy worms full-size twix bars sugar babies et cetera. grape soda. cola icee. hot pretzel w/ cheese. multiple chip varieties. chex mix. brownies or cookies. She's thriving.

alec: blue raspberry or coconut icee. mayhaps root beer or sprite for later too. hot pretzel or burger also. sharing many of aisha's snacks with her but he also has a bag of yogurt covered pretzels just for him. maybe some peppermint patties as well.

#ask #if any of this isn't an accurate vibe check it's bc of the sick and dying

[thebiggerbear]

Rachel Gatina x Reader - Prompt Response - "I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that."

Summary: Rachel, who has never spoken to you before, approaches you to ask for a favor. Despite what Bevin said, Rachel decides that she has to gauge this whole "being into girls" thing properly. And she's picked you to help her with that. ...Lucky you.

Pairing: Rachel Gatina x Female!Reader

A/N: Prompt from @creativepromptsforwriting (#941). I started quite a few scenarios for Rachel's response to this prompt but none of them felt right until this scenario popped into my head. I tried to keep this as 2000's as possible. Hope this is okay.

Both characters are over eighteen.

This is meant to take place right after the Bevin and Rachel bathroom scene in 4x13.

Warnings: mention of implied sex; internalized homophobia (I hope that's the correct term)

Word Count: 3757

Rachel Taglist: @nancymcl

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that."

Soldier Boy version | Beau version | Dean version | Jenny version | Jason version | Tom version | CJ version | Anael version | Alec version | SDV Leah version

<-->

You were just getting your books out of your locker when someone suddenly appeared next to you. You glanced over to see a familiar redhead smirking at you. You rolled your eyes and went back to your locker. “What do you want?”

Rachel Gatina had been the new girl at Tree Hill High who was giving Brooke Davis a run for her money and her non-exclusive boyfriend. Now, she was besties with Brooke and constantly toggling between mean girl and party girl. Either way, she had never been very nice to you or anyone else (except Mouth) who wasn’t in the “cool cliques”. 

“Can’t one senior come over to say hello to her fellow senior?”

“When said senior has never spoken a word to this fellow senior? Then no.” You slammed your locker shut and moved past her to head to class.

“I’m speaking to you now.” She was keeping pace with you, great.

“Oh, well then let me put my entire day on hold since Queen Rachel is speaking to me.” You turned a glare on her. 

“Not queen, just…maybe a little royalty.”

You rolled your eyes again and kept moving. You were going to be late for AP Lit and you did not want to be late for that class. Mr. Barton had a rule that he enforced with an iron fist: one minute late, no class for you. He would lock the door and not unlock it again until the class was over. 

“As it so happens, I need a favor.” She was still following you.

“Oh, imagine that. A favor.” You still didn’t stop. 

“Oh, come on. For someone I’ve never spoken a word to before, you’re being awfully harsh, don’t you think?” She wasn’t wrong. The truth was that she intimidated you a little bit. And that was your go to when it came to intimidation: pushback and biting sarcasm.

“I’m late for class,” you threw at her. “And if I don’t hurry, I’ll be—”

She grabbed your hand and yanked you off to the side, right into the girls’ bathroom.

“What the— Rachel, what are you doing? I’m about to be locked out of class.” You hurried towards the door but she blocked you. “Rachel,” you growled. “The bell is about to—”

The bell rang before you could finish your sentence. You had now officially been marked absent from Mr. Barton’s class and you were locked out. Great. You were screwed.

“So you miss one class, big deal. It’s not like you’re flunking.”

You crossed your arms and sighed. “How would you know that?”

“I asked around. I make it my business to know. Now, about that favor.”

“That you made me miss one of my most important classes for.”

She laid a hand on your shoulder. “Don’t worry. Just tell Barton you had a girl emergency. He’ll offer you a make-up paper before you can get out the word ‘tampon’. Besides, it’s not like you’ll be lying to him exactly. This is a girl emergency.” She smiled, placing her hand on her hip.

You walked over to the gross looking tampon dispensing machine and gestured to it. “If you needed one, it’s right here. Are you out of quarters?”

She smirked and flicked her hair back. “I like you. It’s a shame we didn’t talk before this. I get the feeling we could have been friends.”

“A cheerleader hanging out with a loner? Yes, I can definitely see that.”

“You call yourself a loner?” She laughed. “You’re far from it from what I’ve heard.”

You narrowed your eyes at her. “And your emergency is?”

She pressed her lips together and sat on one of the sinks, swinging her legs back and forth as she settled. “I’m not sure how to ask this without sounding…you know, gay, so I’m just going to ask.”

Your heart started to pound at the word ‘gay’. Oh no.

“Will you kiss me?”

Your eyes widened and your heart stopped altogether. Was she for real? 

She gave you an encouraging smile. “It’s just to see if something Bevin said is true or not.”

“Bevin?”

“Yeah. We had class together last period and we had to do this stupid assignment together. She said this thing and now I can’t get it out of my head.”

“So let me see if I’ve got this right. Bevin said something to you in class during an assignment you both were working on together and that had you finding me, who you’ve never spoken to before, to push me into the bathroom with you to ask me to kiss you but not wanting it to sound gay. To see if what Bevin said is true or not.”

Rachel shrugged. “More or less. Yeah.”

“Right.” You immediately began opening stall doors, seeing no one was in here thankfully. You then began checking underneath the sinks, the bathroom mirrors, anywhere a recording device of some kind could be installed. 

“What are you doing?” She asked when you quickly looked under her sink. “I said a kiss not…that.” 

“Wouldn’t you be so lucky,” you snapped. “I’m looking for recording devices of some kind. Someone hidden in here who’s going to jump out and let me know I’m on Punk’d or Candid Camera or something. Maybe you’ve got a couple of the cheerleaders hiding somewhere with a camera to take a picture. Maybe Brooke and a couple of jocks are just waiting outside the door to laugh and spread rumors.”

Rachel crossed her arms. “You are way too paranoid, you know that?”

You shrugged. “Can’t be too safe, especially when it comes to high school. Especially this high school.”

“I’ll have you know that most guys would be dying for the chance if I gave it to them. if I asked them to kiss me, they would already be over here, all over me.”

“I’m not a guy in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Of course I noticed, that’s why I asked.”

“So, you’re just looking for any girl to kiss you. Is that it?” Lucky you.

“Not just any girl. You.”

“Why me?”

“I’ve heard the rumors.”

You tensed up. “What rumors?”

She leaned forward. “You know. And I know you’re into me, even if you won’t admit it.”

She was right; you weren’t going to admit it. “Right, right. Question, how did you fit through the door just now with that massive ego of yours?”

“That’s not the only thing of mine that’s massive.” As if to illustrate her point, she leaned forward a little more until you could see straight down her cleavage. Well, she certainly wasn’t lying.

“Alright, first off, those rumors aren’t true. Secondly, let’s say I do this for you. What do I get in return?”

“This is a favor, not a deal,” she scoffed.

“How long would this have to be for?”

She shot you a look and sat up. “Wow, talk about giving a girl a complex. Is the idea of kissing me really that horrible for you?”

“I didn’t say that. I’m merely trying to determine what I’m going to be asking in trade.”

“Now, it’s a trade.” She huffed a laugh in disbelief. A moment later, she glanced over at you. “Five seconds. No more, no less.”

“Okay then, what I want in return is this: you never tell anyone about this.”

“That’s what you want in return?”

“Yep. I want your word that you won’t whisper a word of this to anyone. When you go away to college and you’re experimenting or whatever, sure you can mention that one kiss in the girls’ bathroom one time, but not here in Tree Hill. Never here in Tree Hill. Or to anyone from here and that includes Brooke. Deal?”

She gave you a nod. “Deal.”

“Alright.” Now you were feeling nervous and self-conscious. “So do I, uh, just come over there or do you come over here or do we meet in the middle or—”

“Just come over here,” she ordered, impatience coloring her tone.

“Okay,” you muttered, moving over to her. 

Rachel studied you and you began to feel like an exhibit in a museum or something. “So, we doing this or—”

“Shut up.” She cupped your face and leaned in, pressing her lips to yours. 

You were sort of having a little meltdown in your brain right then. Rachel Gatina was kissing you. The beautiful, cocky, queen of mean, sexy cheerleader Rachel Gatina was kissing you. Ever since she’d arrived, she had been turning heads, even yours. You never had the courage to approach her or say hello to her, even at a party the two of you were at. Especially since she didn’t seem all that nice. Never mind the whole cliques thing, Rachel had been right; there were rumors going around about you. Most of the girls on Rachel’s side of the hallway so to speak avoided you like the Plague and only acknowledged your existence to make fun of you or gossip about you if somehow the rumors got a second wind (which you made sure they never did, not from you anyway). 

But Rachel was beautiful although personality wise, she wasn’t exactly your type. Though she did prove to be a lot smarter than she let on. You may have asked around yourself, overheard a few things. Plus, you had it on pretty good authority that she may have been the one to cause the whole time capsule business which then led to— You didn’t want to think about that. Now or ever quite honestly. Besides, Mouth had made you promise to keep it to yourself about the capsule. It was obvious that even Mouth had a crush on her. 

You counted down the seconds in your head as you enjoyed the softness of her lips against yours, the smell of her perfume, the feeling of her hands on your face. When you reached the end, you went to pull back but she tugged you back in. Not only did she keep you there but she deepened the kiss. You could have sworn you felt the edge of her tongue against your lower lip.

You continued counting in your head and by 27, Rachel finally let you go. You took a step back and watched as she held her fingers up to her lips, staring at you. Then she did the last thing you expected (or if you were being honest, you totally expected it). She laughed out, “Oh my God.”

There it was. You waited for the joke, for Brooke to pop out of a stall that she mysteriously appeared into and begin laughing and pointing, for the whole school to start filing into the bathroom, one by one, to join in the merriment. “Yeah, that’s usually the reaction I get,” you muttered, wiping your lips with your fingers.

“No, not you. I mean…Bevin was right.” She laughed again, seeming almost pleasantly surprised.

And there was the joke. “Great. Glad she was. Now, if I can be set free from this Bathroom Bastille, that would be awesome. Thanks for the laughs.” You gave her a peace sign and began to walk towards the door. You fully expected to find some cheerleaders or Bevin or Brooke on the other side of it.

“Hey! Hold up a second.” She jumped down from the sink and grabbed your shirt sleeve to stop you. “You don’t have to act like kissing me was such a revolting thing for you to do that you’re now relieved it’s over. You really do know how to give a girl a complex.”

“I know how to give a girl a complex? You’re laughing after you kissed me. What about that doesn’t give a girl a complex?”

She nodded, sticking her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “True. I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you.”

You arched a brow over at her.

“Scout’s honor.” She stuck two fingers up in a gesture that you were pretty sure they didn’t use in the Scouts but you kept that observation to yourself. 

“Then what were you laughing at?”

She looked uncomfortable then and you had to wonder if she had been telling you the truth just now. “That Bevin was right. …And not.”

“Right about what?”

She bit at her lip. “Okay, here’s the thing. I don’t know you just like you don’t know me. So if I tell you this, you can’t tell anyone at all. Even if they’re not from Tree Hill. Like ever. Got it?”

So, she also had a secret that she didn’t want getting out. You could understand that. You held up your fingers in the actual Scout’s honor sign. “Got it.”

Rachel looked uncomfortable again but her discomfort also seemed to be tainted by a little sadness. “I was telling Bevin that I never really feel anything with the guys I sleep with.” Ah, you knew where this was going. “I mean, I got this new body and everything but it didn’t change anything. Except for how they looked at me.” She bit at her bottom lip again which you were starting to see may be a nervous gesture on her part. “So, Bevin said she always wondered what it would be like to be a guy, checking out chicks. And I said that might be my problem, maybe I was into girls.”

You kept your face carefully neutral but inside you were half-shocked, and half-not so shocked. 

“She kissed me on the spot which totally took me by surprise, and asked if I felt anything. I told her I didn’t because I really didn’t. She said if I was into girls then I would’ve felt something because she’s a great kisser and I’d be into her.” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at that one. Maybe Bevin was a great kisser like she boasted but that wasn’t exactly how it worked. You would know.

“And you weren’t?”

“No,” she snapped. “I like Bevin well enough but no. The class ended and that was it. But then it got me thinking.”

“Ah. You thought you’d go to one of the girls rumored to be gay in this school and ask her to kiss you, you know just to make sure.”

“Well, not to put too fine a point on it but yeah.”

You snorted. “Well?”

“Well?”

“Did you feel anything?”

She looked uncertain for a moment so you figured the answer would be no. But then she surprisingly took a step closer to you, giving you a hint of a smile that was absent of her usual cockiness. “Yeah, actually.”

“So according to Bevin’s vast array of knowledge in these matters, you must be into girls then. Mazel Tov. I’ll see you around, Rachel.” You turned to leave, eager to put this whole thing behind you, when she gently grabbed your arm. 

You sighed and turned back. “I did what you asked. I don’t get why—”

Rachel leaned in, kissing you again. 

When she broke away, your brows drew together. “Uh…?”

“Did you feel anything?”

Hell yeah, you did. You felt that down to your toes. But you weren’t about to tell her that. “I, um… It’s really hard to tell. I might need further exploration on the subject.”

She let you go and gave you a look. “Really?”

“Yep. As a matter of fact, I’m going to go find another cheerleader and shove her into a bathroom to make out with her so I can find out. Great idea, Rach. Thanks. Later.” You went to leave when she grabbed you again.

Smiling at you, she pulled you closer. “Shut up.” She kissed you then and you couldn’t help but kiss her back.

<-->

You glanced up when you heard the bell ring again, signaling you needed to get to your next class. You groaned and it wasn’t because Rachel’s lips were attached to your neck. You both were currently in a stall with her in your lap (because she refused to get her clothes dirty sitting on a gross toilet seat though she was slightly taller than you with the heels she was sporting, which made positioning awkward at times) and you literally had been making out now for most of the period. 

“I need to get to my next class.”

“Skip it,” she breathed before kissing you again.

“I can’t skip it,” you panted. “I already missed one class while you’re having your gay awakening.” 

She pulled back, scowling at you. “I’m not gay.”

You inclined your head at her sitting in your lap. 

She shoved her hair behind her ear. “That doesn’t mean I’m gay. I’m just…trying new things.” She gave you a bright smile. “Besides, if I was gay, don’t you think I would have enjoyed kissing Bevin?”

“Yeah, that’s not how that works.”

“And you would know.”

“Says the girl who’s currently sitting on my lap and has been trying to convince me to meet her at her house later so she can get me into bed.”

She wrapped her arms around her neck. “Come on, it’ll be fun. Brooke won’t be there if that’s what you’re worried about. She has a date tonight. And I need to find out if those rumors are true.” She leaned in to place a kiss to the corner of your mouth.

“I hate those rumors,” you muttered.

“Why? They’re not true?”

“What do you think?”

She thought about it for a moment. “Good point. So is it or is it not true that you and Donna DiLorenzo went all the way in the eighth grade at summer camp?”

You couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Summer camp? How cliche.”

“So they’re not true then?”

You shook your head. “No. Donna and I were just friends. And I never went to summer camp.”

She shrugged. “Fair enough. But obviously, the other part of the rumor is true.” She smirked and ran a finger along your jaw.

“That I’m a raging lesbian who’s always on the prowl for girls? No. Sorry to disappoint but your friend Brooke made all of that up.”

She didn’t say anything to that. How could she? “But if you’re making out with me, then—”

“I like both guys and girls. That’s the real truth. Which goes without saying, is to be kept secret along with this whole little makeout session and what you told me earlier. It all goes into the vault, for life. Got it?”

She nodded, that cocky smirk making a reappearance. “So I really can’t convince you to come by tonight once Brooke leaves?”

You heard the bell again and you let out a huge groan. “That’s two classes now.”

“You have me on your lap, asking you to come to my house later so we can continue this, and you’re worried about class?” She actually seemed insulted.

“Yes. Because I don’t need the absences which will turn into zeros when they realize I’m cutting.”

Rachel studied you for a moment and flicked her hair back, holding onto you. “Well, since you don’t have to rush off now. Care to feel me up?”

You arched your brows in disbelief, silently asking if she was serious, to which she only smiled wider. “I hate you,” you muttered.

“You certainly have a weird way of showing that.” She ground into you and interlocked her fingers at the back of your neck, grinning. “Come on. You know you want to. They’re a hell of a lot bigger than Donna DiLorenzo’s,” she teased.

“Like I said, I hate you, and I wouldn’t know.”

“You’ve had your hands on my ass for the last half hour. While I’m flattered, don’t you want to feel what my other attributes feel like?”

“You mean holding onto your ass to keep you from falling? You’re welcome.”

“Come on.” She reached down and began to lower the straps of her tank top, her jacket having been hung up on the back of the door long ago. 

You stopped her. “If I agree to drop by your house later, can we stop this ridiculous conversation in its tracks?”

She shrugged, moving her straps back into place. “I wouldn’t call it ridiculous but sure. Brooke’s date is picking her up around 8:00. Why don’t you swing by around 8:30?”

Your jaw tightened. “If this turns out to be some elaborate prank with cameras and people popping out and Brooke, I swear, I will go nuclear on your secrets. The vault won’t be able to withstand the heat of that explosion.”

“You are so incredibly paranoid but got it, loud and clear. For the record, I wasn’t inviting you over as a prank. I’m not Brooke,” she finished in a whisper. She then cleared her throat. “As it turns out, I am inviting you over to watch a movie.”

“Awww. You’re going to show me your Girls Gone Wild collection? How sweet.” 

She swatted your shoulder. “Shut up. I’m talking about that movie The Grudge. Have you seen it?”

You shook your head. “Didn’t really want to if I’m honest.”

Her smile grew. “Perfect.” She leaned in and kissed you, chuckling into your mouth when she moved your hands from her ass to her breasts. 

You squeezed them for good measure and muttered to her lips, “There. Very nice. Happy now?”

“Not yet.” She launched herself at you, kissing you deeply. You barely heard someone knocking on the bathroom door for the fourth time since this whole thing started, and you had stopped counting the seconds in your head long ago. Rachel Gatina was making out with you and she was inviting you over to her house later to “watch a movie”. There was no way in hell you were passing that up or paying attention to anything else (even if you had been dying to see The Grudge since you missed it while it was in theaters). You had missed two classes for Rachel’s experiment, after all.

That made you pull back for a moment. “I can’t miss another class, though.”

She nodded, panting. “You agreed to come over later so, yeah. I got it. But you still have forty five minutes.” She gave you that wicked smirk again before moving back in.

You moved your hands back to her ass and she moaned into your mouth though you could feel the smirk against your lips right before. You didn’t know Bevin Prince very well but damn if you weren’t going to send her some kind of gift basket as a thank you.

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