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thebestofoneshots · 4 months

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Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.3 K Warnings: Graphic descriptions of violence. (Reader discretion is advised). Prompt: It's the night of the prank This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.

Chapter 28: If You Want BIood (You’ve Got It)

You were walking through the dark halls, wand raised with a lumus charm so you could see better. You already knew the path you had to follow, it was almost exactly the same one that you used to get to the fireworms but a little further and then 3 lefts and 2 rights.

You wouldn’t say you’d pride yourself on your sense of direction, you had gotten lost in the castle more than once, but you had been in the passageways so often, and you had explored them and gotten lost in them just as many times. You had already taken three lefts and were about to take a right when Sirius appeared in front of you.

“Oh hey–“ You started, but were cut off by the way he scooped you into his arms, hugging you tightly, he leaned his head on the crook of your neck.

“Missed you,” he whispered into your hair.

You frowned, what’s gotten into him? “I saw you in the morning.”

“But you sat far away,” he whined. You frowned but finally hugged him back. It’s not that you didn’t like when Sirius was clingy, in fact, you loved it. But most of the time he got clingy it was because something was up.

Could it be because of your wound? But he had known about it for a week, and he hadn’t been this clingy earlier. In fact, he’d been a lot more concerned and serious about it. Yeah worried, and definitely a little touchy when you fell asleep on his bed, but not clingy. You noticed he was still nozzled in your neck after a couple of minutes, and felt how he took a deep breath “Are you smelling me?” you asked in disbelief, a teasing smile slowly creeping up your mouth.

He pulled away, a sly little smile on his lip. Am I really the one that’s a fox? You wondered as his smile widened to a grin, “Got a problem with it trésor?”

You almost rolled your eyes, you had let it slip that you liked it when he spoke French to you and he was making a conscious effort to fluster you about it whenever he had the chance. “Non, mon coquin,” you replied with a little smirk.

He gasped “Take that back!”

“Is it not accurate?” you teased again.

“Oi! I swear if you–“

“Everything all right?” You heard Remus’ conciliating voice from behind.

“She called me coquin!” Sirius complained with a pout. Looking an awful lot like a small child.

He looks adorable, both you and Remus thought.

“So?” Remus asked, he did not speak much French.

You giggled and placed your hand on his shoulder, he leaned towards you “It means rascal, naughty or… mischief.”

Remus nodded and turned back to Sirius. “I’d say it’s accurate,” he said with a shrug.

You covered your mouth with your hands and attempted to hold back a laugh. “Moony!” Sirius complained, “don’t back her up! I was trying to be cute-“

You shook your head, “–he was trying to fluster me.”

Remus wasn’t sure what he was doing in the middle of such a silly discussion, but since both you and Sirius looked absolutely adorable, he wasn’t sure he cared too much “How come?”

“I called her trésor.” Remus looked at him expectantly. “It means treasure,” Sirius clarified.

Well, that one’s accurate as well, he thought before he spoke again “Well you’re both mo chailleachan àlainn.” He placed both arms over your and Sirius’ shoulders and prompted you to continue your way.

“Hold up! You’re back at it with the Gaelic?”

“That was Gaelic?” Sirius asked, “No wonder I understood shit.”

Remus shrugged and then with a cheeky little smile responded “You understood it perfectly then.”

Sirius gasped again, turning to Remus just a little, “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Wouldn’t I?” He asked again, pulling Sirius’ shoulder so he would turn back to the front. You just laughed.

“Yeah chachan àlain,” you mocked. Remus laughed at your miserable attempt to speak Gaelic.

“If I’m a chaillchan àlainn so are you!” Sirius argued. “He said it to the both of us.”

Remus sniggered “Indeed, you’re both my chailleachan àlainn,” the way the words rolled off his tongue made it sound as sexy as Sirius’ french.

You elbowed him, and he played hurt. But his fun lasted until the three of you fell into a comfortable silence and his mind started to wonder. Reprimanding himself for calling you what he had, had either of them actually understood, he thought. Of course, Remus knew neither spoke Gaelic, but sometimes words were similar and both you and Sirius spoke like 5 different languages in between each other. He had been stupid.

And more stupid than that, he was just casually hugging the two of you as you walked, not that either seemed to mind. Sirius had a bit of a frown but that was because he thought he’d been called a “shit”, you on the other hand, had a diverted look on your face as you leaned slightly into Remus’ shoulder, clearly pleased over the fact that he had sided with you. But he felt too content, too joyful, it felt –even if it was just for a second– like he could have the two of you, and that you’d be happy to have him as well.

He felt like it was the Halloween Party all over again and you both had your hands all over him, no restrictions attached, the three of you high to the heavens with that euphoric potion. Yes, it was delightful, but at the same time, it was torment. Torment because he knew he couldn’t just give in to his delusional fantasies, torment because he knew there was a limit to how close he could be to the two of you before either noticed, torment because his mind kept telling him to get away. Still, his body refused, refused to let go, refused to stop feeling your warmth. And he had been the one to place himself in that situation this time around. Perhaps, it was he who was the cailleachan in the end.

Either way, he didn’t step away, he knew it would be more suspicious if he did, so he kept his arms around yours and Sirius’ shoulders, careful not to touch the section he had scratched.

“Took you long enough,” the three of you heard Prongs’ voice once you arrived at the meeting point.

“They were having a domestic fight.”

You gasped at that, “It was a small quarrel.”

“No, it wasn’t! You called me a–“

“But you are a…“

“–Guys?” you heard Peter’s voice rise a little as he tried to gather everyone’s attention, interrupting the two of you “Can we discuss your quarrels later on? We don’t have all night.”

“It wasn’t a quarrel,” Sirius muttered to himself. Remus had already stepped away from the two as he went to talk to James and you closed the gap between you and your boyfriend, extending your hand to chase his.

“Hey mischief?” you said, trying to get his attention. He gave you a side look. You leaned your head on his shoulder. “You did hear what I said, right?” He turned his head to you, eyebrows raised like, telling you with his face that he most definitely had, “Yeah, but did you really listen?”

“Yes, it was very clear when you called me coquin.”

You shook your head and leaned into him, to be able to whisper in his ear “I called you mon coquin.”

He turned to you with agape, a silent scoff rolling off his pretty lips. “Oh, so now you’re claiming ownership over me,” he teased, a smile plastered on his face.

“Well, if the shoe fits…” you replied, mirroring his smile.

He pulled you closer to him, brushing his lips against your earlobe before he spoke “Est-ce que ça fait de toi mon trésor?”

Your mouth went dry and you shivered, bIood rushing through your cheeks so fast you weren’t sure you’d be able to play it cool afterwards. Regardless you tried, leaning in closer to his own ear and actually biting his earlobe before speaking again. “Je peux être tout ce que tu veux que je sois…”

“Love puppies, time to focus, please,” James said when he noticed the way Sirius’ eyes had shone. He may or may not have been afraid of what the two of you would have done if he hadn’t stopped you.

You turned to James with a smile and nodded. Remus had averted his gaze, your back was to him, so you didn’t notice, but Sirius did, and he almost felt a pang in his chest when he realised Remus’ slightly bitter reaction. Well, he had felt the pang, but he pretended like he hadn’t. It made no sense for it to be there. You were his girlfriend and Remus was just Remus. Same Remus he’d always been, except that he wasn’t making him feel the same way he always had. His hand settled on your back as the two of you walked closer to Peter, who had the map in a hold.

“So, I’ll get in first and eavesdrop on the password. That way we know what it is. Then the four of you will get in through the door with the cloak on.”

“We won’t fit,” Remus said, remembering how close he had stood to Sirius in the library the previous night.

“Yeah, we thought about that yesterday while you were making the potions,” James spoke and then turned to you “You’re gonna have to turn into Vixen and let us carry you.”

You looked at James for a second, blinking as you processed the information, and then shrugged. “Okay, just be careful when you pick me up.”

James nodded in response, and Peter continued speaking. “Great, once we’re in, we’ll just sneak into their dorms and we’ll help you and Remus with the hex bags.”

“We’re not going to get anyone that’s not on the list,” you said as you looked at them, it was something between a question and a statement. You just wanted them to confirm it. Everyone nodded, except for Sirius, who looked a bit vexed. You threw him a look. “I have friends in Slytherin, you have friends in Slytherin. We can’t punish them all just because of a few assholes are in the same house.”

“They’ve been messing with you since you got here, Starshine.”

“Yes!” you agreed. “A small little group of them have. Not every single one.”

He looked to the side but eventually nodded , “Fine then. Just them.”

“Such a good boy,” Peter teased, in the same tone you’d use for a dog and Sirius almost hexed him. Which just had you all laugh.

“Everyone’s against me tonight,” he complained.

“I’m not,” James said as he placed an arm over Sirius, you gave Remus a diverted little smile, and he returned it with a bit of a shrug. “You’re our best boy after all,” James said, using the same tone Peter had used earlier, and making the rest of you laugh.

Sirius looked at James shocked, like he had been betrayed by his friend. He then removed James’ arm from his shoulders and lagged behind until he was beside you, you leaned towards him a little. “It’s all right Puppy, I’ll make it up to you later.”

He gave you a coquettish little smirk, “You promise?”

You almost rolled your eyes at his lightning-fast change of behaviour, he had never even been actually upset, but decided to humour him instead “Oui, mon amour.”

“I understood that!” James said teasingly.

You just chuckled, “As if it were a secret.”

Sirius’s smile widened. Yes, that was right, he was your love.

Once you reached the end of the passage, just a few metres away from the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room Peter shrunk into Wormtail and disappeared through the door. You looked at him go, still fascinated by how the animgus transformation was so seamless. Yes, you were one yourself, but it’s not like you’d ever seen yourself transform. It had never even occurred to you that the process would be so interesting.

And you were also thinking of how different it was to Remus’ transformation. His was painful, at least you assumed that it was since it had seemed pretty bad when he transformed back in the shack. You still remembered the way he’d yelped and bawled as his skin ripped and gave away to the wolf. The memory caused a shiver to run down your spine.

“You cold?” you heard Remus whisper after he leaned towards you. You all had to be a lot more quiet now that you were close to the Slytherin common room. But the three of you had sat down in the hallway. You were on one side, with Sirius and Remus on each of your side, and James was in front of the three of you, Sirius had been leaning towards the front to be able to talk to him.

“Me?” you asked as you turned to Rem. “No, no. It was more of a… It was just… nervousness,” you lied in the end.

“You’re nervous?” he asked with a bit of a frown, emphasising the “you” as if he didn’t believe it was possible.

“Well, I’ve never sneaked into someone else's dorms to cause havoc,” you argued, digging yourself deeper into your lie. “It’s only natural that I would-“

He shook his head, “That’s not it. I know you, Miss Let’s Add The 100-year-old Veom Instead.”

Sometimes it was annoying how well Remus could read you. You sighed, “well, I’m not nervous, but I’m not cold either. Let’s leave it at that?” He tilted his head to the side as if analysing the situation before nodding, you pulled your feet towards your chest and rested your head over your knees. “You think he’ll take much longer?”

“He has to wait for most of them to be asleep. We can’t risk the door opening up and having no one get in.”

“We should have just gotten Slytherin ties and walked inside like we were part of them…” you huffed.

Remus chuckled “As if the entire school didn’t already know the faces and names of three of the Gryffindor Quidditch Players.”

“Polyjuice potion?”

“And you just have that one around?”

“Well, we made a pretty good one with Slughorn at the beginning of the year...”

“Maybe we should have kept some of it in a vase before handing it over.”

“I did,” you said casually.

Remus looked eyebrows shot upwards as he looked at you, trying to decide if you were joking or not, “You did?!?”

You nodded, “it’s safe and sound on my trunk, in case we ever need it.”

Remus had opened his mouth to speak again when you saw Wormtail returning through the small hole in the wall. He quickly turned, he was still crouching when he turned back, his teeth slowly shrinking to their normal size, which was already a little big for his face.

“It’s emerald enigma,” he whispered, loud enough for the four of you to listen.

You raised your eyebrow, “emerald enigma? really?!?”

“Slytherins aren’t ever particularly clever with their passwords,” James said.

“Once upon a time it was clever schemes,” Sirius said as he turned to you.

You looked at him even more shocked and Remus nodded beside the two of you.

“Time to go then,” James said. Peter was a rat in seconds, and then it was your turn. Just seconds afterwards, you had already turned into your own animagus form and walked towards Sirius’ lap. It’s not that you were certain he’d be the one carrying you, but it made sense.

“Hey Kit,” he said softly as he allowed you to climb over one of his legs and then wrapped his hand under your belly, picking you up as he stood, and then placing his other arm underneath so you felt more secure. You leaned your head on his chest and paid attention to the reaction of the boys. Remus was wrapping the cloak around James and Sirius, while James had leaned closer to you and was staring at you from the side.

James had never seen a fox up close, well he had seen you back at the full moon but it wasn’t the same thing. He seemed genuinely interested, but when he extended his hand to touch you, Sirius pulled back protectively, accidentally crashing into Remus. “Oi!” James complained as he stared.

“She’s still hurt,” Sirius said defensively.

“But she likes to be rubbed behind the ear,” offered Remus.

Sirius nodded, the fact that Remus knew, or how he knew, didn’t even cross his mind. James looked directly at you “May I?”

You didn’t hiss, or emit any other protest sound, so he leaned his hand again, staring at Sirius for permission. Your boyfriend nodded, a little apprehensive still and James pressed his hand onto your head. He was soft, like he was with cats, but then he scratched you the same way Padfoot liked being scratched and all of your hair stood on end.

Involuntarily you turned your head towards him and opened your mouth to bite, your snout was already around his wrist when you realised what you were doing and pulled back, being helped by Sirius who also pulled you back. You looked at James and he had an apologetic look in his face, you too looked like you were sorry for trying to bite him.

“Sorry,” the boy whispered, you nodded and that was that. James did not try to pet you again, at least not for a while, he’d seen how sharp your teeth were.

Remus finished arranging the cloak around the three of them Sirius and you had ended up in the middle, James and Remus on each side, they were all standing pretty close to each other as the three walked outside of the hideout and towards the dungeons. You saw the potions classroom, the boys passed by it as you stared around carefully, as a fox your senses were a lot better than theirs, except perhaps for Remus’ so you kept a close eye on the boy in case either you or him, heard something that would require you to warn them about something.

Eventually, you reached the bare wall that would lead you to the Slytherin Dorms, you felt excitement piling up in the form of a knot in your stomach. You’d wanted to see their dorm for a while now. You had already seen the Ravenclaw and yours, obviously, and for some reason, the goal to sneak into all the different common rooms prowled into your head.

“Emerald Enigma,” James whispered towards the door and slowly the bricks from the wall started moving and opening into a relatively long passageway. The four of you stared ahead, paying close attention to the way the bricks moved and stepped forward as soon as they could comfortably fit through the door. The passageway opened into a rather long room, the ceiling was clearly very high above you, making the place feel almost nothing like the dungeons. In fact, you’d go as far as to say that it felt more like a palace since it was rather regal. The windows were looking straight to the black lake, with a few water creatures passing swiftly through them every now and then, it looked rather peaceful, which you wouldn’t have ever imagined the dungeons to be.

The boys, who had to actually pay attention to where they were going, and who clearly had been there before, weren’t as awed as you were, in fact, they looked a lot more on edge, as they were checking all around the common room to make sure it was empty. Still, Remus and James continued to hold the cloak tightly, to make sure it wouldn’t fall, tumble or get caught into something.

Once they were sure it was mostly empty, Remus removed the cloak from atop of you, and Sirius laid you gently on the ground. You turned back in a matter of seconds. “The boy’s dorms are to the left,” Sirius informed. “Barty’s number 15, he’s with Regulus.”

“Evan, Snape and Mulciber are on the 24th,” you said. Sirius turned to you with a frown, as if asking how you knew, you shrugged, “I got it from Minho.”

Sirius’ frown deepened “You asked him?”

“Of course I didn’t straight up ask him, It’d be too suspicious, although I’m sure Minho wouldn’t rat us out.” On purpose, you thought, after all, he had been the reason you concluded Remus was probably bi, or maybe pan.

“So how?”

“A magician never reveals her secrets,” you said with a sly smile. It really hadn’t been a particularly smart conversation that you’d had. You just mentioned that Mary was telling you about the power of numbers and that she thought our room numbers had significance. It was partially true, at least she did talk to you about the power of numbers, after divination a couple of weeks ago. You then told Minho your room number and the boys and he started sharing all of the Slytherin ones you knew.

He hummed in response, “Fine then, we split.”

“That’s the worst idea ever.”

“No, it’d be faster,” James added.

“You’ve never seen a horror movie, have you?”

Remus smiled, he understood exactly what you were referring to, and then leaned a little closer to you. “Don’t worry, you’re already hanging out with the most dangerous monster in the castle,” he joked.

You turned to him, almost a little surprised by his statement, “Who knows, maybe there are vampires hidden somewhere, or acromantulas, or basilisks, or magical armours that want to cut you in half.”

“You need to tone it down with the fantasy books Vixen,” James said with a teasing smile, “you and Sirius go to Barty’s. We’ll go to Snivellus', Peter, look out. Deal?”

You huffed, but nodded, “Keep the cloak,” you said before casting a disillusionment over yourself and Sirius. Remus, who had heard from Sirius how good your charm was, was still somewhat shocked by it. It really was almost as good as James' invisibility cloak, unless he paid really, really close attention.

“Damn she’s–“

“Really fucking good, I know!” Sirius finished. You handed a small bag to Remus, who took it as it slowly became visible.

“I’ve kept what I’ll need, use the rest,” you told him, and finally split ways. You and Sirius moved to Barty’s room.

“Alohomora,” he whispered, along with a silencing charm so the door wouldn’t creak. Four boys were soundly sleeping on each of their beds. The first one you spotted was someone you instantly recognized and you gasped, covering your mouth when you realised you had been a bit too loud.

Sirius threw you a look and walked closer, “It’s Nox,” you whispered, the muffliato you had used earlier helping you be as stealthy as possible, “from the reading club, didn’t know he was Barty’s roommate. He hangs out with Neil and Todd most of the time.”

It’s not like Srius didn’t know you had friends other than your friend group, but it was sometimes weird that you knew people in the castle he barely even recognized. “Want me to add a ward around him?”

You thought about it for a second, and nodded “We really should,” you said “I don’t want the prank to affect him…”

“What about the rest?”

You turned around, there was a silver-blond haired boy who you didn’t actually recognize, Sirius leaned closer to you and pointed at the boy, “Solacis Gaunt, he’s close to Reg and Barty,” he said as he pointed.

“Gaunt as in…?” You turned to him, in disbelief.

“Yeah…”

You bit your lip, even if this Solacis was friends with Barty and his group, he hadn’t been there that night, and you had no idea how he would have reacted, and regarding his last name, well you refused to believe that was any sign of people’s character. After all, you being who you were and Sirius being who he was, had never actually altered your actual selves… What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, you remembered. “We’ll ward him too.”

“And Regulus?” he asked, you could see the apprehension in his voice. You turned to the boy, last time you saw him he had tried to approach you in a friendly manner and you’d blown him off. Being asleep he looked so unguarded, so little preoccupied as his chest rose up and down, you almost felt bad for the way you had treated him. But then you remembered what he had done and the anger boiled back up to your chest. He had knowingly betrayed you and Sirius, all those lost years…

You had two hex bags, you could easily slip one under his pillow as well, have him suffer the fright of his life, bring him down to desperate cries, overpowered, helpless. But Regulus had stayed on the sidelines, he had tried to stay out of your way since that time at the race when you basically told him to piss off. It was like he had been trying to make you less uncomfortable, even if it pained him, not that you knew. But you did notice that you saw him around a lot less, he avoided you, and even if he did stare at you and Sirius from the sidelines, he never even dared to accidentally cross paths. That you had noticed.

And laying there, his head resting on his pillow, his hair pulled back revealing his delicate features, he looked every bit a Black, every bit like his brother. You took a deep breath, it was in his graceful nose, in his long dark lashes, in his thin, pinky lips. All of those features that drew you to Sirius, the things that made your boyfriend as beguiling as a Siren’s call. They really are brothers, you thought. And how? How would you be able to hurt him? What he did had been years ago, and he had been a kid too, pressured by his parents. It’s not that you wanted to be friends again, but you didn’t want to cause him sorrow either. “He’ll too be warded off.”

Sirius frowned, “But after what…”

You turned to him, your dark expression clearly telling him you knew exactly what he had done, even if he could barely see it due to your spell. “He was not there that night. He didn’t do this to me,” you said, pointing to your wound, “this isn’t about some old grudge we have against him, this about Monday. This about what happened that night and the people that allowed this bastard to do it,” you said, giving Crouch a short glance “And Sirius, he is your brother.”

He swallowed, “He’s a Black.” Every bit a Black, you recalled your earlier thought. You also wondered how such a messed up gene pool could make such beautiful children.

“You are one too,” you whispered as you walked closer, “and I still, I lo- like you very much. Every bit of you,” you added in the end and pressed a few kisses to his face for good measure, perhaps he would have missed the slip of your tongue. Not that you didn’t mean it, but you wouldn’t expect Sirius to comprehend it, you’d barely been dating for a few months. “You’re still my Puppy, no matter what last name you have.”

Sirius gave you one long look and smiled when you kissed his nose, placing both hands around your face to bring your lips to his, he had heard the slip of your tongue, and it only made him want to kiss you even more. When you finally separated for air, he was the first one to speak. “I’m gonna have to kiss you again if you keep it up with the sappy stuff,” he joked.

You raised your eyebrows at that and then placed your finger over his lips, “You have a terrible habit of kissing me in the middle of stealth missions.”

“What do you mean I have the– You’re literally the one that starts it!” he added with an accusing finger.

“Yeah but you always kiss back,” you shrugged.

He gave you a diverted look as he bit his lip, and leaned in again, you leaned in as well, but he stopped right before your lips crashed against each other and smirked, “yeah, I’m not the only one who’s eager to kiss back.” You pushed his chest playfully as you narrowed your eyes at him, and then you heard Nox stir on his bed. The two of you leaned down and gave each other a look.

Both realising how stupid you had been by flirting –and making out– in the middle of the room where you were supposed to place the hex bags. You gave each other a look and almost chuckled. If Remus had been here, we would have stopped us, you thought, he’s the most reasonable of this bunch. And perhaps Remus would have, but only because he wasn’t able to join you.

When Nox finally stopped, you took a deep breath and both stood again. “Warding, I’ll place this.”

Sirius nodded and the two of you started with your tasks. You walked to Barty’s bed and smirked when you realised how easy this would be. You took a deep breath and leaned over the boy. Asleep, he didn’t look as wicked as he did on a daily basis. There was no sneer on his face and he almost looked peaceful. Not for long, you thought as you bit your lip to stop yourself from chuckling. You took a deep breath and raised his pillow slightly, placing the hex bag in its place. Then you looked at the leftover bag and decided to place it under his pillow as well. You shrugged, the more the merrier.

He instantly stirred on the bed, a small frown appearing on his face as his breath quickened. Let's see how you liked being scared, you thought and turned to Sirius. He was just finishing with his castings. He gave you a questioning look and you nodded, the two of you slid out of the bedroom as soon as possible. As you got out you spotted James and Remus just below the stairs, giving you questioning looks.

“What the hell took you so long?” James asked, “I thought there was only Barty there.”

“We had a bit of a pitfall, but we did it.” Sirius responded.

Yeah, making out is definitely a pitfall, you thought.

“We’re ready to go then?” Peter asked, he looked rather nervous.

Remus nodded, “We just have to make sure Jackdaw does his…”

At that moment, from all the different walls, ghosts started sliding in, you smiled, Richie had actually convinced them. He approached your group with a smile, “You owe them some rotten meat,” he informed.

“Rotten meat, that’s all it took? Should’ve told me sooner, I’ll take you all the rotten food you want,” you replied. He gave you a wink and flew towards the rest of the ghosts. Sirius frowned at the flirty wink from Jackdaw but didn’t say a thing.

“Job’s done kiddos,” James said, and Remus pulled the cloak out. All of you stifled inside and walked together until you were away from prying eyes. You all knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to turn into your animagus in front of the ghosts. The muggle saying “silent as the dеad” couldn’t be further from the truth.

Once you were in the hall that led to the inside of the common room, and that both Moony and Prongs made sure there was no one watching, you and Peter turned at once. Sirius picked you up and held you in his arms, while Moony adjusted the cloak to make sure it was covering everyone up and finally, you left the common room.

That’s where things went south. Just as the bricks opened themselves again someone was walking inside. The three boys took a step to the side as Slughorn walked in. The three leaned against the wall, Sirius carefully squeezed you, or Vixen, against his chest, so you occupied as little space as possible. You noticed Peter trying to distract Slughorn by walking near his feet, but he still seemed focused on walking in, the first thing he noticed was the ghosts making their own little mess, the main distraction.

Thankfully the headless hunt was not about to be deterred by one teacher, and they continued with their task as Slughorn called for help. This wasn’t meant to be now, it should’ve been later. You turned to look at the boys, they all had apprehensive stares, you could practically smell their stress as they finally unglued their backs from the wall and started walking towards the hallway. Once in the dungeons, and away from the havoc you had caused, you thought you were safe. And perhaps you would’ve been, had Evan not been coming back from the infirmary so late.

He pretty much bumped into the invisible wall that was your three friends, and all would have been fine, except for the fact that he straight-up stepped on James’ feet and he grunted in response.

“Potter?” Evan asked, instantly recognizing his voice.

Fuck.

Evan extended his hand to grab onto the front but the boys pulled back just in time. Regardless, Evan didn’t relent, “Potter I know it’s you. Either you come the fuck out or I’ll hex your stupid rat,” he said, pulling a screeching Peter out of his pocket. James swallowed and gave each Sirius and Remus a look; you tried to jump down from Sirius’s grasp, perhaps you could distract Evan by biting him while Peter escaped, but Sirius tightened his hold as you tried to squirm away. He knew what you were thinking, but he also knew Evan could just kick you out of the way, and he was not going to risk you being hurt by his hands again.

Evan pointed his long and thin wand towards Wormtail and you felt everyone tense even more. “Come on Jamesie, you wouldn’t allow me to kill your stupid rat, would you?” he added. “How much damage do you think a confringo like the one your stupid little friend used on me earlier today would cause? Hmmm… Perhaps I could use him as target practice…” Evan tilted his head, “No?” he asked again, “well then,” he added and adjusted his wand in his hand. Peter shrieked again, “We’ll see if your stupid rat ends up better or worse than your friend after the Shrieking Shack.”

To your surprise, it wasn’t James who jumped to protect Peter, but it was Sirius. He handed you over to James who barely managed to react and grab you before he left the cloak and planted his fist on Evan’s face. Peter fell from his hands and shrieked as his face crashed onto the floor just before running off.

Evan staggered back, reeling from the sheer force of Sirius’ punch but he retaliated, shoving Sirius with eager ferocity as if he had been longing for a challenge. One where he actually won. Evan was much taller and broader than Sirius, and you squirmed in James’ arms yearning to intervene but he held you firmly, casting down an impatient glance before turning his attention back to the boys.

Evan managed to land a solid on Sirius’ jaw, but the longer-haired boy didn’t even flinch, instead he used the momentum and the loss of balance from Evan to throw himself towards his opponent, effectively managing to throw the blonde on the ground. You winced as Evan turned the two of them around and started hitting Sirius’ defenceless face.

In response to the escalating violence, James panicked –handing you over to Remus who cradled you with a lot more consideration– and he too left the cloak, leaving only you and the werewolf inside. However, Sirius had already managed to turn things around, he had started to punch Evan repeatedly in the face. James lunged forward to intervene, but he got accidentally elbowed by Sirius, who, swivelling in concern, was met with another punch from Evan.

When you figured James wouldn’t be able to stop them, you started squirming again, a lot more intensely now but Remus’ hold didn’t budge. So instead you turned back, which surprised the boy only for a second as you ended up pretty much shoved against him. You were just about to leave the cloak too when you heard a voice.

“STOOOP!” Slughorn roared.

After looking at the man using his wand to pull Sirius and Evan apart, you were ready to jump out, but Remus’ strong arms tightened around you, not letting you out. You weren’t sure if it had been intentional or not, but somehow he hadn’t touched your wound while he did.

“Remus what–“ You started to complain, but he placed his hand over your mouth and started dragging you back and away from the upheaval.

You tried to fight it, but it was useless. Remus was much more stronger than you, once you were far away enough he whispered, “It’s okay, they’re okay.” You frowned, he must have felt how tense you were, because he continued talking, voice a lot more soothing now, “if I had let you out there, you would have achieved nothing other than getting punished along with them.”

You knew he was right, and yet that didn’t reduce the urge you had to bite him for talking your agency away. You jerked your shoulders in response, still angry, feeling a sharp pain in your arm that should have calmed you down, but Evan being such an ass to Peter had made you angry enough. Hitting your boyfriend in the face? You were actually considering hexing him again, intentionally this time around. You took a deep breath, you felt Remus’ hand brushing up and down over your good arm, still attempting to relieve your anger… And as much as you hated to admit it, it was distractingly relaxing.

You tried to shake him off one last time before completely relaxing into his arms. He leaned in closer to whisper again, “Remember I was telling you about not getting caught?” He asked. And waited for you to answer. His hand was still over your mouth, you raised your eyebrows at him. He gave you a look, not moving his hand away. And eventually, you just nodded. He was smart, he knew you well too, you could have screamed, you could still see Slughorn talking to Evan and the boys from where you stood.

You could have also bit him, force him to remove his hand from your face, but you had no intention of hurting Remus. Perhaps you didn’t want to get punished along them either, the more you thought about it, the more sense it made to try and stay in the sidelines and make sure the prank was completed, even if Prongs and Pads had gotten caught.

“Well, this is one of those moments in which staying behind, and in the quiet is best,” he said softly, vocalising your own thoughts. “James and Sirius are going to get detention regardless of whether you intervene or not. Trust me, I too wanted to punch Evan in the face after he said that about the Shrieking Shack but I knew it was best to hold back. I don’t think he would’ve hurt Peter.”

You wondered if Remus had seen or heard about the way his hands had dug into your skin that day in the Forbidden Forest, about the bruises Sirius later covered up with his kisses. Even then, some of the marks still fading in your skin, you didn’t think Evan would actually hurt Peter either, in fact, you weren’t even sure he had hurt you on purpose. That’s not something you would’ve said of Barty, he was completely unhinged.

Remus was still holding you flush against his body when he took a deep breath. He had felt how much more relaxed you were now, somehow his voice and his touch had gotten you to calm down.

He shouldn’t have been surprised, it wasn’t the first time it happened, but you had been so much more rilled up this time than back when the boys threw you and Sirius from your brooms that he wasn’t even sure if you’d forgive him for stopping you.

“I’m gonna take my hand away from your mouth, okay?” You nodded again, he did, and rested his forehead on your shoulder, sighing when he realised you really weren’t going to scream. “I’m sorry,” he added then, “shouldn’t have grabbed you like that.”

“It’s okay,” you said quietly, “I don’t mind it if you hold me Remus…” you mumbled. “I mean… Thank you.”

“What?!” he asked, baffled.

“You were right, it would have been stupid to join the fight. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything, I need to be more calm instead. Like I was in the library with the howler, like you. It’s just that Evan punching Sirius fucking vexed me.”

“I know…” he managed to say, me too, he thought. In fact, if you hadn’t been around, he might have actually been the person to throw punches after Sirius got the first one. Evan might have been taller and broader than your boyfriend, but he was no match against Remus, let alone if you factored in his werewolf strength.

You leaned back against him, the back of your head resting against his shoulder as you too sighed, “Does it always feel so terrible when a prank goes wrong?”

He hummed in response, “they’ll be all right, detention is just sitting in a classroom being bored or writing an essay most of the time… Don’t worry too much about them.”

“Feels bad that we’ll get out of this scots free but they won’t, though.”

“Survivors' guilt.”

You hummed, closing your eyes, “Thanks for holding me back,” you said again, “I don’t know what I’d do without you Rem.”

He stifled a laugh at that, you’d probably be more than fine without him. He, on the other hand… “Count on your good old werewolf friend to help you hold those murderous tendencies,” he joked. You actually laughed at that, and then covered your mouth with your hands, looking around.

“It’s all right, you can laugh, I cast a silencing spell,” he said, motioning to his hand with a small nod, he had his wand in a hold.

“Was that before or after you took your hand away from my mouth?” you asked. The guilty look on his face was hidden by your shoulder, but his lack of a straight answer gave him away regardless. “Dumbass, I wouldn’t have screamed, I’m not that reckless.”

“You literally left your wand on the floor with a werewolf in front of you. You ARE that reckless.”

“Well it wasn’t just any werewolf,” you said in self-defence, even if you were only digging yourself in a deeper hole. There was a comfortable silence and you sighed one last time, “We should finish up, the grand finale,” you said, finally separating from him, the lack of warmth almost made you shiver, “gotta make our boys proud, don’t we?”

He smiled, his eyes shimmering with mischief, “Let’s do it.”

Glossaire: Mo chailleachan àlainn: My beautiful fools Est-ce que ça fait de toi mon trésor?: Does that make you my treasure? Je peux être tout ce que tu veux que je sois: I can be whatever you wish me to be. Oui, mon amour: Yes my love

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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A/N: Hey guys, this episode definetly took a little longer to post than I expected. But it's finally out! Hope you enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. How are we feeling? More cute Rem moments, right? What's gonna happen to James and Sirius though? ᕙ( ᗒᗣᗕ )ᕗ Lilly xxx

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absolutebl · 5 months

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This Week in BL - I'm finding rankings difficult, there's a lot of middle of the pack action and some serious top contenders

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Dec 2023 Wk 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 5 of 12 - I love how they’re slowly revealing bits of their past to each other. It parallels the slow burn of them falling in love with each other. Knowledge + understanding = affection. I cried during the part with his doubles partner, of course I did. As has been mentioned many times in this blog, I am a sap. Also I’m realizing that there is something particularly clever about this show: Because Day is blind, there must be a ton of physical touch. And physical touch is something that Thai BL does really well.

(I gotta say, while I ADORE JimmySea in these roles, a small part of me wonders how JoongDunk would have handled these parts.)

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 3 of 10 - Phaya is SO DAMN SMITTEN. It’s great. Have I mentioned recently how glad I am Billy got this role? This was the: “it’s not a date” date ep.

I gotta say these 2 BLs are neck and neck favorites right now.

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - Uh oh. I like it a lot. I think I was always going to because I have a soft spot for TayNew on screen. It is such funny to watch Tay play such a stiff character. I like it. This is very fast paced for a Thai BL I wonder where they’ll take it with this speed, are they’ll following the manga more closely?

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - Wait, no. Wahl you’re such a problem. The pacing of this is very KBL. I’m not mad about it but it feels odd in Thai. Still enjoying this one the most as my "early in the week" offering.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - The booty call flirting is next level with these two. Like Bed Friends but with less pain. I love that Nail is such needy evil wild child - the story gets all its tension from that.

Baby boy gives off so many danger signals I wouldn't tap that with a 10 ft… pole. Him is a braver queer than I. I do like how the high heat is being used to drive the story. It stands in stark contrast to Playboyy. Which is using high heat to drive, well... piles apparently.

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 6 of 10 - I'm enjoying it again, the main couple is getting more BLish.

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 3 of 6 - Shin and Peach flirting is very cute. Although they got into that sack swiftly. Guy leaving was contrived and reactions overwrought but okay babies.

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 11 of 12 - Now I'm mostly just confused.

Which timeline are we in?

Do they know each other in this one's past or not?

Have they met yet?

Who has which memories of what?

I feel like I’ve been through a lot for the show.

I’m not saying the reunion scene in the theater was worth it, but it was a really spectacular reunion scene. I’m terrified that there’s one more episode. I wish it had ended here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 2 of 12 - I’m just not that into it.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 4 of 14 - A new ship has been set afloat, we are now Team #WayKim / #KimWay and if you're not with us, you're against us. Trash watch happening here.

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 5 of 8 - oh look, it’s everybody’s favorite big brother!

That was a kind (and kind of lovely) coming out sequence. KingUea being the worst best Gay Advice Dads is awesome. Mai is SO SWEET. And we end on some good old miscommunication / misinterpretation, so that Jade can behave in an even more unhinged manner next ep. Our brief respite from absurdity has ended.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Fake Love ep 16 of 24 - They cute fake bf but it’s oddly unappealing. I mean most us queers have slept with each others exes, that’s swimming in a small pool, for ya. In my experience, only hets get butt hurt about it. (Hets never use enoug lube, they butt hurt about everything.) So the whole drama just felt confusing to me. Or maybe that's just my experience with swimming in lube? 4/10 whatever... not recommended

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 4 of 14 eps - I’m seriously considering dropping this.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - They cute. Are aquariums now gay? That’s not the definition of fish that I grew up with.

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 2 of 8 - I'm suffering from terrible second lead syndrome. Glasses guy is new Best Boy. Also, Rise is trying to earn the Namgoong Award for Best Wingman.

It Finished But...

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - completed it's run. Reports are:

It's pretty good horror but not BL. Ending is unresolved.

Given that info and this review here, it's not for me. DNF

It's Airing But...

Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) - a historical I'm interested in (if it's BL) but have no idea how to find.

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if it's safe.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Been told I shouldn't bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until after it completes its run next week.

Next Week Looks Like This

12/14 Dear Kitakyushu (Thai/Japan movie) in theaters in country only, I know nothing about distribution.

Still coming:

12/23 Dead Friend Forever (Thai horror) iQIYI

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Of course I loved all the little language moments. I am here for the kinkification of phi.

That request for a shirt was v sexy phi+na. Thank you Jimmy.

Last Twilight bringing the pronoun and particle game to play hard.

It was a nice kiss. (Absolute Zero)

This as a perfunctory flirting kiss, I anticipate we still have The Kiss to come.

I love that Phaya's personality seems to be spin doctor, just accuse the boy of doing that you are already doing to him (or want him to do to you).

Boyfriend shirts!

And a meta reference.

The Sign is basically made for me.

(Last week)

#this week in bl #bl updates #Thai BL #Last Twilight #The Sign #my dear gangster oppa #cherry magic #for him the series #absolute zero #middleman's love #My Universe Fake Love

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obxsummer · 1 year

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Pieces of You // JJ Maybank

summary: you had grown tired of JJ's reckless nature and were suffering the silent treatment post-argument. so it's only fitting the next time he's careless it's to save you.

request: Heyyy, I love your work with all my heart!! I was wondering if you could write a JJ x reader fic, where in S3 at the end of episode 8 Topper burns the chateau down, but JJ has to save them because they didn’t notice the fire or anything? That would be so nice:)

warnings: minor injuries, angst bc it's me, crappy ending bc I didn't know what else to write ok

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Things had been a little too crazy for you and the Pogues. John B had supposedly managed to get arrested after knocking the shit out of Topper. Sarah did cheat on him after all, so his reaction was warranted in your mind. Kie had been busy dealing with the backlash of her parents while Pope and Cleo seemed to be the only duo without any major complications. Granted, Cleo did have to talk the boy out of killing Rafe for melting the cross but hey, minor details.

You and JJ however, were in the middle of the biggest argument you’d seen. At this point, you don’t even remember how it all happened minus the fact that the two of you stopped speaking shortly after his whole bike incident. JJ had the habit of being a little too careless for someone who had people that needed him and loved him. You were growing really tired of his reckless behavior. You loved JJ more than anything, but sometimes you wished he saw that his actions affected more than just him. You needed to know that he would be okay if you weren’t around to approve of his actions and make sure he didn’t go too far.

JJ had been avoiding you since the moment you caught his gaze on the busted concrete. He knew he was fucked, and royally too. You’d warned him about being more careful and here he was doing powerslides from overpasses.

He couldn’t get the words to work right to explain to you why he acted the way he did. It wasn’t just for the adrenaline rush, or because of his upbringing. JJ genuinely would do anything for you and the Pogues. He just happened to jump to the craziest way of getting there instead of taking the time to think it through.

“Will you just talk to me please?” His voice was pleading as he watched you move around your bedroom in a rushed fashion. You’d been quiet since Topper had dropped everyone off and your boyfriend was losing it with the silence.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you want to talk to me now? Where was this initiative when you practically dumped me off your bike into the truck bed? Or, better yet, where was this when you just stared at me blankly like I wasn’t sobbing over the fact that I thought you were dead?” You were getting angry quickly and JJ didn’t like it.

He hesitated in his response, enough that you let out a huff of air in annoyance before turning away from him again. Recently, JJ panicked easily. It all started once he lost John B but got better for a while, especially when he had you. Now that everything was colliding, JJ was panicking.

“I just didn’t know how else to get the cops away from-”

“You didn’t have to do something that involved you almost dying, JJ!” You shouted this time as the random pieces of clothing dropped from your hands. “I know you care. You care a lot for everyone but JJ… I care about you. I care so much that you break my heart when you do things like this because I can’t lose you! And neither can our friends! I know you don’t think far enough ahead for your personal consequences but please… please think about how everyone else would react if we lost you.”

JJ walked out on you sometime after that. You’d clearly upset him and your friends definitely felt the awkwardness but if you were honest, there was so much tension between everyone right now anyway. Your small family was starting to waver but you knew everything would work out.

Sarah had called you all over to the Chateau, promising good news. You had yet to see her as you slowly approached the group, Kie, Cleo, Pope, and JJ already in attendance. There wasn’t much conversation to begin with, but it all fell silent the moment you stepped into view. Kie gave you a reassuring smile that didn’t do much to ease your nerves.

The blonde girl that had asked for your presence came walking down the steps of the Chateau not long after, sparing the awkward silence. “Hey, um, thanks for waiting. Look who decided to come home.”

John B stepped out of the doors of his childhood home, looking relatively fine for the hell he’d been through. You were shocked that he had managed to get out of jail so quickly, especially with Topper’s family status being put into play.

“Welcome back,” Cleo greeted with a smirk on her face.

“Whoa! Good to see you, man.”

You let out a small laugh at John B’s surprise presence. “Welcome home, JB.”

“You gotta be kidding me,” JJ scoffed from his spot across from you on the large tree branch. John B tucked his hands in his pockets and walked towards all of you solemnly. He looked really upset if you were being honest and it made you wonder what had really happened.

“I have something I want to share with you guys,” Sarah said as she pulled the attention back to her. “I can get us down to Orinoco.”

“Are you serious?”

“What?”

“Okay, how’s that gonna happen?”

“My dad’s gonna let us use the plane-”

“Ward?”

“Your dad?”

You rolled your eyes at the pop-up comments that seemed never-ending. “Can y’all let the girl speak? Geez.”

Sarah’s gaze met yours as she offered up a small thankful smile. “We lay low tonight, then wheels up first thing in the morning.”

“Okay, that’s a lot to process. Your dad actually helping us,” Pope recounted in shock. “So we trusting Ward now?”

“Trust Sarah,” Kie offered with a solidifying nod at her own words.

Pope and Cleo seemed excited about the plan as Sarah spoke up again. “But wait, I also just have one more thing to say. Um… since we’ve gotten back from the island, I’ve done some things I regret. A lot.”

Kie cleared her throat in the awkward silence that followed.

“Yeah, uh…” To your surprise, John B broke the quiet. “I feel…I feel like we’ve all done a thing or two that we regret.” His eyes glanced at the blonde next to him before he looked towards the ground again.

Sarah continued, “And I don’t…Poguelandia, guys. It’s all I’ve been able to think about. We were all together on that island and it was a good thing and I don’t want to ruin a good thing. And I-I just wanna know, are we still all in? Are we still all together? Because I am.”

Kie was the first to agree, wrapping Sarah in a hug before Cleo piled in on top of them.

“I still can’t believe you got the plane!” Pope smiled as he brought the Cameron girl in for a hug. “That’s actually insane.”

You took a deep breath as you watched them, well aware of JJ’s eyes on you. He’d been staring for a while now, always observant when it came to you. You took a few steps forward to embrace Sarah before retreating back to your own space next to Kie.

“Let’s go get Big John, alright? What do you say there, shit bird?” JJ tugged Pope under his arm as he regarded your friend. You found yourself pulled into the group hug next to Kie and Sarah, all of you waiting for John B to complete the circle.

“I think this deserves a woogity.”

You watched from the corner of your eye as John B stayed still in his spot. You shook your head slightly and made eye contact with him while smiling. “How long are you gonna pretend you’re not coming over here?”

Your best friend’s blank exterior broke at the question, glad to see a smidge of positive emotion from you over the past few days. He caved and made his way toward your group, quickly throwing his arms over your shoulders.

“Come over here, funny man. We don’t bite.” The seven of you hugged each other tightly, finally all back in the same place for once in what felt like forever.

“Oh, we’re really doing this, aren’t we?”

Your small family was slowly rebuilding as everyone made their way into the Chateau for the night. John B and Sarah were quick to excuse themselves to his room, leaving the rest of you to entertain yourselves.

“Jay,” You whispered his name quietly as he brushed past you to the kitchen in search of a beer. You blinked sudden tears from your eyes and looked up to the ceiling in an attempt to not cry.

Letting out a deep breath, you quickly made your way to the guest bedroom where you and JJ had spent most of your time. You stared at the colossal mess of your things scattered amongst his along the furniture and floor. Your chest ached at the sight, wishing the two of you weren’t on such poor terms at the moment so you could actually enjoy the peace before setting off on another treasure hunt.

Busying yourself with a shower in the attached bath, you figured some quiet time would help you clear your head and hopefully come up with a game plan of what to say to your boyfriend. You didn’t mean to make him feel like shit for expressing his love the way he did, but you were scared for him.

The hot water of John B’s shower was soothing as you took the quiet time for yourself. Eventually, you had to leave the comforting steam when it began to run cold. Completely disheveled and stressed, you pulled on some comfy clothes and attempted to dry your wet hair before you had to face the music again.

You let out a sigh and reached for the metal doorknob to walk back into the spare bedroom only for a searing pain to stretch across your hand. Jumping back with a yelp, a rush of panic overwhelmed you once you realized how hot it was in the small bathroom.

“JJ!” You yelled instinctively as you searched for the hand towel to possibly grab the handle with. The fabric held the heat off long enough for you to open the door. The sight of bright flickering flames filled the room you and JJ had claimed for yourselves, burning pieces of each other into ashes. You stumbled back in shock before the adrenaline kicked in and you ran into the smoky room in hopes of salvaging some of the items.

“Y/N!” The boy in question came flying through the bedroom door a second later. He could barely see you through the thick smoke but managed to catch a quick movement of your figure across the room. “Y/N, we have to go!”

Your heart was pounding in your ears too loud for you to register his voice. The few items you’d grabbed in a rush were thrown in a canvas tote bag Kie had given you before you spun straight into JJ’s chest.

“We gotta go, baby, come on.” JJ tugged his your t-shirt up over your mouth and nose to help filter the smoke before doing the same and leading you out of the room. Most of the house was covered in the bright orange light of the fire as you observed it in shock. You could barely focus as JJ pushed your hips towards the window of Big John’s office that was left open from their prior escape. He was quick to climb out and turned back to catch you. Glass shattered from another window causing the two of you to duck down and JJ to grab your wrist to tug you away from the structure.

JJ’s grip on your wrist eased up as he brought you towards the dock where everyone had gathered in their escape. Your boyfriend’s touch was gentle as he helped you sit on the ground to take a deep breath and cough out the smoke in your lungs. “It’s okay, ‘m right here, baby.”

Everyone was visibly relieved when they saw you and JJ come running from the smoldering flames on the side of the house. It all happened so fast that they felt guilty for completely forgetting you were in the shower. JJ had taken one small look and took off before anyone had a chance to stop him.

Your hands were shaky with the anxiety and fear that was coursing through your body. In the few moments before you found JJ, you were thinking the worst. You thought you were going to lose the person who mattered most to you in the midst of an argument and that was terrifying. You’d never forgive yourself if you lost JJ ever, but to be on rough terms was a nightmare you’d never recover from.

“Hey, hey. Look at me. Everyone’s fine, I’m right here.” JJ’s blond hair was suddenly visible in your view as he forced you to look up at him and uncurl from the ball you’d shifted into. “What did you grab?”

You released your suffocating grip on the bag you’d practically filled. In the midst of your panic, you didn’t realize your friends had moved away to give you and JJ some space. You settled back against the posts of the wooden dock to watch as he went through the items you grabbed.

JJ’s favorite hoodie, a handful of Polaroids Kiara had taken of your group, his rings, the necklace he’d saved up to buy you for your anniversary. JJ was careful with the items as he shifted through them, his eyes suddenly damp with tears.

“Y/N, sweetheart, all of this is replaceable. You aren’t,” He consoled as he finally made eye contact with you. Both of you were crying now, emotions running high from the events that just took place.

You took a shaky breath as you fought back the sob threatening to break through. “I...I felt like that room was us. All of our memories, and it was just crumbling and you weren’t there. JJ, I can’t lose you.”

“I know, I know.” JJ didn’t hesitate to pull you against his chest as you cried against him. He’d felt the panic himself a few moments before when he realized you were still showering and blissfully unaware of the damage awaiting outside. JJ refused to let you be in pain because of him and his actions from here on out. It wasn’t fair to any of your friends but especially you. “Not doing anything majorly stupid from here on out. Maybe just a little here and there, but-”

You laughed slightly and pulled your head from his shirt to look over his shoulder where the Chateau was crumbling from the flames. Heart heavy, you leaned your cheek against JJ’s shoulder and let him hold you, hoping this was the lowest your group could go and things could only look up from here.

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#outer banks x reader #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #outer banks #obx x reader #outer banks netflix #obx #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank x you #jj maybank angst #obx3 #jj x you #jj x reader

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semisolidmind · 1 year

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How did Wukong find MK and decide to adopt him?

non-spoiler answer: wukong found mk when he was small, had a rare moment of empathy, decided to adopt him and raise him as his own.

(season 4 spoilers: context taken from later episodes in the season. also bad end mk lore, ig)

spoiler answer: stone egg.

mk comes from a similar place as wukong; made from the same stone, although mk came out as a young child instead of a fully formed adult. despite having a small thought about "sparing" mk the pain of a life as a monkey demon by killing him then and there, wukong decides to adopt mk and raise him to be as strong as he can. think of it like an extra middle finger to heaven from the monkey king (that and the fact that the only person wukong ever would have felt comfortable having kids with has been dead for thousands of years and he isn't sure if she's gonna reincarnate, so mk may be his only chance at having a legacy).

i have a theory that the reason mk looks human in the show is because he saw humans when he wandered into the city, so he unconsciously changed his form to look more like them. like, the magic that created him knew he'd be safer if he looked human.

however, seeing as villain wukong decided to adopt him and raise him alongside the other monkeys of ffm from the beginning, mk's form in this au is similar to the monkey form we see in the show. he has better access to his powers that way, on top of swk actively discouraging him from looking human.

it's like the reverse of what we see in the show. mk has been raised (by wukong) to believe that humans are mostly terrible, so he should be happy being a monkey demon. when he does his gold magic glitch-out thing from the later episodes, he looks human during said glitch. it's a sort of reflection of his mental state; he's come to see himself as more human because of his exposure to mortal society and his changing ideals, but the distrustful, cautious side of him can't face that fact.

the mk of this au has some considerable differences from the normal mk. the biggest one being his skill level in combat. in this iteration, swk has been training him from day one, so that classic mk clumsiness is practically nonexistent. the kid's basically a living weapon (almost) on par with one of the greatest fighters in the world. there's an innate power and grace in his movement.

he's a lot more brutal in his fighting style as well. you get trained by a villain notorious for going all-out, you learn to not pull your punches no matter the opponent.

this is compounded by the fact that mk has his own staff. villain wukong isn't about to give up his signature weapon, and it doesn't seem like that much of a stretch to just...go steal another magic pillar from the eastern dragon palace.

"Like that old codger could stop us. C'mon, kid, let's go get you a real weapon."

another difference is mk's general attitude. sure, he's still a fairly happy kid, but he was raised to always keep his guard up. strike first, ask questions later. his first meeting with mei was an all out battle, because he didn't understand that this dragon decendent wasn't trying to hurt him. he's a bit more serious here too, and it's mei who's the upbeat one between the two of them. she's also the one that introduced him to pigsy, sandy, and tang. she's kinda his safety net as far as mortal interactions go, teaching him the ins and outs of mortal culture.

this version of mk can kick red son's ass stupidly easily. the whole dbk family, really. to the point that red son's terrified of him, though he tries to hide it behind a superior attitude. this could go for all the demons in the show, really. mk scares all of them to a certain degree.

he wouldn't reallyneed his friends help, in this au. he's got this idea in his head that he shouldn't be dragging his much less powerful friends into fights he can easily finish on his own. he's been raised with a "help yourself, because noone else will. in fact they'll be in your way" type mentality when it comes to battle.

his story in this au is more of a "allow people to get close to and care about you, not everyone is trying to kill you" arc, instead of a power-up, training arc. mk needs to learn to let people help him, and allow himself to be open.

to sum it up; mk is seen as a monster like his father, and is learning to be less of a monster. he wants to be a hero.

"I...I don't wanna be like him. I wanna be better, I want to use this power to help people, to protect them! I just...don't want to be what the world thinks I should be."

#bad end wukong #mk is a liiiittle different here #bad end mk

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camlannpod · 1 month

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Character Playlist: Gwaine Turner

You can find character playlists for Dai, Morgan, Perry and Gwen already posted on our blog (and at the links on their names here).

The last of our main character playlists! Episode 5 is Gwaine's episode, of course. Let's get to know him a little better.

First Class by Rainbow Kitten Surprise

I say I'll be damned if we can make it out of this alive But is this what you want? What you wanted? Do you need love? Am I enough for you? In time you'll find I've got my baggage too

A lot of Gwaine's story is about the tension he feels between what other people expect of him and who he actually is. The Knights want him to be one version of himself, in the way that the rugby team and his friends at university did. Dai wants to be a different version - but the version Dai wants is one which surrenders everything from the other side. Gwaine is caught between all these people who think he's beautiful, who want him and want to use him, and very few of them remember that he too is just a man who's as traumatised and grieving as everyone else is.

2. The Quittin' Kind by Eleisha Eagle

There's a corner you painted yourself in I'm not sure what was your intention Now you're trapped alone on an island And you can't swim, no you can't swim

Gwaine left Dai, Morgan and Perry in the middle of the night in the haunted wilds of Bannau Brycheiniog after they made their escape from the Knights. He stole half their supplies to make it back and he didn't leave a note, knowing they'd assume he'd been killed by something in the night. Obviously, this wasn't a great thing to do to them - especially to Dai. But as we learn in the series, Gwaine did it because he was being pulled back by Arthur's song. And when he got back, he realised he was no longer the only popular jock in the one small group of queer weirdos who understood him. He was alone.

3. Look Alive by Guster

The sun came up The world began to shake Fault lines exposing All my own mistakes If I could do anything Then this wouldn't be happening It's been a long time Since I've felt courageous

Gwaine is extremely frustrated with his own conflict between wanting to be comfortable with his sexuality and also wanting to be everything that everyone wants him to be. He knows that the popular, charismatic man who was drowning in friends before the Cataclysm was not a man that anyone wanted to be bisexual, so he just pretended he wasn't. He was 'straight-passing' (I hate this phrase, it's a core part of Gwaine's character arc), and he hid. And he hates that he hid.

4. Scared of the Dark by Lil Wayne, Ty Dolla $ign, XXXTENTACION

I ain't never scared and I ain't never horrified I just look down at my Rolex, it said it's the darkest times I ain't never terrified, I ain't never petrified You know I see dead people, I just tell 'em, "Get a life"

After the Cataclysm, Gwaine has an even bigger reason to be nervous about opening up about his sexuality to the Knights given their general bigotries. But he also, like Perry, has a job to do. He's a Knight. He protects people. He's the person who rides out alone in the night to go fight the monster everyone else is scared of. Before he left, he took half of the protection duties from Perry for looking after Dai and Morgan. And with the Knights, he's one of a band of brothers protecting what they're pretty sure are the last few hundred people left alive in the UK. So every day, he gets up, and he faces the monsters, because someone has to.

5. Growing Pains by Layup

I walk this world with broken toes From my missteps and told you so's I learned my way, breaking every bone Now I see all these aches will make you grow And every fall has a rise, every burn has a flame From foolish to wise, we all bruise the same

Slowly but surely, left alone with very little decent company among the Knights and no one who really understands him, eating himself alive with worry about what's happened to Dai whilst also begrudgingly reassuring himself that Perry would never let anything happen to him, Gwaine has a lot of time to think, and grow. He starts to get a bit of clarity about the man he wants to be, and starts to learn from his mistakes. He decides to stand up to the men who've backed him into this corner, and for the first time in his life, be something other than what everyone wants him to be. Himself.

6. To the Desert by Branches

I came out to the desert To find what I lost in your eyes I filled my lungs with the sunset And walked out into the night

Gwaine leaves the Knights for Dai. That's not a lie. He wasn't sure whether Dai was even alive before he found him on the radio, but he'd decided months or years walking through the wilderness looking for the love of his life was better than merry bullying in Camelot. He walked into the wasteland.

7. Our Kingdom by Hugo Barriol

If you choose the red, and I choose the blue We can share the green, we can share the green When I've lost my words, looking at you I didn't know your name, I didn't know you could- Change what I see Change the way I feel I was far away from me I wasn't listening

Gwaine knew he was attracted to men before he met Dai - he'd messed around with a couple of people in various ways. He did not know that he could love men before he met Dai, and it's part of why Dai is so important to him. For Gwaine, the nights spent staying up til 3am playing video games were just as important as the drunk hookups he pretended didn't happen. Dai never really realised just how much he meant to Gwaine - he always assumed he was just a passing fancy to him.

8. Gawain by The Trials of Cato

In crashing blows there is no game But when the Emerald Knight begins again I risk my life to make my name

Our Gwaine is determined not to be remembered as a coward. He doesn't want to be cruel, and he doesn't want to hide from who he is or his love of Dai. He's entranced and enchanted by the story, which pulls him in, playing on these tendrils of his desperation for acceptance and catharsis. He so badly wants to prove that he's brave enough to be worthy of a man like Dai. It's an easy opening to exploit.

9. Blood Upon the Snow by Hozier, Bear McCreary

It's not my arms that will fail me But this world takes more strength than it gave me The trees deny themselves nothing that makes them grow No rain fall, no sunshine No blood upon the snow

You get it.

#gwaine turner #camlann #camlann podcast #camlann spoilers #sir gawain #Spotify

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notyour-valentine · 2 years

Text

The Boy in the Window 4 ~ Tommy Shelby x Reader (Series)

Chapter Summary: (Y/N) tries to balance the situation with the challenges of day to day life in Small Heath, while Tommy comes to her in search for company.

Notes: Thank you so much for the feedback on the previous part. In this one we get to see a little bit more of Small Heath beyond the Peaky Blinders and a lot of Charlie and (Y/N)- I hope you enjoy! I do not consent to my work being translated, copied or posted elsewhere on this platform or any other.

Here, you can find my [Masterlist] and the [Series Masterlist]

Warning: Canon conforming mention of violence. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Expect spoilers for Peaky Blinders Season 1-4.

Wordcount: 4450

Part 4

[Previously]

With work, the household and Emma, she would never have considered the possibility of taking in another child unless absolutely necessary.

Well, Thomas Shelby hadn't exactly given her a choice in the matter, but he had given her means and money she couldn't dream of ever earning in that space of time. A part of her felt guilty for taking it, but he had insisted and it wasn't like she couldn't use it.

His money, which he had so carelessly dumped into her dressing gown pocket, would bring that magical, mythical "one day" a lot closer.

One day I will move out of Small Heath for good.

One day Emma will go to a decent school.

One day I might even take her on holiday.

And Charlie was an easy child- mostly.

(Y/N) could spend a day or two just watching and entertaining them, but she also had sewing and a household to run. And whatever activities she’d normally give Emma, Charlie didn’t always take to. And they certainly didn’t distract him enough, when she had to leave the room or go up or down the stairs when he and Emma were in a different place.

Once, she had dared to go outside to place some groceries there for the cold.

Upon her return, after less than ten minutes, she was met by her frustrated daughter and a boy who was absolutely beside himself. Tears and snot smeared on his face as he basically flung himself at her. He had buried his face in her skirt, the fabric muffling his loud sobs.

Little feet had stamped the floor as his hands reached for her again and again until she relented.

With a sigh, she had picked him up, legs and arms wrapping themselves around her as tightly as they possibly could, squeezing the air from her lungs.

"I thought you left. Don't leave! I don't want you to leave!", He had wailed into her shoulder with such volume, she feared the neighbours would soon start beating the walls.

"I don't know what his problem is.", Emma had huffed in disapproval as she resumed the game, that Charlie had become entirely uninterested. Even after his tears had been dried, he still refused to release her for the better part of two hours.

While she could understand - to a certain extent- since the boy had been left alone merely a few days ago in a place he had never been to before, it wasn’t the sort of behaviour that was easy to maintain for an extended period of time.

To avoid any further tearful and most importantly lengthy episodes like that, (Y/N) found herself announcing whenever she went upstairs or downstairs. These were regularly followed by hasty footsteps and irritated sighs from Emma, because they interrupted their games.

And Charlie was homesick.

Sometimes he’d wake up crying and lost for a moment and would refuse to go back to sleep without her either holding his hand or preferably all of him.

It was impossible to miss how he used any and every chance to be held, to hug her or lean into her.

At first, it had only been in moments when his emotions got the better of him, but as the days strung together, he got bolder, snuggling up to her during story time. First he'd lean into her arm, and when he realised that she didn't protest, he tried slipping under it, resting his head against her chest. Sometimes she’d wake in the middle of the night to find one (or on occasion two) bodies curled into hers.

From time to time, he'd ask for Frances and complain - well, not complain. But it became obvious very quickly that he was used to an entirely different lifestyle than the one she could provide

He asked for a different kind of jam and when she explained they only had one, he wanted to know why. When she had no time to play with them because she had to do the washing, he wanted to know why it was her doing it and not the maids and was confused when she explained that they had no maids.

Yet he enjoyed chasing Emma through the lines of hanging clothes all the same.

But the main problem was that he felt trapped. He kept talking about the trees and the river behind his home, about the horses and the swing in the garden.

And yet his father had been clear - they were to stay inside as much as possible and the small courtyard couldn’t compete with the vastness of the estate he called home.

His father.

Since Thomas Shelby had handed her his son, he had spent an hour at most in their company. He’d enter, exchange barely a handful of words with Charlie, drop some money on the table and go.

Nothing else. Sometimes he’d take some of the food which she always prepared more of than necessary. But beyond that, all she saw of him were the shadows behind the windows of the Watery Lane house.

This evening, however, he came late, knocking on the kitchen door.

Unlike last time, he was properly dressed, in a dark blue tailored three piece suit and a starched shirt, with silver cufflinks and a golden chain on his pocket watch.

The suit alone looked to be as expensive as all the clothing she owned put together. He had taken his cap off, leaving his hair slightly dishevelled, a stark contrast to his perfectly polished shoes which were entirely unfit for Small Heath.

“Charlie’s already asleep.”, she explained. “Do you want me to wake him?”

He shook his head as he sat down on the small sofa, his legs outstretched.

(Y/N) smoothed down the wrinkles of her apron. She had decided to do some cleaning she hadn’t gotten around to earlier. But in light of company, she decided to take it off, draping it over the chair.

“Would you like something to eat?”, she offered, if only to escape the piercing blue eyes. “I can heat you up the leftovers from dinner.”

He shook his head once more.

“I could make you some tea?”

Again - nothing but the shaking of his head.

“You got whisky?”, he finally asked.

“No.”, (Y/N) said.

“Thought so.", he nodded, "I brought me own. Got a glass?”

She hurried to fetch one from the cupboard, glad to have something else to do than crumble under his gaze.

“Only one?”, he asked as she put it down in front of him.

Swallowing hard, she stepped back, hiding her hands behind her back so that he wouldn’t see them shake.

“If you didn’t come for Charlie, and you didn’t come for food, why are you here, Mr. Shelby?”, she asked the tips of her shoes.

Thomas Shelby huffed softly as he poured himself a drink. The sofa creaked slightly as he let himself fall back into it.

“Not used to being all alone in a house.”, he said with a shrug. “So for company, I guess.”

With that he drank.

The only sound was her racing heart and the crackling of the fire that filled the room with warmth, but it was nothing compared to the burn of his gaze.

It was as if he was looking her up and down, body and soul and seeing things beyond those the eye could pierce.

“He’s a very good boy.”, she finally said.

“Your son, I mean.”

He only drank.

“But…”

That caught his attention and his eyes shot up.

“I fear he’s getting rather restless. He’s not used to a …house like this.”

“No, he’s fucking not.”, he scoffed, bitterness dripping off of every word.

Once more he brought the glass to his lips.

(Y/N) fell silent. She had tried, and she didn’t dare push further.

Shifting from foot to foot, she wondered what she might do now.

Somehow, she felt as if she had to ask him for permission to sit or make herself some tea, even if it was her house.

It is his city though.

“How did your husband die?”, he asked, making her eyes snap up.

(Y/N)’s mouth went dry.

“H-how-?”, she stammered.

He shrugged, as if he wasn’t really interested, but then he chose to elaborate.

“Last thing I heard of you, (Y/N) (L/N), you took a job away from the city. Then your brother said you got married. Now you’re back in the same city in the same house with a new child and a new ring. So you didn’t leave him and because you’ve still got his picture on the wall, he didn't leave you. You’re a widow.”

It hurt to try and swallow the lump in her throat.

“I-I am.”, she admitted with a nod, as her eyes began to burn. All of her began to burn, her eyes, her chest, her heart.

Now she had to sit, with or without his permission.

“How?”, he asked.

Her fingers coiled around the back of the chair, wrapping themselves around the old wood. It had endured so much, it would endure this too and see her through it.

“He worked as a forrester.”

Her voice was faint and sounded foreign to her, as she forced herself to speak.

Even at the best of times, it was hard for her to meet his eyes and now it was impossible.

“Three years after we got married, there was an accident.”, she continued, as her chest began to rise and fall rapidly.

“I…they say it was quick, but they never let me see his face.”

She would never forget his body lying there, with a dark cloth covering his face and his chest. She had tried, of course, to pull it away, but they had stopped her.

Their calloused hands had been hard and unyielding as they restrained her, coarse from all the work in the woods- and so like her husband's.

“You don’t want to remember him like that, love.”

Now all she remembered was the dark cloth and the unseen horrors it had contained.

“He was a good man. Better than I could have hoped for.”, she said, wiping under her eyes before the tears could hit her cheeks. “And a wonderful father.”

That was what finally broke her voice, so she just shook her head and turned away, trying not to lose it completely.

“So your husband’s dead. And your parents are dead. I know your brother’s dead. What about Edith?”

Her silence was answer enough.

“So just you and the girl?”

(Y/N) nodded.

“Fucking hell.”, he muttered under his breath and finished his drink - only to pour himself another.

“How do you do it?”, he asked, almost gently. “All on your own?”

That startled her, and even after thinking for a while, she couldn’t think of anything more than: “I try. What else can I do?”

He did not respond. Instead, he only drank and stared at her.

“(Y/N) (L/N).”

“Hale.”, she corrected him. “My name is Hale.”

Slowly, he shook his head.

“Never knew you as (Y/N) Hale.”

“Well I am that now.”

“Not to me you’re not.”

He hadn’t said it unkindly, but it still stung. And maybe that was what made her braver.

“You said we were to stay inside the house, but I can’t see why we can’t go for a walk or to the church green. It’s not your country palace, but better for children than the courtyard. I also need to buy groceries soon."

His only response - familiar by now - was to drink.

But then to her surprise, he sighed.

“I was married too. She died.”

He said it as if it was news and not a well known fact to anyone and everyone.

They knew. All of Birmingham knew.

There was simply too much funny business about the whole situation for people not to talk.

“She got shot.”

If it meant anything to him, he hid it well. In his voice at least, but there was something in his eyes as he searched for her reaction.

(Y/N) waited.

“Took a bullet for me.”

As cruel as it sounded, this elaboration did not come unexpected, even if there had been theories that she had been shot for being a pro King paddy and traitor. She wouldn’t have been the first.

“So we found and killed the man who ordered it. And his son. Took his businesses and cleaned them out. Every last one.”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood, but not only at his words, but at how casually and unaffected he said them.

“And now another son came from America,”, he continued, “Fifteen fucking Sicilian mafiosos to kill us all.”

Her eyes shot up to the ceiling at once, to where the children were sleeping as she remembered the whispers.

“But-but the Mafia, they kill children too.”

An unknown fury bubbled up inside of her. The mere thought of causing harm to a child, let alone at will and out of malice was beyond her and unlocked parts of her rage so dark that she should be ashamed. But she wasn't- not in this.

Then a second, darker realisation took hold of her.

If they killed children, would they come for Charlie? And thereby for me and for Emma? We have nothing to do with this! Emma-

“And now they’ve killed John.”

“What about his children?”, she demanded to know. The eldest couldn’t be more than twelve at most. A boy, nothing more.

But Tommy Shelby didn’t even seem to hear her.

“Shot him down right in front of his house.”

“And his family?”, (Y/N) asked, louder this time. "They would have been there- what about them?"

His head snapped around, icy eyes met hers and digging into her soul.

“What about his children, Mr. Shelby?”, she repeated, as her eyes began to water. Her knuckles had long turned white.

“Nothing.”, he said. “They shot him and shot Michael and left.”

The relief nearly knocked her off of her feet and she had to pace up and down in an attempt to walk it off, although she wasn’t doing a very good job.

The Mafia.

“I made a deal today.”, Tommy Shelby said from behind her, making her turn.

(Y/N) was no longer able to follow.

“No civilians. No children.”

“Oh.”, she whispered, glancing up once more. He had said it with a tone that implied she ought to know what it meant, but she had long lost the ability to follow.

“That’s why I need you.”, he said. “Ada’s on the list. Polly’s on the list. You’re not. As long as he’s here, he won’t be caught in any crossfire.”

“But what about you?”, she asked.

He stretched his hands out and shrugged.

“I guess we’ll have to see, eh?”, he asked. “If I live, I’ll live.”

By his tone, he didn’t seem to care much.

“And if you don’t?”, she asked.

With a scoff, he twirled the whisky in the borrowed glass.

“Then Charlie will be a very rich boy.”

They were announced by the chime of the little bell as Emma pushed the door open with both her hands.

"Hello Mrs. Davies!", She called.

The woman's round face lit up as she recognised the little girl in the brown coat.

"My, my, if it isn't little Miss Hale!", She greeted.

Emma giggled as she ran up to the counter, list in hand.

"This is what we need.", She explained as she handed over the piece of paper, standing on her tiptoes to reach over the counter.

Charlie stayed back, his hand clutching hers tightly.

He hadn't let go since they had stepped out of the door, pressing himself so close to her that (Y/N) had trouble walking. With his other hand, he held onto the flap of her coat for good measure.

"Good morning Mrs. Davies.", she greeted, as she followed Emma's steps.

The woman readjusted her glasses as if she wasn't sure what she was seeing.

"Who've you got there, Mrs. Hale?", She wanted to know, as her brows furrowed.

"That's Charlie.", Emma explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He lives with us now."

The old woman's eyes narrowed in confusion. "He does?", She asked curiously.

"For the time being."

Feeling her piercing gaze, Charlie hid behind her, still holding into her hand and burying his face into the thick fabric of her coat, which was at least twice as old as he was.

Perhaps it wasn't the worst idea- while he only had his father's eyes, he looked just like uncles had at that age. And Mrs. Davies was old enough to remember that.

"How come?", She asked almost casually, as she began to collect the items on the list. They were more and more of them than usual.

"If I told you,", (Y/N) said, stroking her gloved thumb over Charlie's hand, "you wouldn't believe me."

That deepened the other woman's frown, but she also realised that she wouldn't get more from her than that.

She called her assistant, a girl of sixteen over and handed her the list. That gave her the time to lean over the counter.

"Did you hear, the Shelbys are back!", She whispered, probably the way she had done to every customer.

"Back in Watery Lane, the whole lot of them!"

(Y/N) nodded.

Charlie's head peaked forward from behind her at the mention of his family's name.

"I noticed."

"All of them-", Mrs. Davies said. "Arthur, Polly Gray- even the Shelby girl. The one that married Red Freddie and moved away, remember? But he died years ago."

(Y/N) nodded.

"I remember."

"They say even Tommy Shelby himself's back. Can you believe it?"

More than most, probably.

"Some say it's because of the strikes, that the Blinders are back to crush it before it gets out of hand, but others say it's more. Perhaps it's true- after all John's dead! Dorothea Clark saw Polly Gray light a candle for him. Now I know you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but you'd think it's hot enough anyway where he is now."

(Y/N) felt her muscles tense at that, and not just because it was unseemly to talk like that, let alone in the presence of children. But the thought of John in hell made her angrier than she had any right to be. She didn't think of the man he had become, but the boy he had been, both the good and the bad.

And she hoped, prayed even, that despite everything, he wasn't in hell.

"Don't you live close to Watery Lane?"

As if she didn't know where everyone and anyone lived.

(Y/N) nodded.

"Then God bless you- so close the lion's den, and with children to take care of."

Oh I'm in the lion's den alright, she thought as she took the wrapped up groceries.

But the lions had been given their marching orders.

The Peaky Blinders had men at every street corner, watching. And across from her front door as well, watching day and night and guarding more than the street. Occasionally, they stopped people to search them. While they got quesitoning looks, no one dared protest.

(Y/N) hadn't been stopped. Instead, one of the Peaky Blinders at the corner, Jeremiah's son, had leaned over and whispered something into the ear of the other boy, who had nodded.

As they stepped out of the shop, and made their way back, more than one pair of eyes followed her, well not her, but the precious cargo she guarded.

(Y/N) just hoped that the other people wouldn't notice.

Charlie tugged at her hand and she looked down.

"Where are all the trees?", He wanted to know.

"There aren't any trees here.", Emma said, skipping ahead on one leg.

"Why not?", Charlie asked.

"Because there isn't any room- not with all the houses.", She told him.

"I don't like it.", He said, wrinkling his nose. "They should have less houses and more trees."

If only it were that easy.

"There's trees down by the canal.", Emma said. "Mummy, can we go?"

(Y/N) shook her head.

"I've got the groceries to carry.", She said.

But that wasn't the reason.

Everyone knew that the canals were Shelby territory, and by now probably heavily controlled, as they were another way in and out of the city.

Guns and men to make things safer.

No gun in history could ever make (Y/N) feel safer, unless in its absence.

She didn't know what would await them there and she wasn't keen on finding out with two children by her side.

Instead, she decided to take them to the church green the next day. Emma immediately saw her friends and started running, joining in their games with an ease (Y/N) had never possessed at that age.

"Don't you want to play with the other children?", She asked Charlie. "I'm sure Emma will introduce you."

His hand tightened around hers.

"Can't I stay with you?", He asked.

With Emma it had always been the opposite. Like a magnet, she attracted other children and stuck to them with equal determination. Getting her to leave was the hard part.

Charlie seemed more than content to stay at her side when she sat down on the bench. He snuggled into and reached over to hold onto the fabric of her coat on the other side, obliterating any chances she might have had of reading today's paper.

The children had begun to play a skipping game, chanting and giggling all the while, but it didn't seem all too tempting to Charlie.

Instead, he had begun to stroke her knee gently, before he finally gathered the courage to tug at her coat to get her attention.

"Can I…", he tried cautiously. "Can I sit on your lap again?"

She had sat him down there only when he had cried and her arms had gotten too tired to carry him, but she hadn't missed the way his eyes followed Emma whenever she climbed into her lap unprompted or jumped into her arms without even the slightest hint of hesitation.

"You can.", She agreed.

He climbed onto her legs at once, but instead of watching the other children, he sat so that he could face her.

"Can you sing me a song?", He asked, as he ran his thumbs down the folded collar of her coat.

"Not here, Charlie.", She said gently.

"A story?", He asked. "The one with the talking horse but…can you make it so the horse doesn't die?"

Charlie had sobbed bitter tears, when in the fairy tale the hore was executed by the false princess, and it had taken three songs to sooth him.

"Please!", he asked.

And so she did, but instead of killing the horse like in the original story, the false Princess had him locked up in the guard tower. That way the horse would still talk to the real Princess and reveal her identity, and was even alive to carry her and the Prince into a golden future.

Charlie sighed in relief, as if her one retelling corrected all the previous ones. Maybe in his mind it did.

"And?", She asked Charlie, as the story came to a close.

"They lived happily ever after.", He said, beaming from ear to ear, just like (Y/N) was. His smile was beyond infectious, any child's was.

Grinning, she tapped the tip of his nose.

"So it is true?"

She heard a voice from the side and turned. There she saw three other women awaiting her.

"When Mrs. Davies told me, I couldn't believe it.", Mrs. Sloan said. She was a tall thin woman with a tall thin face, and long, thin fingers who always clutched her purse so tightly, it turned her knuckles white.

"After all, where would you get another child from?"

Feeling their eyes, Charlie buried his face in her chest. Her hand found the back of his head, shielding him further from their view.

"He doesn't look like you at all.", Mrs. Laddler remarked. She lived close to the Sloans and one rarely saw one without the other.

At her words, Charlie turned his head the other way so that they'd be left with nothing but a view of his blond hair and the back of his cap.

"But that's to be expected, Ethel,", the third and final member of their trium, remarked.

"We all knew he couldn't be family.", Mrs. Jackson argued, pouting with her extraordinarily thin lips.

"After all, you don't have much family left, do you?"

"I don't.", (Y/N) said, not bothering to hide her fire she felt running through her veins. And they too felt the sting.

"She only meant…", Mrs. Laddler jumped in, only to be cut off by Mrs. Sloan.

"We were just wondering where you got him from."

As if he was a lost puppy or a trinket.

But (Y/N) also knew she wouldn't get rid of them that easily. So she locked away her anger for now.

"He's the son of…of an old friend."

It wasn't the truth, but not too far away to be considered a lie. They hadn't been friends, but her brother had been friends with John, and they had known each other for ages, so the old part was true.

"Ah?", Mrs. Jackson asked. "How come he's with you?"

"Because his father has some business to attend to."

It wasn't the bone they had hoped for, so they began to sniff again.

She had half a mind to tell them, just for the enjoyment of seeing the shock on their faces, but (Y/N) bit her tongue. It would only cause her, and Emma, trouble.

"We don't know him, do we?", She asked.

"No, I'm afraid, you don't.", (Y/N) said.

They knew of him of course, like every single person in this city, but sometimes she wasn't sure if even his family could claim to know him.

(Y/N) was glad to see the back of them and sighed.

"Was Dad really your friend?", Charlie asked, his head still resting against her shoulder.

No, would be the short answer, but she couldn't say that to the boy.

"When we were little, he lived on the other side of the courtyard. And his brother and my big brother were friends, so we saw each other a lot."

Charlie pulled back to look at her.

"But you're friends now? That's why I can stay with you?"

She stroked a strand of hair out of his face and hummed. Anything else would have been a lie.

End of Part 4

Thank you for reading! I’d be very grateful for feedback of any kind! If you are interested in more, here is my [Masterlist].

[Here you can find Part 5]

Taglist:

@lilyrachelcassidy @jyessaminereads

TBITW Taglist:

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@esistmon

@chlorrox

@theshelbyslimited

@budugu

@woofgocows

@orkwardx0

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@im-nowhere-but-also-somewhere

#Peaky Blinders #Tommy Shelby #Thomas Shelby #Thomas Shelby x reader #Tommy Shelby x reader #Tommy Shelby Imagine #Thomas Shelby Imagine #The Boy in the Window #valentineswritings

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angel-beee · 5 months

Text

Ouch!, my hair

Various haikyuu boys

*writting this at 11 pm*

Author's note : Idk if you hv seen or heard about this cdrama but its called "hidden love " its really cute and this drabble is inspired by one of the episodes,when i saw the scene i imediatly thought of osamu so here we are :) . Btw the reader has long hair or medium length

Warnings : nothin just fluff two teenagers being teenagers

And a lotta blushing

🎶recomend listening to "shameless" by camila cabello

....He was over at your house you've known him for about your whole life he was your brother's bestfriend he came over a lot and you may have developed a small crush on him everytime your brother goes to meet him you would tag along like a puppy eventually you came up with a plan he was after all in the same grade as u so you planned to have "study sessions " when in reality it would just be you staring at him with heart eyes

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆wednesday~

and he came over to "study" yet, here you two are lying against the sofa watching tiktok as you like the videos and he scrolls ...u didn't plan it out to be like this but you aren't complaining as your thinking about it munching chips next to him shoulders meeting while he's resting his chin on his hand , the other hand scrolls to the next tik tok while your hand deep in the chip bag searching for the crumbs you noticed a small text in the middle of the screen , you squinting to see the small text written u leaned closer to the phone and so did he..u were trynna make out what the text said when felt a sudden tug of your hair that suprised you

"ouch!"

You tried to pull harder but it pained more ,u turned ur torso aound

"shorty stop squirmin' around what happened?"

"My hairr..it got stuck somewhere"

He sifts through and found that your hair got stuck on his button he intently watches as you desperately lean closer and closer to him fiddling with the button to get your hair out your hands were so fast in movement he tried to help as well until in a soft whispered voice you suggeted

"can i..open the button?"

"yea..."

He said bearly heard

He wanted to play it off but with inches between u both he can't think straight you looked good ....you always have ...has he always thought of you like this?

"i got it out"

You sighed until u realized you were to him limbs tangled torso on his chest making eye oh how girls would kill to be in your spot you were breathing heavily you heard his heartbeat

You felt his hands slither to your waist securing you as he brushes your hair to the side there was a thick wall of tension built up your faces were so close...you look up to him with doe eyes he noticed your eyes moving to his lips dammit neither of you can process and suddenly he pulls you closer and in asoft murmur he asks

"can i kiss you..?"

Without a second thought your hand grabs a lock of his hair and u gently tug him into a kiss

(which may or may not have turned into a makeout sesh)

Just crossing your fingers that your brother dosent walk in

- osamu , kenma , shirabu , kita , kageyama , +your choice!

~~~~~~the end ~~~~~~~~~♡♡☆☆

Byeeee

#haikyuu x reader #kenma x reader #shirabu x reader #osamu x reader #miya osumu #haikyuu imagines #kageyama x reader

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callsign-joyride · 1 year

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Heroes | B.R.B

Summary: A tough case leads to you quitting your job, but Bradley is with you through everything.

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x wife!reader

Content warnings: Angst with kind of a happy ending, FBI jargon, gun violence, blood

A/N: This is kind of self-indulgent and inspired by the last two episodes of season 9 of Criminal Minds. You don't really have to have seen the show to understand what's going on, though.

Word count: 1.5k

You had first met Bradley while working on a case in Virginia. Everyone had drilled it into your head that you weren’t allowed to get personal with civilians involved in cases, and you weren’t allowed to work on cases that involved people that you knew. Technically you didn’t start getting personal with each other until after the case had been over, anyways. Everything ended up working out almost perfectly. Both of you had jobs that required travel, and being part of the FBI was pretty flexible. When you got married, things became more lenient. You were able to travel with Bradley when he got stateside deployments with some work from home opportunities occasionally available.

The two of you had been able to permanently live in San Diego after the success of the uranium plant mission, and things had been pretty relaxed. You both woke up to your phone ringing. You normally didn’t get work calls in the middle of the night, so something had to have been going on. Bradley watched as you snuck into the hallway to take the call so that he could go back to sleep.

“What’s going on?” He asked when you walked back into the room.

“I have to take a case. Gotta be in the office in thirty.”

“Okay.”

While you took a quick shower, Bradley packed your go-bag and tossed the dirty clothes in the laundry basket. It wasn’t often that you got called on cases like this, but you were on standby. One of the agents had been in labor and you had to take her place.

“Call me when you land,” Bradley said after kissing you by the door.

“I will. I love you,” you said.

“I love you, too.”

You got the briefing on the case and used the twenty-minute break to get something to eat. The case involved a series of murders in a small Nevada town, so the flight wasn’t very long at all. You called Bradley once you checked into the hotel and dropped your stuff off. The conversation was pretty short, but he had been getting for work at that point so you knew that he was kind of in a rush.

Everything with the case had seemed to be going pretty well. The media had been fairly respectful of the ongoing investigation, which was pretty rare for cases taking place in small towns like this one. Media was usually up everyone’s noses about what was going on. You had been reviewing files with the team when one of the deputies walked into the room. (He didn’t walk, he nearly kicked the door down.)

“We’ve got a problem,” he said.

“Okay, and that is?” One of the agents asked.

“Someone leaked everything to the media. The unsub knows that we’re onto him and he probably knows that we’re coming.”

The team leader immediately stood up and started giving everyone directions.

“He has a hostage, probably a minor. We can’t wait.”

Hostage negotiation had been one of your specialties, so it wasn’t surprising that they sent you into the closed restaurant without a vest. It wasn’t hard to act like you had a child in order to sympathize with the guy, but getting the child out was your top priority.

“Hostage secured, moving out now.”

Things felt too easy. Getting a hostage was usually a lot more difficult than this, and something told you that it wasn’t over.

“Get down!” The team leader yelled. In a split second, you were on the ground, hiding behind the door of a police car. One of the deputies made a move to go inside and get the unsub which resulted in a shoot out. It was probably the scariest moment of your life, because there was no way that the door was going to hold long enough for more authorities to get there and you still weren’t wearing a vest.

It felt like everything stopped when you saw a member of the team sink down with blood coming out of a bullet wound in his neck. You ripped one of the sleeves of your button down off before using it to apply pressure to the wound.

“You’re gonna be okay. We’ve got an agent down!” You yelled. Someone took off and pursued the unsub, which made the gunfire stop entirely. An ambulance pulled up after a few minutes of you trying to keep the agent conscious and you rode with them.

You hadn’t realized how much blood was on your hands until you took your wedding ring off so that you could wash your hands. They were all red except for the part of your finger that had been covered by the ring. This was something that you had never experienced before. Sure, you had seen agents get shot in the past, but it was never anything this fatal. The tech expert of the group saw the shocked look on your face when you walked out of the bathroom and told you that you could go and give Bradley a call, and that she would keep an eye on your things. You decided to go outside and make the call.

“Hey, babe. Are you on your way home yet?” Bradley asked.

“Um, actually, no? Something happened… We caught the guy and everything but one of my team members got shot and it’s bad.”

“Oh my God, are you okay?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine. I’m shaken up but I’m okay. I think I’ll be home in a couple days. There was so much blood, Bradley. I don’t even… He got shot in the throat and I watched it happen. I don’t know if I can do this anymore,” you said as you broke down in tears.

“Hey, it’s okay. Let’s talk about it when you get home, alright? Try and get some rest for now.”

“Okay.”

“I love you. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay. I love you, too.”

Everyone had been able to go home within three days. It was just past midnight when you got to the house, and you could tell by the light coming through the living room window that Bradley was still awake. He instantly stood up when he heard the front door open and smiled when he watched you enter the code that would disable the alarm system. You put your bag down and hung your keys by the door before almost running into Bradley’s arms.

“It’s okay, I got you. Let’s go upstairs, okay? You must be tired.”

All you could do was nod your head as Bradley walked you up the stairs. He waited outside of the bathroom as you took a shower and only left for a few minutes to get you a glass of water and turn off all of the downstairs lights. You put your head on his chest like you always did, and the steadiness of his heartbeat seemed like the only thing that would relax you.

“I’m quitting,” you whispered.

“Okay.”

You sat up, surprised at the simple response. You and Bradley rarely got into arguments, but this seemed like something that a couple would fight about.

“That’s all you have to say? I’m not mad.”

“Yeah. I’m not gonna argue with you about your job. I know how hard it can be and I know how distraught you were the other night. I’m not worried about the money if that’s what was on your mind.”

“I love you. All I could think about that night was that you couldn’t lose another person that you love. He got shot right next to me. It could’ve been me. Actually, it probably would’ve been me if I moved an inch. I’m sure that I can teach some college courses with my PhD. Hell, maybe I could even finish that book that I’ve been working on.”

“I still think the sexiest thing you’ve ever done was get that PhD, doctor Bradshaw.”

You chuckled at his remarks. He always knew how to brighten your day like that. There wasn’t much left to discuss. The decision had been made, and even though it was a hard decision to make, it was one that you were okay with. That didn’t make turning in your badge and clearing out your desk any easier, but Bradley was with you through everything. He even waited outside of the director’s office for you. No one in the office really wanted to see you go, but they were understanding of the circumstances. It was kind of funny when they all realized that Bradley was “the Navy husband” and the teasing felt pretty relentless, but it was going to be the last time that you saw all of your colleagues in the office like that so you let it happen.

When you got back to the house and started unloading your things, Bradley looked at you and smiled.

“What is it?” You asked.

“I’m proud of you,” he said.

Taglist:

@littlebadariell @cycbaby @luckyladycreator2 @idontcare-11 @blue-aconite @maverick-wingman @shawty-fenty @littlemisstopgun @rosiahills22 @katieshook02 @justanothermagicalsara @caitsymichelle13 @smoothdogsgirl @adoringsebstan @cherrycola27 @alexxavicry @mrsjaderogers @mak-32 @thefandomimagines @tallrock35 @caatheeriinee07

#bradley bradshaw x reader #rooster x reader #rooster top gun #bradley bradshaw angst #angst with comfort #top gun maverick #bradley rooster bradhsaw #x reader #reader insert #rooster

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reviewinghiccup · 1 year

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RIDERS OF BERK | HTTYD SERIES | BREAKING DOWN HICCUP

Blog Post Series: Breaking Down Hiccup

Title: Breakneck Bog

Ep/Season: Episode 17, Season 1 (Riders of Berk)

Premise:

Hiccup and gang set out to the mysterious, maybe even dangerous Breakneck Bog in search for something once lost.

CHARACTER DISCUSSION

HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK III

(1) THE FILIAL SON

Stoick, Gobber, Hiccup, Thornado and Toothless go on a journey to find Trader Johann who is late and carrying a parcel on his ship Stoick really wants. When the mission fails, Hiccup decides to venture out on his own, to retrieve the lost treasure for his father.

Stoick didn't tell Hiccup that the treasure was actually a gift from his mother, knowing that if Hiccup knew that, he would've gone out of his way to get it back. However, what Stoick probably didn't bank on was the fact that Hiccup would do anything for him, regardless.

note: I need to get me one of those Berk crested satchels. Looks like it can carry a lot.

Of course, Astrid will come to find out about it and because our boy here cannot lie to the girl he likes, he told her everything. Well, that and more because, Astrid reads him like a book.

(2) UNHEEDED WARNINGS & STUBBORNNESS ISSUES

It felt like the running theme of the episode was unheeded warnings. Hiccup decided to find Trader Johann, even though it wasn't his father's wish for him to handle the operation on his own.

Snotlout got everyone to join the expedition despite being warned to keep the scout-group small.

And the decision to go into Breakneck Bog itself was stubbornness disguised as adventure.

It's so funny how Hiccup has no control over his group sometimes. No, sorry, its hilarious.

TRADER JOHANN

I open this question to the floor, do you think this incident was planned by Johann or did he really suffer an accident?

I mean, what are the odds that a valuable item to Stoick and Hiccup would be found on his ship the day he just had to pass Breakneck Bog. Do you think Johann planted it? I mean, it's not uncharacteristic of an evil mastermind to do so.

But that would mean, he knows them scarily well and planned to get rid of the riders this way.

Why I ask this question is because he was found on a plank, stranded in the middle of the ocean. We don't see any other ships or people nearby to help him. Did he really go that far to disguise his disloyalty?

Again, it wouldn't be uncharacteristic of him to do so. But still, no one can fault the dude for his dedication. Or acting.

THEME, MESSAGE & STORYLINE

"Most people are afraid of things because they don't understand them. For me, it was dragons. Then one day that changed, and my greatest fear became my best friend." - Hiccup

Just like Breakneck Bog and the elusive Fog Monster, there was great fear in the unexplainable. However, when the "cover" is blown and what was suppose to be scary ended up being nothing but a facade, we truly see where fears lie, in ignorance of truth.

A fear of dragons was the downfall of the village, until they started understanding them. Then they realised, like Hiccup did, that dragons were just like them. Scared, nervous, strong, independent.

That was also Valka's message which we learn in HTTYD 2. I liked this episode because it combined all my favourite bits of the show. The heartwarming family values, the bond of friendship, adventure and their overarching lesson, that you don't have to be afraid of the things you can't yet understand.

The episode is shrouded in mystery, i.e., Breakneck Bog, the Lost Treasure, the Fog Monsters. But the best part about it is how it is uncovered. And what "treasure" means to someone, is completely how we attach value to it.

Further, inasmuch as you can hate on Snotlout or be annoyed with the twins, you can't help but know that as a group they work well together and they will be there for each other.

In terms of comedic timing and pacing, this show definitely hits as one of the better ones. It's a mix of adventure, humour, family - in essence, what the entire franchise is about, but as a series it was a lovely bite size piece to enjoy.

PERSONAL FAVOURITE MOMENTS

A) EVERYONE UPSET THAT THEY HAVE A CONSCIOUS

B) HICCUP'S SIDE EYE WHEN SNOTLOUT CALLED ASTRID'S GRANDFATHER STUPID

C) A SCARED FISHLEGS OFFERING HICCUP HIS MOTHER

D) SNOTLOUT CALLING OUT JOHANN

Given Snotlout's distrust, he is actually someone who calls Johann out constantly. One thing Hiccup does fail to discern is the true nature of people. Which is a flaw that leads him to most of his problems.

E) ASTRID AND HICCUP'S HERO POSE

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persephones-poet-blog · 6 months

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OFMD Season Timeline

(Obvi season 2 spoilers)

TL; DR: there’s like a month in between episode 5 and 6.

This ended up being a little longer than I planned but there’s pics you can stare at longingly, so that helps, right?

I’ve seen a lot of people assuming that each episode of the show is like the next day and so Stede and Ed having sex would have happened like a day after they agreed to go slow.

But I think it had to have been at least a a couple of weeks and here’s why:

Remember how Ed had to wear the bag (and collar) of shame until people felt comfortable around him?

In episode 6 Ed is back in his regular clothes and everyone seems much more comfortable around him. When Jim and Frenchie approach him and Stede about the party, they even greet them as “captains” (plural), which I sincerely doubt they would have done if they still hated him.

Additionally when Ed and Stede walk into the party, everyone greets them both with drinks and happiness. The animosity, jumpiness, and fear seem to have been resolved or put aside.

This wouldn’t have happened in a short period after everything the crew went through. I know Olu, Jim and Archie were more chill about his return later in episode 5, but it wasn’t the friendliness and camaraderie we see here.

I take episode 6 to have happened at least 1-2 weeks, if not longer after 5. Personally I don’t think I’d get over someone trying to kill me that quickly, but hey, I’m not a pirate.

Additionally, let’s talk about our favorite unicorn for a second:

This is Izzy’s scar in episodes 5 and then 7 (taking place the day after 6)

Waaaaaaay too healed for just a day or even 2. I’ve had numerous surgeries. My scars from surgery 3 weeks ago haven’t even shown that level of improvement. I get Unicorns are magical, but he isn’t Buttons.

Additionally, the way Izzy is so relaxed around Ed… no way has it only been a day. He just got his leg amputated, what like a week before 5? He shouldn’t even be walking on his unicorn leg at that point (but we will ignore that because he and the leg are beautiful). The scene with Izzy and Ed is calm and bitchy in the way you are with siblings and old friends when you get over a small fight. I feel like it might take a little longer to forgive or even be in the presence of the person who tortured you and your crew and took your leg (among other things).

He also tells Stede that he sees how good he and Ed are for each other. That it took a long time to realize it but he does. When did he realize this? In the middle of a storm they thought would kill them? While he was passed out during an amputation? During his bender in episode 4?

That’s all me projecting, I know. Let’s be honest that’s what meta posts like these are a lot of the time (but god I love them).

The only episodes that seem to be exactly a day apart are 3, 4, and 5. And obviously 6 and 7.

So TL; DR: there’s like a month in between episode 5 and 6.

Any additional timeline things you have for season 1 or 2 are great!

Edit: someone pointed out Pete and Lucius’ 24 hour sex spree after getting engaged and this shoots my theory, but maybe they’ve done multiple sprees?

Idk the relationships between all of them are so much more comfortable now and too quickly if it really has been only a day. It kind of feels like we’re missing an episode in between 5 & 6 that would have transitioned everything more smoothly. I still blame this entirely on HBO cutting 2 episodes and not on the writers who were trying to work with what they had.

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #renew our flag means death #renew as a crew #our flag means death season 2 #ofmd writers are incredible #David Jenkins I love your lack of historical accuracy and time blindness

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novamariestark · 6 months

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Echoes, Fragments & Puzzle Pieces [B.B] [1/?]

Summary: You are a young woman, trying to live your life after captivity. You live in the shadows after escaping from an organisation known as The Syndicate, desperate to copy Hydra's work. You were to be their Winter Soldier but with added "bonuses". But, when opportunity knocks, will you answer it?

Warnings: none (I don't think), maybe indication of abuse. (Instead of Y/N I've put Lia, simply just to make it flow a bit better, but of course you can replace it with your name.)

Word count: 3256 (This one is longer than I intended so it'll be a mini-series)

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: eventual Bucky x reader

Part 2, Part 3,

The city's museum was usually a chill place to kill an afternoon—lots of old stuff, quiet corners, and enough space that nobody paid you much mind. You liked it that way. You were just another face in the crowd, easy to miss, easier to forget.

Wandering through an exhibit on ancient Greece, you stopped in front of a vase that showed a bunch of tiny warriors doing their battle thing. There was something about it that felt... loud. Like it was yelling at you through a megaphone, begging to be noticed.

Without thinking, you reached out and touched it. Bad idea.

Suddenly, the air fizzled like someone had cranked up the voltage, and the room got all twisty. The vase’s scene went high-def, the warriors popping out and doing their fighting dance right there in the middle of the museum. People around you gasped, their phones out, probably thinking this was some kind of flash mob deal.

But then, as quick as it started, the show stopped. The warriors went back to being boring old paint on pottery. Everyone was buzzing, looking around, trying to figure out what had just happened and who’d flipped the switch.

That's when your weird gift—or curse—kicked in and suddenly, you were about as noticeable as a piece of gum stuck under a park bench. You slipped through the crowd, who were too busy arguing about what they’d seen to remember the girl who’d started it all.

You were out in the cold air before the guards even made it to the empty spot where you had been standing a second ago. Your heart was doing the samba in your chest, and your head was full of questions with no answers. What the hell did I just do? I can’t believe it happened again.

After ducking out of the museum, your quick steps turned into a jog, then a full-blown sprint the moment your feet hit the pavement. The city was a living beast around you, and you melted into it, just another face in the late afternoon rush.

You didn’t stop until you reached your current hideout—a tiny, forgotten storage room above an old laundromat. The place smelt like fabric softener and rotten wood, but it was perfect.

You fumbled with the keys, your fingers still trembling. Inside, the room was just as you left it: small, cluttered with thrift store finds, and walls covered with a collage of drawings and photos—none of which were yours. You had hoped they’d trigger something, anything, about who you were. Who you used to be. So far, no luck.

You slumped onto the bed and let out a breath you didn't realize you’d been holding. The room was quiet, but your mind was loud.

Just as you were about to chalk up the day's craziness to yet another episode you’d rather forget, a knock came at the door. Three sharp taps, like the punchline to a joke you weren’t in on.

You froze. Nobody knocked in this place, mostly because nobody knew you were here. Slowly, you crept to the door and peered through the peephole.

On the other side stood a guy in a sharp suit with a face that screamed government agent or maybe vacuum cleaner salesman. Next to him, a woman with red hair and a look that said she could dropkick you without breaking a sweat. Definitely not salespeople.

You opened the door a crack, enough to be heard, not enough to be grabbed. "Can I help you?"

The man smiled, and it was a practiced thing, like he’d done it in front of a mirror. "Lia?" he asked, his voice smooth like a radio host's. "We need to talk."

The woman chimed in, her voice just as calm but carrying a weight that made you listen. "It's about what happened at the museum today. And it's about you."

Everything in you told you to slam the door, to run and never stop running. But something else, something tired of running and hiding, wanted to stay. Maybe they had answers. Maybe they could tell you who you really were.

So, you opened the door wider, stepped back, and let them walk in.

You moved towards the window; your body tensed for flight if it turned out these people were here to hurt you. As the quiet of your room settled back in around you, you studied your unexpected guests. Agent Coulson was giving you a kind of half-smile that seemed meant to reassure you, while Natasha looked like someone who didn't do much without a reason.

Natasha took a step forward, her eyes not just seeing you, but reading you, "We've been tracking incidents like the one at the museum for a while now," she said. "Unexplained phenomena. Memories made real. They've happened in cities across the globe—Paris, Cairo, Bangkok,”

Your heart skipped. You’d never thought much about how you ended up in those places. You just... went where you felt you needed to be, slipping onto planes and boats, always just out of sight, never questioned. No tickets, no passport, no problem. It was as if the world itself had forgotten you needed those things.

Coulson chimed in, "Your... talent, it's quite extraordinary. And it's brought you to our attention for a reason. We think you can be more than just a ghost moving through the crowds."

The words hit you harder than expected. A ghost—that's exactly what you’d felt like. A nobody. A nothing. Just someone on the run. Someone who didn’t have a home or a family at least not one you could remember. But these people—these Avengers? They were offering you a chance to be something more. What should you do?

Go or stay?

"We can help you," Natasha said, and it wasn't a question. "Help you control it, use it. You've been surviving, but you could be living. With us."

You looked between them, the offer hanging heavy in the air. You had spent so long hiding in plain sight, a part of you was screaming to keep it that way. Safe. Invisible. But another part—a part you’d buried deep long ago—wanted to step into the light, to be seen, to be somebody. To be loved.

Finally, you nodded. "I want... I want to understand," you said, the words a whisper but clear. "I want to remember."

Coulson’s smile turned genuine this time, and Natasha’s posture relaxed just a fraction. "Good," Natasha replied. "Because we start tomorrow. We'll teach you, train you. And maybe along the way, we'll find out where you've really come from."

Coulson reached out his hand, a card tucked between his fingers and you immediately recoiled. Natasha took the card from his hand and placed it on the table.

“It has the address on it,” she told you, keeping her distance from you, “Time too. Don’t be late,” she added walking out, Coulson following behind. He shot you a small, apologetic smile as he left.

***

After a night of tossing and turning, the dawn finally broke free and it was time to head out. Was this the start of your new life? Should you get your hopes up? Probably not. If you don’t, at least you won’t be disappointed.

After navigating the busy sidewalks and dodging psychotic cab drivers, you found yourself gazing up at the Avengers Tower, its glass facade reflecting the bustling city life below. It was massive, stretching up into the clouds like Jack’s beanstalk.

Taking a shaky breath, you stepped through the sliding doors. Your sneakers scuffed the gleaming floor of the Avengers Tower as you entered, your eyes darting up to the dizzying heights of the lobby's ceiling. The place was like a slice of the future, dropped right in the middle of New York City, all shiny metal and cool blue light.

You stood there for a second, feeling small and insignificant in the buzz of the place. People were everywhere, striding by, talking into earpieces, and tapping on tablets. Your heart thumped a nervous rhythm, but you squared your shoulders and took a step forward. No more hiding.

A man with a badge and a tie approached you with a business-like smile. "Lia?" His voice was smooth, practiced. He gestured toward the elevators with a sweep of his hand. "Right this way."

You rode up in silence, focusing on the numbers on the elevator panel climbing trying to distract yourself from the proximity of the stranger and the fact there was no escape. You felt the weight of the building above you, full of heroes and stories and now, maybe, a place for you too.

No. don’t get your hopes up. You told yourself.

The training floor was like stepping onto another planet. You hadn’t seen this much technology in an electronic store. It was all open space and moving parts, with areas marked out for fighting, climbing, and things you couldn't even hazard a guess at. High above, screens showed maps and data flickering past too fast for you to read.

Soon your gaze fell on Natasha, looking every inch the hero, you had seen on TV, but realer, somehow. "Glad you could make it," she said, and there was a thread of something like pride in her voice. You just nodded, forcing a small polite smile, “We’re gonna do some hand-to-hand combat, see what you can do. You okay with that?”

Not really, you thought, the last time you fought was for survival. Kill or be killed. You’d rather not have taken another life, but he left you no choice. But at least he deserved to die. There were others that didn’t. Others that died at your hand.

“Okay,” she murmured, the word barely making it out before being swallowed by the expanse of the room. It was a lie wrapped in a whisper.

Natasha nodded, sensing the tremor in your voice, the shadow of understanding passed over her eyes. "We'll take it slow," she assured, though you both knew that in combat, there's no such thing.

As you squared off, you could feel the ghosts of your past rising up, specters waiting to see if you’d fall back into your old patterns. But this was a new day, a new place, with rules you were still trying to understand. Here, you weren’t a weapon, but a lost soul seeking redemption—one carefully controlled move at a time.

Your practice session was in full swing when the heavy thud of boots drew your attention to the entrance, where you found the Avengers.

A tall blonde man led the pack, his presence commanding yet genial. He approached you with an easy stride, a congenial smile playing on his lips. "Hi, Lia. I'm Steve Rogers," he said, extending his hand in greeting.

The gesture, meant to be friendly, was a trigger. Your instincts, honed by too many betrayals and battles, kicked in. Your muscles tensed, your stance shifted, ready to move, to defend. You didn't see Captain America, the symbol of trust and bravery; you saw a potential threat, another combatant in the long line you had faced.

You recoiled sharply, stepping back and away from the offered hand. Steve's hand hung in the air. His smile faltered into a look of concern, and he slowly lowered his arm, taking a step back to respect your space. The reaction reminded him of what Bucky was like when he first arrived. The room filled with a tense silence, each Avenger processing the scene, recalibrating their approach.

"I... I'm sorry," You stammered, the words escaping you in a rush, "I didn't mean—"

Steve shook his head gently, cutting you off. "No need to apologize," he reassured you.

The other Avengers exchanged glances, their initial assessments of you now tinged with a new understanding. They saw not just a potential ally with valuable skills, but a person still grappling with the shadows of their past, still fighting a war within yourself that hadn't yet ended.

With the tension still hanging in the air like a thick fog. They didn't advance any further, but they continued their introductions, each mindful of your space.

Tony Stark, with his hands safely tucked away, gave a little wave from a distance. "Tony," he said simply, opting for a nod instead of his usual flamboyant welcome.

Bruce Banner offered a warm, empathetic smile, his hands clasped in front of him. "Bruce here. I know a thing or two about keeping a lid on it," he said with a gentle chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

Clint Barton remained where he was, leaning against the wall with a friendly grin. "Clint."

Thor’s voice, always filled with a regal boom, softened slightly out of respect for you, "Thor of Asgard," he introduced himself with a small bow of his head rather than his usual enthusiastic handshake.

Bucky Barnes watched you with an understanding that came from shared experiences. He simply nodded, his introduction a quiet murmur. "Bucky."

As the Avengers took their places along the edge of the training area, Natasha turned back to you, her expression both understanding and focused. "Ready to keep going?" she asked, her tone suggesting you could stop at any moment if you felt uncomfortable.

You nodded, your breath steadying as you found your footing again. The session resumed with Natasha guiding you through a series of defensive moves, demonstrating and then watching as you mimicked them. Your movements were precise, almost too perfect, each one carried out with a fluidity that spoke of muscle memory ingrained from countless battles.

After the session, they gathered to discuss privately, leaving you to reflect on your performance and your past. Each member had an opinion about you, Steve voiced his impression first, noting your skill and potential. Natasha spoke of your control and focus. Tony, ever the skeptic, remained quiet, observing and calculating. Bruce empathized with your struggle for control, and Clint expressed his belief in your abilities. Thor saw a warrior's spirit, and Bucky, he saw a reflection of his own path to redemption.Top of Form

"I know what it's like to be on the outside, to not know if you can control what you've become. She needs this. We might be the only ones who can help her." Bucky added, his voice steady and sure.

Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I get it. She's special, mysterious, but we're not a charity. We can't keep picking up strays." He added, he looked over to Bucky, “No offence, Robo-Cop,”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “I think we should give her a chance,” There were nods and a few "hmms" of agreement.

Tony was still on the fence and Nat rolled her eyes, “You can afford it,”

Tony shot her a mock glare, but the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement. "I suppose the Tower can house one more," he conceded, a begrudging warmth seeping into his voice, “There’s a spare room beside Wanda,”

Natasha found you where they'd left you, still on the training mat, now sitting you’re your knees pulled up to your chest, lost in thought. You looked up as Natasha approached, your guard visibly rising again.

Natasha didn't waste time with pleasantries. "You're in," she said, her voice carrying a firmness that left no room for doubt. "Welcome to the Avengers."

The words hung in the air for a moment, heavy with promise and uncertainty. Your face remained guarded, but a flicker of something—relief, perhaps, or cautious hope—passed over your features, "Thank you," you said, your voice almost a whisper.

Natasha gestured for you to follow. "Come on. I'll show you to your room."

You walked in silence as she led you to a room not far from the main living area. "This will be your space," she said, opening the door to a room that was simple and clean, with a bed, a desk, and a window that looked out over the city, “I know it’s bare but you can decorate it how you want,”

You stepped inside tentatively, your eyes taking in every detail of the room. It was more than you’d expected, a place of your own within this fortress of heroes. "It's perfect," you said, allowing yourself a small smile as you ran your fingers over the smooth fabric of the bedspread.

Natasha leaned against the doorframe as your eyes floated around the room, she spoke up softly as not to startle you, “Dinner is in an hour, it’s pizza night, any preference?”

“Cheese is okay,” you replied, not wanting to be awkward and order something too extra.

“Okay, we usually eat all together but I can bring it up and you can eat in here if you prefer,” she offered, you nodded, but something in her face showed that she already knew what your decision would be. She gave you a nod and a smile before closing the door to give you privacy.

Your eyes left the closed door and started scanning the room again. The walls were a soft shade of cream, bare and waiting for a personal touch. You weren’t sure you had. It had a bed, neatly made with crisp white linens and a sturdy desk sat patiently against one wall.

But the big window was what really caught her eye. It was huge, like a giant TV screen showing the live bustle of the city below. She could see the tiny cars and people moving down there, all busy and rushing around, unaware of the girl who watched from above.

You went up to the window and pressed your hands against it. It felt cool and a little bit thrilling to see everything from up so high.

This room was a new start, a blank page. But even with the excitement, you couldn't shake off the jitters in your belly. You were scared of getting hurt again, scared of someone turning on you. Scared of turning into the thing you hated most. The killer that was planted within you. This place was safe, they said, but you’d heard that before.

Hugging yourself, you tried to imagine being part of all that life below. The room felt like a cozy nest, but you were like a bird that wasn't sure how to fly yet. One who had forgotten how to.

As the sun started to set, the sky turned all kinds of pretty colors, and lights began twinkling on in the buildings and streets. Maybe one day, you thought, one of those lights would feel like home to you.

For tonight, you were just a girl with a new room, looking out at the city and feeling a mix of hope and worry. Tomorrow you’d start figuring out how to fit into this new life. But right now, you were okay just watching and waiting, high above the quiet city that was slowly going to sleep.

An hour later, there was a soft knock on your door. You opened it to see Natasha, who remained on the other side of the threshold, a respectful distance away, holding a pizza box. The aroma of melted cheese hinted at the contents, “Here's your cheese pizza,”

You took the box, feeling the warmth from the bottom seep into your hands. “Thanks,” she replied, her stomach rumbling in response.

Natasha gave you a quick nod. “Enjoy,” she said, and then she was gone, leaving you alone with your pizza and the view of the city lights below.

[A/N] the song I listened to writing this 😂

#reader insert #female reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #the avengers #avengers x reader #Spotify

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owtenen · 1 year

Text

Predictable Actions

Cleo and Scar gives Bdubs a chance to prove his loyalties. He does exactly what they both expected.

The Ethubs final episode we needed.

TW: major major major depictions of injury/violence like wow i was very very graphic for literally no reason other than angst so…. yeah

———— word count: a lot…. i’m so sorry

“Mom!” Scar’s voice boomed through the rock, Bdubs jumped, he was focusing hard on the straps on his boots, Cleo wasn’t as startled.

“What is it Scar?”

“Come out here!” Cleo and Bdubs turned to look at each other, Scars voice was hungry and deep, and they both knew that meant blood was about to be spilled.

Bdubs hadn’t stepped out of the base in hours, and he found it hard to believe the moon was already high above their heads. He watched as the stars and the moon pulsed with light, and how the bridges in the sky left dark shadows in front of them. He wished he could sleep, the moon was too big here, too visible, it made his bones hurt and his hands shake.

“Don’t do it, Scar!” Skizz’s voice next to him made him come back into the present, and he sucked in a horrified breath when he realized what was happening before him.

Scar was in the center of a small ring of people. Tango had his bow drawn, and Impulse and Skizz both had their swords out. Cleo straightened beside him, and he could see shadows of the Bad Boys next to them.

“What’s all this?” Pearl’s voice came from behind Scar, and when he turned, Scott, Martyn, and BigB were there too.

Scar turned around to face his teammates then, and when he did, he dragged a half conscious body around with him.

“Etho-“ Bdubs said softly, immediately taking a step forward. He was stopped by Cleo, who put out a strong arm in front of him to stop him from going any further.

“Stay here, Bdubs.” He pressed his lips into a line and stepped back into his original place.

Etho looked horrible. His headband was missing and hair was full of dirt, and as Bdubs studied his head, he saw a large gash on the side of it next to his ear. It was bleeding bad, and if he didn’t get it checked out soon, Bdubs knew it would kill him.

Scar was holding Etho by his vest, and his shirt was ripped enough for everyone to see a large slash across his chest. Whatever Scar had done to Etho, it obviously wasn’t good.

“Scar! What did you do?” Bdubs tried his best to keep his voice normal, but he wanted to throw up at the sight of this. He needed to help Etho.

Scars smile was deadly, and he pushed his victim off of his knees and onto the ground. Etho tried to stop his fall his his arms, but they gave out leaving Etho fully lying on the hard rock, staining it with his blood.

“This is cruel, Scar. Even for you.” Tango pulled his bow back even more, and Bdubs knew he was about five seconds away from firing.

“Calm down! I’m not gonna do anything!” Scar held up his hands, and cocked his head towards Cleo again, “She told me to bring him here.”

Bdubs turned to Cleo, whose eyes were just as dark as Scars. He felt a gut wrenching feeling in his stomach, and stepped just a fraction of a step away from her, “What are you doing?”

Cleo turned to Bdubs, and held out her sword, “Letting you prove your loyalty.” She stepped away from Bdubs and towards Scar in the middle of the circle, the rest of TIES tensed up even more, and Tango moved so his arrow was pointed at Cleo. “Come here Bdubs.”

He didn’t, in fact, come here. He stayed right where he was, “No. What are you doing?”

Cleo gave him a death glare, and Bdubs all but turned into a puddle, slowly making his way over to his team.

As Bdubs walked closer, he pointedly did not look at Etho, but when he got to them, he couldn’t help noticing how his old friend slowly tried to get back up to his knees.

“Bdubs…” His voice was painful and barely a whisper, and as Scar pushed his head down, Bdubs had to close his eyes for a minute to compose himself.

When he opened them again, Cleo and Scar where a couple steps away and staring at him, “Kill him.”

Bdubs stood silent for more than a couple seconds, not processing what Cleo had just said. “What?”

“Kill him. Kill Etho.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

Cleo raised an eyebrow, “No. He’s our enemy. He killed your teammate just a few hours ago.” She pointed at Scar’s neck, which still had deep red marks where the fishing rod wrapped around it. Bdubs flinched, “So. Kill him.”

“Why me! Why don’t you do it?” Bdubs voice cracked, and Scar laughed at him. It sent bile up his throat, but he swallowed it down.

“Because we need to trust you.” Scar said, his voice on the verge of laughter.

“Kill him. For Scar and I.”

He looked around at the others in the circle. Tango and Impulse were staring at him with hate in their eyes, and Skizz looked absolutely terrified. He turned his attention to his Neighbors and the Mean Gills, who were looking on with suspicion and interest. He didn’t turn fully around to see the Bad Boys, but he could hear Jimmy and Joel muttered to each other.

He still didn’t look at Etho, instead, looking back at Scar and Cleo. “No. I can’t- He’s… he’s our ally! He made a mistake, Scar.”

They were having none of it, Cleo took a step closer to Bdubs, and snarled, “Kill him, or I’ll do it and you’ll be next.” She grabbed her axe and held it against Bdubs’ chest, “Your choice, son.”

His heart rate was beating a million miles an hour, but he had the strength in his body to nod once at Cleo, who in turn stepped back to give him some more space.

He finally looked down at Etho, who in the moments before managed to get up onto his knees again. They locked eyes, and Bdubs knew how scared Etho was in that moment. His good eye was blown wide with adrenaline and fear, and Bdubs suspected his redstone one was too damaged to see out of. “Do it.” Etho’s voice was just as small and horse as before, and it broke him even more. “It’s just an hour.”

Bdubs stepped back, his mind was in a million places at once, Cleo’s axe at his back and Etho’s face staring at him was too much. He took a breath, and slowly raised his sword to Etho’s neck.

Tango shot an arrow and it wizzed past his head, “Watch it, Bdubs. The next one will hit your face.”

“Bdubs, common man.” Skizz’s plea made his legs shake, and he almost had half a mind to drop the sword completely.

Then Cleo pushed her axe into his back slightly, and he tensed up again.

Etho closed his eyes and tilted his head, and Bdubs took another breath and pressed into his neck more. This game was supposed to just be 24 hours. So much better than the last times where they would be away from home for months. He didn’t want to come back, but Etho told him that there wasn’t anything important that could happen in that amount of time. He promised that they would be back in bed, whispering sweet nothings to each other before they both knew it, and that’s why Bdubs had agreed to this deal in the first place.

Now he was standing above his love with a sword to their throat and an axe to his back. Killing Etho was never an option in Bdubs’ mind. Even if they pretended to hate each other for the sake of the game, even if they stole and taunted and lied to each other, killing Etho had never been his plan, and here he was about to cut his throat in front of everyone. How did it all go so wrong in 24 hours?

Etho nodded, as if hearing all of Bdubs’ inner monologue, and Bdubs took yet another deep breath.

He raised his sword up over his head, and he saw Etho tense his entire body. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Impulse move in, and Skizz draw his sword.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, and swung the sword.

He swung high, missing Etho’s head and turning around fully to the body behind him. Without warning, he dove his sword into Cleo’s chest, and flinched hard when he heard her axe clatter on the rocks below them.

“Wh-“ Cleo’s eyes were wide, and she grabbed on to Bdubs’ hands in front of them. Everyone was quite, and Cleo slowly turned her eyes up towards Bdubs’ own.

“I’m sorry.” Bdubs whispered, and before Cleo had a chance to respond, he pulled the sword out with a horrifying squelch. Before her body could fall to the ground, she disappeared without a trace, going into the afterlife to respawn.

He turned around fast, only getting a second to register everyone’s shocked and confused faces before Scar lunged at him, his sword slicing his arm deep. He yelped, but quickly got his bearings and blocked the next blow with his own sword.

“Scar- Scar common.”

“You killed mom!” Scar’s anger was terrifying, and yet Bdubs knew it made him sloppy. As Scar stepped back to go for another blow, Bdubs lunged forward and slashed him in the gut, making him disappear almost instantly.

It was quite again, and he took the time to drop his sword and help Etho up from where he was kneeling on the ground. He took Bdubs’ hand instantly, leaning all his weight on him like a ragdoll.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“We need to get you back to your base.”

“Bdubs-“

“Bdubs!” Cleo’s voice rang out over the rocks, and Bdubs’ heart rate went from fast to faster.

“Common.” He turned to Tango, whose bow was now half loaded and pointed at the ground, “A little help? Maybe?”

That seemed to snap all of the TIES back to attention, and they all made their way to over to Etho to help him back on his feet, “We have supplies in the tower, let’s go.”

As they started walking away, Bdubs felt an arrow pierce his shoulder. Hissing in pain, he turned around and looked over to where Cleo and Scar were standing.

Scar had his bow out, and Cleo had her axe and sword, “You’ve chosen your side, Bdubs.”

He felt Etho’s hands on his upper back, and a pinch of pain as he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. The warm feeling of blood running down his back was grounding, and he felt the wind on his face again. “I’m sorry.”

Cleo just smirked, but it was angry, “No you’re not.” She spat, “And you’re going to regret this.”

As he stared up at his now former alliance, he felt Etho’s hands around his arm again, “Common, Bdubs. Let’s go.”

After one more moment, Bdubs just to look back at Etho and his teammates. They might not want him here, but Etho did and that’s what matters.

“Let’s just get Etho back to the tower.”

Etho leaned on Bdubs the entire walk back, and Bdubs held onto him tight for the rest of the night.

————

Oops my hand slipped.

I was literally going to make this so much longer but then i saw how long the “box” was and i was like bitch ain’t nobody gonna read any more than that so i stopped 😭 maybe i’ll write a part 2 but that would mean committing and finishing a fic and…. yeah that’s never gonna happen

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