#because she's clearly been scared out of her wits and the whole situation is incredibly stressful

[notthesamemoon]

Apart

Another little fic for Melanie and the Headwoods, because it seems I’m on a roll with these. Thank you so much for the lovely feedback on the previous one, this fandom truly has the nicest people! 

This time, the prompt was “Keep the ice on it” from this prompt list. 

Apart

It turns out that when you give Joseph Wilford a good, well–deserved punch in the face, only two people get as angry (or even more so) as the man himself. 

Having finally fulfilled her nearly life-long dream, Melanie was sitting in the Headwoods’ lab with a pack of ice on her bruised and (barely, mind you) bleeding knuckles. She had no regrets. The adrenaline that lingered in her system from the recent events ensured that the pain in her hand remained but a dull ache. 

”That was incredibly stupid!”

Mrs. Headwood’s exclamation paired with Mr. Headwood’s glare clearly indicated that the two were not pleased with her actions. This was no surprise to Melanie, who had objected to going to the Headwoods in the first place. Ben, however, had insisted that the Headwoods could provide them (her) with the asylum that was sure to be needed after Wilford recovered from the shock of Melanie losing her composure.

Both her hand and Wilford’s face would have been in much worse a state had Ben not been there to wrestle Melanie away from the man. The insult Wilford had unleashed at the two of them had been nothing of importance, nothing Melanie had not heard before. Nevertheless, something inside her had snapped. As well as something under Wilford’s skin, which Melanie reminisced on with great pleasure. 

”Well, that much is obvious. Have you considered, maybe, that it was also just as fun as it was stupid?”

Melanie knew that her light-hearted take on the situation would not sit well with the two doctors standing on the other side of the table on which her hand was resting. They were worried and scared, she knew that, but she did not have the patience to wait for their worry to manifest into something more easily digestible than anger. She moved to remove the ice pack from her hand. 

”Keep the ice on it!” Came the instant reprimand from Mrs. Headwood. Ben, who was standing by Melanie’s side, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to keep her from standing up. 

”There are other ways to have fun on this train, however scarce they may be nowadays.” Mr. Headwood had taken a slightly calmer approach to the situation compared to his wife. However, the slight tremor in his voice betrayed the anger and shock that Melanie’s recklessness and lack of thought for self-preservation had awakened.

Melanie sighed and leaned back on the chair. Her whole exterior reflected a stubborn defiance, which she could have further emphasized only by crossing her arms. Unfortunately, she had just been denied that pleasure.

Mr. Headwood took a seat across from her, placing his hands on the table that separated him from Melanie. 

”He will come after you, there’s no way he will let this slide. No matter the lack of witnesses. When it’s you, he won’t stop.” 

”I know that.”

”Then why, Melanie? You know better. You always have.”

Melanie stared into his eyes before answering. She glanced upward at Mrs. Headwood, who was still standing and looking at her with furious exasperation. She felt like a teenager who had been caught smoking a joint behind the garage and was now about to be grounded for life. Ignoring her desire to voice this notion, she returned her gaze at Mr. Headwood. 

”I want him gone. I need him gone. I’ve had enough of his shit for fifteen lifetimes.”

At that, the expression on Mrs. Headwood’s face softened. 

”We know. And you know we are all working on it. We have an opportunity, but we need to be patient.”

”I’ve had enough of being patient!”

This time, as Melanie stood up, the ice pack was successfully flung over the edge of the table.

”I’ve had enough of walking on eggshells around him, of sneaking around, of endless plotting and serving as the expert on Wilford behavior! I’ve had enough of working with discretion, while HE gets to run around shoving people’s arms through ports in the walls. I’ve had enough of watching him get his way without ANY repercussions!”

The silence that followed was broken only by her heavy breathing. 

Ben and the Headwoods exchanged meaningful looks. Ben brushed Melanie’s arm on his way past her. ”I’m going to call Ruth to let her know that you will be joining her and the others in hiding.”

Realizing what that meant, finally facing the weight of the consequences of her initial outburst, Melanie lost all the fight that had been left in her. 

”I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

”We’ll see each other again soon enough, sweetheart.”

”We are close to the end of this war.”

”He will lose.”

”And he will never touch you again.”

”Or anyone else.”

”We’d like to tend to that hand of yours, if it’s okay with you.” 

Melanie allowed Mrs. Headwood to lead her back to the table, where Mr. Headwood was already gathering supplies. As she sat back down, she extended her hand to the doctors who started testing for any possible damage it may have suffered.

Finally, with her hand neatly wrapped, Melanie stood up. Without a word, the Headwoods mimicked her action and walked around the table to meet Melanie on her side. Still silent, they pulled her into a tight hug. 

That was how Ben found them when he returned to the lab. Even though everything was ready for Melanie’s disappearance and time was not something they had enough to waste, he decided to give them a few more minutes of peace before having to break them apart.

#Melanie Cavill #melanie cavill fanfic #melanie cavill fic #the headwoods #the headwoods fic #snowpiercer tnt #snowpiercer fic #my writing

[oetravia]

Every Brainia Scene Ever: 4x21 [7/8]

#supergirl #supergirledit #brainia #brainiaedit #dreamdox #brainiac 5 #nia nal #querl dox #look I'm going to give Nia the benefit of the doubt in terms of not noticing something was very seriously wrong with Brainy #because she's clearly been scared out of her wits and the whole situation is incredibly stressful #plus it's abundantly clear immediately just how *relieved* she is when she sees it's him opening the doors #(but boy is it frustrating - they know each other better than anyone and she doesn't think it's weird how differently he's #not just talking but also his general tone and movement?) #but I do appreciate the fact that the moment she had a hand free her focus was immediately back to saving the other aliens - an angel #and the shift in her attitude and expression the second Brainy offers his hand and when she takes it. She's so hopeful but also tentative #and the fear in her voice when she realises that he really is going to abandon her and leave her to go through the portal #honestly no wonder Brainy was so distraught when he came back to himself and could dwell on his actions #random sidenote: I'm surprised they didn't remove her mask to find out who Dreamer is - the amount of leverage they could've had #anyway #mine #my gifs #otp: what does love feel like? #*ebs

[object-show-analysis]

MePhone’s past, and how it relates to the contestants.

So a while back, Taylor said this in relation to how the gemories aligne with the contestant who took them.

While we aren’t outright told any similarities, here’s my theory on how each one connects.

TestTube:

The first to touch a gemory, the memory that TestTube sees isn’t one thats very obviously related to her. But there are some common themes that we can identify.

knowledge, creation, and parenthood

In this memory we witness MePhone’s first awakening. His birth. He’s young and struggles to understand the world around him (we see this as he messes up a well known joke). Cobs however, is incredibly smart. He knows things that MePhone doesn’t. He expects MePhone to learn from his example. Cobs, as a character, is essentially MePhone’s father. It’s his responsibility to care for MePhone (a responsibility that he certainly doesn’t handle well). At this point, TestTube has a sort of co-ownership with Fan over The Egg. And while Fan sees The Egg as a living breathing child, similar to how we as the audience are meant to view MePhone in the flashbacks, TestTube views The Egg as a Thing. Something that can be studied. A learning tool. Similarly to how Cobs views MePhone as a machine and nothing more. While TestTube is nothing like Cobs, it’s important to acknowledge these parallels in understanding.

Knife:

Knife at the beginning of season 2 is quickly labeled as Uncaring and Lazy by his fellow teammates. We see an example of this when Nickel tells him to sit out. But we know he’s so much more than that. He’s passionate. Incredibly so. And kind in a way that really matters. We see these themes of Passion, Expectation, and Misunderstandings in MePhone’s memory.

In the memory that Knife sees, MePhone is sitting on a couch, watching a reality TV show (that will later inspire him to host inanimate insanity). Cobs walks in, judges him for his laziness, and makes his great expectations clear. Completely ignoring MePhone’s immense passion for reality TV because in Cobs’ opinion, it’s unimportant and immature. Being accused of immaturity is also something that Knife can relate to, as he was judged for playing will his doll, Dora.

Lightbulb:

Lightbulb’s gemory seems to fit her very well considering how it relates to the bigger picture. This memory on it’s own shows no concerning behavior, as it just appears to be MePhone and Cobs training together. It’s only until that scene is put in context with the rest of the flashbacks that we understand the darker sentiment behind Cobs’ words and actions.

I think Lightbulb can relate a lot to this. She is often viewed as silly and quirky and inexperienced. But when her actions are put into the context of her character, we see that she’s much deeper than what originally appeared. She struggles to talk about her feelings and hides her depression. She feels lonely and is afraid to let anyone know. She tries quite hard even though the people around her don’t seem to appreciate her efforts.

That’s another thing that Lightbulb can relate to in the scene. Being seen as a screw up. Both Lightbulb and MePhone show great effort in achieving their goals, and neither of them are appreciated for it.

Baseball:

Baseball has struggled a lot up until this point in the show. Episode 13 is when he really begins to calm down and think on his actions more. So it makes sense that his gemory would show themes of inadequacy, anger and improvement.

Before this episode, Baseball was very angry. Practically mute with rage. In the flashback that he sees, this is when we see Cobs at his most angry. Baseball also feels like he didn’t do enough to keep his alliance together. He has a lot of regrets regarding both Suitcase and Nickel. So in a way, he also relates to MePhone not being “good enough” for Cobs.

The main message that Baseball seems to take away from the memory, however, is Improvement. Baseball has been trying hard to get better and patch up friendships, even starting new ones. So when he hears Cobs’ say “you’re improving”, it seems to really resonate with him.

Suitcase:

Suitcase has by far the most disturbing memory of any of the contestants, and in a way this makes sense.

Suitcase has been really struggling with her delusions and hallucinations. Episode 13 is when she finally opens up to someone (Fan) about her struggles. She has trouble telling apart what’s reality, and clearly that scares her. She knows something is wrong, but has no way of knowing what. While MePhone isn’t in a similar situation, I think he has similar feelings in this flashback.

In the flashback that suitcase sees, MePhone’s entire world crumbles. He’s clearly known something was wrong, and that Cobs was hiding something from him, but he didn’t know what. When he goes to the closet and wakes up MePhone3GS, he learns that everything he thought he knew wasn’t real at all.

It’s also important to note that the small computer that Suitcase witnessed in her first hallucination on the show appears in this flashback as well, though it’s unclear if this was really part of the memory, or if somehow her hallucinations effected the gemory

Taco:

I won’t lie, this was the hardest one to figure out as we don’t get to see Taco’s reaction to the memory itself. In fact we don’t see this memory until after MePhone has woken up, and Toilet reminds him of A.D.A.M.

We don’t see much in this flashback (though it’s possible we’re not seeing the whole picture). All we see is Cobs working on ADAM, putting him in the closet, and locking the door (which leads to MePhone learning the door code and eventually sneaking in)

This scene, while short, does show themes of secrets and realization. Something that relates to Taco’s character and more importantly, the people around her.

This memory is the point where we see MePhone really piece together the fact that he’s being lied to, as Taco lied to the season 1 contestants. He looks to Steve for guidance. He trusts him. He expects Cobs to keep him safe. Though in this scene he learns that there are things Steve hasn’t told him. Just as Microphone relies on Taco and (as shown in episode 12 and 13) comes to understand that there are things Taco hasn’t told her. In fact, Taco only really commits to being more open and honest with Mic after witnessing this memory, though it’s unclear if this was an effect of the gemory itself.

It’s also important to note that this is the episode when Microphone gains the one piece of information (Taco’s past with Pickle) that will eventually lead to her leaving Taco. Just as MePhone gains the one piece of information (Adam/the door code) that will eventually lead to him leaving Cobs.

I feel it’s important to say that I am no way comparing any of these characters directly to Steve Cobs. I love each and every one of them, and believe none of them would stoop to his level. I am simply pointing out the similarities in specific scenes, in an attempt to better understand them as characters.

#woah my first post #i figured I needed a place to put all of my analysis. this seemed the best. #feel free to add any thoughts of your own onto this. I’m always excited for discussion. #long post #tags for organization: #inanimate insanity #TestTube ii #knife ii #lightbulb ii #baseball ii #suitcase ii #taco ii #MePhone ii #Steve cobs ii #Adam ii

[iamapoopmuffin]

Angst But It’s Team Chaotix

Fandom: Sonic The Hedgehog Genre: Angst (obvs) with a little bit of hurt/comfort Characters: Charmy Bee, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, Miles ‘Tails’ Prower Trigger warnings: Kidnapping, trafficking, child abuse, descriptions of major injuries

Kidnappers in Seaside City set their sights on some rare specimens sure to net them a good price, and are none too happy when they try and make their escape. Team Chaotix are hot on the trail, with some back up from old friends, but time slips away all too quickly and with one of their own at risk, arriving just moments too late could have catastrophic consequences.

The world around him swam and blurred, hazing through various degrees of out of focus. Never quite in. He was face down on the ground. It was warm. He expected cold, but the ground was warm, like hot sand on a beach. And it hurt. His hand hurt, his head hurt, it really hurt. A sharp, throbbing pain, worse than anything he'd ever felt before. His instinct was to raise his hand, his good one, up to his head, to where it hurt, but he had to move first. Something dripped down the edge of his helmet and onto his face, and he squeezed his eyes shut, closing out the wavering, nauseating world.

Charmy lay still for several minutes, gritting his teeth, breathing in shattered sobs. He was crying. It hurt so much, he was crying. It took a lot of courage to get his good hand underneath him, to push himself up, and the movement made him feel very ill. He wanted to throw up. Scratch that, he was going to throw up.

"V-Vector...Espio?" Charmy tried to call out for them once he'd finished gagging, but it came out more as a whimper. His own voice sounded strange, like it was muffled, or through a filter. He managed to open his eyes, tried to look around. Couldn't see anyone. A long corridor stretched out in front of him. He raised his hand, feeling over his helmet, trying to work out why blood was on top of it. Because that was what was dripping down his face and onto his shoulders, it was blood. He was bleeding. His hand ghosted over his left antenna...or rather, where his left antenna should have been. He cried out again as a fresh wave of agony shot from the point of contact, and a panicked voice in his head managed to make itself heard. The antenna was gone. It just...wasn't there.

What were you supposed to do when you woke up somewhere weird, all by yourself, a part of your body missing and everything hurting, no memory of what happened beforehand, no clue who had hurt you or why? He knew when he'd grazed a knee or something, Vector would sometimes put a sticky plaster on it, one with smiley faces. Smiley faces would be nice right now. And Vector, if Vector was here it would be better. Or Espio. Or even Knuckles. Just anyone.

But when he called for them, there was no answer. No-one came to get him. So Charmy did the only sensible thing for a six year old to do in such a situation. He cried harder.

------

The whole thing started as a report of kidnappings in the area. It was two little girls playing together not too far from the docks, supervised by one of their mothers. The mother said someone had grabbed her from behind and held a funny smelling rag over her mouth and nose, and as she struggled and fell unconscious, another man grabbed the children. All she knew for sure was that it was a man with blue fur.

Team Chaotix hadn't been officially tasked with this particular case, it had been taken straight to the police. Still, with this happening so close to their detective office, keeping their eyes open for a clue that could help find these two girls couldn't hurt.

Things became a bit more personal when the same man with the blue fur grabbed Charmy as well.

Having witnessed the kidnapping and having been assaulted by the kidnapper's buddies, Vector and Espio had a much more solid lead to follow, and promised to rescue not just Charmy, but the two missing girls as well. Having been injured in the attack, when they narrowed down their search to the most likely place, they brought some back up in the form of some good friends used to playing the role of hero.

At this point, Charmy had been missing a little over a day, and the two girls for two and a half. The search party/investigation team arrived at a strange complex. The kidnapped girls were found locked in a room, unharmed but obviously frightened and greatly distressed. They revealed to their rescuers that the boy who had been with them had helped them try to escape, but the man with the blue fur had caught him again and had threatened to hurt him if the girls didn't do as told. They didn't see him after they were locked back in the room, but they were pretty sure he struggled and one said she saw him try and bite the man.

At around the same time, Sonic, who had accompanied the Chaotix on this particular venture, claimed to have found the kidnapper and two cohorts and to have apprehended them. The three refused to tell him where Charmy was, and further pressing from Vector and Espio only got the kidnapper to say he found the child incredibly annoying. One of the other two insisted their boss had taken the child downstairs, and that they weren't privy to the exact whereabouts. The second had cursed out his friend for spilling.

Tails and Amy took it upon themselves to escort the two girls home, and Sonic assured them he would be right back as soon as he'd deposited the criminals in a secure place. With that, Vector and Espio ventured into the lower levels to find Charmy.

The first clue they found was a telltale patch of blood on an old rickety staircase that creaked every time they so much as looked at it. The blood was dry to the touch, and led into a renovated basement level that now seemed to serve as a recreational room of some sort. Under a locked trap door beneath a lumpy carpet was a narrow corridor with more blood, a patch on the floor and a swathe on the wall made by a little hand. This blood wasn't completely dry, and so must have been less than an hour old. As unnerving as this trail was, they were on the right track. It seemed this area was used purely for storage of old and broken objects, possibly adjacent to a boiler room, and there were plenty of small, tight spaces to hide. They made sure to keep an eye out for him as they searched.

And there, tucked into a tight space in a cluttered corner, was Charmy. He was shivering violently and whimpering. Vector bolted to his side, kneeling close and trying to reach into that tight space. "Charmy, hey, Charmy, can you hear me?"

"Vec...Vector?" The bee shifted until Vector could see his eye, red from crying so hard.

"Yeah, kid, I'm here. Are you hurt?"

"Hhhh..." The sound was more of a breathy, shuddering moan than a proper reply. Vector shifted back, holding both arms out.

"Come here, Charmy, let me see."

"...It hurts..."

"I know. Come here, let me see."

With some hesitation, he managed to coax the child out of his hiding place, and felt his heart drop as he saw the damage. Charmy's left hand was clearly broken. It was swollen, and three of the fingers were at an unnatural angle. He had blood drying on his face and his left antenna wasn't visible. Vector gently tilted the boy's head, trying to get a better look. There was a crack across the helmet as well. A slight dent. There must have been one hell of an impact against the poor kid's head. This was not something Vector knew how to deal with, this was...this was bad. A look back at his company told him Espio wasn't sure how to manage this sort of damage either. He took a steadying breath and placed his hands on Charmy's cheeks, trying to get him to look him in the eye.

"Okay, Charmy, I...I'm going to take off your helmet to get a better look at your head, okay? I'll try and do it without hurting you, but it might hurt just a teeny, tiny bit, okay?"

"No! No, don't make it hurt! I don't want it to hurt any more! I want the hurt to stop!" He started to squirm and Vector pulled him in, getting a proper grip on him to prevent him scrabbling away.

"It will stop, I promise, but first I need to see why it hurts, okay?"

"I want to go home!"

"We're going home. We'll head home as soon as I'm done checking you over, okay?"

"I'm here too." Espio assured him, moving in closer, hiding his clenched fists from the child's view, not wanting to concern him. "We've apprehended the one who did this to you. You're safe now, and rest assured you did well. The other children are safe as well."

That seemed to calm him a little. He was still crying, still shaking, but he wasn't trying to escape or pull away. In fact, he rested his head against Vector's chest, seeking warmth and comfort. He held onto the larger figure, gripping tight as if scared his friends, his family, might disappear if he let them. Vector took this as his opportunity to remove the helmet, wincing when this caused Charmy to cry out again. He passed the helmet behind him, for Espio to hold, and took a close look at the damage. Around the area the helmet had cracked was a nasty-looking swelling, and a bloodied stump was all that remained of his antenna. The mere thought of someone doing this, of causing so much pain and damage to one of his boys, of leaving the kid to suffer...it made his blood boil. It made him angrier than he'd ever remembered feeling before, and it also scared him. He hadn't been there when Charmy had needed him, and this was the result. This would change the kid's entire life, his entire future, an injury this bad.

"Vector. We need to take him to a doctor."

"I know." He growled back. "How fast do you think you can get him to one?"

"On foot by myself to Seaside City? Two hours. One-forty-five if lucky."

"Not good enough. Get Sonic."

"Roger."

He disappeared back up the trap door, and Sonic soon took his place, promising to get Charmy to a hospital safe and sound. Tails would return in his plane to pick Vector and Espio up and take them to the same hospital, as it would be faster than having them make their own way back on injured feet. When the doctor overseeing Charmy's treatment spoke to Vector, she made a few things clear. The damage to his head likely would have killed him had he not been wearing a helmet at the time, the missing antenna would almost certainly result in permanent hearing loss on the affected side, there was a possibility the broken bones in his hand and fingers could require surgical intervention to heal properly and they were, of course, going to keep him in until they were absolutely sure he was good to go. The exact damage to his brain and what effects it would have in the long term was still uncertain, and he would have to be monitored in regards to that as well. Overall, far from the best outcome, but still not the worst. He wasn't in danger of dying, at least, but if only, he kept thinking...if only he could have stopped this, made it so Charmy never got hurt at all.

#Also I just want you all to know the doctor at the end is a nurse shark #Also I couldn't think up a title at all #sonic the hedgehog #team chaotix #charmy bee #vector the crocodile #espio the chameleon #amy rose #miles tails prower #trigger warning #As with just about everything else I write I absolutely hate this #I don't know if they get free healthcare in Sonic's world or if Vector's going to be hit with medical bills he can't pay #It's sad dad times for Vector #Was originally going to have Knuckles Mighty and Ray but they got cut to make things easier on me #Also they were there before a major part of the story changed completely

[walkerwords]

“The Savior Sessions” Part 1 of 33 - Negan x GN!Reader

IMAGE CREDIT: Gene Page/AMC

SERIES MASTERLIST

Summary: This will be a collection of conversations set before the events of season 9 in which the reader speaks with Negan while in his cell as they recount events and memories from their time in the Apocalypse as well as stories of his own. 

Word Count: 2417

Warning: None

Song I Wrote To: “Open Season” by Josef Salvat

Note: These are going to be smaller stories that I will be updating randomly. Each fic will be a conversation/situation about Negan in his cell in Alexandria. Some maybe very short, others not. I am still working on the other stories, but I wanted to post this as I work on those as well. Thank you for your kind words about my family, I really appreciate it.

------

“I just don’t know why you’re asking me to do this, Michonne.” 

You stood across from Alexandria’s head of security in her kitchen. Michonne meticulously cleaned her Katana as you spoke, remaining calm the entire time. When she had asked you to meet her today, you never imagined this would be the reason. 

“Gabriel is worried about his state of mind,” Michonne said, “He thinks somebody should be speaking with him on a regular basis.” 

“Isn’t that already Gabriel’s job?” you asked. “He’s always the one who’s down there.” Michonne sighed, sliding the blade back into its sheath.

“He believes that he can no longer get through to him and that they’ve become too familiar with each other,” Michonne said, placing her sword down and bracing her hands against the kitchen counter, “I also think we can benefit from it and I suppose he can as well.” You frowned. 

“You’re asking me to become Negan’s therapist,” you pointed out. “How is any of that beneficial?”

“Whether we like it or not, Negan did run an entire community unchallenged. He may have insight into this world that we don’t and I have started to think that perhaps keeping him so isolated isn’t doing anyone any good,” Michonne explained. “I am asking you because you don’t have a relationship with him. The two of you never interacted during the war and you made sure to stay out of his line of sight for most of it. You’re not a total stranger, but he doesn’t know you like he knows Gabriel, me, or even Aaron.”

“So, basically, you want someone he can’t push around by pushing their buttons,” you concluded and Michonne grimaced. 

“You were also a teacher, (Y/N),” said Michonne, “that is something you two have in common. Maybe that will get him to open up or at least… God, I don’t know what I want the outcome to be, but Rick wanted Negan to be a symbol for how we can grow as a society. I don’t know if he can ever be redeemed, but if he can even a small amount, then it may start with you.” 

“You pulled out your Rick card,” you said with a sigh, “not fair.” Michonne smiled with a shrug. 

“I knew it would come in handy someday,” she said and you finally gave in. 

“Okay, I will be the big bad wolf’s confidant, but if he tries anything or pisses me off to a degree that makes me want to commit murder, that’s on Gabriel,” you said with a wink and Michonne visibly relaxed. 

“Thank you, (Y/N),” she said, relieved. “I’m going to let you run it the way you want to, but try not to piss him off if you can.” You smiled at her brightly. 

“Oh, you know me, Michonne, something like that is inevitable.”

-----

When you arrived at the cell an hour later, you dismissed the guard who stood out front. 

If you were going to be talking to Negan to gain insight and trust, you didn’t see the need for a chaperone. As the guard left, you pushed open the heavy door and sealed it behind you. 

“Gabe, if you’re here to give me another life lesson, you can save it. I’m not in the mood,” Negan said in the darkness of his cell. You had never been this close to the man before. You had fought against the Saviors of course, but always at an outpost or in a larger fight. Rick had also used your talents with the sniper rifle and kept you up high most of the time. This whole situation was alien to you and while it was unnerving to be so near to a killer, you didn’t let that stop you from stepping out of the shadows. 

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not Father Gabriel,” you said, dragging a chair from the wall and centering it before the jail cell. Negan, who had been laying on his bed with his back to the door, slowly sat up and turned towards you.

In the cool light of the room, you could see him clearly now. His hair was shorter than the last time you had seen him which was when Rick had dragged him into this cell about five years before. He still had the stubble on his face, but the cocky grin that you had gotten used to seeing through your scope was nowhere to be seen. 

“Have we met?” he asked, tilting his head in curiosity. You shifted slightly in your seat, trying to get comfortable. 

“Not officially,” you told him. “I’m (Y/N).” Recognition dawned on his face then. 

“Yes,” he said, sitting forward on the edge of his cot, “Little Miss Grimes has mentioned you before.” It wasn’t news to you that he spoke to Judith. Most people knew that she visited Negan often. The only person who probably didn’t know was Michonne. Judith had confided in you that she wasn’t scared of the man and that all she wanted was for him to know he wasn’t some kind of wild animal. You now started to realize that her reasoning was exactly why you were here. “So what can I do for you, (Y/N)?”

“I’ve been sent by the overlords of Alexandria to be your new best friend,” you explained, crossing one leg over the other. 

“Is that right?” he asked, leaning forward. “Gabe get too bored with little ole me?” 

“I don’t know, I didn’t ask,” you told him, “but I am here as a favor for Michonne so how about we just accept the new normal?” Negan bowed his head slightly. 

“Well then, what exactly do the big shots upstairs want us to do? Compare breakup stories? Organize a block party?” 

“I see you haven’t lost your wit,” you pointed out, leaning back in your chair.  

“We all have our things, (Y/N),” he said, “I am curious, though,” he went on, “where were you when your people were trying to kill all of mine?” 

“Usually on a rooftop,” you explained, “Grimes always had me up high with the guns.” Negan seemed genuinely thrilled by the thought of that. 

“And you never got me in your cross-hairs and took a shot? Damn, that is incredibly terrifying.”

“I was never ordered to,” you told him. “I was more surveillance than an assassin.” 

“Either way, my men never saw you watchin’ me,” he said and it sounded like a compliment. The way Negan was looking at you reminded you of kids staring at a lion in a zoo. Ironic seeing how he was the one in the cage and not you. Every glance was out of curiosity and you thought you noticed a bit of gratitude in his eyes. Perhaps Michonne and Gabriel were right after all. The man just needed someone to talk to.

“Okay, how about this?” you said, after a moment of silence. He waited for you to continue. “You and I are just gonna talk. You can ask me anything you want and I’ll answer and hopefully, you will return the favor when I want to .” Negan raised a single brow. 

“It’s that simple?” he asked.

“Do you want it to be difficult?” you asked. “I think I could add some really brash and annoying terms to the arrangement if you want."

"You are a very strange person," Negan said.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"As you should," Negan said with a cheeky grin. "However, I am curious about one thing. Don't you hate me?" You mulled over his words for a few seconds before shaking your head.

"Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in this world, but has not solved one yet," you quoted easily. Negan's eyes lit up.

"Morrison?"

"Angelou," you corrected.

"Ah," he said. "Wise woman. So what you're saying is that hating me isn't going to solve anything, am I right?"

"Pretty much," you agreed, crossing your arms.

"But I killed your people," he reminded you. Negan was clearly trying to put you off, but you had expected this. 

"And I killed your people," you said. "Do you hate me?" Negan scoffed, leaning back on his hands as he watched you through the bars.

"You're good," he complimented.

"You didn't answer my question," you said. Negan licked his lips before shaking his head.

"No, I don't hate you. Although, I don't even know you so that could change." This time you let out a quick laugh that was pure instinct at this point.

"Fair enough," you conceded.

"Alright, (Y/N), if you are so inclined to answer questions, answer me this: how did you end up with this merry bunch of survivors?" 

"Simple," you said, "I saved Carl Grimes from a Walker." Negan's face dropped at the mention of the late teenager. You knew about the soft spot Negan had for Carl. It wasn't a mystery, hell, Carl wouldn't have lived long after he attacked the Sanctuary if Negan didn't like him.

"You saved him?" Negan asked, pulling you from your memories.

"Yeah, I met Carl and his mom, Lori, shortly after everything happened," you began, "They, alongside other survivors, were camped at a quarry outside of Atlanta. I was on my own, trying to make it to the coast when I came across their campsite. I was wary of people, of course, but I knew I wouldn't make it far on my own. I stayed around the edge of camp for a while, just gettin' a feel for the people when Carl ran off when Lori wasn't looking. He was running around with another kid from the group." You paused, unsure if you should divulge much more, but Negan was staying entirely focused on your story.

"Carl was with Sophia...Carol's late daughter." Slight surprise entered Negan's eyes, but he remained quiet. You went on, "The two of them got turned around and then Carl being Carl, decided to run off alone without Sophia. He was near me when the Walker came out of the trees and grabbed him. I didn't really think at that moment. I just ran for the kid. I shot the Walker in the head and the next thing I know, I had a crossbow pointed at my back."

"Let me guess, Daryl?" Negan figured. 

"Damn right. Son of a bitch thought I was shooting at the kid, but luckily Carl spoke up and explained. They took me back to their camp and Lori insisted I stay so that's what I did."

"And here you are," Negan said, impressed.

"Here I am."

"That kid was pretty damn special," Negan said fondly. "This world really does take the good ones, don't it?"

"I always think that it would have been easier if a person had killed him instead of a Walker, you know? At least then we would have an enemy." 

"What, you don't think the Walkers are the enemy?" 

"They're just a part of the new world," you explained. "Can't really call them an enemy if they didn't intend to be here in the first place."

Negan was quiet again as your words sank in. In fact, you were surprised that he hadn't spoken over you whenever he got the chance. According to the rest of your friends and family, the man loved to hear himself talk. You stored that new observation away for later.

"In your opinion," Negan said slowly, "what kind of person classifies as an enemy, or rather, just evil?"

"I've seen darkness, Negan," you told him. "We all have and it was before we even heard your name. If you're trying to ask me if I think you’re evil, the answer is no, I don't. Most of us here like myself, Daryl, Michonne, we've all seen what happens when someone has lost all trace of humanity. Seen what they do to other human beings and trust me, those are the evil people of this screwed-up world. You haven't lost your humanity, Negan, and I pray you never will."

Negan leaned his forearms onto his knees, rubbing a calloused hand over his bearded face. Something had clicked inside his head, that much was apparent, but you weren't sure what.

Yet.

"Sounds like you've been through hell," Negan whispered.

"And back," you finished. "Multiple times."

"You gonna tell me that story? About the loss of humanity?" His question wasn't overly eager, instead, it was all curiosity and you were starting to think that was the main characteristic of the man who once called himself the "big bad wolf".

"One day," you nodded. "If you'll let me come back again."

"I get to decide?" he asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, no point in coming down here if you won't talk to me. That would be wasting both of our time."

"Then by all means, (Y/N), feel free to drop by," Negan said, spreading his arms wide in a welcome gesture. You rolled your eyes but nodded.

"If it means anything," you said as you stood from your seat and turned towards the door, "Carl once told me that you were the only person he always trusted to tell him the truth, and coming from him, that's a lot."

Negan looked at you for a long moment before bowing his head. "Thanks for that," he said softly. You gave him a small smile, one more out of understanding than anything. Whether people hated him or not, nobody could deny that he cared about Carl Grimes and that the teen's death had affected him as well.

"I'll see you tomorrow," you told him as you pushed open the heavy door and stepped into the sunlight. Negan didn't call you back as you climbed the steps and began walking home.

You watched as Alexandria spun on, unaware of the emotions that ran deep through you at the moment. Gabriel and Michonne had been right, after all, Negan needed to talk to another human being, but perhaps that was exactly what you needed as well and you had a feeling this was just the beginning of an odd relationship. 

TAGS: @thanossexual​

#the walking dead #twd imagines #twd imagine #negan imagine #negan #negan x reader #reader insert #daryl dixon x reader #y/n #negan x y/n #the walking dead imagine #TWD fanfiction #the walking dead fanfiction #walkerwords

[ootori-sibs]

The Ootori princess

Chapter 8: Sister knows best

Tw: discussions of trauma, implied abuse, implied transphobia

Yuuichi was incredibly pleased with how the day had gone, especially with how Kyoya had gotten to spent time with the hosts. The meeting he had that day wasn't nearly as enjoyable, father had been there, and although the meeting was perfectly pleasant, Yuuichi couldn't help but think about how that man had been treating Kyoya for years. Father seemed oblivious for Yuuichi's hatred, or at least chose to ignore it. In father's eyes, Yuuichi could do no wrong- he was the heir after all.

Yuuichi hated that sentiment, especially when, after the meeting, father had asked if Kyoya was behaving- not if he was doing well, or if he was happy, no: if he was behaving. It turned Yuuichi's stomach to realise that was how father saw the kid, that was how father assumed everyone saw Kyoya. He had informed father that Kyoya's was very happy and was doing well, it was disgusting how father looked skeptical.

But Yuuichi had almost forgotten that when he sat down with Kyoya and Kyoya's friends for some food. It was sweet how Kyoya had fallen asleep with a hen on his lap, it had amused Yuuichi greatly and clearly it had amused the hosts as well. At that moment, Yuuichi sat in his office, going over paperwork, he didn't really care for this stuff, he couldn't help but worry about Kyoya- oh and he had good reason to worry. The Souh child had mentioned Kyoya wearing dresses twice at school, and Yuuichi simply had to pray that his baby brother hadn't gotten mocked for it. He wondered once again why Kyoya kept dressing like that, it always seemed in situations where none of the family could see too… Yuuichi hoped Kyoya knew that he at least would support him through anything.

This paperwork, it was just some boring admin work for a few of the family hospitals, and some signing of papers for the new wellness centre- Kyoya and his friends had tested it for them just this year, and now it was going to open. Yuuichi thought it might be nice to bring Kyoya and maybe a friend or two on a nice week or maybe weekend there, but it wouldn't be open for a little while; there were still a few kinks to work out.

After he finished the paperwork, it was half past eleven at night, he sighed, glancing at his coffee, he should probably turn in for the night. He approached Kyoya's room, knocking gently on the door before peering around the door, he saw the hosts all sat around the room, talking. Yuuichi didn't know what they'd been talking about, as they had become silent when he entered. He smiled at all of them, "you guys should probably start turning in for the night, I'm going to bed now myself. Oh, and Fujioka? Can I speak with you in the morning? I have some questions." He figured since Kyoya never had that dress before going shopping with the commoner boy, that it must be where he got it from, he may as well ask.

The commoner nodded, though, like the others, he looked confused. Kyoya was clearly racking his brain for reasons Yuuichi might have to speak with the commoner, it seemed he couldn't find one. "Goodnight then." He smiled again before ducking back out of the room and continuing to his own.

Laying in bed, Yuuichi thought about how he always thought Kyoya looked much more natural in more feminine clothing, how when Kyoya was very little, they used to play games- princesses and dragons… Kyoya always wanted to play the princess just like Fiyumi, taking the little pointy hat from her and running around in a too-large shirt. He had never thought much of it; of course Kyoya would want to be like Fiyumi, Yuuichi certainly wasn't the best role model. The more and more he thought about it, however, he wondered if there was more to it then that, he'd seen Kyoya wearing that dress after all…

Yuuichi was not a morning person, none of the family were. He did manage to drag himself out of bed though, heading to the kitchen to find Yuki already awake, making a large amount of scrambled eggs. She smiled at him, "awake already sir? I have to tell you that one of your brother's friends came down here at five am, asking for cake. Is it alright that I let him have the rest of the cake?"

"Oh that's odd," Yuuichi started making some coffee, amused by Kyoya's friends' antics, "sure, I don't mind." He decided to make more coffee, for Kyoya and his friends. Maddie entered the kitchen at that point, smiling and nodding to them. Yuuichi returned the smile, raising his mug, "morning Maddie, could you go wake Kyoya and his friends for him? Thank you."

Maddie nodded, "alright, I'll get to doin that then, you got the coffee ready sir?" Yuuichi handed her the tray and she headed back out of the kitchen, likely to Kyoya's room.

Yuuichi sat down, sipping his coffee as Yuki put a plate of eggs in front of him. "Thank you, Yuki. Once you're done with your duties you may take the rest of the day off."

"Oh! Thank you sir!!" She beamed, clearly happy by this news as she rides to complete her duties in record time. Yuuichi knew that she'd mostly be spending the day playing video games, that or watching other people play video games- Yuuichi never understood how that was fun for anyone but each to their own he supposed.

Kyoya and his friends came downstairs after a while, happily eating the eggs they were given. Kyoya was quiet, grumbling under his breath about having to wake up. The others seemed happy though, laughing and chatting and greeting Yuuichi with glee, Yuuichi was glad Kyoya had such nice friends.

He had pulled the commoner aside just like he said he would, sighing, he looked down at him, "did Kyoya get his dress from you?"

The boy paused, looking up at Yuuichi in concern. It was clear that the common boy was taking the defensive stance, "there's nothing wrong with him experimenting." The boy's tone was harsh and biting, Yuuichi realised the only experience this boy had had with Kyoya's family was witnessing father hit him…

He put his hands up, taking a step back, "I didn't say there was, I just wanted to know if you gave it to him, what else do you know?" He sighed, "I'm so sorry if you perceive me as a threat, but I just want to support my brother. Is there anything you can tell me?"

Haruhi looked so surprised, but smiled softly, "of course sir, I was throwing away some old feminine clothes and senpai had argued that it 'wasn't' feminine so I told him he could take it. He hasn't actually told me anything but he did keep asking me about how gender works, so I do have to wonder." He reached out and put a hand on Yuuichi's arm, "I'm glad Kyoya has someone he can look to for comfort, we all worry about him."

Yuuichi was equally as glad that Kyoya had friends, the idea of Kyoya being supported and cared for. He smiled down at the boy, "thank you, I hope you also look out for him." Haruhi nodded and Yuuichi sighed with relief, "thank you."

Kyoya was once again spending the day with his friends, they were heading out for the day so Yuuichi had an entire day to himself. He had a few days off so he did what any busy person does with a day off; he calls his sister.

"Hello?"

Fiyumi had picked up almost instantly and made Yuuichi smile, she was always so punctual. "Good morning Fiyumi, are you free today? Kyoya's out with his friends and I'm not working so did you want to go to the spa or something like that?"

"Oh yes! Akito did tell me that Kyoya moved in with you! How wonderful! Uh-huh," there was the sound of clicking- likely Fiyumi checking her schedule, "oh awesome! Yeah I've got the whole day free up until maybe five? 'Cause it's date night so me and my husband have a reservation somewhere really nice, he has yet to tell me where." She giggled softly, god, Yuuichi adored his little sister, "what spa did you want to go to? A nearby one?"

That was how Yuuichi found himself sitting in a sauna, discussing Kyoya with his sister. "-so I think he clings to you because you remind him of father but nicer," Fiyumi was probably right, Yuuichi nodded in agreement, she was so good at reading Kyoya.

"Yeah… enough about trauma, do you remember when we used to play princesses and dragons?"

Fiyumi nodded, brushing some hair out of her eyes, "yeah! And Kyoya always used to be a princess! He was such a sweet little kid…"

"He's been wearing dresses again."

"Huh? Has he?"

"Yeah," Yuuichi started, unsure if he should even be saying this, "he got a dress from his friend and I saw him wearing it in front of the mirror- he's gotten new hair clips too. Apparently he's worn dresses as part of his club activities too."

Fiyumi nodded slowly, "ok, so is that something we should be worried about?"

"Not really, I'm just glad he feels safe enough to explore himself like that…"

She chuckled softly, "you're his brother, he trusts you when you tell he's safe there." She very clearly pauses, examining his expression, "you are worried, aren't you, Yuui? You're worried Kyoya will find something whilst exploring and you won't be able to protect him from everyone who wouldn't like that. I'm right aren't I? I can tell."

…She was right, that was the one thing Yuuichi was scared of. His biggest fear was not being able to protect his siblings… and if Kyoya kept dressing the way he had in his room, even going so far as to do so in public… would Yuuichi be able to protect him? He hated how well Fiyumi could read him. Yuuichi nodded, sighing, "I just want to make sure he's safe…"

"I know Yuui, I know. I feel the exact same way, but you know… you've gotta give him some room, has he said anything about it to you yet?"

He shook his head, "no, he doesn't even know I saw him wearing the dress…"

Fiyumi paused, sighing heavily and massaging her temples. "Yuuichi…" He suddenly felt even more guilty, Fiyumi might be younger than him but she was always the more emotionally mature one. "Don't you dare mention that to anyone, ok? Ok good. Now Kyoya doesn't have to say anything to you if he doesn't want to, and nothing might come of this. But if he does say something then you still don't bring up what you saw, you take everything he says as gospel and you listen and give him the space he needs, ok? This is our baby brother, he deserves the safe space you promised him."

Yuuichi nodded, understanding that she was completely correct. He felt guilty when he realised he'd already tried to forcefully support Kyoya, what with the apron… god, he was stupid. He sighed, "you're right, you're always right. Thank you Fiyumi, I needed that."

"Just speaking my mind," she shrugs, smiling.

After the sauna and a deep tissue massage, they went to get lunch, sitting down in a lovely little café. They both got coffees and some food; Fiyumi ordered soup whilst Yuuichi got a small pie. It was nice to just sit and talk about everything and nothing. It seemed that Fiyumi had something on her mind, however, "I have to ask, how did father react when you told him you were taking Kyoya?"

Yuuichi paused, remembering the argument he'd had with father, "well… I'd been screaming at him for over an hour at that point, and I slammed the office door after telling him I was taking Kyoya so I'm not sure how he reacted," he chuckled lightly, remembering father's face, "I didn't give him the chance to."

Fiyumi's eyes sparkled at the thought of Yuuichi standing up to father and Yuuichi understood it completely- he remembered how hard his heart had hammered in his chest. "Woahh… you're so brave Yuui, I definitely wouldn't be able to talk back to father, let alone yell at him."

He didn't like it when Fiyumi downplayed her own confidence like that, he knew first hand how brave she could be. "Don't say that, Fiyumi, you're braver than you think."

"Thanks…"

#kyoya ootori #ouran high school host club #yuuichi ootori #fiyumi ootori

[dreamingofscully]

6x22. “Biogenesis” (part 1 of 3) - X-Files Rewatch

(aka the episode where I swear quite a bit at Diana Fowley #sorrynotsorry)

“He’s a danger to everyone.” - Doctor “Not to me.” - Scully

The GAZING that goes on in Skinner’s office. ❤️

In the elevator! 🔥 They are standing so close! 🔥 Scully’s look! 🔥 She nudges him with her hip! 🔥 Look at them!  🔥 Ahhhhhhhhhh! 🔥 (They’re totally boning.) 

Scully’s talking, again, about “getting out of the car”. Why does Mulder want to continue? He really only has one reason left, the original reason for all this in the first place - his sister.

Does this mean he CAN move on once that is resolved?

Scully is afraid - she knows the longer they go on, the less likely she’ll be able to hold onto her science. That at some point she’ll have to admit that she believes, and she’s scared to change, scared of things she can’t explain.

Scully’s concern about Mulder - she barely stays long enough to hear Dr. Barnes before rushing out after him. Her doctoring. ❤️

(Mulder arrives late at the office, Scully and Chuck are already there. I think when he left after his second episode at the university, she asked if he wanted her to come over, but he said no, that he was just going to get some shut eye. But she knows he’d call if something was wrong.)

More doctoring in the office.

Standing close in the hallway outside their office.

Scully doesn’t have gloves??

Scully’s arm on his shoulder to leave Skinner’s office. So close again in the hallway. ❤️

Mulder DOESN’T listen to Scully. He investigates Dr. Barnes’ office instead. Has another attack in the stairwell, where Krycek finds him. 

Scully on the phone with Mulder, arguing with him about why she can’t accept the conclusions that he’s making about the artifact - that extraterrestrials gave us the idea of God, etc.

Of course she can’t. She hasn’t been able to accept the idea of aliens/paranormal all season despite what she’s been witness to. The things she’s seeing now are even more incredible.

She’s holding onto her science by a thread.

The whole disgusting Diana situation. I hate this bitch even more with my rewatch, realizing what fucking terrible things she’s done, all because she feels she has the right to “HAVE” Mulder, like he is an object. And of course he is oblivious to it, even if he can read her mind. 

Mulder did NOT call her. He was too messed up to call anyone, and if he was going to call someone it would have been Scully. Krycek found him, handed him off to Diana. Who proceeded to molest him (or try to). When he resists (of course he would) she hastens the awakening in his brain, possibly by exposing him to more rubbings of the artifact. Why would she do that? Because CSM told her to, promised that she could “HAVE” him if she did what he asked - Mulder would be complacent and accept a life with Diana after this (of course leaving out the bit about possibly dying).

Diana’s implication to Scully that she was with Mulder. Scully doesn’t seem particularly jealous at that tidbit - she’s more concerned with Mulder and also has NO REASON to be jealous, she knows what they mean to each other now.

Mulder calling “SCULLY!” is heartbreaking.

When Diana asks to talk in the hall, Scully doesn’t fucking move. Fuck this bitch. Scully believes she must have something to do with this, that she knows something she isn’t saying. Scully doesn’t need to read minds to know that Diana is fucking dirty, and that Skinner is also lying.

I have WAY more faith in Scully’s intuition than I do in Diana’s words.

Just an FYI that Scully is NOT wearing socks on the beach. IDK why the promo pic has her in them but in the episode she’s clearly barefoot.

#xfiles #x-files #x-files rewatch #x files rewatch #msr #msrheadcanon #mulder and scully #fox mulder #dana scully #season 6

[faewhump]

Unseelie Pet: 24. Chapter

In a brief moment of clarity Alex makes a mistake and has to pay for it. 

Previous Masterlist Next

Content warnings:  referenced dubcon, blood, dehumanisation, stress position, restraints, captor bonding, drugging (faerie food)

Tagging: @galaxywhump @whumpsideblog @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @slaintetowhump @thewhiteraven73 @ohmywhump @deluxewhump @ariirenn @u-n-o-f-f-i-c-i-a-l @swordkallya @a-terrible-pun @frnkieroismydaddy @insanitywishes

The next morning Alex was very glad to see that he had been given proper clothes again. It had been a long night, even after they’d returned to his room from the party, and so he had slept in long. Despite his rumbling stomach he ignored the hearty breakfast laid out on the table and went to get dressed first. He slid out of the silken nightgown, his body still aching all over, and quickly put on the leggings and tunic that he’d been given for today. Wearing proper clothes that actually covered him had never felt this relieving before.  

After that he sat at the dressing table to put in his favourite pair of small pearl studs, because although the piercings had healed out by now Malachi still preferred him to always wear earrings. Looking up he caught his reflexion in the vanity mirror and froze.

The person in the mirror looked at him with big soft eyes, their hair well-groomed and shining, if a little mussed up by sleep. They wore clothes that looked simple but were fine enough to fit a noble, but the bejewelled golden collar covering their neck told a different story. Of course it was him in the mirror, and yet he barely recognised himself.

In a way he didn’t look like himself at all, he looked like a pampered faerie pet. Nausea rose in him as he realised that that was exactly what he was. A tame pet, submissive and obedient for his master, always sweet and never resisting, nothing but a mindless plaything for the Fae. Just last night Malachi had put him on the end of a leash and showed him off in a most indecent outfit to a whole room of other faeries, and afterwards… Alex balled his fists, just thinking of the way he had acted and begged made him feel sick. His reflexion filled him with so much disgust, he just couldn’t stand seeing the docile pet any longer.

His fury overshadowed everything else as he picked up the heavy hairbrush from the table and slammed it into the mirror with all his strength.

Staring at the shards he remembered how upset Malachi had been months ago when he’d done something similar, and as quickly as it had risen his anger dissipated again. He jumped up, feeling horrified with himself, as well as terrified of what Malachi would do once he found out. Last time he’d made him piece the mirror back together, so maybe he would expect something like that again? Without hesitation he got to work, desperately trying to fix the mirror as fast as possible.

By the time Malachi came to visit him his hands were covered in cuts and there was blood all over the shards. Alex flinched when the door opened, his despair increased even further; Malachi was back, but the mirror was still broken. The other mirror had fitted itself together perfectly once the last piece had been in place, but this time it wouldn’t work.

“What is the meaning of this?” Malachi asked sharply.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please I’m sorry,” Alex wailed, unable to stop himself from crying. “I broke the mirror, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why, but I’m trying to fix it, please master, please, I’m trying to fix it, please don’t punish me too harshly, please I’m sorry – “

“Hush, pet, hush,” Malachi soothed and helped Alex up from the floor. “I see that you tried to fix it, such a good boy who learned so well – but look at this, my poor sweet thing cut itself!”

He steered Alex to the bed, sat down and pulled him onto his lap. Carefully taking Alex’s bleeding hands into his he looked them over and chided him gently. “You have to be more careful, darling. Just look at this, you could have ruined your hands.”

“I’m sorry,” Alex sobbed, feeling even more guilty than before.

“Shh, it’s alright. The mirror isn’t an issue, it can be fixed in seconds. And we will fix your hands too, no need to worry.” Malachi kissed his forehead, then called for the guard outside to fetch Lady Áine.

“So you aren’t mad?” Alex asked meekly, glancing up at Malachi.

Malachi smiled. “No, I’m not. All things break eventually, and you even tried to fix your mistake and apologised so sweetly. It was just an accident; you didn’t destroy the mirror on purpose.”

Alex squirmed uncomfortably, biting his lip. “N-no,” he stuttered, unable to meet Malachi’s eyes. “It – it wasn’t an accident, I – I did break it on purpose, I’m so sorry, I don’t understand why, I just – I just was so angry at my reflection, I don’t know why, please, I’m so sorry.”

Malachi stiffened. “I won’t deny that I am very disappointed with you, pet,” he said, causing Alex to tear up again. “I truly wouldn’t have expected something like this from you now.”

“I’m sorry, I know I was stupid, I’m so sorry, and –“ Alex swallowed. “And I understand that I deserve to be punished as harshly as my master thinks is appropriate.”

For the split of a second Malachi looked incredibly pleased, then he schooled his face back into a strict expression. “That was a very good apology, my dear. You will be disciplined, yes, but first we must take care of your poor hands.”

As if on cue Áine entered the room.

“What can I assist you with, Lord Malachi?” she asked politely, and her eyes widened in concern when she noticed the blood.

“I’m afraid my silly pet broke a mirror and cut itself on the shards,” Malachi explained, and Alex looked down abashedly.

“I see.” Áine stepped closer, already critically regarding the mess of Alex’s hands. “That shouldn’t be an issue.”

Malachi nodded. “Good. I will leave you to it, then.” He gently manoeuvred Alex off his lap to sit on the bed, then stood up and motioned him to stay where he was. “Behave, pet,” he said sternly. “I will be back with you shortly.”

Alex followed him with his eyes as he left the room, in a way already wishing for him to come back, and yet horribly scared of what would happen once he did. He obediently held out his hands to Áine at her direction and tried his best to hold still while she carefully wiped the blood away. Noticing his clear distress she gave him a reassuring smile.

“It’s alright,” she said soothingly. “Accidents happen, and we’ll have your hands fixed in no time.”

Slowly Alex shook his head. “It was – it wasn’t an accident.”

Áine looked surprised. “But why would you –“

“I – I’m not sure, somehow I just –“ He swallowed. “Somehow I just really, really hated how my reflection looked like a pampered pet in the mirror, and I – I just couldn’t –“ He looked away, blinking away tears and unable to articulate himself further.

“I’m so sorry I can’t help you,” Áine whispered so quietly that Alex wasn’t entirely sure he’d heard her right.

Confused Alex looked at his hands where her magic was already numbing the pain and worked on closing the wounds. “But you are helping me,” he said. “You always help me.”

Instead of explaining what she’d meant Áine only smiled sadly.

“Can you try moving your fingers for me?” she asked once the wounds had closed, and Alex immediately obeyed.

“Everything feels good again,” he reported. “Thank you, Lady Áine.”

“Yes, thank you a lot for your services,” Malachi agreed, and with him Alex’s fear returned as well.

“You are most welcome, Lord Malachi,” Áine said formally. Throwing a glance at Alex she asked, “Would you like me to stay? If I understand the situation correctly, I will probably be needed in a again short while.”

Alex’s breath hitched; he knew that what she offered was to stay for his punishment in anticipation that she would need to heal him afterwards. Apart from handing out quick slaps Malachi always disciplined him in private, and Alex was glad for it. Though if someone else had to witness it, he would rather have it be Áine than anyone else. She had been the only one who’d seen the aftermaths of his punishments so far, and she was always kind to him.

“Thank you for the offer, but it isn’t necessary as your help won’t be required urgently,” Malachi declined.

Áine nodded. “Very well.” She turned to leave, throwing one last glance back at Alex, whose attention was solely focussed on Malachi, staring up at him with big eyes.

Malachi stepped closer and reached out to pat his head. “You are so cute, darling. Not even begging me not to punish you, just obediently accepting whatever I will give you. We have come such a long way; I always knew you could be this perfect. I am very proud of you, sweetheart.”

Alex blushed, focusing on the feeling of flattery inside him, and pushed the small stirrings of anger away.

Malachi sighed. “But sadly we still have to deal with your misbehaviour.” His tone turned strict once more. “Get up on the bed, pet, on your knees.”

Alex quickly scrambled to obey and followed Malachi’s directions to spread his legs and fold his hands behind his back, nervously holding still while the Fae bound his wrists with soft rope. Malachi then guided him to bend over and pulled his arms up behind him, tying them tautly to the canopy. Next he wrapped four more ropes around his ankles and knees, tied them to the bedposts, and thereby effectively immobilised him. Alex now had to balance on his lower legs, holding his upper body horizontally with his stomach muscles to avoid putting too much strain on his shoulders and arms.

“Shh, pet, relax,” Malachi soothed, gently running his hands over Alex’s body. “Though well, ‘relax’ is probably not the right word.” He chuckled quietly. “Since your misdeed is clearly rooted in a lack of control, this punishment should be appropriate to teach you, don’t you agree?”

“I – I guess, master,” Alex said.

“Good. Now, one last thing –“

Alex’s eyes widened when Malachi presented him with the detested muzzle. He still opened his mouth to take the metal bit between his teeth and didn’t resist as Malachi buckled the straps tightly. Lastly, he wrapped a strip of dark velvet cloth around his head, leaving him both gagged and blindfolded.

“Be a good boy and learn,” Malachi told him sternly, checking over all ropes and straps to make sure they weren’t too tight. Then his hands disappeared, and Alex heard his steps retreat.

Alex’s heart jumped when he realised that Malachi had actually left him alone like this, without even hinting at when he would come back. Breathing deeply he tried to calm himself, of course Malachi wasn’t staying to hold his hand, this was supposed to be a punishment after all. At first it didn’t seem like much, the position was uncomfortable but not overly so, and while not being able to see or speak was scary, it wasn’t nearly as bad what he’d expected. However, his opinion on that was quick to change.

Time went by, and soon the strain on his limbs increased wickedly with every passing second. His muscles were burning, and he tried to shift his weight to no avail, the bindings were holding him too tightly. Whenever he attempted to take some strain off his stomach and legs the ligaments in his arms and shoulders screamed in protest and vice versa. Hot tears slipped from his eyes and soaked into the blindfold, everything hurt so much, and he wasn’t even able to beg or call for help.

He didn’t know how long it had been since Malachi had left him and desperately wished for his return. What if Malachi had forgotten about him? Or if he didn’t think of how much more breakable than faeries humans were? His quiet crying turned into uninhibited sobs only muffled by the muzzle, and he swore to himself that he would never, ever follow his emotional outbreaks again. He was so distracted by the pain that he didn’t even notice Malachi’s return until he touched his arm.

His crying increased from relief when he felt Malachi gently stroking over his aching shoulders and heard him talking softly. Malachi first took off the soaked through blindfold, and Alex blinked against the light while he untied his arms and legs. Utterly exhausted Alex slumped against him, everything hurt.

“You did so well, darling, I’m very proud of you,” Malachi praised. “Did you learn your lesson?”

Still unable to speak Alex nodded enthusiastically. Malachi smiled and pressed a kiss against his forehead, then finally removed the muzzle. Alex squealed with surprise when Malachi picked him up and carried him to the bathroom, where the tub had already been prepared. The warm water did wonders for his sore muscles, and afterwards Alex was unable to do anything but whimper as Malachi rubbed ointment into and carefully massaged his aching limbs. Next he picked Alex up again and carried him back to the bed, allowing him to curl up at his side, and proceeded to feed him treats.

Soon the calming effect of the faerie food joined pleasant buzz he already felt after the bath, everything was so warm and soft. Malachi was there, talking to him, taking care of him, and Alex almost felt as if he was in a dream. The punishment had been harsh, but now he was forgiven, and all was good again.

#tw referenced dubcon #tw dehumanisation #tw blood #tw captor bonding #stress positions #tw restraints #tw drugging #muzzled #creepy comfort #punishment #whump #pet whump #fae whump #pet whumpee #broken whumpee #fae whumper #intimate whumper #unseelie pet series #alex #malachi #áine #my writing

[ma-gic-gay]

It took a few too many hours to take care of the Florence situation, but he was confident that she would be happier in her room at the long term care facility than she would be at a safehouse.

He was much less confident with what would happen next. On the one hand, he knew that Cyrus knew that Carly had taken his mother - as much as he loves her, she needs to start thinking her plans through before she ends up dead - and that she was the reason he was alive. On the other, Florence had remained unharmed and been returned within ten hours. That doesn't erase what had happened; kidnappings are always a terrible, traumatic thing and not in his worst moment had he hoped to kidnap someone or, worse, have someone get kidnapped, but it did make it a bit easier for him to sleep at night.

In short, she was pretty much the biggest target at the moment. An even bigger one than him, which seemed impossible maybe fifteen hours ago.

Yet another reason having her in Port Charles was something he'd been concerned to do. Even though she swore she'd stay at home, she'd promised the same thing before his meeting with Cyrus earlier and that was a promise she didn't end up keeping.

Maybe this time, though, since Josslyn was home with her, she'd stay home.

That would explain the fifty seven voicemails he has from her and at least one hundred texts. It was honestly less than he had been expecting, mainly because she had been incredibly worried he'd get killed, moreso than normal.

Probably because not even an hour before he left, Cyrus had tried to kill him. It definitely didn't have anything to do with last night.

Right?

He shakes his head to get that out of his head; it's been a long night and probably why he's thinking about it. Willing himself to think of anything else, his mind wanders as he drives, thinking of the possible kidnapping targets.

Maybe thinking about last night will be a better alternative.

Glancing at the clock, he realizes that it's almost time for a call from a hopefully still at home Carly.

"Like clockwork," he chuckles, answering the phone. "Everything okay on the home front?"

A laugh he instantly notices as Cyrus's leaves his phone speaker. Quickly checking the caller ID, it's Carly. "Well, Mr. Morgan, I'm not doing well right now, considering your organization took my mother. Though I suppose your question wasn't directed towards me."

No shit, he thinks, containing his anger and quickly switching to a business tone, "I already told you, I don't have your mother. What the hell are you doing with Carly?"

Chuckling evilly again, Cyrus says, "I'm just spending some time with Mrs. Corinthos, Mr. Morgan. Calm down."

He's dead. The second that Jason gets back in town and sees his stupid, ponytail clad body, he will die. And if he puts a hand on her-

Focusing on the call instead of the growing anger in his blood, he asks, "Where is she and what have you done with her?"

"She's being taken care of very well, don't worry. In fact, I think that she'd agree I'm being quite a polite host, especially given the fact she had my mother kidnapped."

Maybe he should torture him before he kills him, that sounds appealing. Very appealing.

"I actually just looked into it and your mother is at her care facility. So tell me where Carly is, now," the former assassin demands.

Killing him looks more and more appealing by the second and making it as painful as possible does too. He deserves it for doing anything to Carly. Where exactly will kill him the fastest and make it painful? Maybe being shot in several places at the same time would help.

Clearly enjoying this Cyrus continues, "Is she? Well, I received a call earlier that she had been checked out of there."

"They must've been wrong."

"Well, still, I think she's getting even more delightful as time goes on. In fact, I'm finding her to be quite beautiful. What do you think, Mr. Morgan? Should I seduce and make love to her?"

Anger is the only emotion he feels right now, combined with disgust at the thought of that. "I wouldn't recommend it."

"And why is that?"

To lie or tell the truth, that is the question. The answer is lie. "She's a terrible lover. Absolutely terrible. Believe me, I'd know. We were involved at a certain time and I'm not sure anyone should have to go through that."

"You two have been quite close in the year since her husband passed. Are you sure you don't just want her for yourself?"

This sleazebag is going to be in hell when Jason finds him, he swears on his life. "Yes, I'm sure. Now, where is she?"

Chuckling again, he says, "Mr. Morgan, I'm not stupid. You think that since you've returned my mother, I'll return your friend in exchange for her. But, you see, Mrs. Corinthos isn't just someone you can take as you please. I'm truly seeing her beauty in this light and I find her to be quite intriguing. Perhaps I'll go against your advice-"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Now, last time I'm asking, where is Carly?"

"Why don't I let her tell you yourself?" Cyrus offers before handing the phone over to who he can imagine is the blonde. A scream is emitted in the background, probably from a gag or something.

The second he lays his eyes on him, that man is dead.

"Jason?" A scared Carly asks. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm right here Carly. Can you tell me where you are right now?"

"You remember that little room above Jake's, where we got our start? I miss that room sometimes. Especially now that the Floating Rib isn't even really a working building."

"So do I. It was plain and undecorated. Now, where are you?"

"I love you and my kids, you know that, right?"

"Yes, yes I do. You know I love you. Are you okay?"

"No one else will probably ever be in that room again. Kinda sad, don't you think? I kinda like that we'll be part of the last people to be there, but I think it's a damn shame that room won't get better use out of it." Carly continues, clearly not getting his point.

Wait. The room above Jake's. That's where she's being held! She's been giving hints. God, sometimes he thinks she's do dumb but others she's practically a genius.

"Has he laid a hand on you?"

"Yeah," she says and his blood boils. This bastard is going to die, just for thinking about doing this.

"I'm going to go down memory lane," Jason says, changing the topic but hoping she'll read his signal. "Drive around some spots I used to go. I'll be home to check on the kids in twenty minutes."

"Have fun with that journey, Mr. Morgan," Cyrus says, having taken the phone from a surprisingly silent Carly. "In the meantime, I'm going to tell you what to do to get her back. You will meet me at Pier 57 at noon tomorrow. Until then, I think that the two of us are going to be spending some quality time together."

"You so much as lay a hand on her-"

"I'm going to advise you to stop speaking if you ever want to see her alive again," Cyrus chuckles. "Goodbye, Mr. Morgan."

Just like that, the phone is hung up and the call ended. "Fuck!" Jason screams, driving faster.

He's got to get to her and fast. She doesn't have much time before Cyrus rapes her and he'll be damned if he lets her go through that. Not if he can stop it, and he knows he can.

After all, if there's one thing his men have told him that he remembers, it's that Cyrus suffers from erectile dysfunction. If he had to pick one dude who would never be able to get it up in their life, without a doubt, he'd pick that sleazebag in a heartbeat. Especially now, given the situation his best friend is in.

He can make it there in ten minutes if he breaks a few traffic rules.

Fuck traffic laws; he's got to go save her, he thinks as he speeds up, taking every turn too fast and going straight through at all the stop signs and red lights.

It's a minor miracle he doesn't get a ticket as he pulls into the parking lot of the Floating Rib, which has been abandoned ever since the explosion that sent Lulu into a coma and killed Dev and Dustin.

Deadly explosions don't exactly appeal to buyers.

Gun drawn and loaded, he finally realizes that there is no plan here. Call the cops? No, then Cyrus gets to walk away alive and this son of a bitch needs to die.

Kill him and then call the cops? Not a bad idea, especially with Carly as a witness. She's not a perjurer, no one would ever accuse her of that. Especially when she's newly traumatized from a kidnapping. Besides, it's self defense. But bullets can ricochet and she could be killed or comatose. Whatever happens, it could be really bad.

Fuck.

Going in without a plan is the best option and that scares him more than anything he's ever faced.

Bounding silently up the stairs, he kicks in the door and sees an almost nude, terrified Carly and the sight of an aroused Cyrus. Fuck. Guess those erectile dysfunction pills work for him.

A sparkle appears in his eyes when Cyrus realizes he's there. "Mr. Morgan, how kind of you to join us. Though, I don't believe you were expecting this."

Bastard. He deserves to be killed, the most painful death one can ever suffer. Acting as though he's a fucking host of a party, not a kidnapper who's about to rape his best friend. How many other women has he done this to?

The thought of it makes his blood boil. "I'm only gonna say this once, get away from her and you might live."

"Was that a threat?"

"It was a promise."

"Mr. Morgan, Mrs. Corinthos and I are having a moment here and you're being rather rude, intruding upon it."

Carly's been suspiciously quiet this whole time. She's planning an escape, he can feel it. No use trying to explain how he can feel it, but he can.

That's new.

Refocusing his attention to the ponytail clad piece of shit in front of her, he says, "You two aren't, because she's most certainly not into this. I know what she looks like when she is and let me tell you, that's not what she looks like right now."

"Ah yes, your past. Well, her face may have changed."

"From last night?"

With the mobster stunned enough to do a minor double take, Carly kicks him right in the balls. That's gotta hurt, especially considering that he's got his dick out and everything.

Jason snaps into action, undoing the handcuffs she's in and removing the duct tape, wincing when she screams in pain. That hurts his heart.

"I was right with my suspicions, wasn't I? Mr. Morgan, what are your feelings towards Mrs. Corinthos?"

"None of your fucking business," he answers, kicking Cyrus in the balls himself as he calls the cops. That felt good. Not as good as killing him would, but it does give a rush of dopamine. "I'm above the Floating Rib, in the little apartment with a kidnapped Carly Corinthos and her kidnapper and attempted rapist Cyrus Renault."

"An officer is being dispatched there and will arrive in five minutes, sir. What is your name?"

"Jason Morgan."

"Well, Mr. Morgan, can you stay at the scene with Mrs. Corinthos?"

"Trust me, I'm not leaving until this son of a bitch is behind bars on death row," he growls at the operator. For someone who's normally so good at controlling his emotions, right now it's all he can do to not pull the trigger and take him out himself. His walls have fallen as his best friend softly cries next to him, minorly breaking his heart.

"I wouldn't count on that, Mr. Morgan," Cyrus snickers, "after all, I could just kill you two."

"The dispatch is going to be there in under one minute now, sir."

"Cyrus, if you so much as grab that gun and point it at me, I can kill you out of self defense. So I guess if you've got a death wish you could grab your weapon," Jason counters him.

"PCPD! Put down all weapons!" Chase shouts. Of course he's the lead detective.

"Up here!" Jason shouts and he finds the staircase before walking into the room.

"Mr. Renault, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?" Chase asks, cuffing him.

"Damn you, Morgan," Cyrus says before another cop escorts him out and into a cruiser. Thank god, he was afraid if he saw his stupid, smirking face one more time, it would be the last thing that Cyrus ever did.

"Mrs. Corinthos, can we bring you and Mr. Morgan down to the station and have you two recount what happened tonight with Cyrus?"

Words don't leave her mouth, a sob does. Jason pulls her gently out of the chair and into a tight embrace, for his benefit as much as hers. "She's in no shape to be giving you the details."

"Mr. Morgan, it's better if she tells us what happened sooner rather than later."

"I'll do it," she agrees, though she's still visibly shaking in his arms. "If Jason's there, I'll do it."

Pressing a kiss to the side of her head, he agrees, "I'll be there."

Attempting to inform then they can't, Chase says, "You can't actually be in the interrogation room together; it's a very rare occurrence and not one I'm sure I can get permission from the commissioner to have right now."

Glaring daggers in his direction, Jason informs him, "You heard Carly's terms. If you want her to tell you what happened, I'm going to be there."

Finally giving in, Chase agrees to let them go in his car before leaving to call Jordan.

"Do you think you can stand?"

"No."

"We're getting you to the hospital then," Jason declares. "Detective!"

"Yes, Mr. Morgan?"

"I'm taking her to the hospital to get checked out before the police station."

"Could we question you two at the hospital? It's really important we get your testimony before Cyrus's. He's smart enough to ask for a lawyer and we'll do our best to have one take their time, but it's possible if she goes to the hospital she could end up giving it second."

"Do you feel up to getting questioned at the hospital?" Jason asks the sobbing woman, feeling a combination of emotions he can't push away.

"I guess," she agrees uncertainly. "You'll still be there, right?"

"Of course. I'm not leaving your side unless you tell me to," he reminds her. "Ambulance or my car?"

"Oh god, not an ambulance. I don't need all that fanfare," she groans.

"Okay. Detective, will you meet us at the hospital?" Jason asks to his own chagrin. He can't believe this dude has the audacity to ask a woman recently traumatized by an attempted rape and kidnapping to tell him what happened in detail.

Chase nods and leaves the two alone again, offering a tissue to the sobbing blonde in Jason's arms.

Scoffing, Carly takes the tissue and resumes her sobbing. "I was so, so scared you wouldn't get here in time and he'd kill me. I know, I broke the only rule, but in my defense, I had to work and I got taken there."

"I'm sorry I didn't get here quicker," he says, "and that you feel like you're to blame for this. You're not. Cyrus, that sick son of a bitch, is the only one to blame."

"You told me to not go out!"

"I didn't think he'd move in so fast... If I had, I never would've left the house."

"Hey, you are not to blame for this."

"Neither are you."

"Yes, yes I am. He-he kissed me, Jason. He started making out with me, and he hit me when I didn't kiss him back and when I said no. That's when I got the duct tape to my mouth."

To be continued when I can write this and not feel like crying (aka after I watch the Sharkboy and Lavagirl movies because they're BOTH on Netflix now and that's pretty fucking cool.)

@ryleighjosephine

[imma-fucking-nerd]

Love at First Bite

Dewey Finn x Vampire!Reader

((ft. TUM action))

Trigger Warning: Violence, Mentions of Sexual Assault, Blood (obviously)

You’re name is Y/N. You are a vampire. You were, unwillingly, turned around fifty years ago. April 20th 1969 to be exact. Although you couldn’t find the humor in it when you were younger, now you couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact. The last fifty years have been…. difficult for you to say the least. You weren’t exactly comfortable feeding on humans, and never were. It was incredibly hard to resist the hunger when you first turned, but it has gotten easier. Barely. Instead of human blood, you would go out and feed on the blood of animals. That wasn’t exactly easy for you either since you loved animals, but you couldn’t risk killing anyone. Not again. Although animal blood never satisfied you, it kept you from starving and that was enough.

One night you were walking down the dark streets on your way home from feeding on….a rabbit. Thankfully you couldn’t see any people around you, but you could sure as hell smell them in the bars and shops you walked by. You shivered as the smell of them entered your nose and you quickened your pace. As you were walking down the pavement that glistened from the rain that had came down on it earlier, you could hear a faint whimpering. You stopped in your tracks and listened closely. You could hear a woman weeping and…..

Anger struck you as you heard a man and you followed the sound. You came to an entrance to an alley way and were met with a sight that disgusted you.

“Get the fuck off of her,” you seethed. You didn’t waste any time to observe. You knew all you needed to know.

The woman looked at you and was about to scream for help but the man gave her a look that shut her right up. The man then looked back to you, not letting go of the iron grip he had on the woman’s wrists.

“You better fuck off sweet cheeks, or you’re next,” he then turned back to the woman and you cod hear her choke on a sob. In an instant you were right behind him, baring your fangs and growling lowly.

“I said. Get. The FUCK. Off her,” you warned.

You were so close to breaking your fifty year no human blood drinking streak. But if you were going to kill a human, you’d shed no tears if it were this….scum.

“What the fuck-!?” his eyes widened as you moved faster than humanly possible, and when he spotted your fangs he let the girl go.

As soon as she was let go she instantly scrambled away from him and onto her feet. She too, witnessed your inhuman qualities and stared at you in fear. You soared her no glance as she ran past you and into the night. Your gaze burned into the pitiful man’s soul who knelt before you.

“P-please don’t kill me…” he whimpered, not daring making eye contact with you.

You chuckled darkly before you grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the wall harshly. He was clearly shocked by your strength and he started to claw at you hand, however you didn’t budge.

“I bet that’s what she was begging you, right? Not to hurt her? Not to kill her? But you weren’t going to listen to her, were you?” your grip on his throat tightened and he struggled more, his eyes widening even further.

“So I think I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine, hmm?” your voice was low and filled with malice. 

You weren’t thinking as you slammed his head against the brick wall. If you were, you would have known what was soon to follow. The scent of fresh blood flooded your senses your sentences left me defenseless ((sorry i had to)) and you’re pupils dilated like crazy. Your grip on his throat tightened even further and the hunger in your stomach felt unbearable. You slowly leaned in, before you paused. Your mind was screaming at you that this went against everything you stood for as a vampire, but then a thought hit you. Did this fucker deserve to live? This wasn’t a human. This was a monster. Just like you. You moved your thumb and turned his head to expose his neck before you sunk your teeth into his neck. No one would miss this bastard, no one would even know he was dead. Thus ended a thirty year streak of a no human blood diet. Little did you know that someone would in fact know he was dead, for you had a little bit of an audience standing in front of the entrance of the alley. When you were finished with your meal, you felt a surge of euphoria as the human blood ran through your system. As much as you wanted to drain him of everything he had, you made sure to leave him alive. Just enough that he wouldn’t turn. That was the last thing you needed. You licked off all the blood on your lips and teeth, resisting the urge to moan softly as you turned to leave. But when your eyes landed on the stranger in front of you, your heart stopped. Figuratively.  

Dewey had been walking, well, stumbling home from a night spent at the bar. Again. Listen, he wasn’t an alcoholic, okay? Anyways, he was humming softly to himself, lost in his own thoughts until he heard a thud in the alley way that he was passing. Then he heard faint groaning. Normally he’d just assume it was a homeless person and keep on his way, but this time he slowly turned to face the alley. Maybe it was because he was drunk, but he felt a need to investigate. He squints into the dark alley, just barely able to make out your figure pinning a fairly large man to the wall. At first he thought there was some kinky stuff going on but the longer he watched, and he did keep watching for…..some reason, he saw you real back. His eyes widened as you went in for the kill. Holy shit. He just stood there and stared with wide eyes. He was way too drunk for this. This had to be just some kind of weird…drunk hallucination. Those exist right? But any doubts he had were gone once you let go of your prey and his body slumped down to the floor. That’s when he saw the blood around your mouth, and your tongue running along your- He froze when you turned and saw him. Oh shit. Okay, maybe- maybe this isn’t the worst way to die?

Your eyes widened as you saw him and you suddenly realized what you have just done. You looked more horrified than he did and he noticed, even in his drunken state. Maybe it was because he was drunk that he wasn’t as scared as he probably should have been. You were panicking and you were about to vamp speed run away until you remembered that you had the power to compel people. Make them do, or think things with just some eye contact and a bit of concentration. You’d only ever done it in emergencies, and now definitely counted as an emergency. Slowly, you walked over to him until he spoke making you stop dead in your tracks.

“You’re a vampire, right?” his eyes that were once wide in fear were now wide with intrigue. 

You blinked at him a couple of times before slowly nodding. You could smell the alcohol coming off of him so that explained his lack of fear. But why was he looking at you like that? Did he not know what you just did? In all honesty, the thought that you just killed a person wasn’t really on his mind. What was going on in his head was that he was standing in front of a real vampire. A real, hot vampire. It struck a kink in him he didn’t even knew he had. 

“You’re not….you’re not scared of me…?” you asked, clearly confused. 

“Uhhhh no…? Are you going to bite me? Because I’m down- Wait, does it hurt?” his face goes through a rollercoaster of emotions. Confusion, curiosity, excitement, worry. 

“I uh- I’m not going to bite you…I don’t feed- I don’t usually feed on humans…” your voice was quiet. You didn’t exactly know why you were telling him this. Or why you haven’t just compelled him to forget what happened and leave. 

“Can you? Bite me I mean,” he looked at you with big doe eyes and he took a few steps towards you, swaying slightly. 

To be perfectly honest, the whole idea of a vampire chick was more than hot to him. Especially the thought of one pushing him down onto a bed and biting on his neck. It was enough to make the man blush just thinking about it.

“What!? Why- You know that I could kill you right?” you stared at him in disbelief. He….he wanted you to bit him? Okay, this guy is definitely way too drunk to grasp the reality of the situation. 

“I’m not going to bite you,” you say again more sternly this time before he has a chance to respond. 

“Aww………okaaaaayy,” he visibly deflated, his shoulders slumping and his lips forming into a childish pout.

His behavior made your own lips curl upward slightly. He’s pretty cute. Wait. What? You shook your head of those thoughts and your small smile disappeared as quickly as it came. You couldn’t let your heart make the decisions anymore. No matter how lonely you were…. You were suddenly ripped away from your thoughts as you heard him speak up. 

“Dewey. That’s uh, my name by the way. If you uh, ever want a snack just hit me up. You got a pen? Of course you don’t have a pen, why would you have a pen? Gimme- Gimme your phone,” he rambles on and takes a few more steps towards you, causing you to take a few back. He notices this and frowns.

“Shit- I uh- Sorry I’m a bit tipsy and-”

“Y/N. My name is Y/N,” you interrupted him, cautiously taking a step towards him. 

You didn’t know why, but something about him made you feel….something. Maybe it was the high of the blood you just had. Maybe it was the fact he knew you were a vampire and still wasn’t afraid of you. Or maybe it was the way he was looking at you. But whatever it was, it caused you to take out your phone. A grin immediately spread across his face as you handed him your phone and he eagerly put his number into your phone. Although it took him a couple of tries since he stumbled with the keys. 

“Hell yeah!” he sang in dramatically and pumped his fist in the air before giving you your phone back.

You couldn’t help but giggle softly at his enthusiasm. Okay you had to admit it, he was cute. 

“Well, okay. I’ll be seeing ya around sweet- doll- baby cheeks,” he cleared his throat and flashed an awkward grin, shooting you with finger guns as an attempt to recover from…..whatever that was. He then very hastily stumbled down the street, you could hear his heart beating fast and you smiled.  

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. You doubted he’d even remember what happened tonight anyways. Because of that, you didn’t bother to compel him. That and, it just didn’t feel right. You hadn’t met anyone who was this…accepting of your nature before. There were people you told your secret to that you’ve known for years who became absolutely terrified of you. You thought you’d never feel this…normal again. When you looked down at your phone you saw he sent a text to himself using your phone. Presumably so he’d have your number saved too. 

As the next couple of weeks passed by, Dewey kept texting you. Everyday. Still as unafraid and still as determined to go on a date with you as the day you met. At first, you tried to reply with as little as possible hoping he’d eventually lose interest. But of course, he kept on trying. That truly baffled you. Not only were you giving him almost nothing to work with text wise, be he knew what you were and yet he never ceased to pursue you. After nearly a month of daily cute texts and constant reminders that his offer was still on the table, you finally caved. It was only supposed to be one date, one where you’d compel him to forget you. It just wasn’t fair to him. You knew you couldn’t provide a family for him, and the possibility of you losing control and killing him would always be present. But…..you just couldn’t do it. The way he made you feel on that date….it was almost as if you could feel your heart beating again. He made you feel alive. So, one date turned to two, then three, then next thing you knew you two had been dating for almost a year. 

During that time Dewey always had questions about your vampire-ness. In the beginning he bombarded you with them, to the point where it felt almost overwhelming. But as time went on, his questions became less about what you are and more about who you are. Although, he never stopped offering himself as, and you quote, your “sexy fruit gusher” to which you always declined. You hadn’t really explained why exactly you wouldn’t feed off him. You just told him that you didn’t like to feed off humans, and that was that. 

Today, however was different. It was the anniversary of….well, something you’d really rather forget and you were a little on edge. It was about sundown and you were laying on Dewey’s bed, staring up at the ceiling lost in your thoughts. That was until the man himself came busting through the door humming to himself, a pizza in hand. Although you didn’t need to eat, you still could so Dewey always got enough food for you too. Mainly so he could casually ask you for yours since you don’t eat and he’s just sooooo hungry. You didn’t mind, of course. It was cute. He was cute. But tonight, would that be enough?

“Hey there bay-be!” he plopped down onto the bed next to you, causing the bed to bounce slightly under his weight. 

“Hey Dew,” you sat up and greeted him with a soft smile, but refrained from the usual cheek kiss.

He noticed the lack of affection but didn’t say anything, just assuming you forgot or were to eager for some sweet zah. He places down the box of pizza down onto the bed in front of you two and opened her up, exposing the beautifully disgusting food. He wastes no time taking a slice and chowing down, you following suit not too long after. Food had been a coping mechanism you used when you were alive, and it still helped even after you died. Well, as much as binge eating can help anyways. Dewey looked over to you and grinned cheekily, now was the perfect opportunity to try once more. 

“Y’now, I bet I’d taste better to you than that pizza,” he nudged you slightly with his elbow and wiggled his eyebrows. 

However you weren’t in the mood, not today. Not about this.

“Dew, we’ve been over this a million times. Please drop it, okay?” you sighed as you tried to be as calm about it as possible. The whole reason you kept saying no was because you didn’t want to hurt him, turning his offer down would be meaningless if you snapped at him now.

“Oh come on! It’s almost been a year! Don’t you want a taste? Does my blood smell bad or something? Is it because I eat like crap? Is it because I’m fat?” he rambled on, suddenly putting down his slice of pizza.

“What? No- Dew, you’re not fat. It’s just… “ you sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose, your patience starting to wear thin. 

“Then what is it? It’s not because I don’t want it, because OBVIOUSLY I do!” he whined like a kid who wasn’t getting what he wanted, flailing his arms and all.

“Dewey, I said drop it. So drop it, okay?” your tone of voice was one a one of warning. If he pushed further you don’t know if you could keep your cool.

“But-!” he began to argue further but you cut him off.

“I said drop it. So fucking drop it,” you eyes were dark and your fists were balled up tightly. You weren’t quite yelling, but you sure as hell were close. 

However that still wasn’t enough for him to stop it. He just wanted to at least know why. It kind of hurt that his vampire girlfriend wouldn’t even do to him what vampires are supposed to do. Was there something wrong with him? Did she not like him enough? Did she have to love him in order for her to feed off him? If that were true then….that meant she didn’t love him. 

“Can you at least tell me why then?” he sounded desperate for an answer, and it broke your undead heart. You hated that you were hurting him like this but you were scared to tell him the truth. Scared that he’d be scared of you. 

“I just- I just can’t….okay?” you turned your back to him, swinging your legs over the edge of his bed and trying to hold back tears memories of past mistakes came flooding back. 

You knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with that answer, but you hoped that he would take the hint that it wasn’t something you wanted to discuss.

“You can’t what?” his tone wasn’t mad or annoyed, it was genuinely confused and….hurt. 

“BECAUSE I CAN’T RISK ACCIDENTALLY KILLING YOU! I-I CAN’T KILL SOMEONE THAT I LOVE AGAIN, OKAY!?” you finally snapped. Suddenly standing up and turning to him with tears streaming down your face. 

If you needed to breath, you’d be hyperventilating right now. You quickly turned your back to him again and covered your face. He was silent for a long while and you were sure he was afraid of you now. That was, until he finally spoke.

“You….You love me…?” his voice was small and hopeful. 

“Wh- That’s what you’re focused on!? Didn’t you hear me!? I’m a murderer! Fuck Dewey, I almost killed a man the night we met! I’m- I’m a fucking monster!” you turned to him and stared at him with wide eyes in disbelief. 

“Okay but, you love me?” a grin slowly spread across his face and he scrambled across the bed, kneeling near the edge. 

It wasn’t like he was ignoring the other stuff you said, that stuff just…..didn’t really matter to him. He loved you with all his heart. You were on his mind almost as much as music was. Almost. To hear that you felt the same way about him? Oh god, was this boy more than excited. He didn’t care that you’ve killed, although maybe he should. You haven’t hurt him, you never fed off him, hell you never even kissed his neck in fear you’d lose control! So, he wasn’t exactly worried. 

You blinked at him and searched his face for any signs of fear, or anger, or anything negative. Only to be met with nothing but hope and….love. Your expression softens and you let out a shaky sigh. You did love him, so damn much. It was like whenever you were with him the place where your heart was got all warm and fuzzy. He made you feel alive, loved, and normal. Everything she ever could of hoped of finding. 

“I- I do love you, Dew….and it’s because I love you that I’m terrified of losing you. Especially to myself….” you nervously fidget with your hands nervously and avoided his gaze. 

“Y/N, I’m not going anywhere. I trust you with my life, literally. I’ve been willing to risk my life for you since we met, and yet you refused over and over. I’m pretty sure your fear- no, love will be a hell of a lot stronger than your hunger,” he takes your hands and places a kiss on each one.

A small smile made its way onto your face at his cheesy words and you realized that he was right. Your love for him was infinitely stronger than your thirst for blood. If you were going to feed on him, you’d take every precaution. You pulled him into your chest for a hug and he happily wrapped his arms around your waist.  

“Plus, dying by my sexy vampire girlfriend isn’t such a bad way to go,” he shrugs and grins up at you with a cheeky grin. 

“That’s not funny,” you frowned slightly, though it didn’t last for very long. His smile was just too contagious.

“So……does this mean you’ll finally…?” he looked up at you with big puppy eyes, even going so far as to bat his eyelashes. 

“Okay, yes. I’ll feed on you,” you sighed softly before finally giving in to his request.

As soon as those words left your mouth he pulled away from the hug, jumped off the bed, and did a lap around his small room pumping his fists in the air in victory. You giggled at him before he stopped in front of you and you gave him a soft kiss. 

“Alright, go lay on the bed,” you paused for a moment before continuing, “and take off your shirt.”

“Yes, ma’m!” he eagerly, perhaps a little too eagerly, threw his shirt over his head and plopped down onto the bed on his back.

Why he wanted to do this was still a complete mystery. Maybe he liked the idea of being bitten? Maybe it was the idea of being your own personal source of blood? Or maybe it was the fact that you were a vampire in general? It was most likely a combination of all of them if we’re being honest.

You sat on the bed next to him and rested a hand on his chest. He looked up at you with his big brown eyes and excited grin. He had never waited for something for so long and still have so much interest in it. He was so ready, more than ready. He was eager and excited. Ever since he saw you feeding on that random guy in that alleyway, it did something to him and it made him wish that was him. He didn’t know why it was so hot to him, but it was so, so hot to him.

As you looked down at him and took in his more than perfect upper body, you thought of places where you could feed on him from. You had a feeling he wouldn’t let you heal the puncture wounds with your blood, so you didn’t want to bite anywhere that’d be visible. He was a teacher after all and the last thing you wanted was for him to get fired. Your eyes darted around the different possible places you could feed from. His shoulder? Hmm no that’d be too painful since it’s close to bone. Thigh? Maybe some other time. Okay, definitely some other time. His chest? Maybe, that seemed like a good place…But then, your eyes drifted down to his stomach. Your smile widened as you found your target. Bingo. 

Dewey tried to follow your train of thought with your eyes and when they landed on his stomach, he felt a mixture of things. Arousal was definitely one of the first, love was also one that was very present. However, his insecurities started to eat at him as his extremely attractive girlfriend eyed his fat stomach. As if reader his mind, and you might actually have, you placed a soft kiss onto his stomach. Instantly his face was consumed with a deep blush. 

“I think I’ll choose here to start with, if you don’t mind?” you look up to him, but you don’t move your head.

He opened his mouth to express how he was more than okay with that, but the only thing that came out was some sort of whining sound. He then covered his face with his hands as his face now burned with embarrassment before furiously nodding. You smiled up at him, although he couldn’t see it, and peppered his soft stomach with kisses. Dewey peaked down at you through his fingers, wanting to watch as you sunk your teeth into his skin. As you found the perfect spot, you licked it slightly before pausing.

“Thank you, for this. I love you Dew,” you whispered your gratitude against his skin and placed one last tender kiss before you, as gently as possible, sunk your fangs into his skin. 

 The moment his hot blood made contact with your tongue you tried and failed to suppress a moan. Drinking human blood was always euphoric, but this? This was on a whole new level. This was just…heaven. You eagerly took more of his blood in your mouth and down your throat. You looked up to meet his gaze and you could see him wincing, you dialed it down by licking at his woulds rather than ducking on it. You brought a hand to his side and rubbed soothing circles onto his skin with your thumb. The soft touches and your hot tongue gliding along his stomach made him relax slightly, and also made him extremely aroused. He bit down onto his lower lip and slowly brought a hand down to play with your hair. It was hard for you to rip yourself away from his orgasmic blood, but you did it. You did it. Before you sat up you licked away the excess blood and left a soft kiss to the wound, your lips barely ghosting his skin. Once you sat up you licked your lips and looked over to his very, very, very red face.

“Are you okay?” you asked him with a soft voice.

“I- I’m uh I-” he gave up on words and just nodded, giving a thumbs up.

You chuckled and leaned in, gently moving his hand away from his face before placing a tender kiss to his lips. You quickly went to the bathroom and got yourself a bandage that was a good enough size to cover both your teeth marks. You returned to see Dewey sitting up and poking at the wounds, then wincing slightly.

“Don’t do that, here let me,” you sat in front of him and applied the bandage to his stomach, to which his hand instantly rested on top of. But not because of the pain or anything. 

“That was- That was- Can you do that again?” he stared at you with wide, hopeful puppy eyes and you couldn’t help but giggle.

“Maybe some other time, love. Now, it’s cuddle time,” although he was disappointed to hear that you wouldn’t bite him again, he instantly perked up at the word ‘cuddle.’

Before Dewey laid back down he grabbed a slice of pizza which caused you to chuckle and shake your head. You then laid down next to him and rested your head on his chest, draping an arm across his stomach just above where you bit. Closing your eyes, you listened to his heart beating. 

“Thank you,” Dewey said softly, kissing the top of your head.

“No, thank you. Your blood is absolutely delicious,” you looked up at him and kissed his neck before going back to listening to his heart.

After that night you left many, many, many bite marks all over his body. All of which he practically begged for. Of course, most of them came to be in the bedroom. 

______________________________________________

@the-ineffable-prince-of-hells @lord-satan-3244 @meangirlsx @im-eating-rn @ramencupposts @beetlejuicebeadoll

#dewey finn x vampire!reader #dewey finn x reader #dewey finn x you #dewey finn x vampire!self insert #dewey finn #school of rock #school of rock musical #school of rock au #my wriitng

[neighborhood-newtina-reblogger]

Forward motion

Word Count: 2.4K

I’m writing a multi-chapter fic that will eventually include and go beyond the chapter I posted as “Not a moment to spare.” This is chapter 1. Forgive the exposition. Picking up at the end of COG.

Footsteps on the wet stone of the viaduct were practically the only indication that eight people were making their way to the school grounds. Just one voice carried forward from the back of the crew: the overly companionable one belonging to Flamel, who was valiantly attempting to make conversation with Nagini. 

The animagus, for her part, hadn’t made a sound since their arrival at the castle. Left alone in the Great Hall for the hour Newt had been in Dumbledore’s office, the rest of the crew attempted to fill the empty air with light conversation, albeit with mixed success. Nagini didn’t engage with the stilted questions about the cities of Paris, New York, and London. The weather in each place didn’t interest her in the slightest. Nor did she particularly care about the popular tourist attractions at each spot. She kept her thoughts locked up tight inside her. She slouched her shoulders in and kept her arms tight to her body, as if to close herself off from the rest of the group. She maintained that posture even now as they walked. A cue clearly missed by the ancient alchemist. 

Yusuf strode along beside Jacob, ​though the two did not even spare a passing glance. The shorter man ambled on with a look of resignation, the wonder and confusion he experienced upon their arrival having faded with his confrontation of the sobering circumstance that brought them there. Yusuf, for his part, kept his eyes trained squarely in front of him, where Newt and Dumbledore strode with purpose. Their grey attire matched the gloomy sky and the gloomy mood. Nobody dared call attention to the tension that lingered heavily between the two men. As for his appearances, Dumbledore donned what would have been a convincingly cool façade, but his hesitance to make conversation with Newt betrayed his true feelings. Newt, however, put forth no effort to mask his distaste for the whole situation. He wore the closest thing to a scowl he could muster, eyebrows furrowed and lips slightly downturned. His grip on his suitcase was unusually tight in his left hand, seemingly placed there on purpose to create a barrier between himself and his old professor. 

The smell of wet grass in the courtyard they entered held very specific memories for Theseus, ones that he didn’t much care to relive right now. Of a time when he actually had friends. When he could run around and laugh and play without shouldering the weight of all the atrocities of the world. Weight that someone had come along to finally help him bear. Weight made intrinsically lighter by her reminder that there was light in this dark world. That love and friendship were real and attainable and worth fighting for. And fight she had. He considered turning around and heading alone back to the Great Hall when his opportunity was cut short by Dumbledore’s voice:

“Let’s have a look at the beast, shall we?”

Newt pursed his lips and set his case down in the middle of the grass. Tina emerged from where she’d hidden herself at the back of the pack, cradling an injured niffler in her right arm, and motioned for the others to stand back just before the zouwu came roaring to the surface. Nagini gasped and grabbed Yusuf’s arm. He gave a few uncomfortable pats to her hand, which she quickly withdrew. The creature circled the perimeter of the grounds like a raging river of orange and red ribbons before alerting to the jingle of the feathered kitty toy. She roared forward and screeched to a stop before Newt, who promptly dropped the lure back into the case. With the zouwu safely recaptured only seconds after her explosive release, Dumbledore broke past Tina’s barricade and placed a hand on Newt’s shoulder, which earned him a sharp glare from the magizoologist.

“She’s surely a fine creature, just as you said.”

Newt recognized the glimmer in Dumbledore’s eyes. It was mischievous. Scheming. Decidedly up to something. “You’re not using my creatures for any of your clever plots, professor. I won’t allow it. I agreed to show you the zouwu as a matter of strictly academic interest.”

Dumbledore gave a hum in acknowledgement, which set Newt fuming. It was a slight sound, but it spoke volumes. It said that his concerns were a minor inconvenience that could be easily swept aside with just a little persuasion. Well, perhaps he could be convinced about illegal travel to Paris given additional incentives, but nothing could ever justify weaponizing his life’s work. He was in charge of his creatures, and that would never change.

Newt scanned the small crowd, most of whom looked varying degrees of scared or amazed by the spectacle they’d witnessed. All except one, who was busy negotiating with the niffler over a pearly button on her blouse, which peeked out from where her stark leather trench coat shrouded her whole body. She looked conflicted as she gently pushed his paw away with a finger, being mindful of his injuries. Newt’s scowl softened slightly with the knowledge that he’d made the right decision in handing him off before disappearing with Dumbledore. She was whispering something to the creature, though Newt couldn’t make out what it was. The silence must have persisted for a second too long, because Yusuf finally spoke up to ask after their lodging.

At this, Tina’s attention snapped back to the people standing next to her, and she gave a concerned look to Nagini, who had once again had retreated into her small personal bubble. 

“Yes, well, we’ve been making arrangements for you over the course of the day. Unfortunately the dormitories and common rooms have newly become occupied by students, as is the way of things come September, but I’ve ensured that adequate space is prepared for each of you in spare offices around the castle. I trust you will find everything to your liking.” He turned to address the rest of the group. “You are all safe at Hogwarts.”

“Exactly how secure are these offices? We can’t afford any mishaps with Newt’s case, and it‘s probably be best if we keep its contents hushed up. The creatures and the children have to be kept safe if we’re gonna be here a few days.”

Newt wanted to collapse in relief every time he heard Tina use his given name after so much time being “Mr. Scamander,” and prior to that not being addressed at all for months. Only this time, his knees actually did buckle a little thanks to his state of general exhaustion. He bent down to click the latches on his case and take it in hand as he spoke: “I promise you, Tina, that after New York I’ve taken steps to ensure that my case is both muggle and niffler-proof. Not to worry.”

She gave him a small smile, which set his heart to fluttering. He had seen it before just hours ago, still in Paris, when the ragged bunch gathered around the fountain awaiting word on their portkey arrangements. There was so much still unsaid, but he was almost certain that the worst of their misunderstanding was cleared up. She knew now that he hadn’t gotten engaged. She didn’t ridicule his Salamander eyes comment. In fact, she finished it. They’d fought side-by-side, a well-synchronized machine, just as they were nine months ago in New York. She just might be the most special woman on the planet. The growth of a soft smile on his lips skidded to a halt as he remembered the one thing he’d gotten no closure on: that man Queenie had mentioned. That auror. Dare he even ask? If that thought hadn’t been enough to sour what had a been a content few moments of contemplation and sustained eye contact between the two, Dumbledore’s voice was sure to paste the frown back on Newt’s face. 

“All unused rooms in the castle are enchanted to grant access only to certain witches and wizards. The charms have been updated so that each of you will be the only ones able to open or close the doors using your wands.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Tina saw Nagini’s head drop to look down at her empty hands. Her heart went out to the young woman; she could recognize false bravery when she saw it. This woman needed an ally. 

“Is a wand the only way to unlock the doors, professor?” She said this giving a slight nod in Nagini’s direction. Dumbledore looked puzzled for a fraction of a second. The flicker went unnoticed by anyone but Newt, who felt an incredible amount of satisfaction. Leave it to his Tina to ask a straightforward yet unexpected question for which Dumbledore wasn’t fully prepared. The professor trained his focus on the maledictus, who kept her eyes to the ground. Sensing she was now the center of attention, she lifted her head first to look at Tina, who gave her a warm smile and nod. She snapped her gaze to Dumbledore and spoke with a low and steady voice:

“I don’t have one.”

Nagini’s calm and shy exterior masked an inner turmoil that Tina could only hope to understand some day, at least enough to be of some help. This woman clearly cared very much for Credence, and Credence trusted her to some degree. What was the nature of their relationship, anyway? Had they become friends in the circus? What had they gone through at the hands of that wretched ringmaster?

With Dumbledore’s assurances that something else could be worked out for Nagini, the group started heading back. Tina placed her free hand—that is, the one not occupied by a now gently snoring niffler—gingerly between Nagini’s shoulder blades, giving her enough of a start to cause Tina to immediately withdraw the gesture of comfort. Both women whispered “sorry” at the same time, and Nagini sped up her steps a little to join Yusuf, Theseus, and Jacob in silence.

Left at the back of the pack, an opportunity finally presented itself. Taking a steadying breath, Newt resolved to not let his chance get away. “Tina, might I have a word for just a moment?”

Her heart thumped at the sound of him unexpectedly so close behind her. She turned her head to find his eyes and slowed to a stop. She adjusted the niffler slightly in her arms, shifting him more securely to the crook of her elbow, and waited for Newt to continue.

“Tina, about the records room.”

She smiled. A breathtaking, warm smile that let her dimples make an appearance. 

“Yes?” 

“Well, I can’t help but feel that we were somewhat interrupted.”

“I guess we might’ve been.” She took a half step closer, just as she had not a day prior. “Salamander eyes?” That spark she used to have when teasing him returned, and it transported him back to that rooftop in New York when she’d chuckled about Dougal’s name. 

He cleared his throat. “Yes well, what I meant to say is, you have beautiful eyes. And you’re beautiful. Probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. And I’ve—I’d been losing sleep at night with worry for you. Not knowing whether you were angry with me for my comment about aurors or whether you’d been hurt and I had no way of knowing...it was maddening. And to find out it was all because of some stupid magazine, well I’ll write to the editors first thing tomorrow. I’m sorry that I let that hurt you, Tina. I should’ve kept writing. I feel—well, I feel that I failed you. As a friend.”

All the air was sucked out of her lungs as soon as he began to speak. Beautiful. The most beautiful, even. Losing sleep? He wasn’t meeting her eyes, but she could see through his fringe how his brows furrowed with the effort of making these confessions.

“You couldn’t have done anything, Newt. You didn’t even know the damn thing had been printed! I should have reached out to you instead of letting myself stew over it. I did some dumb things when I should have known better. If I’d have just asked— ”

“Well, clearly I had done something wrong if I made it possible for you to believe even for a second that I would marry another woman.” She raised her eyebrows at his interruption and he panicked, “Not that I—I just mean—there was nothing between me and Leta anymore and if I gave any indication that there was, I—well, it was unintentional. And surely I would not have kept such a significant development in my life from you in light of our—of our friendship. I assure you that I have no plans to marry anyone at all.” He cringed and she opened her mouth so say something. “Not that it’s—I mean—sorry, I’m sorry, I’m just—“

“Hey, hey, Newt,” she put her arm on his shoulder and gave him a little laugh. “It’s alright. I get it.”

“You do?” She nodded. “Good, good, that’s...that’s good.”

“Let’s just move on from all that now, okay?”

“Yes, right. Moving on.”

Tina gave him another bright smile when the niffler stirred in her arms. It groggily sniffed in Newt’s direction, and the two shared a slight chuckle. 

“Newt, I think he wants his mommy.”

He took a step closer to help her transfer the niffler securely to his own arms. He tried to keep himself steady for the niffler’s sake, even if the way their arms and hands brushed sent enough electricity through his body to topple him over. Merlin, when did it get this bad?

She reached over to scratch the creature’s belly as Newt shifted to a more comfortable position before she turned to keep pace with the group. As the distance between them grew he felt his head grow hot and his thoughts dissolve into a chaotic haze. What were you thinking? ‘Beautiful.’ He should have complimented her intelligence or her wit or her heart! A woman like Tina doesn’t just want to hear beautiful. She deserves something more complete. And he even said ‘probably the most beautiful.’ ‘Probably!’ He didn’t even say it with certainty! And “marrying another woman”, what had possessed him? What a terrible way to phrase things. He almost made it better and then the not marrying at all! Bloody hell.

#newtina #newtina fanfiction #fic #fantastic beasts and where to find them #fbawtft #fantastic beasts and the crimes of grindelwald #fbatcog #tcog #canon compliant #newt/tina #newt x porpentina #Tina Goldstein/Newt Scamander #mine

[rkjeno]

〈♫〉MGAS SEASON 5 → 02. post-performance interview.

after the last performance, jeno kind of figured that would be the last big thing of the day. unfortunately, he had another thing coming. given he was so incredibly stoked to be met with an interview the first time, clearly he felt just as much excitement this time around. in other words, he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. he managed to sing in front of a hundred people, but talking in front of a camera seemed completely unrealistic and impossible. every time those types of thoughts play through his mind, he feels slightly amused. he really is a work of art, isn’t he? he could have been blessed with a mind that didn’t overthink and a heart that didn’t make him feel like it was going into overdrive on the daily. alas...

once he was comfortably sitting in the seat and positioned in front of the interviewer, he managed his biggest, warmest smile and let out a nervous sigh. it was following by soft, airy laughter as he laced his fingers together and rested his hands in his lap. he wasn’t sure what sort of questions he was going to be met with this time, though he had a feeling that they’d be a lot less effortless than the last ones. still, he has surprised himself before, so he tried not to get too worked up before knowing what was going to happen ( even though that’s always the situations in which he is the most worked up... he needs to know things ).

“how did you feel when you received the news of the callback?”

"oh...” his immediate reaction amused him, which left him briefly laughing for a few moments after. if only he was better at gathering his thoughts in the blink of an eye or speaking before he’s played it through his mind. “well, truthfully, i was really panicked. i didn’t even open the email right away because i was afraid that it was going to be bad news.” a sheepish smile accompanies his confession, and he scratches at the back of his neck for a moment before continuing. “i think it took me about an hour to finally work up the courage to see what was happening. once i saw that i made it through, i was surprised. out of all of the people that initially auditioned, i was very grateful to have been one of the top one-hundred. when i was little, a hundred seemed like a huge number to me, but by now, i can see how fortunate i am to be here today. it was a nice feeling... a feeling of accomplishment.”

“how was it seeing the set for the first time?”

he takes a moment before making any sort of noise or giving the interviewer some other sort of reaction, since he needed to mentally revisit his experience, trying to remember what the first emotion he felt upon witnessing it was. “surreal? it felt like i was visiting something that i wasn’t actually apart of. i think at first, i probably felt like i was just going to be someone in the audience that watches the competition, because i haven’t ever been anywhere like this before where i was... involved. does that make sense? i kind of felt like i was visiting some imaginary thing from tv. like... it’s hard to actually see these kind of sets as real when they’ve ever only existed on the television before. it took some sinking in for me to finally accept that this was real, and it was something that i was going to be a part of.”

“what did you think when the judges were revealed?”

"i think that i was convinced that it was over for me.” light, amused laughter spills from his lips as he leans back in his chair a little, tilting his head to the side as he tried to gather more of his thoughts. “i have never seen these people in person before, as far as i can recall. so, seeing them for the first time was overwhelming enough, but that was just intensified upon realizing that they were going to be judging me. they’re all respected, talented, and powerful people... they can bend a lot of things to their will, and i think that sort of intimidated and scared me.”

“how do you think you did?”

"um... i am pretty sure that i did well. or, as well as i planned to. in comparison to other people’s ideas of what ‘good’ means, i have no idea. i don’t know if the judges will like me or if the other contestants will think that i deserve to be here... but when it comes to my own thoughts and what i had in mind, i met my own expectations.”

“were there any performances you liked?”

this was a question that he predicted the second that he sat down for an interview. after having the opportunity to watch everyone and take note of what they did, surely these people would be curious about everyone’s opinions. it’s with a large, excited grin that he is able to answer, “yeah! totally... there were a lot of performances that i liked. i just enjoyed seeing what everybody had to offer since we’re all so different and everyone’s minds are wired to come up with different ideas and it’s really fun seeing the spins that get put on things. i really, really loved watching ha sungwoon? i think that was his name... the one that performed a fall out boy song on the piano. he was very talented and he had something going for him that i wish i could acquire. fall out boy is one of my favorite bands, so maybe i was biased watching him to start with, but his talent just... proved to me that he deserved whatever interest i took in him. it made me wish that i had chosen to play an instrument this time around, too. also, lee seoyeon’s performance was really pretty and enjoyable as well. i have always really liked her voice. we’ve been friends for a while and i think she deserves to make it far. na jaemin and song yuqi’s performances were also fun for me to watch. i hope that they get as far as i know that they deserve to. i’m constantly surprised by all of this talent that i hardly knew existed. it’s fun to experience.”

“were there any performances you didn’t like?”

"mm... i mean... there were performances that i enjoyed less than others, but i think that’s just natural. i didn’t see anything that i just absolutely hated, but sometimes i would just quietly laugh to myself and think ‘what??’ especially when that lee jeno guy made his way onto stage... how embarrassing for him.” once finished answering, he playfully laughed, feeling his face behind to slightly warm up. he was always a master at embarrassing himself.

“is there anyone you are certain will move onto the next phase of the mgas?”

"kang daniel. i should have mentioned him when it came to performances that i liked, i guess i was just trying so hard not to forget anyone that i did... but he is so talented and pretty known... well, i know about him, at least. i guess i can’t really speak for everybody, i just think it would be ridiculous and a big mistake if he didn’t move on to the next phase.”

“is there anyone you are certain will be eliminated today?”

the question causes him to panic just a little. it probably shows on his face in the way that his eyes slightly widen and he shifts uncomfortably in his seat. he takes several moments of being silent before he even attempts to answer the interviewer. “no. i’m not certain of anything. i mean... i don’t think anyone can be. mistakes were made here and there, but even so... there’s not a way of knowing until it happens. people who i thought performed flawlessly could be eliminated while people that i thought needed more practice could win it all. it’s all up to the judges and we all just have to... hope that it isn’t us... but it’s going to be someone, sadly. maybe that will be me. nobody can be sure right this second.”

#rkmga5 #rkmga5callback #; solo #wc: 1316 #rkxsungwoon #rkapril #rkjaemin #rkyq #danielxrk

[the-gay-cryptid]

Camping Trip

I have never been an outdoorsy person. Not really. Sure, I like walking in the field behind my house. It’s big enough that I’ve gotten lost a couple times and had to consider the possibility that I’d need to call my parents to help me. But I always had my phone in those situations. I had food and water and was never more than an hours walk from civilization. Even so, when i learned of our sophomore retreat, I decided to embrace the wilderness.

For our retreat, we went into the smoky mountains for a few days with our classmates and three teachers. It wasn’t exactly camping, since we were actually sleeping in dorms, but the dorms weren’t nice. The building was freezing cold and the bunk beds didn’t have actual mattresses, just those thin mats we used in kindergarten at naptime. Then there were the ladybugs. Those perfectly harmless and charming little red and black bugs. Signs of good luck. Signs of a lovely spring day. They were everywhere.

One of my closest friends once admitted to me she was terrified of ladybugs after her house had a small infestation. I used to laugh at her. Then I got to Tremont and had to sleep with a towel over my head so the ladybugs didn’t get in my hair or mouth while I slept. In the mornings, i had to shake them out of my hiking boots. It was disgusting, but I could at least appreciate the potential for a story of my classmates shrieking in the night because a lady bug had crawled on her face.

I complain a lot about the dorms, but they really weren’t so bad. Even the communal bathroom wasn’t too bad. And that’s coming from someone who locks the doors for privacy when I’m just brushing my teeth. Would I ever actually choose a communal bathroom? Absolutely not. But I could live with it so long as the next ones didn’t have ladybugs trying to escape the shower water by flying into my hair.

Every morning we rose from our uncomfortable beds that left my shoulders cramped for almost a week and went to breakfast. Breakfast was okay, with it’s bland pancakes and even more bland yogurt. But there was hot tea, and that was all I really needed. Lunch and dinner weren’t much better, but they served brownies after dinner, which were surprisingly good. After breakfast (and lunch) we went on hikes or had rest time. Most people spent rest time in the dorms sleeping or hanging out. I opted for the hikes that our biology teacher took a few girls on.

They were short, easy hikes that usually took us to the river. The water was freezing cold, and we all took advantage of it to rub down our necks and foreheads after we’d been running around the forest. It was so quiet out there. I don’t live in the city, and I do wander around the field, but I can’t ever escape that faint hum of civilization. Of cars. Of shouting children. But out there, standing on a rock dangerously close to the river’s edge, I heard only water and wind. It would’ve been disturbing if it wasn’t so beautiful.

On our last day, we went on the hardest hike of all: The Waterfall. The walkways were narrow and right on the edge of the mountain. We had to walk single file and warn each other of loose leaves and mud. Even so, several of us fell and finished the hike with dirty hands and clothes. Some parts of the trail were so steep, we had to climb on our hands and knees, like we did when we were kids running up stairs. Unlike the stairs, the mountain was uneven and muddy and didn’t just leave us with carpet burn when we slipped.

With the worst of the hike over, we were faced with the next challenge: scaling rocks to get to the actual waterfall. The paths on this hike were all extremely narrow, and as we got closer to the waterfall, the rocks got bigger. Though they’d been worn down a bit over the years of people climbing over them, we still had to boost each other up. Getting down them was much easier, since we could essentially just slide down.

If we had felt like it, we probably could have just walked upriver and bypassed the rocks altogether, but one of our girls had fallen in the river during an activity the day before, and she’d come out bruised and so cold her whole body trembled and her lips took on hinted hues of blue. We’d all given up our spare blankets to warm her when we got back. She was fine after some hot chocolate a good group hug, but walking in the river was still a no go.

Surprisingly, no one got hurt on the rocks. After them, we finally reached our destination. The waterfall wasn’t huge, only a couple stories tall if I had to guess, but it was still pretty. We partook in the Tremont waterfall challenge, (dunking your face in the freezing water beside the waterfall for seven seconds) and painted our faces with mud made from rubbing two river rocks together. I swear that mud was magical, because it cleared my skin by nightfall.

I’d made it through the hike without a problem. I’d shoved my face in cold water. I’d put mud on my face. I’d taunted my teachers with my classmates so they’d stick their faces in the river too. But when I finally injured myself, it was because I was posing for a picture. It wasn’t even a dangerous picture. We were just standing on a rock a little ways into the river. We only had to hop across spaces between the rocks, and the spaces were each no bigger than six inches across. Just like I’d done on every single hike that went by the river.

It was a stupid mistake. I had gotten confident from my lack of injuries throughout the entire trip, and this was our final hike. So my dumb, arrogant self tried to jump to the next rock. Fun fact: river rocks tend to be wet and slippery. As any half wit could tell you, it’s best not to jump on them. Hell, even I knew that when I was jumping. But I assumed my boots had good grip on them. Thing is, my boots were meant to grip dry rock and dirt.

My foot slid from under me and I went down. I didn’t fall in, thank God, but I skinned my hand and knee on the rock. Several people panicked when I fell, since I’d barely caught myself before my head collided with the stone. I’d gotten close enough that the edge of the frame of my glasses got scratched, but my head itself thankfully didn’t hit. I was okay, just a little bloody. I got a bandaid and sat for the picture. I actually still have a small scar on my knee from the fall.

The best hike was not the last one though. The best had occurred on our first full day there. There’d been whispers of it from the moment we saw the whiteboard in the mess hall with our day’s schedule: the night hike. Those words were murmured like rumors of a haunted house among middle schoolers. I thought nothing of it. We were just going to bring our flashlights for a late night hike. No big deal. Then dinner rolled around and we were informed that, no, we would not have flashlights. Then I freaked out a little.

I am perfectly willing to admit that I’m a tad afraid of the dark. I’m not scared of monsters hiding in the dark under my bed or anything, I’m just scared of all the things that can go wrong when you can't see. I have a recurring nightmare of going into the kitchen late at night to get a glass of water, only to drop it and have it shatter around my bare feet, leaving me stranded and bleeding until someone comes to rescue me. That nightmare is the reason I keep a huge plastic water bottle in my room at night. I know I don’t have to be afraid of dropping glass in the forest, but there are other very real things to be scared of.

The forest was overrun with wild boars, for example. Our guides had all warned us how to spot tracks and what to do if we saw one. They even pointed out some of the traps they’d set to capture and relocate the boars since they’d started to over populate in the park. There were also wolves, as our guide told us in a story about how she’d accidentally run into a couple on the verge of a battle one night. There were also owls. We weren’t warned about them, but we could hear them. Owls are too often forgotten to be the vicious predators they really are. They’ve been known to attack people’s heads before, and just the thought of those vicious talons sinking into the back of your head is terrifying.

We walked in a darkness so thick, I couldn’t see my hair when it fell across my glasses. We walked single file, whispering warnings about loose rocks, roots, and steep step downs. We clutched the shoulder of the person in front of us and stayed pressed to the mountain to keep from falling down its side. I tried to map in my head where we were going, recalling that my teacher had mentioned one of the paths we’d taken on an optional hike was used for the night hike, but I quickly realized I was not on that at least vaguely familiar trail. Then I lost my grip on the girl in front of me.

I’ve always had anxiety. It’s gotten worse since I got older, but I learned how to manage it, and it rarely left me unable to think clearly. But then i was in a dark forest with nothing to hold onto. I was acutely aware of how far I was from civilization. Of how close the edge of the trail was. I was alone and lost. I felt a scream in my chest, but it couldn’t get past my constricted throat, and I could only gasp in the fresh air that felt too pure for my emotional state. I imagine i might’ve looked comedic. My eyes wide as I jerked my head around and fumbled with my arms straight out for a tree branch. But i felt absolute terror deep in my chest, like I was already on the verge of death.

I looked up at saw billions of stars. Living somewhere so rural, I’d never known how truly dark the world could be, nor did I have the faintest idea that I could see so much in the sky. So far and many that I knew i was very small and insignificant among them. I’d never seen so many. I’d never seen a sky so black. It was cold and vast and I was small and alone. I did not find fear in that sudden understanding. I found calm. Looking back, my reaction was incredibly melodramatic, but it felt so crystalline and simple at the time. I thought if i’m going to die, then this is a beautiful last thing to see. Then my teacher put her hand on my shoulder and guided me forward till we reached the group again. The group which had only made it a few feet in the brief thirty seconds i’d faced what I imagined to be a very evident demise. Fear certainly turns us into drama queens.

I didn’t lose track of the group again, but I had another moment to admire my insignificance in the universe. We’d separated, going a mere five or six feet from our stopping point, and sat down at the order of our guide. We were told to sit in total silence for five minutes, at which point she’d call us back. I sat on the cold damp river bank and looked straight out. I couldn’t even tell when I’d blinked or stared into the woods. Both were equally void of light.

The bank of the river was made up of cold, damp mud that chilled my hands and legs. Without thinking of all the bugs that might be there, I laid on my back and closed my eyes. It was so calm. So strangely quiet. It was too cold for crickets to even be out and chirping, so the only sound was the river. And something else.

I strained my ears, but kept my eyes closed. The sound was constant and distant, and also extremely familiar. I sat up and opened my eyes, searching the shadows for any movement. It sounded like another group of hikers talking in the distance. Probably just like us. I heard them laugh and heard their changing inflections as they talked. I even thought I could make out a few words. But I couldn’t see anything. They sounded like they were just up the river, but they never got any closer.

A sudden fear began up my spine again. What if it was my group? What if they’d started back and I’d not heard the guide calling us? I felt sure I hadn’t really wandered that far, only a few feet or so. But it was so dark out there really was no way to tell. Oh god, what if I was alone? I could never find my way back, i didn’t even have my flashlight with me. I’d left it in the dorms after we’d been told we wouldn’t be allowed to use them on the hike. I could maybe survive for one night; I’d watched Man vs. Wild plenty of times. But I didn’t have anything useful. Just a journal, a pen, and a lightweight jacket in my bag. You can’t exactly defend yourself from boars or wolves with those.

I began turning side to side rather frantically, searching everywhere for any sign of anyone I knew. My heart pounded so loud in my ears, I couldn’t hear my group in the distance anymore. I turned and sat on my knees, opening my eyes as wide as possible to make them adjust and start to see anything. In one of my panicked turns, I saw something human-ish in shape leaned against the rock. When I squinted, i could make out a small, pointed nose and straight hair.

“Angie?” I said softly, and the head turned. “Oh, just making sure it’s you.”

“It’s me,” she answered. I sighed, knowing instantly she was telling the truth. Even when she was whispering, she still had her distinct Vietnamese accent.

Now that I knew I wasn’t alone, I faced out to the river again. The sound was still there. It was still the same distance away. Who in the hell was out there whispering and giggling, but not actually hiking?

And then, like someone had smacked me upside the head and knocked the obvious explanation into my head, it hit me. The river. It was the river. What I mistook for voices was simply the gurgling water against the rocks. I finally understood why we describe brooks as “babbling”, because even now that I was aware of it, I couldn’t shake the belief that what I heard was people.

I could imagine how people can go crazy getting lost in the woods. The deceptive sounds of nature could lead anyone to believe they weren’t alone in the unbreakable darkness out there. Stories of fae and madness made so much sense now, and firmly set my intention to never go hiking alone or without damn good supplies ever again.

With the misunderstood danger gone, I tilted my head back and looked up. The stars were beautiful, and I was breathless. I decided then and there, I’d spend as much time watching the stars as I could from then on. I’ve always loved space. I love how big and vast and full of potential it is. It’s exciting. Like a gigantic mystery novel waiting to be read. I’d been describing myself as insignificant in comparison to it, but that just wasn’t true. I wasn’t insignificant because I couldn’t be compared to it. I am just a small living thing trying to compare itself the the entirety of the universe. It just wasn’t fair to myself.

Our return hike was silent. No warnings whispered over our shoulders. Just silence as we all returned to the dorms to sleep. I didn’t talk much that night. I called dibs on the first shower, and I told my friends goodnight. I laid in my bunk, towel over my head, and closed my eyes and dreamed beautiful things of a void of stars and whispering creatures living in shadows.

#my writing #writing #creative writing #creativity #my post #text post #stroy #true story #truestory #camping

[afellowgoodsir]

The Strangers (2008) Explanation/Opinions

Okay so completely ignoring the sequel to this (The Strangers: Prey at Night) which was kinda trash tbh ((but that’s a conversation for another day)), this movie was amazing. This is my take on the movie, most of this is just my personal beliefs and obviously SPOILERS!!!

SO LISTEN

A lot of people think that the killers were being illogical throughout the whole movie, which at first glance is perfectly reasonable, on multiple occasions one of them will reveal themselves to Kristen or James and then allow them to get away without attempting to kill them. Well, let’s be perfectly clear here that their main goal was never just to kill the couple. More than anything, it’s incredibly apparent that the strangers wanted to scare them. They wanted to make them as terrified and desperate as they possibly could before they ultimately killed them. That’s why the strangers prolonged killing the couple for as long as they did. 

Another thing that comes up a lot is moments like in this scene:

At no point in this scene did Kristen ever see the masked man standing behind her, and it was clearly not his goal at that time for her to know that he was in the house. So....why bother going inside and watching her at all? Control. If not fear, the strangers were all about control. During the entire movie, Kristen and James’s lives were in their hands constantly,  whether they knew it or not. They always had the choice to kill them, or to let them live just a little bit longer. That’s a power that Kristen and James never had and never could have, no matter how much they wanted to. And the strangers knew that. They thrived on the idea that they could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and there would be no one around to stop them. It was all about control over the situation.

But then, you may be wondering, if they liked control so much, then why take so many risks? Why remove their masks and show Kristen and James their faces, only to let Kristen live later on? Why create witnesses by stopping and talking with the Mormons? Simply put, the thrill of not being caught. Let’s face it, this was not the strangers first time doing this. They knew what they were doing, they knew that no matter how many risks they took, how many close calls there were, they wouldn’t get caught. Kristen, despite being alive at the end of the movie, was on a timer, and they knew it. It didn’t matter that the masked-man had left her there in the hallway alive, because he knew that there was no chance of her living to get to a hospital under any circumstances, let alone be able to describe the events of the night to police. Which is another form of control if you think about it, they had control over the fact that she’d live, even if it was just for a bit, they had control over the misplaced hope that she would get out of that situation alive and tell help to catch the people who murdered her lover. And the Mormons were just children. They were children who would only maybe be able to identify a few features of the random woman who’d asked them for a pamphlet, or the make and model of the truck she was in. They would be no more help to catching the strangers than Kristen would. 

Another thing people get confused about a lot is in the first scene featuring one of the strangers, where Doll face (the blonde one) knocks on the door not wearing her mask. She asks “Is Tamara here?” James tells her she has the wrong house, she asks if he’s sure, and then she leaves quickly. Later on when Kristen is home alone she knocks again asking “Is Tamara home?” I’ve heard several theories of people believing that she did this as a scare tactic. Unlike most of the things the strangers do in the movie, i don’t think that this was driven mainly by the intent to scare the couple. Instead, i think that she was simply seeing if anybody was home in the simplest way possible. This can be backed up by a line that she says near the end of the film: 

It was a bit confusing to me at first, why she bothered knocking twice, but now i think that it’s because James had left only a little bit earlier to go buy some more cigarettes for Kristen. It’s possible that they were unsure whether or not Kristen was still in the house, so Doll face knocked and asked about Tamara again, and when Kristen answered she once again asked “Are you sure?” and then could be heard running off. I do however believe that her asking if she was sure was more so to creep Kristen out, which she seemed successful in. It’s also possible that she was using this time as a distraction so that one of the other strangers could get inside the house while Kristen’s attention was diverted. 

Okay now that I've gotten past the ever so confusing ideology of the strangers, i’m going to talk about the brilliance in the directing. The director, Bryan Bertino, did an excellent job in conveying the idea that Kristen and James were completely isolated from the rest of the world. As James states at one point, “Since we've been here, I haven't heard a dog bark...or a car pass. Nothing. Just us and them.” On top of this, Bertino’s ability to use silence in his favor is outstanding. I think it’s pretty safe to say that everyone is tired of jump scares from music, right? The Strangers gave a nice break from this, instead deciding to focus on the eeriness of silence. In my opinion, he did it well. It allowed him to set up realistic, creepy, and horrifying scenarios revolving around the home invasion. Scenarios, that honestly aren’t far fetched at all.  

Please note that i am not a director or a film student, nor do i have any experience in film at all, these are just some random ass theories that i have about the movie lmao

Also i kinda want to write one about why the sequel is nothing like this and how the director kind of fucked up with his decisions in it but idk.. what do you guys think?

#the strangers #the strangers 2008 #the strangers prey at night #the strangers 2 #liv tyler #scott speedman #gemma ward #kip weeks #laura mongolis #glenn howerton #bailee madison #christina hendricks #emma bellomy #martin henderson #damian maffei #lewis pullman #lea enslin #bryan bertino #horror movie #thriller #review #suspense #murder #doll face #masked man #pinupgirl

[catte-bard]

Safe and Sound

Previous: Questions 

“You are playing a dangerous game.Interfering in things that are not your’s to interfere with.”

“Your concern is unneeded.”

“Very well, but you will find no sympathy from me if you are caught. You will be punished.”

“Then I will be punished. But come now, you cannot deny your curiosity on the matter.”

“Did you get much sleep?”

Bellona blinked, coming out of a daze. She looked up to see Alphinaud watching her with concern. Had he said something? The look on his face said that he was expecting an answer of some kind. The Miqo’te scowled, trying to recall what he had just asked.

“Bellona?”

“Hm? Oh, I don’t know.” She sighed, rubbing her face. Perhaps she managed to sleep for awhile but all she remembered was tons of tossing and turning. Waking up had been miserable; her limps felt heavy and her head filled with fog. A sore throat and some sniffling. She had awaken to a cold. Though better than being dead she supposed. 

“I guess I did get a little sleep. Medicine gave me some strange dreams.” She mumbled.

Her young friend furrows his brow.

She sighs. “Apparently it got me up out of bed and wandering down the hall. One of the chirurgeons thought I was sleepwalking.”

“Sleepwalking...That’s what they’ve said happened to you in Coerthas as well, correct?” He scowled.

Once more, Bellona offered an unhelpful shrug. “I know of no better explanation.” 

Honestly, there was no other way anyone else could explain it. The Rising Stones and the rest of Revenant’s Toll had been rather peaceful. No one spoke of anything strange or any shady looking characters prowling around. It was simply another quiet night in Mor Dhona.

None of the Scions were aware of Bellona’s disappearance until much later. It was actually shortly before Lord Aymeric had sent word that something amiss was sensed. Alphinaud had recounted the night’s events for Bellona. 

She had slipped off to bed early, bidding everyone good night. Yes, she remembered that part. She remember dressing down for bed and lying down...and then nothing else after that. According to Alphinaud, it had been about two or three bells later when someone noticed something was wrong. 

The door to her room had been opened and she hadn’t been inside. Someone had taken notice of this and had asked the others if the adventurer had gone anywhere last minute. Yet no one had spoken to Bellona since she had gone off to bed. 

The Seventh Heaven hadn’t been that busy that night so one would imagine that a woman dressed in sleepwear would not go unnoticed if she were passing through. Oddly enough, there didn’t seem to be any witnesses. Though those deep in their cups hardly ever were good witnesses...

It was unusual for the Miqo’te to go anywhere without telling someone. Even if it were for a short walk outside the Toll. So a few brows were raised.

They had only pondered on it for a few moments when they had received Ser Aymeric’s message. Hearing their missing friend had turned up in the snow malms from the Rising Stones, was not the news they wanted to hear. Even with reassurances that the Warrior of Light was in good health, a certain anxious young Scion was eager to see this for himself immediately. 

The sensible words of the Lord Commander were the only thing the kept the boy at bay. “The hour is late and she will most likely want to sleep after her ordeal. We should allow her rest before barraging her with questions and worries.”

And so the Scions would have to be content to waiting through night before rushing to their friend. And how painfully long the night had felt.

“Where are the others?” Bellona asked, stifling a yawn. Alphinaud had been the first to greet her when she had awoken. 

“Yda, and Papalymo are currently busy with matters involving the resistance. Thancred is actually with Lord Aymeric--he wanted to take a look at the reports  from the knights in the area as well.” Alphinaud said. “I do believe Krile stated that she was assisting Urianger with something and would try to visit later. Y’shtola should actually be coming in shortly with Tataru.”

He smiled and added. “I believe Tataru said something about wanting to get some flowers to surprise you. Y’shtola went with her.”

Bellona snorted at that. “I just got frostbite on my arse. I’m not bedridden with Red Throat or anything.”

“But Tataru is ever the kind soul. It is a nice gesture...don’t let her know I spoiled the surprise.” The boy told her and the adventurer promised to put on her best surprised face when Tataru came in. “How are you feeling? Though I assume not the greatest.”

Bellona grimaced, her sour expression answering that question. She woke up feeling incredibly sore but aside from her small cold she was fine. Still, the staff thought to keep her at least another night or two. Something about keeping an eye on her for fever or any other ill side-effects from her “romp” in the snows.

And the adventurer wasn’t very happy about that. She wasn’t sure if she could stomach another dose of that substance they claimed to be medicine. A strange clear liquid that looked like water, but it’s appearance had been deceiving as it was thick as sap and tasted like tree bark and salt. The healers had scolded her for being childish when she gagged at the taste.

Alphinaud had been amused by her complaints. If the Miqo’te could complain then she would be fine. “I’m glad you’re alright for the most part. You nearly had us all scared to death for your well-being.”

Bellona winced. “Sorry.”

Though honestly, it wasn’t like she wanted to disappear in the middle of the night and wake up in a blizzard.

“Let us just hope it doesn’t turn into a habit.” Alphinaud offered a teasing smile. “I’m not overly fond of the idea of chasing after you every night because you’ve walked yourself into a snowstorm or the den of some beastkin.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing though.” Bellona was quick to reassure him. Though she was also in part, trying to reassure herself. This was nothing to get up in arms over. “A one time incident probably a result of me working so much. These last few days have been rather busy after all.”

Alphinaud merely nodded.The woman looked tired, perhaps a little grey from her cold but for the most part seemed in good health. Part of him felt a bit foolish for fretting so much. Bellona has always seemed to bounce back from far worse. Though, perhaps it had simply been the unexpectedness of it?

Such a habit seemed so unlike the adventurer. It was never a problem she experienced before. So naturally it came as a shock when they were told what had happened. And without anyone’s notice!

Thank the gods that there was no serious harm done. The cold wasn’t the only thing dangerous about the Coerthan Highlands. Any of the local fauna could have come along and made quick work of her. And that is not a way one would think the Warrior of Light would go out.

The young Elezen was pulled from his thoughts for at that moment, the door opened.  Tataru entered, carrying with her a lovely bouquet of flowers. Upon seeing Bellona awake and alert, the lalafell perked up and immediately rushed to her bedside. Y’shtola made her appearance in the doorway moments later.

“Oh you’re awake!” Tataru exclaimed. “I was so worried that you’d still be sleeping when we came in. I didn’t want us to accidentally wake you.”

Bellona smiled. “I wouldn’t have minded.” She says. “It would have been nice to wake up to some friendly familiar faces. Those are for me, I take it?” She nodded to the flowers.

“Oh!” Tataru nods as she hands them over.

“We could not persuade Alphinaud to come along with us.” Y’shtola said. “It seemed he was intent on waiting here until you had finally awoken.”

Bellona arched her brow at the boy and he immediately flustered. “Well...” Alphinaud cleared his throat. “I simply thought Bellona would like to be greeted with some company when she woke ‘tis all!” 

And Bellona laughed at him, reaching over to ruffle his hair. An action that earned her a sound of protest from her friend. “Oh you needn’t worry about me so much, Alphinaud! But never grow out of being so sweet, promise me that?”

The boy grumbled, batting her hand away. 

Stifling a chuckle, Y’shtola says. “Full glad am I to see that you are quite lively.”

Bellona nodded. “I’m certainly feeling better than I did last night.”

Never before had she ever wanted to be so cold again. She had gone somewhat numb before her arrival into Ishgard. And when the feeling had began returning with her, it brought discomfort with it. Her entire body ached and she had been tormented by sensations of pins and needles. 

Worst of all, the whole ordeal had left her terribly exhausted. Her body had begged for rest and yet the chirurgeons would not let her sleep until they were done tending to her. It was a miserable experience, to feel so weak, tired, and in pain...

“I’m glad.” The conjurer smiles. “Though I do encourage you to take care for a few days. The last thing we would want is for you to hamper your recovery because you were too eager to get away from the bed.”

The bed-ridden Scion wrinkled her nose up in distaste. She was never one for bed rest. And it seemed that would never change. Still it was nice to hope the woman would one day gain some sense and let herself rest before springing out of bed for another adventure...

Though clearly unhappy with having to heed the chirurgeons, it appeared their Warrior of Light was going to be fine.

Y’shtola shook her head at the other’s expression,  “I am relieved to see you safe and sound.” She continues. “Simply hearing of your situation gave us no context for how severe it was.”

Bellona gave a weak smile. “You should know me well enough by now to know that it’ll take a little more than the cold to take me out.” She assured.

“Of course.” The other Miqo’te said with a smile. “But be it blizzard, primal, or imperial soldiers, you would be wrong to think that we don’t worry nonetheless.”

 “And I should count myself lucky I have people who care enough to.” The adventurer beamed. “Still, you didn’t have to come check on me.”

“It is simply as you said. We care enough to.” Y’shtola tells her.

Bellona nods and goes to reply but is foiled by a yawn. “I certainly am glad for the better company.” She manages.

“Still giving chirurgeons a hard time, as always?” Alphinaud comments.

And Bellona scoffed at that. “I do nothing wrong! If anything it’s them that give me the hard time.” 

She crossed her arms when her companions laughed at her. Bellona failed to see what was so amusing about that. She was telling the truth!

The four them went on to chat quietly. However several minutes later, the conversation was interrupted when a healer entered the room. The young Elezen woman looked surprised by the visitors but otherwise smiled and nodded politely in greeting towards them. She carried a tray with her bearing a steaming bowl of what appeared to be soup.

Moving over to the bedside, she set the tray down on the table beside it. Then giving Bellona a stern look, she turned to leave the room.The Miqo’te eyed the bowl with a sour face, but made no complaint. 

“I hope I haven’t pull any of you away from anything important.” She says, returning her attention to her company. 

The Scions were some of the greatest friends she’s ever had. And she appreciated they had cared enough to come see is she was fairing well. But a small part of her felt burdensome for pulling them away from whatever business they were attending to for something so small. 

“You don’t have to stay at my bedside if you have other things to do. I should be fine, all I’ll probably walk away with is a simple cold.”

Tataru places her hands upon her hips at this. “Trying to shoo us away already?”

“You make it sound as if I’m coldly kicking you out!”

Which may have been partially true...but it was not out of malice.

“Well if she wishes to be left in peace then perhaps we should leave her to rest for awhile longer.” Y’shtola agreed. “Our friend seems to be in good hands.”

Tataru crossed her arms. “Alright, but I’m coming to visit again later.” She states and Bellona nods for she knew there was no amount of protest that would change her mind.

“Are you sure you would not want someone to remain here with you?” Alphinaud asked. 

“I’ll be fine.” Bellona says. “Asides, I think it annoys the healers when visitors linger.” She wrinkled her face up.

“Very well.” Y’shtola says, reaching to rest a hand on Bellona’s arm. “Do recover soon, already your presence at the Rising Stones is missed greatly.” Giving her arm a gentle squeeze, the conjurer turns to move towards the door. 

Tataru coaxes the adventurer into a hug before following after her.

Alphinaud stands to depart as well but pauses, seeming rather reluctant to leave. “I believe Thancred will be in Ishgard for awhile due to his business with Ser Aymeric.” He says. “Should anything happen, he will be here.”

“I’ll be fine.” The Miqo’te repeats, rolling her eyes. “Now go on, before the healers kick you out. They always seem to be in a grouchy mood when I’m around.”

Bidding their friend a final farewell, the Scions left her be.

“This one seems interesting.” Thanced said, handing over one written report.

They had been at this for perhaps a little over half a bell. There were a few written reports the Lord Commander had wanted to look over. Someone had to have seen something. Something about a sleep-walking woman wandering in the middle of the Highlands going completely unnoticed didn’t sit well with him.

So far none stated to have seen anything out of the ordinary...

Aymeric scowled as he looked it over.

Lone traveler spotted heading to the west in the direction of Boulder Downs. With the oncoming storm, not many travelers would not be expected out on the road. Called out the the man, attempting to offer shelter. He heard me and even acknowledged my presence by looking in my direction. But instead choose to continue walking away.

Suspicious, pursuit was initiated, but short-term. I could not stray too far from my post, but it did not matter. I lost the man in a matter of minutes. T’was as if he disappeared.  Word will be sent to the knights stationed in the area to be on the look out.

Interesting indeed.

He had spoken with the two merchants whom had brought the Warrior of Light in. He had been perplexed as to why they had been traveling out in the middle of a snowstorm. The elder of the pair claimed it had caught them by surprise. And when questioned about whether or not they’d seen anything suspicious while traveling, both denied seeing anything.

“Boulder Downs. That was the area Bellona was found.” Aymeric said with an arched brow. “You believe it’s possible this traveler might know something?”

Or had involvement?

This thought, he pushed to the back of his mind. The adventurer had no signs of obvious injury (as one would have if physically confronting another) and had stated several times she remembers naught else save for the merchants finding her. The healers all seem to agree the woman had probably simply wandered off in her sleep. And yet something about that explanation bothered him greatly.

“I believe it is something worth looking into.” Thancred says. “I just pray Bellona remembers something that might be of assistance.”

“As do I.” Aymeric nods and continues to sift through the other documents. “You’ve done enough here, Master Thancred. I will handle the rest. Starting by having a word with the knight who made this report. Perhaps there is aught more to be gleaned from him.

“Why don’t you pay our wayward friend a visit? I suspect that her mood may not be the greatest given her recent ordeal. And seeing the face of a friend might serve to brighten her day.”

Thancred nodded slowly in agreement. It was little known fact that their dearest Warrior of Light had little patience for chirurgeons. Where her aversion came from, none could say, but Bellona had always been rather stubborn when it came to such matters. And almost childishly so. 

Very few times could she be convinced to mind the healers tending to her.

“Yes, I suppose I should go check to make sure she hasn’t come to blows with one of your chirurgeons.” The rogue briefly jests. However, before he turns to the door, he pauses and adds. “Should you learn aught else--”

“The Scions will be the first know.” Aymeric nods.

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #ff14 #ffxiv rp #writing #heavenward spoilers #was going to get this posted last night #but decided to do a little more tweaking on it #but WOO finally got the next part posted

[beyondtheperfectlines-blog]

Killing Eve 1x01

So I basically created a blog because I don’t know anyone who watches Killing Eve and I just need a space to talk about it lol.

From watching the trailer I wasn’t sure about the show. It seemed kinda dark and although I’m all for 2 women being obsessed with each other, I wasn’t completely sold… which is probably why I forgot it had premiered, but now I’ve watched the first episode and it was AMAZING! and I am completely hooked! The trailer totally undersells the show. The humor, the dynamics between ALL the characters, it is so much more than just a game of cat and mouse. It’s totally fresh, something never done before with 2 women as the lead characters, and great female side characters as well.

I knew Sandra Oh was going to be great, I’ve watched Grey’s Anatomy and a couple of other movies with her in it, but it was so amazing to see her play the lead (YES for Asian representation!), and Eve Polastri is such an incredible character. Jodie Comer was a revelation, she was great at speaking multiple languages, and I absolutely loved Villanelle. Also, hi Aunt Petunia!

So about the episode (under the cut because this got way longer than I thought)

I loved the humor

- When Eve says that at least they have the whole weekend to recover from the party and then being called in to work

- How little they cared about the Russian guy dying “oh no – why are they crying about it here?”

- “turns out people are still murderous bastards on the weekend”

- Everything Elena! The dynamic between her and Eve is amazing. That whole “how big are her breasts” convo was gold

I loved that Eve is kinda freaky

- All that screaming because she fell asleep on her arms

- When she let out a “cool” when Carolyn described how the Russian was killed and everybody was wtf

- When she punctured her own leg to ‘recreate’ the Russian’s death. Was she curious to see how hard you have to press to break the skin??

- Her elaborate plan to kill Niko and get away with it

And speaking of Niko, we’re probably supposed to think he’s boring with Eve repeating that he’s really well and nice and well, and Bill literally saying her husband is boring her, but I really liked him! and I usually don’t care about male characters. He’s just so supportive of her, sees through her, helps with her work, and he cooks and brings her drinks. And even when she’s being freaky he goes along with it “Smart, huh?” “Very.” “Sexy?” “Hugely!” Plus the “do you want to have sex?” thing and then obsessing about her work and him just going along with it.

Also, Sandra Oh’s facial expressions. Especially when she’s satisfied with herself: “she said Eeeeve!” & “oh yeah, no one could follow that!”

And it’s really the small moments that make the show so good and elevate it to another level. Like when Eve is trying to eat her croissant in the meeting and it’s awkward because the paper bag makes noise. So relatable. Eve and Bill swapping lunches at work like you would. That one nurse in the ‘fun’ scrubs because of course

Also:

- Sandra Oh saying “croissant”. She should speak more French.

- Elena being star struck by Carolyn Martens

- The music!!! It’s so good and really sets the mood

Now, let’s talk about Villanelle! My new fave.

She is so unique, does such unexpected things, and she’s just so damn cool! Rides a motorcycle, wears practical shoes, has many skills including climbing up pipes, hiding in suitcases, speaking French and Italian, which was super hot, and obviously killing people. She’s also kind of an asshole but an entertaining one. And I love how she just casually keeps her tampons, razors and gun in the same drawer. All the essentials in one place!

Also, she’s bisexual!!! So great. Thank you for challenging heteronormativity! And telling us by way of a threesome was superb.

Her dynamic with Konstantin is great. He is so serious, but he obviously cares about her. I loved when they both said “No I can’t, I’m sorry” and “You don’t mean that” about watching a movie. They’ve clearly known each other for a while and I cannot wait to learn more about them.

I liked the postcards as a way to identify the location and identity of the next target. It’s original.

So about her kill:

- The grandpa and grandkid were super cute.

- “You should really ask before you touch a person” I loved that! Yes to consensual touching! Could she have been in an abusive environment when she was younger? It seems probable in the criminal world.

- I was not expecting her to stab him in the eye. That was a little gory. When she went to get that pen I was scared she’d stab him with it in the other eye. Glad it didn’t happen.

I have a few questions though:

- The boy in the bathroom. What if he had come out sooner and seen her kill his grandpa? Would she also have killed him? And regardless, why didn’t she kill him too since he’d seen her face? I don’t think there had been a witness to her kills before, which is why she has to go kill the Russian’s girlfriend so nobody can identify her.

- Does the show draw a line at shoving ice cream on a kid and not killing them? Later on at the hospital it also seemed very convenient for Dom to have just left to get snacks. Does the show not want to cross the “unforgivable” line of killing a kid to keep her more sympathetic? Does she have her own moral code?

- If the kid didn’t describe her to the authorities, he at least did to his family, right? So now she probably has the Italian mafia after her? Or maybe he’ll keep a personal vendetta against her and go after her when he’s grown? Or he doesn’t care since he wanted to get back at his grandpa for the ice bath although murder seems extreme?

- And what was that weird dialogue with the kid “If you make a sound I will kill you too” “Will you eat me?” “Maybe just your head” … why would she tell him? He probably thought she was joking since he obviously didn’t expect his grandpa to be dead when he came out? Maybe he’ll keep quiet because he’s scared she’ll come back and ‘eat him’? Or he’s a kid and she doesn’t believe he’ll remember what she looks like?

- Also, does she get off on seeing her targets die???

I also liked the parallels between Eve and Villanelle being bored at work and going rogue. And OMGGG that hospital bathroom scene!!! I was not expecting them to meet so soon, but it was so good, although short! And what was up with her staring at Eve??Also, she didn’t even wash her hands. I’d be suspicious if I was Eve. Maybe she was too weirded out to notice.

So Villanelle killed the 2 guards, the fun scrubs nurse and the girlfriend. But how was the whole floor empty? There was at least a receptionist and a couple of people walking in the hallways earlier. Did they hear gunshots and leave? If so, how come Eve didn’t hear anything? How long did she spend in that bathroom? Did Villanelle tell the receptionist some bullshit excuse to make her and everyone else leave?

Also, re: Eve’s conversation with Elena about the female assassins in their database. Shouldn’t Eve already know that they only have 1 since she’s spent months compiling data and theorizing about a female assassin? Also, 1 seems awfully low, maybe there is some conspiration to keep all female assassins secret. Eve is probably right that “they’re” in on it, that someone is keeping this quiet.

Now, Frank is not wrong about Eve endangering a minor and conducting an illegal investigation, but he’s such an asshole for telling her she failed at her job when she did everything she should have and telling her she’s responsible for the death of 4 people. I was on the fence about Bill the whole episode but thumbs up for standing with Eve against Frank. Loved how she was pissed and just blurted out everything about the secret interview. “You’re a dick-swab” haha. I also liked that Eve was crying like anyone would in that situation. It felt realistic.

Carolyn Martens showing up at her doorstep was unexpected and lol at how she casually says she’s been married a few times. So now she’s going to recruit Eve, and of course Niko would assume she’s an agent before thinking she’s having an affair, Niko’s great!

“We think she’s been operating for 2 years” Who’s ‘we’? MI-6? I guess we’ll find out soon.

 Thank you for reading! (If anyone made it to the end lol) I’ll post my reviews for the following episodes when I have time.

#killing eve #episode review