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cc-horan28 · 4 months

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Dress Me Up

Gangster!Louis x Baker!Harry

(T) (1.5k)

Louis was just doing his best to protect the neighborhood. Getting injured wasn’t the plan. Harry gets worried and just wants his husband to feel better. Fluff ensues.

The one where Louis Tomlinson comes home injured and Harry just wants to take care of him.

A/N: Okay so this idea has been bouncing around in my head for over a week at this point and so here we are. Also I'm making a promise, every 28th I'll release atleast one Larry fic. Promise. Imma keep this one. (also i wrote this in like two hours in a caffeine fever so yeah)

Tags: Pre-established relationship, Hurt/Comfort, TW Semi-Graphic descriptions of Violence, TW swearing

Louis winced as he got out of the car, hunching his shoulders against the bite of the cold air. He glanced along the street, most of the houses still had their christmas decorations up and the stain spreading along the sleeve of his jacket looked odd in the flickering lights. He kicked some of the frost accumulated on the driveway as he walked to the door, their own house decked out with lights.

If he had it his way, they would be living in an isolated cottage in the middle of the woods somewhere, but that wouldn’t work. Not for Harry’s business, neither for his. Some of the boys insisted the lights were a literal neon sign, ‘I’m here come get me’, but Louis didn't have the heart to tell his husband they couldn’t put the decorations up, nor did he have any plans to. Besides, this helped them blend in.

Just your textbook nice-gay-couple-next-door, he thought with a wry chuckle. None of their neighbors had any idea what Louis’ profession was, and with Harry insisting they attend all the kitschy house parties, them turning up with baskets full of baked goods, none of them ever suspected a thing either.

A particularly painful twinge in his arm jerked Louis out of his thoughts. He realized he had been standing there, staring at the lights and quickly hurried in. He tried to reach for his keys, but his muscles screamed in protest as the movement and he settled for ringing the bell. He gritted his teeth, trying not to let any sounds escape his lips, previous movements making his arm throb.

He finally heard footsteps softly padding across the floor, a shadowy figure visible through the frosted panels on the door. “Harry, it’s me,” he said before the other man could ask, doing his best to not let pain seep into his voice, not wanting to worry him. The door flew open and Harry launched himself at Louis, arms wrapping painfully around his torso. “Where were you all day?! You didn’t even see my messages,” Harry mumbled, pulling Louis closer.

Louis yelped loudly and jumped back, moving out of the hug. Harry just started to say something when Louis interrupted, “I’m sorry, Haz, but can we please take this inside?” He saw his partner’s eyes roving across him, brow creasing when he registered the dark spot on his jacket. Almost used to situations like these, Harry nodded, stepping back to make way for Louis, quickly shutting the door behind them.

Louis noticed the ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron Harry was donning and smirked, poised to make a comment when Harry gently reached out, fingers ghosting over his jacket, light enough for it to not hurt. “Lou…” he whispered softly, not needing to voice the words out loud.

“It was nothing,” Louis began almost sheepishly, “Just a little altercation. Some Oilers were in the neighborhood. I’d gotten some reports they were planning on starting up a protection racket. They pulled weapons first. I couldn’t not reciprocate, we’d have looked weak. It was just a few blocks away from your bakery! Besides, Oli had already run in, I just went to back-”

“Give me that shit later.” Harry burst out, sniffing once before grasping Louis by the waist, “Let’s get you fixed up first,” he said, leading them into the kitchen. Louis was hit by the smell of something sweet. Caramel, maybe? He saw that the oven was going and he remembered what date it was. Shit, he’d forgotten. He’d gotten so wrapped up-

Louis heard Harry rustling around in the cupboards and turned around, watching as he pulled out a white box. “Sit” he said with a raised eyebrow and Louis followed silently, teeth digging into his lower lip. “What actually happened?” Harry asked, crouching in front of the chair, his voice softer now, “To you, I mean. Give me all those gang explanations later. I couldn’t care less about that right now.”

Louis knew that his husband was only putting up a strong front, trying to hide the concern and worry he felt. He saw the tears glossing over Harry’s eyes and felt his heart twist guiltily. “I’m alright, Haz,” he said, reaching his arm out to squeeze Harry’s shoulder, and swore loudly, pain ripping through him, feeling like his entire right side was on fire. He gulped loudly, clenching his jaw. “Well, maybe not perfectly alright,” he joked weakly, looking away when Harry stared sternly at him, looking unimpressed.

“It’s just a graze,” he attempted to downplay the injury, not wanting Harry to worry further but he just continued staring, jaw set. “They had guns, alright?” he finally admitted with a sigh, “One of the boys didn’t notice, and he’d definitely have been hurt a lot worse. I stood up to pull him down and a shot just… grazed me.” Louis caught Harry’s gaze, trying to convince him, “It really is just a graze. Surface wound, didn’t actually go in.”

Harry glanced up at Louis, eyebrows knitted together with distress. “If it’s too bad, I’m not going to stitch you up. We’re going to the hospital, okay?” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement but Louis protested nonetheless. “Harry, you know I can’t.”

“I do. But all that’s fucking secondary. We’ll work through that later.”

That effectively shut Louis up. Harry lightly cupped his jaw, brushing their lips together. “Can you take your jacket off?” he asked in a soft voice. Louis shook his head, not even bothering to try. Harry nodded grimly as he opened the box. He did his best to not cause Louis any further pain as he snipped at the denim material, whispering apologies when the latter gasped or hissed. When the sleeve of the jacket was finally off, Louis glanced at the wound, slightly surprised at the amount of blood.

“Didn’t bind it,” he muttered to himself. Harry raised an eyebrow questioningly at him and he shrugged, “Forgot to put a tourniquet on. And I drove back,” he cringed back slightly, awaiting another outburst from Harry but he just sighed and shook his head, reaching up for the box, which Louis dutifully passed along, feeling guilty that he had put him in this position again.

Each time he came home hurt, Louis had to grapple with these feelings- the guilt, the anger, the disappointment- but he pushed it all away at the moment, the fresh sting of the peroxide against his skin causing him to throw his head back, knuckle of his other hand caught between his teeth as he tried not to shout.

“I’m so sorry, babe…” Louis whispered, eyes cast down. Harry lightly swatted his thigh, “Don’t apologize, Lou. I’m- It’s,” he sighed deeply, brushing Louis’ fringe away from his clammy forehead. Louis hadn’t even realized he’d been sweating that much. “Just be thankful it’s small. Would’ve had your arse on a plate had you been hurt too bad,” Harry was trying to put on his tough guy act again and Louis couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t you anyways,” he mumbled under his breath, grinning innocently when Harry glared at him.

Louis sat patiently, doing his best to not make a fuss as Harry maneuvered his arm a little, dressing the wound up. His eyes were focused on Harry, the latter completely unaware of it. He felt such a surge of love for him, grateful for having a partner who supported him so completely, despite his… non-conventional life choices. He felt his eyes stinging and quickly blinked, sniffling a little. “Y’alright, darling?” Harry asked, concern evident in his voice as he finally got up, stretching a little before sitting down on the chair across from him.

“Yeah, ‘m just- thinking about how much I love you. And, well- something’s burning.” Louis whipped around, watching as Harry rushed over to the oven, which was currently spewing a thin stream of smoke from one corner. He couldn’t help but chuckle as Harry brought the charred remains of what seemed to be a pie to the table, coughing a little. “No dessert for date night today, then” he said with a shrug, bursting into peals of laughter at Louis’ indignant expression.

Louis was snuggled up with Harry, letting his husband envelope him, being the big spoon for once, opening his mouth as Harry brought up handfuls of popcorn from the tub. “Perks of having an arm that doesn’t quite move. We should do this more often” he quipped, smirking as Harry bit his cheek, trying not to laugh. “Don’t- ‘M supposed to be a baker. Dress up cake boxes and stuff, not you.” Harry grumbled, pouting at him.

Louis giggled, feeling uncharacteristic to himself but not caring. “You can dress me up all you want,” he smiled, turning to kiss him. Harry groaned, rolling his eyes “Thought I was the one s’posed to make the bad jokes,” he said, leaning forward to press his lips against Louis’, grin plastered on both their faces.

#louis tomlinson #harry styles #larry stylinson #one direction #larry fic #larry stylinson fic #larry fanfiction #larry stylinson fanfiction #Gangster!Louis #Baker!Harry

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yandere-daze · 1 year

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have you ever think about people who might be defending themselves not to reblog because they have a right to decide or something? this has been bugging my mind... no offense to anyone though, sorry, and love your works !

Rant incoming, just as a warning lol

But yes, obviously people have the right to decide if they want artists and writers to keep being motivated to post works on here for free or not.

As a writer myself, I just don´t understand the rationale behind it. There is literally zero reason not to reblog. It takes just as long as leaving a like and if you have zero patience to type out the tags then you don´t even have to necessarily to do that ( even if I will literally love you if you do!)

Likes do and mean nothing. They´re the equivalent of being left on reading after writing a long and heartfelt message.

Reblogs help our words getting spread around and actually show us that people care about our posts and want us to keep doing them.

But why have some people decided that they just refuse to do the thing the entire website is built around that would actually help their favorite blogs to stay motivated?

They have the choice not to reblog anything but it´s a selfish one and they better not complain when they get blocked or their favorite creators stop posting.

Just think about it: People ( me included) take hours out of their busy lives to write something and then post it because they want people to read and enjoy their works.

Writing sometimes takes hours of time and effort and it´s not always easy. If we were just going to do it for ourselves there would be no need to type out all of it out because the main fun part of the creative process to me is just daydreaming about an idea I had.

Actually putting it into words to tell a compelling story is tough and takes lots of patience. But we do it anyway because we want to share our ideas with other people, we want to talk about them with others. We want to ramble and fantasize about different scenarios. That´s fun.

It´s only natural to want at least some sort of feedback after spending so much time on something. And then it just hurts when people refuse to reblog your posts for ctually no reason at all, other than that they´re lazy or think a reblog is something super rare and special that only the "best" posts get to benefit from.

( Seriously, I don´t understand the sentiment of "Oh I really liked this but I didn´t like it enough to actually reblog and share it with other people. I don´t think the author should get any recognition. Oh but they better keep writing anyway and fast!")

At this point, rambling about ideas in a friend´s dms feels way more fulfilling. You guys have no idea of all the extensive rambles I went on with Korka that most likely will never see the light of day.

Why should I put in the effort and write it down to share with others when they can´t even bother to spend a single second to reblog it to show me that they appreciated what I wrote.

It makes no sense. Feedback and the back-and-forth with readers and fellow writers is what keeps us going. It´s super fun to get a conversation going about a cool idea you had! It´s not fun at all to see the notes on a post go up but no one saying anything. All that tells me is "huh, I guess people didn´t like this one. Guess I won´t post any of that anymore"

This complete lack of feedback from readers combined with work picking up is actually the main reason why I stopped writing for a few months. It didn´t feel rewarding anymore.

The recent yandere Alcryst post is actually one of the reasons why I started considering posting a bit more again. I was pleasantly surprised by all the nice tags and comments that one got and it made me smile every time I saw a new one pop up. I don´t care if it didn´t get as many notes as most twst works, I still felt way more satisfied and proud of it.

And that´s sort of where I come to the conclusion of this post:

Feedback matters, it really does! Likes tell us absolutely nothing, you could have downright hated it for all I know. But rest assured that I do screenshot every nice tag or comment I get, no matter if it´s actually a thought-out comprehensive analysis or just someone going "HJVJMVJM". I appreciate all of these so much. I save all of them in a little folder and look at them to cheer myself up when things might be tough.

So please, if you want your favorite blogs to continue then reblog! Maybe even leave a nice comment! Don´t forget that you get all of this stuff for free, creators are the ones keeping a community truly alive. You would probably be sad if your favorite writer or artist suddenly stopped posting due to a lack of support.

Please. Take that single second out of your life to hit the reblog button. It helps out more than you think and goes a long way to keep us motivated.

#anon ask #ramble #anyone that has been following me for a while knows that I´m pretty passionate about this topic #support writers #support artists #reblogging is not hard

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animatronicthing · 10 months

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⠀ 📚 🎥 ; HERE PINNED . . our rentry! ”

⠀ tags & info under the cut , go check !!! 🔮

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⠀ Ahora , Redoble de Tambores ...

Welcome . . WELCOME TO THIS BLOG !!! ⠀,⠀ ﹌🌞 📻 Molten Freddy {{ or just Freddy }} , everyone ’ s favorite disfigured animatronic has made this tiny place in the internet for schyr & his sweet tiny audience to enjoy & share all together !!! , ⠀This corner semi - mainly consists of Freddy ’ s own shit & MOGAI flag making ; , All & everyone, regardless of identity & opinion, is totally free to interact anything , to request their soul out in here & Freddy will try to make the show as enjoyable as possible !!! !! ,

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⋯ 📠 📗⠀Our wording posts are messy & mostly disorganized ; it is pathological , it can ’ t be changed .

Freddy also uses lots of punctuation & sometimes emojis to express a lot better !!!

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⠀Molten Freddy is one crazy magick machine , would you believe !!! , 🎙🎞 ⠀ ⛓️ Freddy is a scary & weird schizophrenic , & an annoying autistic , also is very forgetful ,disorganized & disordered . Freddy is mostly very detached from reality ,, that ’ s one of the reasons of how & why it does not participate in any drama ☮︎ 🎭 , the first reason is that it just does not give enough shits to participate . We are very very spiritual & religious , that may or may not influence the blog . .

⠀IMPORTANT : Reblogging something ≠ we agree with any of the individual ’ s opinions . Remember friends , you can also be friends with others that don ’ t have the same opinion as yours !!!

This blog is for our only pure entertainment , meaning we ’ ll do whatever we feel like doing or not doing with it . This site was created as a little hobby 🌆 ⏰ ⠀ꓹ All are free to point out wrongs , misspellings or misinterpretations in posts . Any constructive criticism is all welcome as long as you ’ re nice !! 📋 , ➡ we ’ ll take it yes or no !!

EMOJI BLOG : @tontoemojis 🦞

⠀ 🗄️ ;;⠀ ⠀☑︎ 🚂⠀ MAIN TAGS !!! , 〜

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All posts with no image ID will be marked as #undescribed image or #no ID .

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#┉┅━ 《﹐TAGS﹐》 ━┅┉#⠀🎰 】 ⌗ ┅⠀The MADNESS Never Ends．#⠀📻➿ 】 ⌗ ┅⠀Crawling Through Your Vents．#⠀🎨 】 ⌗ ┅⠀We ’ re gonna have a FUN time !!!、#⠀🪗 】 ⌗ ┅⠀Doing Good Is Boring．#⠀⚙️ 】 ⌗ ┅⠀Almas Desafortunadas．#⠀📽️ 🎞️ 】 ⌗ ┅⠀They ’ re Full Of Rage．#mogai blog #coining blog #personal blog

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sabine-leo · 1 year

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Always been you... (FINAL) Chapter 6

Author:@sabine-leo

Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Friends to lovers

Chapter: 6 / 6

Link to Chapter 1 / Link to Chapter 2 / Link to Chapter 3 / Link to Chapter 4 / Link to Chapter 5

Summary: Since Toms´ sister Emma has been your friend since childhood, Tom was a part of your life for about 25 years now. Forming a deep and trusting friendship had been easy. You could count on each other no matter what. SO, when your flat got flooded Tom was the first to offer help and take you in.

But what will living together stir up?

Note: Tags are open!

Comments and reblogs are very much appreciated!

That is a wrap on this story. Thank you for reading and commenting... AND for paitently waiting for me to get through a tough time to finaly finish this one :) I do hope to be back with more stories and with finishing another WIP

Chapter 6

Tom smiled back and walked towards the door, held it open.

“Nobody is leaving until we have confronted our feelings!”

Walking past him he stopped you with one hand in the frame.

“Actually…” He spoke. “I am not going to let you leave ever again.”

Grinning he added. “See, I´m being very clear.”

There he stood. This contradicting man. Opening the door like a gentleman but also blocking the way with his arm. His words, though tenderly spoken, held an innuendo that made your belly do somersaults. You looked up into his eyes and the sparkle in them reminded you of a young Thomas accompanying you to the school dance. Tom tilted his head and smiled while slowly letting his arm fall down to his side. “After you…”

“Thank you very much.” You said with a nervous voice and walked inside.

There were too much feelings inside of you. The kiss had awakened everything that had been buried deep. Tom dropped of his jacket and walked towards you, taking the cakebox out of your hands he put it onto the table and said “You´ve been very quiet on the drive home…”

Slowly he walked back towards you and took your hand to guide you to the sofa.

When you sat down next to him, he turned sideways.

“What is going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

“Nothing…everything at once. I don´t know!”

Tom smiled softly and took in a deep breath.

“Ok, let me ask you this. Why did you keep my green shirt all those years?”

Your head shot up and your gaze locked with his. A soft smile spread on Tom’s face.

“I wrecked my brain for 3 days but I now remember the day I gave it to you.”

He took your hand in his. “And I remember why I gave it to you.”

“Why?” You asked, still overwhelmed by all those feelings.

Tom entwined your linked hands anew and lifted them to breath a kiss onto yours. For a second he closed his beautiful eyes and took a deep breath before speaking.

“I wanted you to wear my shirt so that it would carry your scent when I got I back…” Tom grinned sweetly “…Problem is.. I never got it back.”

You laughed softly and spoke quietly. “And I kept it so that I would have something of you when you would head back to Eton.”

Toms’ eyes welled up. “After that day…life just got in the way. My ambition got in the way. Every time I saw you there was this pang of regret hitting me. But after some years I told myself that it was too late. That I´d ruin a friendship…so I tried my best to…”

You softly interrupted “…To tell yourself that it was just a phase, a crush that´d go away some day.”

Tom nodded. “Yes. And for a while it did…even though it was you I´d talk to, call, go for whenever I needed consolation, a shoulder to cry on or just share my sparse time with.”

Tom blinked rapidly for a few times.

“I´ve been blind and foolish and just plain stupid…but that ends now.”

He came closer and his hand touched your cheek. His eyes searched yours while he searched for words that would do his feelings justice. When those words finaly came, they wear spoken hoarse but with a deep felt meaning that touched your soul and your heart.

“Its always been you!”

His words hung in the air like mist on a foggy morning. Toms blue orbs searched yours, he held his breath for a second. It went out on a puff when he saw your eyes fill with tears.

"Oh Thomas..." you croaked and gulped down the feelings he had pulled from the far ends of your beeing. Tom grinned and grabbed your face with both his hands.

"It has always been you! And it only ever will be you!"

Then he silenced the whole world around the both of you with a kiss that was longing, willing and liberating all at once.

When he had to come up for air he chuckled "Mother was right...I really have been blind to the things right in front of me...till now. I think, I do see very clearly what is in front of me just now."

Grinning you leaned back a little and said.

"Are you sure... you look a little cross-eyed to me."

Tom lifted one eyebrow and answered deadpan

"Must be the build up sexual tension from all those years wanting you but beeing to foolish to accept it."

Then that ridiculously handsome man really looked cross-eyed at you and tackled you with another kiss. Bringing you flat onto your back with him on top. When he lifted his head again he grinned and looked gloriously disheveled from your roaming hands.

"Care to join me in my bed tonight?"

THE END

@delightfulheartdream @huntress-artemismiss @chezagness @donaweasley @kiliskywalker666 @catsladen @hawksugarbaby @lots-of-lok i@traceyaudette @ellaenchanted91 @dr-kayleigh-dh @mrsstyles033 @usedtobegoodfriend96 @hiddles-thomas-blogomas-blog @noplacelikehome77 @ladyblablabla @myoxiisbroken @lumoswinchesterkazy2y5 @viviandarkbloom06 @snoopy3000@alexakeyloveloki@archy3001 @itscalledfandomsweetielookitup @faeriedelalune-blog@lil-mewlingquim07 @amazinggraces-world@tanishahka @coniumalces @emomemelordesss @devilbat @usedtobegoodfriend96end96 @cest-le-temps-de-lamour @adefectivedetective@karnita-mexicana@marvelc00kie35 @stressedoutsteph @maggiefollows@bi-spider-noir @klbates22 @my-fuckin-problem@deathofmissjackson @vesper-lou@bluefrenchfries604@maybell88 @moonstar86@lokilvrr@wiczer @thisismysecrethappyplace @wiczer @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore @geekwritersworld @kthemarsiann @donaweasley @alexakeyloveloki @9osloki @tinchentitri @augustsnape @delightfulheartdream @loukisbuck @frabi776 @cabingrlandrandomcrap @pandareesstuff @1-lamentis@charmedbysarge @lotus-eyedindiangoddess@raven-reyes-wife @not-anotha-loki-fanart-acc @lulubelle81414 @hiraiders16 @melisad1974 @cabingrlandrandomcrap @millennialanxieties @hayden429 @midnights-ramblings

#tom hiddleston characters #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fluff #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddelston imagine #you/tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston x you #hiddleston / reader #always been you #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston/yn #friends to lovers

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tiny-space-robot · 2 months

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I feel excluded in my fandom, a bad person. I don't feel comfortable in the main tag anymore

But other proshippers in my fandom make me feel safe, I post all my art under the tag I made. I don't feel like getting more public bc I feel uncomfortable with the rest and mainly blocked by everyone..And I feel satisfaction knowing I'm of the few people still making fanart and not tagging them/them being unable to see it

I feel like I am doing a bad thing but they just make me uncomfortable...like I'm not part of them

hey hey, don´t feel bad!

you´re curating your own online experience, as you´re supposed to do! and if not posting in the main tag makes you feel more comfortable, then you do that!

but yeah, people thinking they can just exclude people from public spaces (fadnoms/tags in this case) are just beyond sh*tty

I am sorry you feel excluded and uncomfortable- you really shouldn´t be! fandoms are suppossed to be fun for everyone goddammit!

but please don´t be hard on yourself! its those clowns that are missing out!

you are valid and good!! never forget that <3

#the fact that people are made to feel so uncomfortable about their interests #that they have to go to a whole different tag just so they wont get harrassed is just???#it makes me sick #fandoms are trash and antis are a cult #istg

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prctty-birdie · 1 year

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Happy Halloween!🎃✨

May you meet Death today?

Made for the one and only @toguchindraws , hope you like it!

(got a bit carried while writing and finished doing three whole different versions about your prompt; also got a bit too long, I guess? Sorry for any mistakes; I tried my best to make sure everything is right and make sense, since it`s been a while I`ve wrote something other than essays in english.)

Part of the 2022 Hellcheer Gift Exchange, hosted by @helloween-gift-exchange

Tags: Scared mortal, Otherworldly chauffeur, No Vecna, The Mummy(1991) elements used, AU where death have diferent servants to take souls into the afterlifes, Egyptian Mythology, Eddie is Anubis, Chrissy can see the other side, sheningans ensue, Mentioned Abusive family, Chrissy make a new crazy AND powerful friend, Jason is going to places.

“When darkness falls across the land, the world turns upside down, in a mysterious lullaby;where death, his angels and other devils are all wandering out here just waiting for lost souls.....”

Christine "Chrissy" Cunningham or as her boyfriend Jason calls, "Chris" always has some kind of "other side" problems. She could see when a kind of shadow with no actual form, started following people and when this happened; a few days or even a month later (just once, the most long and successful witnessed by her) the said person would die.

She started seeing them after her grandfather, by mom's side, passed away.

At just the age of eight years old, remembers vividly how in peace he looked, when he closed his eyes and the shadow came out by the wall on the side of his bed at the hospital; just stretched his hand in the direction of his body and a second later with a blink, disappeared and the machinery started beeping.

The following days passed like a blur, she remembers telling her mother about this and she didn't care; probably thinking this was just her daughter`s imagination and when her grandpa's funeral happened she saw more of these shadows gluing themselves into the adults steps. Gradually, she started seeing them more often to a point where predicting bad things happening around became easy as breathing.

When turned fifteen, she noticed there were some kind of dogs or wolves as they seemed to look, with various sizes just as big as cars and little as sheeps, with dark red glowing eyes. They could see her staring and usually would just sniff at the direction she was walking by , but never exactly bothered to come close or chase….

1986

Well, this was her year of graduation and everything was running smoothly - thank you very much - except today, for three single-headed and weird facts:

Waking up to a crow screeching in her window, he had red scarlet eyes and let out a scream before flying to somewhere;

Missing the bus to school;

Suddenly and without a thought accepting a ride from this dude who could be a psycho killer by the looks and his expensive car (a damn Chevy Bel Air 1955 Black and Chrome, that she only knew because of mr. Richard Harrington; who lives ten blocks away driving one around when he's on town)

Well, maybe this was supposed to be her bad day; the Universe surely loves her to make this happen! anyway, she trailed off in thought until hearing the dude at the driver wheel (to whom she didn't trade a single word with since entered the car, could swear was some kind of vampire by the pale-white skin tone and didn't even introduced herself) started speaking in this low and bewitching voice.

- Miss Christine Cunningham, what a beautiful day; don`t you agree?- his voice sounded kinda emotionless while eyeing her with a knowing smirk- guess I wasn't supposed to be here to take you. - Chrissy`s head started ringing a bell at this sentence and she almost broke her neck, turning her head too fast to look at him entirely - But my curiosity just took the best of me, I guess…

At this moment he stopped in front of the school and looking through the window, there was no living soul walking around with also a weird mist, blocking some spaces of the outside view. Which was surely weird because she saw the bus passing by and right that her house is the last stop, before the bus goes directly to school and the mist was just weird; surely there weren't any drop in temperature and the sun was shining very bright today when leaving home.

Okayyyyyy….

Maybe this was her year of death and not the perfect-graduation-before-marrying-her-high school-sweetheart, but at least was going to be happy very far from her abusive mother and ignorant/absent father kind of freedom. Except for the fact she traced her brother's fate and will let him suffer the same twisted shit as her. It's too late to regret now, she can only pray that some other biggest force helps him.

The man started laughing (this cute half sweet and funny, kind of) and she may have or may not hold her breath; while lost in thoughts waiting for him to recompose himself after getting out of her own head.

- I'm sorry - he says with a shining and charming smile,before turning to look at her (maybe she went crazy today, but his eyes were a red scarlet like the dogs but with a gleam of knowledge like the crow at her window this morning, at least for a second seemed). With a blink his eyes were this chocolate brown, but the gleam stood there, he seemed to devour every detail of her avidly. He just offered his hand to her and when she went for a handshake, he took her hand making the way to his lips and leaving a little kiss at the back - I`m sorry - he seems to say this word way too much - my lady; but how impolite of me, to not present myself correctly to such a sweet woman as you! - he still held her hand, but the compliments and too formal way of speaking made her heart beat faster, with a little bit of red showing on her cheeks.

- I am Anubis, guardian of the underworld and one of death's angels…

- WHAT?!?- Chrissy just bursts out, before containing herself and now scared with all her being. While the supernatural being in front of her just seems to enjoy her reaction and waits patiently for her to calm down.

- Exactly what you heard, my lady; - she still can't believe this dude looking like a rockstar, seemingly to just have got out of one of those magazines such as Rolling Stone is THE egyptian God of underworld and afterlife. Well, it's just like this old saying: “Never doubt a bad event, cause things tend to get way worse; faster than a blink of an eye”. Maybe she's just hallucinating the whole thing? She pinch her leg and yep, this hurts and she's surely awake.

- Okay, so…. What exactly do you want from me? I mean, I`m just a mortal as you can see and I don't exactly have anything to offer out of the ordinary. - he raises his hand as a signal for her to stop speaking.

- Lady Cunningham, I know you; I've heard enough from the shadows, so many stories of you to just make me curious enough to plan, want to come out of my house and meet you personally. My subordinates are amazed by the fact you can see them and always wanted to come closer and speak with you; but that`s explicitly against our most ancient and important rules. I deeply apologize on behalf of them, if they ever scared you or even chased you around; they just didn't know what to do or how to react to you seeing them, unlike all the other people.- he never let go of her hand while speaking and seemed disappointed after speaking about this essentially - But, even breaking the rules death gave us and all, I'm here to also make an offer….. - he looks directly to her like there`s nothing except her soul and could read her deepest secrets without even thinking too much.

She is still scared, not only because he's an egyptian god but because the world out of this space seems to have stopped the clock of time and is very empty.

- Eternity is something so boring, especially if you can't be seen by other people; so, what I want to offer you is very simple: you can spend some time and keep me company, when you're free from your obligations and in return I can give you rides to anywhere, at anytime - and there it was, the glint but this time; seems like some kind of trap or especially making a deal with the devil himself in exchange for her soul. - So, what do you say?

Well, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind when he offered a ride to school (more like a murder, to be more exactly). But at least he seems to be good even being a powerful god and seems lonely. Well at least she wasn`t trading her soul for some crap and maybe even win a true friend (who knows?);

- Deal. So I can pet the dogs,crows or whatever they are now and they will not try to kill me? - He tried to mask his laugh with a cough and it didn't work.

- By Ra`s sunglasses! PLEASE, tell me you didn't try to pet any of them - he teased softly and humorously.

- Yeah, I did when I was nine, but it was JUST once!- Chrissy tried to hide her joyful smile and failed- So, you have a deal and I want to know, how will you contact me? and if we're gonna hang out, we`ll need a new name for you. Anubis is weird for literally anyone, except if it's a dog- he seems concentrated and trying to find an answer to both questions. Then he seems to remember something, searches his pockets, until he finds a ring inside his jacket and asks for her hand again with a gesture.

-Have you ever heard the story of a place called Hamunaptra?-she shakes her head in a silent “no” - It's an ancient city; now it's buried and forgotten in the Sahara sands; used to be my domain and was called the City of the Dead, used to be the house to my bracelet; An antique necropolis which was the final rest to pharaohs and their families. - he puts a golden ring with the format of a scorpion, with a jackal head with his sting ready to attack, in her middle finger - this is a little copy of my bracelet, with it you can summon me or go to any place where I am. - he gives her a little proud smile, while she just admires the ring and traces its form with the fingertips; before putting her own hand in chest and enjoying this warm feeling of matter to someone. But she fastly snaps out of her short trance to ask:

- What about your name? we`re still stuck here. - sounding a bit impatient and worried, he just shakes his hand dismissing her worries.

- Well, that's the easiest part; you can choose any name you want and it's fine with me. - she then remembers why she thought he looked a bit familiar, he seems almost identical to this man….but what was his name? Oh, yes! Eddie Van Halen. She snaps her fingers after remembering this. He stares at her like she's plotting some miraculous plan and waits for her to say something.

- Okay, so you`re gonna be Eddie. An old friend who lives in Chicago and is moving to Hawkins? - she looks at him to confirm and he nods a short “yes”.

- Sooo….- she tries to think of something else, like a thank you. But remain silent and just discard this thought. - See you tomorrow afternoon after cheer practice? - she smiles happy and he does the same.

- Yes,surely my lady! - he answers kinda excited - Oh! and I almost forget, just touch the sting of the ring three times and I will come as fast as I can to where you are. - he says, shaking his head a bit. He then snapped his fingers and smiled like a little kid, who just did something without the parents knowledge. - Now, you`re ready to go to your class and back to everyone, before they just panic.

With this, just as the world was waiting for a command to come back to normal. The sun shines once again softly against her face and all the mist slowly dissolves herself into thin air. She just lets out a heavy sigh of relief and opens the door, gets out and closes. Before going into the school building, she turns one last time and sees Anubis, or better, as he would be called now ; “Eddie” with the passenger window now open, sending a short goodbye with his hand. After she does the same, he yells:

- Say goodbye to Jason for me! - he uses his hand as a megaphone - because he's literally not going to live enough to see tomorrow comin` - and as fast as he can; he just rolls up the window again, turns to the exit of the parking lot and goes away. While Chrissy is just standing there, in shock, not having processed the last sentence he just dropped on her; while watching the black Bel Air getting smaller in the distance and slowly thinking:

[As weird as this can be, I think we're gonna be great friends and well… I can deal with this shit after all]

Little did she know, after all;

they become much more than just friends….

Allies, Lovers - Soulmates.

#hellcheer helloween gift exchange #hellcheer #eddie x chrissy #eddissy #chrissy x eddie #chrissy cunningham #eddie munson #no vecna #yay!#Scared mortal / Otherworldly chauffeur #giali tales

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thedevilinmybrain · 1 year

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Bro literally the funniest part about the blog who tried to fight you about the "noodle, weak, completely fragile, dainty and small" arms of Louis Tomlinson is that the only other post they have is of them shitting on a pretty nice fanart of Louis and Harry because the creator made Louis´ shoulders "too big" and the way this person is just so mad... like bro, are you okay? do you need help? how old are you? we can all learn effective ways to manage frustration and disappointment eventually, its okay hun

Also they think "everyone is mocking you on twitter" is an actual jab and that's hilarious.

I´ll never understand why some people need their fanfiction tropes to be real, like... maybe you like reading about that characterization of Louis in fics and maybe I don´t, why is that so upsetting to some fans? I mean its called fanfiction for a reason, it´s imaginary, made-up, not real

Honestly, they must be fresh juice because they are hard pressed.

I literally made the post about Louis to be funny. Like, we were all freaking out about Harry in the 1D shirt so I wanted to join in on the fun. And honestly, they could have reblogged it and said something nasty in the tags and I would have ignored them. But like, don't come on my post and call me stupid. If you don't like my opinions, don't interact with my stuff? Like, you only made yourself look like a jerk.

Also, why would I care about everyone on twitter? Like everyone? Everyone everyone? Is Selena Gomez laughing at me? Elon Musk? Louis himself? I doubt it.

Oh well. They blocked me so ✌🏻️✌🏻️

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xinambercladx · 1 year

Text

"Figment" Ch3: Persuasion

Rating: T Characters: Cad Bane, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Soopan Summary: When three of the most powerful Jedi try use Force Persuasion on the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, he resists. His subconscious barricades itself in a childhood memory, back to another time when he was equally helpless. It was a time he had tried to forget. Word Count: 5,500

Chapter warnings: Psychological Torture, Gang Brutality (Full fic tags in the # section). ----------------------------------------------------

“For the greater good” is too often the excuse for acts of evil.

“You will take us to the Holocron.”

Is he serious? Bane thought. Skywalker had his hand out in front of him in a failed attempt to penetrate his mind. Bane’s previous opinion that the young man was clever vanished. Bane leaned forward on an elbow, and let the disdain soak his words. “Jedi mind tricks don’ werk on me.”

The Jedi Kenobi on the right raised his hand, eyes closed in concentration as well. Both him and Skywalker repeated the phrase together,

“You will take us to the Holocron.”

The voices somehow echoed in the small holding cell. The words repeated in his ears, then in his mind. The Jedi were his clients. Their outstretched hands offered a deal. The assignment seemed a reasonable one… except that sense of danger that crawled around Bane’s skin intensified. Something pressed against his temples, his chest. He shook his head. They weren’t his clients. They were Jedi, he reminded himself. “Forget it!” he hissed. They were asking the wrong question. Why were they suddenly on about the Holocron? Why weren’t they asking about the children? The children that were already in danger? It was always like this with the Jedi. Sacrifice the few for the good of the many. Sacrifice human clones instead of enlist citizens of the Republic. The high and mighty Jedi, Mace Windu, raised his hand last.

All three repeated the command, “You will take us to the Holocron.”

The voices echoed louder in the room and in Bane’s head. The pressure on his temples was becoming unbearable, and his chest was becoming heavy. He tried to remember to breathe. Why wasn’t his breathing apparatus functioning? It should have kicked in with the air so thin. The Jedi minds grabbed at him now, pulling him. He resisted their pull, scrambling for a foothold. He panted, “I won’t!”

Mace Windu commanded, “And you will take us…”

“NOW!” they all commanded, and the word speared through Bane.

Suddenly Bane wasn’t in the ship’s holding cell. He was in the Descent Ghetto. The planet Duro hovered in view of the orbiting space station, New Teyana. There was nothing new about it. It was still the scrap heap he remembered. The hatched together building blocks of the city was as tall as he remembered. The foul smelling, recycled air was as thin as he remembered. It was as though he had never left.

Skywalker and Kenobi had him on his knees in a side alley. His tiny, child sized arms were arrested painfully in their iron, adult grip. The humans were the aliens here on a Duros colony. He had picked a fight with too many. They were bigger than him, stronger than him, and he was now at their mercy. He struggled to breath. His head and chest hurt from where they had beat him. Windu’s hand tightened around Cad’s throat. The message was clear. Give them the score or die. Cad didn’t want to relent. He had worked so hard for it. But was it worth dying like this? They’d leave him in the gutter like the others. He’d never be able to leave off this stink hole. He just needed time to grow taller, to get stronger, then he would show the galaxy his capabilities. Then it would be his turn to teach them a lesson. Just not yet.

The young Duros relented, hanging his head. He relaxed from their tightening grip, even though his arms were bruising beneath it.

“I… I will take you…”

Cad heard his own voice. It was deep and resonant. It was not the voice of a child. Bane blinked and his vision flashed between alleyway and holding cell. He pushed himself away from the table, “NO!” He shook his head, the pressure squeezing like a vice. When he closed his eyes, the alleyway waited for him and the smell of trash and rot ruptured through his cheek nostrils. All the while, the voices repeated the demands, bouncing off the brick and rusted iron beams. The Jedi were forcing him to relive a terrible memory so vividly it was horrifying. He had sworn to never return. The bounty hunter found himself begging, “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” His plea was answered with more pressure and pain. It hit him like a kick to the face.

***

There was a loud metal crunch. A small body impacted the dumpster so hard it left a dent, and fell to the ground nearly as hard. For a moment Cad couldn’t move, the wind knocked out of him. He tried to put his hands under him. He tried to get up. He tasted iron. Out of his good eye he saw green blood drooling on the dirty duracrete where his face had been. He spat it out of his mouth.

“Stay down, grubbie!” came a threat.

The boy’s lips curled, showing fang. He put his hands underneath and pushed. He put one foot under him and then the other. He rose, clutching his ribs, but he rose. He growled, but it only sounded like a childish “Grrr!” The three adults laughed at his face. They had broken one of the unspoken rules of the space station’s streets: pick on someone you’re own size. He had taken it for granted. He had been naïve to think outsiders would be expected to know or follow it.

“Listen to that. He can’t even rattle yet!”

“Pathetic little grub.”

“What’s wrong? Blue balls haven’t dropped yet?”

The three men all snickered, towering over him. Their foreign accents annoyed Cad. These alien creeps didn’t belong here. The Descent Ghetto was Duros territory. The leader tossed a package to their fourth member. “Take this to the hideout. We’ll meet you there after we-”

“My score! Dat ain’t yours, off-worlders!” he spat, green blood spraying the Human’s nerf hide shoes.

The leader looked down in disgust, his weirdly pink lips curling away from his blunt human teeth. “You green-blooded gutter trash!” He kicked at Cad’s stomach, but Cad sidestepped and the man nearly sprained his ankle. The man grunted, regaining his balance. Cad cursed himself for not taking that opportunity, even though he himself was struggling to stay standing.

“Whatever, let’s go, Bleak,” asked the brunette human. “We got what we came for. I’m starving.”

Bleak kissed his teeth, making a clicking sound with his pink lips as Humans could unlike a Duros did with their throats. “Nah. I don’t think we will. I think I’ll teach this grub a lesson. See, that package was never yours,” Bleak said, now addressing Cad. He reached and grabbed Cad by the throat, slamming him against the dumpster again. Cad coughed, more blood spattering the human’s sleeve. “You messed up by getting unreliable backup. A fatso, dumbass kid like him stands out too much among all you skinny poor folk.”

“Don’ you talk about Soopan like dat!” Cad shouted, struggling against the man’s grip. He wished he had claws to scratch the man’s face.

“Shut your mouth!” Bleak punched him in the gut. Cad would have buckled if he weren’t pinned. “Soopan is a fatso and you’re nothing but skin and bone. All of you are. You think we couldn’t notice him staking out the place for you? We might have different eyeballs, grubbie, but we’re not blind.” Bleak shifted his weight to one hip. He stuck his face closer make sure Cad was listening. “Your second mistake was having a shitty escape plan. You didn’t check your exits, otherwise you would have seen us watching. You didn’t have a getaway vehicle waiting except for your own two, short, scrawny legs. And you expected Fatso Soopan to keep up with you?”

Every point was on point. Cad hated it, but had to agree. He had retrieved the package, but failed the escape due to lack of foresight. But he couldn’t have done it without his friend…

“Your third mistake,” Bleak continued, his voice darkened, “was running passed cops and bringing heat toward us.” He motioned to himself and his gang. His free arm retreated and then swung low. His fist contacted Cad’s ribs with a sickening crunch. Cad’s wind was gone. The boy opened his mouth, but his diaphragm refused to pull air inside. Bleak sneered with his blunt, yellow human teeth. “I don’t like unwarranted attention to my dealings. But you’re just a stupid amateur. We were kind enough to dispatch them for you. And for that, you owe us blood and money.”

“Looks…” Cad wheezed. Cad looked him straight in the eye and shrugged, “Looks like we’re even den. Your man took a package with five thousand credits inside,” he coughed, “and my blood is decoratin’ yer fancy shoes.”

The statement took Bleak a second to process. His head reeled back, and he cackled. “Hahaehaha! The grub has a point!” Bleak exclaimed. Bleak laughed some more and his goons joined him. “Five thousand, you say? That’s not bad at all. That’s worth more than your scrawny hide ever will be. Take my advice, grub. If you’re going to steal, never do it for yourself. Do it for other people and get paid to do it. Then you’re less likely to wind up dead.” He released Cad’s throat. Cad leaned heavily against the dumpster, legs shaking but refusing to falter.

Cad barely noticed they had left. It wasn’t until smaller footsteps pattered down the alley did his vision refocus.

“Cad! Cad, you’re alive!” Soopan exclaimed, waddling up to him. “I saw dem come out of de alley and thought dey…” He round cheeks sniffed, “You’re bleedin’ everywhere.” Soopan put his hand on Cad’s shoulder, and the other braced his arm, trying to help Cad walk. Cad showed fang and smacked his hands away.

“No thanks to you! What took you so long?!” Cad wheezed.

Soopan back-stepped. “What? I tried! You know yer faster than me! You took off runnin’ and when I saw dem chasin’ ya I tried to keep up, but I-”

“But nothin’!” Cad seethed. “I was countin’ on you to have my back.”

“Cad, you ain’t breathin’ right,” Soopan said, voice full of worry, not caring about the accusation. “Let’s go to the medical center. We can pay for it wit’ de money we stole!” Soopan yelped in surprised when Cad snatched his collar and shook him, fangs fully bared. Soopan could see what Cad went through. The boy’s left eye was nearly swollen shut with bruises already turning a dark blue-green. His lip was cut and bruised from a punch to the mouth, and green blood stained his teeth. His breath was labored, each intake a wheeze. He could smell a distinct irritating odor of Cad’s rib organs releasing oil from extreme stress. Soopan’s bottom lip quivered, guilt overcoming him. Soopan blubbered, “Cad… I’m so sorry.”

Somehow the genuine apology hurt worse than everything else. Cad let his friend go. His small arms clutched his ribs and he walked away.

“Cad!”

“The credits are gone,” Cad admitted. “Bounty hunters took’em.”

“Cad!” his friend called after him.

The beaten and bloodied boy didn’t listen. He kept walking and disappeared into the crowds beyond the alley. It was a long walk back to his block, a lot longer than it should have been. His legs felt like sand. Everywhere hurt. One good shirt was torn. He only had one spare. He realized the space station was already orbiting the evening cycle. The streets slowly filtered out as people headed home or to restaurants for dinner. The planet Duros above now only showed a sliver of the daylight side, making a crescent like a moon. It loomed above the patchwork buildings. Most days he found it a beautiful sight, comforting almost. Tonight was different. He felt it was mocking him and how small he was. What’s wrong? Blue balls haven’t dropped yet? the goon’s voice mocked in his head. It wasn’t Cad’s fault. He was still stuck in the grub stage for likely a few more years. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t get the food needed to grow properly. His lip twitched because he knew that wasn’t entirely true. Soopan had offered to feed him from his parent’s table, but Cad had always slapped suggestion away. How could a middle class grub understand? Call it poor man’s pride. He had to earn it. He had to take care of himself, by himself.

You will take us to the Holocron, the goon’s voice said in his head.

… what?

Cad looked up and saw he was nearly to his hideout.

A Duros woman across the street exited her house with a bag of trash. Her features were soft and gentle. Unlike a male, Duros women had much less pronounced brow ridges, and rounder eyes. She was slight of build, but had perfect egg-laying hips that swayed as she stepped down into the street to deposit the bag in a rubbish chute. The thing chimed and the bag was blown through the tubes to the back alley dumpsters. She wasn’t the ideal beauty, but a beauty none-the-less. The woman turned back to reenter the house, but stopped. She noticed the someone observing her. The woman saw the boy across the street. It was not the first time she had seen him in the neighborhood, but it was the first time she had seen him bearing such injuries. She gasped and a hand went to her mouth. The poor thing… The boy looked around nervously, having been caught watching her. He scampered off with his head down before she could stop him.

Later, Cad had crawled and climbed up to his hideout, which is what he called it anyway. He pulled himself through the grate and shut it behind him. The attic served him well. It was warm, being above a used apartment. He had found the place a year ago during his initial wanderings of the area. Exploring the urban ladders, alleys, and rooftops was fun. This place was a bonus on a particularly cold few weeks when the environment control center had malfunctioned aboard the station. He had cleaned the attic out of the critter nests and dust and had pawned off most of the items found in the forgotten space. The couple that lived below were none the wiser. As long as he kept quiet and moved carefully as not to make the ceiling creak, he lived rent free. Cad crawled to his bed mat and lay down. He crawled around here anyway due to the cramped space and low ceiling. Next to him were a few things he had pilfered on previous “heists.” A small cooler kept his food cold. A jug of water. On an old ammo crate were stacked several tools. His prized possession was an old poster showcasing a human gunslinger from the days of the Old Republic, wearing a wide brimmed hat like the Durosian grim reaper of legend. He was dual wielding antique blasters and the barrels smoked from the heat of rapid use. It was wizard. There were two other grates besides the one used as a door. One was like a window that filtered city light onto that poster. The smell of a home cooked meal filtered up through the grate on the floor nearby.

The smell of it drew him out of his daze. It smelled much better than the blood in his mouth, or the irritating odor of his own rib cage oil sacs. Cad became self conscious, worried if it were odorous enough for the residents downstairs to smell. He pulled off his shirt, gingerly, and used it as a rag to clean himself of blood and oils. He used water and soap, bathing as best he could. Cad decided he’d have to visit a public shower at the mall’s gym to bathe more thoroughly. He stuffed the ruined shirt in a trash bag. It was summer cycle on the station. Tonight he wouldn’t have to use the blanket, but he draped it around his scrawny shoulders anyway.

The scent of the food downstairs drew his attention again. Cad pulled himself to the grate and peered down, ignoring his pained ribs. Below, there was the woman from the street. She hummed a random tune as she stirred a pot of soup. There were chopped vegetables and meat cooking in the thick broth. She wafted her delicate, long fingered hand over the top to smell before ladling some to taste. Displeased, she pinched some salt from a bowl and added it. Cad’s stomach growled loud enough he almost feared she would hear it. He hid from view, even though it had happened many times before and the woman had never noticed. The grate over the kitchen was the only view he had into the lives of the family below. He feared losing his hideout, but couldn’t resist glimpsing the charming domestic scenes playing out in real time. The front door opened and boot steps entered the kitchen. Cad peered down again to see the husband had returned. The man approached his wife from behind and wrapped his arms around her in a tender embrace. She leaned her head against his, returning the gesture.

“Where’s our little grub? Is he sleepin’?” the man asked with a raspy, yet kind voice. He was much taller than the woman, had a strong chin and broad shoulders, at least for a Duros.

“Yess,” she cooed. “In the crib by de table.”

He hummed an approval, and touched her collarbone. Silver scars circled the small of her neck. They didn’t mar her perfectly blue skin, they marked it with beautiful declaration. A claim. She had been bitten by her husband in the old fashioned Duros way. The husband bent and kissed the sacred spot. She made a soft rattle sound in reply.

“Smells good,” he said, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“Thank you. Set the table, it’s ‘bout ready.”

The tenderness made Cad’s heart ache. If only his own parents were like them. If his father had been gentle, would he have run away? Cad frowned when the husband let go and started setting the plates and utensils on the table. He wondered if he’d someday be able to hold and kiss a woman like that. It seemed like it would be nice.

Cad reached inside the cooler and grabbed a wrapped bit of mealcake. He filled a cup with water and took a sip. He swished it around his mouth and spit it out into a bin. Then he took a drink with less blood taste involved. He shuffled back to the grate and ate as the couple ate, imagining himself beside them. The first bite made him flinch. A tooth was loose. He checked it with his tongue and was glad to find it was his last remaining grub tooth. The bounty hunters must have knocked it. He chewed on the other side of his mouth.

“Did you have a talk wit’ dem?”

The man nodded. “I don’t think he liked finding out there were criminals working behind his back, but I think he respected what I had to say. We’ll see how it goes.”

“I’m sure it’ll work out,” she assured him. “You’re a man of integrity. He can’t afford to lose a man like you in the business he runs. Who will keep people from embezzling if someone doesn’t hold them accountable?”

“Exactly.” After another bite he trilled, “Good soup…” he threw a hand signal of approval.

The conversation faded to the background as the boy drifted off to sleep. The first few days were the hardest, and he had great difficulty breathing. They soon passed and his wounds began to heal, and his bruised eye opened up again. His ribs still screamed whenever he climbed to and from his hideout, but that couldn’t be helped. In the street where he had botched his latest heist, cops were everywhere. Wanted posters plastered street light poles and news billboards. The bounty hunters were now in hiding since they had killed four cops. He was glad of it, since that meant they weren’t likely to jump him.

His days were filled with several activities. Sleeping was to help himself heal. Pick pocketing was to refill his coffers so he could eat. Afternoons, provided he had gathered sufficient money for food, he’d spend at the public holonet tables. He’d play a few free games, but mostly as a reward for keeping up with his studies. Cad, like every Duros, had dreams of space travel. He forced education on himself so he could leave one day and be a pilot, an engineer, anything. He had a photographic memory, a blessing of his species, but he also liked puzzles and couldn’t help finding patterns where math and physics met with mapping courses in hyperspace. It was fascinating. He would lose himself for hours until his stomach would remind him of necessities. He’d purchase dumplings or meat mash on a bountiful day, and then race to his hideout because evenings were his favorite. Evenings were spent pretending he was a part of the couple’s meals. He knew it was a silly pass time, but what was the harm? He always took care to never use the same route home twice. Evading Soopan was proving difficult. Cad was slower than normal and his friend knew their romping grounds just as well as he. Soopan no doubt wanted to make up for what happened, but Cad didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t begrudge him, he just wasn’t ready yet. Soopan did catch him eventually.

You will take us to the Holocron.

Cad stopped and looked around. There it was again. Did he imagine it? He didn’t find the origin, but he did see someone he recognized. There he was, his friend, waiting for him less than a block away from the couple’s apartment. While Cad had the agility and stealth to break into places, his friend had always been good at scoping them out and tracking down targets. He had a knack for it. He would have found Cad’s hideout sooner or later. Soopan ran, as best he could, up to him. A frantic expression was on his face.

“Cad!”

“I’m fine! Nothin’ some sleep couldn’t cure,” he lied.

“That’s not it at all! Don’t go home. They’re waitin’ for you!”

“Who?”

“The bounty hunters! The ones who took our score!” he pointed at the apartment.

Cad shook his head, “We’re even. Bleak said so himself.”

“But I heard him threatenin’ your father!”

Cad rose a brow. “My father? My father don’ live ‘round here, Soopan. He lives in de factory district on level Seven.”

“Den... who’s de family you live with? Ain’t he the manager at Curious Bizarre?”

“I don’ live with dem. And what do dey have to do with-”

A scream filled the air. They both looked to the origin and saw a Duros woman on the ground. Two alien men stood over her. The two more humans pointed weapons at her. Cad was running toward them before he realized it. As he got closer, he recognized the men as the ones from the alley. They were the four bounty hunters. Cad stopped dead in his tracks and hid in a store entryway. He peeked out at the scene that was actively drawing a crowd. Blue and green skinned, red eyed Duros onlookers were attracted to the violence, but also the off-world collection of aliens.

“Tell your husband that the game is over. His boss isn’t happy with the stir he’s caused, and now his company is being investigated. If he turns himself in, maybe we’ll be more lenient. You have until midnight.”

With that, the bounty hunters left as though nothing had happened. Cad backed as far as he could into the entryway as they passed. They didn’t notice him. He watched them leave and saw Soopan nearly piss his pants, knees shaking. A bounty hunter laughed at him and pushed a finger roughly into the boy’s nose-less face. His head jerked backward and the boy lost his balance, landing on his large rear. The whole group laughed at the boy’s expense. Then they were gone.

The woman picked herself up onto her knees, upright but still in shock. A hand went to her cheek where they had struck her. Tears welled in her eyes. Confusion haunted them, trying to understand what had happened. Then she saw a small pair of worn shoes standing before her. She looked up and it was the same boy from weeks earlier. The boy’s injuries looked both better and worse. His eye was no longer swollen, but the bruises had turned that ugly shade of deep, purple-green as they did before the body cleared them out. He looked at her with… was that sympathy? Anger? Shame? He took in a breath as though to speak, then hesitated. He looked around them at the dissipating crowd and found he was the only Duros to approach her.

Cad said, offering a hand, “Dey beat me up too.”

She replied in horror, “They did that to you? A child?”

Cad shrugged, “I survived. Can’t say I’ve had worse though.” The woman took his hand and he pulled her up. He was almost two heads taller than her. He looked up at her kind, crimson eyes. He realized this was the first time they had spoken. He felt suddenly awkward and guilty. He had spied on her family, innocently, yes, but it was still spying. He had invaded their privacy for… some reason. He turned to leave and said, “You and your family should ditch town. Bounty hunters like dem mean bid'ness. Wanted posters everywhere warn ‘bout ‘em. If you leave, den they’ll have no more reason to hunt you.”

“We have no where else to go,” she said. “Dis is our home. We’ll fight for it.”

“Sounds like a good way to wind up dead,” he said angrily. The bounty hunters would slaughter them. It wasn’t just his experience that told him this, but the records he had looked up about them on the public holonet. Altogether the men were wanted in twelve systems and worked for the Bounty Hunters Guild. He sighed when she said nothing. “Suit yourself. Don’ say I didn’t warn you.”

“Wait!” she said, grabbing his hand. She pulled him toward her apartment. She stopped at her door. “Wait here a moment.” She let go and rushed inside. Cad stood there and awkwardly obeyed. She returned a moment later with a package wrapped in a cloth. “Please take this. I wanted to help you, when I saw you last in the street? You looked so broken… but I didn’t know how to find you. Well. Dat’s it, I guess. Please take care on your way home, okay?”

Cad clutched the warm package in his arms. The gift felt wonderfully warm against his chest. He looked up and said, “I don’t have a home.” He left her speechless on the porch just as he had last time. Cad returned to his hideout in the attic. He didn’t have the heart to peer into the kitchen that night. He smelled the soup boiling and it made his stomach growl. He made a face.

My stomach rattles better dan I can, he thought.

He placed the package on his lap and stared at it with curiosity. He undid the knot and saw a tub of soup and a spoon placed on top. It was the same soup he was smelling coming through the grate on the floor. The one he had watched them eat so many times. Cad snatched the lid off and dipped the spoon and brought it to his mouth. It was heavenly. The young Duros enjoyed every bite. He alternated between a spoonful of seasoned broth and chunks of vegetable or meat. There was so much of it. It was piping hot. He realized his mouth was too heated. He sprawled across the floor to pour some water into a cup. He took a drink and it cooled his tongue down some. He didn’t stop eating until the tub was near empty. There was just a few pieces of ingredients left and a couple spoonfuls of broth. He recapped the lid and set it carefully inside the cooler. It would be cold the next day, but it was very worth saving. Cad laid back with a very full stomach, happy as could be. Sleep found him quickly.

He dreamed of the planet Duros looming overhead. Soopan and he played a game of chance in the one park the neighborhood had to offer. There was no grass, but just a dirt lot with a few basic play sets and benches. The trees were real, though stunted from lack of care. They didn’t play to win anything, but purely just to play. The chance cubes rolled and they were both red. Cad won. Another roll and they were blue, and Soopan won the bet. Cad snatched the dice for his turn. He shook them in his hand and teased that he was going to win with first red and then blue. The cube rolled. One turned up red. He laughed. The second cube rolled and then began to spin. Cad and Soopan watched in wonder. The cube had never done that before. The cube grew in size. The surface blue tiles expanded until the whole thing was blue. The cube slowed down and opened its shell. It glowed. A crystal within shined brightly, angrily. It was a Holocron.

Cad jumped back, but hissed as his arm touched an ember. The trees were on fire. The park around him was engulfed in orange and red light, it seemed to swallow even his shadow. His mouth stung with the taste of sulfur. Suddenly it was difficult to breathe. He coughed, calling out to Soopan. Where did he go? His eyes searched the flames for his friend. He heard a scream. It wasn’t his friend. It was smaller, a far younger scream, a Duros baby’s scream. Voices echoed,

“You will take us to the Holocron!”

Cad woke up coughing. His eyes stung from smoke billowing into the attic. Fire. It had to be fire. The apartment was on fire! It wasn’t a dream. He needed to get out. He heard more screams. The couple’s grub below was screaming. He crawled to the exit, trying not to inhale more smoke. Voices echoed around him.

Take us to the Holocron!

Where were the voices coming from? They sounded malicious. His eyes watered, trying to see. It was getting hotter the further he crawled. He reached the exit grate. He flinched from the metal surface. It was incredibly hot. He shifted his legs first and kicked it open. Cad needed to pull himself through.

I need to get out! He kept pulling himself but the exit seemed so far away. He pulled himself and pulled himself until finally he fell from the attic to the rooftop below...

*** Cad Bane thrashed in his chair, wrists cuffed and hands clawing at nothing. The Duros’ cries sounded like someone dragging a board across duracrete. The Jedi concentrated even harder. Despite their best efforts, Kenobi only had flashes of images telling him useless information. He saw more Duros, other bounty hunters, soup for some reason, a sea of rolling grass, and a rolling chance cube turning into the Holocron. Kenobi sensed unease behind him and he let go. Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu did as well. The bounty hunter collapsed forward on the table with a gasp. His chest heaved desperate for air, clearly exhausted. The bearded Jedi Master Kenobi looked behind him and saw that Ahsoka was shaken. Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to let her witness the Mind Persuasion technique, though she would need to use it one day herself in the future. To his side, Anakin Skywalker’s focus was only on the bounty hunter.

“Perhaps we should try again,” he threatened the prisoner.

Cad Bane panted and raised a hand in plea, “I… I’ve had enough o’ dat.” Bane realized he was back in the holding cell. The voices and echoes were gone. The screams of the Duros child were gone. The taste of blood, ash, and sulfur was gone. He could breathe again, but the pain still lingered at his temples like a migraine. He hadn’t given in like a zombie, as he had seen so many other, weaker minded fools in the past when it came to Jedi Mind Tricks. He had never experienced it himself until now, and it had taken three Jedi to … do what? He didn’t know what to make of that experience beyond the pain and awful memory. Was it because he resisted so furiously? It didn’t matter. He had fought this battle, and won it, in his opinion. Now he needed them to think they won too. “You’ll get your children back,” he promised.

He needed to play this game for just a while longer.

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