#way to fail downwards Rebecca | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

velvetcloxds · 3 years

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AND WHATEVER COMES AFTER THAT| K.M.

Pairing: Klaus x Fem!Reader

Word count: 1991 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Klaus has been trying to convince the reader to be with him for years, but has always failed. At the end of one of Elijah's peace parties, Y/n finally gives in.

“For the lady…” Rebecca says with a smile, holding out my glass of wine for me.

“Thank you,” I say, taking the glass in my hand before refocusing my gaze on the dancefloor where the last few people are still keeping up with the silly beat of the current 60’s song. “You’d think they would have given up by now.” I say, laughing softly as I point down to where Hailey and Elijah are dancing, attempting to keep a somewhat respectable distance between them. Rebecca smiles and moves to rest her glass on the banister of the balcony.

“You’d also think he’d have officially made a move by now, but my big brother does things in his own little way.” She tells me, smiling still as her eyes linger for a sweet second on Marcel Gerard who is making quite the show of the way he’s twirling around his date, her dress shifting higher up her thigh with every turn. Rebecca scoffs softly, taking another large sip of her drink.

“He’s not the only one.” I say with a raised brow, her glass making a soft clinking noise against her ring when she grips onto her glass tighter, eyes drawn tight to show me she’s not exactly pleased with my statement.

“I don’t know what you’re implying, Y/N, but I’d remind you to think very carefully about what you’re going to say next,” She says and turns to face me, leaning forward to make sure I could hear her. “You may very well be my dearest friend and my brother may very well be completely smitten with you, but I’m not above kicking your ass.” She tells me and though her words would prompt a serious tone, I catch the little smile that slips onto her lips when our eyes meet.

“I have yet to see you try, Rebecca,” I offer in reply, laughing lightly as she shakes her head. “Besides,” I start, taking a sip of wine before handing her my glass. “I’d have to remind you that you’d be ruining your own clothing in the process.” I tell her as I move to do a slow twirl and she gasps softly, taking in the Audrey Hepburn inspired ensemble, the black dress and gloves being something that Rebecca had kept from her time spent in the actual decade. Her shock sinks into a small grin as she looks me over, eyes lingering on the pearl necklace we brought at a secondhand boutique last week.

“You look perfectly in place,” She tells me and nods towards the hallway behind us. “Maybe you could convince my brother to step out of his hole long enough to save you a dance.” She says and squeezes my arm softly as she passes by me, losing the glasses on her way down the stairs where she calmly clears the last few guest from the dancefloor and out the door, waving quickly as she closes the door of the ballroom behind her.

I smile, the music seeming louder somehow now that I’m alone in here and I find myself almost drifting down the stairs. I hum to myself, dancing towards the drink table. Swaying to the rhythm as I start pilling empty platters and used plates together.

“You missed the party,” I say softly, not stopping what I’m doing as I hear him still on the balcony above. “It was quite the turnout.” I add, stepping back from the table to look up at him, his lips tilting into a lopsided grin when he sees me.

“My apologies, love,” He shrugs eyes darkening as they slowly make their way from my lips downwards, lingering for a second on the pearls around my neck before slipping lower and lower, until he clears his throat softly, meeting my gaze in an instant. “I clearly had no idea what I’d be missing out on.” He tells me, voice low as he pulls a hand through his hair.

“Maybe you should come down here and get a better look.” I offer, tone matching his as I step back even more, slowly making my way to the dancefloor where he meets me in mere seconds, hands carefully resting on my waist as I move slowly to sway to the gentle melody, eyes glued to his as he lets out a soft breath.

“You are…” He starts, moving a hand to carefully take hold of mine. “Ravishing,” He whispers, the sound sending an almost electric shiver down my spine as he lifts my hand to his mouth where he places a delicate kiss to my palm, not once breaking eye contact. “Tell me..” He begins, using his teeth to carefully pull the glove away, holding my bare hand tightly in his own as he leads me into a dance. “Why won’t you be mine, Y/n?” He asks, holding me against him as he dips me backwards slowly, carefully turning us together before pulling me up to be but inches from his face. “Why won’t you let me love you?” He asks, keeping hold of my waist as he turns me around in his arms where he nimbly lifts my hand in the air, removing the other glove as he attentively traces the length of my arm until I can feel his skin against mine, the glove dropping soundlessly to the floor as I tilt my head to the side to see him.

“We’re dangerous together,” I tell him, carelessly letting him guide my hands to where he needs them and numbly allowing him to spin me out and then in before once again coming face to face with him. “We’d hurt each other,” I say, moving with him as we move one step forward and one step back, twirling and then repeating. “You’d hurt me.” I say, momentarily leaning back against him halfway through the twirl.

“I would never,” He offers and pauses as well, risking the loss of the rhythm to touch my cheek and gain my attention. “I could never.” He adds and I turn around in his hold.

“That’s what they always say,” I say and move my hands to his shoulders where I lead him into the same steps as earlier. “They always promise me forever,” He holds my waist delicately. “They never mean it.” I tell him, his eyes darkening as he tries to read my emotions.

“I am not them, my love,” His eyebrows knit together as he looks me over. “I will gladly give you forever and always and whatever comes after that. I love you. I burn for you,” He announces simply and I let out a shaky breath. “Can you truly say that you don’t feel the same? Tell me you don’t feel anything at all for me?” He asks, voice raw as he waits for a reply and I shake my head, dropping my hands to the side when he suddenly released me from his hold, looking to the sky as he shakes his head as well.

“Klaus,” I begin, pulling at the pearls to release the necklace from my neck, it along with the very obvious tension in the room making me feel like I’m suffocating. “I do feel the same. I feel everything and more, but it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t do this. I can’t possibly give you the power to hurt me.” I drop the pearls to the floor as I fold my arms around me, the playlist coming to an abrupt stop when the slow song ends.

“I understand,” He says after a moment, looking around the room, eyes scattering through the mess of dirty glasses and plates and coats that were left behind. “We should probably allow the staff to clean this place,” He tells me and forces a slight smile when our eyes meet. “Give me a moment to retrieve your things from upstairs and I’ll walk you home.”

“You don’t have to do that.” I say, guilt filling my heart as I see the hurt in his eyes that he couldn’t possibly hide from me even if he had attempted to do so.

“I know,” He says, picking up the fallen gloves and carefully handing them to me. “I want to.” He says, giving me a soft wink before walking up the stairs.

I let out a shaky breath as I pick up the pearls as well, folding them into the gloves to keep them safe and before my mind could even process the thought, I’m walking up the stairs, following the sound of his heartbeat that leads me to the room he spent the night in hiding away from the guests.

I use my foot to carefully push open the slightly ajar door, Klaus’s silhouette visible at the end of the room where he pushes handfuls of paintbrushes into cups of water as an overturned painting rests against the dresser.

“I couldn’t leave them uncleaned,” He informs me, my own heartbeat probably giving me away. “I got distracted downstairs is all, completely slipped my mind.”

“It’s okay,” I say and he looks at me quickly to nod before going back to his brushes and I walk to the center of the room, pulling at the string to turn on the light and get a better view of everything. “You were painting?” I ask, now noticing not just the one canvas, but a whole collection of them, all scattered and resting against multiple pieces of furniture.

“I felt remarkably inspired.” He comments shyly and I smile.

“By what?” I ask, mindfully reaching to turn around the largest of the canvases, the one I saw first and I can’t prevent the audible gasp that leaves my lips when I see the beautiful medley of colors that he’s somehow managed to create my face with.

“You.” He answers absentmindedly, shrugging slightly as he waves my coat and purse in the air to show me that he’s found it amongst everything in here. I smile, bending down to take it all in, every brushstroke and color, every piece of himself that he used to create every stroke of me.

“This is beautiful, Klaus.” I laugh softly, holding the hand with the gloves to my heart as a sudden rush of emotions run though me.

“The painting is only as beautiful as the muse who inspired it,” He comments simply, looking at me sweetly. “I don’t think I could ever verbally explain how much you mean to me, how much I care, how much you’ve changed me purely my existing. I don’t think I could ever completely fathom how remarkable you are and how extremely lucky I am that by some strange twist of faith I’ve been lucky enough to know you,” He laughs softly as well, smiling sheepishly as he catches my gaze. “I want to live my life with you, and I’d wait however long it takes for you to feel the same.”

“Forever?” I ask, standing up and placing the gloves onto the dresser beside me. He nods.

“And always.” He adds and I smile, the dreadful and fearful feeling in my stomach slowly dissolving.

“What about just one more minute?” I ask and he tilts his head, smiling as I slowly make my way towards him, pausing only for a second before cupping his face in mine. “Thirty seconds,” I say and he holds onto my arms. “Ten seconds,” I whisper, his forehead against mine. I breathe out slowly, nodding when our eyes meet, silently asking for permission before his lips delicately meet mine. My entire body filling with butterflies as he pulls away and I smile. “Let’s get married…” I say and his chest vibrates lightly as a happy laugh fills the air, pulling back slightly just to see me.

“Are you sure?” He asks carefully and I nod, pulling him closer to me again.

“I am yours, Niklaus Mikealson. Forever and always.”

“And whatever comes after that.”

Hi there, more of my work can be found on Wattpad under @mjoubertt. Mxx.

Masterlist

#klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaleson imagine #klaus mikealson x reader #klaus x reader #the originals #the originals x reader

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wreckofawriter · 4 years

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Heartbeat Part 2

(Final Part) <Part 1>

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Word Count: 3,580

Warnings: Angsty at the beginning, umm mentions of suicide and depression, swearing

Summary: An idea given to me by @mcluuvin666 Thank you so much! Reader moves on from Sirius and he realizes he made a mistake

A/n: This took me forever to write, I hope you guys like it!

You used to tell yourself you didn’t cry, that it was weak. But that was never true. The truth was you had cried far more in your life than you would ever admit. You had cried when your parents yelled at you or when your father hit you or your mother cursed you. You had cried when you fell from the tree in your backyard and when you slipped off your bike when you were nine. You had cried when you failed your first exam in the second year and recently you cried for no reason at all other than you simply needed to. You never let anyone see it but you cried a lot. But you had never cried like this before

You lay in that classroom for what could have been an hour or could have been a year. Loud sobs clawing from your throat like a feral beast that had finally been released. You felt your head pound as you pressed your forehead to the floor. After some amount of time had passed your throat no longer allowed any sound but whimpers from you. You could still feel tears slide down your face dripping off your nose and pooling on its curves. Your face felt hot, too hot like it was boiling, flesh burning.

Your mouth tasted bitter. You felt so frail. So incredibly weak. When you finally managed to get to your feet it was dark out, the moon nearly full, stars so bright they seemed only inches away.

You made it outside easily, no one was around to stop you if there was you doubt they would have succeeded. You stepped out onto the dewy grass where you once lay with Sirius. Where he had kissed you, where you had said you loved him and where he hadn't responded.

You should have felt stupid, so fucking stupid, but you didn’t. You didn't feel anything, anger, misery, hatred, despair and so many other bottles of feelings had been released. And now they were gone. And you felt numb. Your heart had slowed to its normal pace as you continued across the grass appearing silver in the moonlight.

You walked until your feet met with wood, you traveled out to the dock, the sound of crickets and small frogs filling you.

You stopped at the end of the dock. You contemplated taking another step, letting your body become a part of the darkness before you.

And then you did.

Your body hit the water and you were plunged into a cold you had never felt before. Your robes soaked instantly and you began to sink. You slowly parted your eyelids, you looked upwards at the celestial being above you quivering under the lense of wetness. You could see the moon, but your eyes didn't stay on the small planet for long. They traveled to the brightest star in the sky. Sirius. It blinked back at you slowly moving further and further away as your lungs began to burn. Your hair began to float in front of your face, your robes reaching towards the light as you were dragged backward by an unseeable force.

Then your eyes slipped shut and the fire inside you built, the burn strengthening. You could still see the bright star in your eyelids.

You felt the numbness suddenly disappear and for the first time in your entire life you were alone and you actually felt alive.

Your feet began to kick, black dress shoes moving in a flutter. You pushed yourself upwards, arms pumping as your eyes popped back open, your chest burnt, you would make it you knew you would, because you were still alive, and you would stay that way.

When you broke the surface of the water you immediately drew in a harsh breath forcing water further down your lungs as you began to cough. You managed to the shore collapsing in a heap of coughs. Until your lungs cleared and you were finally allowed to breathe normally again.

You're sitting staring out at the lake, ripples lingering from your plunge. The moon and stars reflected back at you making you feel as if you were trapped between two godly works of art and you could only stare, your heart thumped loudly you felt amazing, amused, and absolutely alive. Because you were alive. And you weren't about to let so asshole with mommy issues change that.

You felt a smile creep onto your lips as you stood. Your robes weighed what must have been thousands of pounds but you didn't care. You let out a light bubble of laughter chin tilting upwards as you breathed in deeply the scent of midnight dew and pond water filling you as your hair clung to your face. You extended your arms, spreading them like an eagle.

"I'm alive." You whispered up in the sky. And you were.

You awoke the next morning feeling as if you had dropped 50 pounds. Standing wasn't a struggle, your eyelids didn't drag downward, your heartbeat was lively and awake. You simply felt good.

When you arrived in the great hall for breakfast you were met with quite a few surprised faces. You could see Sirius staring at you from his corner of toxic masculinity. The surprise in his eyes made rage cycle through you. You were tempted to run and scream at him, but you didn’t. You took a deep breath reminding yourself that was exactly what he wanted and you refused to give in to his wants ever again. You ate breakfast while reading one of your favorite books you had dug out of your trunk that morning. Everything seemed so much easier after last night.

You surprised just about everyone in your herbology class by being quite kind to the Hufflepuff who sat next to you. You had even asked for some help baffling the light-haired girl. During Transfiguration, you had made a point to apologize to McGonagall for missing that morning’s detention. Her eyes had gone wide and she had looked a bit pale, asking if you were alright which you assured her you were.

On your way to lunch, you did something absolutely unliveable. A young Gryffindor had been cornered in a remote hallway you used as a shortcut. You had come across five second-year girls who were teasing the poor girl, snickers leaving their mouth. You had debated continuing walking but you let out a sharp sigh and took a few steps towards the girls grabbing the two who were currently taking charge by their hair.

They had shrieked as you yanked them backward. Once they had turned and met your face the color had drained from their own. A sweet smile graced your lips. You asked them if they knew who you were. Both nodded quickly.

“Good.” You continued to grin, “Then you should know I don’t bluff. Now I will ask you once. Leave this girl alone or next time I will rip the hair from your head.”

They had scattered after you released them, their friends already long gone. You walked towards the girl on the ground. She had on large horn-rimmed glasses which magnified her sky blue eyes. Her teeth held bright pink banded braces, her hair a dirty blonde.

“Let me guess, you’re a mud- muggleborn.” You said catching yourself quickly.

She nodded slowly, she looked terrified.

You laughed a bit and she jumped. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a changed woman, plus muggles write the best books.” You winked. “I’m y/n y/l/n.” You extended a hand.

“Rebecca Lastings.” She responded quietly, taking your offer as you helped pull her to her feet.

“Well, I’m starving. You wanna get lunch?” You asked as you helped gather her scattered books.

She smiled a bit, “Yeah sure.”

Lunch was... interesting. Turned out that Rebecca had an older sister named Laney Lastings - in your opinion a very catchy name - and when she saw her sister eating lunch with one of the most infamous Slytherins she was reasonably concerned.

When the Ravenclaw had marched up to you as you were shoveling chicken salad into your mouth you had once again done the shocking thing. You smiled and greeted the girl.

“What are you doing with my little sister.” She had hissed cutting you short.

You shrugged, “Eating.”

The blonde scoffed, “Becc lets go.” she snatched her sister’s arm but to her surprise Rebecca resisted.

“But she was just telling me about a book she read.” The younger girl spoke softly. By the look on the older’s face, you guessed she didn’t defy orders often. “It sounded very interesting.”

Laney looked up at you. You just shrugged. “What is going on?” she looked a bit shook up.

“Look I know what you think of me, hell what every single person in this room thinks of me but I’m a changed woman.” You explained, “I am honestly just talking to your sister, I have no intention of hurting her in any way shape or form.”

Laney’s eyes narrowed but Rebecca sat back down and took a bite of her peanut butter sandwich. “Come on y/l/n people don’t just change overnight.”

You shrugged again, “I did. Feel free to join us.” You motioned to the seat next to Laney’s sister and to your surprise she took it. And for the first time in your entire life, you had made actual friends.

You dreaded detention the next morning but to your surprise, it was rather pleasant. When you entered the large room it was already sanctioned into two groups. One contained three boys sitting in neighboring desks while the second held one dark-haired boy at the back of the room glaring at the former group.

You raised an eyebrow in confusion and sat a few desks away from both crowds. You then began to sort the paperwork you were told to, taking a walkman out and clipping in a favored artist.

About halfway through the hour, you were drawn from your work when a figure appeared before you. You looked up to see a pair of hazel eyes and curly hair hidden under a navy beanie. You removed your headphones letting them rest around your neck giving him a questioning look.

“Hey.” He managed, looking a bit unsure of himself.

“Hey?” You responded, glancing at the group he had left meeting to pair of eyes which quickly darted away.

“So umm, I know it's not really my place to say but I’m sorry,” Remus spoke, biting his lip.

“Why are you sorry?” You asked, still visibly confused.

He lowered his voice, “What Sirius did was really fucked up.” Suddenly the sanctions made sense, “And I just thought I would let you know that I’m sorry on his behalf.”

You let out a small laugh, “Please don’t Remus, you clean up enough of that boy's messes already, don’t put this on yourself. But thanks anyway.” You shrugged going to put back on your headphones.

“Laney told me about what you did for her little sister.” He spoke in a rush.

You stopped, “And?”

“She has been trying to get those girls to leave Becc alone for like three months, she started skipping classes and meals to avoid them, it was bad. But you stopped them with one conversation. That was really nice of you y/n.” Remus stated.

“It was whatever.” You answered with a shrug.

“It really wasn’t,” He protested, “But look we both wanted to ask you if you wanted to come to our study session tomorrow night. We get together three times a week, it’s me Laney and a few others, they’re all pretty chill and it would be great if you could come.”

A smile found your face, “Really?”

“Yeah, we meet in the library after dinner.” He was playing with his fingers now.

“Okay, sure. That sounds awesome.” You said.

“Great.” He grinned bouncing on the balls of his feet before turning and leaving.

“Hey, Remus.” You called just before he made it back to his seat. He whipped his head to look at you. “Thanks.”

In all honesty, being nice was completely exhausting, actually caring what others thought of you took its toll, especially after the well-crafted reputation you had built for yourself. You had also started paying attention in classes for the first time in a long time so you had mountains of homework and suddenly understood your peer’s desperation for good grades. You tried to convince yourself that a study group was a brilliant idea but your worries ate away at you.

What happened when most of the group hated you? Would they cuss you out? What if they refused you despite Remus’s invitation? There was so much room for failure. Godric making friends was difficult.

You busied yourself with the nightly homework in the common room, you had gotten used to the strange looks you received. A whistle drew yourself from your herbology sketch.

“Wow y/l/n, I did not expect you to turn into a loser when you found out.”

You rolled your eyes at the familiar voice, “Avery.” You drawled.

“What has gotten into you?” He asked, taking a seat next to you, “First you help out a mudblood, then you go and make friends with her filthy sister and now you're doing Herbology homework?”

You glared at the boy, “Don’t call them that.”

He only smirked back, “I must say you look much prettier without the bags beneath your eyes and a little effort put in.”

“Go fuck yourself.” You spat resisting the urge to strangle him.

“There’s the y/n I know.” He smiled triumphantly, “But where has she been? People don’t change overnight.”

“Well, I did douchebag.” You hissed.

“No you didn't.” he sneered, “You're still the same stone-cold bitch, you’re just hiding it and let me tell you, I can’t wait for that mask to break.”

Your hand tightened around your quill, “Shut up.”

“I’ll be there to catch you when you fall y/l/n. I’m glad you’re wearing skirts again, you look hot.” He taunted his face so close to your own you could smell his cologne.

You were about to slap him but before you could a voice resonated through the air, “Avery back off her.”

You both looked up and you met the gaze of a Slytherin you swear you had never seen before. He had dark hair and darker eyes, his face was sharply cut, lips looking far too rounded on his visage.

“What do you have on it Dapperton?” Avery asked leaning away from you.

“Just back off.” His tone was harsh, a thick Scottish accent in his voice.

“Whatever.” Avery scoffed standing and shooting you one last glance before leaving the room.

“You okay?” The boy you now knew as Dapperton asked.

“Yeah, fine.” You managed.

“Cool, listen I was wondering if you could help me with my Arithmetic, I’ve heard you are pretty good at it.” He said.

“Sure. I’m y/-”

“I know who you are.’” He laughed, “I’m Lewis. Lewis Dapperton.”

“Okay, nice to meet you, Lewis.”

You had made three official friends.

You tried not to let Avery’s words bother you as the days passed. But it was hard. The study group had been a bit awkward but not all that bad, Lewis was actually a member much to your surprise. Nights became difficult again. The idea that maybe this was just a passing phase and that it was simply a few good days got to you. I mean people didn’t just change overnight.

But I did. You screamed at yourself. I swear I did.

It all came crashing into a dreadful climax two weeks after night it all started.

It had been two weeks of confusion that morphed to anger and soon into sadness and jealousy for Sirius Black. When he had seen you in the great hall the night after you had found out about the thirty points he had almost shit his pants. You were up? And you were smiling?! He was sure you were going to come over and rip his throat out at breakfast. But you didn’t You just sat at your isolated seat at the end of the Slytherin table and read, looking surprisingly relaxed.

You had left a bit early and Remus had dumped his pumpkin juice on him saying he was a complete objectifying asshole and part of the reason why women were not viewed equal to men. Leave it to the feminist to ruin a perfectly normal bet. He had made the mistake of saying that out loud and caused an uproar at the Gryffindor table.

He had seen you working in the few shared classes you had and had been quite surprised. How was it you were having a better day than him? He supposed karma bit harshly. When you saw you at lunch sitting with a young Gryffindor girl he had once again been completely boggled. And soon you were joined by a Ravenclaw as well. What universe was he in?

That night he had gotten into another heated argument with his best friends. One that ended in him sleeping in the common room, locked away from his bed.

He had dreamt of you. That night when you had stargazed. When you had kissed him. When you had told him you loved him. He dreamt of your lips on his, hands in his hair, the dew seeping through his robes and the chirp of crickets.

The next morning sucked. He sat alone during detention forced to watch as you happily hummed along to your music. Your hair was pulled back and it looked surprisingly nice. You were also wearing a skirt. When did you get so pretty? Remus talked to you and mentioned him. Sirius bit his tongue not wanting to cause a scene. Plus the glare James was giving him hurt on another level.

The week got worse and worse. Suddenly you had friends and had started hanging out with a far too handsome Slytherin. You also choose that week to look ridiculously gorgeous and suddenly his thoughts were full of you. He found himself missing your scent and the texture of your hair. The sound of your laughter was a drug he had been deprived of.

His dreams of you got worse. He dreamt that he had told you he loved you when you asked. He dreamed he hadn’t left you alone. He dreamed of laughing in detention with you, making out in broom closets, going to quidditch matches together, sleeping with you.

He woke each day more aggravated than the last. Why the fuck was he the one suffering? It wasn’t fair. Well, he supposed it was. Finally, he gathered his remailing pride and tossed it out a window before cornering you on the way back from herbology.

“Y/n please just give me a minute.” He begged as you began to walk away.

“Sirius I have wasted far too many of my minutes on you.” You spat glaring past the boy.

“Please.” He pleaded.

You sighed tapping your foot angrily, “You’ve got one minute.”

It was then Sirius realized he had absolutely no plan, “What’s up with you?”

“What?” You glowered refusing to meet his eye.

“I mean you’re all nice and shit and you’re actually hanging out with people. It’s weird.” He explained.

“So, me being nice is weird?” You clarified.

“Yeah! People don’t change overnight!” He rationalized.

“So I’ve been told.” You murmured, “Look if this is all just about me being nice then please save me time and leave me alone.”

Sirius groaned, “It’s not just that! How are you so, so I don’t know okay?”

You finally looked him in the eyes and he really wished you hadn’t. Your eyes were dark with anger, narrowed to slits, reminding him of a snake. “You wanna know why I’m so okay?” You asked and suddenly he didn’t. “Because I was really really not fucking okay.”

Sirius was visibly confused, “What?”

“I almost drowned myself that night Sirius.” You hissed.

His heart stopped. “What.”

“Yeah.” You snarled, “I walked straight off that dock, shoes and all, and I let myself sink halfway to the bottom before I decided I wanted to live.” You spoke gesturing towards the lake.

Sirius wanted the earth to swallow him whole. You wouldn’t have opposed.

“And when finally reached the shore I had an epiphany.” You spoke with false glamor. “I suddenly realized I wasn’t going to let cock suckers like you and my parents decided anything about me and the way I live my life.”

Sirius wanted to break into tears. He started at you. The face he had been dreaming of for weeks meer meters from him and suddenly realized how desperately in love with you he was.

“So guess what, I changed overnight because I would have died if I didn’t.” You spat before brushing past him without another word. Sirius grabbed your wrist as you passed.

You turned glaring at him.

“I think I’m in love with you.” He spoke his voice breaking halfway through the sentence.

“You know I can’t answer that.” You scoffed snatching your wrist from his hold and turning to leave.

Sirius watched as you left so full of regret he couldn’t think of anything but what-ifs. When you were out of sight he sat on the ground and began to cry.

Taglist:

@wtfdanness

@darkhorse-of-your-dream

@geeksareunique

@songforhema

@wangmangagavroche

@evyiione

@accio-rogers

@roslea

@k3nz-doodl3

@theseuscmander

Masterlist

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hotchley · 3 years

Text

the waiting game

Lol, my laptop is at 2%. Look, I’ll be back in an hour to do my masterlist, I just really, really need to get this done because it should’ve been done many months ago.

It’s fine. Umm... yeah, nothing else to say :)

Trigger Warnings: child abuse, references to child abuse, death threats from a parent, bombings

read on ao3!

Jason Gideon always told new recruits that certain things about their jobs got easier with time and experience. He told them their hands would remain steady when they fired a gun and that the noise would not always make them flinch. He told them they would get used to late-night calls and sleepless nights. that they wouldn’t always find it so difficult when the people they loved walked away, unable to handle not knowing what was going to happen.

A lot of things about their job got easier.

The waiting game only got harder.

Because you learnt things

Gideon had been on the team longer than the other members put together. he knew what happened when each of his members ended up in the hospital. He’d made a point of taking Reid each time, just so he could be sure his order of events was correct.

Adrian Bale meant he’d had six less agents to remember.

That was supposed to have been the last time Aaron Hotchner ended up in the hospital, unconscious and barely breathing. Gideon had vowed to himself that no matter how difficult it was, Hotch would make it home to Haley and Jack every night.

But he’d failed.

Aaron hadn’t wanted Elle going home. he’d taken her to the same hotel Haley was in. Elle had felt a little uncomfortable being in the adjoining room, but her discomfort quickly faded. Haley seemed used to looking after Aaron’s second family and Jack was still willing to be held by strangers.

He’d swung by her place to make sure it was safe.

It hadn’t been, but he was the best shot in the BAU. No, not just the BAU, the entire Quantico building. He was so good that when he demanded that they passed Reid with flying colours, nobody questioned him.

There had been- in his words- a small scuffle but he was fine.

Everyone was too exhausted to argue or even notice. But Gideon knew he should’ve said something. He’d known Aaron Hotchner since he had been dragged in by David Rossi, somehow bright-eyed and cynical at the same time.

He should’ve known Aaron was more hurt than he was willing to let on. He always was. and he should have realised before he sent him into another building that contained an innocent civilian and somebody that they couldn’t really profile. Somebody that they couldn’t plan the endgame of.

It felt like Adrian Bale all over again.

Only everyone had known Aaron was going to survive the moment he pulled the oxygen mask off his face, demanded to know who was representing Bale in his trial before passing out again.

Now... none of that could be confirmed.

He hadn’t been able to stay conscious enough to ask for Haley.

“Tell me what happened,” he asked again. Morgan and Reid had refused the other six times he’d asked them. Six hours Hotch had been in the hospital. He still wasn’t awake.

“Gideon this isn’t going to help anyone, least of all you,” Morgan sighed.

“Tell me,” he demanded.

“He was carrying Rebecca out of the building because it was on fire. Then he suddenly dropped her on the grass and keeled over, one hand pressed to his side. Morgan grabbed Rebecca, got her out. I tried to help Hotch, but he told me to run. And I did. And then the building exploded and-”

And that was when he’d got the phone call from Reid. Morgan had phoned the ambulance the moment Hotch fell. Reid had phoned Gideon, barely able to string two sentences together. It was as though his eidetic memory and IQ had just been taken from him.

Reid looked away, unable to say another word. His cheeks were stained with tears, his foot-tapping the only comfort he was able to provide himself.

“He wouldn’t have got hurt if I’d gone home,” Elle whispered.

“You can’t blame yourself,” JJ murmured, but she sounded distant. Like she was trying to stay in liaison mode but couldn’t. She hadn’t even been with the BAU for a year the last time Hotch had ended up in the hospital. She’d been terrified then. Now she just looked tired.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself,” Gideon added, wishing he could see what was going on. But the door to the room Hotch was in had been closed, the curtains pulled around. “If you’d gone home, in the state you were in, you wouldn’t have won. It’d be you in there, and Hotch would be pacing outside blaming himself.” Besides, he thought to himself. The only person that should be blaming themselves was him. He was supposed to have Hotch’s back. He was the one that was supposed to be able to read all his tells without even having to try and profile him.

Hotch was still in surgery. In all the cases that had ended with Hotch landing himself in the hospital, the surgeries had been minor. When Adrian Bale had struck, he’d spent four hours in surgery. In Gideon’s opinion, the injuries sustained from that had been more serious.

Hotch had been in surgery for six and a half hours. That didn’t fit the pattern. It didn’t fit the pattern and Gideon knew this time that it wasn’t a good thing.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself either,” a soft voice said from behind them.

“Haley,” he whispered.

Haley gave them all a hesitant smile. It was clear she’d been sobbing and was only being held together by the thinnest thread. “How are you all holding up?”

The laugh Garcia let out was slightly hysterical. “Mrs Hotchner, we’re not important. You are. So is your husband. How are you doing?”

The corners of her mouth turned downwards. “I don’t feel like it’s hit me yet. I’ve known for a very long time there’s a chance he won’t come down and I’ve always prepared for that, but it just doesn’t feel real. I keep expecting him to walk out that door with his arm in a sling and a goofy smile because of the pain medication.”

“We’ll be here when it does hit. And we’ll help in any way we can,” JJ promised.

Haley nodded, shaking as she wrapped her arms around herself. “I know. Aaron always said that he wasn’t afraid of dying. Not when he knew his team would be there to tell Jack stories and stop me from resenting the only piece of him that I would have left.”

“Where is the little one?” Morgan asked, both to lighten the mood and to change the subject. They’d never realized how much Hotch loved them all. How much he trusted them.

“With my sister. We didn’t- after Boston- oh my god, it’s just like Boston isn’t it? He’s going to, he won’t- I-” she whimpered, the dam finally breaking.

It was Garcia that reacted first. It was a stark contrast, Penelope’s brightness against the subdued pastels of Haley’s pajamas- and Gideon wanted to be sick, she must have been ready to go to sleep when she got the phone call- but it was needed.

When Garcia pulled away, not quite letting go, Haley wiped her eyes.

“I’m sorry. It’s just, after Boston, we agreed that Jack- we hadn’t picked his name then, god it feels like yesterday, that we wouldn’t let him see us in the hospital. We wanted to let him believe his parents were invincible for as long as possible.”

Gideon knew that promise. he also knew that Hotch had promised to step down once Gideon returned. He had been selfish when he’d asked him not to.

“He’ll make it out,” Elle said.

She hadn’t witnessed Adrian Bale’s attack on Gideon. That’s how she was able to stay so positive. But everyone else had. They’d watched as twenty-two civilians had been taken hostage, as Hotch had gone into the building to try and negotiate with him, despite Gideon explicitly forbidding him to do so because Haley was waiting at home for him.

That was the one and only time Hotch’s anger had been directed at a member of the team. His eyes had darkened, his voice pitched lower than they’d ever heard it. He’d looked Gideon in the eye, no longer the scared recruit, and told him to go fuck himself.

He’d walked into the building. Without a vest. The only weapon being the gun in the holster that was attached to his belt. One of the hostages had been forced to take it from him. Aaron had given them the same encouraging smile he gave to all the victims they saved, to all the distraught family members that were scared of being the cause of their loved one’s end.

Adrian Bale had taken one look at him and laughed. That had thrown Hotch off. He had thought that seeing the lead profiler of the elite BAU team would make him sweat and give him what he wanted. He said as much.

Adrian Bale said that when he looked at Aaron Hotchner, he didn’t see the lead profiler or bad cop. He didn’t see the head of the Seattle field office or one of the best shots SWAT had ever seen. He didn’t even see the hotshot prosecutor he’d began as.

Aaron asked him what he did see.

Bale’s response haunted everyone. He said he saw a boy too afraid of his own feelings to ever truly love anyone. He said the only reason Hotch had walked in was because he was too much of a coward to leave his pregnant wife but if he died in the line of duty, well that was different. He said Aaron loved Jason Gideon and all he wanted was his approval.

The camera was grainy, but the tremble in Aaron’s hands was unmistakable.

Morgan had tried to run in. It was Gideon’s arm that had stopped in. It was Gideon that had said they needed to wait to get Hotch out. It was Gideon that had misread Aaron’s body language and sent six of his best agents in.

They didn’t need eidetic memories to have the look of complete fear on Gideon’s face when Hotch was blown away branded in their brain forever. Or the scream he’d released when they finally uncovered the body, the rise and fall of his chest barely noticeable. Or to remember how Haley had arrived two days later because of problems with flight bookings, face devoid of any colour, the swell of her stomach a stark reminder of everything that would be lost if Hotch didn’t pull through.

Elle Greenaway only knew SSA Hotchner: the man that stared down unsubs, barked orders at everyone, carried a back-up weapon because he was just that good and never smiled. She didn’t know him as Aaron, the man that hated hospitals so much that every time he regained consciousness, the doctors had been forced to sedate him for his own benefit. Or that the only person that had been able to touch him was Haley, his mouth trying to form her name but never making it past the first syllable, despite all his years of spinning stories to a jury.

Or that the only reason Hotch carried a back-up was because very few people would notice it was there. John Blackwolf had thrown him off, made him doubt again. Gideon had found it difficult to convince him everything was fine, so he didn’t. He just dropped him home to Haley and watched from his car as Hotch became Aaron, falling apart in Haley’s arms.

“I know,” Haley whispered, pulling Gideon from his memories.

“Would you like anything to drink? I can go and grab you a coffee if you want,” he said, needing to do something other than watch his team fall to pieces. Aaron was the one that sat and reminded them they were human, that it wasn’t their fault. It was the reason they would call him mom. Gideon was just there.

Haley shook her head. “I want you to be here. In case you’re needed.”

Because of course he would be. Haley Hotchner was Aaron’s wife, so she was automatically listed as his medical proxy. But Aaron never wanted her to be burdened by his job any more than she already was. Which meant if something happened in the field. the doctors were to automatically defer to Gideon. Haley was consulted if it was something non-case related.

“Of course,” he said, as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

“Excuse me? Are you all here for Aaron Hotchner?”

“Yes,” Haley said, the first to find their voice as the profilers tried to work out whether the news they were about to be given was good or bad.

“He’s out of surgery, there were no complications there and we’ve got him through the worst of it. But he’s still not woken up, and his breathing is shallow, hence the reason we haven’t taken him off the ventilator yet. So as much as we want to hope for the best, I want you to understand there is a chance he may not make it. His body has been put through a lot in the past year.”

Gideon did not want to think about every injury Hotch had been forced to suffer through since returning. The collar of his shirts had never quite hidden the bruised skin where Perotta had touched him.

“Can we see him?” Haley asked. She looked so young. So vulnerable. Gideon swallowed. She’d never been forced to hide her emotions the same way Hotch had. She’d never been afraid of being profiled. He doubted she ever had been, Hotch was too honourable.

“My colleagues are still treating him. I think it’d be better if we waited until he woke up. You should all get some rest, you look exhausted.”

Haley shook her head. “I’d like to be here.”

“Of course,” the doctor said, turning on their heel and walking away again.

“I’m just going to phone Jessica and ask her to keep Jack for a little longer,” she said, voice trembling.

Everyone nodded and chose not to comment when Haley vanished for ten minutes, returning with red-rimmed eyes.

“He trusted me to save his life when I hadn’t even passed my gun qualification,” Reid said suddenly.

“I know. He told me about that. He said he knew you could do it, that it would just take a bit of a patience and maybe an extremely stressful situation. Apparently, you do your best work under intense terror. Not that he wanted the two of you to end up hostages He also blamed himself when you didn’t pass. Thought he’d scared you so much when you were practicing that you got in your head and just forgot everything, even though that’s impossible,” Haley responded.

Reid’s head jerked up in response. “He actually said that to you?”

Haley nodded. “He tells me about all of you. He sees Sean- you met him didn’t you, yes you did- in you. You’re both young. Got the whole world to explore and yet you chose to do the one thing nobody expected.”

“I bet he always has bad stories about me,” Morgan teased.

“He trusts you. More than you think he does. And he wants you to trust him as well. He doesn’t listen when I say you do; you just show it in a different way. All you profilers show things in a different way. That’s what I’ve learnt. That there are some things you will never see the same way.”

“What does he say about me?” Elle asked, genuinely curious. She’d only met Haley in passing; the day they bought Jack in. And the time they’d spent in the hotel could hardly count.

“A lot. He’s scared this job is going to take your sense of humour away. He thinks that you’re going to wake up one day and hate him for letting this job consume your life. He worries about all of you though.”

“He worries about all of us?” that was JJ.

“Of course. He thinks that he’s taking your chances at happiness away from you by calling you in at ungodly hours, disrupting your vacations, making you look at what happens to happy couples and innocent children- I really shouldn’t say anymore I just always assumed you knew.”

“We don’t profile team members,” Elle said, slightly defensive.

“I didn’t think you did. I just assumed he spoke to you,” Haley said, but there was no accusation in her tone. Just the smallest amount of surprise and confusion.

The members of the team started staring awkwardly in various directions, suddenly aware of how little Hotch actually shared with them. Only Morgan had even known Sean existed, and that was only because he’d knocked on the office door that one time.

Loud shouts from the room Hotch was in drew their attention. Everyone immediately stood, Haley and Jason moving forward so they would be the first person the doctor spoke to. They were too far away to determine the specifics of the conversation, but from the volume and range of voices they could hear told him it was a group of doctors and nurses.

The shouting stopped soon after though, and Gideon immediately knew that the silence could only mean that Hotch had been sedated. A part of him was glad the other man had woken up, but he was mostly wondering it that was the last time it would happen.

A few minutes passed. Garcia was humming to herself. Morgan was sat, staring at the wall, eyes glazed over as he ran through every moment that led up to the explosion. JJ was biting her nails. Gideon wanted to tell her to stop but he couldn’t. That was what Hotch did. Haley tugged her hand away and grasped it. Elle placed her hand on Reid’s knee. He stopped tapping his foot, looking up at her with the same confused look he wore when someone referenced pop culture. Elle smiled slightly. Gideon stood to the side. He didn’t deserve them.

The same doctor as before exited the room.

“He keeps asking after his father,” she said.

Haley immediately jumped out of her chair and went over before Gideon could get a single word out. Hotch had never mentioned his father after ending up in the hospital. Sometimes he asked if Sean was safe. Most of the time he asked for Haley. Never once had he mentioned his parents. Jason did not know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but despite every part of him wanting to hope, he knew he was aware of the answer and that he was just too cowardly to admit it

“You have to let me in there,” she said.

“Mrs Hotchner with all due respect-”

“No. I know my husband’s medical history. You can’t keep sedating him, not when he needs to be conscious to answer your questions and not when there are only so many drugs his body can handle. But he isn’t asking after his father because he loves him. He’s asking where he is because he thinks he needs to work out how much more time he’s got before he needs to start pretending again. Let me in there, and he’ll cooperate.”

The doctor seemed to understand that there was no way they’d be able to win that particular battle. They sighed, then extended one arm to the door. Haley ran into the room, everyone else congregating outside.

“The painkillers will wear off in a few minutes,” the doctor told them all.

Haley nodded, immediately going to kneel beside Hotch’s bed, gently taking one hand and holding it tight, He was paler than anyone had ever seen him. His stomach was a mess of bruises and burns, some recent, others marks from a childhood that never should have happened.

Gideon watched, tears forming in his eyes. Hotch looked younger with his eyes closed. The pressures of the year seemed to fade, only to be made even clearer by the damage not covered by the hospital gown.

“Why isn’t he waking up?” Reid asked, five minutes later. His voice was shaky.

Haley’s grip tightened minutely. “Baby?” she whispered.

Aaron didn’t move. His heartrate remained steady, the beeping of the monitor the only sound that filled the room.

The doctors and nurses were preparing to do the rest of what they needed to do. Gideon felt his own heart slowing down. Aaron’s heart was beating but his eyes weren’t opening and the rise and fall of his chest was a shallow as when they’d first found him after Bale and none of this fit the pattern-

“I didn’t mean it, I swear, none of this was supposed to happen-” Aaron murmured, head rolling to the side.

Haley gasped and let go of his hand, just for a moment, before she realised what she’d done and grasped it again. “Aaron?”

Aaron’s eyes fluttered open. He struggled to keep them like that. “Where am I?” he whispered, southern accent coming out slightly.

That fit the pattern of his recovery.

“Mr Hotchner, you’re in Lockhart Hospital. Can you tell me your birth name and date of birth?” a nurse asked, voice firm but gentle.

“Hospital? No, I can’t be in the hospital, he’ll find me. He said he’ll kill mama and make me watch but I swear I didn’t come here myself, where is he, I can’t let him hurt them, I can’t-”

One of the members of staff prepared an injection.

“Don’t,” Haley warned, shifting closer to him.

“Mrs Hotchner-”

“Just a moment. I promise. Hey sunshine. It’s me. It’s Haley. You’re safe, I promise. He can’t hurt you. He’s dead now. He’s not here, and nobody is going to hurt you. Everybody just wants you to get better. Your team are here. You remember them right? Agent Gideon, Doctor Reid. Garcia and Morgan and JJ and Elle? Yes, you remember them. Well they’re all waiting for you to recover because they love you. I love you too. And nobody is going to hurt you. Do you understand?”

“Haley?” Aaron whispered.

Haley nodded. “I’m right here sunshine. And I’ll be right here when you’re ready to recover. So take a deep breath with me, that’s so good, I’m so proud of you sunshine, just keep doing that. Are you going to close your eyes? Okay. Just please wake- when you wake up, remember that you’re safe. Can you do that for me?”

“Safe,” Aaron repeated as his eyes closed, unable to take the pain he must’ve still been in.

Haley didn’t let go of her husband.

One of the nurses tapped her shoulder then quietly asked if she’d be okay waiting outside as they prepared the room for the next time he woke up, as they were no longer keeping him sedated and he seemed to be breathing himself, which meant they could move on.

Haley nodded and let go of Hotch’s hand. When she faced the team, Garcia immediately embraced her, and she started crying again.

“Let’s go back to the waiting room,” Gideon said, unable to handle the sight any longer. Garcia didn’t let go of Haley, choosing instead to wrap her arm around her as they left.

“When Aaron was seventeen, his dad broke his arm and then refused to let him go to the hospital. He passed out in the middle of a lesson the next day and the school were forced to call an ambulance. He didn’t become coherent till they got there, and he wouldn’t stop screaming. I’d snuck in and was the only person he wouldn’t flinch away from,” she said once they’d all sat down.

Elle’s jaw dropped. Garcia started crying herself. Morgan looked away. JJ and Reid grabbed each other’s hands. They’d all assumed something had gone on in Hotch’s childhood- he never spoke about his family, he was always rougher with unsubs that they profiled as being abusive fathers- but there was a difference between making the inference and hearing it from the person that knew him best.

“He’s lucky to have you,” Jason commented.

“Allowing him to feel his emotions and letting him know that he’s safe is doing the bare minimum,” Haley said.

He didn’t have a comeback to that.

Thirty minutes passed before the doctor came back. It was good news. The profilers could tell.

“He’s awake and stable enough to receive visitors now,” they said.

Everyone jumped out.

“Go on,” Gideon said to Haley, who dashed into the room and hugged her husband.

He made a small sound of discomfort, but still tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Hi Haley,” he whispered.

She laughed, sitting on the bed beside him. “You’re okay.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

The rest of the team filed into the room. Reid looked ready to cry again.

“Spencer, you cannot blame yourself. I told you to run because I wanted you to, and if you hadn’t, I’d be furious at you for always trying to be the hero. Elle, the same goes for you. I took you to the hotel. Nobody asked me to go to your house, so stop looking at me like I’m about to break. I’ll be fine,” he said.

Hospital painkillers had always made him lose his filter.

Garcia started laughing. “I’m sorry, it’s not funny, but sir your accent is coming through and it’s so hard to take you seriously when you’re laid up in bed with your hair all mussed and your accent but you’re still trying to tell them off and, it’s just, it’s confirmation you’re going to be fine.”

Hotch gave her a grin. Haley ran her hand through his hair, messing it up further.

“Thanks Hotch,” Reid said. He rocked on the balls of his feet for a few moments before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like fuck it and he too went and hugged Hotch. Haley shifted slightly. Hotch raised his arms to wrap around Reid’s back.

“Everything will be fine,” he whispered. “I promise.”

Reid pulled back with tears in his eyes but a smile on his face.

“No more close calls like that. You hear me?” Morgan chastised, patting Hotch’s shoulder.

Hotch rolled his eyes. “You aren’t the boss of me Morgan. I’m the boss of you.”

“Aaron,” Haley said.

He blushed, making everyone laugh. “Fine.”

The women of the team came over. Elle gave him a quick one-armed hug, whispering in Spanish so the rest of the team didn’t understand. Hotch wiped his eyes when she went to stand by the others. JJ hugged him gently, saying that he didn’t get to terrify them like that because he was mom and they needed him. Garcia’s heels made a comically loud sound as she walked over to him.

“You are the most self-destructive unit chief I know. But you’re also the most handsome, loving, sweet one as well. And I know you won’t stop putting your life on the line for our baby genius and chocolate thunder so let’s compromise: you can do dumb and reckless things but you’re not allowed to complain when we pamper you afterwards, okay?”

Hotch blinked a few times. “Sure Garcia.”

Garcia hugged him again, pressing a kiss to his forehead that left a pink mark behind. Haley laughed, which led to the analyst immediately shuffling over to the rest of their rag-tag family.

Gideon watched from the doorway as the rest of his team and Haley sat with Hotch, laughing and joking. He couldn’t bring himself to walk in there and comfort Hotch. Not when it had all been his fault. The team had saved an innocent girl. Hotch had pulled through again. There was a high that came with that, and he wasn’t about to ruin it for any of them.

But what happened when the high ran out?

Elle would realise her leader wasn’t the stoic man she once thought he was. Spencer and Derek would be forced to help Hotch pour his coffee and climb the stairs to his office because he couldn’t do it alone but he didn’t want to ask. Garcia would go home to an empty apartment, wondering which one of her family she’d almost lose next. JJ would have to deal with the media fallout of the case.

Haley would hold her husband, wondering how much more he would be able to give to his job before he broke. Before it broke them. Aaron would have more scars that he’d never be able to recover from.

Gideon would be forced to watch as they all returned to work, scared fractured but incapable of walking away. David Rossi had always said there would be people waiting in the wings to take over, but Gideon didn’t agree. Only the people that had seen the depths of depravity were willing to put themselves through the horrors of profiling.

Aaron looked up and met Gideon’s eyes. He looked terrified.

Gideon smiled. He had to.

But he knew.

He knew Elle would break. He could see she was already struggling with the guilt. He knew that one day, probably soon, he wouldn’t be able to look at his team without seeing their scars or the people he’d failed.

He knew Haley wouldn’t be able to handle her husband’s job forever.

Jason Gideon knew that each member of his team would fall in their own way. He did not know whether or not they would be able to get up. He did know, however, that it would be another round of the waiting game.

And it would only get harder.

#criminal minds #criminal minds fic #oh my god i'm so glad this is done #right #once my laptop is charged #because it is at one percent #i will do my final masterlist #aaron hotchner #sumayyah writes cm

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brave-clarice · 3 years

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“Clarice” Liveblog: Episode 2

Again, some extremely unfashionably late hot takes.

(Special thanks to @kathrynethegreat and @special-agent-pendragon for encouraging another liveblog!)

Clarice is working out! And eating junk food! I love it.

and cleaning her gun!

hey, Ardelia is drinking what I’m going to assume is her grandmother’s “smart people tea”.

Krendler disciplining Clarice already is infuriating but appropriate.

“I lost control.” Oh no, I don’t like that. Don’t make Clarice unstable. Her mental and emotional state never had anything to do with her failing career.

getting weird mixed signals from Ardelia. Last week, she obviously didn’t want Clarice to lie/stick to the script Krendler gave her, but now she’s telling Clarice she messed up by not doing so...?

“I better know you if you’re calling this early.” Amen, Ardelia.

I’m in love: this cinematography is straight out of the film (when she’s flying to WV with Crawford)!

“When’s the last time you went back to Appalachia?” “It’s been years.” What??? It has NOT been years--Clarice was JUST in West Virginia last week as well as in Silence, and she arguably attended college there as well. (UVA is at least nestled in the mountains, and you don’t have to drive far outside the Albemarle Valley to hit Appalachia proper.) After all the details about her character they’ve been nailing, they miss this glaring error?

I like the tiny details she’s noticing (like the guy biting his nails). Not only because she’s an investigator, but because it’s reminiscent of Hannibal’s influence (imo).

Clarice Is Short: The Saga continues

still not getting any creepy vibes off Krendler. He’s going to be much less effective as an antagonist if he isn’t lewd as well as a dick.

I really don’t care for the way the opening “credits” fade out from the death’s-head moth to Clarice’s face. There are MANY animals that represent her, or parts of her, in the books--lions, lambs, horses, and of course birds--so this choice feels empty and lazy to me.

also lazy: having a fellow agent straight-up tell her in episode 2 “you shouldn’t be in the Bureau.” Maybe in two or three years, after some further “Death Angel”-type incidents, I could see this blatant rudeness, but not yet.

“Reesey”? Thanks, I hate it.

this flashback must be of Clarice’s little brother. That answers one question I had last week. That said...Clarice’s brother doesn’t play the same role in her story that Mischa does in Hannibal’s--but this sure feels like a Mischa-esque flashback.

good: they’re finally getting to the source of Clarice’s actual trauma!

bad: this is NOT how Clarice found out about her father. In fact, that whole incident is laid out in detail in the novels, and there’s nothing overly literary/un-cinematic about it, so this feels unnecessary. “The police are here! Something happened to Daddy!” No, bad! Show, don’t tell!

she would’ve known better than to introduce herself to that kid as “Clarice Starling, FBI,” come on now.

were they regularly able to wire tap hair clips in 1993?

actually, nothing in this show looks very 90s to me so far. I’m sad about it.

so in eighteen months, Ruth Martin has gone from a junior Senator to the Attorney freakin’ General, and now she might run for governor?? At least let her get settled in one position of power first, why don’t you!

yet more Buffalo Bill flashbacks...alas.

are they trying to make this guy another surrogate Hannibal character? He’s commenting on Clarice’s accent and the dryness of her skin, asking about who she “left behind”...it all feels very Hannibal. (I know he’s a Charismatic Cult Leader trope, too--but when played off of Clarice...)

“Ew.” “I hate this guy.” I laughed.

I understand that Clarice probably feels conflicted re: her siblings in the book, but I’m really not digging the flashbacks of this Tim Burton character her brother.

@ the writers: Clarice already has the lamb backstory/symbolism, too. We don’t need this Little Brother stuff.

*shrieking* Mrs. Starling! At the sink washing the blood out of his hat!!!

...aaand they had to ruin it with the brother’s painfully bad dialogue. Will still be good for gif-making, though.

are we supposed to interpret all these flashbacks as Clarice being incapable of controlling her emotions/state of mind? She keeps losing herself in memories and emerging all doe-eyed and panicky. I don’t like it.

not to be a broken record but...Clarice should be TOUGH. Again, Ardelia only saw her cry once in seven years. But she’s more worked up in this scene than Jodie was in Memphis!

when Mr. Cult Leader shouts “Agent Starling! Agent Starling!” he sounds exactly like Hannibal calling her back to his cell in the asylum. That has to be intentional.

damn, wish that I could look as good five minutes after I’ve been crying as Clarice does.

I LOVE that Ardelia gets to be the crucial behind-the-scenes book-smart partner to Clarice’s action heroine.

AG Martin’s just playing politics by turning a blind eye to the crooked sheriff. But when her own daughter was just kidnapped and almost killed, she looks like a real hypocrite.

gosh, Rebecca Breeds is great. I already hope she gets nominated for an Emmy.

so Krendler is...doing the right thing???

Clarice’s father was definitely not a sheriff. I hope she’s just exaggerating for dramatic effect. (Maybe this will be clarified later.)

she couldn’t just sit with a manipulative guy without getting emotional, but she’s cool as a cucumber while telling an extended story about her father? HmmMM.

sometimes her mannerisms and facial expressions are so much like Jodie’s that it’s uncanny, like here when she leans forward to confront the Cult Leader.

“She did it.” Damn straight!

another great callback to Silence. this show’s camera crew knows its stuff!

“He’s concerned I have some residual trauma from Bill.” I. Hate. This. Subplot--and all its OOC implications.

“Catherine was close to her father, too.” Ooh, a nice allusion to the novel! Clarice makes note of their “common wound,” the loss of a father, when she’s in Catherine’s apartment in Silence.

she is just SO pretty.

little Clarice looks a LOT like Rebecca Breeds. I hope we see some more of her.

The Good:

the continuing visual nods to the Silence film via cinematography

Mama Starling!!!

Clarice’s “The World Will Not Be This Way Within the Reach of my Arm” attitude, refusing to leave without helping the victims.

Ardelia Mapp coming in clutch!

Clarice being, generally, a badass

and using psychological tricks/mind games to pin the antagonist...that’s the woman who disarmed a monster with just a few words.

Rebecca Breed’s acting has been phenomenal so far.

I like Clarice’s haircut a lot better when worn down (though it’s not very practical for fieldwork, so we probably won’t see it much).

The Bad:

the continuing Buffalo Bill-related Trauma Subplot. Ugh.

all the flashbacks to Clarice’s brother (and the not-so-subtle suggestion that her brother is, symbolically, another lamb).

will the real Paul Krendler please come forward? this guy is so TAME.

the other agents’ hostility towards Clarice needs to be toned down slightly so that it can escalate. Otherwise, where’s the tension?

is this actually 1993? I’m not feeling it. Shouldn’t it have a little of that Season 1/2 X-Files aesthetic? Please give me more than once-an-episode references to pagers and fax machines!

that glaring Appalachia continuity error...it’s still bugging me.

I missed the overt Hannibal references, even though they’re not necessary to any part of this episode. A lady can dream!

Overall, I really liked this one despite my various issues with it. It started shakily but built to a great finish. The emphasis across both episodes on Clarice being in the FBI not just to “get out, get anywhere,” but out of a genuine desire to help victims has been wonderful. I just hope they don’t swerve too far into the “too traumatized and emotionally compromised to function” lane. It would be a disservice to Clarice’s character and to her journey (and would smack too much of “Hannibal really did prey on her weak mind/brainwash her”.

Things I’d still like to see: More of her personality. Her hobbies and interests. That she’s cleaning her gun is great! Now let’s see “Poison Oakley” practicing her sharpshooting skills. Or car shopping. Or clothes shopping to show off her “developing taste.” (Ardelia can come!) I’ll take literally anything. Give us more of Clarice’s sense of humor as well. She had some subtle funny moments in the pilot, and it’s nice to see Rebecca smile for a change.

And Krendler? Smear that man in grease! I appreciated a happy ending even though Clarice’s career is, as we know, already in a downward spiral--the last thing we want is for every episode to be a slog, especially when a good chunk of the audience hasn’t read the book and doesn’t know Clarice is doomed to fail in the Bureau.

However... Krendler’s not a “redemption arc” kind of character. Or even a “run-of-the-mill sexist asshole” character. This is a man who spent seven years systematically sabotaging a young woman’s career because a) he was jealous that she solved the Gumb case before him, and b) she wouldn’t fuck him. He was a Justice Department official working fist-in-glove with a serial child molester who was planning some of the heinous vigilante justice imaginable. THAT’S why his very gruesome end at Hannibal’s hands felt deserved--even Clarice thought so! In short, he needs to get nasty.

Anyway, thanks for coming to another long-overdue TedTalk. Fingers crossed that the next one will be more timely (aiming for Sunday night)!

#Clarice Starling #clarice #cbs clarice #rebecca breeds #once again I apologize for how late this is #and how long and somewhat ranty lol #please let me know if you want more ♥♥♥#media [cbs show]#char [clarice starling]

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the-storyteller-and-her-soldiers · 3 years

Text

Teddy Bear

Title: Teddy Bear

Word Count: 912

Warnings: None -- just fluff!

Ship: The Ripper’s Rose (Raiden x Myself)

Summary: The deeper he looks at himself and his past, the harder it is not to feel like an outlier to those he’s with now. But that is all just a matter of one’s perspective and when his love sees something in him that he can’t who’s to say that she’s wrong? (This story was inspired by the prompt that @ladynyat sent in so thank you love!!)

Raiden’s clouded gaze looked stared down his reflection as he sat there, waiting for his girlfriend, Rebecca, to return. The storm that raged constantly within the back of his mind had started to spread the debris of its chaos to the forefront of his thoughts the longer he held his image. His attention only diverting slightly when he picked up the sound of his fingers tapping against the hardwood of the table in front of him. The almost stone-like features of his stoic expression were slowly being carved into, revealing the depth of his annoyance thrashing behind his stormy gaze.

He couldn’t help but question what he was doing here. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be here, spending time with his partner. But as he took in the sight of himself in the mirror once more, the sight of his body metallic and steel-plated, filled with more circuitry and wiring rather than flesh and blood only spurred the voice in his mind saying how he didn’t belong even further. He didn’t belong among civilians, especially not with Rebecca, playing into the facade of a domesticated soldier.

Rebecca was soft, sweet, filled with a love for the life around her and a want to share that with others. While he was someone who took that life away from many, all in the name of some company’s or some country’s sense of a greater good. A dry, humorless chuckle escaped his lips as he took a moment to think on that further. But before his thoughts could spiral into a self-inflicted debate of philosophy, a noticeable pressure found its way into his lap.

Glancing downwards, his vision was filled with the rich shade of sangria before catching sight of the sunny smile that never failed in calming his nerves. Quirking an eyebrow, Raiden remarked, “You know, you could’ve told me that you were back.”

“I could’ve,” Rebecca agreed, smiling even wider. Yet even with her syrupy gaze crinkling at the corners, the glint of mischief within them was unmistakable. “But then I couldn’t have done this!”

Rebecca then leaned forward a bit as she sat up. The mischievous intent that was gleaming in her eyes mere seconds before had melted into a look so loving that it was hard for the military cyborg to focus on anything else as he met her gaze. She then brushed some strands of silvery hair away from his face before pressing her lips against his forehead.

With a joyful hum of satisfaction, the small girl sat back on his lap once more. “Just wanted to remind you of how much you’re loved! Anyways, you looked deep in thought. Wanna talk about it?”

He opened his mouth to confide in the young woman, only for no sound to come out and for Raiden to close his mouth a moment later. Even though the gesture was so brief and her explanation so simple, it was enough to banish the storming thoughts back into the shadowy corners of Raiden’s mind. Raiden could only shake his head before wrapping his arms around her waist.

“I was just thinking that this was my lap. Now apparently this is your lap.“

Rebecca simply giggled, a high-pitched, yet soft, melodic sound before humming in agreement. To prove her claim, even more, she then turned around and nestled herself against his chest, and pressed a kiss under his chin.

“You sure that’s actually comfortable?” Raiden asked quizzically when he regained his usual calm composure. Before he could explain how there was more than enough sofa for the both of them to sit comfortably, Rebecca’s mulberry locks tickled his chest as she laid her head against it.

“I’m more than comfy, don’t worry! You’re like one of those giant teddy bears, but warmer!”

Once again, Rebecca managed to steal any quip or comeback right from his mouth with her innocent tenderness. The only comment that Raiden managed to voice was, “Out of all the things I’ve been called in my life, I never thought that ‘Teddy Bear’ would be one of ‘em.”

“Really? Think of all the similar qualities though! You’re fiercely protective, do what you think is right, really strong, and you give great hugs!”

Raiden could only chuckle once more. Only this one held an expression of warm fondness he felt that he couldn’t properly communicate. Taking one of his hands from her waist he then patted the top of her head a few times, earning another lighthearted giggle from his partner. He then proceeded to slowly comb his fingers through her plum-shaded locks. The smooth, chilled metal of his fingertips proceeding cautiously down the silky treses while his other hand pressed her even closer.

“If anything, I’d say you’re more of the teddy bear out of the two of us. Especially when I’m the one always holding you.” Raiden suddenly spoke.

Rebecca then turned her head to the side, puffing out her cheeks in a pout. Raiden simply poked at her swollen cheeks with an amused smirk until he had earned another fit of giggles from her. While Rebecca was trying to catch her breath, she replied, “I am completely serious one-hundred percent of the time! No way am I a teddy bear. But you’re still gonna be my teddy... As long as it’s okay with you?”

Bending down slightly, Raiden kissed the top of his girlfriend’s head. “Whatever you say, kitten. If it makes you happy then that’s what I am...”

#selfshipdom #fo community #self insert community #selfship community #self ship community #f/o community #ship: the ripper's rose #oc x canon #s/i community #selfinsert community #fluff

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utterlyinevitable · 4 years

Text

Trials & Tribulations (CH. 4)

Me Without You

Chapter 1: Afterwards Chapter 2: The Next 4 Days Chapter 3: It All Falls Down

Love Interests: Ethan Ramsey, Bryce Lahela Word Count: 3.3k Warning: angst, adult themes, possible destructive mental health triggers Summary: Have you ever been so out of touch with your emotions that you constantly make choices? Yeah… That’s what Becca’s doing.

________________________________________

For almost two weeks Becca left him texts and voicemails at various times of the day - anything she could think of to reach him. She needed an explanation. Things were good, she thought. Why would he up and leave without saying a word? Weren’t they in a better place now? Why did he go?

They’d slept together a few days ago, breaking down every sacred barrier of professionalism they’ve erected since Miami. It was an initial shock for them to be on the same team come the fall but they could work though it. They were stronger than this. They’ve been through so many secrets together how could they not?

By day 9 Becca had long left the shock of abandonment behind and just needed to hear his voice, rationale be damned. His voicemail lulled her to sleep most nights when Rafael couldn’t come over to help numb the pain. The short curt message was so distinctly him;

“Dr. Ethan Ramsey. Leave a voicemail or call 911 if it’s an emergency.”

She’d always hung up right before the beep. Becca was embarrassed by how many times she called each day yet was more embarrassed to have him hear the desperation in her voice. As silly as she felt, it’s like a piece of her had gone missing. Eight weeks was a long time to pine after someone who ran away. More like an entire year… She had him once, why was he pushing her away again?

After catching him leaving their apartment that fateful morning after her ethics hearing, Elijah and Sienna held onto Becca’s deepest secret. They saw no need to start drama within their group after everything that has happened, especially for one briefly passionate weekend.

However short-lived, it was the most freeing three days of Rebecca Lao’s life. It felt right, he felt right. Why doesn’t he feel the same way?

Ugh I can’t keep thinking of him.

Becca pushed him to the back of her mind every single time he popped into it, forcing herself to focus on her patients and the little distraction known as her friends. Dr. Rebecca Lao was determined to move on, her completely decimated heart be damned.

***

At 1:12PM on that ninth afternoon Becca snuck back to the locker room and sent him another text,

Please let me know you’re okay.

She huffed as she shoved her phone deep into her coat pocket, ready to go on lunch and wallow in her misery.

For the last seven days Becca hadn’t worn a lick of makeup. She couldn’t bring herself to keep up appearances. Anyone could see the cracks through her painted face, so what’s the point in putting all the effort into it? She wore the bags under her eyes proudly a reminder that, albeit everything, she’s still alive and capable of thriving. Her greasy brown hair was pulled back in a haphazard bun and baby strands flying carelessly around her forehead, she hadn’t felt like washing it in a few days. Her eyes were dull. Nothing really sparked the fire in them anymore. No one was pushing her to reach past her potential anymore.

I can’t wait to spend all day in bed tomorrow. Maybe I’ll actually take a relaxing bath…

“Ah, Dr. Lao!” she heard the chipper and lively voice of Naveen call a few feet ahead of her. She looked up from her fixated gaze on the stark white linoleum and to the old doctor bounding happily towards her with his cane. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” she responded trying not to meet his inquisitive eyes. “How have you been?”

The question was simple enough. It was obligatory small talk in most circles however here and now they held a deeper meaning. Rebecca couldn’t have been the only one taking His departure roughly.

“Hanging in there,” he told her honestly with newly darkened eyes, and she gave him a sad smile back. Naveen extended an olive branch to the only other person that would understand, “Would you care to join me for lunch?”

“I’d like that, yeah.”

“Wonderful,” he beamed “I’ll meet you in the atrium in 15 minutes?”

Beca forced a small smile, “It’s a date.”

Naveen and Becca sat at a table at one of his favorite local Indian restaurants near the hospital. During the fifteen minute drive over, the man raved about the chutney and how the family-run establishment was one of the only ones with a proper heat meter - “not like conservative dishes you’d find at chains”.

The two pleasantly spoke of their last few days as if they were two lifelong friends despite only knowing one another for a few months. Once the waiter brought over their meals she finally let herself ask the question causing hives at the back of her neck, “Have you heard from him?”

Naveen moved the rice around his plate to mix with his lamb curry and took a deep breath; he knew this was coming.

“He sent me an email once he got there,” he said as evenly as he could manage. “I’m sure he’s fine. Ethan’s tough.” Naveen wished he could ease the woes he’s seen pass the young resident’s features ever since that day of the announcement. But his loyalty towards his makeshift son outweighed conflict in his heart. There was a reason Ethan didn’t tell her and I must respect it. However misplaced. With a slight smile he tried to reassure her instead, “Surely enough, no matter his rank, he would have taken control and whipped everyone into shape. He’ll be back home to us soon enough.”

Email? She didn’t think of that… God, He is an old man.

Her attention was fixed on the salad in front of her, pushing the leaves one over the other. “I jus -” There were so many questions she needed answers to. If anyone knew Him well enough to help her speculate his motives it would be his most dearest friend. Her voice was small as she continued, “Why didn’t he tell me?” It took a lot of strength to keep her voice from cracking.

Her stormy eyes finally lifted to meet warm brown. The deep marks of age on his dark brown features arched downwards in sympathy. He set his fork down by his plate and dabbed the corners of his mouth, preparing to ease the mind of this doleful girl.

“He told me he applied the moment he quit but didn’t expect to hear back. It was a wishful thought; he never would be able to stay retired long. We have that in common, him and I. As for why he didn’t tell you I can only speculate.” The older doctor tried to keep his features impartial and failed. “The boy has a one track mind sometimes; when he puts his mind to it nothing will stop him until he’s reached the desired outcome.”

She’s seen Him exhibit that kind of behavior before and gave Naveen a sad smile back in recognition.

Naveen reached across the table to cover her hand with his. “He’s been through a lot in life and hasn’t always been the best with feelings. But when you know him long enough, and get to know his expressions, it’s easy to see something...” the Chief of Medicine chose his words carefully, “intimate has become of you two.”

Normally Becca would have scoffed at the insinuation, but now she just couldn’t bring herself to react. Naveen’s words were settling in - she knew He had scars from his childhood that he didn’t dare talk about. She knew He was closed off and an acquired taste. And she knew Naveen was half-right.

Sadly she replied, “I don’t think there’s anything between us.”

Naveen didn’t want to argue, he could see through the broken girl in front of him and his heart ached for them both.

Rightfully he changed the subject, “Are you working on any exciting cases?”

“Not as exciting as they are unfortunate,” she shrugged, picking at the salad. “I have a young girl with leukemia and a patient on dialysis with pneumonia. I’m not sure either of them will pull through.”

“If you need any help, I’m only a page away.” His gaze cascaded a sense of comforting warmth over her. “You’re not just my grandmentee, you’re family.”

She was happy to have Naveen in her corner but couldn’t help wondering if the offer was conditionally tied to him.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for joining me,” Naveen acknowledged, “I say we make this a routine thing!”

For the first time in a long time the corners of her lips perked up, “I’d like that.”

That evening she sent him an email;

Hey,

I know you’re kicking ass down there (you know I mean the outbreak, please don’t punch anyone!), but I hope you’re being safe. I had lunch with Naveen today, he’s really worried about you. We miss you. Please please please let us know you’re okay. I’m still mad at you for leaving but I’ll forgive you if you just please talk to me. If I did something wrong, I’m sorry. I just want to know that you’re alive and well. Even if you don’t want to talk to me, please keep Naveen updated.

See you soon,

R x

***

“Roo-mie Bar Crawl. Roo-mie Bar Crawl.” Sienna chanted from the middle of their living room. The gang was all dressed up and ready to let loose after a really harrowing week on the job.

Becca hadn’t contacted Him since that first and last email three days ago. She made her peace with it. After days of trying, a deep conversation with Naveen, and receiving absolutely nothing in return for her efforts, she settled on the assumption that He was ghosting her. Her heart ached but she didn’t want to let the heartbreak consume her. Instead she’d find other distractions.

Those distractions came in the form of Rafael, Bryce, and Sienna. Each friend mended a different part of her tattered heart. Sienna took care of her by way of baked goods, forcing her to talk about her feelings and retail therapy - Becca needed a bit of mothering in these last few days, especially since she didn’t have a close relationship with her birth mother. Bryce was her feel-good companion, he’d take her out for a drink or an excursion, anything he could possibly do to have her smile reach her eyes once again. Lastly, Rafael helped take care of her intimately - although he’s been M.I.A. the last week…

The group congregated in their shared living room, ready to go. Becca sat on the sofa next to Bryce as he helped lace up her heels. Sienna chanted once again and everyone cheered a response. Once more Elijah listed off items and everyone patted their pockets and their bags. Phone? Check. Wallet? Check. ID? Check.

“Is Raf not coming?” Becca asked as they paraded through the hallway.

“No, he’s got plans with his girlfriend,” Jackie said matter-of-factly.

Becca's footsteps fell behind her friend ever so slightly. What!?

“Really? When’d that happen?”

Jackie retorted like it wasn’t the most important bit of information, “I don’t know, recently?”

“She’s his childhood sweetheart,” Kyra piped in. “Just moved back and they’ve been on a few dates. Very romantic.”

Becca bit her lip, “Yeah… good for them.”

There were so many questions racing through her mind. They had just slept together for the fifth and seemingly final time less than 2 weeks ago. Was Becca the other woman? No matter the questions there’s just one thing Becca couldn’t shake;

I’ve gone and thrown myself at another man who doesn’t want me.

She was determined to have a good time regardless of the mountain of rejection forming at her core. Good thing alcohol’s the best medicine… She was prepared to spend the next few hours looming in her chaos, choosing reckless behavior instead of facing her feelings.

***

The group pregamed at Donohues for happy hour, choosing to spend their most coherent of hours in a familiar place. They downed 2-for-1 tequila shots each and played a round of darts until the board began to move. Becca did all she could to keep from staring at the empty far corner of the bar. Every time she did she took another shot.

Then the residents made their way to a dive bar for cheap drinks. It was a small hole-in-the-wall place with not enough space for the large group. Bryce and Kyra went in to grab the first and only round bringing it out to the side of the building where everyone else was waiting. The sun had now fully set and the group was getting cold. To warm up Jackie suggested they chugged.

Fifteen minutes later they ended up at a sports bar and grabbed some quick grub. Elijah was drawn to the TV playing a game Becca couldn’t care less about. Her and Bryce shared a plate of nachos and a double cheeseburger with onion rings. Sienna gave a side eye at how close her two friends were becoming. After the third bar the group started to fan out, Aurora and Kyra headed home needing a solid seven hours of sleep to be functional.

Feeling the buzz and forgetting about Raf, they powered on! On their way to the club the group passed an Irish pub with music blasting. They accepted the inevitable detour and danced in the middle of the floor to the house fiddle band. Everyone had one drink before Sienna, Jackie and Elijah bowed out afterwards overcome with exhaustion.

The last two troops gave one another a devious smirk and headed to the club arm in arm.

Bryce and Becca held off on drinks feeling full of life from the last few rounds and put off by the elite pricing. He grabbed her hand and led her onto the technicolor floor. They danced and danced to song after song. Occasionally she’d turn around and he'd hold her flush to his chest. The sensation releasing copious amounts of serotonin and oxytocin.

At one point she was sandwiched between Bryce and another hopeless stranger. It seemed the two men wanted to outlast the other. She found the determined glimmer in her friend’s eye so amusing. Becca turned away from the poor stranger and back to Bryce, the two men calling a silent truce. He raised his eyebrows and she mouthed “stay”. He moved in closer and kissed her temple causing the nameless hopeful to storm away.

They stayed. They danced. They drank.

Bryce leaned over to speak into her ear, “That guys totally checking you out.”

She cocked her head to see a dark skinned stranger in well-tailored clothes eyeing them.

“Maybe he’s checking you out,” she sneered.

Bryce’s contagious and magnificent smile lit up his face, “He’s definitely trying to figure out if we’re together.”

She made a show of rolling her eyes.

Pointing over his shoulder he said, “I’m gonna go get us another round.”

The mystery stranger used that as an opportunity.

“Hey,” his tenor voice smooth and unconflicted.

The stranger wasn’t much taller than Becca. He had dark olive skin, enchanting amber eyes, a buzz cut which is so different from her type - she liked a man with locks she could latch on to. His shallow beard accented his chiseled jaw. He wore a navy blue v-neck that drew the attention to the defined muscles beneath. He was a small man compared to those she surrounded herself with, and was a stark contrast to what she was attracted to. And maybe, just maybe he could help her forget for a minute.

“Hey,” Becca said back, scanning the crowd over the man’s shoulder for Bryce’s return.

Before she knew it she was bumped in the back and tumbling towards the handsome stranger. Bryce was the culprit walking hand in hand with another girl he picked up at the bar as he shot his friend an encouraging wink.

The stranger nodded over to Bryce’s retreating form, “Looks like you’ve been dumped.”

“I’ve been abandoned by my friend,” she clarified. Becca’s eyes locked with the olive strangers and shrugged, “Guess I’m in the market for some company.”

He raised his eyebrows and they both moved to close the distance, letting the air around them take control. His thin hand moved to her waist while one of hers laid to rest on his taut forearm. They moved in unison. She kissed the stranger fiercely for what felt like hours in the middle of the club, their tongues battling for dominance. His left hand trailed up to her hair and the right settled on the skin at the small of her back to keep her flush to him. When they came up for air he asked Becca to go home with him.

Without hesitation she said she’d meet him at the bar in five.

Sitting in the dirty bathroom she couldn’t believe what she was doing. She was intoxicated, alone and willing to go home with just about anyone that would give her the time of day? No. She was stronger than this. She shouldn’t succumb to this. She wasn’t desperate enough to do this.

But the alcohol took over.

She regretted the decision immediately.

After all this time she never expected a response.

First with a text, Are you ok?

Why now? She thought as she stood in the dingy bathroom watching the notification flash over her lockscreen.

She fled.

Becca shoved her phone deep in her pocket and retreated back to the commotion as fast she could. She scanned the room briefly looking for Bryce but spotted the stranger moving onto his next conquest. She reached the base of the stairs, her phone incessantly vibrating. She pulled it out to see the same message sent a second time. Against her better judgment she typed back;

Not at all.

Within seconds, flashing across the phone screen was the name she longed for.

Incoming: Ethan Ramsey

She didn’t have a chance to say anything as she made her way outdoors before he asked in a low and stoic voice, “Where are you?”

“Where are you?”

“Rebecca…”

She wanted to hang up so badly. But his voice… How she missed his voice. And he was there. He sees her messages - he called because he cares. Well that’s what she told herself. Why else would he finally respond after all these days?

Her words were caught in her throat - she had so many things she wanted to say to him - to ask him, but nothing came out. She was rendered mute between the embarrassment and opportunity.

“Becca are you still there?”

She had to open and close her mouth a few times before the words manifested on her tongue. “Right where… you left me,” she whispered more to herself than anything.

He left. He left me.

The two ex-lovers were silent, the load of everything she’s had to bottle up finally taking its toll and Becca started to sob. All of the feelings she’d tried to box away and shrug off came crashing down. Ethan Ramsey broke her heart. He let her into his world outside of Edenbrook and vice versa. She let herself fall for him and it became detrimental, a derailment to every hope she started residency with.

Another person she considered close had betrayed her.

Another man had disappointed and abandoned her.

Becca never talked much about her past, gently refusing to confront the heartache her father caused her, what Landry had done to her, how Rafael avoided her and how her idol, her mentor and lover abandoned her. The culmination broke her.

She dropped to the curb, her vision impared by her tears. She let her face fall in her left hand and clutched the phone in her right to her ear. One word kept running through her mind as she completely fell apart on a dim Boston street at an ungodly hour of the evening, praying that the son-of-a-bitch on the other end of the line would put her at ease;

Pathetic.

“Bec-”

She hung up the phone.

________________________________________

Taglist: @ohchoices @dulceghernandez @aylamreads @binny1985 @ramseysno1rookie @interobanginyourmom @queencarb @perriewinklenerdie @rookiefromedenbrook @eramsey28 @choicesficwriterscreations @heauxplesslydevoted @schnitzelbutterfingers @purpledragonturtles @ramseyandrys @ermidc @mrsdrakewalkerblog @doilooklikeiknow @overwhelminglyaquarius @drethanramslay

#open heart #open heart fanfic #choices open heart #choices fanfic #choices oph2 #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #ethan ramsey x mc #bryce lahela x mc #bryce lahela #oph #oph ff #ff

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sentofight · 3 years

Note

📚 from Hunter to any of the kids telling them about their mother when she was younger

soft prompts | accepting | @pieman1112

📚 for your muse to read with mine

Present Lucina was going through a bad day. Nothing seems to work for her, training with Nicholas--Frederick’s son is not going right; she keeps losing to him. Her reading class, also was not advancing smoothly. Math and geography, too. Every class felt like a complete waste of time when she didn’t give out the hoped results which frustrated her to no end. She’s almost 15 and this is the best she could do? Ridiculous! There is no way she can meet her parents’ expectations like that! H-How can she be the next in line to be the Exalt if she fails at the simplest things? G-Gods ...she is.... she’s going to disappoint her family....

Wallowing in her despair, her grandfather came in gently tapping her shoulder to get her attention. “Granpa!” a soft gasp left her lips before they were drawn downward out of sadness. Surely he has heard about her epic fails today and came to reproach her...Though Spartan had sat down beside her, taking off his helmet to sit S.T.A.R. right between them. The A.I. projected an image of herself to make it less awkward that they are talking with a helmet (not that Spartan nor Lucina found it odd at this point, but still she wanted to be part of this.)

The super soldier didn’t talk for a bit, probably forming his ideas before talking with her. If anything, she reminded him with his daughter so he ought to think about his words. Teenage girls can be ...scary if they were triggered wrongly--talking from an experience. Lucina meanwhile, was twiddling her thumbs nervously seeing he didn’t talk to her for a while now. Even S.T.A.R. didn’t say anything beside asking her how she’s doing which is not great, really.

Shortly, Spartan said something about how she reminds him of Rebecca that one time. Lucina’s ears perked up hearing him speak up finally. Not to mention, saying stuff about her mom being like her. He paused for a moment then continued that at one point, Rebecca was sick of the marine training when she was about Lucina’s age. Spartan realized to each their capacity of handling things and Rebecca was still young for harsh training constantly. She was simply as what they say ‘burnt out’. To that word, Lucina wore a confused face. Burnt...out? What does that mean? Her curiosity was soon answered when Hunter explained that it means when someone is tired of doing a certain activity and needs a break--or something along that. S.T.A.R. had chimed in and gave the dictionary meaning which earned her an ‘uh huh’ from Lucina.

The grandfather continued to tell her that he had to do something about this or Rebecca will become to hate being a marine or everything related to that. S.T.A.R. butted in, quite nicely though, to add that it was her suggestion that Spartan should take Rebecca out on a vacation; do something else beside training and studying. Spartan cleared his throat to continue saying that he did just that and what did he know, Rebecca was back happy again and all smiling. He turned to face Lucina and said that she is pushing herself to excel at everything that she forgot to enjoy the process. She is going to get herself injured soon if she didn’t stop trying to show the results that she thinks everyone are looking for. Neither Chrom nor Rebecca want to see her sad by pushing herself past her limits. Even himself, and S.T.A.R., too.

So he got up, picking up his helmet and wearing it before he offered his hand to his granddaughter telling her that they are going hunting and that’s final. Something to pass the time with and wind up before going back to tackle whatever that challenges her. To that, Lucina smiled widely and nodded to him before taking his hand and getting up to walk with him to where they are going to start their hunting trip.

#IN CHARACTER.| P. L U C I N A #pieman1112 #[[sobbing in my hands......

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abigailnussbaum · 4 years

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The Boys 2x01 - 2x03

I’m going to try to write weekly reviews of the second season of The Boys, though judging by my reaction to the first three episodes, I may quickly lose steam.

When I wrote about the show’s first season last year, it was with mingled surprise and skepticism. Surprise, because although the core concept of “they’re superheroes, but bad!” sounded trite and juvenile (and the original comics are apparently even worse than that), The Boys ended up being smart and even thoughtful, using its violent, selfish, sociopathic superheroes as a metaphor for everything from Hollywood’s diseased star culture, to the way corporations mask their anti-social behavior with empty gestures towards diversity and social justice, to how the evangelical subculture feeds into and promotes America’s militarism. Skepticism, because as much as I enjoyed the season, it had some obvious pitfalls, and I wasn’t certain that the show’s team knew how to avoid them.

The first three episodes of the second season are, on the one hand, a thorough rebuke to those concerns. I worried that the show, having been praised for its outrageousness, would forget how to balance extreme violence with a recognition of how real and damaging that violence is. And I worried that Butcher, by far the show’s least versatile, least interesting character, would be allowed to take over its story and made uncomplicatedly heroic. On both of those counts, these episodes have allayed my fears. When Butcher shows up, it’s to a resounding chorus of basically everyone else on the show having had enough of his bullshit, and though by the end of the third episode he has clawed back some ground with the rest of the team (and especially Hughie) it’s only to the point of being tolerated, not of having his self-absorption and arrogance validated. And while there’s no shortage of violence, it still feels grounded - even a motorboat ramming into a beached whale is horrible and tragic as well as darkly funny.

On the other hand, no amount of impaled whales can obscure the fact that these episodes are, well, kind of a slog. Not because nothing happens in them, but because the position the show left itself in at the end of the first season doesn’t lend itself to particularly propulsive storytelling. S1 spent most of its time establishing its world and setting up the show’s central metaphor. But having done so, there’s really no place for the story to go. The new episodes embroider a bit around the ideas we’ve already taken in - Madeline Stilwell’s replacement Ashley cooing about getting a “differently abled” superhero into The Seven, then taking it (mostly) in stride when Homelander mutilates and possibly kills that hero. Ashley’s boss, Stan Edgar, calmly explaining to Homelander that Vought isn’t a superhero company, but a pharmaceutical company that’s using superheroes to sell the things that make real money. A former colleague of Starlight’s who has, like a failed child star, taken to turning tricks to make ends meet.

The problem is, all of these elements add up to the same conclusion they did last season - the real enemy isn’t superheroes, but capitalism. And capitalism isn’t going to be brought down by a bunch of guys hiding out in the utility closet of a drug den and their megalomaniacal boss with an increasingly implausible accent. Nothing that happens in these three episodes makes the Boys - or even characters who are closer to the action, like Starlight - seem like anything more than a sideshow to the very story they introduced us to in the first season. Vought is too powerful, too embedded at all levels of government, and too rooted in the foundations of American culture (as seen, for example, in the 9/11-ification of Transluscent’s death, and how it, in turn, is used to sell memorabilia) for any one person or group to dismantle it.

To be fair, the show itself seems to realize this at least a little, because the prevailing theme of these episodes is being stuck and feeling powerless. Hughie is stuck with the consequences of his impulsive decision to involve himself with Butcher and participate in his crimes, forced to rely on criminals for the little bit of safety and freedom he still has, and tied (probably for life) to people he doesn’t trust, or even like that much. Annie is stuck in her position with the Seven, unable to leave, constantly in danger of being exposed and killed, and forced to play a role the she finds increasingly distasteful. Rebecca Butcher is literally stuck, in an enclosure that no longer offers the safety that was its one saving grace, and even the people who put her there can only shrug when she points out how much danger she and her son are in. Maeve is still stuck in her position as Homelander’s fallback girl, unable to be with anyone she actually cares about for fear that he’ll kill them in a jealous rage. Even The Deep is stuck in a dead-end job and a downward spiral, and it seems unlikely that his new cult-y friends are going to make things better for him.

There is some small amount of forward motion in these episodes (though the fact that so much of it happens to the Deep is rather disturbing; I thought the character was well done last season but that doesn’t mean I’m particularly interested in his emotional journey, much less in such trite revelations as “he abuses women because he hates himself”). One promising sign is that Kimiko is being positioned as the Boys’ driving force for the rest of the season, though that idea is hobbled by the fact that we don’t really know her as a person. Why, for example, does she refuse to let Mouse go, even though she clearly agrees with him that America and its superheroes have become a menace to the world? It’s never made clear, and with Mouse’s death, probably won’t be. Still, it’s good to have a protagonist with a clear goal, and the fact that this is the character who in the comics was just “The Female” is especially encouraging.

And then there’s Stormfront. The publicity materials for the second season have been talking up “the Nazi superhero” for weeks, which is a bit of a shame given that the episodes themselves are clearly setting up Stormfront’s politics as a big shock at their end. It also means that I was paying more attention to the character than I otherwise might have, which has left me more than a little uncertain about the show’s ability to handle such a concept. It’s not surprising that Stormfront isn’t spewing white supremacist buzzwords in interviews - people like her know how to maintain plausible deniability. But she should be throwing out dog whistles, seeking out fellow travelers and people she can convert to her worldview. Maybe that’s still to come, but the fact remains that until she utters a racial slur at the end of the episode, there’s no real indication of what Stormfront is. Which makes the whole exercise feel cheap, not at all unlike the empty diversity drives and social justice buzzwords that the show decries with its other storytelling. The fact that she does it for racist reasons doesn’t, after all, make Stormfront killing all the inhabitants of an apartment building in her pursuit of Mouse significantly worse than Homelander downing an airliner last season.

Like the other superheroes, what makes Stormfront truly terrifying is what she symbolizes - Vought’s openness to (thinly-veiled) white supremacist ideology if it gets them a previously under-utilized market share; the normalization of racist rhetoric under the guise of patriotism and fighting terrorism; the ties between corporate America, evangelicalism, and white supremacy. There’s very little of this in these episodes, and while there’s obviously room for the show to get there, that feels like a retread of what it did in the first season. We already know where we stand with this world and these characters. It’s time for this story to move forward, and judging by these three episodes, I’m not convinced the show knows how.

#the boys

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hugthesquids · 4 years

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So I’ve been meaning to write my opinion on the last 3 episodes of SUF. It’s mostly my issues with it, so please just skip this post if you don't want to hear it, since I don't want make you uncomfortable or impact your enjoyment of the finale if you read this. I'm mostly mentioning the negatives here, but there are still many positive aspects in these episodes that I don't mention, since I just needed to vent my criticism somewhere.

I don’t think these episodes are at all bad, but I was disappointed in how it played out. I still love SU and all that it has contributed in doing, though I also wanted to be honest with my opinion on the finale.

Everything's Fine

I really did like seeing Steven's horror at seeing his Diamond self. But while I liked the concept of Steven acting crazy in denial, the actual pacing of his antics were off, especially for this episode being a part of the finale. Steven's breakdown in the end was so good though, and I wish there had been more time for that.

I Am My Monster

I have wanted Steven to corrupt (though I’m not 100% sure if this actually is corruption or just transformation), but I didn't like how they handled the climax of his issues at all.

I find the mood of this episode to be off or done poorly. In general there was a lacking sense of urgency and seriousness. There wasn’t that much of a reaction to Steven being a monster other than them being very casual about it or campy crying from the gems (which made it feel not serious and ruins the mood that Steven is a monster). It made the characters come off as bland. And it feels like their character development was put on hold, when the gems didnt know how to deal with this issue without Steven (as Amethyst pointed out) and it felt like only Connie could act mature here.

Connie kind of became the new Steven in having to be the adult in the group. It made it seem like the gems haven’t learned their mistake of acting irresponsibly, and the problem repeats itself with Connie having to do what Steven does of being the only mature one. And then after Connie’s speech, suddenly everyone has it together and know how to fix Steven, which felt a bit too quick of a turn around.

As for the “hugging scene”, I do think the concept of ending it on a hug is okay, but I feel like they needed to do way more than that. I do feel like it could've still worked better for me if they had framed the mood of the episode differently. The only thing I really liked about that episode was how Steven cried after becoming himself again. That moment was perfect and Zach’s voice acting is amazing.

The Future

Steven has been struggling to find a future for so long and now he suddenly has it together. I know in-universe there has been a timeskip, but after all that SUF has been building up to, this didn't feel cathartic to me at all.

While it's great he has a therapist, it's not enough to simply mention it once off-hand, and not show what this means. Rebecca said in an interview that she didn’t want to show it because Steven deserves “privacy”. But I disagree with this notion, because they showed a lot of private stuff that’s viscerally uncomfortable, like the intrusive thoughts of shattering WD, or going to a doctor and showing his fractured bones and explaining he has PTSD because of everything that happened in the original SU. Showing the ugly in his spiral downwards but not showing his steps to recovery, makes seem like “everything is fine now”, and for me it makes the previous episode less enjoyable because it frames it as “you just need hugs” even if the hug is not supposed to be framed that way (like it was to show he got support, but when they don’t really show the support part, it just makes it hard to buy into/feels a bit poorly executed).

It’s also a sudden shift in tone with everything being fine now. And while I wanted and expected there to be a happy ending, they needed to actually bridge that gap in the serious tone that they had build up and not spend the last 3 episodes being too campy and brushing aside the implications of all that’s going on.

Also, people say it’s ok that SUF doesn’t explore everything and leaves many things open with the gem-lore and other characters, since this is supposed Steven’s arc. But the thing is, I feel like they rushed and even skipped over major parts of the resolution to his arc too, and that is exactly why I feel disappointed by the finale. So these things still go unaddressed:

Steven not liking his Diamond half and afraid of hurting people

The fact that he has spiraled out of control and has hurt people (shattering Jasper)

Steven feeling disconnected from his humanity

Steven’s feelings about those who have traumatized him

Steven feeling like he doesn’t deserve happiness or to be forgiven

There is also his feelings on his mother (but here I’m kind of 50/50 on whether they should bring it up, because I do like the argument that his mother shouldn’t hang over him throughout the show. On the other hand it still is a topic with an unsatisfying conclusion that had a lot of build up throughout the whole series, but has no payoff)

The “hugging scene” only touched on Steven feeling pressured to live up to everyone’s standards, and when he failed to live up to that and made too many mistakes he thinks he is a monster. So I personally feel like there isn’t a conclusion to Steven’s arc as SUF promised other than he doesn’t have to be perfect and that his family loves him.

You could say that he got help off-screen from his therapist with the other stuff, and of course they don't have to address everything, but the more that they skip over or leave unanswered, the more unsatisfying the ending will be (for me at least). And SUF's focus has been on Steven's arc, so it does make sense why other characters and lore hasn't been getting attention, but when the conclusion to his arc also felt rushed that just leaves me disappointed.

So I wish they had shown a little bit of Steven's path to recovery instead, and also showing he still has some things he struggles with in relation to what has been explored in his character arc, but doing better now that he has help. Showing what therapy does and means to Steven would’ve been something groundbreaking to a TV cartoon show and actually help people understand the importance of that.

(Again this is all just my opinion. I’m still really happy about SUF and the fact that they put a lot of love and effort into creating these episodes and series. The series doesn’t need to be perfect or outstanding in every single way, or appease everyone, since people are bound to disagree with what they prefer)

#steven universe #steven universe future #personal #my stuff

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sasorikigai · 4 years

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Since memories triggered by scent are the strongest… Send my muse a scent and see how they’ll react to it. || @desxderium || accepting

💥|| How Rebecca had salvaged him; enveloped in darkness, and concurrently bathed in light. To the moon and stars he loves so much. For she becomes both his ruination and his salvation. How could he feel lava erupting from his heart, spilling into his chest cavity at all hours and the world seem to be not suffering at all; it used to haunt him, blow a fucking fuse. Hanzo Hasashi thinks epiphanies could bring someone like him to spiral into irreversible madness, as the downward descent would render him simply into a murmur in a backdrop, the faint hum of a white noise, as the ever-soft beatings of his very heart would threaten to shut off in a blink of an eye. The truth was that he pretended to be a cynic, but he was, and always has been a dreamer who is terrified of wanting something he may never get.

How he’d fallen in love with his stained cheeks, his honey whiskey brown eyes that capture and reflect the sunlight, the taste of his sugar and smoky lips always craving more. The bittersweetness of their touch, the lingering ghost that leaves to haunt him, taunt and tease in her absence. He has fallen in love with all the things he didn’t want in the beginning; the friendliness that he welcomes everyone with, the need to take care of and protect, the stupid fucking hero complex, further exacerbated by his heart-gnawing and corroding guilt and remorse and powerlessness. The way he comforts, his annoying positivity that spikes further and farther than the cynicism embedded forever in the blueprint of his DNA and all the entirety of Hanzo Hasashi. Real love manifests in-depth feelings, as he would fall in love with moments, the ones in which they spent.

The winter sun is going to crash soon over the dimming horizon, as the familiarity of the darkness takes over. Hanzo’s eyes sets towards the expanse of the unknown tapestry, as he feels solitary himself, as if he was left to doom in his incessant practice. Every second reduced, as the fast draw of his glock erupts its blaring roar, as numerous visual misty suspension rises, as kindled blaze sets aflame, akin to the very skies at sunset. The once stark outline of the target rendered as charcoal as the unknown ominousness, as Commander Hasashi would face the draining precariousness every single stretched moment in given time. Beneath the chin, where the spine would be severed, as the rupturing heart would exsanguinate. And his solidified feet sinks with visible weight, as accelerating chill of winter’s frost intensifies the sweet, pungent smell as the expanding surge of magmatic heat knocks the inside of his breastbone. How he fights the thorny vice of having been a sole survivor; yet, he would never choke on salted water and saliva as the blaring fireworks continues to ricochet and reverberate through and within him.

Every day is the survival between life and death, for he could be the very one who would be ended up in a morgue if he was too slow, if he got too idle and vainglorious of his skills. His veins cry in chromatic scream as blam, blam, blam, as the aperture of the camera would rapidly flash and blink, Hanzo too, would capture once faded reality in a secured, solidified plan, as this beastly soul stands like a monolith, refusing to be eroded by sinking exhaustion, as the raining perspiration coats him whole. As the crystallized breaths manifest with the settling blackness, Hanzo shivers, as the winter’s unforgiving sun within him fails to emanate. 💥||

#✗ obsessive cathartic (headcanon)#✗ the ineffable testimony of spawned hellfire (scorpion)#✗ monster encroaching on my heels (modern au)#desxderium

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breaking-shadows · 5 years

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Breaking Shadows

Chapter 2

Demons.

Deep breath.

I shuddered despite the summer night and kept my arms wrapped around myself.

Demons are real.

Deep breath.

Another involuntary shiver. I headed straight for home in the centre of the village keeping to the middle of the lane, so I could see all around me. Valestone was tiny, particularly in comparison to Pagnall, our nearest town, but today I was happy about that. I just needed to be home. Considering what had happened tonight, I thought the village would be awash with residents racing around in mad hysteria. But there was nothing but the usual peaceful slumber I would have expected in the early hours of the morning.

Reaching into my pocket, I took out my phone and searched for Will’s name, checking behind in case something had made it into the village. The phone rang for an age and when he didn’t pick up, nausea settled at the base of my stomach. I tried Kat and got the same response. I couldn’t bear to think about what could have happened to them.

By the time I reached the cottage, my heart thumped to a wild beat and a dark cloud of ominous thoughts has settled in my mind. Gran’s cottage was cast in the same eerie darkness as the rest of the village. Vile panic burned the base of my throat. It was too quiet.

I eased the rusted metal lock on the garden gate before slipping through. Peering in each of the windows, I was relieved when no curtains twitched, or shadows crossed behind the panes. I tried to be as quiet as I could as I fished my keys out of my pocket and bit my lip when the jagged teeth on the front door key jutted into the cut on my hand.

The door released a creak of pain and I winced. One step inside and the hallway light flickered on.

Shit. My heart stopped.

As did my grandmother.

The soft grey curls framing her face were wild and dishevelled, her eyes wide and glistening in the artificial light.

“Oh my- Riley!” she crossed the few steps between us and wrapped me in her arms, the scent of lavender triggering a dormant headache. One of her hands went to my hair, pulling my head towards her shoulder. “Riley, you’re all right.”

Her voice wavered. There was desperation, relief and even surprise wrapped up in my grandmother’s arms. I had expected a bollocking. Not this.

I looked up in surprise as Marion Tudor, one of our neighbours, emerged from the gloom behind Gran. She smiled at me, highlighting the small pixie-like features of her face and I wondered what the hell she was doing here in the early hours of the morning.

“Rebecca, it is after midnight. It is the third.”

I stopped myself pointing out that the third follows the second in every month, but I held my tongue. It wouldn’t serve me well when Gran’s relief subsided because I’d broken her rules and anger reigned.

She pushed me away, holding me at arm’s length. Withered hands cupped my face, her thumbs making downward strokes with her thumbs.

“Where the hell have you been?”

That didn’t take as long as expected.

Marion’s eyes darted between Gran and me. “I’d better go, the babysitter will charge me double at this rate.”

“Yes, and thank you, Marion,” Gran called out as the other woman left.

“And just where the hell have you been?” she repeated.

I felt my whole-body slump. Here we go.

“Gran-”

“Don’t you Gran me! How dare you disobey me? I have rules in place for a reason, Riley.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” I closed the door behind Marion with my head low, keen that nothing should slip inside. Bolting the door firmly in place, I toyed with the idea of telling her the truth. Look Gran, I’m sorry but I’ve had a crap night because I’ve just been attacked by humongous spider demons. Oh and yeah, demons exist.

The fury etched out on my grandmother’s face changed my mind, no excuses would wash with her in this mood.

“Anything, I mean anything could have happened to you tonight. And then what? What would I do?”

“Gran, please. I’m sorry. But as you can see, I’m okay.”

“You’re sorry that I caught you,” she sighed and ran her hand down her face. “It’s late. Go to your room, I’ll speak to you in the morning.”

“But Gran-”

“Go!” She unfolded her arms to point up the stairs. “Wait!”

I paused on the first step.

Gran rushed into the kitchen. I could hear the banging of kitchen cupboards; the clinking of a glass being placed on the worktop. Moments later, she re-emerged, glass in hand.

“Take this drink with you and make sure it’s all gone before you sleep. All of it. Understand? Oh, and give me your phone.” Both arms stretched out to me, one grasping the glass the other upturned, expectant.

I opened my mouth to argue.

“Now, Riley.”

Reluctantly, I pulled it from my pocket, slyly knocking the screen to see if I had any missed calls or messages. My heart sank at the lack of notifications. I handed it over. How the hell was I supposed to contact Will and Kat now? Anything could have happened to them. I couldn’t think about it. I shuddered, shook the thoughts from my mind and climbed the stairs. Gran’s furious glare bore into my back all the way up.

I abandoned my bag and the glass in my room and headed to the bathroom. In the poor light, I examined the jagged cut across my palm, a slither of exposed flesh flanked by bright red flecks as though my hand was encrusted with rubies.

The wretched thing would leave a scar.

I washed it, scrubbing away the dirt and the blood. It was only after I’d changed into my pyjamas and fallen into bed with the sheets drawn up to my chin, I realised how much I trembled.

My ears thudded in the blackened silence, drowning out all other sound. I didn’t hear Gran go to bed. If she had gone to bed.

A horde of female spider demons scuttered across my mind as they had the forest floor. Then I allowed myself to think about him. My rescuer. I hadn’t asked his name, Gran would have had something to say about my terrible manners too. His face formed clear in my head. The tussle of dark hair kissing his broad shoulders. The thin white scar that cut through his full, bottom lip. My mind’s painting glazed over his eyes, I couldn’t do them justice. A photograph would have failed to capture the otherworldly beauty of them.

***

My alarm sounded at seven the next morning, hours after I’d woken. Sleep had been snatched away like my sanity had last night. I had tossed and turned all night, breaking off to sneak up to the window to make sure no demons were creeping up the shadow drenched lane.

In the brief moments I did sleep, arachnids and insects skittered across my body, pincers poised for attack and most strangely of all, a fluttering of wings covered in dark feathers.

I showered and dressed, a knot tightening in my stomach. Any other day, I’d get ready in a hurry so I could spend more time with Will and Kat. Today, the desire had drained away, and I wondered if the foreboding feeling was about having to face Gran or something else.

All was quiet downstairs. Dumping my school bag on the floor in the hallway, I hurried into the living room and switched on the TV. Perching on the edge of the sofa, I skipped through all the news channels for any mention of the demon attack, for anything out of the ordinary. Okay, so there wasn’t anything on the national news but maybe it hasn’t gone national yet. I checked the local news. Police were monitoring a certain deadly accident hotspot; a local vicar’s puppy had gone missing and a poll about piercing children’s ears.

“Watching the news? My, my, something must have happened last night,” Gran said appearing in the doorway. She arched a testing brow and pursed her lips.

“Morning,” I said sheepishly and pressed the power button on the remote. Following her into the kitchen, I found a plate of charcoal coloured toast and a glass of clear, popping liquid waiting for me. The same drink she gave me last night. God knows when she’d had time to make it.

“Eat your breakfast, I’ll be taking you this morning and make sure you drink all of that. I’m not being called irresponsible because you’re dehydrated at school.”

Her words were as sharp as a knife tip. I shivered as they ran down my spine. Pulling up a chair, I ate my breakfast and did my best to keep the throbbing wound on my hand out of Gran’s sight. I didn’t need any questions about that.

“Are you sure there is school today?” I lifted the glass up, my nose wrinkling at the strong smell of aniseed. It went straight back down on the table and I pushed it away with the tip of my finger.

“Why would there be no school?”

I nearly spat out the words ‘because of the huge spider demons’, but that didn’t seem like a good conversation starter. We’d begun our questions dance.

Gran stood square before me, so still, hands on hips. “Did something happen at the festival?”

“Have you heard something?” I asked idly.

She looked at me as though I’d told her the sky was made from custard. “No. Do you have something to tell me, Riley?”

I wanted to tell her but there was a gnawing in my gut that made me keep my mouth shut. I shook my head and finished my breakfast.

“Now that’s cleared up,” Gran narrowed her eyes at me. “Eat, then we can go.”

“You don’t have to take me. I’ll be fine-”

Gran spun on her heels, a black fury flashing behind rimless glasses “Don’t dare test me today, my girl. No arguments, nothing. You’ve got five minutes then I want you in that car.”

Things didn’t improve once we were in the car, the atmosphere hanging between us like a veil of frost.

“You’re grounded by the way.”

“Grounded? Gran, please! You can’t ground me! It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this…”

It could have been a trick of the light, but I’d swear Gran’s skin held a yellow tint, the white of her eye too. Pale yet noticeable.

“I’m aware of that but believe me when I say it will be the last. That Kathryn is a bad influence on you,” Gran stared ahead. Her 1964 mini struggled to swallow the road in front of us.

I hung my head low. “It’s not her fault, I decided to go.” One of the few truths I could tell her about last night. Despite Kat’s badgering, the decision to go had been mine.

Already whitened knuckles paled even more as Gran gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I don’t impose these rules just for the sake of it, Riley.”

“I know.”

“There are other people much stricter than me, I’m not being deliberately cruel. Do you realise anything could have happened?”

“I know,” I repeated, shuddering as I remembered how close those creatures had been. “It won’t happen again.”

“You’re damn right it won’t happen again, and you’re still grounded. Two weeks. I will take you and pick you up from school, you will have your tea and then you will go to your room. You can do your sixth form work and that’s it. Nothing else. No visitors. Am I understood?”

I wanted to argue or at least reason my way out of the grounding but one sharp glance from Gran shut me up. “Yes,” I said in my smallest voice.

“Good. Luckily for you, it’s the weekend so I have plenty for you to be getting on with. Oh and no phone.”

We travelled in silence the rest of the way, Gran’s heaving breathing reminding me each mile that she was as mad as hell. I even chastised my own breathing in case that pissed her off more. School offered a welcome escape. As the building came into view, I nearly jumped from the moving car before Gran pulled into the side of the street.

“Have a good day.”

I got out and slammed the car door.

Students already packed the halls. Most of them were huddled together around lockers, a rambunctious boom of voices filling the narrow space.

As someone who rarely drew attention, I could have dismissed the first couple of looks that came my way. A series of turning heads and whispering behind closed hands followed me down the halls.

Surely it wasn’t about me.

Not after last night.

But then as I dared to look at the faces of my classmates, I wondered why no-one seemed horrified. They’d all ran from the festival. They’d all seen them. No-one was talking about what happened.

“Hey Riley,” Norah Ellison called out. “Did you enjoy the festival last night?” The group sniggered.

What had I missed? I scurried past, keeping my head down. Securing my bag strap higher on my shoulder, I crossed my arms across my body determined to make it too my locker.

The sight of Kat gladdened my heart a little. She hurled a book inside her locker making it clamber against the metal interior. When she saw me, a huge grin broke out on her face.

“Well?” Kat asked as I hurried to her.

“Well what?” I kept my head down.

Kat shoved the last book into the metal void then slammed the door closed. “Is that how we’re playing it? OK, but I’m supposed to be your best friend.”

“You are my best friend.”

“In that case then,” Kat continued, still grinning. “Can you at least tell me why you were clinging on to the waist of an incredibly hot guy on the back of Devon Carver’s motorbike?”

My jaw dropped. “What?”

“Loads of people saw you. It’s all around school.”

“So that’s why people are looking at me strangely.” I double checked and yes, eyes were still flickering my way, the low hum of voices amplified. My cheeks burned.

“Kat swept her long fringe from her eyes. “You’ve always been the good girl, everyone is either shocked, don’t believe it or think you’ve made it up yourself. I covered for you, by the way, with Will. I told him it was absolute rubbish and I want a copy of your English homework as payment.”

“Yeah, fine. He was only helping me get away from the creatures. I couldn’t see you, Will or Simon anywhere. I didn’t know what to do.”

“What creatures?”

“The weird spider things that trashed the festival last night.”

Kat’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t drink from that bottle after we abandoned it on the grass, did you?”

“No-one spiked my drink.”

“There weren’t any creatures, Riley. Everyone left because the police arrived and told us all to bugger off because we were trespassing. No-one had bothered to get a permit to hold the festival on the land. But you’d know that because you were there.”

I staggered back a few steps. “That’s not what happened.” Had I dreamt it? Was it all in my head? No, I didn’t have the imagination for that.

“That is what happened,” Kat turned to the lockers lining the other side of the hall where another group, two girls and a boy huddled together, talking. “Hey Molly, can you come here a sec please?” Molly Adams was in my English class.

“Sure,” said Molly. “What’s up?”

“Can you tell Riley why everyone left the festival last night?”

Molly raised a dark eyebrow. “But she was there and left in quite some style I heard.”

“Humour us and what you’ve heard is wrong.” Kat winked at me.

I answered with a weak smile.

Molly huffed but confirmed Kat’s story. Someone had tipped off the police that alcohol was being served at an unlicensed event.

“So, you didn’t hop on Devon’s motorbike with some random then?”

Think of Will. “No, I didn’t.”

Molly shrugged disappointedly. “Shame. For a second I thought you were interesting.” With those words, she gathered her friends and walked away, flicking her long black curls.

“What a bitch!”

“Ignore her.” Kat hooked the strap of her bag over her head before linking her arm through mine. “Now, while I escort you to class, you may divulge all the tasty details of your moonlit ride through Derwent Forest.”

Turning to start heading to my first class, I went straight into another body. Fawn Underhill, a girl who lived on the eastern side of Valestone lay sprawled at my feet.

“Oh god, I’m sorry,” I muttered. My hand went out to help her up, but Kat batted it away.

“Don’t apologise to her. Are you blind Fawn or does your mass of unbrushed, unwashed hair restrict your view. I bet birds would reject it as a nest for their young.” Kat laughed.

Fawn’s eyes grew wide and I shifted on my feet.

“Come on, Riley.”

I bit my lip but followed.

When I dared to look back, Fawn had scrambled to her feet and was hurriedly gathering her things. Shame lapped at my face.

The bell sounded, its piercing ring placing me right back on that motorbike.

Demons. That’s the word he’d used. But why had no-one else seen them?

I prayed the day would go quickly and then I would have two whole days away from the place. By next week, all of this would be forgotten.

@focusdumbass

Chapter 1 Chapter 3

#breakingshadows #writerblr #youngadult #mariemurphy #witches #Covens #urban fantasy #ANGELOFDEATH #wip

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arkus-rhapsode · 6 years

Text

So I noticed something about the Granbell Kingdom... (Chapter 1 Observation and the attention of World Building)

So this is something I realized with Eden’s Zero when I was looking over chapter one and I noticed that all of the main robots like Michael and a lot of the Robots in that greet Rebecca have these rounded, cartoonish heads.

Usually I wouldn’t mind that so much like I did with my first read through of the chapter, I was like “yeah, this is just how they’re drawn...” But looking back on it something I noticed was how different the Robinhood Robot looked.

Like this robot clearly has more humanoid looking face with more pronounced lips and nose and then there is the King, who also is the most humanoid looking one in terms of facial features.

Now the easy meta-textual explanation is that they have the more humanoid faces as the Robin Hood-looking bot is supposed to look different and suspicious while spying on Rebecca. As for the Machine King he needs to look more humanoid for the purpose of conveying pain in the fight against Shiki as well as look more humanoid because he’s the one who gets the big emotional revelation.

But thinking about it and where they are placed in the Kingdom there might’ve been something hinted at. Now in the introduction of the kingdom, this robot that looked like a mayor with monocle had this speech about the stuff you can do in this kingdom.

Now the examples he used were being treated like a royal or go act like an adventurer. (Also looking at the far right of this photo looks like a mustache-less time skip Macao.) Now Rebecca goes to the adventure simulator and there she’s surrounded by the more rounder headed robots. Then there was the disclaimer put at the front of the chapter of how certain places or things that might seem like references to real life things isn’t. This seemed to be referring to whatever website Rebecca gets her subscribers on as youtube and Granbell being a big disneyland copy.

Now with a place like disneyworld, its split into distinct parks with Epcot and the magic kingdom with even smaller communities in those parks. I wonder if with this place being a planet sized theme park if the “Granbell Castle” portion of the world is its own park. While the little tavern area that’s near the forest where Rebecca met Shiki is its own thing as well. Both seem to also have distinctly different robot hosts with the rounded headed ones in the adventure part of the park and the more humanoid ones in the castle town part of the park.

Then there’s the demon king.

He has different features then all of them. He looks more demonic and maybe going by my theory there’s a part of the park that’s like a demon land, where you can live through a horror situation like a haunted host. Oooooorrrr if you wanna go dark maybe its a more “mature” part of the park where you can live out darker fantasies.

Plus with how the entrance works maybe there’s like a town square section, you remember it right, the place where Rebecca was almost burnt at a stake, that could connect to all the other parts of the park. I’m actually surprised we didn’t get a “You Are Here” map. We’re in an amusement park, you have the perfect framing device for giving just a map of this place. In fact, for a planet sized theme park, we don’t get really a scope of the park that much. I am aware that its not an actual planet and that “worlds” here seem to be like islands in space. But come on, I’d even take a little text box that says what location this is like with FT. Something like “Dream Forest, where adventure simulations take place” or “Mitra’s Bar, outside of the Dream Forest.” Clearly “Gear Town” wouldn’t be used as a name because that already is a yugioh card.

Now you can easily pick apart my theory by just pointing out that the robots near where the quest area still gave Rebecca the dress like a princess and the robot in the princess simulation had one of the rounder headed robots in the background. And once again we arrive to the answer for the facial expressions simply being there to fulfill the meta of the story (someone who looks suspicious and someone capable of conveying emotions), but I mention this in the sense of scope and world building. This series seems like, and I’m hoping here, going to push Hiro Mashima to world build more than he had in FT, where he simply just made everything this medieval-modern backdrop for the series. But with world building it takes a tentative eye, small details can have a big importance to making this world pop beyond just a surface level.

Take for example the Sky Races in One Piece. All of them can be summed up as, “they are humans with wings on their back.” But the you notice that there are actually 3 sky races: Skypieans, Shandians, and Birkans. Which as I said, are all at the end of the day the same thing, humans with wings. However, Oda used his art to add to the already different looking astetics of the 3 tribes, but also detailed their wings with each race specifically having their wings styled the same way as their other tribe members: Skypieans possess small wings that are pointed upward, Shandians possess larger wings that also point upward, and Birkans possess wings that point downward. and that’s why Urouge, a guy from the sky race introduced later into the story, is fascinating because he has the same wings as a Birkan when we first meet him, but as a child we see he has the wings of a Skypiean.

Thus the reader is invested for caring about the knowledge of this world these learned as well as heightening the interest of what’s in the narrative if we the audience are aware if the character and it seemed like there was the potential for something similar in Eden’s Zero with the robots. (Again, I must stress potential)

I actually wonder if instead, we had the first three chapters of Eden’s Zero all on Granbell. Like we explored it and then went into space. Now I’m sure you’re saying, “Rhapsode, you can’t do that. That might be just be dragging it out.” And look there’s no way I can disprove that. First chapter happened, we can’t just turn around, but I can bring up the first 3 chapters of a series. As I said in a previous post, its common for the first there chapters of a new series to almost be a mini arc as well as an introduction. This is often due to make sure the first there chapters aren’t just rising action for all the extra pages the magazine gives you, but if it were to go belly up there is still a miniature gratifying journey for the cast of the story and you can write it off as a short story even if some plot threads aren’t resolved.

A prime example of this was done by Mashima himself during Rave Master where he had made the first 3 chapters take place solely on Garage Island (Haru meeting Plue and Shiba, getting the Rave Stone, defeating Feber, rejecting the call to adventure, fighting Feber again, receiving his sword, challenging Shuda after he burns up garage island, sword breaks, accepts the title of Rave Master, and leaving Garage Island) and then the third chapter leaving off on the note of Haru is going off to the big outside world. If you want a more recent example both My Hero Academia and Black Clover which are Shounen Jumps current money makers along with OP used a similar one in done story done in three chapters (MHA arguably is four). MHA it was Deku’s backstory, told he can’t be a hero, proves himself, trains, more training, enters the school, meets Uraraka, goes through the obstacle course, saves her by destroying the unbreakable bot. And Black Clovers was Asta and Yuno’s backstory, Asta gets a grimoire, goes to the trial, fails most of it except beating Sekke, gets accepted in the black bulls, Yuno shows he still cares about Asta by stopping Sekke, and Asta sees the black bulls headquarters. And if all of those series were to end at the end of chapter three there would still be a sense of open ended-ness.

But as I said Hiro didn’t and I’m not condemning him for it, maybe he thought the selling point of the series was that it was IN SPACE, and that it would generate more interest to do that then do a 3 chapter arc with just Granbell and open universe is the ending page of that third chapter. I’m just saying that he could’ve. The same is true with these robots and their appearances, I’m sure he didn’t mean them beyond just a surface level and I’m not saying NOT doing that is inherently bad and I’m going to construe it as negative against him and this series.

The reason I made this post is to convey that he could’ve done something with it (Also talking about robot heads would’ve been pretty short). Like I said, the robots with more rounded heads could be the good ones and maybe robin hood bot is actually the first chapter villain and then we meet the other more humanoid faced robots later. Or maybe Rebecca wants to explore more the park for more of her internet video. I made this mainly to show both the potential of subtly in world building and the possibilities that can be made from attention to detail.

#eden's zero #fairy tail #hiro mashima #eden's zero chapter 1 #shiki granbell #rebecca #rebecca bluegarden #happy the cat #one piece #skypeia

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sending-the-message · 6 years

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The Red Door by CynicHappy

"Never open the red door."

I wish I could tell you the exact number of times I heard those words throughout my childhood, but math has never been my strong point, and I don't think I can count that high. It was usually my grandfather who spoke them. Sometimes my mother or father, but usually Grandpa. He was a stern Greek-Canadian man, tall and heavyset with shiny black hair and stern features. He had many rules to keep the household in check, but the one concerning the red door was by far the most important.

"Never open the red door! Don't ever open the red door. You will regret it." The intensity in his eyes as he laid down the law never failed to frighten my sisters and I. We never dreamed of disobeying him.

My family was wealthy, and lived in a towering brick manor with too many rooms. Most of the doors leading into these rooms were white; the red door was the only one of its kind. It was on the second floor, located right between the bedrooms occupied by me and my sister Callie, respectively. It remained locked at all times; Grandpa kept the key, and twice a day, he would enter the room, and after thirty minutes or so, emerge, looking pale and shaken, and brushing off anyone's enquiries about his health.

Every now and then, my sisters and I gathered up the nerve to stand outside the red door and listen while Grandpa was in there. All we ever heard were his heavy footsteps, and muttering in Greek. Whenever he caught us lurking, he would pin us with a look that made our blood run cold.

"Stay away from the red door!" he would bark, before stalking down the hall. He would disappear into his study, shutting the door behind him.

This behaviour frightened me, of course, but as I grew up, the my curiosity intensified. I simply couldn't stop fantasizing about what might be hidden behind the red door. Silver and gold. Rare gemstones. A unicorn. More candy than one girl could ever eat. Maybe the door even led to another world, like in the Narnia books. Since I couldn't question Grandpa about it without risking his wrath, however, I turned to my parents for answers.

They couldn't tell me anything either. Mum, Grandpa's only daughter, told me the red door had been off-limits since she was my age, and that her father never offered her an explanation either. Dad told me I should just let it drop. I could have screamed. I wanted to know what was behind the red door. It was an intense thirst, a desperation that felt like a raging storm in my head. There were times when I couldn't sleep at night, my mind was whirling so violently with possibilities. I knew my sisters-Callie, Gabriella, and Marguerite-were curious as well, but they did a better job containing it.

"Grandpa probably has a good reason for keeping the door locked," said Callie. "Maybe it's best we just stay away."

"No way!" I shrieked. "One day, I am going to see what's behind the red door! I don't care what Grandpa says."

I was a child, naïve and stupid. I never considered the danger, never took into account how drained Grandpa looked whenever he walked out of that room, never cared about anything but my own curiosity. I had made a vow that one day, I would see behind the red door, and I didn't intend to break it.

It wasn't until I was about eight or nine that I got a little taste of the fear Grandpa felt.

Late at night-around 11:00 PM, if I remember correctly-I woke up to sounds that made my breath catch in my chest. Loud banging that shook the walls and made me worry that the roof would cave in; shrill wailing that felt like shards of glass piercing my eardrums. Crying for Mum, I stumbled into the hall-and found my family gathered around the red door.

"Father!" Mum yelled, clutching a crying Gabriella and Marguerite to her sides. "What the hell is going on in there?" That was the first time I ever heard her swear.

Grandpa, standing tall admits the chaos, looked like he was going to keel over. His face was whiter than bleached bedsheets, his hands clenched into fists so tight it would have taken a crowbar to pry them apart. He didn't answer Mum, just slid a hand into his pocket and retrieved the key. He unlocked the red door and stepped inside.

As I had so many times before, I tried to peer around him and get a glimpse inside, but Dad grabbed me and pulled me back.

"I wanna see! I wanna see!" I wailed, more out of habit than anything else. To tell the truth, I was terrified, especially as the sounds grew louder, mixed with Grandpa's angry shouts.

"Silence, Rebecca," Dad whispered, clamping a rough, calloused hand over my mouth.

We stood there in the darkened hall, listening for what felt like hours, until the terrible noises suddenly stopped, as if sucked into a vacuum cleaner. My ears were ringing, and I was trembling like a tuning fork. Grandpa stepped out minutes later, slamming the red door behind him and locking it.

"I dont ever want to hear you girls speak about this," he hissed at me and my sisters. "Do you understand?"

We nodded. He stalked off, his head and shoulders bowed as if pulled down by a string. Mum and Dad sent us girls back to bed, but nobody got much sleep that night.

For a while after that, my curiosity was quelled, replaced by fear. I gave the red door a wide berth whenever I walked down that hall, and would hide in my room whenever Grandpa went in, instead of standing outside and listening. My sisters were terrified as well, but while my fear eventually subsided, theirs didn't.

"What the hell are you doing?" Callie snapped at me when she caught me outside the red door again. It had been four months since that terrifying night, and I was still scared, but my intense curiosity had returned.

"I want to know what's behind the red door!" I protested. Callie's anger frightened me; she was one of the calmest people I'd ever known, and rarely raised her voice.

"You're insane," she hissed. "Whatever's behind that fucking door, it's going to kill somebody. If you ever go in there, you'll never come out."

"But Grandpa goes in there!"

"He's the only one of us who can survive in there!"

I stared up at my sixteen-year-old sister in shock, wondering how she knew all this. Looking back, I realize that, being older, she simply had a better perspective on the situation. Callie was nothing if not intelligent.

Just like that, the anger seemed to drain out of her, and she wrapped me up in a hug. "Rebecca, I'm sorry. I just... I don't want you to get hurt."

I nodded against her chest, but deep down, I knew I wanted to see what was inside the room with the red door.

Many years later, I finally got my wish.

Grandpa died when I was eighteen. He simply went to sleep one night and never woke up. He had kept us away from the red door and maintained his habit of going in there twice a day until the very end, even as his health took a slow trajectory downward. He left behind the key, which I snuck out of his bedroom on the day my parents went to pick out a coffin.

By then, my sisters had all moved out; Marguerite and Gabriella were away at college, and Callie was married, with a baby on the way. None of them had expressed a desire to see what was behind the red door in a long time. But I had never forgotten my vow.

The rusted silver key felt cold and heavy in my hand as I stood before the red door, eyeing the peeling paint and worn brass knob. In the back of my mind, I could hear Grandpa chanting "Don't open the red door. Don't open the red door" over and over again; I felt sick with guilt, knowing I was disobeying him. But I couldn't turn back. Not when I finally had the key.

Holding my breath, I slipped it into the lock and turned. There was a harsh click, and the red door creaked open.

After years of anticipation, I stepped inside.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what I found. Memories of all the wonderful things I'd imagined ran through my brain as I stared ahead in disbelief. I was standing at the mouth of a cave. A fucking cave. Jagged with rock, dark and gaping like a giant mouth.

"What the fuck?" I spluttered, and was answered by the red door swinging shut. I didn't even look back; I was too stunned. Slipping the key into the pocket of my jeans, I took a step forward.

The air inside the cave was hot and muggy, and I immediately began to sweat. I was still in shock as I moved deeper inside, using the flashlight on my phone as a guide. The cave floor was caked with dirt, the walls etched with deep scratches. All I could hear were my footsteps-and my own heavy breathing.

I was dreaming. I had to be. This couldn't be happening. No way. So I kept going. My logic was that if this was a dream, then no real harm could come to me.

Sweat trickled down my back in tiny rivers. It really was hot, and I kept reaching up to wipe the moisture off my forehead. I had been walking for a long time, and my legs were sore. I spotted a flat rock and sat down to rest.

My head was still spinning with confusion. I still believed I was dreaming, but this was by far the weirdest dream I'd ever had. It made no sense to me, how the red door could lead to a freaking cave, of all things. Was I underground? That made no sense, considering the room was on the second floor. Nothing about this made sense.

I contemplated turning back, to lock the red door behind me and forget about all this. But my curiosity still wasn't satisfied. I wanted to at least make it to the end of this tunnel, to understand the truth about this place and what my Grandpa had seen in here. I wanted to unlock the mystery of my childhood.

I wanted to know why Grandpa had been so adamant no one ever come in here.

As I stood, ready to continue, I cast my light across the cave floor, and spotted something that made me do a double take. Footprints. Not those of a human, however. Cloven hooves. Like those of a goat. Or a sheep. Or a demon.

You would think that I would have gotten the hell out of there after seeing that. But I still believed this was a dream, and couldn't comprehend that I was in any danger. So instead, I followed the footprints.

It had been slowly growing hotter the deeper I went, and by now, I was soaked with sweat. My clothes clung damply to my skin. Uncomfortable, I peeled off my T-shirt and continued on in nothing but my bra. The footprints eventually faded away, but I kept going in their general direction, convinced this was the right way-wherever I was going.

So dazed was I that I didn't notice the object in my path until I tripped over it.

I landed on my knees, hard, and cursed, before turning around so I could see what had been in my path. Something smooth and round, something that may have once been white, but had grown yellowed with age. I reached out to pick it up, and let out a thin shriek.

A skull. A human skull with a big crack in the front, most of the teeth missing. The empty eye sockets stared up at me, hollow and lifeless.

"Oh, my God," I muttered, letting the skull slip from my shaking fingers. "Holy fucking shit."

That snapped me back to reality. I had to get out of here. I didn't care about what might be awaiting me at the end of the tunnel-in fact, I didn't want to see it. I scrambled to my feet and whipped around, only to freeze when I saw I wasn't alone.

There was another person crouched just a few feet away. I use the term "person" loosely, because it hardly looked human. It was so wizened and bony, its pale skin hanging off the sharp bones like an oversized suit. Ragged, stringy strands of brown hair hid its face; it crouched on all fours, glaring up at me with beady dark eyes.

I don't remember screaming, but I must have, because the creature lurched back and let out a startled hiss, showing off jagged yellow teeth.

I began to run in the opposite direction, as fast as I could. Thankfully, the creature didn't give chase. But I began to hear sounds: piercing shrieks, angry growls, and the crackling of flames. I considered turning back and taking my chances with the emaciated horror behind me, but before that could happen, I saw that I was heading for the edge of a cliff, and skidded to a stop.

Falling to my knees once more, I let out a harsh, dry sob, releasing the tension that had been building inside me since I first opened the red door. The terrible noises filled my ears, louder than ever before, and I forced myself to peer over the edge.

The drop wasn't too far-only about twenty feet. Below me was a scene I can only describe as a glimpse into Hell. Perhaps it really was Hell.

At the centre of it all sat a giant goat's skull-about the size of a city bus. Sharp, curving horns the size of trees protruded from the top. There was no skin or hair attached-nothing but bare bone. The only thing alive about it was the eyeball in the right eye socket; a giant yellow eyeball with a square pupil. This horrible eye kept rolling around, staring in all directions, and every minute or so, the colossal jaws would creak open with an ear-splitting screech and release a cloud of black smoke.

Dancing around the skull were what I can only describe as demons. Some were vaguely human in shape, but with skin rotting off their bones and mouths full of needle-like teeth. There were bipedal goats with gnarled horns; monstrosities with scaly skin and spiky tails; skeletons with flames in their eyes, shrieking with laughter.

I began to cry. I was just so terrified. I wanted to run, but I couldn't move. I was quite literally frozen in fear.

Then I felt a presence. A shadow fell over me, and an angry voice boomed out.

I told you never to open the red door!

I looked up and saw Grandpa standing over me. Or, what had once been Grandpa. His skin had gone a horrible, blotchy shade of purplish-red; his eyes were fogged over with cataracts; his hair was torn out in chunks, revealing a scalp covered in crusty sores and pus-filled blisters.

"Grandpa!" I gasped.

Get out! Get out now! he screamed.

I saw the goat skull's giant eye focus on me, and the pupil contracted to the size of a pinpoint. It let out a screech that rattled my bones, that sent me stumbling back, crying hysterically.

Get out! Grandpa bellowed, waving his hands wildly. Get out now!

Somehow, I got my legs to cooperate. I stood back up and ran faster than I ever had in my life. The howls and shrieks of demons followed me down the tunnel, ringing in my ears even as the red door finally came back into view.

I slammed the red door behind me as hard as I could, locking it with the key that, thankfully, hadn't fallen out of my pocket. Then I slumped to the floor, vomited up the contents of my stomach, and curled into the fetal position, crying and trembling.

Something slammed against the door, with such impact that I went skidding forward a few feet. I sat up and watched, heart in my throat, as whatever it was threw its bulk against the red door, two more times, before giving up. Something retreated back down the tunnel, moving on all fours.

I sniffled, wiping my nose on my arm. I could still smell smoke, however faint, as it wafted through the large crack that had formed in the red door.

My parents and sisters never learned of my expedition past the red door, but I knew they suspected it anyway. How could they not, given my jumpy demeanour for the next several weeks and the heavy-duty padlock I bought?

After finishing college, I moved out of that house, married, and started a family of my own. My parents still live there, and it is now Dad who keeps the key. It is him who enters that terrible place two times a day. I don't know what he does in there, but it keeps the demons at bay.

What haunts me most about that day is seeing Grandpa in there, seeing how he looked, surrounded by those monsters. I know he's still there, and it terrifies me. My greatest fear is that Dad will end up there too. It seems whoever guards the red door is destined to be trapped behind it after death.

I often visit my childhood home with the kids; my parents adore their grandchildren. Being curious, as children often are, they have asked me many times about the red door.

I tell them what Grandpa always told me: "Never open the red door."

I only hope that they will be more sensible than I was.

I hope that they will listen.

#reddit #nosleep #scary #story

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princess-of-the-worlds · 6 years

Text

Steve Rogers and the No Good, Very Bad Promposal

For @debwalsh who donated to @fandomtrumpshate and asked for high school!stucky + fake-dating.

Shout out to @marleymortis for being an awesome beta and cheerleader.

ao3 link: here

word count: 1749

warnings: none

summary: “I’m not fake-dating you just so that you can settle a bet with Natasha,” Steve retorts in exasperation, throwing his hands into the air. “What did she even promise you in return?”

“What? No!” Steve cries when he hears Bucky’s latest hare-brained scheme. “Why in the world? Just no! Why?”

“Stevie,” Bucky pleads. With his hair tousled from its gelled style, his oversized sweatshirt, and jutting bottom lip, he looks overly adorable, and Steve is finding it harder and harder to refuse his best friend.

“I’m not fake-dating you just so that you can settle a bet with Natasha,” Steve retorts in exasperation, throwing his hands into the air. “What did she even promise you in return?”

“Her Corvette,” Bucky whispers excitedly, leaning forward in the warm atmosphere of Steve’s bedroom. “Besides, it’s not like you’re fake-dating me entirely. I’m just fake-asking you to Prom.”

Steve’s eyes narrow. “And what were her terms for the bet? Her exact words?”

“‘Nothing you do will ever be able to shock or surprise me, James, but I will give you a week nonetheless. If you succeed, you can drive my Corvette anywhere you want for a month,’” Bucky mimics with just the slightest hint of a Russian accent. His Natasha impression is nearly perfect enough that she could be in the room with them.

Steve shivers.

“This?” he asks incredulously. “This is how you want to shock her? Why?”

Bucky fixes him with a stare like this should all be obvious to Steve. “Because it is random af. She’d never see it coming.”

Steve definitely hadn’t seen it coming.

“So,” Bucky prompts, “will you do it? Will you fake-go to Prom with me?”

Steve considers it for a moment, mulling over the decision.

A, he’s been hopelessly in love with his best friend since freshmen year and will never get another chance to hear Bucky ask “Will you go to Prom with me?”

B, Bucky’s plan has a chance of going horribly awry like most of their plans do, and someone will end up hurt, and it will probably be Steve.

“Fine,” Steve says finally, wondering why the hell he’s agreeing to this. “But you better bring me flowers when you propose. No roses. And chocolate. This better be the most real, fake Promposal anyone at SHIELD High has ever seen, James Barnes!”

Bucky beams.

“You’ll never be able to tell him, James.”

“Don’t doubt me too much, Nat. Have I ever failed you before?”

“Maybe you have. Maybe you have not. But my point is, James, that when it comes to Steve, your judgement is always a bit skewed. You always freeze.”

“Hey! I never freeze!”

“Hmm. I’ll make you this bet, James. Ask Steve to Prom like you’ve been dreaming about since junior year, and my Corvette will be yours for the month. Else, I will give Rebecca a very detailed sex ed lesson in front of you the next time I come over for dinner.”

“It’s going down today,” Bucky whispers to Steve as they pass in the hallway on their way to their individual second periods.

“Where?” Steve calls after him. “When? How? Why do you have to be so vague, Buck?”

But Bucky’s already disappeared past the mass of students swarming their lockers, and a frustrated and bewildered Steve slips into AP Art History a minute late.

Third and fourth period come and go, and it is finally lunch, so Steve heads to his locker, but when he turns the lock to his combo and opens it, there’s an explosion of gold confetti in his face.

“What the f-?” Steve bats confetti away from his eyes and spits some out of his mouth. “Gross,” he sighs.

“Steven Grant Rogers,” Bucky begins dramatically from behind Steve, his tone giddy and gleeful.

“Oh, no,” Steve says, turning around to find Bucky standing there and clutching a bouquet of peonies.

At least he listened, Steve thinks subconsciously. Instead, he scowls at his best friend.

“Stevie,” Bucky repeats. “When I first saw you punching the ever-living daylights out of Gilmore Hodge on the playground in pre-school, I thought you were the cutest little punk I’d ever seen.”

“Really, Buck?” Steve asks dryly. “We were six. All you wanted to know was where I’d found my Captain America action figure.”

Bucky smiles rapturously. “We’d always known that I was a catch,” he states, preening slightly, “and it only took twelve years for your ugly mug to catch up.”

“Asshole,” Steve shoots back, bristling with irritation. “Arrogant bastard.”

Still, some part of him, despite knowing how much Bucky is sugarcoating this entire exchange, can’t help but sigh and tremble at every word that comes from his best friend’s mouth.

Someone nearby snickers, and Steve realizes a small crowd has formed around them. Visible at the edge, with her hair a bright beacon, is Natasha, watching this interaction with vigilant eyes. Behind her is a heavy-eyed Clint and, of course, Tony, who conveniently has his phone out to film this.

“Turns out we make a dynamic duo,” Bucky continues, and Steve’s attention snaps back to him. “With my looks and brains and athletic ability and your…ability to hold a pencil.”

“This is the worst Promposal ever,” Steve says loudly, and someone boos.

At Steve or at Bucky? The world will never know.

Bucky isn’t deterred, of course. “We make such great best friends,” he states, “but we’d make a more extraordinary couple.”

“Not with your vanity, we won’t,” Steve grumbles in response.

“Will you,” and here Bucky’s words become almost sincere as his eyes soften and his jaw slackens, “go to Prom with me, punk?”

The part of Steve that was cooing at this proposal and that has been hopelessly gone on Bucky since, like, forever takes hold of Steve’s brain.

“I will, jerk,” Steve replies softly. “I’m with you until the end of the line, remember? Doesn’t matter how.”

Bucky’s grip becomes lax, and the peonies plummet to the floor, Steve watching them fall in confusion. Then Bucky rushes forward with lips parted, closing the short distance between them in a matter of seconds.

Soft, warm lips cover Steve’s, and then they’re kissing, but Steve has to reach down and pinch the skin of his wrist. Because he’s dreaming, right? There’s no way he’s actually kissing Bucky Barnes, his best friend and impossible crush.

The crowd around them cheers, and Steve swears he hears Tony yell, “Get it, Barnes!”

Bucky, who has wrapped an arm around Steve’s waist as he cranes his neck downwards, reaches his free hand up and flips Tony the bird.

When they part, the crowd, which has thinned down to mostly their friends, applauds again.

“What was that?” Steve murmurs into Bucky’s ear. Over his shoulder, he catches a glimpse of Natasha, whose jaw has dropped slightly, and he feels satisfaction.

It is damn near impossible to surprise Natasha Romanova, and they have done it.

“Til the end of the line,” Bucky reminds him, clearing his throat with a rough cough. “I had to sell it so that Natasha would buy it.”

“How much more do we have to keep selling it?” Steve asks, rolling his eyes.

“Looks like you’re going to Prom with me,” Bucky says, eyes wide and bluer than the ocean, “or I’ll never get to drive that Corvette.” He pauses awkwardly. “By the way, the chocolate’s in your locker. I had too many things to hold. Make sure you take it out and take it home, or it’ll melt in there.”

On Prom night, Steve and Bucky dress in matching black tuxes, although Steve’s bowtie is navy while Bucky’s is red.

They rent a limo with the rest of their friends, having already refused Tony’s continuous offers that they can just borrow one of his dad’s. Natasha keeps an observant eye on them the entire time.

Tony does bring the alcohol though, and by the time they reach the venue, Steve is tipsy and pink-cheeked, clutching Bucky’s hand tightly.

Although the effects of the alcohol wear off both boys more than an hour later, they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other or lips too far apart as the night draws to an end.

And to Steve’s immense delight, Bucky giddily tells him, “I rented us a hotel room,” as they are ushered off the dance floor by a straight-faced parent chaperone.

“Stevie,” Bucky begins guiltily a week before graduation. “I have something to tell you.”

Steve glances up from his book and rolls over on his bed to face his best friend. “Yeah, Buck?”

“Remember my bet with Natasha?” Bucky states.

Steve sighs. “Honestly, Buck. If you dented the Corvette, I am the worst person to ask. Try Tony; he might actually be able to help you. Natasha won’t spare you if she finds out.”

There is slight amusement in Bucky’s voice, but it’s mostly overshadowed by anxiety. “The bet wasn’t that I do my best to surprise her,” he announces suddenly. “Natasha dared me that I wouldn’t be able to ask you to Prom.”

There is an awkward beat of silence. “And why would she do that?” Steve asks calmly, raising an expectant eyebrow.

“Because she knew that I had a major crush on you,” Bucky blurts out. “Which I have had. A crush, I mean. For like what feels like forever.”

Steve stares at Bucky, who seemingly cowers under the blond’s gaze.

Then Steve bursts into hysterical laughter.

“What?” Bucky asks in bewilderment.

Clutching his side, Steve straightens but collapses back onto his bed in a fit of silent laughter. Finally, he reigns himself in and wheezes breathlessly. “I’m sorry,” he says. “Did you really think I didn’t know?”

“How?”

“Natasha told me,” Steve states with a growing smile. “If it counts, I’ve had a crush on you since freshmen year.”

“So, this entire time,” Bucky begins in disbelief.

“We’ve actually been dating while you thought we were fake-dating,” Steve confirms and bursts back into laughter.

Bucky scowls. “You little punk. You could have told me. Saved me some pining.”

“To be fair,” Steve comments, stretching out against his bed spread, “Natasha was going to tell you soon. She said she was tired of your whining, jerk!”

“I…I…”

It’s fun to watch Bucky fluster. At least until he gives up.

“I’m gonna get revenge for that,” he declares dramatically. “On everyone, especially Natasha.” He sticks his arms out. “But, since you’re the most convenient, looks like you are my first victim.”

With that, he leaps onto the bed and tickles and kisses a giggling Steve until both of them are bone-tired and cuddling.

#stucky #steve rogers #bucky barnes #stucky drabble

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robinchan-hananomi · 6 years

Text

One Piece Post time skip timeline

Zoro’s arrival

Zoro arrives on Sabody Archapelago with Perona

Some time later

Franky arrives on Sabody and goes to the Sunny

Some time later

Nami arrives on the Sunny

7 days after Franky’s arrival

Heracles brings Usopp to Sabody

2 days later

Chopper is brought to Sabody by the birds

Next day (10 days after Franky’s arrival)

Brook arrives on Sabody for a concert Sanji is brought to Sabody by the Okama Robin arrives on Sabody while being chased Luffy is brought to Sabody by the Kuja pirates Strawhats meet the fake straw hat pirates Straw hats destroy the Pacifista sent to arrest them Straw hats escape with the help of their allies, set sail for Fishman Island Fake strawhats disposed of Carabo follows them, gets left on the ship and is captured by the straw hats They ride the downward plume and meet surume Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji defeat the kragen and get separated from the others The straw hats escape from various creatures, meet back up with their crew mates Run into the Flying Dutchmen and it’s crew, flee from a undersea volcano Straw hats meet Hordy Jones’ fishman pirates and use a coupe de burst to enter fishman island

Possibly next day

Straw hats separated upon entry Zoro ends up alone, invited to Neptune’s palace for a party for saving the princesses shark Robin, Franky, and Nami end up together. They split up Brook ends up alone, runs into the Pappug Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp are saved by Kami Princes come to invite them to the palace, mistaken to think they were about to be arrested Sanji looses a lot of blood, most refuse to help him Caribou starts kidnapping mermaids Luffy and Usopp meet Arlong’s sister Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, Usopp, and Kami reunite with Brook and Pappug Madam Shirley predicts a man with a straw hat will destroy Fishman Island Luffy and co runs into Nami in Pappaug’s store Neptune invites the strawhats to his palace, telling them Zoro is already there Luffy wonders off and meets Shirahosi Zoro has been arrested and the guards go to arrest Nami, Usopp, and Brook Zoro brakes out of prison and takes everyone in the palace ‘hostage’ Decken and Hordy team up to take on the Palace Zoro gives the Prince’s his terms for a safe release of the hostages Decken throws human pirates into the castle to allow them to enter Hachi narly got killed by Hordy, comes to try and warn Fishman Island of the attack Sanji and Chopper find Hachi Luffy and Shirahoshi head to the sea forest Robin gets a lead on a ponyglyph and heads to the sea forest Franky and Tom’s brother Den find The Thousand Sunny in the sea forest Hordy and Decken enter the castle, unable to keep the hostages safe Zoro frees them Decken goes after Shirahosi and Luffy Kami and Nami escape and head to the Sea forest to face Jinbei Neptune is defeated, Neptune, Zoro, Brook, and Usopp are captured Luffy and Shirahosi meet up with Hachi, Sanji, and Chopper Luffy and the others reach the sea forest, find Franky, Den, and Jinbei Nami and Keimi arrive with the others, Jinbei tells them of the history Fishman district residents start attacking the Island residents The three princes are defeated Zoro and the others escape After reading the ponyglyph Robin meets up with the group Luffy agrees to follow Jinbei’s plan Strawhats all convene in the square, take on the Fishman Pirates Decken throws Noa at Shirahosi The sea kings move the Noah for Shirahosi Fishman pirates were arrested, party is thrown for the straw hats Luffy gives the treasure to Big Mom, declares war on her Luffy say’s Fishman Island is his territory

Some time later

Luffy and crew leave Fishman Island Straw hats emerge in the new world The baby denden mushi on the Sunny picks up a distress call Luffy decides to go to Punk Hazzard Luffy, Zoro, Robin, and Usopp go onto Punk Hazzard in the Mini Merry Zoro slays a dragon Sanji, Franky, Nami, an Chopper are captured; Brook is left on Sunny Sanji takes Kinemon with him as they escape Nami decides she wants to save the children Smoker, Tashigi, and G-5 arrive Brook informs Luffy, Zoro, Robin, and Usopp what happens and heads toward the laboratory Law fights the marines, switches everyones bodies Brook meets up with Luffy’s group, they steal some clothes from Brownbeard Luffy’s group and Brownbeard meet up with Law and the marines The crew meets up, then divides into teams Zoro, Sanji, Brook, and Kinemon go to get Kinemon’s torso Nami gets kidnapped, Luffy saves her, Luffy and Law form an alliance Vergo arrives Luffy, Franky, Robin, Smoker, and Tashigi get captured with Law; Free themselves Ceaser broadcasts his weapon to the underground buyers Kid, Apoo, Hawkins, and Killer form an alliance to go after Shanks Everyone meets up in the lab Ceaser is sent flying, Monet and Vergo are killed Doflamingo sends Baby 5 and Buffalo to retrieve Ceaser Baby 5 and Buffalo are stopped, Strawhats get Ceaser Alliance has a party Straw hats leave, Law gives Doflamingo his demands Doflamingo attacks Smoker, Aokiji saves him

Next day

Morning paper shows Doflamingo quite the warlords, and tells about the pirate alliances Straw hats arrive at Dressrosa Usopp, Robin, and Law take Ceaser to Greenbit Nami, Momonosuke, Chopper, and Brook stay on the Thousand Sunny Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Kinemon, and Franky go ashore to destroy the factory and rescue Kanjuro Luffy’s group meets Fujitora, Wicca takes Zoro’s swords and he persues with Sanji and Kinemon Luffy enters the collusium, Sanji goes off with Violet CP0 arrives Jora gets on the sunny and attacks the crew Robin and Usopp meet the dwarfs Doflamingo and Fujitora surround Law Violet helps Sanji to escape and he meets up with Kinemon Franky, Zoro, the Tonta meet, Zoro leaves for the Sunny Robin, Usopp, Franky, Kyros, and the Tonta meet Zoro meets up with Sanji and Kinemon and Viola joins them. Brook defeats Jora Law gives Nami and the others Ceaser, Sanji arrives to save them from Doflamingo Robin, Franky, and Usopp set out with the Tontitta to destroy the factory Borto brings Luffy to Zoro and Kinemon Sanji and the others head for Zou, encountering one of Big Mom’s ships Sanji and the others attack the ship and escape Doflamingo and Law land next to Zoro and Kinemon, Doflamingo shooting Law Zoro and Kinemon are attacked by Issho and Doflamingo, then they leave with Law Sabo talks to Luffy, then takes his spot in the colosueum. Luffy, Zoro, and Kinemon head out Franky attacks the toy house as a distraction Sabo gets the mira mira no mi Doflamingo begins the birdcage Doflamingo issues new bounties, Usopp gets the nickname God Luffy, Zoro, and Law meet up with the fighters Kinemon and Kanjiro reunite Doflamingo and his crew falls Public learns of the event, chaos ensues Kaido arrives on Urouge’s cloud Bege sets out to capture ceaser Tsuru leaves for Dressrosa Smoker recovers, Tashigi says they are taking the kids to Vegapunk Sabo says goodbye to Zoro, Robin, and Franky as they stay in Kyros home Sabo made a vivre card for Luffy

Next day

Sanji, Nami, Chopper, Brook, Momo, and Ceaser arrive on Zou (six days of battle for the minks) Straw hats work to save the minks Kaido jumps down into Kid’s hideout

Two days later (three days since the fighting stopped)

Tsuru and Sengoku arrive in Dressrossa Riku is officially the king again Sengoku and Law meet to talk about Rocinate The citizens and gladiators help the straw hats escape Formation of the straw hat grand fleet Grand fleet celebrates before leaving CP0 returns to Dressrosa Dressrosa celebrates Doflamingo is taken by Tsuru, Jack tries and fails to rescue him New bounties issued, Borto gives the straw hats a ride Edward Weevil takes out his 16th pirate group that worked for Whitebeard

Five days later

Pekoms arrives on Zou Bege shoots Pekoms, tells Sanji he is expected for his wedding Sanji helps the others escape

Two days later (11 days after from their split according to Robin)

Luffy and his team arrive on Zou Borto leaves, Luffys group sets up the elephants leg Dragon calls all the revolutionaries together Burgress leads the blackbeards to attack the revolutionaries Kinemon and Kanjiro get separated Straw hats learn what happened and who the Vinsmokes are

Next day

The samurai arrive in Zou, they are reunited with Raizo, Robin reads a road ponygloyph Strawhats learn about the road poneglyphs and the location of two more Strawhats, minks, and samurai form an alliance to take down kaido Group agrees to split, Jack hurts the elephant; Momo orders it to fight back Split into four teams Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Brook, Pekoms, Pedro, and Carrott leave for Whole Cake Island Neko and his men leave to search for Marco Law, Zoro, Robin, Franky, Usopp, Hart pirates, and Samurai leave for Wano Momo, Inu, and other minks stay on Zou

Some time later

Vivi, Cobra, Igaram, Pell, and Chaka sail for the Reverie with Read Admiral Hina Stelly and Sally arrive in Louge Town on their way to the Reverie Kano country is worried Sai will not make it the Reverie in time Wampal and Miss Universe of Black Drum Kingdom plan to go, Wampal expressing hate Dalton and Kureha of Sakura Kingdom discuss going to the Reverie Riku watches as Viola tells Rebecca she can come as her lady in waiting Elizeabelo and Riku agree to travel to the Reverie together Neptune, his sons, and Shirahosi plan on presenting the signatures at the Reverie Kaido captured Kidd News of the Revolutionary Army headquarters being attacked hits the papers Luffy cooks all the provisions in one go

A few days later

Sanji is riding on Big Mom’s ship Vito is fanboying all over Sanji for the Germa 66

A few days later

Luffy gets poisoned Crew on the Thousand Sunny meets Reiju and Yonji, Reiju saves Luffy Aladdin sees the Sunny and calls Jinbei to inform him Luffy and the others arrive in Chocolate town, meet Pudding Pedro gets taken from the Thousand Sunny by Bege Pudding gives the Straw hats a route to Whole cake (Pekoms said it will take a day) Pudding leaves for whole cake island

Sanji arrived on Whole cake (wedding said to be in three days)

Ichiji and Niji set out for Whole cake Island (will reach it in two days)

Big Mom kills her son Muscat, Jinbei stops one of Big Mom’s rampages Jinbei decides to leave Big Mom, Praline and the Sun Pirates support this Realizing what Big Mom’s roulette is Jinbei decides he can’t quit her crew Strawhats camp for the night on land, divide up what they will do

Next day

Strawhat pirates arrive on Whole Cake Island Brook and Pedro set out in the Shark Submerge Luffy, Nami, Chopper, and Carrot go ashore, encounter Brulee’s clones Nami, Chopper, and Carrot meet Pound and get attacked by Brulee’s underlings Nami, Chopper, and Carrot meet Brulee Yonji and Reiju arrive at Whole Cake Island Judge arrives and Judge and Sanji fight Judge has Reiju put wristlets on Sanji to trap him Pudding has arrived and Pedro and Brook see her in town Bege shoots Pekoms off a cliff, Sun pirates save him Ceaser blames his failure to accomplish Big Mom’s request on the Strawhats Brulee takes Chopper and Carrot in her mirror, Nami goes to get Luffy Luffy meets up with Nami Luffy and Nami meet Cracker, Luffy starts fighting cracker Nami and Pound make the homies obey them with Big Mom’s vivre card Chopper and Carrot start using the mirror world to their advantage Brook and Pedro sneak into the castle

Next day

Ichiji and Niji arrive The vinsmokes have breakfast, Sanji defends Cosette, Judge threatens Zeff’s life Yonji shows Sanji the clones of the Germa 66 Sanji is beaten by his brothers, Reiju helps heal his injuries so Pudding and Big Mom won’t see Vinsmokes leave to see Big Mom for lunch, Luffy sends Cracker flying Brulee captures Chopper and Carrot Luffy and Nami run into Sanji and the Vinsmokes, Sanji and Luffy fight, Luffy promises to wait Large army goes out to confront Luffy and Nami, they are captured Big Mom pirates, Vinsmokes, and Sanji have lunch and gift exchange Pudding and Sanji talk, Sanji asks pudding to marry him (2pm) Big Mom and Sanji talk, she promises to let the Strawhats go if Sanji marries pudding Pedro acts as bate to lure the guards away so Brook can get the poneglyph rubbings Big Mom shows the Vinsmokes her book collection Luffy and Nami talk to Big Mom, Luffy challenges Big Mom again Pudding tells Nami and Luffy her plan to kill Sanji, Luffy tries to escape Chopper and Carott defeat Brulee Pedro tries to blow himself up, Chopper and Carott save him at the last moment Reiju investigates Pudding, is shot and captured by her Big Mom captures Brook Sanji overhears Pudding tell Reiju the plan, tells Reiju what happened, Reiju says let it happen Jinbei frees Luffy and Nami from the book prison, Luffy meets Reiju and heads to see Sanji Nami an Jinbei enter the mirror world, Sanji leaves to see Luffy, Brook taken to mirror world Jinbei arranges a meeting between Luffy and Bege

Next day

Luffy and Sanji arrive at Bege’s (6 am sine it is 4 hours before the tea ceremony at 10am) Strawhats arrive at Bege’s through the mirrors Bege took Ceaser to work for him, meets with the Strawhats and agree to a plan The guests arrive for the tea party (9:45 am) Tea party and wedding begins (10am) Wedding fails, assassination of Sanji fails, Luffy bursts out of the wedding cake Jinbei leaves Big Mom, Brook destroys Mother Caramel’s picture, Bege’s assassination fails Assassination of Vinsmokes fail, Sanji saves them, Nami and Chopper evacuate them Alliance hides in Bege’s body, Germa 66 protects Bege, Sanji and Luffy protect Reiju Alliance captured, bomb goes off from Fishman Island, escape in the chaos Alliance splits, Big Mom falls into a rampage Dogtooth and others go to the Thousand Sunny as Big Mom persues the straw hats Pudding gets Chiffon from Bege and Sanji from the Strawhats to make a new cake Brook and Chopper work to recover the Sunny, Nami controls Zues Strawhats arrive on Sunny, Luffy and Dogtooth go into the mirror, Pedro sacrifices himself Luffy vs Dogtooth Strawhats try to escape big mom (3pm since Nami says they’ll meet sanji in 10 hours at 1am) Germa 66 and Firetank pirates set out to meet up, Sun pirates remove surveillance (4pm) Firetank pirates meet up with Sanji’s group. Pound is attacked by Oven. Firetank and Sanji’s group escapes with the cake Carrot uses the full moon to transform and take out persuing fleet, Brook helps (9pm) 10pm, Sanji and the others complete the wedding cake

#one piece #time line #post timeskip #timeline

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