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mind-empty-just-fictional-people · 11 months

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Hitched Before the Pit

Masterlist

Summary: It started when the djinn made Dean realize he was in love with you and ends with you holding your dead husband in your arms.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female Reader

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: talk of suicide, blood, marriage, Dean dies (obviously)

Author’s Note: I’m pretty sure weddings in Vegas don’t actually work like this, I’m just using the knowledge I gained from watching Friends.

“Marry me” was the first thing Dean said to you when he woke up from the djinn dream. The words surprised you but you chalked it up to him being under the djinn’s spell and ignored it. You had been casually dating Dean for almost two months at that point, but you knew he didn’t actually want to marry you. Well, you figured he didn’t.

In Dean’s “perfect world,” you were his wife, but he wasn’t going to admit that to you. He felt embarrassed about the whole situation, really. You two weren’t even ‘exclusive’ and he had proposed to you? He was glad you didn’t bring it up after; but, at the same time, he wished you’d say something, anything about what he said.

What shocked him most was that he actually meant it. He had begun to realize he was ridiculously, completely in love with you. He didn’t know how it happened; how you two went from casual hunter acquaintances, to close friends, then to this. All over the course of two short years.

Then he sold his soul. He was going to die in one year and there was nothing you could do to stop it. So, why let yourself continue to have feelings for him if you knew he was leaving? You decided it was for the best to slowly, but surely, cut him out of your life. That way when he did die, losing him wouldn’t destroy you.

But that didn’t work, at all. The more you tried to stop thinking about Dean, the more you realized how much he really meant to you. How much you loved him. Wow, you were mad at yourself! How could you let it get this far? How could you get so crazy about a man that was dying in nine months!?

Meanwhile, Dean had come to the conclusion that he was, in fact, in love with you, but you wanted to keep things casual. So, he kept his mouth shut and didn't plan on saying those three words anytime soon. But he took every opportunity to make you feel that you were important to him; a lingering touch, a forehead kiss, or even letting you drive his Baby. (When he first offered you genuinely thought there was something wrong with him, but when he insisted you realized what was really happening.)

Now it was six months. Six months and Dean would be gone, dead. And the two of you were still crazy in love with each other, neither one wanting to admit it. But then it hit you - you knew Dean loved you (well you suspected it at least) but what if he didn’t realize how much you cared about him? What if he was under the impression that you truly wanted to keep things casual?

“Dean?” You mumbled. You were laying on his chest, his arm resting on your shoulders as you both were in bed for the night.

“Mhm?” He mumbled back.

“I love you,” You told him. He didn’t answer, he stayed completely silent.

“What?” he asked breathlessly.

You sat up a little so you could look into his eyes; “I love you,” you repeated. He sat up fully, resting you on his lap.

“Seriously? Really?” He seemed absolutely shocked as a smile found its way onto his full lips.

“Yeah,” You whispered.

“Oh my god,” He kissed you and wrapped his arms around your waist. He suddenly pulled away when he realized he hadn’t said it back. He looked into your eyes and put a warm palm to your cheek, “I love you.”

You felt like a schoolgirl with how happy those three little words made you. You couldn’t help the ridiculous smile now on your face as you kissed him again.

“Where are we?” You yawned. You had drifted off while Dean was driving.

“About two hours from Vegas,” He replied.

“I still can’t believe you actually found a case that takes us to Vegas,” You shook your head with a laugh.

“Obviously vampires gamble too,” Dean smirked. “Besides, I’ve got four months left, why not take some time to party in Vegas!”

You tensed up at the words; four months. Four months and Dean was gone, you hated thinking about it. You scooted closer to him and leaned on his shoulder.

“Yeah, guess so,” You said lowly. You took hold of his right arm and moved it over your shoulders. “I love you, Dean, so much.”

“I love you too, so much,” He kissed the top of your head and somehow pulled you even closer.

“That was awesome,” Dean tossed his machete on the table back at the motel.

“Dean! That’s where we’re gonna eat!” You groaned, the table now splattered with vampire blood.

“Let’s get married,” He turned around to look at you.

“What?”

“There’s a little chapel within walking distance from here. I’ve got four months left, and I want to spend those four months being married to you.”

“Seriously!?” You furrowed your brows.

“Yeah!” He shrugged with a huge smile. There was a short silence as you looked at him and thought about what he was saying. “You know what, never mind. I’m sorry, forget it.” He turned back around.

“No, no, no,” You gripped his hand and turned him again so he was facing you. “I mean- yes! Yeah, I wanna marry you, Dean!” You smiled up at him. “Let’s get married!”

“Okay,” He held your face and kissed you. “Let’s go!”

“Wait, if we’re doing this, I wanna do it right! Sam and Bobby can be here by morning, I can get a dress tonight, and we’ll sleep in separate rooms.”

“Seriously?” He confirmed with a huge smile. “You- You really wanna do this?”

“Mhm,” You hummed, kissing him again. “See you tomorrow, fiancé,” You smiled, grabbed your duffle off the bed, and went to book a separate room.

“Okay, we’re gonna go in and act super wasted so they want to get us in and out quickly,” Dean told Bobby and Sam, his back facing you so he hadn’t seen you in your dress yet.

“What?” Sam laughed a little.

“Sammy, I’m wanted for murder! We can’t have these people asking questions, we just want to get legally married and get out!” Dean reasoned.

“Okay, well, good luck man,” Sam patted his shoulder.

“Here goes everything,” He smiled and turned around. “Good Lord, you’re gorgeous!” He beamed. You were smiling like crazy as the two of you walked to the door of the chapel. He opened the door for you and you both dramatically stumbled in.

“I wanna marry this man,” You shouted, intentionally slurring your words. “Woo!”

“One marriage license, please,” Dean exclaimed, slamming both your real IDs on the front desk.

“Okay, it’s one hundred dollars a service,” The woman behind the desk said. Dean took the cash out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Okay, just right through those doors.”

“Dean, can I talk to you for a quick minute?” You asked quietly, he could still hear the quiver in your voice. “Please?”

“Yeah, hun, of course,” He replied and left the room with you. “What’s up?”

“I know time is running out, and we can’t afford to waste even a second, but I- I just need to tell you that-” Your voice broke and tears began to fill your eyes as you continued. “That I love you, and if this doesn’t work I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get you back.”

“Hey, this is gonna work, okay?” He reassured you. Neither of you believed him, though. You both knew - Dean would be gone by morning. Gone forever.

You smiled sadly up at him and let the tears fall. “I love you, so much, Dean.”

“I love you so much, y/n,” He smiled back. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulled him down, and kissed him.

“How you doing over there, kiddo?” Bobby asked. You were in the passenger seat of his car, following the Impala to hunt Lilith. (Dean wanted some alone time with Sam, which you completely understood.) You had zoned out almost completely, lost in your thoughts because you knew you’d be losing Dean in just a few hours.

“I don’t think I can do this without him, Bobby,” You whispered.

“Well, you don’t have to keep hunting; Dean would understand if you wanted to quit the job.”

“No, I mean…” You sighed, tears continuing to slip down your cheeks. “This, any of this! I can’t imagine living life without Dean.”

“Oh,” Bobby furrowed his brows with concern. “Look, I know we've only known each other a couple of years, but I’m basically your father-in-law. If we do lose Dean, which is still an if, why don't you stay with me for as long as you need? I know what it's like to lose the love of your life, believe me, I know all too well. But Dean would be furious if he somehow climbs out of hell to find out you offed yourself.”

You laughed a little at his wording, “Yeah, I guess he would be.” You wiped away the tears, but more quickly followed anyway. “And if it’s really okay with you, I would like to stay at your place… I don’t really have anyone else to go to.”

“Of course it's okay with me! We’re family, y/n.”

“Midnight,” You whispered, looking down at Bobby’s pocket watch. You then looked up at him as tears clouded your eyes. “It’s midnight.”

You were both watching the house and heard Dean’s screams when the Hell Hounds tore into him. A sob escaped your lips before you covered your mouth with your hand. The two of you waited for a moment before a bright light erupted from the house. Another minute later, you both ran toward the house since the demons all seemed to be gone.

There he was. Bloody, torn apart, dead on the floor. Your Dean; your sweet, loving Dean. You froze when you saw him, completely shutting down as you stood there. Dean was gone, he was actually gone. Slowly, but surely, you made your way to your husband’s lifeless body. Sam was holding onto him and he looked up at you; both of you unable to see clearly, due to the flow of tears. You sat down and Sam let you hold him; taking him into your arms you let out a sob.

“Dean!” You screamed out in pain, unable to keep it in. You pulled him into your chest and rocked back and forth a little, letting out sobs as you clung to him. You kissed his forehead and cheeks repeatedly as the realization really sank in; your husband was dead.

#supernatural #dean winchester #spn #sam winchester #spn fanfic #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x reader #by mind empty just fictional people #by jean

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farfromstrange · 7 months

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Lizzi's Kinktober 2023

Day 13: Roleplay

October 28th, 2023

Main Masterlist | Kinktober Masterlist

Pairing: Matt Murdock x F!Reader

Summary: You and Matt sneak into the church for a little roleplay.

Warnings: EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT (18+ MINORS DNI), religious imagery, blasphemy (like, this is blasphemous beyond compare), blowjob in a church, mentions of oral afab!receiving, mentions of body worship, roleplay (Matt plays a priest), hair pulling, face-fucking, wrong use of a confessional booth

Word Count: ~1.5k

A/n: I... I need holy water.

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned…”

This is wrong. This is so wrong. But if it’s wrong, why does it feel so right?

It is filthy, perhaps even perverted, but you can’t help it.

You are doomed.

He is the apple and the snake that compelled Eve to break the most important rule in the Garden of Eden. He is the forbidden fruit and the devil himself. You weren’t supposed to have a bite of him, and still, you did because he was so convincing. He drew you in from the first word spoken between you. He compelled you to take the apple, and now you are doomed.

Matt is sitting in the confessional booth. There is not a single soul in sight other than your doomed person, on your knees in front of him. He doesn’t need the robe to appear like a priest. He’s dressed in all black, and his demeanor reminds you of the men you have so often seen giving sermons on TV.

What you are doing should guarantee you a place in hell, but right now, you couldn’t care less.

“What do you need to ask forgiveness for?” he asks you.

His hand rests on the back of your head, keeping your head close to his clothed crotch.

You swallow. The rain outside is hitting the church windows. You broke in, which is a crime, but kneeling before the man you love and asking for forgiveness is not. It can’t be.

You are not religious, far from it, and he is the only person in the world that could give you the salvation you need. It isn’t wrong, it is just right. And if you get caught, at least you had a good time.

His cock is straining against his very thin dress pants. This is his fantasy as much as it is yours, maybe even more so. You know he is ridden with guilt, but right now, he is blooming in his new role. There is no way you two would ever leave before he hasn’t finished what he started.

The floor is cold under your knees. They must be bruised by now, but you manage to tune out the pain. That is part of it. Part of life. Part of existence. And it is part of atoning for your sins.

“I have been a bad, bad girl,” you whisper into the dead of the night.

Matt shifts a bit. “How so?” he asks.

“I’ve been having… thoughts. About a man of God.”

“What kind of thoughts?” With every word, his voice grows thicker.

You blink through the fog of your arousal. “I’ve been thinking about him touching me,” you say.

Your eyelids flutter. You look so innocent, and he can’t even see you. Only with his fingers on your face does he get an idea of what your features might look like right now. And you are hungry. Hungry for him. Hungry for more.

“I’ve been thinking about touching him–” Your palms rub his muscular thighs, “Touching him in places I should not think about touching a man of God.”

You can hear him suck in a sharp breath in the darkness of the booth. He shifts again. “And do you think God would forgive you for something like that?” he says. “Wanting a man of God to fuck you senseless? To touch you? To touch him?”

“I’m not sure,” you answer.

“Have you been thinking about him in church?”

“Yes.”

What terrifies you most about this is that if he were a priest, a real priest with a robe and responsibilities, you would still think about him bending you over the altar and worshipping you. You would dream about him taking you to the confessional booth, forcing you to atone for your sins. You would dream about his hands around your neck, choking you to the point you get dizzy, and repeatedly calling you a bad girl. Because that is what you are.

“You really have been bad,” Matt murmurs. He caresses the back of your head. “Luckily, your God is forgiving.”

You blink up at him. “He is?” you ask.

“Yeah. If you are willing to repent for your sins.”

When he shifts this time, his free hand goes to his belt. He unbuckles it, letting the leather fall to the floor. You don’t move. Not even when he opens the button, then his zipper, and then reaches into his boxers to take out his hard cock.

You drool, but you don’t move. It just so happens that the moon shines through the small window and shines a light on him in all his glory, with his cock out and his cheeks flushed.

Matt Murdock is an ethereal sight you can never get enough of, even when he is pretending to be a priest. For him, you will be as bad as you can be. You have no choice. You want to be.

“What’s my sentence, Father?” your voice is barely above a whisper.

He takes his cock into his hand, giving it a few pumps before pulling your head closer. A moment of deafening silence follows. Thunder rumbles. The rain reminds you of the pool in your underwear, making it hard to stay still.

Matt lets out a shaky breath as he guides his cock to your lips. “Open,” he says. His voice wavers slightly.

You do as you’re told, but you look up at him, still awaiting an answer.

A smile finds its way to his lips, and it is as dark as the booth itself. He opens his mouth again. “Atone,” he says.

And in an instant, he has fucked his cock down your throat.

You choke around his girth. Tears spring to your eyes. The head meets the back of your throat, and you gag, but you don’t force him away. You keep your hands on his thighs and your head bowed low, and you let him fuck your mouth like there is no tomorrow.

He asked you to atone. To be forgiven for your sins, you need to do this. You are his to play with. You are his to own. Right now, at least. Right now, that is all you want to be. His fucktoy. His means to get rid of pent-up frustration. His way of living out his darkest fantasies.

You are so wet, you pray to God that you don’t leave a stain on the floor. But does it matter? He will fuck you over the altar later. He will spread your legs and bury his head between your thighs. He will let you pull his hair and fuck his mouth the same way he is doing to you because that is his way of repenting. Then it is his turn to atone, when he is no longer the priest but the disciple, and you are his goddess that he prays to.

“Hail, Mary, full of grace,” Matt chokes out between heavy thrusts into the tight confines of your mouth. He can’t even hear anything but the sound of yours and his breathing, and his needy moans that fill the air. “The Lord is with thee,” he continues, but he is having a hard time forming the words.

You have heard him pray before but during sex? While he is fucking your mouth like a madman? That is new. It makes your pussy clench around thin air, and your nails dig into the flesh of his thighs. The pain only makes him moan louder. It is heaven to your ears.

“Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb–” He grits his teeth. “Jesus!”

You gag again, his cock now forced even deeper. You can’t breathe, not even through your nose. The lack of oxygen is making you feel all kinds of things, but certainly none of them bad.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,” he says, “Now and at the hour of our death.”

He thrusts and he thrusts, and with a harsh pull on your hair, he forces you off his cock. “Amen,” he almost cries out as his balls tighten, and he comes all over your face.

There is not an inch that is not covered by his seed, by the very essence of him. His cum slithers down your throat toward your breasts.

Another rumble of thunder strikes the church. The clock strikes midnight.

You look up at him through hooded eyes. He’s panting, his chest heaving, but for the first time in weeks, he looks content.

“Amen,” you whisper back.

So, you have finally atoned, and now, it is his turn.

Matt Murdock Smut Tag List: @acharliecoxedfan @gpenguin666 @linamarr @mcugeekposts @itwasthereaminuteago @ravenclaw617 @mattkinsella @norestfortheshelbywicked @yarrystyleeza @littlenerdyravenclaw @etanordoesbullsh1t @thychuvaluswife @harleycao @schneeflocky @imjustcal @pipsqueakkitten @merlinbtch

Also tagging: @blackshadowswriter @1988-fiend

#daredevil #matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock smut #matt murdock imagines #smut #daredevil x reader #daredevil smut #kinktober 2023 #kinktober #roleplay #charlie cox #lizzi writes #x reader

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bullet-prooflove · 3 months

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LA!Series Part Two: Important - Manny x Reader (NSFW)

Tagging: @crazy4chickennuggets @kmc1989 @withakindheartx @darqchilddaydreamz @theesirenteller @wnbweasley @skyesthebomb @delightfulbelieverwerewolf @redpool @trublu2u @fleureeee @thiashazzywriting @lauraaan182 @hatersaremymotivators @fanfic-n-tabulous @ravennaortiz @just-a-throw-away @yousigned-upforthis @kabloswrld @keyweegirlie

Part One: Relax - Manny takes some time to relax with you when he gets to LA.

Manny goes out and buys a suit.

He leaves you sleeping and heads out onto the boulevard wearing a pair of sunglasses and sipping from a bamboo coffee cup filled with expresso, because he actually gives a shit about the environment. He thinks you’ll doze well into the morning. You’d barely stirred when he’d smoothed the hair away from your face and placed a kiss upon your forehead.

You’d been on the fence about attending the event tonight, the one exhibiting your photographs. You didn’t like being in the limelight, you prefer to operate in the background, showcasing other people’s talents.

“You should be proud Mami.” He had told you last night, his thumb ghosting along your jaw. “They’re honouring your work.”

The two of you were laying face to face amongst the plush pillows of a bed that costs more than you make in a year. He knows what the issue is, you have a problem with vulnerability, it doesn’t come naturally to you. Those pictures, it’s like sharing a part of yourself, letting someone see inside your soul.

The event tonight, there’s going to be kids there from the art programmes you’re hoping to support with your donation. They’re going to have questions and that means you’re going to have to answer them. You haven’t talked about your past, what led you to travel the world. He senses that those wounds have never really healed. He thinks it’s telling that you’ve chosen to dedicate your work to a place that helps support children in the care system.

“You were a foster kid, weren’t you?” He whispers into the darkness.

“It’s hard for me to go back there.” You say quietly. “These kids are looking for me to share my experience, I don’t know if I can do that…”

“They’re looking to you for inspiration.” Manny tells you, his nose trailing long the length of yours. “They see your success and it gives them hope, something to aspire you. They want to know how you did it, how they can do it.”

“Manny…” You whisper and his lips brush over yours.

“Think about it.” He murmurs as he kisses you again. “That’s all I ask.”

It’s six in the morning when you wake him up to let you know you’ve made a decision, he can tell it’s been on your mind most of the night.

“I’m going to do it.” You tell him as your fingertips ghost over his skin, chasing the pattern of his tattoos.

He finds himself pinned to the bed underneath you, your thighs hugging his hips. Your fingers entwin with his, drawing his hands up above his head. Your mouth covers his and he’s lost in the sensation. It’s been a while since he’s submitted to anyone, he’s forgotten how good it can feel. You ride him slowly, drawing out his pleasure until you have him gasping, arching, desperate. Still, you don’t relent, you leave him hanging at the precipice before you start all over again.

During the whole thing, his eyes never leave yours. He can’t tear himself away because being like this, it creates a sense of intimacy he wasn’t prepared for. He may be learning your secrets but you’re learning his too. He needs someone else to take control, to ruin him because his life has become all about maintaining it, holding onto it so tightly that he’s terrified about what happens when he lets go. When your hand slips down to his throat he welcomes it, his breath turns ragged as your fingers squeeze just a little and it sends him through the stratosphere. His hips thrust up, burying himself deep and he comes harder than he has in his life, spilling himself inside you. He’s coming down from the high when you kiss him, it’s soft and tender, a simple brush of the lips. He moans into your mouth, as your thumb ghosts over his cheek because this is what he wants, to feel safe with another person, to know that he’s loved, cared for.

You’re the first person whose made him feel like that in years.

He thinks about it as he stands in front of a mirror in a suit shop in the middle of L.A. tugging at the cuffs of a fitted black suit. He looks good, the white of the shirt contrasting against his skin, highlighting the tattoos on his throat. He’s contemplating a tie when the sales assistant approaches him.

“Important event?” She asks him as she picks up a black tie and holds it up against him.

“Yea.” He says, considering your conversation from the early hours of this morning. “It’s pretty important.”

Love Manny? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

#manny montana #manny #manny mayans #manny x reader #manny x you #manny mayans mc

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ashes-writing-corner · 4 months

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A bit of a shorter update tonight guys! But I hope you like it anyway ^^

TW: mentions abuse/childhood trauma, non descriptive.

Taglist: @stargatenovus

Ghosts That We Knew

13- A Dead Man's Letter

You were still on the hunt for a therapist weeks after the confrontation with Ghost. Getting one wasn’t easy, and to be honest you weren’t in any rush to find one. It wasn’t that you had lied to him, at least not intentionally. You had already mentioned you didn’t like therapists, you didn’t trust them. You didn’t want to be just another doctor’s paycheck. It wasn’t like they cared about you anyway. However, to set Ghost’s mind at ease, you told Ellie’s therapist you were searching for one. Thankfully for you, they were more than willing to help you find an ideal one.

For the time being, you were perfectly fine with running your business, which was doing pretty well. Life went on as normal. You kept Simon’s file in a locked safe in your room, so no one could get to it and you still had it close at hand in case you needed it. But on more than one occasion you found an envelope either on your bed, your nightstand, or on the floor in your room. You knew what it was. Simon’s letter. Ghost was asking you to read it, without speaking of course. Needing to regain his strength, he had gone quiet in the weeks following.

You sat in bed, contemplating opening it, when your phone rang. An unknown number…

You didn’t pick it up, as you didn’t pick up unknown numbers. If it was important they’d leave a message. You flipped the silent phone over, thinking it wouldn’t be so distracting as you picked up the envelope. But after a minute, you just decided to put it in the nightstand and just focus on what it was he had written. Taking a slightly shaking breath, you decided to open the letter and give it a read, being delicate so as not to rip anything. The paper was already yellowing a little, meaning he wrote this a good long time ago. You blinked as you took in Simon Riley’s handwriting, which admittedly wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t illegible.

To the poor soul reading this,

Since you’re reading this, two things have happened. 1. I’m dead. And 2. You’re the poor sap who got stuck with this heart. Just to let you know, you’re only one of a few letters I’ll be writing, as I’m hoping all my bits get used. Hell knows I’m not using them anymore.

A heart’s a heavy burden, and believe me I know that better than most. You’ve probably read all my stuff, as I signed the release forms earlier today. Without it, it’d be illegal for you to even see my records. But as the knew…keeper, I guess, for arguably my most important organ, I figured that was important info in there for you to know. But it doesn’t tell you everything. Only what you need to know. Maybe some notes from therapy thrown in for flavor, mental evaluations and all that. But they don’t tell you a damn thing about me. Who I was, what I wanted from life, all of that. Things about me that not even my closest friends know, few as they are. The dreams I had, the hopes I mislaid. They’re not mine anymore. But…I want you to know this: They aren’t yours either.

The truth is, I wanted to spend my life making the world a better place, so no one has to know what it means to suffer the way I did. This isn’t meant for you to pity me, but to understand why I made the decision to become a soldier and a donor. I lived a hard life, came from a bad home with a half mad father and, for a time, a drug abusing brother. I rose above that though, challenging as it was. I got my brother the help he needed, kicked our father out, and did my best to make sure everyone was happy before I made that choice. You, whoever you are, are the last person I’m saving, and the one who’s face at the very least I won’t know. And yet you’re being trusted with the most vital part of me…crazy isn’t it? And I don’t trust easy admittedly.

All I got is one last wish, one last demand. I want you to live. I want you to live your life, and live it in the best way you can. Live it harmlessly, if you can. Help others when you can, but don’t enslave yourself. Live selfishly, at least a little, something I never got to do. Live…fully. I guess is what I’m trying to say.

And drop that thought most likely going through your head: “This heart isn’t mine”. Trust me, it’s yours. It was meant to be yours the second I signed that paper to become a donor. This heart was always mine to lose, and it was always yours to gain. No matter what your silly brain is telling you, I’m telling you this right bloody now: I did not die because of you. You. Did. Not. Do. This. I chose, as I always have. And now you have a choice. Choose better than me. Choose to live your life. Be a bit selfish, because I wasn’t always able to be. But live. Just…live. And know, even though we’ll never meet, know that I’m so proud of you for fighting this battle, whatever it is that landed you this. I’m happy that I got to help you. And now you know the only thing I ask in return.

Live your life. And take care of my heart. It was always meant to be yours, in some way or another…

Stay frosty.

Simon “Ghost” Riley, out.

You didn’t know what to think when you read it. It seemed a bit devoid of emotion, but it was rather matter of fact. The last part got to you. It wasn’t exactly a confession as he stated, but a reiteration of the truth. Simon lived on. Was living on. And he was doing it through you. There was something so humbling about that, now that you were thinking about it with a clearer head. It didn’t entirely change how you felt, but it put it in a different light. The familiar feeling you had at the beginning of your friendship now made more sense. Simon was a part of you now.

Taking your phone out, you decided to see who had called, and lo and behold they left a message. You listened to the voicemail, heart pounding. An unfamiliar male voice sounded.

“Hey, Y/N, I think that’s what Soap called you? Anyway, he told me about your situation. My name’s John Price and I’m also interested in meeting you. I hope you don’t mind, there’s actually two of us coming with him, the other being Kyle Garrick. We look forward to meeting you and hopefully clearing some stuff up” there was a pause before the man continued, “We were there that night, Y/N. The night of your transplant. As I said, I can’t wait to meet you, and I hope you and your kiddo are doing okay. Don’t hesitate to give me, Soap, or Gaz a ring, alright?” he proceeded to give you the number of their last member, Kyle Garrick, before ending the message.

You almost dropped the phone.

They were there.

They. were. there…

If you guys enjoyed this please consider liking, reblogging, and commenting! Yall seriously give me life and keep me motivated! Thank you so much ^^

#fanfiction #cod fanfic #simon ghost riley #ghosts that we knew #ghost x reader #ghost!ghost #paranormal friendship #eventual paranormal romance

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anangelwhodidntfall · 2 years

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My Heart Will Go On: Eddie Munson

Stranger Things Masterlist

word count: 1.2k

A/N: Season 4, Episode 9 Spoilers! So don’t interact if you haven’t watched

Description: Basically after Eddie die and sobbing about it, all I could think about was Eddie and Reader with this song, so here we are and im sorry :(

Mentions of suicide, death, nudity, blood

youtube

{Rose, you're the most amazingly

Astounding wonderful girl

Woman that I've ever known

I'm not an idiot, I know how the world works

But I'm too involved now

You jump, I jump, remember?}

When you and Eddie first met, you were on the verge of taking your life just wanting to escape from feeling like you weren't important, good enough, pretty enough. You were sitting on the railing of the bridge with your feet dangling over as you watched the water rush underneath it as you thought about what you were about to do and wondered if anyone would care if you were gone.

Eddie was on his way back from a deal when he saw you sitting on the railing of the bridge upset, making him slam on his brakes as he climbed out of the car. He wondered what someone like you was doing sitting on the rail of the bridge, cautiously approaching you not wanting to scare you anymore.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked cautiously walking over to you.

"Do I look alright?" You asked him quietly.

"No, you don't. I can see something's bothering you, I can listen if you like." He offered as you looked at him.

"Why would you do that? You hardly know me." You asked him.

"Well that's not technically true, I know you enough to think that you are one of the kindest souls I've met and it would be a shame if we lost someone like you all because the world was suffocating you. If you take my hand, we can go get something to eat and talk, and if you don't want to talk that's fine too." He said as you looked at his hand.

You hesitantly took his hand and made it safely to his car where you two got something to eat and found somewhere quiet to eat and talk. You felt a huge relief when talking to Eddie because he never judged or criticized you, he only offered the best advice he could meanwhile Eddie sat there listening to you thinking about how strong and amazing you are to go through the things you went through and yet somehow still survive.

That was the day you fell for Eddie Munson. He saw you for who you were and now some version everybody except you to be.

Every night in my dreams

I see you, I feel you

That is how I know you go on Far across the distance

And spaces between us

You have come to show you go on

Ever since Eddie died saving you and Dustin, you got to see him in dreams alive and well still perfect as you remember him. Sometimes you could see and feel him beside you as you tried to navigate life without him which was hard to do because you really missed him and wished he was here with you graduating and pursuing music.

"'86 baby, this is my year." He said beaming at you.

"It is your year baby, your gonna graduate and we're gonna get out this town." You said wrapping your arms around him.

Near, far, wherever you are

I believe that the heart does go on

Once more you open the door

And you're here in my heart

And my heart will go on and on

No matter where you went, you always felt him beside you and it was the only reason why you kept going on with life was for him even if you missed him terribly. You moved out of Hawkins and to California where you and Eddie had planned on moving.

Jack, I want you to draw me

Like one of your French girls, wearing this

Alright

Wearing only this

A few weeks into dating Eddie you found out that Eddie was a talented artist, so after some convincing, you asked him to draw you to which he agreed but you had a little surprise for him. You were going to be wearing his guitar pick necklace and only that and you couldn't wait for his reaction.

"Eddie I want you to draw me, wearing this." You said watching as his mouth dropped open at the sight of you only wearing his necklace.

"Al...Alright." He stammered out trying to focus on the task at hand.

"Wearing only this." You said.

Love can touch us one time

And last for a lifetime

And never let go till we're gone Love was when I loved you

One true time I hold to

In my life we'll always go on

You knew that you would never find a love like Eddie, he was the love of your life and you guys had so many plans for the future including marriage and kids, you both knew that your love would last forever. You could never love anyone the way you loved Eddie.

Near, far, wherever you are

I believe that the heart does go on

Once more you open the door

And you're here in my heart

And my heart will go on and on

It hurt to try to move on with life after Eddie, it really did, it felt unfair and selfish at times but you also knew that Eddie wouldn't want you sitting there mourning him forever. You knew that Eddie was always with you, so you slowly but surely started going on with life and trying to enjoy it again even if he wasn't here.

Go on, I'll get the next one

No, not without you

I'll be alright

Listen, I'll be fine, I'm a survivor, alright

Don't worry about me

Now go on, get on

"Go on sweetheart, I'm right behind you and Dustin." Eddie said as the bats started making their way towards you guys.

"No not without you." You pleaded not wanting to leave him behind.

"I'll be alright. Listen I'll be fine, I"m a Munson nothing can kill us alright?" He said pushing you towards Dustin.

"Don't worry about me, you two get out of here." Eddie said as you and Dustin started heading towards the trailer.

You three barely made it before the bats reached you, and you all cheered for now that you outsmarted them. You pulled Eddie in for a long and passionate kiss because you were afraid that you were gonna lose him just then.

"I'm still here sweetheart." He said wrapping his arms around you.

You're here, there's nothing I fear

And I know that my heart will go on

We'll stay forever this way

You are safe in my heart

And my heart will go on and on

Eddie was safe in your heart and that's all that mattered, as long as he was with you, you could navigate life. Your dreams were your favorite part of the night because you always got to see him and it was like nothing changed.

You must promise me that you won't give up

No matter what happens

Promise me now Rose

I promise

And never let go that promise

I'd never let go, Jack

I'll never let go

You sat there with tears streaming down your face as you held Eddie's bloody body in your arms, wishing this had been the one time he didn't choose to be a hero.

"Sweetheart, promise that you won't ever give up, no matter what happens." He said holding your hand as the tears fell even harder.

"Promise me now sweetheart." He said coughing up more blood.

"I promise Eddie." You said.

"And never let go of that promise. I love you, sweetheart." He said as he took his final breathe making you and Dustin cry harder.

"I'd never go, I love you eddie. I'll never let go." You said leaning your head against his as you fully broke down.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie x reader #eddie munson angst #eddie munson my beloved #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fic #stranger things 4 #stranger things x reader

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lovinkiri · 2 years

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Should'a, Could'a, Would'a, Will

Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

Soulmate Au!

Description: Bakugou lost his soul mate a long time ago. So when fate brings you back, he decides to take the chance (thanks to a bit of liquid courage).

Author's Thoughts: Stayed up literally all night writing this. It's almost 3K words long and probably the longest thing I've ever written 😂 And yes, I think Bakugou would be really soft with someone he loves if he's drunk.

But yeah, let me know if you guys want another part.

Warning: Alcohol use, Cussing, Etc

Katsuki Bakugou, also known as the number one hero Dynamight.

As far as anyone was concerned, he was the most brutal and roughest hero in Musutafu. He was never considered a happy man, and even though he enjoyed his work, it never looked like it.

He was cold to his workers, barking orders without a please or thank you. Anyone who had the misfortune of coming to his office was greeted with harsh scolding. There was no professionalism in those lectures, only venom, and crude language.

The only reason his workers stuck around was the pay. They’d lost respect for the hero long ago. Even still, they knew why he was always so angry. Everyone knew.

He didn’t have his soulmate by his side.

They figured it was a shame he hadn’t met his soulmate already. It was a well-known fact that going without a soulmate for so long could have negative psychological effects on someone, worsening depending on the person. And it seemed Katsuki had it worse than anyone.

God forbid anyone ever say such a thing in his presence. Katsuki absolutely despised the subject of soulmates, and everyone knew it. And anyone could face his wrath, whether it be nosy reporters, his workers, or even his friends.

Katsuki spent his days burying himself in his work. He didn’t need a soulmate, he’d told himself. having someone that important in his life was trouble waiting to happen. Besides, he wasn’t good at being emotionally available. It simply didn’t come easy to him.

So he suppressed everything in him that stated otherwise. He hid away the loneliness he felt walking into his empty penthouse. Told himself he wasn’t jealous of the kisses everyone else got upon closing the front door. He hid away the need for affection and instead pushed everyone away.

He stayed in this metal little box he’d locked himself into. In fact, the only time he let himself out was the rare occasion his friends, who’d known him since high school, dragged him off somewhere for the night. It was one of those nights that ended up being his downfall like he knew it would.

It was Denki who managed to convince him this time, filling up the explosion hero’s voicemail box until he couldn’t anymore.

That was how Katsuki found himself sitting at a table with his buddies. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a small casual pub. He’d found this place with them a long time ago, and it was the only place they could still get away from the whole world.

Funny enough, he’d actually found himself having an okay time. His friends were laughing, the food was great, the game was on and his team was winning.

For two hours, Katsuki joked, teased, and even smirked a few times. Some of the best parts of him were brought out and his friends loved to see it.

But then, he wasn’t smirking or laughing. He wasn’t teasing and he could hardly pay attention to anything his friends said.

Because someone had said something that reminded him of you.

It was an innocent little joke about Sero resembling Spider-Man with his powers, but you’d said it first. Years ago in college, you’d made the same joke.

It was such a little joke that no one had even remembered you saying. Except for Katsuki. He could remember almost everything about you, especially now that you weren’t with him anymore.

He remembered because how could he possibly forget the way you leaned over him, placing your chin on his shoulder as you spoke to Sero? How could he ever forget any moment he spent in your embrace? Or how you kissed the top of his head when you pulled away?

He glared down at the table. Just great. Now he’d be thinking of you through the night.

Noticing his bad mood, his friends decided it was time to call it a night.

“It’s getting kinda late. You guys ready to go?” Mina smiled gently, standing from her seat. There was a chorus of agreements, followed by the sound of chairs scraping. It seemed everyone was ready to go.

Except for Katsuki.

“Go ahead,” He said gruffly, not even looking up at them. “I’m gonna stick around, catch the rest of the game.”

Eijirou watched him, frustrated at his own inability to help his best friend. He knew that Bakugou was just missing you, and that losing you had created a hole in his chest that only seemed to grow. “You want me to stick around, bro?”

Katsuki shook his head and Eijirou immediately understood; That was the nicest way the blonde could tell him to screw off.

The group left hesitantly, telling him to text their group chat when he got inside safely. And Katsuki only sent them a grunt in response.

Another memory bubbled up within him, but it wasn’t nearly as nice. Katsuki could clearly remember you telling him the same thing and walking him home at night. Sending him goodnight texts just to let him know you loved him.

What made the memory so bad was that Katsuki couldn’t seem to recall ever doing any of that for you. In an effort to guard his heart, he’s completely neglected yours. Which is what ultimately made you leave him.

Groaning, his forehead found the wooden table with a thud. His hand raised and he shouted, ordering a couple of beers. Hoping the work of alcohol would help him forget.

It didn’t.

Despite what others believed, KAtsuki was quite the lightweight. It’s why he rarely drank with his friends, and why he never drank during business hours. So after knocking back two beers and a shot of whiskey, he considered himself “hammered”, as Denki would put it.

That’s when you came in, literally.

He almost missed you, eyes darting from place to place in the pub.

Ah, who was he kidding? He couldn’t have missed you. As soon as you walked in, all eyes seemed to be on you.

How did you find this pub? It was small and modest, a hole in the wall.

Oh, right. He’d brought you here a long time ago.

He watched you sit at the bar, only ordering water. You sighed and placed your cheek to your palm, leaning against the table. You didn’t want to be there and you couldn’t hide it. As you looked up at the TV, he wondered what was going on in that pretty head of yours.

How coincidental it’d be if you’d been thinking of him.

Yes, you were thinking of him. Honestly, it wasn’t very coincidental either.

You were sitting at the same seat you sat in long ago when Katsuki had brought you here. It was right under the air conditioner, which let out a quiet hum. You liked it, keeping cool and having something fill the silence you were left with.

On the TV was the game, and you couldn’t help but notice that Katsuki’s team was dominating the other. You could remember the grin on his face as he sat in your dorm, leaning closer and closer to the TV.

Katsuki Bakugou. Now that was a name you would never forget.

You hated how unhappy and lonely you were without him. It wasn’t fair that you knew exactly who your soulmate was, and still couldn’t be with him.

Well, maybe you would still be with him if you hadn’t left, But that relationship did a number on you, and you couldn’t neglect your self-respect for love.

Katsuki found himself standing. Before he could process anything, he began stumbling over to you. He had no clue what he was going to say and how he was going to say it, but his body didn’t care as much as his mind did.

“That seat taken?”

You whipped your head around, fast enough that you could’ve gotten whiplash. You couldn’t believe that the man you’d just been thinking about was standing before you. And that he actually approached you first.

“Katsuki..” You said, clearly stunned. His name was all you were able to say. It felt odd coming out of your mouth, as it’d been a while since you’d said it out loud. But it was nice and familiar. It felt right.

He let out a dry chuckle, taking in your appearance up close. “In the flesh.”

You looked just as amazing as you always had, no, you were even more beautiful now that he hadn’t seen you in so long. He took in as much as he could, knowing this might be the last time he saw you.

“So uh..” He took a seat beside you, liquid courage pushing him to continue. “How you doin? What brings you here? Not that you need a reason to come here.”

You smiled to the best of your ability, swishing your water in its cup. “I’m okay, I guess. I’m supposed to be on a blind date.” You decided it’d be best not to mention that Izuku had set up the date.

“Oh.. That’s.. Nice..” He said. Of course, you were dating, why wouldn’t you be? You were a catch. Anyone would be lucky to have you.

“Yeah, except the guys ditched me.”

Katsuki’s stared at you in disbelief, as if you were lying. “... You’re fuckin kidding.”

You laughed, and Katsuki’s chest swelled with pride. He could still make you laugh.

“Seriously. Sent me a text saying ‘Nevermind, I’ll pass’ and never showed up.” You shook your head, remembering how pissed you’d gotten. “My guess is he showed up, saw me from down the street, and changed his mind.”

“That’s not possible.” Katsuki sighed as if exasperated with the guy himself. “You look stunning tonight. Trust me, you’d be with him right now if he’d seen you.”

You smiled, your face getting increasingly warmer. It was like college all over again.

“Well, either way, I was in the area. I figured I’d come here and spend some time out. I don't do that much often anymore.” You said before taking a sip of water, noticing how the melting ice tried to urge the water to spill over.

It wasn’t a lie. You had been in the area, and you had decided to spend more time outside. You just left out the part where you saw this place and thought of him, and how that thought had been what brought you in here.

He gave you a nod. “Yeah, me neither..”

It was quiet for a couple of moments. It was awkward, but neither of you wanted to leave.

“Um, Katsuki, you seem drunk.” You pointed out, watching his eyes glaze over for a moment.

He blinked and turned to you. “Hm? Oh, yeah, kinda..”

You giggled, pushing your glass over to him. “No, very. You’re very drunk.”

Groaning, he accepted your offer and picked the cup, trying to chug it down as he’d done with his last drinks. You quickly reached over, pulling the cup from his lips, one hand on his wrist and the other on his chin.

“Hey, careful there.. You’ll spill it or choke. See, it’s already dripping down your chin.” You let go of his hand to reach down the bar, grabbing a napkin and using it to wipe his chin. “There we go.. You’re so clumsy when you’re drunk, Katsuki.”

He didn’t know if it was how much you cared at that moment, the feeling of your fingers holding his face in place, or how amused you sounded. But Katsuki thought you looked like an angel.

You breathed out of your nose, watching him fondly before a thought came to mind. “Hey, do you have a ride?”

Shaking his head, he placed a hand over your to keep it from moving. “Was gonna try getting a taxi..” He slurred, shutting his eyes for a few seconds.

You took notice of the stubble on his chin, some Katsuki didn’t have back then. It was a nice change. You knew how badly Bakugou had wanted stubble.

“How about you stay at my place? A drunk hero, out on the dark streets. Sounds like trouble.” You pointed out.

He grunted, shaking his head. “I can handle myself.”

You frowned and Bakugou immediately regret letting those words leave his mouth. He strongly believed it was those words that ended your relationship. When he refused to depend on you and open up to you, it was those words that hurt you.

“Right..” You pulled your hand away from him, clearing your throat and standing. “Right.. I’ll see you then, Katsuki. I’ll, uh, call you a taxi too.”

As you went to leave, Katsuki’s mind began to race. You were walking away again, and the last time you did that, you walked out of his life. He couldn’t sit there and let you do that again.

Practically throwing himself off the chair, he quickly tried grabbing your hand. He’d missed, but the brush of his fingers stopped you. You turned to see him almost fall flat on his face.

“Wait! I’m sorry, I meant.. I meant if I was by myself I think I’d be okay but uh..” He looked away from your patient gaze. “... I want your help.”

Slowly, a smile stretched across your face and you stood beside the man, throwing his arm around your shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that..”

“Sounded weird leaving my mouth.”

“I think it sounded perfect, Katsuki.”

- One Car Ride Later -

“Alright, in we go..” You laughed, helping Katsuki in your apartment. “Lucky for you, I’ve got a pullout sofa.”

“Oh, I’m honored..” He mumbled, looking around.

You shook your head. “Someone getting grumpy. That means you’re tired.” You pointed out, leaning him against the wall and pulling out the bed. “Oh, please lock the door.”

Katsuki slid his hand over to lock the door, and after a few failed attempts, he gave a satisfied hum when he heard a successful click.

Once the bed was pulled out, you pulled him over to the couch. “You can use the pillows that were just on it. And I know you get hot at night, so I’m assuming no blankets necessary?”

He sat at the edge of the bed, looking up at you. “You really know me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. We dated for years,” You said. “And despite everything, you used to know we like the back of your hand too.”

“I still do.”

Your lips fell open and you weren’t sure what to say for a few seconds. You weren’t expecting him to respond so quickly.

“... Goodnight.” You smiled, shaking your head.

Again, it seemed to Katsuki you were leaving him, so without thinking, he slid down to his knees. You watched, eyes wide in surprise. It was obvious that wasn’t an accident, so you were left wondering why he did it.

“Hey, are you okay?” You knelt in front of him, lifting his hair from his face to get a good look at him.

He took that same hand in his, bringing it to his chest. “No, Y/n. I’m not okay. I fucked up.” He hung his head, seemingly ashamed.

You brought your other hand to his chin. “Katsuki, talk to me. What do you mean?” You lifted his head and it was then that you saw the look in his eyes.

Katsuki wasn’t one to cry, and he wasn’t going to today. But he sure as hell looked like he wanted to.

“I let you go.. Why did I do that?” He murmured almost to himself. “No, why did I drive you away?”

You couldn’t speak. You had no clue what to say. Was there anything to say?

“I should have been better. I should have loved you better.”

I.. Katsuki, I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll let me love you better.”

You swore you were dreaming. You wanted to say yes. Katsuki was your soulmate after all, and if things didn't work out again, they didn’t.

But he was drunk. And if he couldn’t say these things again sober, there was no point.

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow, okay?” You smiled softly, helping him onto the bed again. You coaxed him onto his back, but he refused to let go of your hand.

“... Don’t leave again..” He mumbled, looking at you. His thumb ran over your knuckles softly and his heartbeat was soft against your wrist.

You sat beside the bed, laying your head next to his. “Okay, Katsuki. I’m here.”

- The Next Morning -

Katsuki groaned, slowly sitting up. He had no idea where he was for the first minute or so of waking up, then he began to remember bits and pieces of the night before.

“Fuck..”

That’s when he remembered where he was. Your house.

And right on time, you come into view, two cups in your hand. “Oh.. Hey. I brought you some coffee.” You walked over and handed him the cup. “I know how you like it in the morning, no sugar or cream.”

He slowly took the cup and glanced at yours before mumbling out the way he knew you liked your coffee. You smiled, the fact that he still remembered sending butterflies to your stomach.

“So uh.. I think we need to talk.” You took a seat beside him, bringing the cup to your lips.

He nodded. “Yeah,” he said, “Yeah, we do.”

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #x reader #fluff #angst #katsuki bakugo #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader

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kitmoas · 2 years

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Standing in the Ruins

Summary: The world as Kate knew it may have ended but she was just getting your world ready.

Pairing: Dark! Kate Bishop x Reader

Genre: Plot and stuff with some nice little smut

Word count: 2.9k

Warnings: Dark Fic (mentions of killing, kidnapping, weapons) Semi-Public Smut, slight degradation (If I missed anything important, let me know)

A/N: I became obsessed with the idea of Kate keeping the Ronin suit, and here we are.

***MINORS DNI*** ***18+***

Twisted Promise AU (Coming Soon)

If Kate was asked what she wanted to be when she was ten years old, she would have replied that she wanted to be a superhero; just like Hawkeye. The world was bright and exciting as a child, especially when the Avengers existed. That’s how the young Bishop grew up, wide eyed and a naive sense of confidence. It was the blip that destroyed every ounce of hope for most people, and it shoved the once blindly optimistic Kate into reality. Her childhood idol was nowhere to be seen, seemingly hiding while the rest of his team fought against the most dangerous enemy to land on Earth’s soil.

She went to work for her mother at Bishop Security, uncovering her deal with Fisk accidentally. It should have bothered the once morally righteous young brunette to know what Eleanor was doing to make sure the business thrived, but for some reason she couldn’t find it in herself to care. Keeping her head down at the company, Kate got her work done and really only got close to Maya. The two bonded over being the youngest and having a lot of pressure put on them.

When tales about a dark hooded figure with a sword that was taking down organizations across the globe began to spread, Fisk began to spread his assets. Kate took an even larger step away from the spotlight in regards to the company, deciding to focus on college and her sports. Her mother was pleased by this, always wanting to protect her daughter.

The Avengers tried, one last time, to reverse the blip. It was a very public and violent fight that ultimately ended in failure. The entirety of public heroes were gone, dead, or rumor has it some are stuck in different universes and timelines. Society didn’t trust them anymore and there was no longer a need for them but the hooded swordsman came back. The Bishops weren’t worried until Kingpin was targeted.

When the Ronin showed up to the penthouse it was Kate that he came face to face with, shock filling his body when he realized she was just a kid. A young girl dressed in a hoodie with a flimsy looking sword attached to her hips, an incredibly innocent looking expression on her face. He was expecting Fisk, or at least his group of workers. His hesitation was his downfall as Kate used his second of doubt to disarm him. The young Bishop wasn’t the one to drop him to his knees though. No, that was Maya the silent accomplice to the young archer. Shooting him three times with a smile on her face; once in the knee, once in the torso, and once in the sternum.

Curiosity got the best of Kate as she unmasked the so called vigilante that had been wreaking havoc across the globe, and there bleeding out on her marble floors was her childhood hero Hawkeye. Clint Barton, the person that made her want to take up archery and the person who saved her life many years ago. The person that disappeared when Thanos came to Earth causing Kate to turn her back not only on him but the idea of heroism. Believing that her hero was nothing but a coward, instead delving into her mother’s operations, he was ultimately the reason the young archer fell into the darkness in her soul.

It was Kate’s arrow, shot from a small loaded crossbow that was concealed between her shoulder blades, that drops him dead. Instead of following through with the original plan of burning the body and suit, the archer decides to take up the mantle. Following in her once-hero’s footsteps in a demented way by working for Fisk, killing any target regardless of who it is.

Carrying the infamous retractable sword, along with a small crossbow and collapsible bow, Kate under the guise of Ronin became one of the most feared members of Fisk’s organizations. The other two were Maya (Echo) and Yelena (White Widow), who joined in favor of following the people who killed the man responsible for her sister’s death. The three of them became Kingpin’s most prized weapons, and were sent out to deal with the most special targets.

——————————————————————————————

The first time she sees you it's past midnight and you’re rushing home after a long closing shift at the small movie theater you work at. She can’t help but think how you look entirely too cute to be her next target, bundled up in an oversized jacket and a beanie that is falling into your eyes. Confused, the young Ronin decides to follow you around for a few days in hopes to gather information that will allow her to understand her assignment. The longer she trails you the more confused she gets, you’re just a normal person. You walk your dog daily, go to work at the theater almost every single day, and eat ice cream in bed while watching Bob’s Burgers episode on repeat. You aren’t threatening nor did you have anything threatening in your apartment.

The first time she comes into the theater you spill an entire cup of soda on the floor, tripping over air as you get distracted by her striking ocean eyes. Little did you know that she was taking advantage of a tactic that Yelena taught her, drawing trust from the target to find a more convenient spot to kill you.

Kate had thought you were adorable, and stumbled through awkwardly flirting back. The archer tried to act cool as she tried to charm you. Her ego stroked when she realized how difficult it was for you to act normally around her. You cursed yourself as you stuttered through asking her what movie she would be seeing, but she just asked for a small popcorn and left.

You’re ecstatic when the gorgeous brunette begins showing up at work often, getting a small popcorn and leaving. You are hooked, completely infatuated. Every time you work you have to hype yourself up to finally ask her out, you never do. You don’t even know her name yet.

Another day, another shift, and you can’t help but feel disappointed by the lack of ocean girl for the past week. Your co-workers watch the entire day as you perk up each time someone walks through the doors and sulk as you clean up to close. The walk home was brisk, trying to avoid being in the cold for too long but just a few blocks from your apartment you see someone leaning against a street light. You don’t have too much time to try and think of a different route when the figure starts walking towards you, closing the distance swiftly.

The person is shoving you against an abandoned building, back hitting rough dirty brick. Your heart beat is pounding but the moment your gaze catches a flash of ocean blue you calm. “You haven’t been to th-the theater in a while.” Your voice is soft, anxiety making your voice crack halfway.

Kate, who was flipping an arrow in her hand, looks up at you shocked. Her mouth opens and closes a few times, trying to put together what was happening. How were you not scared? An almost complete stranger just shoved you into an abandoned alleyway, and you’re worried about them getting a bag of popcorn? She lets the shiny arrowhead tap against your leg, smirking as you look down at it. “I’ve been planning something a little different.”

Her voice is low causing a shiver to run down your spine as you look at the reflection of a street light shining off the sharp tip. “Usually I don’t get this…adventurous on the first hookup but for you I would.” You’re a bit nervous, but you know you need to be open to anything if you want to keep the most gorgeous girl you’ve ever seen. She’s entirely out of your league, but you won’t let your inexperience get in the way.

She’s staring at you, an incredulous look on her face. Deciding to test you, she lets the her weapon of choice ghost along her body until it’s beating against your skull. Slowly she lets the tip of the arrow dig into your temple, eye widening as you just let her pierce her skin. The girl is pulling away, jaw slack, about to say something when some random girl screams interrupting the two of you.

The girl runs up to you, asking if you’re okay, but you just notice that the ocean girl is gone. A small trail of blood your only reminder of your close encounter with the popcorn girl. Slumping against the wall again, you just nod and grumpily thank the stranger for her help.

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

Arms crossed, Kate pouts in the oversized arm chair as Yelena and Maya laugh at her. The glare in her eyes is weak, and her friends know it. “Guys! It doesn’t make sense, okay. Why are they my next target?” Her hands are erratic as she signs, making Maya laugh at the mistakes she makes.

The blonde just shrugs as she struggles to sit up straight through her laughter, but Kate relaxes when she sees Maya get her attention. “The boss has a connection to them that he doesn’t want them to know, Kazi figured that part out but the files are destroyed on what the connection is.” The older brunette shrugs at the end of her sentence, quickly signing an apology before smacking Yelena on the head.

The widow sighs before shrugging too, “I really do not think I can be of help. I could not find anything.” Her sloppy signing still makes Maya smile, knowing English in every way is still a bit of a struggle for the Russian. “Besides, just take the target out and get the job done and over with. It should be easy Kate Bishop.” The smirk on the blonde’s face makes the archer roll her eyes, pouting again at the tease.

The young Ronin nods nonetheless, looking out the window, trying to piece together her thoughts.

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

For the next few weeks you keep getting in awkward situations with ocean girl, who after you practically begged for the answer told you her name is Kate. You still can’t actually get the nerve to ask her out. You can’t even get the nerve to just try and actually initiate hooking up with her, even though she has definitely tried. Even if every single time you are alone with the brunette ends with her disappearing with no trace, you can’t help but look forward to the next time she pops into your life.

The subway was the most annoying thing ever, preferring to walk everywhere, but you were going to the opposite side of the city so you had no other choice. Your head is down, airpods secure in your ears, as you try to rest a bit before you get to your destination.

You don’t remember dozing off but the feeling of cold metal along your throat wakes you up, a hand in your hair stops you from flinching. Panic rushing through you but the smooth voice that speaks calms you. “We are finishing this tonight, I’m done playing around.”

Slowly opening your eyes, relaxing your face, taking a chance to look up at the ocean blue you crave. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you because I am, you look amazing tonight by the way, but can I ask if the weird sword thing was necessary?” You don’t mean to ramble but she makes you nervous.

Kate is staring down at you, jaw tense as she takes you in. Your entirely too innocent eyes, sparkling looking up at her like she was the best thing in the world. Your nervous smile, flinching every time your skin is pricked by the sharp blade, but it just makes her melt a little inside at the cuteness. You are the easiest target she’s ever had, honestly you’re the easiest person anyone could have ever been told to kill.

The moment you bite your lip, out of awkwardness mostly because of the heavy silence, it breaks something in Kate. She crashes her mouth into yours, messy and sloppy, but it stuns you nonetheless. This wasn’t the first time someone kissed you, but the way she’s pushing against you is different. No one has ever wanted you like she does at the moment. No one ever touched you like she is. The blade against your throat retracts, scratching a thin line across your throat, but you don’t have much time to think about it when Kate’s calloused hand replaces it.

Your eyes flick around, grateful for the empty car you’re in, as she moves to straddle you. “I- maybe we shouldn’t do th-” She cuts you off with a sharp slap on your cheek, anger flashing in her eyes before she rubs the red skin soothingly. A small smile reaches her face as she coos over you. You can’t tell if she’s serious or just mocking you, but it makes you blush either way as you wiggle around beneath her.

The flush rises up your neck as she pulls on the baby hairs there, “Oh my sweet little thing, you’re already squirming.” The brunette is moving around, forcing herself between your legs and letting her mouth ghost along your neck.

You can feel the heat in your belly, spreading across your body the more she touches you. The wetness between your thighs makes you whimper, embarrassed at how easy it was for her to turn you on. You let your head shake slowly, cheeks burning as you slam your eyes shut so you don’t have to look at her.

Her hand is already slipping under your shirt, her rough fingers sliding directly under your sports bra. Her palm slides against your hardened nipple, a smirk spreads across her face when she hears your breath hitch. “So sensitive, don’t tell me a pretty pet like you is a virgin.” Her voice is arrogant, as she lets her knee fall between your thighs.

Your hips buck against her knee as it comes to lay flat against your covered center, a pathetic whimper escaping through your lips. Even though it’s a lie you’re adamantly shaking your head, refusing to seem even more pitiful. Letting your eyes close, you try your hardest to ignore the way her hand makes you feel as she palms at your breast. You try to ignore the way you just know your arousal is leaking through your panties as you try not to desperately grind against her knee.

The knee between your thighs is moving, slowly but grinding perfectly into you, and it makes your vision blur. “Now now, don’t lie to me. I’m taking mercy on you, don’t take my niceness for granted. Tell me the truth.” Her mouth is moving against your neck, a particularly hard bite makes you wince as you try to focus. The smallest yes falls from your lips, meek and quiet. “That’s a good girl, I guess I should reward you. Yea?”

Her forehead is leaning against your shoulder, watching as your hips are uncontrollably rutting against her knee. She wants to laugh at how awkward and sloppy it is, but she can’t help the rush of arousal through her body thinking about breaking that. You were going to be hers to ruin, no matter what her job was.

The grip she has on your breasts is borderline painful and you were getting frustrated at not being able to reach your high alone, you were never good at getting off by yourself. You could feel your body starting to give it in, and your mouth hanging open in a silent plea, but it was like you couldn’t fall over the edge. Stuck dangling and Kate was just having a grand old time watching you struggle.

You were completely focused on trying to reach your orgasm that you weren’t aware of the subway coming to a stop, nor were you aware of Kate’s focus shifting. The moment she pulls herself off you, pulling her hood off her head and a gray beanie over her head, a whine tears through your teeth. She’s shushing you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and shoving your heads down to stare at her phone screen.

The archer is watching, through her lashes, as people rush to get into different cars but she sighs in relief when the doors finally close with no extra occupants joining. Making quick work of calculating how long until her stop, less than 2 minutes, she sighs and looks down at you. Your entire face is flushed, your breath coming out in harsh labored pants, and you're rubbing your thighs together in a feeble attempt to find pressure.

Grumbling, she reaches down unceremoniously gathering you in her arms and waits for the doors to open. The moment the metal slides open she’s rushing out, dodging people and shushing you as you whimper with each thundering step she takes. You try to look around, but when you see her taking dark abandoned alleyways you hide your face in her neck instead. The slight pang of fear makes you want to find safety, and for some reason Kate feels like that for you.

The young Ronin sighs as she enters her penthouse, relaxing as the Bishop Security panel comes to life and secures the door behind her. She drops you roughly on the couch before she starts stripping layers, throwing everything around as she tries to take in what she just did. Her boss, Fisk, was going to murder her if he ever found out that this target was alive. Not only was this target alive, but she was keeping them in her apartment and trying to hookup with them.

When she looks up from the glass of liquor she poured, her gaze meets yours and she knows that it doesn’t matter. She was going to keep you, no matter who tried to go against her. You were hers, even if you didn’t know it yet.

Taglist: @katebishop-ladyarrow @yourtaletotell @caroldantops

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liltaz-asatreat · 2 years

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writing asks, 17, 2, 4, 19, 20, 23, 28, 40!

You can find the writing asks here!

Also, I’m putting this under a readmore because this got ridiculously long lmao

2. Anything that you'd like to write but feel like you're unable to?

Yeah, right now this god damn Julia AU lshglskdhgllsaks I’m about to rewrite chapter 1 for like, the eleventh time, because it keeps turning out really dry :( But I will write it! And I will publish it so help me god! lol

Also like, I feel like I can’t write horror. Not that I don’t think I could if I worked at it more, but like, I’m not big in the genre to begin with and only have mild interest in it from time to time. Mostly because I get scared way too easily slgkhslkgad Doing the minimal amount of research on what the catherine wheel is for The Academic Illusionist gave me nightmares, and I didn’t even get too deep into what it was and didn’t describe it being used in the story very much lol :/

4. Do you have any OCs? Do you have a story for them?

I do, in fact, actually have an OC that I’m writing about currently! lol Meadow Cottonwood is the OC main character of the eighth bird AU I’m calling Double Troubles. They’re a half-elf and a self-insert OC, and I originally wasn’t going to flesh out their story and write this AU at all, but the idea I had for them was really good, and Sunny enabled me to actually fully flesh it out alskdghsldakg <3

So the backstory is this: Meadow was born in the two-sunned world, obviously, but they have two bodies connected to one soul: one of them was born in the Material Plane, and the other was born in the Plane of Logic. And how that works is that when Meadow is awake in the Material Plane, they’re asleep in the Plane of Logic, and when they fall asleep in the Material Plane, they wake up in the Plane of Logic.

This phenomenon is not well known, and while Meadow was in that reality, he never met anyone else like him, and no one believed him when he was little that this was happening. His parents in both planes did know that he had weird sleeping habits between sleeping for a longer periods of time than most people and falling asleep suddenly while he was in the middle of doing something (which happens when someone or something wakes up the other body that was originally sleeping without them having gone to bed in the body previously awake). His parents on both sides did take him to get checked out by a doctor, and because no one believed him about living in two worlds, the doctors couldn’t find what was causing it, so they just said he had a general sleeping disorder

Both sets of parents also weren’t exactly the greatest, see abusive, and they especially hated whenever Meadow brought up their double, so they eventually learned to keep quiet about it and told anyone who asked about their sleeping habits that it was the disorder.

When they were about 14, they basically had had it with their parents, and they ran away and lived on the streets for a while, and they met a couple of people during that time whom they traveled with, and they tried to explain to them that they have this sleeping disorder and it’s really important that no one wakes them up, even if they suddenly fall asleep standing up or something, because it would hurt them. The real reason, of course, being that if they were suddenly woken up by something in the other plane, it was potentially life threatening or at least a serious problem was happening, and it would be important for them to deal with that and get somewhere safe before they could fall asleep again. Most people they met weren’t very receptive to that, and they had to leave people more often than not who would refuse to respect their boundaries like that.

Eventually, Meadow was able to find an opportunity in the Material Plane to go to school to become a scientist and joined the IPRE. By the time they went on the mission, they were 22 years old, so I figured to make the timeline make sense on why they would be sent on this mission as another scientist when they couldn’t have been in school for all that long, I would make it so that there was a spot open on the team for an Institute student to go as part of a study program, and Meadow was approved to fill that role.

In the Plane of Logic, however, he never got a chance to find an opportunity to do something other than live off the streets. By the time the Hunger rolled around, he was caught (thankfully) sleeping inside a locked library, so that’s why he didn’t immediately die.

Then during the Stolen Century, Meadow lives out a lot of the century going between the worlds the Starblaster touches down on and literally inside the Hunger, fighting to not let it take him over. It gets really hard though at the end of the cycle when the Hunger gets there because the attack sucks them into being awake in that body as the Hunger kind of successfully takes them over temporarily, and he gets dropped down into the Material Plane to wreak havoc and destroy and kill everything. He tries his best to remain aware enough and fight that impulse though, so he doesn’t do a ton of damage himself.

Of course, after spending more than a few years together with all of this going on, the rest of the crew eventually catches on that something is up with him, so he confesses the whole double situation, and they believe him and try to help him deal with that the best that he can.

One cycle, when the Hunger comes, Magnus is fighting his way back to the ship, and Logic Meadow finds him, and they fight really hard not to kill him which Magnus notices and realizes it’s them. So he restrains them and takes them on board the ship, and when they leave that reality, their body is still there. Merle has to work on getting the corruption out of that body, and Meadow wakes up in the Material body and is like, what the fuck, but from that point on, both bodies are on the ship and relatively safe.

When Lucretia erases everything, she takes Logic Meadow back to the Plane of Logic in the Faerun reality because there would be no reason for both of his bodies to be in the Material Plane that wouldn’t immediately raise suspicions that at least someone figured out about his situation and somehow kidnapped his Logic body and dumped him in the Material Plane. What she didn’t know and didn’t account for, however, was that because Meadow’s Logic body was from the Plane of Logic and was placed in the Plane of Logic, whenever he’s in that body, he remembers everything. So in a very Barry-esque trying to convince himself to do shit to figure out what is going on and find a way to stop Lucretia and find her, Barry, and Lup, Logic Meadow tries to leave instructions for himself when he wakes up as Material Meadow to do all that stuff. But of course, he can only do that convincing by using his own thoughts and trying to think specific things that won’t get censored because it’s not like he can physically write reminders and send it to the Material Plane while he’s trapped in the Plane of Logic. Also, he’s a very stubborn and anxious person, so trying to get himself to do anything is like pulling teeth aslghsdlkhgslg

Anyway, that was a lot, but I really hope you find it an interesting concept? Because I’ve written a few thousand words for it, and it’s been very fun :D

17. Past or present tense? Why?

I used to write in past tense because I thought that was the only tense anyone ever wrote in when it comes to writing books and stories and stuff, but when I got back into writing more recently, between reading some fics from a couple of different people who wrote in present tense and playing dnd and listening to dnd podcasts where everyone talks in the present tense, I find it easier to write in present tense now lol I did try to write in past tense, but it felt very weird and wrong, and it kind of felt weird at first switching to present tense, but it seems to have worked out better lol I do write in past tense though when I’m writing dreams or flashbacks

19. Share a snippet from a wip without giving any context for it.

This is going to be from Double Troubles because I feel like it’s the funniest thing, out of context, that I’ve written in a while (I mean, I guess now there is some context after the info dump on Meadow that I did salkghsdlgh)

There is no way in hell Meadow is going to kill Barry J. Bluejeans.

Screw the list they made and fuck the idea that Barry would be able to tell them anything after he's dead. Deceased. Lost his consciousness and soul. And why in the world would he be okay with dying after he's dead? That's like saying the poor old woman up the street would be okay with someone stealing from her after they've already stolen things from her. Except worse because he's dead.

And if Barry knows of some way to get rid of the amulet, he would be better suited to tell them now while he's alive, but no one could pay them any amount of money to convince them to even tell him about the mere existence of the amulet, let alone show it to him or ask him for advice.

Meadow scrubs his face vigorously with his hands as he swings his legs out of bed. He knows he was just complaining yesterday that he doesn't trust himself anymore, but honestly, how can he trust himself if he has so obviously lost his gods damn mind? Murder Barry Bluejeans, mira...

20. Do you work on a single project or many at the same time? How does that work for you?

:’)

There was a time, back when I first started writing for the taz fandom, a very short and treasured time where I restrained myself to one project at a time. A project, that was just a single ficlet that could be written within a few days max.

Then Julia Burnsides vs Canon Lore came into my life, and I needed a break from that to write other one shots. And thus two projects at the same time came into my life which I thought I could handle.

And recently, Sierra? It has gotten so out of control

I now have two multichapter fics, two long fics, and like, 8 more ideas I haven’t touched on yet that I said I was going to eventually, and in that time I have written 5 unrelated fics, 4 of them which got published and 1 I just remembered I said I would clean up and then never did, and I! Am! Going! To! Scream!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

Anyway, it’s fine, I’m fine, thank you for asking lol :)

23. Dialogue or description? Why is the other one so hard?

I think it depends on the fic. Dialogue gets hard when I’m trying to figure out how to navigate a social situation that I have absolutely zero idea how I would navigate it in real life and/or I don’t know how to get from point a to point b. And description is generally easy for me, but I did recently notice that I’ve been forgetting to add it in in some places where I should, and I also cannot write facial expressions for the life of me. I have zero ideas on what people do with their faces to communicate any sort of emotion, and I have even less of an idea of what neutral faces are acceptable in what situations because I have no idea about that in real life either so everyone smiles 24/7 because that’s what I do and it’s exhausting to do and even more annoying to write about when every other damn dialogue prompt has some sort of description about the person smiling >:(

I’m getting worked up, sorry :(

28. Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

When you find yourself staring at your computer dreading to open up a particular project even though you desperately want to finish it, it most likely means you’re having a hard time figuring out what to write next to actually finish it and need to take a break or you just need a break from it in general. It sucks sometimes when you’re really excited about it, but it’s better to put your energy elsewhere for now whether that means writing a different section of the same project that you have inspiration for or working on a different project altogether. I honestly was really excited about the John fic when I was first writing it, but then I got really stuck and I had put it down for so long I legitimately thought I was never going to finish it. Then while I was trying to figure out something else only tangentially related yesterday to use in Double Troubles, the mental block to finish the John fic lifted, and now I still need to finish it because I had to do other stuff today and ran out of steam last night, but I’m hopeful that it’s going to get done within the next couple of days

40. Write a 9-word fic.

Davenport’s soul died; then he remembered and came alive

#Thank you for sending this in!! :D #Sorry it took so long; I did start working on it almost as soon as you sent it; but I info dumped on Meadow for *so long* lol #ask game #Gab gabs #Double Troubles

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warriorwoman13 · 1 year

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My life has melted down completely. I lived in more than 18 different places from the ages of 5-18. I had very few friends. I didn’t date. I didn’t go to a prom. I didn’t graduate high school. I grew up in a house full of verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse. I was sexually abused/assaulted by 7 men by the time I was 17 years old. I was basically my own parent at the age of 14. I had no soft place to land or call home. No one to encourage me or protect me. I felt so tiny and insignificant growing up. I was so incredibly lonely. Like the world was so big and I didn’t matter. No one knew I even existed. No one cared. I was never enough. When I got married I thought that would change. It didn’t really. He would listen to me. But that’s about it. His mom was mean to me always. He never one time protected me from her disdain. She had the chance to love a young girl who had never really been loved but she chose to judge me instead.

My whole life I’ve had to fight. To prove I was enough, that I was worthy of being loved. I have rescued people (and animals) my whole life. I never wanted anyone to feel the way I felt. Discarded, lonely, unloved, worthless. I tried to save my sister many times before she died, at 17 borrowing a car and driving 8 hours to go rescue her when I found out she was a prostitute at 15. Adopting and raising her little girl as my own so she didn’t give her to the state of California as she was threatening to do. I tried to save my little brother in many ways too before he was killed by a gang member at the young age of 21. I tried to save my sister’s child, Andrew/AJ when he came out for my sister’s funeral and I found out the terrible conditions and life he was living - filing for custody immediately. I’ve helped and tried to save other family members (you know who you are) from addiction, health issues, grief. I’ve been there for each of my children through some incredibly hard situations that resulted because of generational trauma and addiction.

Most of the time I faced the darkest, hardest moments alone. Completely alone. The people I expected to be by my side weren’t. Always some excuse. I was always expected to show up for everyone and fit in the little box they made for me. They could all be as messy as they wanted but I had to put on a smile and figure everything out. Be strong. I never did it perfectly. I didn’t know how. I had no role models. There are no instructions for healing this kind of generational trauma. Did I make lots of mistakes? Yes. Did I get angry? Yes. Did I have every reason to? Yes. Did I always keep trying? Yes. Did I push myself to the point of exhaustion too many times? Yes. Do I wish I could go back and do so many things differently? Yes.

My husband never really invested in our family. He took a backseat. He had every advantage I didn’t. Two parents. Stable home. Family vacations. Graduated from college. Girlfriends. Dates. Proms. College. Masters. Great jobs. Great income. During our marriage I tried to save him too. Long talks- lots of encouraging. When he couldn’t write his dissertation for his Doctorate Degree at UT I said it’s ok we’ll figure it out. He lost jobs, had a very serious suicide attempt. Looking back, I didn’t know the whole story. He didn’t share everything. His dad’s motto was never volunteer information. He’s always had secrets. I always felt that in my soul. But I still stood by him. I didn’t know how to give up. Still trying to rescue him and prove I was worthy. Even after I found out about the pornography for the last time I arranged a little meeting for Sarah and I to help him with an important interview. I helped him find new jobs. I tried to talk to him, sent text messages, emails, called, arranged dates. BUT HE WAS NEVER HAPPY. He never had the courage to walk away or go after what he really wanted. So he strung his family along for decades while he lived a double life of pornography and god knows what else. Even after the betrayals and lies in the marriage, even after hurting our children doing all of this in front of the kids multiple times, even after he slinked away like a coward, even after ghosting me after 38 years together, even after he’s lost all the jobs and is in the process of ruining us financially, even after the emotional, psychological abuse and gaslighting, even after he accused me of being a bully and making choices our whole marriage without considering what he wanted - like he didn’t have a voice - like he’s not an adult - like no choice is a choice- like he’s not in charge of himself, even after forcing me to waste thousands of dollars I don’t have on attorney’s fees by not providing any documents as required by law for our temporary orders hearing on 4/17, even after making sure he found a way to stick me with most of our debt on my $20/hr salary, even though he continues to live in his dad’s condo on his dad’s dime at the age of sixty six - He still refuses to seek help for his addiction and continues to lie and say that he is getting help. He is a pitiful excuse for a human. But I won’t play his stupid game anymore. I’ve tried to hold this whole thing together. Stressing about how the house payment is going to get paid and a thousand other things every day. He doesn’t stress. He doesn’t try to heal his family. He calls me a narcissist- that’s fucking hilarious. I’m not going to try and keep everything together anymore. I’m going to take care of me. Period. I’m not sure yet exactly what that means but I know I can count on me and I’m gonna take the pressure off me and take it one day at a time.

I’ve put myself in this little jar and put it on a shelf for years waiting for everyone to be ok so I can take her out. I’ve been a good girl and played by the rules. Waiting for someone to love me, take care of me. The wait is over. TODAY I CHOOSE ME. The person I was trying to save this whole time was me. The truth is I can’t save anyone else. I will never again abandon myself. Today I will start showing up for me. I am taking a journey. I was led to believe it was my job to take care of everyone else. It’s my job to take care of me. My kids are grown now. And now I get to give them the greatest gift of all. What it really looks like to heal and truly love yourself. I look back on my journey and I’m so damn amazed at myself. I am so freaking strong and resilient. I’ve been so worried that I’ve only taught my children bad things. But I know now that isn’t true. I’ve stood in the face of hundreds of trials over my life. I’ve lived things most people can’t even imagine but I am here and I still choose to love people. I am so grateful for the family and friends who do truly love me and are part of my life - I wouldn’t be here without you. I am so excited about what’s to come. I feel more free than I’ve ever felt in my life. And today I don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks anymore. I care what I think. This is my life. I CHOOSE ME ❤️

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apronapril · 7 months

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Chapter 2: No threat is a match to April! Oh, wait, maybe this one is!

I thought about it almost too hard. I had to come up with a good plan… it was for her own good, for the world’s own good. Right? I tried justifying my actions. So I started doing it… for April’s sake, I had to stop her somehow.

“MAAAAAAAY!!” We were walking through campus, when she yelled that loudly.

“What happened?”

“L-look!” She showed me a couple, kissing… no, it wasn’t just “kissing”, it was full on “making out”. The two boys didn’t seem to mind it. Well, April was a somewhat conservative, but it was different from usual. Let me explain. She was fine with all kinds of love and identities. What she didn’t like was, in her words, ‘filth’. She said it was unnatural (although it’s not) and that it should be stopped. It didn’t matter to her if it was two boys, two girls, a boy and a girl or whatever else: the fact they were horny mattered to her. Well, that was a case of a simple aphrodisiac spell I had cast early on. Nothing too crazy, they would keep it in their pants for a while, if they weren’t too bold. But for April, it was too much to kiss like that (as they were, more like eating each other’s tongue than kissing). She went there, waving her little arms, separating the two boys. Thankfully, they just yelled at her instead of calling the police — like it had happened before.

We kept going with our day, without a lot happening. But she had a troubled look on her face. In the cafeteria, I cast the same spell again, and another couple was getting a little… nastier? God, I didn’t feel happy about that, okay? But it was, in a way, my own nature. I loved seeing her get all red and mad. Still, what I wanted the most, was to show her she was just like them. But I couldn’t just use a spell on her… it had to come naturally. I would do it somehow. Just think, May… that time, she tried using her sword, which scared the hell out of the couple. She was happy, so… no, wait! May! That’s no good! Ugh…

So… should the enemy threaten her somehow? I know everything about April. It’s easy to infiltrate… but it’s not easy to be “the other one” if she wants me by her side. So, I sent a message to her, from a very awkward applepie profile I created. I chose a random ass name, Lya, and typed out something that I thought wasn’t that bad.

@lya69696969

April… you, who claim to be a saint, shall fall like every other human. I will not spare your soul, but I will expose it, so everyone can see clearly what you’re made of. You messed with the wrong thing, girl. You shall suffer the consequences, and will taste your own blood very soon. I will bewitch people around you, from the ones you don’t care about to the ones you love the most, and everyone will show how dirty they actually are. It will be unbearable, to the point you will have to surrender. And then, I win.

Was it too creepy? Too cringy? Would she buy it? Two minutes after I sent it, she came running to my room. I was in my so-called ‘dad shorts’ and a random rock T-shirt, no bra. One may say: why would that be important? Well, because I can hear her thoughts. She came to tell me about the new threat, but all I could hear was some kind of… gasping…? I didn’t think I looked that hot, although I had just showered and my hair was a little wet. But, as much as her little mouth was so against any kind of ‘unholiness’, her mind seemed to think otherwise. I hated that someone so easy to read could play pretend like that. Was she that unaware of herself? If I had questioned my methods before, I started believing them even more.

“May… I need to save the world from this demon!”

“Yeah, sure.” I was unamused, like always.

“Come on! Can’t you show more excitement?” Hmm… I could hype her up, but I was getting a little tired. I petted her head again. She thought something like ‘please touch me more, May’…

“Aren’t you scared, April? You’re just human, after all.”

“I have a passion, May… and I’m, like, the main character, right?” She looked at me with a dumb face. I mean, well, yeah, if it was a movie she would be in the title, but it would be something like… April & May or whatever.

“Don’t push it. I’m afraid you’ll get hurt, April.” We both sat down.

“May…” She looked at me with sweet eyes… how she changed… it was kind of annoying sometimes that she could be the stupidest and the prettiest girl ever. “You wouldn’t let that happen, right?”

“W-what?! Well, I’m telling you!! Give up on that.”

“But I can’t give up now… there’s someone after me.”

“M-maybe if you said, ‘I’m not against it anymore’, they wouldn’t mess with you, right?”

“May…”

“Yes?” She looked at me very seriously.

“Are you stupid?” Wow. Now, that was unfair. “You can’t deal with demons like that…! Besides… people will suffer if I don’t do anything.” She was right, kind of. I had dug my own grave. “You’ll be with me, right, May?” She intertwined our fingers… why did it feel like that? At times when my own thoughts seemed more like random scribbles, I could barely read her mind…

“I-I… don’t know, April. Seems like it’s your mission. I will be waiting for you to come back each day.”

“That’s enough, then. Because you’re my precious May.” I felt bad, for a moment. Should I confess? “But I also couldn’t bear if this person attacked you… what if they made you act weird, or say filthy things…” Never mind… I hate that. Come on! Someone who looks at my boobs all the time, should actually act like sex is evil?

“You’ll do something, right?” I wanted to tease her.

“I’ll fight it to the end, May.”

“Oh…” I wanted to be mean, but I couldn’t do it face to face.

“Because I love May so much, I can’t have her hurt by any means.”

“I appreciate that, April… I love you so much, too.” That was true, though. I loved her more than anything else. Somehow, we fell to our backs, still holding hands.

“When it all ends, and I defeat this person, and I bring peace to the world… I want you to do something for me.” We looked at each other, it felt so sweet. I wish things were secrets and surprises to me, but my own nature deceived me once again. Her words were clear in her little head: “stop being my friend and become my wife”.

I wanted to hear that from her own mouth, with her own voice… and it hurt, because now we were enemies. I didn’t stop to think before, that she would eventually know it was me, and that she could hate me. It didn’t matter how much I loved her, we were enemies now. I was stabbing her back, while she smiled at me. I was the worst.

“Well, I think I’m off to sleep… I need to be prepared for tomorrow.”

But, for some odd reason, I wanted to destroy that facade. Would that mean I would destroy our relationship? That I would destroy April herself? If I was smart, I would say, “hey, it was me. It was a silly joke, please ignore that.”, and come up with another way of having her to stop the magical girl thing. Still, I was me. So I went with it.

#Apron April #GL #Yuri #Girls' Love

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downtowns-universe · 2 years

Text

The Nexus (part 2)

(Part 1)

Characters: Ben, Jack, Chris

Words: 7403

He stared at the wolf in front of him. It had appeared silently, catching him off-guard while he’d been on the lookout for fairies and trying to get closer to whatever was playing out in the distance. Instantly, Ben knew this was a warning.

Do not interfere.

It bared its teeth while slowly approaching, a signal for him to back off. Out of habit he reached for his gun, which was answered by a low growl, so he held up his hands to show they were empty and took a few paces backwards. And a few more. As soon as he’d retreated to what it deemed an acceptable distance, the wolf sat down on its haunches and waited, like a sentinel.

He wasn’t foolish enough to try and evade it – or worse, take it on – but he was very well aware of what this meant: they knew he was here, something that did not happen often. Experience had taught him that the Fae did not seem to detect him in the same way as they did other humans – he’d always assumed they simply weren’t interested in second-hand goods. To a wolf, the state of his soul didn’t matter, though. They only needed their senses, and he had no way around those.

“What do you want?” he whispered – unsurprisingly, the answer stayed out.

It simply observed him with yellow eyes, its ears perked up, alert for any possible dangers. Its fur was a mottled grey-and-brown with a darker streak along its back; the throat and chest area a creamy white. There was some old scarring along one shoulder, like it had been in a fight long ago. Ben noticed that both of its ears were pierced, leading him to believe this was no regular wolf. He sensed an intelligence behind its eyes – also, a regular wolf would likely leave him the hell alone.

Quickly cycling through his Fae knowledge, the options he could think of were either a Fae creature that could shapeshift; a once-human soul taken by the Fae; or a werewolf, although he disregarded that last one immediately. Only the most experienced werewolves could transform without the full moon’s help, and while Fae in nature they remained on earth, having no ties to this world.

Of the two options remaining, an ex-human would pose the least risk, although nothing in here could be trusted – he’d learned that the hard way. Luckily, nowadays he mostly didn’t have to rely on trust: what can’t be seen, can’t be bargained with; what can’t be bargained with, can’t be tricked. And despite the obstacle in his way, he wasn’t planning on letting it happen this time, either.

“I’m not here to cause trouble,” he told it. “Only to observe.”

It blinked once, giving him no indication as to whether it had understood.

“Will you allow me to do that?”

It growled in reply, tilting its head slightly as if to say “we’ll see”.

“Alright then,” he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.

Keeping one eye on his guardian, he tried to make sense of what was going on in the background. The Fae congregation was gathered around the Nexus, that much was clear. From experience he knew he shouldn’t get too close, lest he be detected, but from his current position he hadn’t quite arrived at that threshold yet. He would have preferred to get a little closer, but the wolf made this impossible. He suddenly wondered whether this had been the reason of its intervention: it was clear that some sort of ritual was taking place, perhaps it didn’t want the Nexus to be distracted by an outsider during such a time.

Trying to see through the mass of vines and antlers, he caught a glimpse of the figures present at the core of the ritual at the base of the Nexus’ trunk. There was the Root, in ceremonial dress, and a ring of Fae who were holding lights – a ritual he recognised as the luminus. It was a ceremony which usually preceded important events, during which the light, facilitator of photosynthesis – and with it, life – was honoured. It had always struck him as a bit odd that this was done during the night, but they must have their reasons. The Root was just in the process of handing out the last lantern, completing the circle, meaning that whatever was being performed was about to begin.

Only now Ben noticed the crelor, in the middle of the circle, right up against the Nexus’ trunk. It had been there all along, camouflaged against its bark. Its hands were pressed against it as if in a healing position, but it was unmoving, while the healing Ben had seen it do many times over had involved specific motions along the damaged surface. It was waiting for the ritual to finish, he realised.

His mind ran wild with the implications, trying to puzzle together what exactly was going on here and what it meant. Was this the main event of the evening? Was the Nexus damaged in some way? He didn’t see any notable scratches, disease or broken branches, but he knew that this didn’t mean anything, and there were many things that could be wrong with it. Apparently circumstances were bad enough for a crelor to cross unimaginable distances across country borders. And Ben with it.

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him. He had left this place, left his home behind, running from his past. Troubled by guilt, plagued by new obstacles found on his way, he had thrown himself into his studies of the Fae. His hatred of them had dragged him through it, given him something to focus on. And now? Now those same studies had brought him right back to the place where all of this had started, a last cruel trick of the creatures that had toyed with him, used him to their own entertainment. Oh, how he hated them. If it was up to him all of his knowledge, everything he’d gathered over the years would be used to destroy them, wipe them off the face of the earth for good.

But it wasn’t up to him. Logically, he had known that taking out the Fae – all Fae – would be impossible. As was the case with many hunters and those they hunted, there were always too many of “them” and never enough of “us”. Any kind of organised move was futile, as others would simply take their place after it was done. All they could ever do was react to those that posed a threat, and keep the people safe – a job that felt highly frustrating at times.

The lights started to shine brighter as the Root finished their incantation.

The wolf’s ears twitched restlessly: it sensed that something was happening behind it.

“You can watch if you want,” Ben indicated, his voice hushed. “I’m not going anywhere.”

It stared at him blankly for a moment, then let out a growl and watched him with renewed focus.

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged.

Surrounded by a circle of lights, the crelor now started to glow as well. Streaks of light were travelling up from its roots – or rather: what was left of them after walking such an impossible distance – snaking throughout its body towards the crown of leaves surrounding its head, colouring it in a golden hue. Flowers made of pure light started to grow and bloom from within it, each one opening in a cloud of glittery pollen, like stardust. Ben had never seen a crelor sprout flowers before, let alone these flowers. He did a rough sketch of their shape for Janna, his every move watched by the wolf’s wary eye.

In its new, luminous form the crelor started a series of familiar movements. First it bent down to the ground, touching the Nexus’ roots, then moved its hands upwards, following the flow of nutrients inside the tree. After repeating this a couple of times, it started moving its hands along specific points on the Nexus’ trunk in circular motions. Ben had witnessed this practice before, although performed on regular trees: it was a healing ritual. He had seen the life return to withered trees within the hour, new leaves sprout, broken branches mended. It was truly a sight to behold, each and every time again. Even though they were Fae, he didn’t think he could ever find it in his heart to hunt a crelor.

The thing was: he couldn’t seem to find anything wrong with the Nexus. It looked healthy as ever, standing tall with vibrant leaves. But perhaps it required a closer look. He reached into his pack – which prompted another growled warning from the wolf – looking for his binoculars. Having found them, he held them up for it to see, to show he didn’t take out a weapon. The wolf gave him an undeterminable look in return, almost as if it was making fun of him.

“Just because you don’t want to look, doesn’t mean I won’t…” he mumbled, peering through its lenses.

The Nexus appeared to be just like the others he’d seen: big, tall, and full of totems. The ritualistic artefacts occupied the branches like a flock of unruly birds, their stringy limbs fluttering in the breeze, pieces clattering together like eerie wind chimes. Ben counted many effigies, but not as much as he’d seen in other places. These loops, crafted out of wicker or twigs, each served to bind a human to the Fae world, the energy of their soul sustaining the Nexus. In its centre, parts of an animal were placed; an animal that would become an integral part of the captured human, slowly changing them until they’d become unrecognisable. He’d witnessed the ritual once, purely by chance, and had been fascinated and horrified alike. More often, he’d seen its end results wandering aimlessly about the forest, eyes glazed over, their minds more animal than human. They were rarely dangerous, but he avoided them anyway, being deeply unsettled by them. The sight of them stirred memories he would prefer to keep locked away.

There were many more artefacts strung up, some of which he could determine the purpose of, based on the materials used. There were wards, meant to repel: structures wrapped in thorns and decorated with claws or teeth. Charms used for plant growth or a good harvest usually contained seeds or fruits, while charms for good fortune often included honey. Eyes signified the future; feathers indicated travel or great distances; spider silk usually marked a trap or trick of some kind – or it simply meant a spider had made its home inside of the contraption. Ben was in no way an expert: there were many more totems he was clueless about, and the things he did know he had gathered from human sources, never directly from the Fae – they’d never been very talkative.

One of them, however, stood out to him. A small human figure with glowing red eyes and a gaping hole in its chest. Thorns wrapped around its arms, like it was entangled in them. Above its head, tied to the string it hung from, was a piece of bone. The idol was made of straw; from its coloration he guessed it must have been put up recently. Ben had seen similar humanoid shapes before, but never like this. Thorns and a missing heart suggested captivity of some kind, perhaps loss of free will. The bone he couldn’t quite place, not knowing what creature it belonged to. And why were its eyes glowing? Whatever spell this idol was used for appeared to be active. Was a human present here? Would it be used to detect them?

A cold shiver ran down his spine as he wondered whether the idol was for him. That wouldn’t be possible, would it? Thorns, missing heart. No – they had no way of knowing he was here. It was a pitiful reward compared to what it had cost him, but he could safely walk amongst them –

Missing heart.

He peered at the glowing eyes again, two red embers inside of their straw casing. A puppet, he realised. Their puppet.

Not wanting to look at it any longer, he put the binoculars down, but still felt burning eyes on him. A glance at the wolf told him it was not the culprit, as it had given in and turned away to watch the Nexus. A furtive glance around the forest taught him nothing: if anyone was out there, they were well-hidden. Still, the gaze of unknown origin was almost tangible. Curse this place, he thought, focusing his attention back on the ritual.

The crelor’s movements had slowed down, focusing more closely on the section of trunk in front of it. To Ben’s surprise the bark had split open, showing a vertical strip of the lighter wood inside. Little currents of light travelled through it, from roots to leaves, reminding Ben of the way data travelled through cables in science-fiction movies. He supposed the comparison wasn’t far off; the energy ran through most of the forest, connecting everything, with the Nexus at its centre. The crelor had its hands on either side of the tear, and slowly but surely it became wider. He wondered what it was doing; it’s purpose was to heal, and this didn’t seem like healing to him. Perhaps the sickness was located inside of the Nexus?

The wolf glanced back at him for a moment, as if to check whether he was still there. But Ben knew very well that if he had tried to leave, it would know. When their eyes met briefly, the wolf looked away.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Ben asked it.

No reply.

“I guess not…” he mumbled.

He wasn’t sure what he was trying to achieve by talking to it – it wasn’t like it was going to answer – but it felt nice to share his thoughts with another being, even if it wasn’t a human being. He’d spent a lot of time on his own after leaving here so many years ago, only seeking out the local hunters in whatever area he would find himself – and after his incident with the Fae, not even that.

And then he’d met Janna, and everything had changed. They’d run into each other – quite literally – at a portal somewhere in the Black Forest, she while doing research, he while tracking a creature. He’d told her to go home, but she – stubborn as she was – had stayed, taking notes on the habitat of a plant – or something like that; he’d drowned out her babbling pretty quickly. He didn’t have time for chit-chat while he was scanning the area, or while he was driving a blade through the creature’s heart when it eventually showed up at the clearing. Only when they were no longer in mortal danger he’d really paid attention to her. They’d had the opportunity to talk, discovering that perhaps their interests were more aligned than thought at first. A partnership was born: he provided her with all of his gathered knowledge, collected new data inside the Fae world, and accompanied her when she herself were to enter – although it usually took a lot of arguing before he allowed her to go. In return, she had pulled him back from a ledge he hadn’t even been aware he’d been teetering on, allowing him to focus on something other than hatred, shame, or revenge for the first time in a long time. She’d saved his life – and stolen his heart in the process.

She had shown him that there could be beauty in the things he’d sworn to destroy. Until then, he’d only focused his research on the dangers, and how to most effectively take care of them. With her insight he’d realised that there was more to the Fae world than that: it was a complicated ecosystem with interconnected elements, which in turn influenced its Earth counterpart. When the Fae acted out, it wasn’t always simply because they were evil to the core (although he hadn’t yet given up on this belief): sometimes they’d been provoked, their home threatened. It was a fact that more humans disappeared in areas where the Fae felt marginalised; knowing their wants and needs could help in managing the damage they inflicted.

This approach felt like it went against his very nature; his gut telling him to take care of them, to destroy them so no one could be tricked by them ever again, while his head told him that provoking them would only cause them to lash out more, and cause more victims in the end. Victims that would be on his conscience. Did he really want to add onto that list? Wouldn’t that be exactly what they wanted?

A slight tremor in the earth pulled his focus back to his surroundings. An earthquake? In this area it would be a possibility, he knew. But this one seemed to be Fae in nature; a side effect of the ritual. The crack in the Nexus’ trunk had widened enough for someone to step through, and to Ben’s surprise that was exactly what was happening. The crelor had moved up closer, pressing itself against the interior, causing the streaks of light to shine brighter. Their pattern changed: instead of travelling upwards, the energy now seemed to flow from the crelor into the tree. It moved further forwards still, even though there was no more space for it to go – yet it appeared to make progress.

Ben took out his binoculars once more, confirming what he thought he was seeing: the crelor’s body was disappearing. Its arms, which it had been using to push forward, had vanished from sight up to its elbows, like it was stepping through a portal. But even from back here, Ben could tell that it wasn’t easy, as the surface didn’t exactly give way – it was still wood after all, magical or not.

Another tremor shook the earth and rustled the leaves around him. The gathered fairies now exchanged glances, but none of them spoke, observing the ritual in silence. It was subtle, but it was clear there was some kind of unrest amongst them. Was something not going according to plan? Or were they simply unfamiliar with the ritual, just like Ben? If he’d interpreted the situation correctly, this wasn’t something many of them would have seen performed before. He doubted any of them had even seen a crelor before. Would they be looking on in wonder, watching it for the first time?

He thought back to his encounter with Chris, a couple of weeks earlier, and the expression on his face when they’d observed it together. The young hunter had left an impression on him – despite his dependence on tech. Kids like him were the future of hunting, whether he liked it or not. Things could be worse: he could have been a fanatic. If one of them would have found the crelor, Ben wasn’t sure what he would have done. He couldn’t possibly choose the supernatural over a fellow hunter – or could he?

Involuntarily, he thought of Jack – another one of his infamous bad choices. He’d been turning their meeting over and over in his head, not being able to let go of it – and if he did for a moment, his broken nose would make sure to remind him of it. He couldn’t believe his son had changed so much. Sure, he’d seen his pictures come by every now and then, but to have him standing in front of him, in the flesh, was a feeling nothing could have prepared him for. He’d been thinking of things to say, rehearsing possible conversations in his mind, but he hadn’t been able to recall any of them in the moment. To be fair: he had been ambushed (he still hadn’t been able to figure out how Jack had managed to find him there), but he wasn’t sure if things would have gone any better had Ben picked the time and place himself.

What haunted him most – apart from the fact that everything Jack had said about him had been spot on – was that he’d been afraid. He’d looked his son in the eyes and had seen only hatred. He’d recognised the glowing embers of a Natural’s rage, so familiar to him from his brother, his mother, all of the Naturals he’d hunted… The energy had been tangible, like the electricity in the air during a thunderstorm, making the hairs on his arms stand on end. A thought had made its way to the surface: I’m not sure if I’ll make it out alive. He had looked at Jack and not recognised the boy he had raised – but he supposed the man in front of him was still the result of Ben’s actions. Or inactions, more accurately.

He’d been surprised by Jack’s strength, and his control over his abilities. Ben was certain that what he’d seen was but a fraction of the power his son had at his disposal. If he stayed around this area he would find out in time, he presumed. He just wasn’t sure whether he wanted to – actually, scratch that: he was fairly sure he didn’t. After all, he’d be at the receiving end of it, unless through some miracle they’d ever make up. And he didn’t see that happening anytime soon. He’d only spoken to Jack and Simone so far, but he was fairly certain none of his family wanted to see him. He wondered how much they knew of the situation, the real reason he’d left. Simone had seemed clueless. What about Christine and Tony? Would Jack have told them? Would they be Naturals as well? If they were, they sure as hell weren’t going to tell him.

Another tremor. Enough of the crelor’s body had been absorbed now, that whatever remained was not immediately identifiable as such. On the remaining part of its back the branches were still wreathed in light, but the flowers’ golden glow was dimming, their petals starting to droop. The “gateway” through the bark appeared to be closing, the dark exterior moving back to cover the vulnerable inner wood. It enveloped the crelor's form, its silhouette outlined by a band of light that grew slimmer and slimmer until the two sides touched and merged together. The flower petals withered; small embers of a dying fire drifting towards the ground, where they extinguished. The leaves traded their luminous gold for that of autumn, before a gust of wind shook them loose, spreading them in the vicinity. For a moment it was quiet, the gathered fairies all collectively holding a breath, unconsciously joined by Ben. He was not prepared for what followed.

A cacophony of sounds came pouring in from all directions, as if the forest had come alive all at once: birds shrieked, chirped and hooted, accompanied by the cries of small rodents and calls of what Ben assumed must be deer. But that was far from all. Many of the roars, growls and high-pitched shrieks he couldn’t place – he only knew he’d heard some of them before on hunts, and they did not belong to regular animals. In the distance a wolf howled, and Ben almost jumped when his guardian answered in kind. The Fae joined in with what he could best describe as a war cry, the ones in the trees jumping down from their perches and clasping each other’s arms.

A buzz of conversation replaced nature’s cacophony. Many of the fairies tried to get closer to the Nexus – without much avail since the light-bearers kept everyone at bay, their lanterns the only reminder of what had just taken place. If he hadn’t known, Ben would not be able to tell anything about the Nexus had changed. The shape of its trunk had changed minimally, sporting a slight bulge on the side he was viewing, but nothing that hinted at the crelor or the scar that had split its bark open only moments ago. He still wasn’t sure of the meaning of the ritual, or its goal – but whatever it was, the Fae seemed to believe it had been successful and were setting out to celebrate.

The wolf growled, having gotten up from its spot, moving about restlessly.

“You’re saying that’s my cue, huh? I think I agree.”

He picked up his gear and slowly got up from his perch, cursing his stiff knees. He wasn’t getting any younger.

“Will you allow me to leave?” he asked the wolf, which was observing his movement with a wary eye.

It stopped its nervous pacing to look him straight in the eye, holding his gaze for a moment. Ben suddenly felt vaguely threatened, although he couldn’t quite discern why. It was as if it was considering whether to let him go at this very moment – and it seemed conflicted about it. Had it received orders regarding him? Against any trespassers?

An intense moment followed, during which neither of them dared to move a muscle. Ben knew that trying to leave before having received permission would equal a death sentence, no matter the wolf’s final decision: making an unexpected move would cause it to react in kind. In the distance, the crunch of leaves indicated a figure heading in their direction; the wolf noticing it just a little before Ben did. Not breaking eye contact, it lay down on the ground, letting out a small whine.

Ben nodded gratefully, and slowly started to back away. As he turned his back to the wolf, determining where to head now while staying out of sight, part of him expected it to act up and jump him, or draw the attention of the Fae with loud barks. When no sound came he glanced over his shoulder, but only saw an empty stretch of forest where the wolf had been. Still, he knew the Fae would not be far off, and were very likely to be heading in his direction.

His mind still grappling to understand the night’s happenings, he hurried home as fast as his feet would carry him.

It took a moment for Jack to find himself again, to pull together the shreds of his consciousness that seemed to be floating off in every direction. He felt sore all over – no, more than that, like his body had been ripped to pieces and shoddily put back together again. A sound escaped his throat, he was unsure whether it had been human or wolf. Smells of the forest surrounded him – the familiar earthy scent of wet dirt and rotting leaves filling his nostrils. And his mouth. And his eyes.

He pushed himself up, coughing and spluttering, from where he had been face-down in the dirt. Immediately a wave of nausea rushed over him and he sank down again, rolling onto his side with a groan. He vaguely registered a blanket being placed over him and he decided to close his eyes for just another minute.

When he sat up again, his muscles appeared to have settled down a little, their protesting reduced to a dull ache he would probably be feeling for a while. Pulling the blanket closer around him, he noticed he was more human than he’d been before: no fur, no claws, no tail. He realised he felt strangely naked without them. Not only because he was, in fact, naked; but like some piece of him was missing.

“Here you go.”

The Root appeared next to him, offering him a steaming clay mug, which he hesitantly took.

“What is this?”

“Tea,” they smiled.

“…What’s in it?” he asked, carefully sniffing it.

They rolled their eyes.

“Honey. It’s funny: your friend asked the same thing.”

Jack turned in the direction they indicated, seeing a very uncomfortable Chris, holding his own mug with shaking hands. It didn’t seem like he’d drank anything.

“Chris!” he exclaimed, then immediately clasped a hand over his mouth – curse his impulsiveness.

“Don’t worry,” the Root smiled, clearly finding this whole thing amusing. “Names don’t hold nearly as much power as you people make it out to be. And your friend already so generously supplied me with yours.”

Chris said nothing and stared at the ground, probably quietly cursing himself for having let the name slip. It was obvious he did not feel very positive about having to spend time in the Root’s private quarters. Still, he probably found it much more preferable than waiting outside, away from Jack and in full view of the rest of the Fae.

“Are you alright?” Jack asked, observing him.

He faintly nodded, his face pale.

“I just wanna get out of here,” he whispered.

“I’ll get you home,” Jack reassured him. He cast the Root a glance, thinking back to their earlier agreement. “…I will, right?”

They showed him another of their mysterious smiles.

“I’d say your chances are about fifty-fifty.”

Chris almost dropped his tea.

“What?!”

“I like this one,” they grinned. “So easily distressed. One has to find pleasure in the little things, when the big prize is out of reach.”

“That’s Fae speak for ‘I think I’ll let you go, since me and Jack are such good friends’,” Jack translated to Chris, adding in a wink.

The look Chris gave him in return very clearly read how can you joke at a time like this? The Root’s face read I can’t believe you still think we are friends.

Carefully, Jack took a sip of tea, letting its warmth flow through him.

“I’m guessing you don’t have anything stronger?” he grimaced while rolling his shoulders, which resulted in a weird crunching noise.

“I thought you didn’t want anything in your tea?” the Root said innocuously.

They stood up.

“Hold tight, I’ve got just the thing.”

“What are you doing?” Chris whispered while they were busy rummaging in a corner. “We have to get out of here! Also, how do you know that stuff won’t turn you into a frog, or something?”

Jack scooted closer, ignoring the pain flaring in his body, and took Chris’ hand in his own – it felt clammy.

“Relax – they just changed me back.”

He ignored Chris’ pointed look – there would be a barrage of questions later, he knew.

“They didn’t have to do that; they could have just left me that way – I honestly expected them to. And we will get out of here – as soon as I can actually stand. Give me a moment.”

Chris’ face told him he hadn’t considered that.

“It still hurts?” he asked, then leaned in. “…Are you alright? Did they mess with you?”

“I’m fine,” Jack waved him away. “Just a little sore, is all. Little dizzy.”

“Dizzy” wasn’t entirely accurate. “Disoriented”, perhaps. Or “like the world got turned upside down”. Yes, that’s exactly what tonight had felt like. Earlier, when they’d gone out to find the Nexus, he’d seen the Fae world upside down in the reflection of the pond – now it was him that was upside down, looking at his life from a new perspective.

After the ritual had been completed and Ben had left, he’d wanted to make his way back to Chris, but had found his legs disagreeing with him. He’d been drawn to the Nexus instead, the familiar humming calling out to him, stronger than ever. Passing through a crowd of Fae who barely paid him any mind, he’d stood in front of it, looking up. He’d felt an energy he remembered from his dream: millions of interconnected pathways, flowing through all living things the way rivers flowed towards the sea. Earlier he’d been fighting the current, drowning in it; now he let it take him, carry him towards its destination through calm waters. It had felt like plunging into a cool lake on a hot summer day: first there was a shock as the coldness hit, quickly turning into a feeling of pure bliss as the water enveloped him.

He’d been shaken out of it when the Root, who had been caught up in other business until then, had kneeled down next to him and ruffled his fur.

“Good boy,” they’d whispered, sporting that familiar grin. “The Nexus has accepted you.”

Jack had tilted his head.

“…There was a chance it wouldn’t?”

“Occasionally it decides to take people instead. Means they can’t be trusted. For you, I estimated that chance to be …above average, considering your history.”

“But it called me its child, earlier.”

“Many animals eat their young,” the Root had shrugged. “But we can discuss this later. Now, let’s go find that friend of yours, before someone else decides they could use some entertainment.”

Jack had run a few paces to catch up with them, determined to have this conversation out of Chris’ earshot.

“Speaking of my friend…”

He still held onto Chris’ hand when the Root returned and sprinkled something into his tea.

“There you go.”

Jack looked at them expectantly, but they didn’t elaborate.

“Are you going to make me ask?”

“It’ll numb the pain and give you some energy,” they sighed. “Honestly, I feel very little trust here, especially from someone who refers to me as his friend…”

“It’s not distrust, I’m just curious,” Jack shrugged. “Also: how can we be friends if I don’t even know your name?”

They sat down, crossing their spindly legs. Dark vines snaked across them, then dug into the earth below them like roots.

“It’s Melli.”

They leaned forward, pointing a finger at him.

“This does not mean we are friends.”

“If you say so, Melli.”

They narrowed their eyes, probably regretting this decision already. Jack met their gaze, taking a triumphant sip of his tea. It tasted a little more bitter than before.

“The Nexus… is it healed completely now?” Chris asked, his voice still a little unsteady.

It was the first time he’d addressed the Root directly, Jack realised.

“It’ll need some time to fully absorb the crelor’s nutrients, but it has done a great job at restoring what it could. Crelors truly are masterful healers.”

“Too bad they have to travel so far to do it,” Jack observed. “Did humans drive them away?”

“It’s true they aren’t very keen on humans,” Melli shrugged. “But there weren’t many of them to begin with, back in the day. The terrain around here is a little too wet to their liking.”

“The Nexus must have a strong pull to make them come all this way, then.”

“Oh yes,” – Melli flashed their typical grin – “as you will find out in time.”

Jack felt a little nervous at the way they’d said it, or the implications made. It was true that he felt the Nexus’ pull, the subtle buzzing in the back of his mind – but right now he was only a stone’s throw away from it. He couldn’t imagine it calling him all the way across country borders – let alone the way he would react if it would. Would they really be able to reach him, no matter where he was? And would he be able to resist or be forced to answer?

He wasn’t sure what this new arrangement would have in store, but it was clear that Melli intended to call on him when needed. The wording had been a little too vague to his liking, but he hadn’t thought he could afford to be picky when they’d discussed it earlier. He was well aware that the price of a human soul was a steep one, especially that of a hunter. And however much he wanted to keep this to himself, he knew that Chris wasn’t an idiot. It wouldn’t take long before he caught on – but Jack really hoped he would at least keep his mouth shut until they were clear of this place. The sooner they were out of here, the better.

He cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward as he looked at Chris.

“Do you, uh, still have my clothes?”

Chris’ eyes flicked down for just a split second before focusing on his face again.

“…Right!” he stumbled, a little flustered. “I’ve got them right here.”

He tossed a bundle in Jack’s direction.

There was nowhere to retreat for privacy, so Jack simply started putting on his clothes where he sat. Both of them would have had plenty of opportunity to see him naked by now – Chris especially – and he didn’t think Melli would even care. From what he’d seen, the Fae seemed to wear clothing mostly for decoration, not modesty. Melli was wearing nothing under their ceremonial mantle – unless vines counted.

Once dressed, Jack patted his pockets, then remembered he’d left his phone in the car since it would be useless here anyway. His cigarettes and car keys were accounted for, along with some odds and ends…

“Looking for something?” Melli smiled.

They’ve taken something, he thought. But how? Chris had held onto his things this entire time. While he racked his brain trying to figure out what it could be – a challenge without his powers – they held up a small bundle of twigs.

“My sticks!”

They arched an eyebrow.

“Yes, your …sticks. You won’t be needing those anymore.”

“How did you get those? Also: what?”

They observed him like he were a child asking too many questions.

“These,” they explained, holding the bundle between two long fingers,” are a human’s pathetic attempt at replicating a connection to the Nexus. It will fool a portal, but you’re basically announcing your arrival to every fairy in the vicinity. We don’t tell that to the humans, of course – it’s only polite to ring the doorbell when visiting.”

They used their free hand to gesture at Jack, who felt his piercing tug at his ear as if they’d pulled on it.

“You already have your own connection now – a real connection. It will still alert us to your arrival, but at least we won’t think you’re dinner.”

“Dinner?” Chris repeated with a tiny voice.

Melli’s smile broadened into a grin.

“Don’t worry, I’m not hungry right now.”

Jack knew that wasn’t entirely true, and it was definitely not the reason they hadn’t made a move on Chris, but he kept his mouth shut.

The Root returned their focus to Jack, still grinning.

“I should warn you: this time was an exception – bring a human again and we’ll assume you’re the delivery guy.”

“Noted.”

“What about B– …the hunter?” Chris asked, having found some of his courage again. “He had plenty of rowan on him, yet went undetected.”

“I don’t know,” they confessed. “For most humans, we can detect their energy and learn things about them. For you, for example, we can sense our blood on your hands.”

Their gaze lingered on Chris for a moment. He did not avert his eyes, but Jack noticed his knuckles whitening around the hilt of the blade he was holding, out of their sight.

“For the hunter,” they continued, in the same airy tone, “ – the other hunter – I can’t detect anything at all. It’s like he doesn’t exist.”

“Vanishing’s kind of his specialty,” Jack mumbled, earning him a curious look from Melli.

“It would be nice if we could make him vanish for good,” they suggested.

“Well, step one – removing the crelor from the equation – is done. Now we’ll have to see how to continue from there.”

Melli seemed doubtful, picking at a loose thread on the hem of their mantle.

“You still believe he will simply move on, now that his object of focus is gone?”

“Honestly? I have no idea. All I know is that we can’t assume any of his decisions will be rational ones. Judging by the ones he’s made so far…”

They looked up at him with calculating eyes, but said nothing. And perhaps they didn’t need to – since tonight, Jack felt like they could see right through him. Nexus, you little snitch, he thought while avoiding their gaze, knowing it wouldn’t matter. The Root was very well aware of the fact that there was more to his relation towards the hunter than he let on.

“We will discuss this another time,” they decided, to Jack’s relief. “I have work to do, people to instruct. An initiation to prepare for. You need to go home and rest.”

Their demeanour had changed, Jack noticed. They were sitting up more straight, their tone matter-of-factly, like they were trying to distance themselves from these humans. It led him to believe that “The Root” was merely a persona, a performance they put up for the outside world. Melli could claim they weren’t friends as much as they wanted; the fact that they’d dropped that façade around him – multiple times now – still remained.

“Sounds like a great idea,” he agreed.

Jack rolled his shoulders, trying to pop them back into place. His joints were still acting a little funky, but he thought he’d be alright. The tea had surely given him the boost Melli had promised. It was probably best to let Chris drive, though, in case he’d crash.

“We’ll let you know when we have news on the hunter,” he said while preparing to get up – although his body seemed to disagree.

Melli answered with a single nod, having slipped back into their Root persona.

“And I will call on you when the time comes.”

Chris, already on his feet, eager to get out of here, cast him a questioning glance before stepping in to help him up. It would be easy enough to play it off with a lie, claim it simply had to do with his father – but he knew he should be telling Chris the truth, like he promised. Technically, he’d promised to “no longer do stupid, impulsive things” – it was a little late for that, he feared. The truth was the next best thing, right?

His entire body protested when Chris took his hands and pulled him upright, and Jack had to blink for a moment to remove the stars from his vision. Leaning heavily on his partner, he nodded back at the Root, who had now also gotten up. They strode outside, head held high, followed by Jack and Chris, who looked less graceful.

They are not to be harmed, Jack heard, in the strange tongue he could understand but also not. It hadn’t been spoken aloud, but pushed into his head in the way they had communicated through the portal. He realised the message hadn’t been for him, but about him.

Chris gasped and squeezed his hand, and only now Jack became aware of the fairies around them. They hadn’t been surrounded in any sense; they were keeping their distance, but Jack could feel their eyes on him as they moved in the direction of the portal – slowly; gingerly. Chris squeezed his hand as hard as he could – Jack wanted to do the same but was afraid he might break his boyfriend’s fingers.

They’d long left the fairies’ presence by the time they’d arrived at the portal, but neither of them dared to speak, scared of their ears, their eyes, their vines. Jack helped Chris through, like on the way in, then clambered up the tree with the last of his strength. This time, the both of them dropped like sacks of potatoes on the other end of the ride, remaining on the ground for a couple of minutes, trying to process the night’s events. Eventually, Chris was the one to speak up first.

“What. The. Fuck. Was that?”

“I second that,” Jack groaned, pushing himself off of the ground.

Back in his own world, he could feel the familiar glow of his magic returning to him, the whispers in his head eager to catch him up on what he’d missed. But the buzzing still remained, like a tiny insect flying around in the back of his mind.

“Let’s get going,” Chris said, offering Jack a hand once more.

On their way to the car, Jack glanced up at the sky. Even though it would still be a week before the full moon, he could feel it – in his jaw; his lower back. The wolf still felt as close under his skin as it had been on the other side. It didn’t come to the surface, patiently waiting its turn – but its moment would come, and Jack wasn’t sure if he would be the one to choose it.

This was going to be interesting.

#story #2022challenge #jack #chris

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