#{ first boss and his fucking explosive bird friends }

[voidsentprinces]

No amount of reworking will make the Gunship boss in Keeper of a Lake any less an asshole. That gunship can eat my entire dick.

#{ except for the beginning crabs everything in that dungeon is an asshole } #{ the coblyn's aoes are on like 2 second cool downs } #{ the son of the keeper patrols into ANY pull } #{ The frog pulling you across the area } #{ first boss and his fucking explosive bird friends } #{ the gunship who we've discuss can EAT MY ENTIRE DICK } #{ the blasts that paralyze you } #{ the colusses who cant be stunned and can and WILL take up 95% of the area with an aoe } #{ the fucking wyvern at that end who likes to LoS your healer } #{ Midgardsormr is a little better but those motherfucking Phantom Kin are ass holes }

[moonbeam-dragon]

More Rescue Bots Incorrect Quotes (Yes it's mostly the Burns siblings)

Salvage: ...I'm pretty sure that place is fire-proof, or something.

Blurr, grenade in hand: Alright, but is it explosion-proof?

<>

Blades: Hello HighTide, made anyone cry today?

HighTide: Sadly, no. But it’s only 4:30.

<>

Blurr: I think it's time to start fucking some shit up.

Heatwave: Oh no.

Blurr: More like "oh yes!"

<>

(What I imagine their first meeting looked like)

Quickshadow: State your name, rank, and intention.

Blurr: Blurr, Blurr, fun.

<>

Graham, singing to the tune of I Kissed a Girl: I killed a guy, and I liked it-

Cody, whispering: Should we call the exorcist?

Dani, also singing: The taste of his cherry chapstick.

Kade, appalled: Call the exorcist.

<>

*Everyone is playing a board game together*

Cody: I will put 'A' down to make 'A'.

Kade: I will add onto your 'A' to make 'AT'.

Dani: I will add onto your 'AT' to make 'RAT'.

Graham: I will add onto your 'RAT' to make 'BIOSTRATAGRAPHIC'.

Dani: *flips the board*

<>

Chase: Hey Blades.

Blades: *punches Chase in the stomach*

Chase: What the fuck?!

Blades: You are one of my very best friends. And I cannot stand by and watch you throw away your life like this. You're too young....YOU'RE TOO BEAUTIFUL!

Chase: What the fuck are you talking about?

Blades: I'm talking about the baby that's growing inside of your belly right now.

Boulder: See ya! *leaves*

Chase: I'm not pregnant!

Blades: Well, not after that punch you're not. I've been taking muay thai classes.

Chase: I was never pregnant, Blades!

Blades: Are... you sure?

Chase: Yes I'm fucking sure!

Heatwave: I'm sorry, but why the fuck is everybody yelling over here?

Blades: Oh, I found this positive pregnancy test and—

Heatwave: *punches Chase in the stomach*

Chase: AW, MOTHERFU--

<>

Graham: I’ll be famous one day, but for now I’m stuck in this house with a bunch of morons.

<>

Kade: Ask me anything. Go ahead, I'll give you a straight answer.

Dani: Why are we so fucking awesome?

Kade: That's the best fucking question anybody's ever asked.

<>

Kade: Are you ever going to listen to me?

Graham: Yes. Absolutely.

Kade: When?

Graham: When you're right.

<>

Cody: Slash gamemode creative.

Graham: Bro, this isn't Minecra-

Cody: *starts levitating*

<>

Graham: I regret getting dragged into your heterosexual tomfoolery.

<>

Cody: I don't know, it's not my cup of tea.

Kade: Well then whose is it?

Cody, staring at a cup of tea: I don't know!

<>

Graham: You're violent.

Dani: Yeah but I'm also short and that's adorable.

<>

Heatwave: Die.

Boulder: Please don't die!

Heatwave: DIE!

Heatwave: PLEASE DON'T DIE!

Graham, confused: Why are they yelling at a plant?

Kade, watching while eating popcorn: They bought it together and Boulder wants Heatwave to accept it as their kid.

<>

Dani: Make no mistake. Not only am I party rocking, but I am also in the house tonight.

Cody: But are you shuffling?

Dani: Everyday.

Graham: What language are you two speaking??

<>

Graham, watching Kade and Dani fight: Are you sure they should be fighting? What if they get hurt?

Cody, not bothered by the chaos: It’s fine. They’re too evenly matched to hurt each other.

Graham: Then... who’s the strongest out of you three?

Kade: Cody.

Dani: Cody.

Cody: Me.

<>

Charlie: Cody, can I speak to you for a minute? In private.

Cody: Ooh, someone's in trouble.

Kade, Dani, and Graham: ...

Cody: It's me. I don't know why I did that.

<>

Dani: When will Ted himself...finally show up to the talk?

Kade: The final boss.

Graham: You guys know TEDtalks stands for technology, entertainment, and design talks, right

Dani: I will not let Ted hide behind these lies any longer!

<>

Kade: Some people say that I have a god complex. I’d like to think that I’m a complex god.

<>

Cody: We need to distract these guys.

Kade: Leave it to me.

Kade: Centaurs have six limbs and are therefore insects. Discuss.

Dani & Graham: *immediately begin arguing*

<>

Dani: Which country has the most birds?

Dani: Portu-geese!

Kade: That's a language.

Dani: Portu-gull?

Kade: Good recovery.

Cody: I think you mean good re-dovery.

Graham, taking off his glasses to rub his face: TURKEY. HOW DID WE MISS TURKEY?

<>

Graham: Everyone synchronise your watches.

Dani: I don't know how to do that.

Kade: I don't wear a watch.

Cody, staring at his pocket watch: Time is a construct.

<>

Dani: It’s time to turn this into a real business.

Cody: What do you mean? Like, carry a briefcase, and wear a tie, and pay taxes?

Kade: Wait, have you not been paying your taxes?

Graham: I handle our accounting.

<>

Cody: Like, no offense to myself and all, but what the fuck am I actually doing?

#tfrb heatwave #tfrb boulder #tfrb quickshadow #tfrb blades #tfrb chase #tfrb charlie #tfrb chief #tfrb graham #tfrb dani #tfrb kade #tfrb cody #tfrb salvage #tfrb blurr #tfrb hightide #tfrb #rescue bots #dani burns #kade burns #cody burns #graham burns

[official-anonymous]

YOOO, I JUST WATCHED THIS CRAZY-ASS MOVIE!!!

This thing is completely batshit. Seriously. Here's a list of shit that goes down in this thing:

A fuckton of people die in the first scene. (you don't actually see bodies, but its one of those things where you just know they're dead)

A woman gets eaten by an alien rock

Timeskip to: Some nerd giving a lecture......to his pet fish......in the depressing as hell basement where he works (he's basically a janitor)

A group of Mr. Monopoly cosplayers talk shit about someone

A guy chases down a MOVING CAR and JUMPS ONTO THE FUCKING HOOD just to tell his asshole boss he's quitting (boss responds by being more of an asshole)

A woman cut power to and broke into a guy's apartment and waited in the dark in a thunderstorm for him to come home.......but she didn't kill him or bang him.

An old dude flashes another dude while doing yoga

There's a Cap'n Crunch cosplayer.

GIANT FUCKING ROBOT LOBSTER FUCKS SHIT UP WITH MOUTH PHASERS!!!! (A bunch of people die)

A grown-ass man plays with a car horn while grinning like he's four years old.

Someone drinks an explosives propellant.....and is not affected at all.

A guy says digging is his pleasure in a voice that sounds like he's talking about kinky sex

There's fuckin snow. In a cave. (no, this isn't either of the Frozen movies)

People dump their unfinished meals onto a fire and create a mushroom cloud

("🎶 We didn't start the fire!🎶") Bugs did......but they didn't go after any humans (except, apparently, one. Who then announces that someone will have to suck his ass.)

A clumsy doofus is suddenly a frickin ninja when he chases after a pretty girl.

Old-ass falling apart rope bridges missing boards somehow support two trucks and a bunch of people

There's some weird half fish, half pterodactyl bird things.

A blind guy somehow knows the person he's talking to has a gun, even though no one has told him that in any way.

Two people discover an ancient hovercraft........and total it in less than five minutes (and no one else ever notices this going on)

A guy just grabs a random child that runs by and puts them on his shoulders......and the parents invite this rando and his friends in for a meal.

Arson bugs again! (But they're not committing arson now)

Guy who can't read ancient writing at all somehow knows the document he stole is about a treasure he's looking for and not just a review of some amazing dish the writer had at a party

Someone merges with an alien rock that may actually be an AI

More hovercraft are discovered (and a second one is almost totaled)

A dude who can't drive a car can suddenly fly like he's Top Gun Maverick or something

Shit-ton of shooting......from guys with worse aim than Stormtroopers. Shit-ton of ammo wasted.

The hovercraft have phasers

Dumbass stick person tries to fight a guy who looks like The Hulk (he loses, of course)

Someone escapes death......by turning their would-be killer into a mutant demon-looking thing, then sending the thing into what's basically a giant Salad Shooter.

A person doesn't get killed or even burned to a crisp.....even thought they're inside an erupting volcano (there's other people inside it, but this one was deeper inside it than anyone else.

There's giant robot Iron-Giant-looking things creating a force-field

The one who merged with the possible AI goes back to normal

The characters concoct an elaborate cover up for everything that happened in the movie.

This was some kind of unhinged insanity but I loved it.

[actionsurges]

highlights of the session

arty going alone to do recon, sitting in a locked bathroom while his familiar, locke, who was in Bird Form for the first time flew around an evil scientist lab, rolling a nat1 on stealth such that arty's former boss, our villian realized that finch that got into her lab was someone's familiar.

then proceeded to roll a 9 on a stealth check to vacate the premise as arty himself and decided 'fuck it' and just jumped off the floating island again instead of going the normal way down.

taking only 18 points of damage when he hit the ground and when a guard asked him if he was okay, arty, disguise self'd as a random guard said, "the guard shift was so fucking boring dude" before LEAVING

the above escapade is what landed arty in hot water with his not-girlfriend because she is so worried about how reckless he is and he is so bad at not having the thought process of "i can survive things no one else can so what's a little bit of pain to keep the people i love safe"

artylowe interactions of: barlowe taking arty's glass of whiskey upon realizing he, again, jumped off of a floating island and him going "stealing a man's whiskey is very lethal." the reply "testing a woman's patience is very lethal." and "noted, i'm sorry." // "you know i would've gone with you," "yeah but i didn't want to put anyone else in danger", "just you?", "well yea-" dm voice: you get the sense she intentionally leaves message range. // arty apologizing kind of and admitting that sometimes his lack of care for himself is a bit selfish & barlowe saying "i know it would take an act of god to kill you but it still worries me"

tfw arty 2.0 is roxy's brother

arty managing to knock lady seryan off of a 35 ft. ceiling bc of the bullshit that was his build + the magic item i took for the oneshot (a fire giant potion flavored as juicing himself LMAO)

roxy in her true changeling form and also telling arty that rusk is her brother. roxy threatening lady seryan and arty realizing how amoral & murderous roxy is atm and going "okay, i'll follow your lead, what can i do?" and covering roxy's back.

lady seryan being mouthy and sinister to roxy and arty dropping the pommel of his sword onto her jaw dealing 17 points of damage to her ☠️

roxy ripping lady seryan's throat out

my only nat20 of the night being arty's wolfhound familiar locke attacking and knocking arty 1.5 prone.

arty killing arty 1.5 by putting a shatterstick in its mouth and blowing it up

arty earnestly asking tashalaryx, a draco-lich who has taken the roof off of the building "hey can i help you" and then proceeding to get all of his people to safety, set the four remaining shattersticks to blow the entire vermishard up, surviving 40d6 and then 20d6 points of damage from the explosion and falling from the vermishard.

the reveal that the "dragon" tashalaryx was trying to find to kill is calliope, one of arty's closest friends and he never knew, and she's a changeling and "a good liar" and the story is one we will hear another time in our next episodical oneshot 👀

#liza.txt #arty #it was a jampacked GOOD session #personal d&d tag

[themculibrary]

One Word Fic Titles Masterlist 2

part one

Action (ao3) - EmilyWeaslette mj/peter N/R, 95k

Summary: Peter stepping into the limelight, as seen through videos.

Anew. (ao3) - IViv tony/stephen M, 130k

Summary: In death, there was no glory, no redemption, no salvation.

Only darkness and ice—or that was what Tony thought. He closed his eyes in a Siberian bunker and opened them again on his 41st birthday, with War Machine flying into the distance.

Assemble (ao3) - Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen T, 201k

Summary: Ten years after Thanos' defeat, Clint Barton, with help from Stephen Strange and a SHIELD agent named Leopold Fitz, brings the Avengers, plus Peter Parker, Scott Lang, and T'Challa, from a few months prior to The Avengers Civil War to show them the future so they don't repeat the same mistakes.

Bulletproof (ao3) - foxxcub steve/tony E, 20k

Summary: At age fifteen, Steve Rogers had been in love with Tony Stark.

By age twenty, he’d (mostly) gotten over it. And then he promptly became Tony Stark's fuck buddy.

Ceasefire (ao3) - ipoiledi steve/bucky E, 4k

Summary: It's too hot out to be alive, is what it is.

Countdown (ao3) - ShesLikeTexas steve/tony, pepper/happy, bucky/natasha E, 96k

Summary: Mob Boss Steve Rogers kidnaps Tony Stark and gives him 365 days to fall in love with him.

Counterpart (ao3) - sara_holmes steve/tony M, 217k

Summary: coun•ter•part [koun-ter-pahrt] [noun] 1. a person or thing closely resembling another, especially in function. 2. a copy; duplicate. 3. one of two parts that fit, complete, or complement one another.

Just because Hydra used the DNA of a Captain America from another dimension to create a lab-grown, six-year-old super-soldier, it doesn't mean that said six-year old super-soldier is biologically Steve's, right?

(Where Steve wants to ban Clint from bringing things home from alternative dimensions, until he doesn't.)

Eternity (ao3) - STARSdidathing loki/tony T, 4k

Summary: Tony's been staying away for days at a time, sometimes longer. He won't tell Loki where he's been or what he's been doing, but Loki already knows the reason. Eternity is a long time to commit to one person.

Heat (ao3) - Deastar bruce/natasha E, 22k

Summary: Bruce tries to think of a different angle; there are some facts they’re stuck with, but they may be able to change how their captors perceive those facts. After a moment, he suggests, “What if we make them think—not try to hide that you’re in heat, that’s the truth we could build on—but make them think… you’re in an omega’s heat?” He can see that Natasha immediately likes the idea, but she’s turning it over in her mind, poking at the weak spots, testing the sharp edges. Imprisoned together in a cave, Bruce and Natasha turn their higher thought processes to escape. But not all instincts are bad instincts.

Heroes (ao3) - Overlithe sam/bucky E, 29k

Summary: It’s their first day off in a month and after an exhausting mission all Sam wanted to do was to stay home instead of being dragged by Bucky on a tour of DC’s touristic highlights. But a superhero’s work is never done, especially not when there’s explosions, problems you can’t punch, and a screening of the Greatest Film of All Time.

A slice-of-costumed-hero-life story about loss and hope, the past and the future, and killer bird gifs. (Set a few years after TWS & CA:CW and featuring BuckyCap and FalCap. Also, they make out while in costume, which I feel is the most important part of this summary.)

Homefront - copperbadge steve/tony E, 12k

Summary: Steve Rogers is a capable leader, a kind and cheerful man, a good friend, a strong role model, and a loyal soldier. He's also teetering on the edge of suicide.

Interlude (ao3) - sarahbeniel bucky/darcy E, 66k

Summary: Bucky and Darcy are having trouble communicating. When Bucky suggests they take a break, she assumes it's over. But sometimes a break is just what the doctor ordered…

Orgasmus (ao3) - OhCaptainMyCaptain steve/bucky E, 13k

Summary: It had always felt like his life was nothing but decision-making; what with work, taking out the dames, making ends meet all the time at home - Bucky was always expected to have the answers. That’s how society told him he needed to be. When he was at home, though, things were different. The second his shoes came off and that front door was closed, the only thing Bucky had always wanted was for someone to take care of him.

Ravioli (ao3) - monobuu bucky/tony M, 7k

Summary: Bucky attempts to get Tony’s attention by claiming Pop Tarts are Ravioli. Tony reacts as one might expect.

Run (ao3) - itsallAvengers steve/tony T, 6k

Summary: Steve took a long breath, shutting his eyes and putting two fingers up the bridge of his nose.

“So you’re telling me… you decided it would be a good idea… to start a fight when you were outnumbered… twenty to one?” He asked shortly.

Tony grinned then, and nodded his head.

Salami (ao3) - L1av steve/bucky E, 25k

Summary: Everyone hears stories about the idiots who have to go to the ER to get random objects removed from their asses. If someone told Bucky he’d be spending his weekend in the hospital for one of the most embarrassing occurrences of his life, he’d probably laugh in their face and tell them to go fuck off. But here he is, in the ER with eleven inches of packaged, cold salami stuck up his ass. To make matters worse, his nurse is really hot. Really hot.

Join Bucky for one of the most awkward and yet comical experiences of his life that leads to self-discovery, trust and maybe even love.

Spellbound (ao3) - missbecky steve/tony E, 31k

Summary: After their alien hosts witness yet another heated argument between Steve and Tony, they are hit with a powerful magic spell in order to teach them a lesson. Now they are stranded and alone on a hostile planet. One of them can't see and the other can't hear, and the only way back to safety is on foot. And the Forest is full of dangers…

Sprinkles (ao3) - The_Nerd_Alert steve/bucky E, 225k

Summary: When people asked him 'So Mr. Rogers… what is it you do for a living?', they expected some epic answer; something heroic and demanding, and completely fitting this Herculean supermodel standing before them. That was not the answer they got. Instead, Steve would just give them a knowing look. Steve would laugh. Steve would always answer with a huge smile, ready to take them all by surprise. What was his answer?

'I bake cupcakes for a living.'

Steve Rogers owns the best Cupcakery in Brooklyn. The garage that just opened across the street, however, may be driving business away with its seemingly dirty and rough-around-the-edges staff. Add in the stress of planning a wedding with his fiancée Sharon, plus a high-strung finance manager, and Steve was a nervous wreck. But when the drop-dead gorgeous mechanic with a sleeve full of tattoos and long brown hair comes into his shop one day with a nervous smile and two dollars in his pocket, Steve doesn't think anything could really come of this chance meeting. It's just harmless flirting. Right?

Boy was he wrong...

Targeting (ao3) - queenmab_scherzo steve/bucky E, 149k

Summary: Steve and Bucky end up playing for rival college football teams.

Winterheart (ao3) - orphan_account loki/tony M, 144k

Summary: For his crimes, Loki’s punishment began in a lonely and endless winter. For Tony’s sacrifice, his imprisonment began with a rescue.

A story of ugliness and beauty, inside and out, and learning what the word ‘monster’ really means.

#themculibrary #masterlists #marvel #mcu #fictitles #fictitles masterlist

[abbatoirablaze]

Angel Of Death, Chapter 16

Word Count:  2.1k

Warnings:  violence, mentions of explosions, medical situations, burns, mentions of a taboo relationship, slight angst, mentions of aggression and malicious intentions. 

“Any new news?”

“He’s been laying low boss…” Bucky sighed, “I don’t thin-“

“I’m not paying you to think, Barnes,” Ransom growled, cutting his friend off.  When he looked at him, he sighed, “shit…I’m sorry, Buck.  You know how it is…I just…”

“I get it,” the stoic man replied, “you don’t need to explain it, Ransom.  I know what it’s like to need to protect your own.”

Ransom nodded, not daring to ask about Bucky’s own lost relationship where he’d let go of the woman he loved in order to keep her safe.   Hell, he’d let go of his own empire to ensure that she remained safe. 

“I’d do the same thing if it comes down to it, you know that…don’t you?”

“It should have felt like a tougher choice,” Bucky admitted sadly as he bit his bottom lip, “but I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.”

“She still safe.”

He nodded, “her brother’s protecting her now that he’s in power.”

“You ever see her?”

Bucky shook his head, the mechanics of his arm twitching, “not since the first accident…they think it’s best if…well…you know.”

“She’s not married,” Ransom said sadly, “I know that much.”

Bucky nodded to himself, not entirely wanting to delve down memory lane about the woman that got away, “you need anything else, boss?”

“You’re good, Barnes.”

“I’ll keep an ear to the ground,” Bucky said firmly, his lips pursed in a straight line.  He walked to the door, and it burst open, Bucky narrowly avoiding it.  But he managed to slide out of the way and pass a very angry looking Nicola, “incoming.  Princess Paretti looks pissed.”

“Fuck off, Barnes.”

“Nicola-“

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?”

Ransom looked at his girlfriend, confused as you stormed his desk.  Bucky stopped and turned around, his own brows furrowing as they met Ransom’s, “what the hell are you talking about princess?”

“Like you don’t fucking know,” you hissed, sparing Bucky a glance as you reached for the remote on Ransom’s desk.  Turning on the television, you clicked over to the local news, where your secret penthouse had been bombed.  The top floor looked almost majestic as flames swirled around, and the debris that was on fire fell to the city below, “THIS.  MY FUCKING PENTHOUSE IS UP IN FLAMES!”

Ransom’s eyes shot to Bucky’s again, “baby.  I didn’t know!”

“Bull shit!”

“Barnes!”

“On it!” the man replied, dialing quickly on his phone as he exited the room.  Ransom was quick to walk around the desk.

“Nicola, I swear, I didn’t know…”

“How can I be sure it wasn’t you?” you asked skeptically, pushing him away from yourself.  Tears filled your eyes as you looked at the man you’d started a relationship with, “I know you didn’t want me leaving your estate.  You’re the only other person that knows about it.  You knew me and Charles were going to say there.”

“I swear I had nothing to do with this, baby!” Ransom said quickly.  You looked deep into his eyes, looking for any trace that he might be lying to you.  But when you came up with none, you sighed.  You let him wrap his arms around you as you sobbed into his chest, exhausted by the weight of what had happened in the past few weeks, “I hate to suggest it, but do you think it’s Pronge?”

You froze and you backed away from him, “B-Bobby doesn’t know about the penthouse…I-I bought it a year ago.”

“Baby…assets are easy to look up,” Ransom frowned, “we sent a message when we left Kemp out for the birds.  Pronge was bound to be angry.”

“Her estate was burned to the ground an hour ago!” Both you and Ransom turned to see Ari practically running into Ransom’s office, “oh thank god.  You’re here…”

You felt the anxiety raising again in your stomach, “no…my penthouse was bombed.”

“And your estate was burnt to the ground,” he said quickly, pushing into the room.  Your breath caught in your throat as you watched Ari pull up a separate news channel that had a tagline that someone must be targeting you, showing two separate videos.  One was of your penthouse, the fire raging on.  But the other was of your estate.  It had been burnt to ashes, a pile of cinders was all that was left, “Mary lost her mind.  Thought you and Charles had already gone home.  I was coming to tell Ran-“

“Y-you guys were worried about me?”

You felt a pang in your chest. 

Guilt over assuming that the men who had spent their past few weeks guarding you and your son would ever do something to harm you.  You turned back to Ransom, and he had a frown on his face. 

“We all love you and Charles, Nicola,” he said softly, “I-I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you two in my life…”

You felt the tears welling up in your eyes, “Ra-Ransom, I-“

But your tears were stopped when your phone chimed.  Your brows furrowed as you pulled it from your purse. 

Four pm-The estate. 

Five pm-the penthouse. 

Six pm-the mother

Eight pm-I get my son and you walk away alive. 

You looked at the time on your phone as you shakily showed Ransom.  You didn’t recognize the number, “R-Ransom-“

But before you could ask anything further, a picture showed up.  It was of your mother’s house.  Your blood ran cold. 

“Nicola…”

“M-My mom…Ransom he’s going after my mom…”

Another message showed up with a geotag of the docks, saying that you would have to come there to get your mother. 

“You’re not fucking going.”

“Ransom-“

“Nick and Bucky will go!” Ransom said firmly, “but I’m not letting that psycho anywhere near you or Charles.”

Bucky woke up feeling groggy.  When he attempted to move, he was held back by a strap across his chest. 

“W-what the hell?”

“James!” Bucky’s attention snapped towards the familiar voice.  And all too quickly two small, warm hands were on either side of his face, “oh my god, James...you’re awake.”

“Shuri?” he asked, brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on.  He went to reach up, but only his flesh hand stroked her cheek.  He looked to his left arm and noticed the mottled, ruined metal, “mother fucker.”

“They thought you died,” she whimpered, stroking his cheek.  Bucky hissed in pain, and she frowned, “I’m sorry…you do have some burns where your arm didn’t protect you.”

“Burns?”

“Call it in to Drysdale and Nicola,” Nick huffed as he moved around your mother’s place.  He sighed to himself as he waited for Ransom to respond to the quick message.  Your mother was nowhere to be found, and the geotagged location at the docks was set for Curtis and Ari to investigate. Nick stopped in the living room and crossed his arms, shaking his head, “I’m thinking it was a test from Pronge to see if she would show up with the kid.  Call Everett and Levinson.  See if there’s any movement at the docks.”

Bucky felt it in his bones though. 

Something was off. 

Something was wrong. 

4 pm-the estate

5 pm-the penthouse

6 pm-the mother

8 pm- I get my son and you walk away alive.

“Something’s missing Nick.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What happens at 7?”

“What?” he chuckled, “What are you talking about?”

At 4 he burned her estate to the ground, at 5 he bombed the penthouse.  At 6 he took her mother.  And at 8 he’s supposed to get his son back and she walks away.”

“Seven’s missing.”

“Seven’s missing,” Bucky repeated.  He looked around the room nervously, “Nick…I think we’re seven.”

“Fuck.”

Bucky pulled out his phone once again and realized that it was 6:59, “Shit!  Get out, NOW!”

The younger man dropped his phone and ran after Nick as fast as he could.  They’d made it to the door when a ‘dinging noise went off and a loud explosion was centered behind them.  Bucky pushed Nick out of the way and covered him as much as he could with his arm and his body. 

“If you didn’t push him and cover both of you, you both would have died, James,” Shuri pointed out.  Her hand reached out again, and she stroked her former lover’s cheek once more.  Only this time, Bucky leaned into it, “you are a far cry from my white wolf, James Barnes.”

“I’ll always be your white wolf, my queen.”

“You have gone soft.”

“Being a father will do that,” he reminded her.  She gave him a soft look and he kissed her palm, “I’d do it all again for you Shuri…every second.”

“I know, James.”

“I want to come home.”

“The Wakandans haven’t forgiven you…”

“Your father is dead,” he sighed, “your brother is in power.  They don’t need to forgive me…do they?  Just T’Challa.”  

“He hasn’t forgiven you fully,” she sighed in response, “it will be a long time until you are fully forgiven, James.  I was seventeen.”

“I gave it all to him,” he cried, his lip warbling at the thought of how he gave his entire empire up for the promise that her father would let her keep their children and continue to protect Shuri, “I told him that I would pledge my allegiance to him…”

“And that’s why I haven’t been married off!”

“One day, Shuri,” he promised softly, “I’ll find a way, my queen.  And I’ll make up for every second that I missed with you.  That I missed with our children.”

“T’Challa wanted me to give you this.”

Before Bucky could question it, she had moved out of the way, and a case was in his line of sight, “Wh-what’s this?”

She opened it, and revealed a sleek black and gold arm, “it’s vibranium…and it’s Wakandan.”

“I thought you said that they were mad at me,” Bucky said snarkily, “and that he hadn’t forgiven me.”

“T’Challa recognizes acts of power and compassion,” she reminded the father of her children, “he knows that you are trying, James.  He knows that you are a far better man than when we were together…he wants you to know that he sees that.”

“That’s why he let you come.”

She nodded, “yes.”

“But Kanarie and Ta’Kai.”

“They know of you.”

“He still won’t let me see them.”

“Would you want our ten-year-olds to see you like this?”

Bucky frowned, “No.”

“You are allowed to come back to our estate with me though,” she offered, “he wants to talk to you after I fix your arm.”

Bucky’s breath hitched in his throat, “h-he does?”

“He does,” she confirmed hopefully, “about what, he refused to tell me…but let’s get your arm on and we’ll head to the estate…okay?  I’m sure that he’ll let you see them after you two talk.”

“Okay, Shuri.”

“And James?”

He looked at the mother of his child.  She looked tired, and he knew that it was largely in part to him.  She’d taken care of the twins without him once her father found out about her pregnancy.  He was lucky to evade death when he knocked her up, but not lucky enough to see her again. 

Her father had made sure that she kept the children as per his side of the promise, but Bucky was allowed nowhere near her.  The Wakandans blamed him for ruining the intelligent princesses’ purity and pushing away the suitor who wanted to marry her with his own selfish actions. 

But they weren’t selfish to him. 

He loved her since the first second he met her.  He begged her father for her hand in marriage.  But he’d rejected the idea, stating she had a suitor already.   But when the pregnancy was found out, he disappeared like dust in the wind.  Shuri hadn’t been promised to anyone since.

“Yes?”

She gave him a soft look.  The same soft look that she’d first given him the day she met him all those years ago when they were just two kids shadowing their parents.  The look that made him fall in love with her in the first place.  She leaned forward and Bucky’s eyes fluttered closed. 

Suddenly he was transported to back when they were younger, and Bucky had offered to give her a tour of the estate, but at the first corner they turned, she’d pushed him into a wall and their lips met. 

“Don’t do anything stupid, James…this is an olive branch!” she whispered softly.   Bucky moaned, pulling his lover back to his lips with his flesh hand.  She sighed contentedly against him as their lips worked in tandem. 

“I love you, Shuri…” the older man whispered.

“I love you too, James.”

Chapter 17

Tag List:  @lohnes16, @lala415

#angel of death #shuri #black panther #shuri x bucky #marvel au #marvel #mob au #mafia au #wakanda #sergeant james barnes #sergeant james buchanan barnes #james barnes #james buchanan bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #soft bucky #bucky #white wolf #ransom drysdale #knives out au #knives out

[the-furies]

first three blorbos tpop into your mind :~} -AS

TEE HEE OK <3

T MINUS 3 DAYS TIL PIRATW SHOW RETURNS!!!!!!! OKOKOKOK SO,

I am so mental illness about this man for Reals. I loev his fashion. I lov his vibes. Both before and After he meets Stede. I HOWEVER DO NOT LOVE HOW HE TREATS IZZY AND STEDE'S CREW AND I //sounds of brutal pipe murder// I hope karma gets his ass!!!!!!!! I hope he gets Got in some way that doesn't involve him dying.

Because as much as I Lov Him he is also SSSSOOOOOOOOOOO. SOOOO!!!! MY FUCKING GOD HE IS UNWELL!!!!!!!! V angry man. V V scary also. Absolutely Explosive with anger ain't he. Like sorry your boyfriend of a week broke up with you BRO but don't KILL EVERYONE ABOUT IT??? MY FUCKING GOD????!

But like he looks hot as fuck after he went sicko mode bc of the breakup so he has that going 4 him. u can get it peepaw. sorry who said thatjfjfkskalaodjvmdkdkslsjfnsa

tbis man needs 2 get dicked down. there I said itJFJDKDKFKD

AS MUCH AS we ship him w Ed He also deserves soooo much better. BUDDY your weird friends w benefits boss guy fucking MUTILATED YOU because you got angry at him!!!!!!!! YOU! CAN!! DO!!! BETTER!!!! oh my god! <3.

but also HE'S a little bitch in general too like he also needs to get Got a little bit in s2 and judging by those trailers he fuckin did like what the fuck happened actually dude are you okAY??????? DID ED HAPPEN????! IG WE'LL FIND OUT SOON BUR JESUS CHRIST!

he needs better coping mechanisms. everyone in the show does but Literallyyyy Izzy my guy. GO hang out with stede it might Maybe fix you [it won't. but it's better than hanging out w Ed ok]

I FROGTOT ABOTU STARDEW WHOOPS!!!! WHOOPS OK

Shane Is my husband I married his ass. We had an Autumn wedding. I remember the first day we met I think. I had just fished up a can of soda from the river and then immediately hunted him down and gave it to him bc He's associated w joja cola so mych and he asked why i was giving him my garbage. <3. UQIAKSKDJFZ

he rlly rlly needs therapy and also like im glad canonically he can get therapy!!!!!!! but jesus christ !!!! it's fine thiugh He's my pet husband now I Will Fix Him. I will Fix Him .

i loev and care abt him EO MUCH however He did Force me into adoption a kid [I clicked through the "hey want to adopt?" prompt too fast without even realizing And now I have a creature in my house. I forced it to wear a skull mask though I will be aborting it posthaste As soon as I'm done fucking the wizard it's FINE.] 8/10 man I need 2 get back into stardew so i can neuter him [aka. Bird the kid and then remove the cribs]

↑ the creature wearing the skull. btw

#long post #THANK U ALTON DJSJDJFKFJD #ask #either our first interaction w shane was the cola incident or it was him catching me digging through trash. one of those! HDJDJFFJ #also i hope the stars align & d0u.gd0u.g posts some pe.g.gle vids this month also izzet fuckign loves tht game #and we r def gonna watch s2 as soon as it drops so I'm like. vibrating. waiting 4 hem to pop back in again HCJCKXKX

[greer-writing]

Wednesday : 2/08/2023

Things right now feel complicated. I am angry at myself and the things that go on inside of my head. I am getting to a point where I don’t really want to be around people anymore.... and that scares me. I am used to being a people person, being able to talk through my issues, being able to speak my mind..... I have spent so much time alone and working from home that I do not really ever the time to practice those rituals anymore. I don’t see people anymore... I don’t talk to people. I have turned into a recluse.. and I fucking hate that. 

In reality it is nice being my own boss and it is nice having my own business but I miss human contact. I know longer know how to communicate with people anymore... after all I have spent over a year now hidden in a basement. 

Today I got angry, the anger seems to be coming back through the cracks. Its starting to come out in my nightmares and in my daily activities. I just with people would stop taking it so personal. The anger I hold is between me and myself. For as much as I want to blame other people I can not, I did that for years and it just made me more mad cause in reality I chose who walks into my life, I chose who affects me in what way, I chose to allow all of those choices to fuck me up. Out of all the bad shit that has happened to me in my life only a few things where completely out of my control... everything else was because I made bad decisions or wrong place or wrong time. What kills me is that simple decisions could have helped me avoid these issues like saying no more than once, Not going to Target that one specific time, or letting a dude eat a subway sandwich without being a creep.. or allowing them to be a creep back. It seems to be the tiny things that cause tornados. 

Joe told me I needed to focus on the small things, the small good things but I am going to be honest, there is more rain than sunshine... hardly ever a rainbow.. and not a single bird in sight to tell me a safe place is ahead. 

At this point I am stuck in this state of limbo. Small things are to small, big things are to monumental.. I am a train wreck... Maybe I do act childish, but to be fair I had no choice but to grow up. Joe did have a choice, he had a choice to leave his home and be with his friends and do drugs and be a wild child.... I had to sneak around to do any of that.. I had to lie and hide and sneak out and do stupid shit that forced me into uncomfortable situations I couldn't ask for help getting out of. Being that uncomfortable at that young of an age caused the inner child to duck, hide and find cover. It was explosive. It was dangerous and it was what I thought the idea of teenage fun was supposed to be.... turns out I kept putting myself into shitty situations. At one point I got alcohol poisoning and didn't even care, along with a black eye... all in one weekend. I snuck out of school and almost coped a charge for having sex in a park, I spent the last two years of high school smoking weed trying to let go of shit I should have been coping with. I was put in a mental hospital cause my lack of fucks flew out the window... I even cheated on my first husband countless times... I was literally a walking mental case.. I had no idea who I am (still don't know if I do). I need therapy but can’t really afford that shit..... and even if I could I would now feel guilty for spending money. Honestly, and I have said this countless times, I am exhausted. Mentally and Physically. I want to scream, I want to have a tantrum like a child, maybe cause I was never able to have a tantrum as a child. 

I don't really know if typing this out helped or not, but maybe it will give the future K some insight...... I feel this was a good first writing entry to many that may help me over come some shit I have been battling.

PS FUTURE K: KEEP YOURSELF UPBEAT, EVEN ON THE BAD DAYS TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. EAT. SLEEP. EXERCISE. SING. DANCE. EVEN SCREAM. Let out every single emotion, angry, sad, happy, depressed, anxious. Keeping it all inside can be painful and hurt others. At least try it for a short period of time. JUST KEEP SWIMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

#wednesday #writing #blog #blogger #journaling #escape #savage #depth #sadness #mental health #my past #growth #wife #marriage #life #navagation #personal #fyp #for your page #keep it flowing

[backtobackbakubabe]

I am the Alpha Now Part 18

Bakugo x Reader

Words : 3023

Masterlist

Reader is from America and somewhat of a delinquent with an alpha quirk that allows her to turn into a wolf as well as bond with dogs. She is sent to UA to straighten out her attitude. She ends up in a power struggle with none other than our favorite hot head. Words in Italics are words said telepathically.

************************************************************************

Bakugo started pacing, his boots stomping, his fists clenched in anger. If he wasn’t sure Hawks was somehow in on this before then he was now. The asshole slipped out at the first chance he got. “Mother fucking bird brain! I can’t believe him! I’m gonna find the son of a bitch and pluck out every last feather.”

Kirishima and Midoriya had followed him outside and where giving nervous glances to each other, neither one wanting to bet the one to talk to their ticking time bomb friend first.

Finally, Karishma’s shoulders slumped as he decided he was a little less destructible. “Hey bro. I know this is a stupid question… but are you doing alright? I mean besides the obvious y/n situation.” Kiri could see Bakugo open his mouth to argue but he cut him off before he could. “I mean you just look a little, I don’t know… unhinged. Have you slept at all since you left UA? You look exhausted.”

Bakugo growled, “I’ll sleep when I find her. It’s already been two fucking days, almost three since she went missing! Just cuz you extras need to take your little nap time to function doesn’t mean that I do.”

Kiri gave him a nervous look, “Bakugo, believe me, we all want her back safe. But you have to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. You won’t be much help if you pass out. Maybe we could just head back for a little bit. You can catch us up on what you’ve found since we left this morning maybe catch a quick couple hours of sleep.”

“I said I don’t need a fucking nap. I don’t have time…” Bakugo chewed on his lip as debated on whether he should tell them his new theories. He knew they probably wouldn’t believe him. He understood how crazy it sounded. But if they were going to help then they needed to know. “I think I know who took her… but it doesn’t exactly make sense.”

Midoriya could see the hesitation in his eyes. “Kacchan, whatever it is, you can tell us. We’ll keep it between us. Well us and Todoroki. He’d be here now, but he’s busy trying to get the new house put together. He’s still working on this though. He’s keeping a close eye on internet activity. He’s using his dad’s hero agency’s software to scan through for anything posted about Y/n.” Midoriya rubbed his neck, “It’s not exactly allowed, but I don’t think he cares either way.”

Bakugo looked around to see if anyone was listening. He gestured for the other two to follow him. He was nervous Hawks might still be hanging around somewhere. Finally, when he deemed it safe, he stopped and spun around to face them. “I think the League of Villains took y/n. Well specifically I think Dabi did.” Both Midoriya and Kirishima’s eyes bulged. Bakugo’s nostrils flared, “And I think Hawk’s is helping them.”

***************Y/N’S POV***********************************

Your eyes filled with tears, but it wasn’t the pain of Dabi burning your skin that provoked them. It was the helpless, useless, frustrated feeling that was festering in your chest. You couldn’t do what Dabi was asking you to do. You were trying, but you just… couldn’t do it.

You dug deep, you gave it everything you had, and yet you still had nothing to show for it.

“Come ON! Do you want that crusty creep to turn you to dust? Is that what you want? You want to leave that annoying loudmouth and precious little puppy behind.” You could feel your anger boiling over. But what was its source? Were you mad at yourself for not being able to do it. Were you mad at Dabi for trying to force you to do something you clearly couldn’t? Or maybe you were mad at both Dabi and Hawks for getting you into this fucked up situation. “What do you think will happen to them once you’re gone huh? Will your pooch go back to being just another dumb dog? Will their connection die without you? Will THEY DIE WITHOUT YOU? Who’s to say, maybe I’ll get mad and just kill them myself”

“STOP IT!” You fell to your knees. Fists clenched, eyes squeezed shut. “Shut up! Just shut the fuck up! I’m sick and tired of your annoying ass voice!”

You felt his scared hand grip your chin harshly, “Show me your eyes. Or are you scared I’m going to see you cry and finally understand how fucking weak you are?!“

Your eyes snapped open. They glowed brighter than you can ever remember. The bright blue only reflected in Dabi’s eyes. You could see that he had to squint just to see through it. The words that left your mouth were eerily calm. “I said… shut up.” You gripped the wrist that held your chin with one hand and with your other you broke his thumb and he screamed. “You don’t get to talk about my Mercy like that.” Your grip on his wrist tightened as you pulled out a staple on his hand, watching the blood flow. “How dare you threaten my pack.” You ripped out another staple. “My family.” Another staple. “The love of my life.”

Your eyes glowed brighter and you could feel pure Alpha power coursing through your veins. “Look at you. All stapled together like a patchwork quilt. And why? Because you’re the weak one.” You could see something in his eyes now, was it fear or something else you didn’t know. “I’m an Alpha.” You let go of his wrist and punched him in the face.

Dabi spit out blood and cradled his bleeding hand to his chest. “Oh yeah? Prove it.”

********************** Bakugo POV**************************

Midoriya paced, “Kacchan. You have to know how crazy that sounds.”

Bakugo groaned, “I wouldn’t expect you to understand dumbass Deku. Did you even listen to anything I just said! I have proof!” His eyes bore into Kirishima’s “You believe me right Kiri?”

Kiri rubbed his neck nervously. “Come on man. You have to give us a little more to go off of. All of your proof is just guesses and gut feelings.” He raised his hands up in defense before Bakugo could start yelling at him. “Before you get mad at me, just know I’ll follow you wherever you go, no matter how crazy. But you really need to think this through. You say Dabi has her because you think you felt her being burned through the bond. A bond you also say she’s turned off. You think Hawk’s is in on it because you think you heard her moan in the background of a phone call. You say you think you know where she is because saw something in your head. Something that none of us could see, not even Mercy saw it. You have to understand how that’s not proof right?”

Bakugo started to grow. “Did you follow him like I asked?”

Kirishima looked back and forth between Midoriya and Bakugo in concern. He really thought his best friend might be losing it. “Did we follow who? Who are you talking to?”

Mercy walked out of the shadows. “He’s smarter than you think. He may not have seen me, but he knew he was being followed. I got a good whiff of him though so I should be able to track him down. Even now I can tell he still hasn’t left his apartment.”

“Good. Continue your patrol and report back to me in an hour.”

Bakugo could sense Mercy’s frustration. His fur was sticking up slightly as he showed his teeth. “I know we’re packmates, and I know we’re doing this for Y/n. But you need to remember that you aren’t my alpha any more than I am yours. Quit bossing me around.”

Bakugo rolled his eyes, “Oh give me a break. Are you really going to be a brat right now? You know I didn’t mean it that way. How about instead of bitching about who’s in charge of finding Y/n, we just focus on actually finding her huh?”

Mercy growled, “I’m not bitching, you’re just bossy.”

Before Bakugo could even respond, both of their eyes glowed bright for a brief moment. And in that moment they surged with power. So much power that Bakugo accidentally let off a small explosion.

Bakugo was staring at the hand that had just sent an explosion into a nearby dumpster while Midoriya was up and pacing again. “Okay. I’m just going to say it… What the fuck was that?”

************** Y/N POV*****************************

You could hear you heart pounding in your ears. Your vision started to tunnel. You smelled ash and you could taste blood. But feel? You couldn’t feel anything. You were completely numb. You looked down and was surprised to see your skin had a weird glow to it. You and Dabi had been going at it for a few minutes now. But it honestly felt like an hour had gone by.

All the power you summoned was draining and draining quick. It left you almost as fast as it came. You had blacked out during most of it so you assumed you had gone feral. It had been years since you had done so and you had forgotten about the toll it would take on your body. Were you hurt? Were you dying? You couldn’t tell. You were just numb. You sank to the floor, back pressed against the charred remnants of what used to be the couch. You could see Dabi’s chest rise and fall over to your right. He had passed out, but the fucker was still breathing.

You crawled over to him and fumbled through his pockets. You groaned as fatigue attempted to pull you under. Your fingers finally found what they were looking for and yanked it from his pocket. You focused as hard as you could on the screen in front of you trying to scroll through Dabi’s contacts. Dabi only had like ten numbers and yet you still struggled to find it in time.

You clicked dial and the name feather dick popped on the screen. After a few rings you heard him pick up. “Listen now’s not a good time. I think the mystery gang is onto us…”

Mystery gang huh? Would that make Katsuki, Fred or Shaggy? You chuckled, “It’s me.” You threw up rather loudly. “I think I need help…”

********************* Bakugo POV************************

“Did you seriously just say fuck? Mr. Perfect just swore?”

Midoriya narrowed his eyes, “God Damnit Kacchan! You’re the one out here having one sided conversations with dogs and spouting conspiracy theories, and your worried about me saying FUCK?”

Mercy cocked his head. It would have been cute if he hadn’t been baring his teeth only moments before. “This idiot knows you weren’t having a one-sided conversation, right?” He sniffed Midoriya causing him to stiffen, “I don’t like him.”

Bakugo snorted, “Yeah get in line.” He looked at Midoriya, “Listen if you care about your balls at all I’d stop talking about Mercy as if he’s not here. He’s smarter than you and shitty hair combined.”

Mercy nudged Bakugo’s hand in approval before resuming his sniffing. He went up to Kirishima and shoved his nose in his side, “This one I like. He smells sweet. But not too sweet.”

Kirishima chuckled, “I think what Bakugo’s trying to say is they have a bond we don’t understand.” He rubbed Mercy’s head fondly, “Just because we can’t prove they’re right, doesn’t mean they’re wrong either.” Mercy gave an exaggerated nod and a bark of confirmation. “I say we just go with it.” He shrugged. “If they’re wrong, the only thing we’ve wasted is time. If they’re right, then we find y/n…. seems worth it to me.”

Midoriya gave a long glance at Mercy before leaning down putting his face level with his, “I’m sorry if I offended you. It wasn’t my intention to belittle your intelligence… I’m sure having your alpha torn from you is hard and having Kacchan in your head 24/7 is probably making it even worse.” He ignored the seething look he was getting from Bakugo. “If you can promise to look out for him, and to somehow let me know that what he’s saying is true. I’d really appreciate it.”

Mercy gave a low humming noise, as if he was sizing Midoriya up. He was about to go off on him for even doubting Bakugo but suddenly his head whipped to the side. All of his muscles tensed, and a growl ripped through his chest. “Bakugo. Hawks is leaving his apartment and he’s moving fast.”

“Shit… Okay lead the way. Guys Hawk’s is on the move. Last chance to back out.”

After a few tense moments they both nodded and followed as Bakugo and Mercy took off.

It wasn’t long before they were back in the same district, they had been patrolling earlier that morning. Mercy came to a stop and looked up. “They’re here, now that we’re close enough, I can smell her.”

“Okay Deku and I can start from the top while Kiri and Mercy start on the bottom and we’ll work our way to the middle. Mercy and I can keep each other updated so-“ He pointed to his friends now, “you two idiots stay close to us.”

Without even waiting for a confirmation Bakugo blasted himself into the sky towards the top of the building with Midoriya quickly following after him. Kirishima sighed and looked at Mercy, “Not exactly subtle, is he?” Mercy whined and walked towards the entrance of the building. “Lead the way man. I’ll watch your six.”

*********************Y/N POV********************************

Thankfully you hadn’t passed out, but you still felt like shit. Three days of torture and hard work will do that to a person. The door slammed moments before you felt Hawks pulling your head into his lap. “Hey kid! Open your eyes and look at me.” You groaned at the idea. Even lifting your eyelids felt impossible. “You’re okay, you’re fine. You’re safe. Big bad Dabi is passed the fuck out. Let’s just get those eyes open yeah?”

You just groaned again like a petulant child before letting out a weak, “…no”

Hawk’s sighed, “I’m just trying to make sure you’re okay kid. But fine. Be stubborn. I’ll just have to-“

A loud explosion sounded from outside the building. Your heart pounded because you’d know that sound anywhere.

Before you knew it your head was being dropped back to the floor with a dull thud. “Shit.”

You could hear Hawks scurry over to Dabi, “Hey! Patchy! You need to get up and get the hell out of here. There are heroes here. I can still spin this in my favor. But you need to leave. Like NOW!”

You heard Dabi hiss as he tried to sit up and if you had the energy you would have smirked at the fact that you were the reason he was hurting. But then you remembered that you weren’t much better at the moment.

Dabi shuffled over to you, leaning over to speak directly into your ear. “You go along with whatever he says. Do you understand me? You air our dirty laundry and I’ll air yours. I just need to hit a button on my phone and your little secret is out.”

You took a deep breath and forced your eyes open. You could tell by the shocked look on his face that they were still glowing. This had to be a record. Usually they stopped as soon as the adrenaline wore off. “I’d get going if I were you. I may be too exhausted to kick your ass but I don’t think Katsuki will feel the same way.”

Dabi growled before forcing himself onto his feet and leaving the room.

You figured there was no point trying to hide from them anymore. They found you, the jig was up. You looked at Hawk’s pacing. “So what are you going to tell him?”

Hawks played with a feather as he brainstormed, “I’m going to say I received an anonymous tip and flew out here as soon as I could. Found you here, by yourself and that Dabi must have gotten away. I mean look at the place you guys tore it to pieces. It’ll be obvious I didn’t do this.”

You nodded knowing full well that Bakugo wouldn’t believe a word of that. “So is it okay for me to tell him where I am? I mean if you just “rescued” me then that would only make sense, right?”

You reached out before Hawks even said anything and felt for pack. The bond opened up and you were flooded with relief. Your eyes even teared up a little at the empty spot in your chest felt warm again. You could tell Bakugo was two floors above you while Mercy was three below. Sneaky boys. You hoped Mercy caught the chance to sink his teeth into Dabi.

“Y/n. Baby! I’m here where are you pup? Please tell me you are okay.” You brushed a tear aside. You could feel Mercy’s presence as well, but he must have been focusing on something else because he remained quiet. Maybe he did find Dabi after all.

“I’m fine. I’m two floors down from you-“

You heard a loud bang come from the other side of the door. Naturally your impatient boyfriend couldn’t be bothered to use the stairs. Nope. He came straight through the ceiling. Next thing you knew the door was blown from it’s hinges and he and Deku were rushing in.

He looked around frantically until his eyes met yours. He crossed the room in seconds and fell to his knees in front of you. He scooped you into his arms as his lips found the top of your head. “I’m here now pup. It’s okay. God damnit please don’t ever do this to me again.”

You gripped the front of his shirt and just breathed in his comforting scent. You allowed yourself to relax into him, “I’m sorry. I didn’t really have a choice. I’m so sorry.”

***********************************************************************

Tags: @tspice283 , @realityisoftendisapointing , @imbi-101 , @thoughtfulpandazine2, @hotarumorikawa , @huh-iwasntpayingattention , @starfishlovingbnha , @weebnumber3622 , @mixedfeeelings , @munchmunch01 , @inumorph@xxoperatexx @runrabbitrun3 @insane-without-delirium @yolei94

#bakugo #bakugo katsuki #bakugo x reader #bakugo x y/n #mha bakugou #bhna bakugou #mha #mha x reader #mha imagines #my hero academia #my her academia

[thatfanficstuff]

Nightingale’s Song - 12

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC

Warnings: um...mentions of blood and angst

***

Anna sighed as her and Steve entered the lab. He refused to take her word for it that everything was fine. He wanted an x-ray so he’d dragged her off to Banner. It appeared the scientists were just finishing up the batch of sedatives they needed for the mission.

“Bruce, we need an x-ray,” Steve announced, sounding every bit the disgruntled super soldier he was. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest still annoyed with her for how she’d gone about repairing the damage.

He rushed over. “What happened?”

Tony snorted. “I would guess she failed the test.”

“Guess again, Iron Man,” she said over her shoulder as she followed Banner out the door to head to the infirmary.

“Raven broke Anna’s arm,” Steve said as they moved down the hall in answer to Bruce’s earlier question.

Anna hopped up on the table she’d already spent too much time on. “Arm’s fine. Steve lacks faith in my remarkable healing abilities.”

Bruce hummed in acknowledgement. “Let’s see it.”

Anna held out her arm and Bruce manipulated the limb while watching her for any signs of distress. “Feels fine, Doc.”

“Well, let’s take a look at it.” He ran a scanner over the arm until an image appeared on the large screen beside them. Bruce studied it for a second before looking at Steve. “If I didn’t know you as well as I do, I would say you were lying about the break. There’s no sign of it here. Not even a shadow.”

Anna hopped off the table and patted Steve’s chest. “See Steve. All good. Now, I need clothes I can fight in.”

Steve’s sigh was one of utter defeat and Anna couldn’t stop the small smile that came to her face.

***

In the end, Loki conjured up an outfit for her to wear. It was incredibly comfortable. Natasha then fitted her with a pair of holsters and two pistols along with a couple of knives. Once she was outfitted, Anna found Steve and turned in a circle. “Well, what do you think, boss?”

His lips twitched as he fought a smile. He tapped his chin as if deep in thought. “There’s something missing.”

Anna glanced down in surprise. She thought they’d covered everything. When she looked up to say as much, Steve was undoing the clasp of the chain he was wearing. As he pulled it from his shirt, light caught the stones on the ring that hung from it. Anna gasped before covering her mouth with a trembling hand. It couldn’t be.

“Is that…” she trailed off, not daring to hope he still had it after all this time.

He tilted his head and offered her a crooked smile. “Haven’t taken it off in seventy years. I never thought I’d be able to keep my promise to bring it back to you.”

Anna held up the chain and let the ring fall into her open palm. Tears blurred her vision as she looked at it for the first time in so long. She wanted nothing more than to slip back onto her finger where it belonged, but now wasn’t the time. She didn’t want to risk losing it in some dark corner of a Hydra base. Instead, she put it back onto the chain and clasped it around her own neck before tucking the ring into the collar of her shirt.

She lunged forward, causing Steve to grunt in surprise as she wrapped her arms around him. He was quick to return the gesture. “Thank you, Steve.”

“You’re welcome, Anna. Now, let me keep my other promise to bring Bucky back to you. It’s overdue.”

***

The Quinjet set down a mile away from the facility. It would impede a quick getaway but made it less likely they’d be spotted going in.

Everyone gathered around Steve just outside the jet. “All right, Nat will set the charges. Tony, take point and clear the hallway. Then we split up. Stay in pairs or threes. Lethal actions against the three targets only if necessary. Isolde will take point on the girl. Clint and Raven focus on the boy. Anna and I have Bucky. Call for backup when needed. Stay on comms. Any questions?”

“If any of you happen to find a blond doctor that wears glasses and an obnoxious smirk, let me know. We need to have a little talk,” Anna added. Her tormenter should be long dead, but just like her, he never seemed to age. Bastard.

They all just looked at her for a moment before Steve spoke up. “You heard the lady. Let’s go.”

As they neared the facility, it became apparent that they had somehow managed to go undetected. They quietly took out guards while doing their best to avoid the cameras. Anna licked her lips as she watched the assassin blow the door. There was a moment of stillness, of anticipation, after the explosion and then they charged forward in a flood of light and noise.

Anna and Steve were the last to enter and she wasn’t sure if he wanted to take up the rear or if he was still trying to protect her. Perhaps a combination of both. Though he did step back and let her take the lead as she steered them through the warren of hallways. They paused only to take out the occasional Hydra agent or place an explosive on the wall so they could blow it when they evacuated.

Anna steered them true and they quickly found the cryo chamber where they kept Bucky. It was empty. Of course, it was. Nothing could be that simple. Tension coiled in her belly. What if he wasn’t here at all? What if he was on assignment somewhere?

A heavy hand fell on her shoulder, bringing her back to the present. “We’ll find him.”

She simply nodded her head, not knowing what else to say.

“We’ve got eyes on Winter,” Natasha’s voice suddenly came over the comms. “Hallway 3B. He dodged the tranq shots. Could use a little help here.”

Anna and Steve hurried through the halls, doubling back twice when they realized they’d taken a wrong turn. Finally, they rounded a corner and found Natasha, Clint and Raven fighting Bucky. It was always harder to take someone down when you were trying not to kill them.

Steve sucked in a breath as he saw his best friend. “Buck,” he whispered, Anna barely hearing the word he said so softly. He rushed forward to join the fray but Anna hesitated. Images flashed through her brain of the last time she’d seen him. The cool blade biting into her flesh. The pool of blood she’d awakened in. And the pain. God, the pain.

“Nightingale!”

Steve’s yell brought her back to the present and she realized it probably wasn’t the first time he’d called for her. He grappled with Bucky. Natasha was on the floor struggling to catch her breath with Raven knelt beside her. Clint was trying to get a good shot from his bow without hitting Steve who kept putting himself between his best friend and the archer.

“Hey, Soldier,” Anna called as she moved forward. She placed a hand on Clint’s shoulder and pulled him back. “I got this,” she told him. He stepped back but maintained his stance. She didn’t blame him. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. Breathed through her anxiety. “Asset.” She hated herself even as she called him that. That name that made him a faceless thing. A tool to be used.

Bucky’s gaze shot to her before focusing back on Steve. He wasn’t going to take orders from her. He probably didn’t even remember her healing him.

She sucked in a breath. She only needed his attention long enough to sedate him. So, she sang. “Stars shining bright above you. Night breezes seem to whisper I love you. Birds singing in the sycamore tree. Dream a little dream of me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Natasha mumbled.

But then they all noticed Bucky shake his head as he tried to stay focused. To keep fighting.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but keep doing it,” Clint said.

“Say nightie-night and kiss me. Hold me tight and tell me you’ll miss me. While I’m alone and blue as can be. Dream a little dream of me,” she continued. Tears trailed down her face.

Bucky turned to face her, his fight forgotten. His face was contorted in confusion. Anna smiled. “Hey, Bucky.”

“Who the hell is Bucky?”

God, that hurt. But before she could even think of a response, his eyes rolled back in his head. Steve caught him before he hit the ground and draped him across his shoulders. “Let’s go. Everyone else is already at the jet.”

Natasha took the lead and the Bartons brought up the rear. They hurried toward the exit. “So, was that a music tames savage beast kind of thing or what?” Clint asked as he fell into step with her. He kept his voice low so he wouldn’t distract the others.

Anna glanced at him. “Something like that. It was our song. It was how I got his memory back the first time. I figured it was worth a shot.”

Clint smiled and looked at his wife before turning his attention back to Anna. “He must really love you if that cuts through all the shit they filled his head with.”

Anna could only hope that love would be enough to bring him back to her.  

#bucky barnes x oc #bucky barnes fanfiction #avengers fanfiction #my mcu #series #nightingales song

[fatalezr]

Secret State - Part 5

"Mr Beresford and I were having an interesting conversation"

Rebecca looked between Marcus and George. Marcus's eyes were narrowed and his fist was curled into a ball. He seethed annoyance. "I think it's time for you to go home now, George," he said.

George did not move from his seat. "On the contrary, I believe I need to speak to Miss Davidson immediately, is that not right?"

Rebecca opened her mouth but Marcus gently pulled her arm and she found herself face to face with him. "You don't have to do this" he told her, "you really don't".

She found herself torn. She was still cold and wet after running from the Passion nightclub and the adrenaline from her fight was subsiding, giving way to just pain from some of the bruising hits she had taken on the ground. She squeezed Marcus's arm but pulled herself to the middle of the room. "Perhaps I can change and then all three of us can chat?" she offered.

"By all means," George said. She turned to Marcus, who nodded.

"Right," she said, "and maybe...maybe a cuppa and a bite too?"

"Sure," Marcus said. Rebecca squeezed his arm again. Giving him a task to do would keep him and George from each other's throats. She had some spare clothes in Marcus's bedroom and she stripped off her wet pantsuit, shoulder holster and underwear, opting for a pair of baggy joggers and a large hooded sweatshirt instead. She rinsed her face in the bathroom and took a few seconds to stand by the radiator, enjoying it's warmth. She looked at herself in the mirror and tried to sort her hair. It was time to play the diplomat.

When she returned to the living room, Marcus had followed through on his promise with a cheese and ham toastie and a cup of tea waiting for her. She sat on the sofa, Marcus to her left and George on the armchair to her right. They both looked at her expectantly whilst she took a bite from the toastie. It was delicious. Being a spy certainly built your appetite, she thought. She kept the two men waiting until the silence became farcical and she started to giggle. George joined her and Marcus too. 'Yes' she thought, 'time to bring these two together'.

She took another bite and began telling them of her story throughout the day - their arrival at Heathrow, the uneventful afternoon in the hotel, Umarov and his guard heading to the Passion club, their meeting with Romanov and her eventual escape and fight with the bodyguard. Both men listened respectfully and in silence until she finished. Marcus was still silent afterwards, a look of deep thought on his face while George began questioning the details of her story, helping her recall any details that might be useful to them.

"And the recording?" he asked finally, "have you listened to it?"

"Not yet" Rebecca said. She took her phone out of her pocket and played it. The audio was not perfect but you could hear the deep Russian voices despite the techno music playing from downstairs in the club.

"Excellent work" George said, listening to it, "most excellent indeed. I'm very proud of you, Rebecca".

"Proud?" Marcus finally spoke and leaned forward, "she almost gets fucking killed and you're proud?". There was an anger in his voice that Rebecca had not heard before and a far cry from the kind and gentle man he was normally.

"Yes, proud". George's voice was still calm. "You successfully completed your mission and gained valuable intelligence".

"And almost got taken by a foreign state in the process" Marcus was not letting this go.

"But Mr Beresford," George countered, "at the weekend you knowingly walked into a terrorist attack. You were the first man in a building that could have been wired with explosives, seeking to find an enemy that may have been armed with any kind of weaponry".

"That's different" Marcus argued, cutting George off, "I'm fucking trained for that shit, I signed up for it and I'm backed by my fucking team behind me. This - this shit...you wouldn't care if anything happened to Bec. She's just a fucking pawn to you".

George narrowed his eyes and looked at Marcus. "I assure you that is not so".

"Look Bec" Marcus ignored him and took her hands. Rebecca was aware of the tension in the room, "you know you're a badass right? A badass boss who I love more than anything, but look, this isn't Mulvaney. This isn't you and Kate and me and Sunita taking on a crime lord. This is just some fucking elitist twat getting you to do his dirty work that he wouldn't have the guts to do himself". He let go of her arms. "I'm begging you, let it go. Walk away. You don't need to do any of this".

Rebecca felt tears well in her eyes. He spoke to her with a passion and a love that no-one else in her life could compare to. She considered what he was saying, that George and MI5 were using her as a disposable asset. She remembered the way George had helped her after her first encounter at Webster Communications. The two didn't add up and yet she knew that Marcus was speaking from a place of genuine concern. It was all far too messed up and emotional. She thought of the lives she had helped save at Borough Market but also of the lives lost at the power stations, the growing crowds of extremists in the streets, the angry discord on social media and on television. Could she really walk away now, after everything?

"You're right" she told Marcus, "I don't need to do this....but....I want to. I can't just leave it be now, not after everything that's happened". She saw the disappointment in his face. "But I love you" she told him sincerely, putting her hand on his face, "I love you and I want this to work too".

"Me too" he said, "and I'm not trying to wrap you up in cotton wool and all that patriarchal bullshit Bec, I'm not. It's just....this....I can't tell you I'm OK with it when I'm not".

"I know" she said, and a tear fell from her eye as she spoke, "but I need to do this anyway and I think we....we probably both need to take some time....to think things through". She could not believe she was turning him away and yet she found herself doing so. He looked crestfallen too and she kissed him. "I love you Marcus" she told him, "I really do".

"I love you too" he said, "I'll always be in your corner Bec, always".

"I know" she said, and pulled away. She used her sleeve to wipe tears from her eyes before turning to George, who had remained sitting and silent throughout. "You want to go analyse the recording?"

He nodded and stood to go get his coat. Rebecca went to Marcus's room and packed up her wet clothes and gun. She opened the drawer where the rest of her things were and considered packing them too but stopped. No, she thought, I'll be back, we'll be back. She returned to the living room and kissed Marcus again. It was painful but she also knew she had another request for him. "Don't tell Kate" she asked him, "please".

He paused for a few seconds but nodded and she knew he would keep his word. He squeezed her hand as she walked out, neither one of them wanting to say goodbye. There were tears in his eyes too but he still attempted to smile and wink at her as she left with George.

------

"A bird called Harmony here to see you, sir?"

Rebecca heard the bartender talking on the phone and wasn't thrilled to hear herself referred to as a 'bird' but pretended not to notice. She looked into the security camera above the bar to make sure she was showing her face clearly - she had a feeling that the man she was meeting would recognise him. The bartender carried on talking over the phone but eventually hung up and turned back to her. "Sure" he said, walking out from the bar and unlocking a door marked 'private' that was nearby, "you can go down".

Rebecca thanked him and headed down the corridor, considering how much had changed since her last trip here. For starters, she wasn't armed this time. She wore a smart red dress over her tights and carried her coat in her arms. She reached the door at the end of the corridor and entered. "Hello Simon" she said, smiling.

Simon Selwick rose from his chair wearing a bright pink shirt and electric blue trousers. "Ahh!" he cried in a flamboyant manner that made it seem like he always thought he was performing in a cabaret, "my dear Rebecca! How charming to see you". He kissed her on both cheeks.

"How's business this winter Simon?" she asked him.

"Well" he said, looking rather pleased with himself, "it turns out that this is now the hottest place to spend a Friday night in London now certain other establishments are out of business". He winked at her and Rebecca knew he was still thankful to her and Kate for torching Kieran Mulvaney's high-end brothel a few months ago. "All strictly above board, of course", he added.

"Don't worry Simon, I'm not here as a detective this afternoon" she assured him.

"I am glad to hear it - far too late on a Friday for such things" he joked with her. He beckoned her to sit on his leather sofa. "You should stick around for this evening - lot of A-list celebrities in town for their winter shopping. I could happily make an introduction?" he offered.

"Thanks, but I'm afraid this isn't a purely social visit".

"Oh Rebecca" he said, with an overly camp disappointment in his voice, "you work too hard my girl".

Rebecca giggled and shook her head. "I need your help" she said, "I'm wondering if you've ever had the patronage of a certain Arkady Romanov?"

Selwick looked shocked. "Are you asking me to reveal the details of a possible customer? I could never do that" he said playfully.

"Oh please" said Rebecca, playing along and fluttering her eyelashes at him, "not even for a good friend".

"Well I suppose if I knew it could remain between us...." Rebecca nodded and Selwick giggled. "...then I could tell you that yes, Mr Romanov has been known to frequent some of my establishments and from time to time enquire about our other...executive services".

'Executive Services' was Selwick's polite way of talking about his range of high-class escorts that could sometimes be spotted in the car with various celebrities and high-powered individuals as they attended a gala or function. Rebecca had seen several glamorous models next to Romanov in her research and she was glad that her hunch had proved correct. "And what do your executive services think of him?" Rebecca pressed.

"That he's a perfectly nice and genial fellow. He doesn't really ask them for much, just a nice bit of company for an evening whilst he dines. Sometimes the evening progresses further...other times it does not. He pays on time, treats them well...a perfectly good and happy customer". He looked at her with concern. "Please tell me I can keep relying on him as a good and happy customer?"

"Don't worry about that" she assured him, "he'll still be a loyal paying customer for a long time. Where does he take the girls? Have they ever noticed anything out of the ordinary?"

Selwick thought long and hard. "Dinners mostly...ballet once or twice when a Russian group is in town....to Wembley a few times for the football...." His face furrowed, "in fact" he said, remembering, "this was a little strange from my remembrance. Normally he's pretty consistent in wanting girls who can speak Russian, someone he can have a conversation with but I think on two of those nights..." He got up, walked behind his desk and pulled out a black folder from beneath it. "Let me see, let me see...ah yes, here we are. Yes, on a couple of those occasions he specifically requested an English girl with no Russian".

Rebecca frowned - what did that mean? "How good is his English?"

"Pretty poor from what I've heard," Selwick said, "which is why I remember my girl telling me it was a slightly strange evening. He disappeared for quite a while during the match, missed a full half of it from what I recall. Is this the kind of strangeness that interests you?"

"It is," Rebecca said. It made sense to her - a non-Russian girl would not understand any conversations he was having and she supposed a match at Wembley would see all eyes trained on the pitch rather than if anyone was missing from the luxury boxes. "Has he made any requests lately?"

Selwick checked his notes. "It appears he has - for Tuesday evening during the England and Turkey friendly. Ah yes, English speaker only please it says".

"Have you got a girl lined up?"

Selwick sighed - he understood the subtext behind Rebecca's question. "I had" he began to say, "but I suppose she might feel poorly over the weekend and have to be replaced". He spoke slowly and deliberately. "He does...erm...like to inspect the girls before we make a formal match...purely for his...erm...aesthetic pleasure".

"He likes to inspect?"

"He likes to see the girl...in action generally". Simon threw his arms up. "I do not presume to judge the wonderful nature of my clients, you see, if they are honest, if they pay on time, if they treat my staff well, who am I to say what a man might find desirable?"

Rebecca sighed. "And when is his next inspection due?"

Selwick gulped. "Tomorrow evening".

Rebecca smiled. "Then I guess I'm seeing you tomorrow?" Selwick nodded. "And you said I don't come around here enough Simon". She gave him a wink and he laughed nervously.

------

"A bit of oomph?"

Rebecca looked back at the woman, who was looking at her breasts as if sizing them up under her jumper. "Yes" Rebecca repeated to her, "a bit more oomph please". Despite being on her own, she could sense that if Kate were with her, she would be smirking.

"I know just the thing". The young shop assistant was thorough and walked Rebecca through some of her options. She was back in the Agent Provocateur store in London that she had gone to with Kate over the summer. She remembered how that day had ended - with them killing a couple of Russian spies for George and then getting drunk at a local pub. She still had Kate's words ringing in her ears telling her that she needed larger breasts and she cursed herself that she was still listening to that, but also admitting that if it could help her seduce one of the world's richest businessmen, a bit of extra 'oomph' might come in handy.

She had finally gotten round to withdrawing some of the cash from her MI5 account and was using some shopping time to treat herself and refresh her wardrobe with some high-class pieces. Nicer underwear was a way she could do that, she reasoned. It wouldn't be obvious to her colleagues but instead was something she and Marcus could enjoy. She frowned thinking about Marcus. They had exchanged a few messages but she knew that for now the best thing for both might be to take a few days apart. She had been non-commital to her mother when she rang offering him a chance to join them for a family Christmas in a few weeks. December was around the corner and she knew her family would be in festive mode already with a tree assembled and lit up in the front room.

She went into the fitting room and tried on several of the sets that the shop assistant had helped her pick out. She used the time alone to think back on the previous week. After she had left Marcus's house on Tuesday, she and George had travelled straight to Thames House where the recording from her phone could be uploaded and analysed. They had next spoke on Thursday. Once the audio had been cleaned up, a translator had been sent to work and a transcript provided. Romanov had been asking Umarov when his next payment would come for him and what seemed like another group of people he was working with. Umarov calmly responded that all would be settled soon. Romanov seemed disappointed until Umarov had mentioned that something called 'Redbeard' would be moving to the next phase soon and to make sure all arrangements were in place for the next meeting he was hosting, before a telling joke about him bringing a different girl to each one led George and Rebecca to expect he was known for using escorts. They resolved she would meet Simon Selwick to find out if he knew about these supposed secret meetings Romanov was attending and to try and infiltrate Rebecca amongst it.

'And now here I am, finding an outfit or two to try and seduce someone again' thought Rebecca, finding the thought amusing but also painful as she was now alone with no Kate to support her. She tried on several matching sets and a couple of suspender belts that she knew could also double as a makeshift holster if needs be. One or two bras certainly gave her the extra lift she had been looking for and the rest would be perfectly acceptable underneath her work clothes. She admired her figure in the mirror and smiled with confidence. She could look really good when she wanted to.

After paying, she wandered around some other shops in Covent Garden, buying a couple of cocktail dresses that could look good at festive parties, some smarter shoes around the office and other work clothes that could project confidence as a detective. London's streets were busy with people doing shopping and by late afternoon the Christmas lights were on and the streets were packed. Rebecca took the bus back to her home and ate some food. Simon had told her to report to one of his clubs in Mayfair at 8:30pm so she had some time to get ready first.

She spent some time preparing her hair and makeup and started to wonder how on earth she could seduce one of the most powerful men in the city. What should she do? 'What would Kate do?' she asked herself. Kate would be perfect for this kind of situation but the idea of having a conversation with her would just lead to more questions. She dressed in a lacy black set she had bought, slipped on a black dress whose skirt came down to her knees and headed down to Mayfair.

Simon Selwick was not at his usual club - this one was a much more discreet affair with no sign on the front of it. The building was of the old style of a former hotel that now housed offices for consultants and lawyers upstairs but there was a staircase to the side of the building that led to the basement area. Selwick welcomed Rebecca and led her down the stairs. Everything was modern, with a series of discreet rooms that had different coloured hues to them. Selwick led Rebecca to a changing room with mirrored lights on the wall where she could put her coat down.

"Oh don't you look gorgeous!" he told her as she revealed her black dress. "Now, wait here and I'll send for you when he arrives". Rebecca thanked him and settled into a seat. A few other women popped in from time to time to adjust makeup and for one to reapply some clothing that had got lost. They gave Rebecca a sly eye but kept to themselves.

After twenty minutes of waiting, Selwick re-appeared in the room, carrying a tray with a champagne bucket on it. "He's in our blue room" he said, "now go put on a show and seal the deal".

Rebecca breathed deeply and clenched her fist. Time to do this, she thought. She picked up the tray and tried to walk confidently out of the room. The Blue Room was exactly as it's name suggested. There was a neon blue light all around the edges of the room casting light onto metallic tables and a blue sofa. Romanov was alone in the room, wearing a simple grey jumper and blue jeans. He was texting on his phone as Selwick and Rebecca entered but looked up at her as she walked in. He looked at her and she smiled.

"This is Harmony" Selwick introduced her before bowing his head and leaving the room. Romanov kept looking at Rebecca with a blank face as she set the champagne bottle down and poured a glass. He looked disinterested in it and picked up his phone. Rebecca saw there was a pole on the back wall and walked slowly towards it, trying to make her rear swing as she did.

She reached the pole and slowly swung herself around it. She had never learned to pole dance and this was the first time she found herself regretting that fact. She faced Romanov and instead decided to strip, slowly removing the straps of her dress off her shoulder. She turned around and undid the zip on her dress before dropping on her knees. 'This is harder than it looks in the films' she thought. Why had she not rehearsed a routine? She stood up tall again and eased the dress off her, letting it drop to the floor and revealing the black lace that was hidden beneath. Rebecca turned around - Romanov was looking at his phone again and not paying her any attention.

She tried to dance slowly, running her hands over her breasts and moving her body. She stroked her stockinged legs. Romanov glanced up but appeared bored. Rebecca cursed herself - she was losing him.

'What would Kate do?' she asked herself, and her colleague's voice seemed to magically appear in her ears. "Be a badass and take control of the situation". 'Take control' thought Rebecca, 'take control'. The revelation hit her. She flung herself around the pole with force and used the momentum when she let go to stride towards Romanov. He looked up from his phone just as she was almost on him. Rebecca grabbed the phone from his hand, tossed it behind her and straddled him. She bit her lip and stared him in the eye - he could not look away. She grinded her crotch into his and felt him stir. She reached behind her for the champagne glass and drank some, her mouth inches from his face.

He was staring at her, almost transfixed. He said something softly but Rebecca could not understand it. He looked at her. "Russian - you speak?" Rebecca shook her head. He nodded, as if in thought. "You..like...er...football?"

"No" Rebecca whispered softly back to him, "but I do like you". She pulled on his jumper and kissed him passionately. He kissed her back but then broke away.

"Da" he said, and pushed her gently off him. He wandered to the door of the room and exited. Rebecca observed him talking to a man in a black suit outside before the door shut again. She wondered what had just happened - had she managed to blow it? What did it mean? She sat back on the sofa and decided to finish the glass of champagne that she had started drinking.

A few minutes passed, the only noise being the loud music that filled the underground club and rooms. She was about to leave when Simon Selwick returned. He looked at her and smiled. "Well you certainly made quite the impression!" he said jovially, "and you've earned yourself a ticket to Wembley with him on Tuesday". He walked to Rebecca's table and poured himself a glass of champagne. "I'd call that a pretty good night's work, wouldn't you?"

Rebecca cheersed his glass and smiled back. She had found her way in.

#hitwoman #silencer assassin #silencer hitwoman #women with guns #story #secretstate #female assassin

[write-like-you-mean-it]

A Hunter’s Prey: Birds and Park

Not one of the Phantom Troupe members or Illumi and I moved until the paramedics had moved most of the casualties out of the building. The bustling place became a ghost town almost instantly. No one wanted to be in a place dedicated to so much death. The screen had become black many minutes ago. I looked back and forth between my friends and my love. All of whom seemed to not react to anything. 

I decided to make the first move because I had to talk with Machi. Afterall, her and Hisoka had a history that I’d rather not know. When I started to get up from my seat, Illumi lightly grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down. 

“No. It’s not time yet.” His voice was more poignant than before. Thoughts must be running a mile a minute inside his brain. Even in all the hysterics, I would think that Chrollo would return for his team; yet, he hasn’t. This was part of a bigger plan than I realized. The spider’s leader knew he was going to win from the start yet the fight went on as planned. 

Illumi held tightly to my wrist. I turned to look at his stoic face that had yet to leave the screen. “Illumi, are you alright?”

He paused the same way that he normally did. All that he said was an extremely hesitant “-yes.” He was lying. It was the first time in our relationship that I realized he was lying but I don’t think he even knew he was.

“I have to go with them,” I said, turning my attention to the troupe. They sat as stoically as Illumi. There was no discussion or movement. I could’ve sworn they were statutes beyond seeing Machi’s breathing. 

“You’ll return back to me?” He’s lost so much in this past week. It was starting to break him. I could feel deep in my soul that I should stay with Illumi as there was something wrong. The feeling made the skin on the back of my neck crawl. 

“Always. I’ll always return to you. Wait for my call.” Illumi let go of my wrist as a calling card of his trust. Before rejoining, I kissed Illumi’s cheek as a seal of our promise. I’ll return the same as him. 

When I reached the front of the room, Machi, Shalnark, and Kortopi all seemed to escape their trance. “Nice to see that the boss still can kick ass,” smiled Shalnark. His happy demour never changed even when we all felt the heavy weight of the room. “We still have to confirm that Hisoka is dead. Who knows if the clown has tricks but I doubt he’d strived that big an explosion.”

“Yeah. He wouldn’t,” replied Machi. Her normal lackadaisical tone held a hint of momentary sorrow. 

“It’s still our job to check. Hopefully the police don’t see us,” said Kortopi. He would be the first to lead the charge out of the room. The two boys ignored my presence as they passed beside me. Machi, on the other hand, stayed in her place. 

“Machi?” I questioned while looking at the two boys that left and back at her. “Are you okay?”

“No.”

She was simple and mournful with her response. My hand reached out and held onto her shoulder. “Do you want me to come with you?” I ask. 

“If you’d like. All we’re doing is checking to make sure he is dead.” Machi then followed her comrades to the exit for the room. Where Illumi sat was an empty chair. It was better this way as to not alarm Machi or the others. 

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

I’d never seen a corpse so close up before. Hisoka’s body was burnt to a crisp. Blood pooled around his limbs that were blown off. He was a charred remains of his former glory. I looked around the arena to see the rest of the injured crying out for death. The screams of the innocent that only were caught up in things they didn’t know. 

“Yeah, that so of a bitch is dead,” said Shalnark. He was the one to actually lean down to check for a pulse. “I told you he couldn’t survive. Seems like he was suffocated rather than exploded. 200 hundred people on top of you wouldn’t get too comfy. Let's go meet up with the boss. We’ve got a lot of stuff to do before the ship leaves.”

“It's been awhile since I’ve been on a boat,” replied Kortopi as if there wasn’t a rotting corpse in front of us. Hisoka’s eyes were still wide open from the blast. Thinking about it made my stomach churn; however, I had to be there for Machi. Unlike her counterparts, she hadn’t moved from the spot. 

Shalnark and Kortopi headed for the exit of the arena. “Machi, aren’t you coming?”

“Not yet,” she responded. My head turned to look at the pink-haired girl in confusion. “Hisoka paid me to mend him.”

“Always a kind soul at heart,” said the blonde before both the men leave the arena. Shalnark gave one more smile and waved goodbye to both of us. Now it was the two women and a corpse. 

“Do you want me to stay?” I didn’t know if she wanted alone time with Hisoka or not. This was about her grief and not about my feelings. 

“Yes.”

Machi reached for what I’d thought was an accessory since I’d met her. I realized that it was a pincushion. A long, thin thread held itself from the cushion itself. This must be her Nen ability. For a second, she put it away. Instead, Machi reached down to close the dead man’s eyes as a final tribute to him. 

“Thank you for finding the exorcist. I hope you were able to get one last thrill,” she mumbled before her fingers lay on his eyelids. “I should clean up his face. He was always so vain about-”

Before Machi could finish her statement, she fell back in a gasp. “Aura?” 

“Aura? What do you mean? He’s dead.” My words moved faster than my mouth.

“Post-mortem Nen” was all Machi could say before even I felt the power of his aura. Hisoka’s eyes open before he coughs up some of the blood that still racked his lungs. Quickly, he stood so that he was towering over a quivering Machi and myself. 

Breath caught in my lungs. No. No one can come back after death. This must be a joke or he really wasn’t dead. “Hello,” spoke the clown as if nothing had happened. He looked down at Machi who still had her thread dangling from her fingers. 

I stood in fear at this monstrosity before me. “Was I really dead?” asked the clown. 

“Yes.” Machi had recovered from her shock faster than myself. “You still want me to stitch you up?” She rose to her feet while looking at the minutes-ago-corpse. 

“No. That won’t be necessary,” he responded. Before my eyes, Hisoka uses his Nen to patch up the bleed that still ran down his neck. He grew limbs from his hand and foot. Even his face seemed to magically reappear perfectly fine. Nen must be more powerful than even Illumi leads me to believe if it could create limbs out of thin air. All of this was magic to me. 

Machi put back her strand of thread. “Maybe this will teach you to pick your battles. Seems you don’t need me anymore.” She walks towards the exit with full determination. Her hand grasps my forearm before pulling me in the same direction. My legs refused to work and were toppling over each other to finally leave. 

“No. I’ll not pick my battles,” replied the clown. I didn’t dare to look at him as I was caught up too much in my fear to even look behind me. Hisoka’s bloodlust could be felt throughout the arena even as we headed towards the exit. 

I could feel his presence before I realized that Hisoka was behind Machi. He wrapped his arms tightly around her frame. Machi let go of me in a fit of panic. I stepped back as a sign of space but it was all in vain as I fell to the ground. My legs caught below me. “Not with the spiders.” whispered the clown. 

Hisoka seems to wrap her in an immovable barrier. Machi claws at the invisible force that held her tightly to the ground. “Tell the spiders that I’ll kill any of them if I see them,” he said with the force of anger mixed with a sing-song tone. “Until they are all dead.”

“I’ll kill you!” screamed Machi with a force of anger unseen to myself. I crawled back until my back hit a wall. Hisoka’s eyes found my own as he smiled. “Be happy you’re not a spider. Too bad your boyfriend is.”

My blood ran cold as Hisoka walked towards the same exit that we were headed only a second ago. 

“You bastard! Get back here and get this off of me! I’ll kill you!” Each word was spoken with such vitriol that spit was flying for her mouth. He’d spared her to send a message. He wouldn’t do it again. 

“Taking my love for granted,” said the clown as he finally left. “Get out of it yourself and kill me.”

My hands shook as Machi kept screaming at Hisoka until her voice became hoarse. “Y/N get me out of this,” she cried to me. It wasn’t a plea but a command. 

“H-How?” I stutter holding up my hands. They shook like leaves in a hurricane. I should’ve died. No. Illumi could die. 

“Hasn’t your fuck up of a boyfriend taught you anything use Gyo. We don’t have time for this. I have to tell the boss or the rest of the spiders.”

“Shalnark and Kortopi,” I said quietly as I realized how much trouble they could be in. Hopefully they were able to leave so that Hisoka couldn’t find them. Even with all my shaking, I focused my Nen into my eyes. 

I saw a wrapped around pink hue that encased Machi. “I-I don’t know if my Nen can help this,” I cry while looking downward. “I’m new to this.”

“You have to try. Don’t let him scare you. Use this to your advantage as you’re learning. Help me so that I can kill him.”

“Okay,” I said while producing the fire once again. I had to let go of the Nen in my eyes to focus so much energy into the little spark of flame that ran across my hands. 

“Your ability is fire?” She said as her voice never lowered. 

“Yes,” I mumbled knowing how useless I was. Tears flooded my eyes knowing I chose wrong. This Nen ability was all wrong. I shouldn’t even be here. I should be at home and working my 9 to 5 job like everyone else. 

My hands clenched as every stress filled nerve in my body tensed up. It was all too much. I needed something else. I could feel my Nen taking shape once again. Fire transformed into a harsh metallic, jagged blade made of silver. Nen was transfused throughout the blade so that it was sarraded and harsh. As I held it in my hands, the blade would cut them up. The feeling was like a broken glass shard.  

I used gyo once again to see the same pink as before. I cut through the simple wrapping as if it was a piece of paper. My trembling cut her a few times to which she swore at me. Once Machi was free enough to escape, I dropped the blade. 

My weapon disappeared back into a smoky flame before going out. I’d learned about conjuring but didn’t think I’d actually have to use it. Fire always seems much more interesting than a metal that could harm you in use. 

“Call Chrollo to inform him. I’ll go see if I can stop Hisoka.” Machi was already running out of the room before I looked back up at her. Her rage was the only force she felt. A single thought ran through my head: was this the last time I’d ever see her?

My hands were a bloodied mess as I pulled out the phone Illumi gave to me. The metallic red smudged the screen as I tried to find Chrollo’s number. A sob wracked my whole body as I looked at the pool of blood that landed on the ground. 

“Y/N, what’s up? Did you enjoy-” Chrollo’s voice sounded cheery from the other end. He must be thinking that I’m calling to tell him that he did a wonderful job. 

“Hisoka’s alive,” I interrupted. “He’s alive and attacked Machi.” Tears streamed down my face. “I don’t know about the others. She’s alive but is trying to go after Hisoka. He’s going to kill the spiders.”

“-Calm down,” replied Chrollo with a sudden seriousness. “I’ll try to get Kortopi and Shalnark on the phone again. You call Illumi. Tell him where to meet you. Stay with him until we get this sorted out. I’ll call you when I have time.” Chrollo hung up before I could respond. 

The escaping blood started to make me feel lightheaded. I looked down at my covered shirt. A few towels were held by the arena exit. I had to stop the bleeding before I could call. I tied the towels so tightly that I had to cry out in a fit of pain. 

Blood still covered my phone as I called for Illumi. “Illumi, Hisoka’s alive. He attacked Machi. Things got out of control. I-I’m bleeding. Shalnark and Kortopi are in trouble.” Each short sentence was punctuated with a sob from my throat. 

“Where are you?” he asked. 

“In the arena,” I sob while falling back into the same wall that held me before. 

Illumi disconnected before he could respond. I slid down the wall so that I could cry while in my hands. Standing up was too much effort. This was too much effort. I should’ve stayed with Illumi and I wouldn’t have been in this mess. In the wait time, all I could hear was the perpetual screams of the dead and my own cries that wrecked me. 

I felt a hand on my arm before I realized anyone was there. I flinched back because I thought it would be Hisoka coming back to finish the job. No. I stared into the pit of Illumi’s eyes as I finally felt safe. My arms wrapped so tightly around him as I cried into his frame. He held me so tenderly as I felt every inch of water leaving my body. 

Once I gained a little composure, Illumi said “We need to go help Machi. Can you stand?”

“Yes,” I responded while finally being able to stand. All my limbs felt a little too much like jello and not enough like stable body parts. Illumi held onto my wrist so that he wouldn’t hurt my hand and we raced out of the arena. Night had quickly fallen for the town. Machi and the murder clown were not to be seen. Ambulances left a while ago and would be returning shortly to pick up more victims. 

Illumi observed the area to sense if there was any bloodlust still lingering by the two playing cat and mouse. We passed by many people still in daze and shock at what had happened. News vans and crews were taking statements of those who were here to witness the massacre. In the chaos, we were able to escape to a park. 

This was where I found Machi. She was taking deep, angry breaths while looking over at the swingset. As we got closer, I could see why she stopped pursuing Hisoka for the moment. 

Attached to the swingset was Shalnark’s body. It was a mangled, bloody mess. Birds were already pecking at their prey. At Shalnark’s feet, lay the decapitated head of Kortopi. Hisoka had already started killing spiders. These were his first two victims. 

Illumi pulled me into his arms to try and cover the scene; yet, it was already drilled deep into my brain. Two of my friends were dead and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I’d never hear Shalnark’s chipper voice again or Kortopi’s laughter as he tried to one-up the rest of the troupe. These were the dead corpses of friends that would never return. 

Illumi held me as I cried into his chest. Nothing else would suffice as he held me so tightly and protectively that I couldn’t let go even if I tried. I didn’t want to let go. I wanted to go home and never see sunlight again. I didn’t want Illumi to leave. So, instead, he held me in the middle of this park.

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#illumi #illumi x reader #HunterXHunter #hxh #a hunter's prey #chapter 28 #angst #character death

[sleekervae]

Young God [0.3]

Despite the obvious connection she felt with Andy, the way they clicked, Taylor had told herself not to get attached to him, that they were strangers passing and that this week was probably the only time they would ever meet. But when she watched him on stage, when she observed him in his element, she forgot about all of that.

Even in his lanky nature, Andy was an explosion on stage, like a paint bomb going off in a white room. There was something about the way he hyped the crowd all the way through the set, his smile when he heard them singing back to him loud enough so that he didn't have to, the infectious joy she felt watching the band play -- according to their setlist -- Fallen Angels.

There was so much to explore in the spunk, the charisma, the effortlessness of his performance that accentuated his raw talent, his long hair in his face and eyes, his nose resting on the microphone as he sang into it, the way he leaned well over the stage, how he bent down in a passion-fueled growl, how he seemed to get lost in the moment and it was hard to believe she'd only known him a couple of hours because she felt so intrigued and interested by him, his mind, drawn to his presence.

When Black Veil Brides' show had come to an end, Taylor was jolted forward when Danny suddenly slapped her on the back. He held a grin like a proud parent watching his kids perform on stage, beaming with the energy that had just been expelled from the last forty-five minutes.

"Oi! What were that for?" Taylor scolded him, rubbing at her sore shoulder blade.

"Well, what'd ya' think?" he asked, completely ignoring her irritation at his actions.

Taylor grinned then as she stole another glance at the sweaty boys coming off their stage, "... Very loud," she chuckled, "Very impressive, though,"

Later on in the day Taylor found herself sitting under a white pop-up tent, guitar sat in her lap as young kids, probably ranging between the ages of 12 to 19 came funnelling in. They sat either on the grass or in folding chairs. Taylor's rhythm guitarist and best friend, Maxeen, was sat next to her. Her own nervous tension bounced off of Taylor's and reverberated around the small square space.

The heat radiating off the sun certainly was no comfort to them.

A close but discreet enough distance away were Danny and Ben, promptly joined by Andy and Ashley who they invited to come and watch Taylor's set. With a fresh cigarette in his fingers Andy watched with intrigue as Taylor balanced her scratched and sticker-covered acoustic guitar in her lap, strumming it a few times to tune it just to her liking. She inhaled deeply a few times as she watched the crowd grow to the size of the average school classroom. Her blue hair fell over her face just to be quickly tucked behind her ears. He could tell she was terrified.

Their mediator came to address the crowd, a taller, scruffier man with sleeve tattoos and a Hawaiian shirt. Taylor took another deep breath.

"Thanks so much guys for coming out to Warped Tour this year!" he announced, earning a few faded claps and whoops, "We brought out a very special guest for you all today. She's the newest budding rock act in England right now, and she was gracious enough to find time in her schedule to come and hang out with us this week!"

He then turned to Taylor and winked. She smiled politely.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm Warped welcome -- trying saying that ten times fast -- to Taylor Wray!" the mediator stepped away to another round of echoing applause.

Taylor took another deep breath as the clapping died down, "Yeh're all doin' alreyht, yeah?" she spoke softly, "Please forgive the accent," the unique zang of her Geordie accent brought a merry giggle to the audience. That was a small comfort at least. She looked to Maxeen, who nodded encouragingly and Taylor counted them in.

"Okay, one, two, three, four..."

The soft, haunting twang of her guitar floated through the airs, wafted pleasantly through Andy's ears as she started to sing. From the moment she opened her mouth her voice was golden, flowing like rich velvet with a raspiness that he found incredibly sexy. Her fingers plucked delicately at the string, and her brown eyes were focused on the worn out wood so as not to face the reality that she was really performing here. He noted how Taylor's knee trembled as she tried not to bounce from the nervous energy, or how she was glancing at her partner now and then for reassurance. She had to clear her throat once or twice before the next verse, but regardless she was unlike any specimen Andy had ever laid eyes on.

Yet as she sang, there was an underlying darkness to her. Perhaps it was the solemn emotion, or how her heartbroken poetry struck a chord within him. She had key phrases in her songs that had chills running down his spine. The crowd seemed just as taken with her as he was, sitting quietly yet their attention appeared undividing from Taylor's music.

"She's pretty good," Ashley mused, "Is she doing any stage shows?" he asked Ben.

"No," he huffed, "But you guys gotta' see her on the electric guitar. She goes insane!"

"Yeah!" Danny piped in, "She's even better then Ben!"

Andy snickered as the taller boy glared at his bandmate, but he shrugged nonetheless, "I'm not even gonna' argue with that one, actually. You're right," he chuckled.

Andy took another drag of his cigarette, "So how long is she here for?" he asked them.

"Rest of the week," Danny replied.

He and Ashley was surprised at that, "That's it? She's not doing the circuit?"

"We was lucky enough to get her out for a week," Ben said, "If we can get her signed to a label here, she could stay for longer next time,"

"So, where does she go to get signed?" Andy asked.

"Whoever wants her," Danny said, "Unfortunately, we haven't met a lot of labels who're interested in taking on a rocker bird like her. We just managed to talk our boss into signing her,"

"Fuck. They're loss, dude," Ashley scoffed bitterly.

From just behind the clouds the sun was able to come through, spotlighting a glow just behind the Englishwoman's head. The light made her hair appear platinum, shifting from dark and light wash blues with every little move that she made. When her song came to an end she finally opened her eyes, and her gaze fell on Andy himself. Near immediately her knee stopped trembling, and instead a soft smile wormed its way to her face.

Andy took another quick drag.

A sum of hours had passed. The night was beginning to christen the sky with hues of vibrant oranges that would soon fade out into encompassing purples and indigos. The last of the acts were going on stage and soon the festival would be cleaned up and packed off for the next destination.

In that time frame -- that of which Taylor hadn't kept track of -- she was sitting in the middle of Danny's flat and was refolding and packing her clothes for the venture tomorrow. Beside her was an ashtray with a sizzling joint. She felt calmer now then she had earlier, her first performance in America now checked off her list. Well, perhaps maybe half a check mark would've sufficed? An acoustic only show was blatantly boring to Taylor.

The front door suddenly swung open and Danny came jogging in, being the sole epitome of giddiness and stimulus. He was a little less put together from when she'd last seen him -- with greasy, messy hair and sweat-filmed skin; not to mention the brash odour of overworked body that followed him through the door.

"I've walked this road for hours

To the white hills, and the oceans I search for solace in this toxic land of sin Just let me in! Just let me in!"

Taylor smirked at his off-key, top-of-lungs singing, "I take it you had a good time," she said.

"It was great," he huffed, "We missed you afterwards,"

"Well, they didn't need me anymore," Taylor shrugged back, "Thought I'd come back and catch a few winks. Maxeen and Robin went out shopping,"

Danny ran a hand through his soggy hair and flopped down on the couch, "Well, you could've slept on the bus," he said.

Taylor scrunched her nose at the notion, "No offence, Dan, but I ain't putting me head on any of them surfaces in that bus of yours. I don't know what's touched the cushions,"

Danny started to laugh, "Tay, what do you think we do? Have a good wank before the show?"

"There have been stranger pre-show rituals," Taylor replied, "You gonna' shower? You smell like sweaty-dude-in-a-cheap-gym,"

"Yeah, I'm gonna' shower," Danny said, "What're you doing with your clothes?"

"Packing," she shrugged, "Where are we going tomorrow?"

"Ventura," he huffed, "Maybe see some talking animals? Perhaps we'll run into a particualr skillful animal detective?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her. Taylor shook her head with a chuckle.

"I've heard funnier, Danny," she said.

He gave a small hmph before snatching the joint out of the ashtray and taking his own drag, "Very well. You up for a night out?" he asked her then.

Taylor couldn't help but groan, her head was pounding at the thought, "Again, eh? Last night weren't enough for you?" she replied, hoping that he was just joking.

"Come on, we won't go crazy tonight. We're going to just drink beer and bullshit on the bus," he said, "If you want, you don't even have to do anything rough,"

Taylor stopped and stared up at him. Danny stared back too, right until they caught onto the same page and chuckled merrily, "That's what she said," they said in unison.

With that, Taylor stood up from the floor and did a quick stretch, throwing her hands over her head to pull out the knick that that formed in her lower back. Fuck, when did the floor get so hard?

"The guys from Black Veil are coming," Danny suddenly piped in.

With that mention, Taylor started to smile. Her exhaustion then was repleted with a small burst of energy, "Oh, yeah?"

Danny nodded happily, "Yeah! They liked your set. I mean -- Andy and Ashley did, anyway. I don't know where the other three were,"

"I didn't meet Ashley," she said.

"Well, now you can," Danny put the joint back down and went for his bedroom to freshen up, "What did you think of their show, love?" he called.

"You already asked me that!" Taylor replied.

"Yeah, but you weren't smiling the way you are now, you cheeky shit," she could just imagine the shit-eating smirk on Danny's face now.

"Oh, fuck off, Danny," she scolded back.

"I'm only teasing ya', Tay," Danny suddenly popped back out of his room, only donned in a pair of track pants, "I told him if he dares lay a hand on ya', I'll kill him,"

Taylor scoffed back, gawking at him up and down, "Danny, you're about as threatening as a beach ball," she told him.

"I have muscles though!" he replied, "Biersack's a twig,"

"What's your point?" she asked.

"You can fuck a beach ball," he replied, "A twig I reckon is unsavory,"

Taylor stared at him in near disbelief at his words, then she started to laugh, "Mate, what the fuck?" she exclaimed, "Tell me you haven't actually... like you didn't... like... wait, Danny," she stopped laughing then when she wondered if he was being dead serious in his analogy.

"I haven't, if that's what you're wondering," he said, "I wouldn't put it past Cam though. He might be small enough to fit it in the air hole,"

With teasing disappointment, Taylor grabbed one of her shirts and threw it at him. It missed him by a few inches, "You're sick!"

"I love you!"

Andy glanced through the top of his beer bottle, peering at what was left before he quickly down the rest and set the glassware aside with a few of the other empty bottles. Not solely all of his, to be clear. He was only half listening to Ben's drunken story which involved James, alcohol, nudity and a very pretty fan from one of their European shows. His fingers drummed on the armrest of the couch, glancing out the window now and again to see if he could spot Danny and Taylor somewhere in the night.

There was a new and unfamiliar excitement that coursed through him with every thought of Taylor. Never before had he been so taken by a woman like her; somebody who at first glance appeared so shy and quiet like a little church mouse, yet within her held a great and unequivocal power that hypnotized those who paid close enough attention to her.

He took another beer from the six pack and started to listen in.

"... and then I just look at this sad sack o' shit and go 'mate, I was just going to ask if you wanted to eat'," Ben's story had the other boys in stitches, apart from James who scowled and blushed profusely as that particular disdainful memory.

"I didn't think it was funny," he grumbled.

"You're just upset 'cause she didn't call you back the next day," Sam awed at him.

Cameron just shrugged nonchalantly with a swig of his own beer, "I didn't think she were that pretty. She were like one of 'em trashy Essex girls," he said.

"Well mate," Ben leaned over and patted James' shoulder reassuringly," when you've had as much to drink as James did that night, anybody's beautiful," The bus cracked up in drunken laughter again, the only being that seemed lit and raucous on a rather quiet night in the bus parking lot.

Meanwhile, Taylor squeaked and scampered off to the side to narrowly avoid being hit by Danny's mud splash, "Fuck off, Danny!" she cried, quickly checking to see if he'd stained her outfit. Not that she put much effort into it; only a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a white t-shirt with a pair of tits drawn on the front.

"Oi, simmer down, Tay. I'm only teasing with ya'," Danny wrapped his larger arm around her and proceeded to ruffle her teal blue hair, much to Taylor's chagrin.

"Yeah, you're just teasing with me," she wriggled out of his grasp, "Wanker,"

"My deepest apologies,"

They trudged through the field, reaching a park lot that was crammed to the brim with vehicles. Tour buses, equipment vans, jeeps and SUVs. They passed a larger bus decked out in black, with tinted window and a bright red stripe on its side. It loomed over and cast an imposing shadow over the three musicians, swallowing the gravel and grass beneath them in a pool of black. The ultra bright stadium lights set up around the park were the only stark contrast to the shadows, guiding them to their destination.

They finally approached the desired bus, jet black and donning the band's logo on the side in crisp Times New Roman. Danny knocked while Taylor waited anxiously behind. They waited only for a mere matter of seconds before a subtle click echoed through the air and the door swung open. Taylor was taken aback to see an older man standing before them, donning longer hair and an open denim vest. His arms were near-full sleeve tattoos, and he had a face that held this brooding, yet cute quality to it -- kind of like a grizzly bear.

"Ashley, mate!" Danny raised his hand and full-on bro-hugged the older lad, "Handsome at ever, man,"

"Back at you, dude," Ashley replied, his eyes then landed on Taylor and his smile grew.

"And it's nice to finally meet you, Taylor," he said, "I'm Ashley,"

Taylor smiled shyly and shook his hand, "Pleasure," she said, "Areyainthebandthen?"

Ashley's smile then faltered. He bent his head down as though he couldn't hear her, but in actuality he didn't think it was humanly possible for people to speak so fast and still hear them.

"Come again?" he said.

"She asked if it's your band," Danny said, "Tay's a Geordie, they have their own funny accent,"

"It ain't funny!" Taylor cried, "It's jus' unique,"

Ashely then nodded, "Okay... well, do you drink back in Geordie? Or whatever part of England you're from?" he then chuckled.

"Sure," Taylor replied, "In fact, I can drink Danny here under the table still do a perfect cartwheel,"

"Bullshit you could," Danny scoffed.

"We'll put it to the test inside," With that, Ashley stood back again, "Welcome to Warped Tour, Taylor,"

Taylor followed Danny inside with  Ashley taking up the rear. The first thing that hit Taylor was the distinct smell of charred nicotine and hops. The next was department store aftershave, the good shit though; not the cheap bottles her dad used to buy. Coming into the atmosphere of an actual tour bus felt somewhat claustrophobic and confining to Taylor, yet at the same time, she felt quite safe inside. Glancing out the tinted windshield she could see the world, yet they had no inkling of whether she was inside or not.

Aimless chatter and laughter struck her ears, some men and women. Taylor nervously pushed some of her hair behind her ear, forcing herself to put on a smile to engage new strangers. The bus was clean enough, just some pillows were awry on the couch and the countertop was littered with cans, bottles, and red cups. The Asking boys were sat around in company with a few other strangers she had yet to meet.

"Fellas!" Ben suddenly called when he spotted his friends, "The party has now begun!" he raised his arms to the side as though he were giving a church sermon. The three young strangers stood and greeted Danny, whilst Taylor hung back, looking aimlessly at her sneakers as the old friends got reacquainted. She then noted the rips in her jeans, showing off the several week-old bruises that freckled her knees. That was an occupational hazard, she always tried to look badass and slammed down on her knees during her guitar solos, effectively yet unintentionally harming herself. The crowd however seemed to love it.

"I'd like you guys to meet somebody," Danny interjected then, stepping back to let Taylor have the hot seat, "Meet the hottest new act in Britain,"

"Danny!" she scolded, abashed as red tinted her olive cheeks.

"What?" he shrugged, "Was I wrong?"

"He most certainly is not!" a lankier young man approached, with a long face and smudged makeup beneath his eyes that just seemed to burst with enthusiasm, "I'm CC,"

"Nice to meet ya'," she shook his head.

CC then turned to his friends, "And over here we got Jake and Jinxx," he pointed to two young men, dressed similarly to himself with floppy hair and old makeup stains, but they were brawnier, "And this bean dick on the couch is Andy,"

"Take a look in the mirror, dude," Andy scolded.

Taylor bit the inside of her lip when she saw him again, and she averted her eyes back to CC to avoid her cheeks growing any redder, "We've actually already met," she said.

"In that case," he then turned to the Asking boys, "Over here, we got Sam, Cameron and James --"

"Oh, shut up and have another drink, CC!" James exclaimed.

Taylor snickered quietly, "I think he's had plenty already," she said, noting the way this boy wavered slightly on his feet.

A few hours had passed into the night, mostly filled with alcohol-fuelled interactions and wild stories from early band days. Once having a few beers, Taylor found herself beginning to settle down around this metal band. They weren't as scary and wicked as her first impressions had told her, if anything they were complete nutters. It helped having Danny and Ben around, just so Taylor didn't feel so lost and out of place amongst them.

Taylor found herself snuggled between Danny and Ben, just listening as oppose to partaking in conversation. She was still so tired beyond anything she'd ever felt, and Taylor quickly regretted coming out tonight. She wondered what Maxeen was up to back in the motel room she'd rented, probably conked out to be well rested for the trip tomorrow.

From across the couch where she sat, Andy was perched on a beanbag, only semi-paying attention to Ben's story about a recent scuffle he had back in York as his eyes kept panning back to Taylor. There was an air of fatigue that floated over her head, her deep brown eyes slipping shut before popping open again at the slightest raise in volume. If she had just come from across the Pond, Andy didn't blame her for being so sleepy. Her teal-blue hair fell delicately around her shoulders, raising gently with every shallow breath she took. His eyes averted then to the holes in her jeans where her bruises were just peaking out. Subconsciously, he pressed down on the rib brace underneath his shirt.

Her glance suddenly shifted and her eyes locked with his, and she blushed when she noticed Andy watching her. She wiggled her eyebrows a few times and suppressed a giggle, a warmth flooded through her when he smiled back. His lips turned into a cocky smirk. Taylor was utterly perplexed by Andy; the cockiness he exuded was undeniable, but she couldn't help but think he was contrastingly soft at the same time, each consuming feature of him seemingly met with a delicate counterpart.

"Tay, you're falling asleep on me," Danny's voice suddenly wafted through her ears and she sat up at the sudden mention of her name. She blushed profusely when the others giggled at her shock.

"Sorry, babe," she mumbled, yawning into her fist. Andy raised his eyebrows and suppressed the snigger that was fighting to make its way out at the way she drawled her words, her accent unlike anything he had heard before.

"That's some accent you got there," Ashley said, near-reading Andy's mind.

"Got it from me ma, dear," Taylor drawled back.

CC then started to laugh to himself, clearly at a well-off point of intoxication, "Deea," he slurred, trying to mock Taylor's accent, "I like the way she says words," he said.

Taylor glanced at him with uncertainty, but she shook her head as she sat up and did al little stretch, "I assume that's a compliment," she said.

"It is," Jake confirmed with an apologetic nod, "So, where are you from in England, Taylor?"

"A little coastal town called Newcastle," she then averted her eyes to the sozzled CC, "We all speak funny there," she grinned.

"But she lives in London with me" Danny said.

"For now," Taylor pointed out, "Until I can afford to get my own flat,"

Cameron snickered, "It's gotta' be fucking awkward when his bird's over," he said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Taylor looked over at Danny, "Well, it would be nice if the walls were sound proof," she then looked to Ben, "Though it's nothing compared to when Ben comes over,"

"Aye, poor kid," Ben looped an arm around her, "She has to sleep with earbuds in the entire night," he smirked.

"We appreciate your support though, Tay," Danny smirked back.

Taylor refrained from rolling her eyes at their bromance, instead decided to fish her lighter from her pocket and stood up, "I'm gonna' nip out for a cig,"

Andy's mouth moved faster than his brain did, "Care for some company, darlin'?" he asked. Taylor raised an eyebrow at him. She suddenly realized that all of the boys were staring at her expectantly, and felt herself go flush again.

"Why not," she replied. Andy took that as an invitation and hopped to his feet, wavering a little as he struggled to find his balance. From there he grabbed a packet of cigarettes off the countertop and followed her to the bus door. Danny suddenly shouted after them.

"Have her back in ten minutes, Biersack!" he called in a threatening manner.

"Yeah!" Ben piped in, "Or we'll come find ya!"

Andy smirked at them, "I'm quaking," he mocked. Taylor rolled her eyes as they stepped outside. Much to her relief, the night air was warmer than what she'd come prepared for. She regretted wearing her thicker denim jacket. Andy blew strands of hair out of his face and shook his head, acclimatizing himself to the warmer air. The two of them sat on the grass, leaning against the side-trunk of the bus. Andy produced the cigarettes and Taylor pulled out the lighter.

"So," Andy exhaled, handing Taylor a cigarette, "Taylor Wray,"

Taylor grinned, "Andy... w-what's your last name again?" she asked as she placed the bud between her lips.

"Biersack," he replied.

"Oh," Taylor clicked the flame and lit the end of her cig, then handed the lighter to the long-haired rocker, "Is that European?"

"German," he replied, "Where does 'Wray' come from?"

"Scotland,"

"... But you're from England,"

Taylor gave him a wayside glance, "Their two parts of a whole, babe," she held up two fingers just to make her point.

Andy smiled sheepishly and took another drag, "... I knew that," he said.

Taylor giggled to herself. Her captivating smile and the tiny creases around her eyes as she laughed drew Andy in instantly. He wasn't sure if she was laughing from his meek comeback or it was just the alcohol doing it for her. But by God, the noise bubbling from between her lips was melodic and addictive from the first note.

"Have you ever been to England, Andy?" she asked.

"I was there about a month ago for the Download Fest," he replied.

"You went to Leicestershire?"

Again, Andy paused, grinning like a fool at her accent as he puffed away on his cigarette, "Yeah, we went to Leisheshire,"

"Leicestershire," Taylor corrected, "Le-shy-steh-shire,"

"Leshestasirw," Andy drawled, "Leshesham. Lesbian. Who gives a fuck?"

"People from Leicestershire, I'd imagine," to both Andy and Taylor's surprise, she started laughing again. She didn't know what had gotten into her suddenly, but she couldn't seem to help herself. Why was she so fucking giggly all of the sudden? It may have been the way Andy was looking at her; transfixed by his crystalline eyes that seemed to bore a hole right into her soul. Despite the hair covering his face, those eyes of his were so crisp and clear.

"Are you already plastered?" Andy asked, reigning his own grin of amusement.

"No!" she exclaimed just a tad too quickly for her own liking, "Look, I -- right. I have been drinking. That being said, I am also so fucking exhausted from this jet lag. So, please forgive me if I act like a fucking nutter,"

"A fookin' nuttah?" Andy mocked back, making Taylor giggle some more, "You're pretty cute, Taylor,"

"Well, you're not so bad, neither," she admitted shyly, "It's nice to see what that face looks like without the makeup,"

Andy took a drag and exhaled slowly. He held this electric charisma about him, seemingly so that it wouldn't matter how many times he'd verbally tear himself down, he was a cocky, confident young man.

"Did I freak you out today?" he asked.

"Hardly," she replied, her gaze dropping to the ink on his arms, "You have a lot of tattoos, eh?"

"Why, yes I do," he replied.

"You got a favourite one?"

He didn't reply. Instead, Andy raised his right arm, proudly showing off the Batman tattoo on his forearm, "Is now a good time to mention I'm a huge Batman nerd?"

"You could've fooled me," Taylor replied, shedding her jacket to reveal her bare arms, "I'm more of a Poison Ivy fan myself," she held her forearm out to proudly show off the dark green inking of an ivy vine, the inside filled with a dulled red.

"It's cute," he brushed his fingers over the delicate lines, only noting then how Taylor suddenly winced when he touched her. He pulled back, "Are you okay?"

"Your hands are freezing, mate," she chuckled.

Andy relaxed again, "I just naturally have cold hands, can't explain it," he grinned sheepishly.

Taylor brought her own cigarette to her lips, and out came three rings of silky grey smoke; an old trick she had picked up back home. Andy just watched, his own breath nearly getting caught in his throat when her lily perfume intermingled with the smell of charred nicotine.

"You showing off now?" he asked.

"Maybe," she shrugged back, leaning in closer so her nose just barely touched his. She was unsure just what had made her so brazen suddenly; perhaps the deadly combination of alcohol and fatigue had something to do with it. Whatever it was, Taylor found it undeniably exciting, "You got any secret talents of your own, Andy?"

Andy swallowed back whatever qualms he was holding on to, slowly memorizing every delicate detail of Taylor's face as though he was afraid to loose one mere second of her. However, before he could reply, they heard a shout come from above.

"Oi! You two!" they both looked up, and lo and behold, Danny and Ben had stuck their heads out of the bus window, "Get your arses back in here!" Danny exclaimed.

"You said we had ten minutes!" Andy replied, "Besides, you're no one's parent!"

"Yeah!" Taylor cried defiantly.

Ben tutted at them, "But we're morally responsible for Taylor. Ain't that right, honey?" he smirked.

"Oh, suck my dick, Ben!" Taylor replied, loud enough so that the others would hear her. With that, Andy burst into a fit of laughter, and more could be heard from inside the bus.

Danny shook his head, "How unbecoming of a lovely lady," he mocked.

Taylor looked to Andy, who was caught in the throes of hysterical amusement. She chuckled herself and took another quick drag before crushing the end into the grass, trying not to stare at him as he calmed down. But fuck, from the way he threw his head back to the curl of his lips when he smiled, Taylor felt herself falling into a rabbit hole she feared she wasn't going to crawl out from any time soon.

#andy biersack #andy black #andy biersack imagine #andy biersack fanfic #andy black imagine #black veil brides #black veil army #andy bvb #fanfic #jake pitts #jinxx bvb #cc bvb #lonny eagleton #original female character #original story #original art #girl bands #english girls #rock music #rocknroll #hard rock

[tessacxstello]

hello im (F, 24) an idiot and forgot to post tessa’s (F, 22, fictional) intro!

pls bare in mind most of this was written 5+ years ago n i haven’t written tessa since 2015...... but lets get this show (LOCKWOODRP) on the road (DASHBOARD). 

tw school shooting, tw bipolar disorder

art hoe. always covered in paint. why?? she bad at painting

the mark rothko jackson pollock kind of bad tho wher people are like.... omg.... revolutionary..... its a badly drawn vagina

fuckin loves astrology, but cant take it that seriously bcos one of her bfs was a gemini so there’s some lenience there. but she WILL blame her hormones and mood swings on the positon of mars

embodies pure sunshine. 

one of those really annoying people that can go through the most traumatic shit and still find a positive spin. 

cares so much for others but does not really care for herself n it’s meant she just bottles up all this shit n when someone asks her how her day has gone she just falls on the ground like tht bit in midsommar when florence does that loud wheezy noise and sits down 

has never really had much money at all. learns to make-do with what she has. loves upcycling!! her bookshelf is made from cardboard which she’s reinforced by pappering it over with pages ripped out of thrifted books. her sofa is an old car boot which she’s repainted, put on wheels and stuffed w cushions so that it’s actually bearable to sit on.

her knitted cardigan? its made out of wife material.

knits all the time. will crochet you a christmas scarf. if ur lucky you might get a knitted jumper with a penis in a santa hat

still sleeps with cuddly toys n then wonders why ppl dont think she’s mature enough for a serious relationship

very passionate about Sister Doing It For THemselves!! raised by a single mom who worked her ass off so that tessa could do fun activities after school, have lelli kelly shoes, and go to college (not necessarily in tht order of importance)

tessa was born out of wedlock as the result of an affair between her mom (a journalism intern in her early 20s) and a new york times editor. 

the editor offered to pay tessa’s mom off to have an abortion, but she was like fuck u and told the papers he’d done that and used the money to cover the cost of her internship which they refused to pay her for

and because of the scandal, he ended up going through a pretty messy divorce with his wife, and losing custody of his kids. so as a child  tessa was seen as the cause of a divorce and received mutliple letters from the editors wife (to tessa personally!) and his kids saying how she had ruined everything, but her mom moved them to another town so tessa didn’t have to deal with that crap. 

her mom worked 3 jobs to put her through school, so in return tessa pushes herself incredibly hard to succeed. needs a break and a hug and to get laid to be honest. 

an old soul. likes old films, old music, old people. only recently got an iphone 5s so not really with this century yet

very sweet and soft and kind but also a fucking mess and won’t listen to anyone else’s opinion. she’ll take comfort, but not advice. 

feminist buddhist bisexual vegetarian for human rights and animal welfare. standing on a soapbox shouting about the climate in the quad, shoving flyers into your hands. flyers everwhere. she turns up at your grandmas funeral and shoves one into her mouth. she’s stolen the mic from the vicar to talk about pandas.

says “mother of pearl” and “heavens to betsy”.

had an affair with her married piano teacher and he’s now facing a custody battle and his wife is leaving him and tessa has completely internalised that guilt despite her being the victim in the scenario

aesthetics: paint splattered jeans, loose curls spilling from a scrunchie, thrifted blouses in bright yellow, guzzling coffee in the library at three am when a term paper’s due, shoddily illustrated campaign posters to save endangered species, polaroids plastered to your bedroom walls with scribbled dates on the frames, jumping into a stack of autumn leaves, jumping off piers in the summer months and stripping off your wet clothes on the beach, digging your thumbs into peaches to leave a bruise, smoking with the extractor fan on to hide the smell, bath bombs, letting the girls at lush rub samples all over your skin, cacti with knitted bobble hats, decorative pillows and sun and moon blanket throws, basic bitch fairy lights hanging from every single window, painting the name of the boys you’ve loved inside your wardrobe door.

studies fine art and philosophy, and wants to become either a lecturer or the first woman president. vibe wise, very similar to leslie knope, missy from big mouth, and basically the naive everygirl with a high opinion of themselves trope

gets drunk off like one double vodka lemonade because she’s small and she’s a pretty messy wild drunk. it’s when slutty tessa comes out, and the next day she’ll thoroughly regret every choice made and decide she’s never drinking again and cutting out all men and starting daily sudoko

on the cheerleading team and is a flyer, which she sees as a HUGE responsibility and she works really hard to make sure she’s on it for her team. one of those get up at 7am and go to the gym before school types its sickening

she had a really traumatic time at high school because there was a shooting in her school. she was in the next classroom when it happened, and she lost one of her friends in the shooting. she had to take two months off school, was diagnosed with depression and put on anti-depressants because of it. in her 2nd year of uni she was rediagnosed with bipolar disorder and anxiety, which she’s now on medication for. she can be really good for several months at a time and feel super creative and determined (she actually finds manic periods helpful for her creativity n art, n sadly sometimes doesn’t take her meds in these periods to push herself more which is obvs super bad.....). but when the bad periods come they can also last months n she had to take a semester out of school last year because of her mood, so she should be a senior by now but she’s retaking junior year

she attends weekly stress-management sessions prescribed by her doctor which she finds pointless.

very childish in the sense that she can only see her own point of view and kind of views herself as the “protagonist” and thinks her ideas are super important and life changing and she IS Destined for Greatness! despite being pretty much average af

pinterest board.

STATS

age: 22

height: 5'2"

positive traits: kind-hearted, gregarious, selfless, philosophical, open minded, idealistic, courageous, feisty, charismatic, loyal, adventurous.

negative traits: stubborn, hot-headed, reticent, escapist, self-destructive, easily led, naive, troubled, complicated, stepford smiler, envious, overdramatic, explosive.

distinguishing Marks: heart-shaped birthmark on the right of her chest, splattering of freckles across the cheeks during summer months, full lips, large eyes, porcelain features, long wavy hair, tattoo of a bird and a cage on her ankles and a basic bitch arrow tat on her wrist (srry to anyone with an arrow tat).

skills: jack-of-all-trades, talented pianist, perceptive, knows the correct way to throw a punch, good survival instinct, is able to remain calm in stressful situations, endures, artistic, excels in academic studies, hard-working and self-motivated, expert liar and talented actress.

likes: wolves, vintage thrift store fashion, old leather-bound books, left-wing democratic politics, cigarettes, poetry, John Hughes movies, cold coffee, hot tea, the sound of laughter, staying up til 4am having deep conversations, Tchaikovsky, having deep conversations about life, stationary, DC Comics, horoscopes, winged eyeliner, cats, knee-high socks, house music, abandoned buildings, studio ghibli, the smell of the earth after rain, Wes Anderson films, herbal tea, old people, solitude, esoteric things, the smell of freshly baked bread, Charles Bukowski, the moon.

fears: death, oblivion, global warming, losing those she loves, isolation, clowns, guns, enclosed spaces.

nicknames: Tess, T-Dog, Tessie, Socrates, Princess, Sunshine Girl, Florence Nightingale.

alignment: Neutral Good

MBTI type: INFP

BIOGRAPHY

tw school shooting

Her story begins with Cordelia Costello, a twenty-three year old college drop-out, turned beautician, turned columnist, turned intern at a local publishing company. She was a youthful, beautiful, siren of a women, always surrounded by an aura of enigma and an entourage of men. It was no surprise to the gossips in the office that within six months working at the company, Cordelia had added to her list another title – mistress to Franklin Hozier, the Editor of the New York Times. After two blissful months and three hundred and twenty seven orgasms, Cordelia decided she wanted a baby. Franklin laughed in her face. Feeling isolated and used, Cordelia continued her affair with her boss’ boss for another month, before deciding to take matters into her own hands.

It started with a turkey baster.

Soon the infant cries of a baby girl graced the world, her wrinkled skin puckered and pink as her mother held her in her arms, glancing upon the most beautiful thing in her life. Once Tessa, named after Cordelia’s favourite literary heroine, entered the world, Franklin left her life and things took a turn for the better. Despite living in a rented one-bedroom apartment in Staten Island, on what little money Cordelia had saved, Tessa’s childhood years were filled with nothing but the happiest of memories. Times were tough, but what they lacked in money, the Costello’s made up in love. While Tessa was at school, Cordelia did odd jobs cleaning, child-minding, working in local nurseries, in order to save up enough money to give her daughter the best start in life.

Despite what she had been led to believe by television shows and teen movies, the first few years of High School were some of the best years of her life. Tessa threw herself into a multitude of activities that High School offered her, including the drama club, the orchestra, choir, badminton and the school newspaper. While she certainly wasn’t considered ‘popular’ at school, Tess had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. In fact, High School was a place where she made some of the greatest memories of her life, but come her final year, it was also a place where she was haunted by some of her worst.

On the January 17th of Tessa’s senior year of high school, a shooting took place in Westville High School. For two hours Tessa locked herself in a supply cupboard, her head between her knees as she tried to stay silent despite the screams of horror from the corridor. Eighteen students were caught in the crossfire, two of which were Tessa’s best friends. Bouquets of flowers, laminated photographs, Teddy Bears in cling-film bags attached to balloons littered the streets as families and friends came to pay tribute to the eighteen students withered before they had a chance to bloom.

It took two months of therapy before Tessa could return to school. Some of the survivors could never return due to the horrors that their eyes had laid witness to. Sometimes Tessa felt like a part of her had died with the friends that were stolen from her too soon, but one thought kept her going through: she had survived, she was alive and breathing, and she could not afford to loose a second of the precious time she had been granted on this earth. Despite the nightmares that continued to haunt her each night, Tessa found in the aftermath of the disaster a new sense of motivation. She began applying for scholarships for colleges without her mother’s knowledge, in the hope that her academic success would be enough to carry her through further education. Thankfully, it was, and after three torturous months of waiting Tess was offered an arts scholarship to her dream school, Lockwood University, where she hoped she could finally start to rebuild her life.

THE PRESENT:

Life at university was like a separate world. Students came and went like moths among the whisperings and the tequila and the stars. In this new world, Tessa was exposed for the first time in her life to alcohol, drugs, and the sexual appetites of other students her age – though she politely declined all three. Instead, Tessa threw herself into the vast array of activities in the hope that by distracting herself she could escape the terrible flashbacks that continued to haunt her. Tessa joined the lacrosse team, despite never having played before, and took up cheerleading discovering a new talent; she joined the musical theatre group, and the film club, and even set up her own acapella singing society. But despite how much she tried to throw herself into student life, her past hung around her like a bad smell, and with the added pressure of the Sinking Ships zine, Tess began to feel the weight of her secret tying her down like a pair of shackles around her wrists.

PERSONALITY:

If someone was to describe Tessa in a single word, it would most likely be ‘bubbly’, ‘open-minded’ or ‘sweet’. But they would be wrong – Tessa is not bubbly, or sweet, or stubborn, or hotheaded, or fiesty, or infectious, or any of the things the world see her as, but merely a numb and lonely echo of the gregarious, halcyon girl she once was. Tessa Costello was one of life’s enigmas. No one knew who she was, for to each person she met she wore a different mask – she dripped confidence, or was painfully shy; she was an exhibitionist, or a brooding wallflower; she took things too seriously, or not seriously at all. She was an actress and the world was her stage, each person she met a different member of the audience in the performance of her life. In truth, Tessa no longer even recognised herself. Insecure, and self-destructive, she tried to hang on to the extroverted, mischievous pieces of herself that everyone had once loved, but day by day it got harder to know what lay in the vacant holes blown through her mind. While she was stubborn and hot-headed, Tessa always saw the best in people, which meant that she was easily led astray. While she had grown up learning to be street smart and astute, she was idealistic and allowed silly fantasies to cloud her mind. By nature, she was passionate, which lead her to misimagine and romanticise those she met. Despite the hell she had witnessed, and the anxiety that feasted upon her, she believed that people were innately good and that to have courage and be kind could cure anyone of their sadness – yet she was unable to cure herself.

TWITTER:

@500daysoftessa: i blame disney films and musicals for my high expectations of men

@500daysoftessa: i am in love with the boy who works at starbucks. today i asked for a double latte and he gave me a tripple, which i think is proof that my love is requited. our children will be smart and talented and beautiful.

@500daysoftessa: little known historical fact: pharaohs were burried with their hands crossed over their chests because it was a popular belief there would be countless water slides in the after life.

#huntingtonintro #pounce on me for plots #tw school shooting #tw bipolar disorder #tw depression

[crowkingwrites]

Battle of the Bands (Ch.12)

Pairing: Robb Stark x Reader, Jon Snow x Reader, Viserys Targaryen x Reader, Ramsay Bolton X Reader

Summary: You just moved into the city for the first tie all by yourself. After you get your dream summer job working for a small magazine, you find yourself in the middle of the city’s rock festival: Battle of the Bands. Local rock bands throughout the city compete to win a record deal that could change their lives. Your job? Get close to them and write about them online.A single girl in the city surrounded by rocker boys during the summertime. What could possibly go wrong?

Words: 2053 // AO3 Link

Chapter One // Chapter Two // Chapter Three // Chapter Four // Chapter Five // Chapter Six // Chapter Seven // Chapter Eight // Chapter Nine // Chapter Ten // Chapter Eleven

You know those days where you’re running around endlessly and it seems like you couldn’t catch your breath? Like one of those days where everything just went to shit? This wasn’t one of them. Instead, you sat back in Jon’s apartment watching a movie character suffer through the worst day of her life over and over again.

“You know, this wouldn’t be happening if she had at least gone on a date with that guy,” Jon said, passing the blunt to you.

You placed the blunt between your lips, but didn’t smoke it. You reached for the remote to pause the movie. “What the fuck do you mean?”

“I mean, she should give him a chance.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s at fault for all of this? If she went on a date with him, she wouldn’t be living her worst day over and over. She should’ve just given him a chance.”

“So, I should go out with Ramsay Bolton on a date or else he’ll kill me?” you said flatly. Jon nodded.

“You’re right. You’re right,” he unpaused the movie and then paused it again. “Ramsay Bolton asked you out?” Oh no. Today was going really, really well. Jon moved closer to you. His hand landed on your ankle.

“Did he bother you? I’ve punched his face in the past, but—

“No, please. I’m just…weird today I guess.” You moved his hand away, and then Jon sat closer to you. His fingers brushed your arm.

“You are being weird. Where are you right now?”

“What do you mean?” you asked, facing him. Jon’s big brown eyes always did you in. You didn’t want to tell him, but if you didn’t you felt like you were lying to him.

“I know Robb really likes you and all, but—

“Ramsay does too,” you came out with it. “We hooked up not too long ago, but that was before you! It was just a one-time deal and I’m not even sure if it’s gonna happen again.” Jon looked down to the floor, digesting everything you told him.

“Do you still like him?” he asked.

“It’s complicated,” you said honestly.

Jon nodded and held his arms out for you. You laid into his chest, feeling his deep breathing soothe you. His arms held you against him on the couch while Jon played the movie again. The main character in the movie gave the guy the middle finger while you silently cheered on.

“I’m not mad, you know,” Jon said aloud. “I’m a little jealous if anything, but I’m not mad. He was your past. I mean, Robb saw you two together. He told me you were with him in a sense, but he’s not your ex-boyfriend. You never dated him. You’re with me now.”

“Wait,” you sat up. “Like I’m with you? As in girlfriend?”

“Yeah,” Jon smiled. “You slept over last night. You know how I feel about you. Right? Doesn’t all of that make you my girlfriend?”

“Jon, I never said I was—

“You never said?” Jon’s eyebrows knitted together. “I thought you had feelings for me.”

“I do! It’s just—

“You have feelings for other guys too, right?” Jon finished the harsh sentence for you. Stark men. Quick to anger always. He rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen. You followed the potential werewolf explosion.

“Jon, please don’t be mad.”

“Mad? I’m not mad,” Jon grabbed a knife and started to cut open an orange. Each cut was louder than the last.

“You are mad. Please. I don’t want this to be like your brother—

“Then go out with him then. Everyone does. Or better yet, why not piss us both off and go fuck off with Ramsay somewhere. Clearly, you have great taste in men.”

“Now, you’re being mean.”

“I’m being mean?” Jon slammed down the knife and faced you. “I defended you in front of Robb. I told you exactly how I felt about you, and you don’t even want to be with me.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“Jon—

“Answer the question. Do you want to be my girlfriend or not? Because I don’t know what we’re doing here then.” Jon’s brown eyes turned cold with every second he stared you down. The Stark boys weren’t like Viserys or Ramsay. They were a different kind of dangerous. One that should be taken seriously, not played around with. You held up your hands in a surrender. You exhaled all of the air from your lungs, maybe if you worded things carefully, Jon would understand.

“After what happened with Robb, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to jump into a relationship with you this soon. I’m not even sure if I want a boyfriend anymore. I don’t want to hurt Robb. I don’t want to hurt you. It’s not the answer you want, but it’s the truth.”

Jon closed in the space between you. “You’re right. I can’t be mad at you for telling me the truth. If you want to wait, I can wait. I’ll wait as long as you tell me to. Just as long as I still get to kiss you.”

Jon’s lips brushed yours again. He tasted like the oranges he just cut. His hands wrapped behind your head as he leaned into you. Your hands found his chest and they rested there. You could hear a bird singing outside and you swore your heart knew the same song. His lips were soft and hungry. You opened your mouth for more access, and he took advantage.

His hands slid down to your hips and picked you up to place to on the kitchen counter. You found yourself in a happy embrace until

“Y/N? Jon?” Robb said from the doorway.

“Fuck! Robb!” Jon pulled away immediately. You jumped down from the kitchen counter and faced Robb. He stood there frozen to his spot. You couldn’t tell if you shocked him or broke him entirely.

“I have to go. I have to go,” you pushed past Robb and left Jon’s apartment. You put your face in your hands and groaned loud. Okay, maybe you were having a bad day. One person could sort this out.

You to Margie: [Guess who landed herself a restraining order from the Starks? Hint! Its me.] Margie: [What happened? Also! I think I met someone today ;) ] You: [Whaaaaaaaaaaat? Who?] Margie: [His name is Podrick. His dick is…oh my god. I think it’s the best dick ive ever seen.] You: [Girl you did NOT] Margie: [No! Not yet anywaysss…I did get some good pictures from him. But tell me what happened!!! You’re with jon and??] You: [Robb discovered us. We were kissing and he just walked right in.] Margie: [Oh. Fuck. Did Robb know that you two were?] You: [Nope.] Margie: [And??] You: [And I walked out. What else was I supposed to do?] Margie: [Hmph. You right. Issa mood.]

You rolled your eyes at your best friend’s slang. What else were you supposed to do? Stay and explain why you were kissing your boss’ brother at his place? After Robb just gave you front page? Didn’t fucking think so. Your phone buzzed again.

Ramsay: [What the actual fuck is this?]

[Sent Image]

You saw a picture of the headline from The Scene. ‘Viz Targaryen: A Real Dragon or a Low Snake?’ You smiled and watched the typing balloon pop up on your screen. Come to think of it, the famous Viz himself hadn’t texted or called you yet. You wondered if he knew.

Ramsay: [Are you coming after me too? What the fuck is this?] You: [Aw, is somebody scared of the writer now?] Ramsay: [If you’re gonna pull that me too bullshit with me, I will remind you that we had very consensual sex and I did some happy biting on you, bitch.] You: [You call me a bitch like that’s supposed to offend me.] Ramsay: [I could call you a whore, but you seem very comfortable fucking me and then lying about it.]

That one cut deep. You closed your eyes before you responded to the asshole that made you skin crawl and head confused.

You: [What do you want?] Ramsay: [Are you writing articles like this about me? Did you fuck my band over?] You: [No. Why would I fucking do that?] Ramsay: [My father is in his office with Viz right now. Viz is fucking pissed off at you. He’s going to try take you to court.] You: [Whoa. What? How do you know that?]

You saw the typing bubble come up again. You had time to get to The Scene’s office and warn—shit. Robb was at Jon’s place. Renly. Renly would be at the ‘The Scene’ office. Your feet carried you four blocks in on direction and two blocks in another direction. Your phone buzzed again with a block of text from Ramsay.

Ramsay: [I told you. I cut a deal with my dad. Battle of the Bands was my last chance to get anywhere in the music scene. I had to quit and clean up my act. I work here with my dad now. Viz and his band came in here 15 minutes ago. They want you to stop writing. You have so much dirt on everyone in the battle. That’s how I know.] You: [You…youre a lawyer? You have a law degree?] Ramsay: [I told you that I was awful. I never said I was stupid like Viz was.] You: [So you agree? Viz is stupid.] Ramsay: [He’s stupid enough to piss you off. Three brands dropped his band today. Because of that article, he could lose both the battle of the bands and whatever record labels that were looking at him.]

You smiled. Fucking over toxic men was your calling. You knew it. Ramsay sent another block of text over to you.

Ramsay: [Look, I don’t know who fucked over my band. It could be Renly. But it could be you.] You: [I had nothing to do with your band being disqualified. You belong up there on a stage. I saw what you did to your crowds. You’re really talented.] Ramsay: [How do I know youre not lying to me?]

When you reached The Scene’s office, you found Bran manning the record store again. He quietly played with his old Gameboy.

“Hi Bran,” you said to him.

“Don’t eat Chinese tonight. You might regret it.”

“Oh..okay Bran. Nice seeing you?” You made your way up to the office. You heard Bran once more going up.

“Even dragons have their endings, Y/N.”

You spoke about Bran a couple of times with Robb. You weren’t sure what was up with him and his…way of speaking with people? Robb usually shrugged it off and told you that’s just how Bran was after an accident where he fell out of a tree. When you asked Jon about it, he simply told you “if you’re asking me if I believe in God, then yes I do, because I don’t know what Bran is but something made him that way.”

You turned back to your phone. How would you prove to Ramsay you were on his side? When you looked around, you found the office mostly empty save for everyone’s pet goldfish, Jules, who swam to and fro in his bowl on Renly’s desk. You made your way to your desk and found the perfect proof.

You took a picture of your playlist on your computer at work. It was a mix between Ramsay’s favorite music and Bloddy Bastard’s first album.

You: [There. If that’s not proof I didn’t do shit, I don’t know what is.] Ramsay: [You really liked our first kiss, didn’t you? ;) I see American trash playing in the corner. Alright. I believe you. I’ll text you later. I’m going in. I’ll tell you what happens afterwards. You might want to warn Robb what’s about to happen. Viz is out for blood. He might want to tear down the entire magazine.]

You sighed in relief knowing you had a bad boy lawyer on your side, but it didn’t last long. Robb had to find out about this soon. And you just got caught kissing his brother, Jon, who you couldn’t decide on dating or not.

Note to Self: Your father taught you how to get yourself out a pickle…this is a VERY DIFFERENT PICKLE.

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[vulnussanentur]

In Which Severus Makes a Choice

Severus’s involvement in the aftermath of the ‘Phoenix’ attack, as it had already been dubbed, kept him occupied well into the early hours of November. Between the steadfast efforts of the mediwitch on site—Vance, he thought? there hadn’t been time for a proper introduction—and his own skills and knowledge, those pulled from the rubble had been quickly triaged and stabilized to wait for backups to descend upon them from St. Mungos. Even then, there’d been too many more minor cases to count; cuts and bruises and bumps that didn’t warrant a trip to Mungo’s but kept the makeshift treatment center that popped up in the atrium bustling. He had made for Narcissa and Lucius as soon as he could, as much because they were his friends and he did care as to get them out of there as soon as possible. The last thing the injured needed was Lucius squawking his indignant outrage. The relative quiet after the man’s departure made the rest of the work a little easier.

It was only when the activity of the healers started to settle down, patients removed from the rubble, that the Aurors properly started their work, the scene largely cleared of the danger posed by the deadly snap of a mediwix interfered with. He was drawn into an extended interview with the investigators, apparently one of the few with enough wits about them to recall what they had seen; then he exacerbated it when he started to explain his theories on the resonance with the layers of magic around the Ministry that had caused such a large explosion the perpetrator hadn’t anticipated. Severus had been carefully on edge for a little while until he realised that as Lucius’s friend, not a lick of suspicion was falling on him. He had even been thanked for his assistance when they finally told him to go home; in turn, he’d wished them luck and a helpful warning to brace themselves for the wrath of Lucius that was bound to break around their heads sooner rather than later.

The sun was already rising when Severus staggered home, mentally and physically spent. He collapsed onto his bed and slipped into such depths of unconsciousness that only complete exhaustion can bring.

He awoke to the sounds of squabbling on his windowsill; the two owls waiting there had apparently burnt through their patience with him and each other, as they’d left off pecking at the glass in favour of battering each other. Swearing under his breath, he dragged himself up and made sure he was well armed with the tin of owl treats before he opened the window. The birds gave a few final pecks at each other before jostling to deliver their letters. The first was from his boss, curtly telling him that being late for work was unacceptable, but he no longer had to concern himself with that since he was fired. More swears as he resisted the urge to send the owl back with a hex for the nasty bastard. The second owl resolved that choice rather easily; all conciliatory apologies, he was assured that the former missive was a mistake and of course he ought to take the day to rest after the ‘heroic exertions of the previous evening’. From what Severus could gather, the Aurors or Lucius—or both—had come by and filled his boss in on what had happened and what he’d done. Shoving both letters in the trash and tipping the tin of treats over, Severus returned to his bed and didn’t stir even when Lucius’s eagle owl came and nestled up next to him. 

Said creature was dispatched the next morning with a note to the Malfoys that he would come by and check on Narcissa that evening and a bit of bacon to apologize for his long evening of waiting (not that the bird seemed too fuss; Severus had to wonder if he knew he’d been spared a busy night of work with the rest of the Malfoy owls, carrying furious letters to anyone Lucius could think to complain to) before Severus dispatched himself off to work. If he had wanted, he likely could have stretched his unexpected leave another day, but he didn’t want to and Dolohov was due to pick up a batch of his special brews. If he missed that, he risked having a pissed Dolohov come crashing into his flat with even less patience than owls that waited all night to berate you over a letter. 

More grateful than ever that he got in before his boss, Severus pulled his apron over his head and tied it around his waist. There was something blissfully peaceful about his workroom in these early hours, the light barely filtering down into the basement from the street-level window, the noise out on the alley minimal. He quickly fell into the rhythm of chopping, distilling, stirring and bottling he had to do that morning, moving methodically while his mind churned over the events of the masquerade. He barely looked up when the door opened and Dolohov came striding in. It was only when the man leaned against his work table and asked, “Are you alright,” that he glanced up. 

“I’m fine.” Which Dolohov knew better than to press him on; learning to take Severus at his word was a good step to getting along with him. Instead, he dropped the Daily Prophet on the table between them. 

“Seen the latest the Ministry is doing in response to last evening’s festivities? Pulling in some Mudblood for questioning. Just questioning, probably. Fucking waste of time,” the man snarled as Severus paused long enough to reach out and turn the paper so he could better read the headline. Unfolding it, he skimmed the article, testing his mental shields as he did even though reason said there wasn’t a need. Severus didn’t need the risk of having his thoughts exposed in the moment as he read that Lily Evans had been taken in by the Ministry to answer some questions in regards to the Ministry attack. “They should cut the bullshit and just let us kill the pests. Obviously she’s involved somehow—why the fuck would a Mudblood have even been there otherwise?—but the idiots at the Ministry won’t act on it even if they can prove it. Gutless bastards.” 

“Lucius will make them do something,” Severus pointed out smoothly, returning to crushing beetle carapaces. “The only reason he wasn’t screaming the place down night of masquerade was because he was focused on Narcissa.” 

“But they won’t do enough, will they? Just enough to get Luci to shut up. The bitch will be cut loose soon enough, just you see.” The man sneered, reaching out for one of the other knives Severus had laid out. “...Maybe we should take care of it ourselves.” 

“The Dark Lord said to keep a low profile while the Ministry works itself up over this ‘Phoenix’ group.”  Dolohov scowled and scoffed, but also wasn’t about to go against those high of orders. “That won’t last forever,” he settled on saying. “Anyway. You’ve got my stuff?” 

Severus didn’t respond, only taking a moment to pour the crushed beetle carapaces into the cauldron before he turned to fetch the potions from where he’d hidden them. “The purple vials are something new for you,” he explained. “Try them, tell me what you think.” He blinked as the man uncorked one of them and tossed it back on the spot; he hadn’t meant right now, but then, Dolohov’s sense of boundary and timing had been eroding. Nor did Severus point out that it wasn’t even nine in the morning yet; he knew the man simply didn’t care. “Might take a while for the effects to kick in. Avoid being around Muggles when they do.” He wasn’t entirely positive what the reaction would be, and if his friend was open to being a guinea pig, who was he to say no?

Packing up the rest of the vials into a little bag for the man, he said, “I’m going over to the Malfoys to check on Narcissa this evening. Do you wan—” The dismissive scoff from the man cut him off. The two yearmates had had some sort of falling out, and Severus wasn’t going to press it. That was the key to how he got along with his peers. 

“I’ll get you that shipment of lobalug venom soon,” Dolohov said instead as he turned to leave. “Take care of yourself Severus.” “And you, Antonin,” Severus murmured, adding as the door closed behing him, “Don’t kill yourself too quickly.” 

Severus didn’t allow himself to stop until he’d finished the current potion he was brewing; only when it was bottled, corked, and labeled did he pull the newspaper back towards himself, lips pursing tight as he read and reread the article. Finally he straightened, fed the paper into the flame under the cauldron and returned to work. Still the headline lingered in his mind and twisted his gut. Clearly, something would have to be done. 

#s. snape #∟headcanon #∟metathread #homenum | november 2nd 1981