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#the lies we told canon
ficsforeren · 2 years
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can I ask for a snippet of The Lies We Told? 👉🏻👈🏻
Oh, honey, I haven't written anything much for The Lies We Told yet but uhh... yeah, here, have some crumbs:
“I saw his body when they cleaned his wounds.” Your voice shatters like glass. “They didn’t just kill him. They tortured him.” 
Eren swallows his breath when you spin around to face him with bloodshot eyes, your cheeks lined with tears. “If they wanted to kill him, driving their knife through his heart would’ve been enough. He had more wounds on his body than I could count. None of them were near his organs. They didn’t want him to die easily. They wanted to watch him bleed. Why did they do that to him?”
Eren closes his eyes for a moment. To you, he seems like he’s struggling through his trauma, trying to calm himself down before he uses his words. But he doesn’t feel fear or remorse. There’s only fury.
Ah, I fucking hate this. Eren takes a deep breath. Why would you care what happened to him? He’s not the man you think he is, Princess. He was never the man you thought he was. I’m the monster? Don’t make me laugh.
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cosmicterrorthe8th · 2 months
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Another Grant headcanon:
I think he wrote love notes when in relationships, and he went all out with like making the paper scented and stuff. But like he had no good perfume so he ended up using his horrible body spray. So like the lucky boyfriend would like find a paper reeking of the body spray like every once in a while.
Also I think he was someone who fell deep into romance because having a crush and feeling butterflies in his stomach was better than numbness. So he would pursue every crush even if he knew it would not end well because of the thrill of it. I think this sucked but I think he atleast felt like this is a normal way for life to suck.
#honestly I was thinking he continued the note thing with marco in college maybe?#and now marco likes the smell of the body spray even if grant found better perfumes cuz nostalgia#i think i am in my own la dee da world after this episode#where I think if willy takes a break from torturing the parents they should form a circle and become bffs#they should form a circle#toast to rebecca#and then just talk shit idk#i think they would be very funny as a group after they are done grieving#like cassandra would be like how could I have dated such a loser#he literally kidnapped like four of my exs ex friends and put collars on them when we were dating#and they would be like no its not your fault he is that manipulative#and then one of them would talk about their ex to comfort her#and then somwhow it would come out that willy is like the age of their grandparents#and cassandra would be like why did this senior citizen get me so bad#he told me to make him a sandwich and I#a multimillionaire made him a sndwich#this will probably never happen in canon#dndads#grant wilson#dungeons and daddies#the tags are their own seperate post at this point#dndads s2#looking back on this(tags)#all the spouses knew willy as a nice guy who saved them#rebecca was the only one who suspected him so thats why he killed her#they must be feeling so duped getting tortured except for marco who saw him kill a man#cassandra has been feeling duped since heaven#this is killing me all of them are having conversations in my head now the comedy and the pain is killing me mostly the comedy#marco li wilson#grant li wilson
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rosenecklaces · 6 months
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every damn time gwynriel/elucien gets a heavy hit reminder on "your barely a ship chill the fuck out" from S*M herself they throw the biggest fucking tantrum and makes it everyones problem like...
sorry not even casual readers who dont care about elriel dont get on youre side since they know are the most likable couple to have their story told. go get youre shit together if a fictional gardener liking- being shackled, to your equally fictional book BF, gets you so fucking heated
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tteokdoroki · 3 months
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⋆ 𝜗𝜚 ˚⟡. — SATORU GOJO. the damage is done.
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about. when satoru decides that he wants you (his ex) back, his foolproof plan starts off by making your new partner extremely insecure..
warnings. minors, blank and ageless blogs do not interact ! nsfw, smut, non canon, toxic relationships, love bombing, exes to lovers, gaslighting, infidelity, cheating, breeding, fingering, multiple orgasms, couch sex, oral sex ( f! receiving ), unprotected sex, ex boyfriend!gojo, fem!reader.
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ex!gojo who slides into the dms of your current partner to slowly make them insecure.
he acts like a nice guy, offers advice on what to do when you’re mad, what you like to eat, how to keep you all sedated and happy. your current partner starts to gush about how cool of a dude satoru gojo is. how could you pass up on such an amazing guy? he’s rich, funny, caring — they can see how you fell for him.
but what they don’t understand is the greedy side of satoru — the one who one who wanted you all to himself. the guy who never let you go out, who made you cry but made you cum with the promise of never hurting your feelings again.
sometimes the advice gets a little too specific. how does satoru know where you keep your sex toys for kinky nights of fun. why does he know the spot that makes you arch your back off of the sweaty sheets just like that? or how many fingers you like to take? or how long it takes before you start gagging on cock.
it makes your new partner insecure, gives them performance anxiety and ruins the vibes of your bedroom. they can’t communicate with you, at least not properly — it leads to fights that are all too familiar. conversations you’ve had with satoru before. your little insecurities and biggest fears are thrown into your face, things they know will hurt you deep down you. these are some of the first times you cry because of your new partner.
it’s all too familiar, these are things you’ve gone through before with your ex — the recognisable twinge in your chest and feeling of guilt after being gaslight is something you know all too well.
“he was right, you really are just a cry baby.” they say. “since he knows so much about you, maybe you should go back to fucking him.” which feels like a bullet to your heart because you’ve spent so much time proving to your partner that you’re over your ex and all the bullshit that satoru put you through. all the drama and all the trauma he left you with.
your partner leaves for the night, leaving you alone with your tears and the tiny voice in the back of your mind that tells you it’s all satoru’s fault. it goads you into calling him, his number which you blocked but kept written down in your notes app in case of emergency. it’s been forever since you last spoke to your ex and told him you wanted nothing to do with him — so you’re surprised when he picks up on the second ring, seemingly happy to hear your voice.
“what did you do, satoru?” his name on your tongue is foreign yet also familiar. you’ve said it a million times before, in many different ways (lust, love and loss) but this time you’re angry. like the last time you spoke.
“what do you mean?”
he plays coy and you feel your temper bubble. “we got into a fight, i know it’s your fault. what did you say to them?”
“shouldn’t you be making up with them?” gojo answers your question with a question, his all-knowing smirk transcending down the static on the line. “why was your first thought to call me?”
that makes you falter, stops your typhoon of rage in its place.
the truth is, you know why you called. deep down you know that gojo could fix this, when you fought as a couple you would always call him first and in tears — letting him calm you down. gaslighting you in the process. he always knew what to say to scab over the wounds of your arguments, patching over deep cuts with little white lies even if he would reopen them and leave mental scars in place.
when you fight with your partner now, you seek the same sort of unhealthy comfort in the only person who you know will give it you and that’s exactly what satoru wants.
“let me come over,” he states, suave. “let me help you fix this.” he takes advantage of your emotional torment, butters you up with the promise of comforting you and against your better judgement — you let him. your partner abandoned you, satoru wants to help you. you’ve always known that he still loved you, at least he wouldn’t leave, at least he’s not like your partner.
regret will come in the morning, you think, when you let satoru into your apartment and back into your life. he knows that everything on the walls are different, the picture frames are now brown instead of white and hold photos of your current life in place of what you had with your ex. the furniture has moved and the diffuser at the entryway smells different. but as much as you’ve tried, you can’t get rid of your ex, satoru gojo. he will always make his way back to you.
he makes sure that you’re aware of this when he kisses you on the couch that you kept from your previous relationship. satoru tells you that you’ll always need him when he pins your hips to its leather with a strong arm and buries his white head of hair between your warm, thick thighs. he proves it to you with the way that his tongue licks broad strokes against the entire length of your sex and flicks at your clit because he knows that how you like you it, he knows you’ll cum in seconds if he eats you out like that.
there’s going to be a stain in the couch from just how much more you gush on satoru’s skilled fingers and tongue, as he moans against your sopping mound and tells you how he’s the only one who could ever make you see stars this way. his face gleams with your arousal and his eyes sparkle knowingly because it’s true. you’ve never felt as good as you have with satoru in comparison to anyone else. it puts doubt in your mind, makes you question why you even left him in the first place.
though, you don’t have much time to dwell on the thought…because in hurried yet precise movements — gojo is making you cum on his fingers again. the rough pad of his thumb possessively writes the letters of his name against your pulsating clit — hardened by blood that rushes to it, carrying lustful hormones from your frenzied mind. he loves how you taste when you cum, how you cling to him, how he knows that you’ll never forget this phenomenalfeeling after tonight.
it’s a little too intimate for two exes when satoru makes you ride him. his legs spread wide while you straddle his lap, creating the perfect angle for his cock to nudge against that one special pleasure spot inside of you. you’ve missed his cock, it’s perfect length and thickness — it’s pretty pink tip that oozes so much precum that’s all for you. it’s only ever been for you.
the way satoru’s large palms cup the globes of your ass and guide you back and forth over his lap unlocks a nostalgic and loving feeling in your rapidly rising and falling chest. he kisses you with so much passion that you’re reminded of the good nights you spent with him — making love until sunrise while his tongue rolls over yours and licks at your teeth. you’re naked and chest to chest, noses becoming neighbours while the course of your breathing syncs up. it’s overwhelming, how adored you feel in the moment, all while fucking your ex on the couch.
you grope at each other like it’ll be the final time you ever have sex like this. your hands settle at the base of satoru’s neck and his on your waist while you languidly move together in a salacious dance routine you’ve done so many times before. you’re perfect partners, it’s evident in the way you reward his throbbing cock with dribbles of your creamy arousal — droplets of soft white running down and catching on veins on his shaft.
“i’m always going to love you, baby,” satoru’s soft laments echo through the home you’ve made with your over lover — barely audible over his balls slapping against your peachy ass and your cunt selfishly squeezing down on him, squelching with every thrust. “i’m always gonna want you like this, even when we fuck up. e-even when we’re not together,” he growls and rambles, blissful blue eyes darting all over your face twisted with ecstasy and right down to where you paint him with arousal and suck him in so well. “fuuuck, i wanna cum…s-say you want it, say you want me.”
it’s overwhelming, how much love you have for satoru. for your ex. it washes over your feelings of guilt in regard to your infidelity, any bad emotion or thought of your partner cannot compare to the burning and bright lust that flickers in your tummy. when you fuck yourself down on gojo’s throbbing girth he pulls back out of your snug, salacious sex — creating a delicious cycle of friction that you never want to forget. that you miss so bad.
“i want…i want you!” you stutter, tears brewing in your starry eyes. “i miss you, i love you,” the words rush out of you before your hazy mind can even catch up and register them. you barely manage to register that you’re fucking your ex just mere hours after arguing with your special one. it doesn’t matter, not right now and not in this moment. not when satoru teases your clit until you’re able to cum all over him, painting his thighs with your slick as you slump against him.
even though he shouldn’t, even though he’s ruined your relationship, gojo cums inside your quivering cunt. fills you to the brim with his viscous, scorching seed and there’s so much of it that it seeps from your entrance — pooling okto the couch below.
“i love you.”
“i know.”
“come back to me, baby.”
“i…i don’t know if i can…”
you want to so badly, especially the damage is done, sealed by stolen kisses that’ll mean nothing in the morning.
satoru’s gotten what he wanted, to make you question your relationship and remind you of why you should come back to him. you fell asleep an intertwined mess on the couch and he leaves in the early hours of the next day.
all so that your current partner will never know the events that occurred on the night of your fight — you don’t have to heart to tell them when they come back the next morning with your favourite flowers and an apology. they shouldn’t have left you. they shouldn’t have gone to satoru behind your back. they love you.
but it’s already too late, a seed of doubt has been planted in your mind by your ex. you release that you still want him, that you might even miss him and the foundation of your new relationship becomes shaky and unstable.
you’ve grown insecure and you will always be comparing your current partner to your last partner. to gojo.
and your lover? now they’re insecure too, because you’re always so distant and you always smell a little different when you come home these days.
because you’ve started going behind their back to be with your ex, satoru, too.
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꒰ end. — all rights reserved © tteokdoroki 2024. do not copy, repost, translate & recommend elsewhere.
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dilfsfordinner · 1 year
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Escarmiento- Miguel O’hara x fem!spider reader
a/n- spoiler warning for atsv!!! Some of the things in this I don’t agree with based off of my personal opinion for certain characters, but y/n, for story sake, agrees with Miles
warnings- eventual smut, predator/prey dynamics, spanking, edging, degradation, explicit language, size kink, biting, mean/rough sex, unprotected sex, vaginal fingering, creampie, aftercare, soft miggy after he realizes he was an ass
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“You’re an anomaly. You don’t belong here, you don’t even belong in your universe. Everything you’ve done…”
The sound of your husband’s voice rang between your ears as you squeezed between the growing crowd, the dark blue and red of Miguel’s “lair” reflecting off the suits of the hundreds of spider people slowly congregating around the boy you knew as Miles Morales. For weeks, Miguel was infatuated with this Morales kid, infatuated with the idea of capturing him so that he could save everyone, so he could save you, as he loved to say.
Slowly but surely, you found yourself standing at the front, watching as the young boy was on the receiving end of a very familiar type of lecture. “-kid, you can’t have everything, you can’t save everyone. Spider-man makes sacrifices, that’s the way it has to be,” Miguel’s tone was strong, unwavering, as he told the kid the unfortunate truth of the situation.
Gwen, Peter, Hobie (who could not care less about the situation), Jess, and your husband all battered the kid with their takes, with their opinions on the situation and you could tell that he wasn’t having any of it. The others in the room also thought it their place to partake in this ping pong match of morals, their voices overstimulating even to your ears. It was obvious that Miles felt suffocated, lied to, attacked, and you couldn’t just sit back and watch.
“What if he’s right?”
The room went silent at your words, every single spider lensed eye turning to look at you as you stepped forward, a pair of scarlet eyes meeting your own, narrowing slightly. “What if nothing happens? I mean, how are any of us supposed to live if we stay trapped by the rules of the unknown?”
A sigh left the lips of the spider you knew all too well, his gloved hand running down his face as he turned to you. “We’re “trapped” by those rules for a reason. They’re the only thing holding everything together. You should know that more than anyone.”
Yes, you knew all too well what would happen if the canon was disrupted, being Miguel’s only pillar to trust and lean on for him to be vulnerable enough to share his story. That was one case though. One instance out of countless others that were possible.
With careful steps, you walked toward them until you were side by side with Miles, his wide eyes watching you literally take his side, the first out of hundreds to step up.
“Amor.. being bitten by that spider should’ve caused irrevocable damage in his universe, should it not have?” You questioned him, his strong arms crossing as he pondered the fact, “It wasn’t canon, so by your reasoning, all hell should’ve broken loose in his universe. But it didn’t. Miles may very well be an anomaly, but if he can commit non-canon acts without consequences, there’s nothing stopping us from letting him save his father.”
With a scoff, your husband’s hand turned to gesture the scenes projected behind him, the sight of universes crumbling, millions of lives wiped out due to one action. “This is why we can’t let him. If the kid is allowed to do whatever he wants, every single universe would end up in shambles because one little thread of reality was tugged loose.”
You wouldn’t admit it out loud, but to some degree, you did agree with Miguel. You knew how important it was to uphold the rules of the multiverse, but there was just something different with Miles. You couldn’t help but think that this was different, that his case was truly unique.
“He’s staying. I don’t care about hypotheticals or any other possible outcomes-”
Using Miguel’s voice as a cover, as inconspicuous as possible, your gloved hand lightly tugged at Miles’ pinky, and when his eyes glanced at your still frame, you whispered under your breath, “Use your palms.” Miles’ eyebrows furrowed at your comment, his shoulders squaring as Miguel approached the both of you.
“-he’s not going anywhere until we know for sure that he’s not a threat.” Miguel’s hand closed around your wrist, pulling you away from the boy’s side as you watched him pull a red disk from the air behind him, casually throwing it at the boy’s feet, a red cage snapping up around the panicking kid.
Miguel was immediately battered with pleas to let him go, specifically by Gwen and Peter, as Miles yelled and slammed against his enclosure. Slipping away from the turmoil and shouting, you caught Miles’ gaze and nodded slightly, his eyes going wide at the realization of your words. His hands pressed against the red lining, a muttered sentence leaving his lips before the cage shattered and every single spider-person was thrown backwards by the sheer force. Everyone besides you of course, who was conveniently standing next to a freed Miles, your webbing attached to the floor the only anchor you had to prevent from flying back.
Scarlet eyes immediately snapped to you, your gaze full of guilt as Miles turned to sprint, your legs quickly following as the shout of your name boomed behind you, your eyes flitting back to find a rage-filled Miguel with hundreds of spiders at his heels, pursuing Miles, and unfortunately, you as well.
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Part Two
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tmntxthings · 1 year
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Fun fact: Turtles touch/tap the face of their partner as a form mating display, so can we get some head canons of the rise boys unconsciously/involuntarily touching their s/o face, like cupping their cheeks with one or both hands habitually whenever they're in arms length or tapping/brushing the back of their hand on s/o cheek to get their attention?
Turtle Taps
author’s note: here you are cute anon!! i was smitten with this idea but it only came to fruition bc of @marwhoa’s encouragement hehe
warnings: fluff, kisses, established relationships, unedited
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Leonardo
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he would poke
idk but i imagine when the two of you were close friends, borderline dating, he’d ‘annoy’ you by poking your face, especially those chubby cheeks of yours
you would complain, batting his hands away, and as friends that was fine but when the two of you started dating it would hurt his feelings
“I can’t help it!” “You’re just too cute!” He’d repeat those excuses, not truly explaining the full meaning behind his repeated actions. And Leo would’ve never told you!
The two of you were dozed off during a movie marathon in the projector room. Laying in bean bags that were pressed together, Leo had made sure his was close to yours. He woke up first and as he turned to see your sleeping form his hands went out on their own accord.
Cupping your cheeks gently and his thumbs giving soft taps. He felt so happy when you snuggled your face further into his hands. So happy in fact that he couldn’t help it when he started poking those chubby cheeks
Your eyes snapped open, “Leo!” You grumped, wanting nothing more than to fall back asleep. His hands would freeze, his eyes widening, feeling badly about having gotten caught and your rejection as you batted his hands away once again.
He quickly got up, mumbling an excuse about getting something to eat. His immediate reaction had you sitting up, feeling guilty for having hurt his feelings you finally did a google search.
‘Why do turtles tap faces?’ Upon further research after being so utterly shocked at the initial results. You felt like a fool. You got up, blushing furiously as you rushed to the kitchen. Leo was faced away from you but he heard your approach and asked if you wanted something to eat as well. “We got leftover piz-
He stopped short as he felt your hands encase his face. Then hesitantly only out of nerves, you started to lightly tap his green cheeks. Leo was a churring mess, moving too fast so he could turn to see you. You pulled back and he was smiling brightly, face awaiting for you to continue your earlier actions
So you complied, hands going out once more and you tapped his cheeks, the smile Leo gave you practically blinded you. “You could’ve told me what this actually meant!” You complained, poking his cheeks in the same annoying way he would, but he’d just nuzzle his face into your touches
“Yeah I guess I could’ve,” he mused. He had been too embarrassed to just say it. That and he just wasn’t the type to admit the truth that easily. But if he had known your reaction would’ve been this he’d have spilled sooner. You smile and shake your head, stilling your hands and pulling him close to plant a sweet kiss to his snout.
Michelangelo
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Mikey would squish your face in pure excitement. He’s just so happy, he can’t contain himself, he’s squishing your cheeks together.
He could be on the whole other side of the room, or not in the same space at all, but he’ll run through the lair, find you at random and squish your cheeks together squealing about something that excited him.
Definitely happens so much that you’ve accepted it at this point, you’ll see him barreling towards you (yes he’s tackled you to the ground a couple times when you weren’t prepared for him to jump you!) and accept your fate
You try to play it off sometimes like you’re annoyed but truthfully it’s just so cute and endearing, when he’s reallyyyyy happy or when the two of you are alone he’ll squish your cheeks together and peck your lips with a soft kiss. A flurry of them too, you’re not just getting one kiss
Many many swift kisses in rapid session, and let’s say he just won in a video game, the arcade room empty except for you two, he’ll give the room a quick scan before he’s on you
“Y/n!!!! I wonnn !! Hehe did ya see??” He squishes your cheeks together while he speaks and as soon as he’s done he’s kissing you before you can answer, you hadn’t seen him win, you were playing your own game but he didn’t need to know that
Once he parted you spoke though your speech sounded slightly off because he still had his hands cupping your face, squishing, “ ‘hat’s awesome Mikey” he’d blush, coming down from the excitement
It was like his thoughts would come after he took action, taking note of his hands and how his lips felt, he’d pull you closer, slower this time and giving you a breath-taking smooch
Only this time he had forgotten to glance around beforehand so he flinched as he heard the snap of a camera. “Oh don’t mind me lovebirds, just documenting for future-“ Leo stopped midway realizing Mikey was actually quite close all of the sudden
“Give that here!! Leo!!” Mikey yelled chasing after his older brother. Of course it had been Leo, laughter and yelling could be heard throughout the lair and you were sure everyone would be witnessing this spectacle, you chuckled strolling at a leisure pace after your orange clad turtle
Donatello
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Donnie brushes you with his hand
It doesn’t happen often and when it happens it surprises Donnie the most out of the two of you
He’ll be overthinking or had gotten so overworked that Donnie will blink and suddenly you’re in front of him with worried eyes, your mouth moving but he doesn’t hear anything as his hands reach out as if by instinct and he’s brushing the back of his hand against your cheek
He’s blinking slowly and watching your expression soften as you gingerly do the same to him, giving him time to move away if he doesn’t want your touch. But this time he does want it, he’s exhausted honestly but as soon as he feels your fingers brushing against his green cheek he’s sighing
Like he’s expelling all the stress and worries he had minutes earlier, he’s leaning into your touch and it’s like his battery that was depleted is now recharging
He stays there, nuzzling his face into your hand as Donnie continues brushing or just holding your face close to his own. Once he’s charged though he’ll blink and suddenly remember himself, pulling back sharply and blushing a darker green
Coughing into his fist as you pull back, smirking at his embarrassed reaction, “How about we eat some pizza and you go to bed? Hmmm Donatello??” Teasing him no doubt but making sure he understands that it’s probably best to take a break from his projects
“Sure, sure.” Donnie’s standing stiffly, one hand coming up to cover another fit of embarrassed coughs as he swiftly leaves the lab, you follow him smiling to yourself as your own cheeks felt warm.
Raphael
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Raph gives you light taps
He’s always treating you with an extra amount of care. He’d never forgive himself if he was the cause to your pain.
Raph isn’t as shy as he is with his feelings towards tapping you, but he is similar in a way that he doesn’t do it super often
If you’re around and the two of you aren’t alone he’ll probably hold himself back but if you are alone he likes greeting you with light taps to your cheek
He’ll be a blushing mess, eyes cast everywhere but at you and Raph will give you sweet gentle taps, he only makes eye contact when your hands cover his, giggling at his expression
“Still so shy even after all this time?” You quip and Raph gives you a bashful grin, “Only with this!” And he’ll kiss you easily to prove the point. He definitely isn’t shy about that which shocks you more since these cute taps don’t seem that embarrassing
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kinardscoffee · 21 days
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Can we just talk about the fact that Buck has always gone above and beyond for everyone in his life?
And how having someone else be there for him is a huge fucking deal?
Buck has such a deep-seated fear of abandonment, and the show has made it so REAL, given his childhood, and i pray the writers put our boy back in therapy to address it. Clearly, the Buckley parents hardly showed affection towards Buck as a child, even to the extreme of cutting off an emotional connection to ultimately help them bury their grief over Daniel. And Buck could feel this. A tiny child who just wants to be loved "anyway" and has lived his entire life in fear that any future physical and emotional relationships he finds will always abandon him because it's literally all he knows.
Buck has always craved a connection to something. Whether it's with his sister, at jobs, with friends, with romantic partners... he approaches everything and everyone in his life like they're this brand new amazing piece of his charred. scattered puzzle.
And, still, everyone has either left him, made him feel like the problem or a burden, or told him he's not good enough.
And we know he values his family (both blood and found) above everything else around him.
But like, who does it for him?
I'm not saying the 118, Maddie, or past LIs haven't been there for him, but, at one point in time, they've all made him feel some type of way during their relationship with him. Whether it was completely accidental or not.
Yes, even Eddie, who called him exhausting and shut Buck out of his life when it came to the underground fighting. Even after Eddie left the 118 and was struggling with his PTSD. And I'm not saying Eddie is a dick for all that. He was having a bad time. I'm just saying he can't really understand Buck in that way.
And that's okay.
Eddie, along with everyone else in Buck's life, is there for him in their own special way that helps make Buck learn from past mistakes and become a better person.
But then he meets Tommy.
Someone who went above and beyond, putting both his job and his life on the line by flying Hen, Chim, Eddie and Buck out to search for a cruise ship in the middle of a hurricane.
And that has to impress the shit out of Buck. Which is why there is an immediate attraction and need to get to know this man. Buck feels drawn to him because maybe, just maybe, the pieces broken inside himself could ultimately match up to those within Tommy.
Buck can't stop thinking about Tommy because no one else he's ever dated has treated Buck with this amount of attention or makes him feel secure in the fact that his feelings matter.
And yeah, Tommy ended their first date early, and I know some people didn't appreciate that, but you also have to understand that Tommy has feelings too. We don't canonically know Tommy's story, but I'm confident he's broken inside by the same insecurities that Buck has.
So, Buck realizing that his actions on the date weren't right and deciding to put everything on the line to Tommy?
We aren't dealing with the same Buck from S6 who thought Natalia saw him because he died.
No.
Buck sees Evan. He sees himself and the life he's ready to live.
And finally, he's making himself a priority.
He's not basing this relationship on Tommy or what anyone else thinks. He's pursuing this relationship for himself and for the first time... it's his time.
And Tommy just keeps showing up for it.
He doesn't ridicule Buck on wanting to throw Chim a bachelor party that wasn't wanted. He stays as long as he can before getting called into work. And I'm willing to bet that the man didn't even eat anything because Buck said they had to wait for Chim.
And those looks!
The kicked puppy look that Buck gives Tommy says so much. There's a sadness that he failed at throwing a successful bachelor party, I mean, Chim didn't even show up. There's a sudden concern that the guy he likes is going to a fire that most likely is highly dangerous and large considering they called him in for it.
Tommy gives him a look that shows he understands all of the feelings that Buck is struggling with in that moment. And then he goes on to promise that he will try his best to make it to the wedding.
And you can tell that Buck doesn't believe that. Why would Tommy even consider coming back for Buck? Hell, maybe there wasn't even a fire. Maybe Tommy just created an easy out for an awkward situation.
But I like to believe that Tommy checked in with Buck periodically, and then when he found out that Chim was missing, his texts came in more frequently as his job would allow.
And im sure at one point, Buck told him that he didn't need to come. That he was off the hook because the wedding was at the hospital. No free food or chance of that dance.
Only, Tommy assures him he'll still be there.
And, holy shit, for the first time in Buck's life, someone has kept their word above all else.
Tommy shows up, dirty, exhausted, still in his uniform, hitching a ride on the firetruck or one of those ambulances parked outside, looking both concerned and apologetic.
But all Buck sees is the guy he's crazy about showing up all because Buck wanted him to.
And I just think that's really fucking huge.
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y-rhywbeth2 · 6 months
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Passing thought: Technically, as a vampire spawn, Astarion should have the spider climb ability. One could explain that as the tadpole repressing it, he notes that it's shut down his regenerative abilities in a banter with Shadowheart.
But if you let him ascend he talks about it in his hubristic rants like it's something new and special. So he doesn't know that he should already be able to do this as a spawn.
One answer is that Larian just decided that spawn don't have that ability in their game, but another answer - fitting DnD canon - is that Cazador didn't tell him about it. Many vampires teach their spawn lies and don't teach them full extent of their abilities to keep them weak and afraid of retaliating to reduce the chances of them overthrowing them.
(I also have a mental image of him discovering this over the events of the game and he has an enraged freak out as he realises he's always had more power than he realised and that Cazador tricked him out of. (Somebody should maybe get this guy a copy of the Libris Mortis. Like, "here's a manual on your condition and similar ones, because we can't trust whatever your shitbag abuser told you."))
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indigovigilance · 8 months
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Baraqiel and Azazel
Disclaimer: DO NOT ask Neil Gaiman to confirm or deny any of this. He doesn't want you to ask. I don't want you to ask.
SO DON'T ASK.
Edit: Neil confirmed this theory and it's not my fault: see the reblog
Now, on with the meta.
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Thesis and evidence below the cut:
Dominion...
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Angel of the Sky...
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Hair an eye-burning ginger, eyebrows like grisly slugs, often draped in red…
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Occasionally damp...
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Most likely singed…
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Most likely singed…
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Most likely singed…
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Most likely singed…
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So that's everything from purely within Good Omens canon.
Baraqiel is described, additionally, in the Book of Enoch as:
Lord of Lightning
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Who taught the forbidden knowledge of astronomy:
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He is also the overseer of the Second Heaven, wherein lies the prison of Fallen Angels. More on that later.
The story of Baraqiel’s ejection from Heaven is contained in the Book of Enoch, but he’s not a main character. In fact, he’s only one of twenty major fallen angels, specifically, the ninth. The tenth is Azazel.
Who, then, is Azazel?
Firstly, Azazel is a fallen angel:
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Who is damned because he introduces humans to forbidden knowledge, specifically, the knowledge of swords [and other devices of warfare]:
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And also the knowledge of adornment, specifically, “the art of making up the eyes, and of beautifying the eyelids, and the most precious stones, and all kinds of coloured dyes.”
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And insofar as Azazel is synonymous with Azzael, he denounces the authority of the Metatron:
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In fact, Azazel is given all the blame for revealing the secrets of Heaven: “​​the whole Earth has been ruined by the teaching of the works of Azazel; and against him write: ALL SIN.”
and God orders Raphael punish Azazel: “And further the Lord said to Raphael: "Bind Azazel by his hands and his feet and throw him into the darkness. And split open the desert, which is in Dudael, and throw him there.””
We never learn in the Book of Enoch that Raphael actually does this (based on my reading), but it was commanded. In fact, Raphael would have had to throw Azazel into that prison which was in the domain of Baraqiel.
This puts Baraqiel!Crowley and Azazel!Aziraphale among the ranks of angels that went to Earth and delighted in Earthly pleasures, which caused them to be “fallen,” that God refused to speak to from then on, that Enoch!Metatron was ordered by God to tell that they were unforgiven and would never be forgiven.
It’s worth noting that there seems to be some disagreement among rabbinical scholars over whether Samyaza, Azza, Azzael, and Azazel are separate entities or if these are different names for the same entity. We should also remember that in the universe of Good Omens, entities change names when they ascend to or fall from Heaven.
Tying this all back to the Metatron: In 3 Enoch, the book which describes the ascent of Enoch the man to Metatron the angel, we learn that the overseer of the Second Heaven is Baraqiel, angel of lightning. The description of the prison in the Second Heaven and the angels trapped within it is terrifying, but not more than Enoch’s own actions when he is there.
At this point Enoch has not been transfigured into the Metatron yet, but when he passes by, the angels ask him to pray for them to the Lord; and he refuses, for “who am I, a mortal man, that I may pray for angels?” He is told about them again in the Fifth Heaven, about their sins, how they followed Satan, and that they will be punished on Judgment Day.
So we have a lot of reasons here to see that there would be enmity directly between the Metatron and Azazel, for questioning his authority before God, and between Baraqiel and Enoch!Metatron, for either Baraqiel was guarding the prison or already in it when the human who would become Metatron was supplicated for prayers of redemption and refused. Either way, the Metatron is responsible for Baraqiel’s fall, most directly because he refused to take the petition of the fallen angels before God and instead relied on his interpretation of a dream.
There’s been a lot of implication and even exposition throughout S2 that memory is vulnerable to erasure. We’ve gotten some direct hints that Crowley doesn’t remember all of his past, but I would venture to propose that Aziraphale has a very troubled past that he does not remember, that the Metatron (and possibly Crowley) does, and that further, because his memory was [partially] removed, his name was changed to Aziraphale, for which we see precedent in Jimbriel and all the demons.
My absolutely unhinged, unsubstantiated S3 prediction is that Angel!Crowley sacrificed himself to rescue Azazel from damnation, and the price of Azazel remaining an angel was losing the memories of his transgressions, including (and especially) those he formed with Angel!Crowley. That at the Garden of Eden, Crawley!Crowley knew that these things had been erased, and that he was probably talking to a husk of his former friend, the way that Jim was a husk of Gabriel, but that when he learned that Aziraphale had given away the sword, realized that the soul of the person he loved was still in there.
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Partner post: For a meta on why we should believe that Enoch!Metatron aka Human!Metatron is a possibility, go here.
Edit: I read the Book of Enoch from front to back, twice, but if you want to check my work (or write a response meta!) you can find the source material here and here.
If you liked this husbands-centric meta, you may like A Nightingale Sang in 1941
If you liked this historic event speculation, you may like Sodom and Gomorrah
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2smolbeans · 7 months
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"Nearly breaking down as you saw Marco softly smile at you. A smile you haven't seen ever since he found his 'darling'."
Part 2 Part 2.5 character info
Love Me, Love Me Not
Yandere Best Friend x Obstacle Reader
*unedited
Tags: kidnapping, complicit murder, guilt, suggestive tones, mixed signals, eventual smut, oneshot, reader is going through mixed feelings, one sided crush, yandere is in love with someone else, imprisonment, will they won't they vibes.
Disclaimer: This is just a scenario I thought of with an Oc! So nothing is really 'official' or canon-
_____________________________
One too many times, you should've called the police. Why didn't you though? Now you sit there on the shower floor, hot water burning your back as you try to warm up the chill that goes down your spine. Their eyes, oh god they were open and staring at you dead in fear. Why did you cover for him?
You felt the sob trapped in your throat rip out of you as you remembered all the horrible things you were complicit in. There was nothing you could do now but accept the reality. You wouldn't get caught. The two of you burned all the evidence, and sadly, the victims were easy to dispose of. Did anyone look for them? Was anyone curious about them going missing?
The guilt was heavy, and it didn't help that the person you did it for- couldn't give two shits about you.
Marco, your happy go lucky best friend. You remembered that night when he called you, in a panic, begging you to rush to where he was. Of course you went, you were so worried for him. Upon arrival, you saw the large bag and tools. The look on his face warning you to do as he says before he decides to have another matching body bag beside him.
"You trust me don't you? I just need help with this, and then we can be over with it!"
You should've ran, screamed, called for help. But instead, you just grabbed the lower half of the bag, feeling the dreadful sensation of its limbs. You heard a shocked hum across you before the bag lifted off the ground.
"This is why you're always my number one go to. I apperciate this, I mean it. I won't ever forget this. Now follow me 'kay?"
What a joke. It was all a lie, wasn't it? All of that just for some sick obsession. Just for his "girlfriend" to focus on him and him only. If Marco just pursued her normally like a decent fucking human being, nobody would've been hurt, lies wouldn't have been told, your friendship would've been intact..
He could've just told those once alive victims that he wanted to ask her out. If Marco just smiled at her like he used to smile towards you- you're damn sure she would've fallen for him.
It worked for you afterall..
Maybe you should've let go when you had the chance. Cause now here you are, fending for your life as the killer you once called a friend claims you're the very obstacle of their relationship.
What? But you helped him?
You're staring at her in the wrong way.
Are you fucking kidding me? Does he know how many times you cried. The nights you spent mourning for the dead and the friendship that once was?
He still cares about you. But you forced him to get rid of you.
That's funny since you're currently showering at his apartment. You can't leave, though. He's locked the doors and windows. He even went as far as locking the knife cabniet and potential weapons. Still with the shower running, you didn't flinch at the sound of the bathroom door opening.
Curled up in a ball as you sat in the shower, you finally saw the eyes staring down at your naked form. You couldn't read his face, understand his expression, or even tell what he was thinking. It was foreign, new.
"Hey. Are you done? You're taking up the water bill y'know?"
Oh right, how long were you there for? Awkardly, you tried standing up while covering yourself with what little your hands could hide. You hoped he would at least save you some dignity, but he just kept staring with a blank expression.
"Here's a towel. Dry up and come to the kitchen. I made us something to eat"
You thanked Marco as you were quick to wrap your body with the towel. Looking again at Marco, you saw a hint of dissapointnent splay upon his eyes.
"Okay..Well just-Just..do whatever. Don't take too long or else I'll drag you out myself."
Rolling your eyes, you pushed Marco out of the bathroom as you closed the door. Locking - Oh right, he removed all the locks to each room..Drying off your body, you put on the clothes he left for you. Eventually, you made it to the kitchen, sitting down on the chair as you watched him cook.
He looked so calm, so soft as he focused on flipping the meat. You almost smiled when you heard him mutter about how he spilled some oil on his shirt.
Eventually sitting down to join you, Marco gave you your food as he offered you a drink. You declined of course, not feeling thirsty and paranoid of whatever poison he might spike it with. Smelling the aroma of the food, you felt your mouth water. He was always a good cook, hell you remembered the first time you visited his place.
How he made you a nice cooked lamb with mash potatoes. You recalled it being the first time you've ever seen Marco so particular about a certain thing - even though he's always been a speradic and chaotic individual. Though, the quick realization of your perdicment made the food cold and unappetizing.
Biting your lip, you turn your head away as you felt your eyes burn.
Don't cry, don't cry.
You sucked it up. Inhaled the air that surrounded you and forced a bite into your mouth. The food was good, you couldn't deny it. But it didn't taste as good as it did before. It's good, you say. Nearly breaking down as you saw Marco softly smile at you. A smile you haven't seen ever since he found his 'darling'. You want to run away and cry, to start fresh and new.
"I'm actually glad you moved in with me, it feels nice talking to someone who's helped me"
With the murders?
"Hey, we finally reached one of our bucket lists! To be roomates! Huh, well isn't that kind of funny? And we didn't even plan it out- kinda just happened huh!"
He was just rubbing the salt in the wound at this point. Forcing a smile, you just continued eating, chewing your food as a distraction as he kept on staring at you. Where's his girlfriend? Why didn’t he just make her move into his apartment if you're in the way?
"Oh her? She's at work, don't worry about it"
You stop eating, finishing your plate as you push it towards Marco.
"All done? I'm glad you enjoyed it! Just sit right there while I put everything away"
Is there any way for you to escape? There has to be a way, right? What are you doing here? How long is Marco planning on keeping you alive?
"Hey, your not thinking of doing anything weird right?"
You nod your head no profusely, trying to get his suspicion off of you. Patting your shoulder, Marco motions you to the couch. Sitting down before you as he drags you along with him. Placing you on his lap, he turns on the TV- switching through channels while you freeze on the spot.
"Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Out of nowhere, his hands slowly begin to play with your shirt. His fingers rubbing up and down your sides, his crouch nearly pressing against you. Confused, you just sit there, your hands on your knees as you glued your eyes to the screen.
"You're not lying to me, are you?"
His voice is so sweet, so much closer than you anticapted. You nearly buck against his touch just as his palm brushes a certain spot ever so subtly. Why was he doing this? You had a slight speculation why - or at least a hopeful stupid thought that would fufill your old wishes.
"...If you say so"
You find yourself now sitting beside him, pushed off of his lap. Feeling the weight shift on the couch, Marco stood up and walked away for what seemed like forever.
"I just remembered I have to quickly run by to get some things. I'll be back.."
If like nothing happened, you were alone. Confused, you wave your hands around as you scrunch up your face. Talking to yourself as you pace around the room. Calming down, you walk towards the door. Examining it as you realised that Marco had left one of the security laches loose. Should you risk it? You could grab the butterknife he gave you for the meal to loosen the door..
Oh fuck.
You could perhaps finally leave.
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Part 2 coming up soon!
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doctorbitchcrxft · 2 months
Text
Phantom Traveler | Supernatural Series Rewrite | Dean Winchester x Reader
Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader (Eventual)
Warnings: canon violence, canon gore, namecalling, typical Dean and reader
Word Count: 8289
A/N: Hi guys. I've been overwhelmed with love these past few weeks. Just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading. You guys are fucking awesome; I'm so grateful. I hope y'all enjoy this week's episode! Asks/requests/taglists are open!!!
Series Rewrite Masterlist
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You were sound asleep, curled up into yourself when a knock on the door brought you out of your slumber. 
“(Y/N)?”
‘Sam.’
“I got coffee, thought you could use some,” he called through the door.
You pushed yourself up out of the bed as you yawned, and walked over to the door of your motel room to open it for Sam. 
“Dude, you realize it’s six in the morning, right?” You scratched your head as you let Sam into the room.
“You sound like my brother.”
You playfully glared at him. “Don’t compare me to him.”
“Here.” He handed you a coffee and a bag of what you assumed was a pastry.
“Thanks,” you replied, sitting on your bed with your stuff in hand. 
Sam sat on the chair across from you. “Still haven’t warmed up to Dean, huh?” 
“Well, he hasn’t exactly warmed up to me,” you reminded him, thinking of the fight you got into yesterday over his reckless driving.
“Guess that’s true,” he conceded. “It’s weird, though, you guys are so much more alike than you let on.”
“Tell that to him. He started it.” You took a big bite of your pastry.
“Seriously?” Sam laughed, “ ‘He started it’?”
You shrugged, smirking. 
He seemed to remember his original intention behind disturbing your slumber. “Hey, he found a case, though.” 
“Oh, yeah? What’s up?” You licked the pastry cream off your thumb.
“We don’t know. The guy on the phone didn’t say.” Sam raised his coffee cup to his lips.
“Guy on the phone?” You took a sip of your coffee as you let Sam answer.
“Yeah. Some guy my dad and Dean worked a case for a while back’s got another one for us. He called Dean.”
“Ah—” you nodded, “—gotcha. So, where’s he live?”
“Pennsylvania,” Sam responded. 
“Okay, not too far,” you noted. “I’ll be ready in fifteen.”
***
“Thanks for making the trip so quick,” a short older man named Jerry told you and the boys. “I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around. Dean and your dad really helped me out.”
You were walking beside Sam as you followed behind the man who was having you do this job. You were being led through a warehouse past planes as well as their parts and people hard at work.
“Yeah, he told me. It was a poltergeist?” Sam asked the older man.
Someone walking in front of your group was eavesdropping on you. “Poltergeist? Man, I loved that movie.”
“Hey, nobody's talking to you. Keep walking,” Jerry stated authoritatively to the man. He turned his attention back to the conversation. “Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart.” He addressed Dean. “Tell you something, if it wasn't for you and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive. Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?” He’d turned to Sam.
“Yeah, I was. I'm— taking some time off,” Sam explained.
“Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time.”
“He did?” Knowing what you knew about Sam’s relationship with his dad, you found this surprising, too.
“Yeah, you bet he did,” Jerry nodded. “Oh, hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn't. How's he doing, anyway?”
“He's, um, wrapped up in a job right now,” Dean lied. 
“Well, we're missing the old man, but we get Sam and— what’s your name again?” he asked you.
“(Y/N).”
“(Y/N). Even trade, huh?”
“Eh, I wouldn’t say that,” you laughed.
“Say, (Y/N), how’d you get wrapped up with these two?” Jerry asked.
“Oh, uh—” you began, searching for an abridged version of the truth, “—I met them on a hunt in California. They decided to drag me along with them.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. The guys are gonna need backup with this one,” Jerry said. 
“Why?” 
He did not give a direct answer to your question. “I got something I want you guys to hear.”
He led you to his office where you and Sam took the two chairs and Dean stood behind his brother.
”I listened to this. And, well, it sounded like it was up your alley,” Jerry stated, putting a CD into a drive. “Normally I wouldn't have access to this. It's the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia flight 2485. It was one of ours.”
A frantic voice immediately rang out from the speaker as soon as the recording started. “Mayday! Mayday! Repeat! This is United Britannia 2485—” the recording cut out with a static sound, “—immediate instruction help! United Britannia 2485, I copy your message—” and cut out again, “—May be experiencing some mechanical failure—” and then cut out one last time. The man’s voice was completely drowned out by static, whooshing, and growling sounds.
“Took off from here, crashed about two hundred miles south,” Jerry continued. “Now, they're saying mechanical failure. Cabin depressurized somehow. Nobody knows why. Over a hundred people on board. Only seven got out alive. Pilot was one. His name is Chuck Lambert. He's a good friend of mine. Chuck is, uh… well, he's pretty broken up about it. Like it was his fault.”
“You don't think it was?” Sam questioned him.
“No, I don't.”
“Jerry, we're gonna need passenger manifests, um, a list of survivors,” Sam listed.
“Alright,” the man replied.
“And, uh, any way we can take a look at the wreckage?” Dean inquired.
“The other stuff is no problem. But the wreckage… guys— and gal— the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I've got that kind of clearance.” Jerry shook his head.
You frowned.
“No problem,” Dean declared.
You gave him a questioning look to which he shrugged off.
***
“How fucking long does it take to make a fake ID?” you groaned, falling back across the backseat of the Impala. You and Sam had found a way to isolate the EVP on Sam’s computer, having gotten a copy of the tape from Jerry.
“I don’t know,” Sam responded. “But I’m gonna lose it if it’s much longer.”
“Same here.” At that moment, Dean walked out of the Copy Jack the Impala was sitting in front of as a pretty woman walked into the store. They greeted each other before Dean walked over to you and his brother.
“Dude,” you started, “You’ve been in there forever.”
“Wah-wah,” he whined, mocking you. “You can’t rush perfection.” He held up three IDs.
“Homeland Security?” Sam questioned as he took one of the IDs. “That's pretty illegal, even for us.”
“Yeah, well, it's something new. You know? People haven't seen it a thousand times,” Dean pointed out as he got into the car.
“Alright, so, what do you got?” Dean asked his brother as he flicked your ID back at you. It hit you square in the side of the head. 
“Dude, really?” you hissed, aggravation clear in your tone.
“Shh,” the older Winchester hushed you as he waited for Sam to answer.
“Well, there's definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder,” Sam explained.
“Yeah?”
“Listen.”
The isolated voice of what you were dealing with came through the recording scratchy and backed by demonic growling sounds. “No survivors!”
“ ’No survivors’?” Dean asked. “What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors.”
You shrugged.
Dean let out a sigh. “So, what are we thinking? A haunted flight?” 
“There's a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like phantom travelers,” Sam began.
Dean hummed in affirmation. “Or remember flight 401?”
“Right. The one that crashed, the airline salvaged some of its parts, put it in other planes, then the spirit of the pilot and copilot haunted those flights.”
“I don’t know, guys,” you stated skeptically. “Ghost just doesn’t feel right.”
“Well, thanks for your optimism, sunshine,” Dean quipped.
“It’s not about optimism, you asshole, it’s about being right and dealing with whatever we’re up against properly,” you pushed back.
“Know-it-all,” the older Winchester replied. 
“Fuck off, Winchester.”
He let out a breath and turned his attention back to the case.“Alright, so, survivors, which one do you want to talk to first?”
"Third on the list: Max Jaffey,” you said.
“I wasn’t talking to you, but why him?”
You glared at Dean. “Because if anybody saw something weird, he did. I talked to his mom while you were spending forever in the store. She said some pretty weird shit and told me where to find him. He was so screwed up, he checked himself into the hospital.”
***
You and the Winchesters walked beside Max Jaffey, who hobbled on a cane, through the Riverfront Psychiatric Hospital’s garden. 
“I don't understand. I already spoke with Homeland Security,” Max told your trio.
“Right. Some new information has come up,” Dean lied. “So if you could just answer a couple questions...”
“Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything… unusual?” Sam questioned.
Max looked confused. “Like what?”
“Strange lights, weird noises, maybe. Voices,” Dean offered. 
“No, nothing.”
Seeing as no one was getting anywhere with this investigation, you tried your hand at it. “Mr. Jaffey, you checked yourself in here, right?”
He nodded at you.
“Why?”
“Uh, I was a little stressed,” he said sarcastically. “I survived a plane crash.”
“Uh-huh,” you nodded. “And that’s what scared you? That’s what screwed you up so badly?”
You could tell you were close to the answers you were after as he swallowed uncomfortably. “I— I don't want to talk about this anymore.”
“I know, but I also know you saw something up there,” you continued. “We need to know what.”
“No.” Max shook his head. “No, I was… delusional. Seeing things.”
“He was seeing things,” Dean half-mocked him.
You shot a warning glance at Dean, hoping to get him to shut up. 
“It's okay,” you coaxed. “Just tell us what you thought you saw, please.”
“There was… this—man. And, uh, he had these… eyes—these, uh, black eyes. And I saw him—or I thought I saw him...” he trailed off, stopping as he recounted the events.
“What?” Dean asked.
“He opened the emergency exit,” Max explained. “But that's— that's impossible, right? I mean, I looked it up. There's something like two tons of pressure on that door.”
“Yeah,” Dean confirmed, clearly confused. 
“This man, uh, did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly? It would look something like a mirage?” Sam asked.
Max quirked his head at the younger Winchester. “What are you, nuts? He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me.”
***
“I think we can rule out phantom traveler,” you noted as you got out of the car in front of the Phelps’s house. You were going to visit the wife of George Phelps, the man who opened the emergency exit. 
“Why?” Dean asked.
“You heard Jaffey. He said the dude had black eyes. Opened a fucking emergency exit on his own. ‘Black eyes’ points me to demon.”
Dean’s eyes widened. “Demons?”
“I mean, it makes sense,” Sam shrugged. “He could be a demon. He might be some kind of a creature, too, in human form.”
“Does that look like a creature's lair to you?” Dean questioned as he gestured toward the house that was representative of the essence of suburban houses. From its beautiful garden to the cobblestone steps to the beige paint coating the outside of the two-story building.
Sam shrugged and began leading your trio up the steps of the house. 
Once inside, you three sat across from Mrs. Phelps on the couch while she sat in an armchair. 
Sam picked a picture of Mrs. Phelps and an older man up off of the side table. “This is your late husband?” he asked.
“Yes, that was my George.”
“And you said he was a dentist?” Dean questioned. 
She hummed in affirmation. “He was headed to a convention in Denver. Do you know that he was petrified to fly? For him to go like that...”
Sam asked another question. “How long were you married?”
“Thirteen years.”
You could tell Sam was contemplating how to ask his next question. “In all that time, did you ever notice anything… strange about him; anything out of the ordinary?”
She paused for a moment. “Well, uh, he had acid reflux, if that's what you mean.”
You nodded, clicking your tongue. “I think that’s all we have for you, Mrs. Phelps. Thank you for your time.”
She showed all of you out, and you piped up as you walked down the stairs outside of the house. 
“Demon’s sounding more and more correct all the time,” you smiled, trying to joke around.
“Jesus, you’re annoying,” Dean groaned.
“And you’re a misogynistic dick that can’t handle women with brains,” you responded. 
“What, are we gonna duke this out now?” Dean stopped by the door of the car, facing you. 
You stood by the backseat’s door. “You started it,” you taunted childishly, crossing your arms over your chest as you stared back at him. 
“Really?” he leered. “You’re gonna pull that card? Mature.”
“You act like you’re any better.”
“Guys—” Sam tried to cut in, but Dean continued to fight with you. 
“You’re such a bitch.”
“Wow, haven’t heard that one before,” you drawled.
“Guys! You can fight later. Wrong place, wrong time to sort this out,” Sam chastised you and Dean like you were children.
You got in the car and slammed the door behind you.
“Don’t hurt my baby ‘cause you’re pissed,” Dean scolded you as he started to pull the car away. 
“Just drive, asshole,” you grumbled in frustration as you slumped down in your seat. The rest of the car ride to the local outlet mall was silent.
***
You had never felt more confident. Despite the fact that you could have worn the one dress you already had to pose as homeland security, you decided to treat yourself to a new outfit to distract from your aggravation with Dean. 
The boys had gone to a suit shop called “Mort’s for Style,” and you went into a dress shop called “Betsy’s.” It was a cute little shop with a lot of great dress and pantsuit options.
You had picked out a navy blue pantsuit. You wore a white button-up underneath the blazer with the top two buttons undone to accentuate your breasts. The blazer was unbuttoned, and the high-waisted, straight-legged pants you wore matched the black color of your blazer. With the white button-up tucked into your pants and the small amount of makeup you threw on to draw attention to your eyes and lips, you felt good. 
Once you had paid for your clothing, you walked out of the shop and back to the Impala. Surprisingly, the boys were not there waiting for you. 
You leaned your back against the car, picking out the grit from under your nails.
You looked up when you heard Dean’s voice. “Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers.” 
Both of the boys were dressed in sharp, black suits. You almost lost your breath at the sight of Dean, but fought yourself to keep your composure. You would not give him the satisfaction of knowing you found him attractive. 
“No, you don't,” Sam told him. “You look more like a seventh-grader at his first dance.”
You laughed at the younger brother’s jeer. “What took you girls so long?” you asked once you got in the Impala. “I thought you two would’ve beat me out the store by a long shot.”
“Dean wouldn’t leave the dressing room,” Sam said dryly.
“Seriously?” you droned.
You and Sam both looked to Dean, who did not answer immediately. When he finally spoke, he complained, “I hate this thing.”
“Hey,” Sam stared. “You want into that warehouse or not?”
Dean rolled his eyes as he continued to drive along.
You steeled your nerves as your black, pointed-toe pumps clicked across the warehouse floor. Your trio was headed to the security guard that would allow you in to see the wreckage.
You held the clipboard you had stowed in your bag close to your chest, acting as some sort of a recorder for the boys. The three of you flashed your badges at the security guard, who nodded and allowed you into the hangar where the wreckage was being kept.
There was a large map of what the plane should look like painted onto the floor, and the parts that corresponded to the different portions of the map were laid in their proper spots. There were wires hung on fences and broken interior parts of the plane laid on tables. The most heartbreaking things for you to look at were the torn passengers’ seats because most of the people who had been in them were now dead.
You looked over at Dean, who had earbuds in and was moving a small box over the tops of the wreckage.
“What’s that?” you asked him.
“It's an EMF meter. Reads electromagnetic frequencies.”
You got closer to him, noticing what the object appeared to be. “I know what an EMF meter is; I’m not stupid. But why does that one look like a busted-up walkman?”
“ 'Cause that's what I made it out of. It's homemade,” he grinned.
“Yeah, I can see that,” you quipped. 
His grin disappeared. “Bitch.”
“Dick.”
You once again fought the pain in your chest when he called you a bitch. In all honesty, you thought his homemade EMF meter was cute. However, you were too far gone in your war with him to surrender now.
Dean ran the Walkman over a piece of the wreckage with black spores and yellow dust on it. You could hear the faint sound of a spike on the meter through Dean’s headphones.
“Check out the emergency door handle,” Dean called to Sam. 
Sam came over to where you and Dean stood as the older brother scratched at the dust to get some on his hand.
“What is this stuff?” Dean asked.
One way to find out.” You saw the younger of the two brothers start scraping some of the dust into a small bag.
“We need to go,” you told the boys. You weren’t sure what told you that, but you just suddenly felt unsettled. The hairs on the back of your neck stood at attention, and every muscle in your body tensed. You started off toward the exit in the back of the warehouse. 
“Wait, (Y/N), what if we’re missin’ something?” Dean questioned, clearly aggravated you were ready to ditch already.
“Too bad, we gotta go.” You kept walking toward the exit, making it out of the door and around the backside of the building. 
At that moment, an alarm started blaring through the area surrounding the warehouse.
You turned around to look at the boys as you gloated, “I’m not gonna say, ‘I told you so’!“ Not bothering to rip your shoes off of your feet, you took off running to the gated exit. 
Sam and Dean were quick to follow you and soon passed you up. The older brother took off his suit jacket and threw it over the barbed wire at the top of the fence. You did the same with your blazer. After quickly taking off your pumps to avoid hurting yourself when you jumped from the top of the gate, you threw yourself over the fence. The other two did the same.
Sam grabbed your blazer that you were too small to reach from the top of the fence as Dean found it within himself to remark, “Well, these monkey suits do come in handy.”
You ran after the two boys, heels and blazer in hand as the jagged rocks in the cement cut into your feet. As soon as you shut the door to the car, Dean slammed on the gas pedal.
He tore out of the warehouse’s parking lot, speeding down the road to head toward Jerry’s workplace. 
"(Y/N),” Sam started, turning in his seat to face you with a curious expression on his face, “how did you know that?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. My intuition’s just always been pretty sharp.” You were being honest; there had been a few times on hunts previously when you’d known it was time to get the hell out of dodge.
“Hm.” You could tell Dean still didn’t trust you.
“Dude, I don’t know what else to tell you. That’s the truth,” you countered. “I’ve been helping you guys with your dad for almost two months now, and you still don’t trust me. I don’t know what more to do for you.”
“Maybe because I don’t know you,” he responded, never taking his eyes off the road. 
“Maybe if you tried to know me, you’d find it a little easier to trust me,” you answered.
“Not interested,” came Dean’s grumbled response.
You tried your best to ignore the pang that went through your chest once more. “Of course not.”
***
You refused to speak to or even look at Dean; your frustration with the fact that he had no desire to know you and his general existence boiling to the surface. You could feel his stare burning into the side of your head as you focused on Jerry, who sat in front of you. He was looking through a microscope on his desk at the yellow dust Sam had collected.
“Huh,” Jerry remarked. “This stuff is covered in sulfur.”
“You're sure?” Sam asked.
“Take a look for yourself,” Jerry offered, getting up from behind the desk so Sam could take his place. 
Banging sounds along with a string of curse words caught your ear as Jerry sighed. 
“If you guys will excuse me, I have an idiot to fire,” he dryly stated, walking out of the office.
You got up from the chair you were sitting in next to Dean. “See?” you started excitedly, gesturing toward the sulfur, “Demons.”
“That would explain how one guy had the strength to open up the emergency exit,” Sam added.
“This goes way beyond floating over a bed or barfing pea soup. I mean it's one thing to possess a person, but to use them to take down an entire airplane?” Dean put his hands on his hips as he stood. “You ever heard of something like this before?” 
Sam looked over at his brother, who responded, “Never.”
“Well, I have,” you said simply.
They both looked to you to continue.
“In NYC a couple years back. Some cabbies had gotten possessed and were takin’ girls left and right.”
“Those were demons?” Sam asked, standing up from behind Jerry’s desk. “That was a huge deal on the news while I was at Stanford. Police thought it was a serial killer. You took ‘em on all by yourself?”
“I’m a big girl, Sam,” you chuckled. “I can handle a few demons. But, yeah, that was me. That was probably the toughest case I’ve ever been on. Finding where those demons had taken those girls after they drugged them in the cabs... where they were raped and murdered...” You shook your head, your cheery expression gone. 
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Sam told you gently. 
Your eyes were glued to the floor, hands on your hips with not a bit of life in your voice as you muttered, “All in a day’s work.”
Sam had asked you to tell him and Dean everything you knew about demons once you got back to the Winchesters’ motel room. Sam sat at the table close to the window while Dean sat on the bed closest to his brother. You stood in front of the two as you spoke.
“Demons exist in every religion in every world culture. With the ones that I was dealing with up in New York, they were most similar to Incubi from early Christian religion. Incubi raped sleeping girls. These demons drugged the girls to put them to sleep, then they raped them, and then they murdered them. What I’m thinking for these demons is that they’re most similar to certain Japanese demons. I had to look into these when I was trying to figure out how to kill the NYC demons. The Japanese believe demons cause certain disasters, whether it be natural or man-made. Some cause earthquakes, others cause disease—”
“And this one causes plane crashes?” Dean deadpanned, cutting you off.
You ignored him. “Demons are having to find new ways to ratchet up the body count. Like with me in New York, Incubi can’t go about their old methods anymore. This demon probably evolved with the times like the Incubi did, and so it figured plane crashes were the best way to get its job done.”
Dean snorted, getting up from. the bed and turning away from you and his brother.
“What?” Sam asked.
He turned around, scratching the back of his neck. “I don't know, man. This isn't our normal gig. I mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death, and destruction for its own sake. This is big. And I wish Dad was here.”
“Yeah. Me too,” the younger Winchester admitted.
Dean’s phone rang, and he answered it. “Hello?... Oh, hey, Jerry… Wha— Jerry, I'm sorry. What happened?... Where'd this happen?... I'll try to ignore the irony in that… Nothing. Jerry, hang in there, all right? We'll catch up with you soon.”
He hung up the phone. 
“Another crash?” Sam questioned, already knowing the answer.
“Yeah. Let's go.”
“Where?”
“Nazareth.” 
‘Ah, there’s the irony.’
***
After leaving the horrendous scene of Chuck’s plane crash, you and the boys went back to Jerry’s office. Once again, Jerry confirmed that the dust you had taken from the steering wheel of Chuck’s plane was, in fact, sulfur. 
“Well, that's great,” Dean sassed. “Alright, that's two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert. This demon sounds like it was after him.”
“If that's the case, that would be the good news,” you chimed in. You looked up to the sky, addressing the pilot. “No offense, Chuck.”
“What's the bad news?” Jerry asked you.
“Chuck's plane went down exactly forty minutes into the flight, just like 2485,” you informed the older man.
“Forty minutes?” Chuck inquired. “What does that mean?”
“It's biblical numerology. You know Noah's ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death,” Dean said.
“I went back, and there have been six plane crashes over the last decade that all went down exactly forty minutes in,” Sam explained.
"Any survivors?” the older Winchester questioned his brother.
“No. Or not until now, at least, not until flight 2485, for some reason.” Sam turned to you after thinking for a moment. “On the cockpit voice recorder, remember what the EVP said?”
“ ‘No survivors,’ “ you realized. “It's going after all the survivors. It's trying to finish the job.”
Dean drove the Impala down an empty highway. 
Sam was on the phone with one of the survivors from the plane crash, the conversation almost over. “Really? Well, thank you for taking our survey, And if you do plan to fly, please don't forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “All right. That takes care of Blaine Sanderson and Dennis Holloway. They're not flying anytime soon.”
“That leaves the flight attendant, Amanda Walker,” you commented.
“Right. Her sister Karen said her flight leaves Indianapolis at eight P.M. It's her first night back on the job,” Sam told you and his brother. 
“That sounds like just our luck,” Dean grumbled.
“Dean, this is a five-hour drive, man, even with you behind the wheel,” Sam said worriedly.
“Call Amanda's cellphone again, see if we can't head her off at the pass,” Dean tried.
“I already left her three voice messages. She must have turned her cellphone off.”
“God, we're never gonna make it,” you shook your head, leaning back in the seat as you scrubbed a hand through your hair.
“We'll make it,” the older brother countered, slamming his foot on the gas. 
Somehow, someway, Dean had managed to get to the airport at ten minutes to seven. 
You jumped up out of the car, taking your gun out of your pants and stashing it under the backseat.
“What are you doing?” 
You still did not feel like talking to Dean but answered him shortly nonetheless. “We’re going into an airport.”
Dean finally caught onto what you meant and took all of his weapons off of him, too. “I feel naked.”
You fought the smile threatening to creep up your face.
You rushed into the airport just behind the boys, squeezing your way through the crowd of people to get to the departure board.
“Right there,” Sam pointed out. “They're boarding in thirty minutes.”
“Okay. We still have some cards to play,” Dean paused, thinking for a moment.  “We need to find a phone.” 
He found a courtesy phonw on the wall, picking it up. “Hi. Gate thirteen… I'm trying to contact an Amanda Walker. She's a flight attendant on flight, um… flight 4-2-4.”
He waited impatiently for Amanda to pick up the phone. When she finally did, he began speaking again.
“Miss Walker. Hi, this is Dr. James Hetfield from St. Francis Memorial Hospital. We have a Karen Walker here… Nothing serious, just a minor car accident, but she was injured, so—” His face fell, his eyes widening a touch. “You what?... Uh, well… there must be some mistake—”
Sam went around his brother to try to get a closer listen. 
After a longer pause, Dean let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “...Guilty as charged… He's really sorry… Yeah, but… he really needs to see you tonight, so—... Don't be like that. Come on. The guy's a mess. Really. It's pathetic… Oh, yeah… No, no. Wait, Amanda. Amanda!” Dean slammed the phone back onto the receiver. “Damn it! So close.”
"Alright, time for plan B. We're getting on that plane,” you stated firmly.
“Whoa, whoa, now just hold on a second.” For the first time since you met him, Dean looked scared.
“Dean, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board, and if we're right, that plane is gonna crash,” Sam argued.
“I know.” He looked conflicted.
“Okay. So we're getting on the plane, we need to find that demon and exorcise it. I'll get the tickets. You and (Y/N) get whatever you can out of the trunk. Whatever that will make it through security. Meet me back here in five minutes.”
Dean looked at Sam blankly, evidently a little anxious.
“Are you okay?” the younger Winchester asked.
Dean hesitated. “No, not really.”
“What? What's wrong?”
“Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh...”
“Flying?” you cut in.
“It's never really been an issue until now,” he told you.
“You're joking, right?” Sam huffed.
“Do I look like I'm joking? Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?” he spat.
For the first time since you met him, you didn’t feel like mocking him about his fear of planes.
“Okay, then (Y/N) and I’ll go,” Sam proposed.
Dean shook his head. “What?”
“We’ll handle this one.”
“What are you, nuts? You said it yourself, the plane's gonna crash.”
“Dean, we can do it together, or I can do this one with (Y/N). I'm not seeing a third option, here.”
Dean scratched his head. “Come on! Really? Man...”
Dean walked much faster than you did toward the car to get supplies, clearly trying to leave you in his dust.
“Would you slow down a bit, please?” you asked.
“Why should I?”
“Because even if you get to the car before me, you’re not gonna have a fucking clue what to use to deal with a demon,” you reminded him, your words a bit more venomous than need-be.
He stopped, turning to face you. “Are you calling me stupid?”
“No,” you told him. You truly weren’t.
“Definitely sounds like you are.”
You walked past him to the trunk of the Impala. “I wasn’t, I’m simply pointing out the fact that I’m the one who knows how to deal with demons, and you don’t.”
“There you go again. Acting like you know so much better than I do.” His attitude was truly exhausting.
Your voice rose as you defended yourself. “Because I do! In this case, at least!”
“But it’s not just this one time that you acted like you’re better than me,” he argued. “Do you realize how frustrating it is to deal with your smart ass?”
“Do you realize how frustrating it is to deal with yours?” you threw back. You sighed, putting aside your anger for now. “Look, we don’t have time to talk about this.” You shoved holy water, a rosary, and the EMF Walkman into Dean’s hands. “Now, let’s go.” 
You shoved past Dean and headed back to the airport.
***
You sat between Sam and Dean, completely at ease. Dean, however, was losing his mind.
"Just try to relax,” Sam whispered from the window seat 
Dean’s voice came back harder and slightly louder. “Just try to shut up.”
“Oh, don’t be a baby,” you scolded playfully.
“Don’t be a bitch,” Dean clapped back using the same tone with you that he had with Sam. He took in a sharp breath when the plane began moving a second later.
You gathered your courage and grabbed his hand. He jerked away from you and looked at you in surprise. When the plane took off, though, his hand rejoined yours, squeezing tightly. You giggled to yourself.
“I’m so glad this is funny to you,” Dean hissed.
“It’s not,” you answered simply.
“Then why are you laughing?” His grip tightened once again.
“It’s just,” you considered your next words carefully. “It’s kind of cute, that’s all.”
Dean was caught off-guard by your response. He eyed you quizzically, unsure of what to say. You just shrugged, settling the back of your head against your seat with your hand still in Dean’s. It was much larger than yours, and you fought the urge to run your fingers along the calloused ridges. 
Moments passed in a bit of an uncomfortable silence before Dean spoke again, not a trace of bite in his tone. “Why are you doing this?”
You rolled your head toward him. “Everybody’s scared of something,” you quietly replied. “It helps me to know I’m helping you. Even if you do hate my guts.”
“I don’t hate your guts.” He spoke so softly you almost couldn’t hear him.
“Pfft, could’ve fooled me,” you answered. 
“You just…” he started, “...get on my nerves. ‘S all.”
You giggled. 
A few minutes later when the plane had fully gotten up in the air, you heard the familiar sound of a song you had heard many times before in the Impala coming from the man next to you. 
“You're humming Metallica?” Sam asked Dean monotonously.
“Calms me down,” the older brother replied. 
“ ‘Some Kind of Monster’? Really?“ You raised a brow at him.
Dean did not respond to you.
“Look, man, I get you're nervous, all right? But you got to stay focused,” the younger Winchester reminded his brother.
“Yup,” you chimed in. “We only have thirty-two minutes to track the bitch down and full-on exorcise it.” 
“Yeah, on a crowded plane,” Dean commented. “That's gonna be easy.”
“Just take it one step at a time, alright?” Sam said calmly. “Now, who is it possessing?” 
“It's usually gonna be somebody with some sort of weakness, you know, a chink in the armor that the demon can worm through. Somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress,” Dean stated.
“Well, this is Amanda's first flight after the crash. If I were her, I'd be pretty messed up,” Sam told Dean, who hummed in response.
Dean sat up stiffly, his body still tense as he turned to the blonde flight attendant walking past.
“Excuse me. Are you Amanda?” he asked her.
“No, I'm not,” she answered with a smile.
"Oh, my mistake.”
The flight attendant hummed in agreement.
He peered into the back of the plane, finding the other blonde flight attendant. “All right, well, that's got to be Amanda back there, so I'll go talk to her, and, uh, I'll get a read on her mental state.”
“What if she's already possessed, genius?” Sam asked.
“There's ways to test that,” Dean responded, pulling the holy water out of his jacket. “I brought holy water.”
“Correction, I brought holy water—” you leaned forward, gently taking the bottle, “—And that’s for when we try to exorcise the demon. She’ll flinch at the name of god if she’s possessed.”
“Yeah, I know that,” Dean replied, getting up from his chair. You could tell he had not. You already missed the feeling of his hand in yours.
He turned to go, but you stopped him.
“Dean!” you whispered.
“What?” The annoyance in Dean’s voice was back. 
“Say it in Latin.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Then what is it?” you smirked, quirking a brow.
“ ‘Christo!’ I’m not an idiot!” he hissed back. Dean turned away from you and headed to the back of the plane. 
You slumped down in your seat, closing your eyes as the copilot began speaking. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your first officer speaking...” you tuned out the rest of his message.
A few minutes went by before the older brother returned.
“Alright, well, she's got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet,” he sighed as he flopped back into his seat.
“You said ‘Christo’?” Sam asked.
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“There's no demon in her. There's no demon getting in her.” 
“So, if it's on the plane, it can be anyone. Anywhere,” Sam explained.
The plane shook, causing Dean to tense up. He grabbed your hand once more. “Come on!” he whined. “That can't be normal!”
“Hey, hey, it's just turbulence,” you coaxed.
“Sweetheart, this plane is going to crash, okay? So quit treating me like I'm fucking four.” He went to drop your hand, but you tightened your grip.
“Okay,” you started, changing tactics. Your tone became harsh. “You need to calm down.”
“Well, I'm sorry, I can't,” Dean sassed.
“You didn’t want to be treated like you’re four, so stop acting like it,” you commanded. “Be a man, Winchester. If you’re a basketcase, you’re wide open to possession. Get your shit together. Right now.”
Dean took a deep breath.
You smiled. “Great. Onto the Rituale Romanum.”
“The what?” Sam and Dean asked in unison.
“The exorcism ritual,” you elaborated. “It's two parts. The first part expels the demon from the victim's body. It makes it manifest, which actually makes it more powerful.”
“More powerful?” Dean questioned, his voice strained and eyes wide.
“Yup.”
“How?” He was starting to get panicky again.
“It’d just be able to wreak havoc on its own without a vessel,” you informed.
“Oh. And why is that a good thing?”
“ 'Cause the second part of that sends the bitch back to hell once and for all.”
“First things first, we got to find it.”
“There ya go,” you chuckled.
“Shut up,” Dean grumbled, getting up from his chair with the EMF Walkman.
You and Sam let him walk down the aisle by himself for a few minutes before the two of you got up to go talk to him.
You tapped his shoulder.
“Ah!” Dean jumped back, wheeling around to face you. “Don’t do that!”
“Anything?” Sam asked.
The older brother shook his head. “No, nothing. How much time we got?” 
“Fifteen minutes,” Sam told you and his brother. “Maybe we missed somebody.” 
“Maybe the thing's just not on the plane,” Dean shrugged.
“No way. Dean, it’s gonna be here,” you protested. Just as you spoke, the EMF meter spiked. 
You looked up to see the copilot coming out of the bathroom.
“What?” Sam asked. “What is it?”
You stared at the copilot. “Christo.”
The man’s head slowly turned toward you and the boys, his eyes black.
You wheeled around to face Sam. “We gotta talk to Amanda.”
“She's not gonna believe this,” Sam contested.
“You’re probably right, but we only got twelve minutes,” you reminded the younger brother. You walked ahead of the boys into the concessions area where Amanda busied herself.
“Oh, hi. Flight's not too bumpy for you, I hope,” she smiled politely, clearly caught off-guard by your presence.
“Actually—” Dean began, “—that's kind of what we need to talk to you about.”
Sam closed the curtains behind you as Amanda answered Dean. “Um, okay. What can I do for you?”
“Alright, this is gonna sound nuts, but we just don't have time for the whole ‘the truth is out there’ speech right now,” Dean rushed out.
She looked confused but kept her smile painted on her face.
“Alright, look, we know you were on flight 2485,” Sam continued for Dean.
Her grin disappeared. “Who are you guys?”
Sam ignored her question. “Now, we've spoken to some of the other survivors. We know something brought down that plane and it wasn't a mechanical failure.”
“We need your help because we need to stop it from happening again. Here. Now,” the older brother told her.
“I'm sorry—” she started, attempting to move past you, “I— I'm very busy. I have to go back—”
“Chuck Lambert’s dead, Amanda,” you cut in, effectively stopping her from leaving. “The pilot from 2485.”
“Wait. What?” She turned to face you, her eyebrows furrowed. “Chuck is dead?”
“Yeah,” you said quietly. “He died in a plane crash. That’s the second plane crash in two months. Doesn’t that strike you as weird?”
She shook her head in complete disbelief.
“Look, there was something wrong with 2485,” Sam added. “Now maybe you sensed it, maybe you didn't. But there's something wrong with this flight, too.”
Dean made a last attempt to drive the point home. “Amanda, you have to believe us.”
The blonde looked to the ground. “On… on 2485, there was this man. He… had these eyes.”
“Black eyes?” you asked.
She nodded.
“That’s exactly what we’re talking about,” Sam clarified.
“I don't understand, what are you asking me to do?”
Dean answered before you got the chance to. “Okay. The copilot, we need you to bring him back here.”
Amanda looked between the three of you, confused. “Why? What does he have to do with anything?”
“Don't have time to explain. We just need to talk to him. Okay?”
“How am I supposed to go in the cockpit and get the copilot—” You could practically see her mind running a mile a minute. 
Even Sam was getting impatient. “Do whatever it takes. Tell him there's something broken back here, whatever will get him out of that cockpit.”
“Do you know that I could lose my job if you—”
“Babe, you're gonna lose a lot more if you don't go get him right now,” you remarked.
She looked at you and nodded, turning to leave for the cockpit.
As soon as Amanda made it out of the curtains, you fished the holy water out of your hoodie’s pocket, moving to press your back against the wall next to the closed blue curtains.
A few moments later, you heard the copilot say to Amanda, “Yeah, what's the problem?” Just outside the curtains. As soon as the demon ducked into the small room, Dean punched him in the face. He then shoved the demon to the ground and slapped duct tape over his mouth. 
“Wait,” Amanda protested as you got down on the ground beside Dean, “What are you doing? You said you were just gonna talk to him.”
“We are gonna talk to him,” Dean replied simply as you splashed the copilot with holy water.
The demon groaned under the duct tape, his skin sizzling and burning holes through his shirt.
“Oh, my god. What's wrong with him?” Amanda cried.
“Look,” Sam started calmly, “We need you calm. We need you outside the curtain.”
Amanda’s breath quickened. “Well, I don't underst— I don't know—”
“Don't let anybody in, okay? Can you do that? Can you do that? Amanda?”
She gave herself a pep talk before heading outside of the curtains.
“Hurry up, Sam,” Dean groaned. “I don't know how much longer I can hold him.”
The demon went to kick the older Winchester in the back, but you dove to grab his legs.
Sam began reciting the Latin ritual written in his father’s journal. “Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino—”
The demon kneed you in the forehead, causing you to fall back and got a few good swings at the boys in as well. You clambered on top of the copilot, sitting on his stomach with his arms pinned by his sides under your legs.
Sam continued with the ritual before the demon threw you off of him. He ripped the tape off of his mouth and turned to Sam. “I know what happened to your girlfriend! She must have died screaming! Even now, she's burning!”
You attempted to recover from getting slammed into the wall while Dean focused on attacking the demon.
Sam sat there in shock, so you grabbed the journal and tried to finish the ritual.
The demon hit Dean again, effectively getting the young man off of him and knocking Dean into you. The book fell from your hand, and the demon kicked it out into the passenger’s cabin.
A cloud of black smoke flew out from the copilot’s body and into a vent while Sam went out into the aisle to find the journal. 
Suddenly, the plane shook violently and took a nosedive. The lights in the plane flickered and you and Dean were thrown to the back wall of the concession’s area. 
You and Dean screamed as the plane went down. Dean held onto the emergency exit door for dear life as you pressed yourself into the corner opposite from the older Winchester.
Your yelps were cut off when the plane leveled out following a surge of electricity coursing through the aircraft. You assumed Sam was able to finish the ritual and the pilot was able to regain control of the plane. 
You shakily stood up from the ground and dusted yourself off, tugging on the sleeves of your large hoodie.
You stepped out into the passenger’s cabin, heading to Sam as people began asking their neighbors if they were okay.
You wrapped Sam in a short, tight hug as you thanked him for keeping his head level enough to finish the ritual and trying to comfort him after what the demon had said. When you had made your way back to your seats, a slight rumble went through the aircraft. Dean grabbed your hand once again, and kept it there for the rest of the flight. A small smile tugged at your lips. 
After landing back at your original airport, you stood beside Sam and Dean as you watched the swarms of EMTs, FBI agents, and FAA agents go from person to person. They questioned or looked over each one, and your focus bounced between them.
You found Amanda in the crowd talking to an FBI agent, and she turned to the side to mouth “thank you” to you and the Winchesters.
“Let's get out of here,” Dean said firmly.
You began to head to the exit when Dean asked Sam, “You okay?”
You turned back to Sam, who reminded you and his brother, “Dean, it knew about Jessica.”
“Sam, these things, they, they read minds. They lie. Alright? That's all it was.” The older brother attempted to brush Sam’s concerns off.
“Yeah.” The brunet didn’t sound convinced.
“Come on.”
***
The next day, you and the Winchesters visited Jerry at his workplace to give him the final mission report. Jerry showed you and the boys out and escorted you to the Impala parked outside of the warehouse. 
“Nobody knows what you guys did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed,” he acknowledged. He shook your hand before turning to the boys. “Your dad's gonna be real proud.”
Sam gave him an awkward, tight-lipped smile. “We'll see you around, Jerry.”
You turned to the car, as did Dean before he turned back to the older man. 
“You know, Jerry—" he began.
“Yeah.”
“I meant to ask you, how did you get my cellphone number, anyway?” the young man continued. “I've only had it for like six months.”
“Your dad gave it to me,” Jerry explained simply.
“What?” Sam exclaimed in shock.
“When did you talk to him?” Dean questioned.
“I mean, I didn't exactly talk to him, but I called his number. His voice message said to give you a call.” He took a pause. “Thanks again, guys— and gal,” he grinned.
“Bye, Jerry!” you called after him as he headed off.
“This doesn't make any sense, man. I've called Dad's number like fifty times. It's been out of service,” Sam told his brother.
Dean dials what you assumed was his father’s number. However, instead of the out-of-service message Sam had described, a voicemail began to play.
The two boys leaned into the phone so they could hear it better.
You leaned over Sam’s shoulder, the voice hard to hear, but you were still able to make out the words. “This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 785-555-0179. He can help.”
Sam fumed, shaking his head in frustration as he got in the car. He slammed the door behind him. You looked over to Dean, who did not meet your gaze. He got in the car following his brother. You took one last look at the setting sun as a plane flew over your head. 
“I fuckin’ hate flying,” you muttered.
Series Rewrite Taglist: @polireader @brightlilith @atcamillanorrman @jrizzelle @insomnia-bookworm @procrastination20 @mrs-liebgott @djs8891 @tiggytaylor @staple-your-mouth @iloveshawn @jesstherebel
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sisterofficerlucychen · 2 months
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like i know, i know, they'll be okay mainly because there's no way logically and this is just ✨ canon angst era ✨ but oof that felt like someone just knocked the wind out of me???
and i'm not mad about it but i am surprised like that was such a plot twist. it makes sense though like given the interviews they've given — the chenford one and the one eric just gave this week — like this is tim punishing himself (i think esp bc of how he lied to percy and grey) and literally the entire episode worth we just saw of his trauma
but just the way the rug was ripped out from lucy??? 😭
all i can think about is how this is the same man who told her to take the risk and then took it all away
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glorismorningstar · 2 months
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THE LION CHRONICLES
Pairings: girlfriend!Lute x f!reader, fatherfigure!Alastor x f!reader, motherfigure!Rosie x f!reader, siblings!Emily and Sera x f!reader
Summary: Y/N, older sister of Emily and younger sister of Sera, mysteriously disappears from Heaven. She is found by two quirky overlords, who give her a fresh new start. Meanwhile, those close to her mistake her for dead.
A/N: this is just many thoughts put together, this would be the first time I'm making a serious project with fanfiction, so it could take me a while to get the hang of it :3
Warnings: mentions of sex, grief, canon-typical violence, WLW, eventual smut (probably), angst, daddy issues, mommy issues, approval seeking
| Part 0 // Part 1 |
˚₊‧ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
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˚₊‧ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
They used to tell me that falling from grace was the worst thing that could ever happen to an angel. In my eyes, that was another of the multitude of lies I'd been told. The worst thing that happened to me wasn't falling, it was never seeing my sisters, my love or my home again. To never walk on the fluffy clouds. To be unable to protect Emily. To leave Sera to deal with responsibilities on her own. To never feel Lute's skin against my own.
What was true, however, was that falling was the most painful thing an angel could experience. The excruciating pain of my wings being torn off my back, the horror of seeing the six feathery stumps on the ground, golden blood spattered everywhere I turned my gaze, the agony of my halo being snapped, the tumble through the portal and the crash with the stony street of wherever I had stumbled upon.
Two people approached me as I laid stranded on the ground. Their shoes were right in front of my nose: one pair was black, red at the toes and above the ankles, the shape accommodated to hoof-like feet; the other pair was all black, a black and red striped gown draped over them. My blurry vision could just make out spots of colour and the lady's feminine appearance, while the one with hooves was more difficult to distinguish in the moment, but it was at best an effeminate man.
"A fallen angel?" A radio-filtered voice spoke right before I blacked out.
˚₊‧ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
"Look who's up!"
I opened my eyes, finally seeing more clearly than before. I was lying on my stomach on a red-pink couch and weakly lifted my head to look at what I could: the room was of hues of red, pink and boysenberry, a somewhat pleasing palette for Hell. I rolled on my back to get a better look around but the pain that radiated from my shoulder blades stabbed me again, making me cry out and sit up, leaning my shoulder on the couch. I could feel that the tiny stumps that were left of my wings were bandaged with gauze, the difficult tying of the material limiting the movement of my arms.
"Be careful with those, darling, don't push yourself." The lady from before spoke, seated on the bed in front of the couch.
"Thank you for rescuing me, Miss...?" I trailed off.
"Rosie, darling. Welcome to Cannibal Town." She introduced herself with a smile. She seemed quite lovely, almost motherly with the way she spoke.
"Cannibal Town?" The notion made me a little uncomfortable, but if she wanted to hurt me, she'd have done so already.
"Don't worry, dear, no one's out to eat you," the voice from before spoke, the man with the hooves, I guessed. "Alastor, pleasure to be meeting you, quite a pleasure!"
This Alastor seemed like a quirky fellow: his never-ending smile, his moxie, his mannerisms and his radio-like voice, to name a few, were quite charming, but at the same time off-putting. I didn't know whether he was to be trusted or not, but he did save my life along with Rosie.
"The pleasure is all mine, sir." I replied with a weak smile and a small nod.
"Now, tell us, however did we stumble upon Sera and Emily's kindred in such an unbelievably unpleasant condition?" Alastor asked. The names of my sisters sent chills down my spine. I wondered what they were even thinking of me, their own sister, vanishing like that. What if they thought I died? Or worse... what if they thought I left them? That I didn't love them anymore and found a better way to live? And what if Lute thought that?
My breathing quivered and my eyes brimmed with tears at the mere thought. I sniffed quietly and began telling them what happened, voice thick with tears. "Sera approved the extermination. It's disgusting, it's inhumane, it's hypocritical... I couldn't let that happen, I couldn't let Emily find out about such a thing. I couldn't let Lute get involved in such danger... and for what? I know she can handle herself, but I couldn't risk losing her... and Emily's far too innocent know. I- I tried to stop it, I tried to make peace, but what I got instead..."
"Oh, you poor darling..." Rosie frowned and sat beside me, patting my head with affection, and I couldn't help but lean into her touch.
"Say, let's keep your... old titles a secret, dear Y/N, hmm?" Alastor said with an exaggerated tilt of the head, his neck emitting a loud crack with the motion. The noise made me flinch, but the fact that he seemed to be perfectly fine only added to my wonder and curiosity about him.
"Yes, sir." I agreed, looking down at my torn-up gown littered with clumps of feathers.
"To do that, you need a new look, darling." Rosie smiled, to which Alastor agreed with enthusiasm.
"Indeed you do, my dear!" He said and paced back and forth in front of the couch, examining my figure. He seemed to disapprove of the tousled hair, ripped angelic gown, gashes and stumps. "You need new clothes, a fresh new start, and- oh! Animal ears!"
"Animal ears?" I ask with a confused tilt of my head.
"Yes, darling. It's already hard to hide your glow, dim as it may be, and your wings are still a little visible on your back. You need a little something to redirect focus," Rosie explained, resting her chin on her hand. "I bet a nice purple will look great on you."
"Hmm, agreed." Alastor quipped and snapped his fingers. In a heartbeat, the gauze and wounds were gone, replaced by a bright purple striped dress suit, a white shirt, a black and purple bow tie and a darker cloak draped over my shoulders. I was still weak from the fall, but the pain was gone and the look made me feel a little better.
I got up and looked at my reflection in the mirror, a small smile spreading on my lips at the sight. Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad here. "You look stunning, darling."
"Thank you, Rosie." I smiled.
"We're not done yet, my dear," Alastor snapped his fingers again, another beam of light flashing around me. "There we are. Perfect."
I opened my eyes and gasped softly at the reflection in the mirror: fluffy golden lion ears twitched atop my head, the tiniest rebellious mane sprouting from between them; a long tail curled and swayed back and forth from under my spine, fuzzy brown tip flicking idly. "A lion?"
"Indeed, dear child. The lion has been a symbol of courage, dignity and nobility for centuries. All qualities that fit you like a puzzle." Alastor encouraged, tapping my back with the back of his cane to correct my posture.
"What about me says courage, dignity and nobility?" I asked, ears drooping with sadness as I gazed up at him with a small frown. A fallen Seraphim, alone and damned forever could never be worthy of such appellations.
"Ha, ha, my dear child, you attempted to stop the extermination-" he began.
"And failed..." I interrupted with a soft sigh.
"Failure is the greatest teacher, Y/N. However much it hurts, what you can do is run from the consequences or face them and learn from them." Rosie spoke with a gentle smile. The feeling of approval, of being guided was so foreign, yet so warm and incredibly welcome. What she said made me think, I had never looked at it that way.
"Nevertheless, you stood up against something you deemed incorrect and you bore the title of Second High Seraphim with class," Alastor continued, tapping the bottom of my chin with his cane. "Walk with your head high, as if you still own your title."
I look at my reflection in the mirror and smile, my new fangs sparkling with cleanliness. Whereas before I saw a broken princess, a gangrenous limb that had been deemed infectious and severed from the organism, now I saw a woman with elegance and panache, the feline traits accentuating the good of my character. There was my new philosophy.
Courage, dignity, nobility.
˚₊‧ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
Lute had spent the entire afternoon combing through the denizens of Heaven to look for you. Her and Adam had split up to find you, and had had no luck. She hadn't tried asking your sisters yet, they must know where you are better than her, surely. Ever since Lute had made her relationship with you official, she had become a part of the family, treated like your consort.
"Your Highnesses, forgive me, but have you heard from Y/N?" She asked the two sisters.
"No. She was supposed to be here hours ago." Sera said, anxiously placing back and forth, throwing an occasional glance out the window for news.
"We were hoping you had." Emily spoke, approaching the taller soldier. She was trying to keep up morale for Sera, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so.
"No, I wish," Lute ran a hand through her hair, letting out a small sigh. If something were to happen to you, she didn't know what she'd do. "She spent the night before she left, she only told me she'd be back by noon."
"We'll find her. Don't worry." Emily offered with a  soft, reassuring smile.
Before Lute could say anything else, a frantic knock on the door brought the women's attention to the matter at hand. Sera and Emily scrambled forward while Lute rushed to open the door, met with Adam's solemn gaze. When she saw the look on his face, she felt something eating her stomach from the inside. In all the time the three of them had known Adam, they had never seen him out of his obnoxious, conceited character.
"Sir? News?" Lute asked, the suspense so thick it could be cut with a knife.
Adam opened his mouth to speak, debating how to say the words, then closed it and sighed, handing a piece of a broken object to Lute and one to Sera.
Y/N's halo.
Sera cried out, the anguish in her sobs palpable as she dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. "No!"
"Adam, it can't be true...! She- she has to be out there somewhere!" Emily pleaded, trying to convince herself of what she was saying rather that everyone else.
"We found this outside the gates. It was in a pool of angelic blood with a clump of her feathers," he sighed, looking at the ground and closing his eyes. "I'm really sorry."
The eldest Seraphim felt her stomach dropping to her feet. She had failed to protect her own sister from this. Her gut-wrenching cries were difficult to hear, especially for Emily. The young Seraphim gently pried the halo from Sera's hand and held it in her own, trembling as her sister's blood stained her fingertips. The sobs racked her body as she clung to her older sister, the only one she had left.
Lute's airway felt like it was closing up. Whatever could you have done to deserve such a fate? The last time she had seen you was when you left her place to go to the meeting. The night before she had laid with you, spent feverish hours making passionate love to you. If only she had known, she never would have stopped. She never would have let go.
When Adam noticed her hyperventilating, he tentatively rested a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. However, Lute shrugged off his touch and slammed the doors open, flying away with a choked sob while holding the chunk of bloodstained halo in her hand.
Her black and white wings flapped with reckless abandon, carrying her to a quiet, isolated corner where she could think. Sobs of agony racked through her during the flight, bloodshot eyes blurring with ugly tears as she reached a lonely building and landed on the rooftop. Lute dropped to her knees and held the piece of you in her hand, resting her forehead against the object while her breath trembled and stuttered. Her other hand buried itself in her pristine white hair and she screamed her throat raw. She screamed for the love of her life, for her grief, for her anger. For never getting to see your face again, to kiss you, to hold you, to feel you. Because she'd lost who she was fighting for.
And all because of sinners.
Filthy demon scum had taken away her reason to live.
A low growl rumbled from her burning throat as her grip tightened around the halo, knuckles going white with the force. The thought of some disgusting unholy creature even breathing the same air as you made her blood boil.
In that moment, she vowed to do whatever it took to avenge you.
Starting with the extermination.
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prying-pandora666 · 4 months
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The Real Reason Azula Smirked When Zuko Was Burned is…
A lot of ink has been spilled over why Azula smirked when Ozai burned and scarred Zuko.
Some argue whether Iroh’s flashback was reliable. Let’s assume for the sake of argument—as uncertain as it is in canon—that it happened exactly as Iroh remembers and describes it.
How could an 11 year old child smirk while her brother is burned and brutalized in front of everyone?
There are many conflicting arguments.
Argument 1 - She’s a monster.
Some say she is a sadist or a psychopath and it’s as simple as that. She just enjoys watching her brother suffer.
But this doesn’t track with what we come to learn about her later, and is outright contradicted by materials that actually give us insight into her POV such as the comics and novelizations, as well as writer interviews.
The novelizations which were written contemporaneously (and thus aren’t a retcon) show us an Azula who cares about Zuko, even though she’s competitive with him and jealous that mom favored him. She thinks Zuko is weak and brings misery upon himself and she is willing to turn on him to protect herself. Yet she still wants to help him get stronger and take his place as Prince. She still wants his love. She takes the risk to lie on his behalf at Ba Sing Se for him. She didn’t suspect Aang had survived until later.
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The comics take this further, showing that in Azula’s ideal world, Zuko was never banished or burned at all. He is happy and loves her and isn’t abused or scarred.
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Even the head writer who designed both Zuko and Azula’s arcs claimed she loved Zuko more than anyone except their father.
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So then what is it?
Argument 2 - It’s A Coping Mechanism
Some point to “Identification with the Aggressor”, a well documented psychological coping mechanism in which victims of trauma—especially children who are especially malleable and vulnerable—will mirror their abuser and conform to their ideals in an attempt to stay in their good graces and be spared. This isn’t always a conscious decision either, it’s often done subconsciously, which only confounds this further.
I’ve written more about this and how it pertains to Azula here.
However, outside the the knowledge that this is common in abused children and Azula’s behaviors meet the criteria, we don’t have any direct confirmation that this is the case.
Argument 3 - She Is Brainwashed
Others point out that every adult in the room is complicit in this act if not outright enjoying it in the cases of Ozai and Zhao.
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Azula is a small child that’s been brainwashed from birth to believe this is right. After all, Ozai is their unquestionable despotic leader as well as her only remaining parental figure. Why would she question? How would she even know this is wrong if she’s been taught this is right by everyone surrounding her?
Does she even understand the full impact of what is happening here or does she think this is Zuko getting his comeuppance for being “weak and lazy”, with no concept that he’s actually being scarred for life and is soon to be banished? After all, not even jolly Uncle Iroh is objecting or moving a finger to stop this. He only looks away.
This is supported by the fact that Iroh laughed about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground even as he was killing them. Zuko and Azula both laugh at this joke and Ursa doesn’t chastise them. She only smiles. Clearly this kind of violence is normalized in the Fire Nation.
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We also know Azula attended the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, which in the Kyoshi novels we are told is quite violent and that it wasn’t uncommon for adults to encourage students to duel on Agni Kais. Students sometimes died. So there is reason to suspect this is a product of her culture.
Argument 4 - She is Faking It
“Azula always lies” they say. She is shown to be an excellent liar, but more importantly that she represses her vulnerabilities and feelings.
This is shown when Toph tries to sense Azula’s lies only for Azula to completely repress any reactions and prove Toph can’t determine when Azula is being truthful.
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The Beach gives us a more sympathetic example, showing us an Azula who empathizes with her brother and tries to cheer him up when he’s sitting by their old family beach house in depression. She calls him to join them at the shore, and then proceeds to walk all her friends and Zuko through their traumas with surprising gentility.
When it’s her turn however? She dismisses her own trauma with a flippant joke. Masking the moment she starts to feel emotional about it.
It’s even shown when Zuko makes Ty Lee cry by calling her a circus freak. Initially Azula laughs, but when she realizes it’s upset Ty Lee, Azula’s face changes to one of remorse and sadness. However, the moment Ty Lee turns to look at Azula, Azula quickly hides this expression and masks it with a look of indignant petulance.
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Azula does indeed seem to fake negative reactions to hide her vulnerabilities.
Argument 5 - It’s a combination of 2-4
Perhaps there is some truth to all of what we have seen in arguments 2-4. Azula is clearly brainwashed and does identify with her abuser to the point of being inappropriately enmeshed with him and suffering total ego fragmentation when he discards her. She does repress her emotions until she finally unravels. She was also quite young when this show happened and it’s possible she didn’t know just how serious it was all going to be.
But consider this…
Still that isn’t enough for detractors, who claim that even given her environment and the circumstances, it’s still too sadistic and cruel for her to grin here. That she should’ve shown some outward sign of disruption.
If you are or ever were one of these detractors, let me ask you this.
Did you feel any sympathy when Azula fell apart, uncomforted by her newly granted power, arguing against her own conscience in the form of her estranged mother, telling her that her methods are wrong? When Azula replied “what choice do I have?” did you feel any remorse for this child who had been exploited for her skill and groomed into living weapon by her power-hungry father, with no regard for her psychosocial development or emotional wellbeing to the point she cannot even relate to kids her own age normally? Did her desperation to use fear and control to keep others close because she knows no other reliable way, because such skills are taught and she’s only ever learned manipulation and coercing and fear, showing us exactly what Ozai uses to control her just as used violence and estrangement against Zuko, move you?
When she laid broken and sobbing and screaming at the end after Zuko and Katara “put her in her place” as Zuko put it, did you feel any pain in your gut?
Or did you cheer?
Were you glad to for her to get her comeuppance?
Did you feel justice was served and Zuko triumphed that day?
That he was right, he could “take her” by exploiting how “off” she was aka her mental illness and spiral into psychosis?
Because if you did, then you know exactly why a person would smirk while watching someone who needs help get brutalized.
If narrative framing can persuade you to believe that an unloved, mentally ill, abused and exploited child soldier being brought to sobbing, screaming, chained up, broken tears… is the RIGHTEOUS result! Imagine what a lifetime of propaganda from birth and programming from your own father with no one to show you another way would do to you.
Why did Azula smirk while Ozai burned Zuko?
You already know the answer.
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missvelvetsstuff · 27 days
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No Benefits
Bucky Barnes x Reader, Bucky Barnes x Sharon Carter
Summary: Reader and Bucky are best friends until a drunken hook up. Bucky wants a friends with benefits situation because he doesn't feel ready for a relationship but reader knows that will lead to a broken heart.
Then Sharon Carter comes to work with them.
Notes: Steve and Tony are around but retired, everything else is mostly canon
Chapter Notes: I'm really nervous with the direction my muse has taken with this story. I hope I can pull it off. LMK what you think, please.
Previous chapter:
"Cookie!" Bucky roared as he came striding up to her office "What the Hell is this bullshit?"
Chapter 3
Warnings: Swearing, angst, Bucky's a jerk, Sharon Carter sucks
Cookie looked at Bucky with a deep exhaustion caused by researching all night and early morning briefings with the top agents to figure out what to do with Sharon while Bucky was her guard dog. Maria was ready to tear into him. Cookie cleared her throat to gain Maria's attention then made a small shake of her head to ask her to back down, Cookie knew she could handle Bucky by herself.
Maria nodded and left to sit in her office across the hall, leaving the door open just in case.
Cookie straightened her shoulders and sighed "How can I help you Sargent Barnes?"
Bucky glared at her breathing heavily "You know damn well how you can help me. Who the fuck do you think you are making accusations at Sharon like this?" He waved the report in her face until she grabbed it and tore it from his hands.
Holding the partially torn report Cookie stood up to her full height, her heels bringing her eye level with Bucky. She stared at him in his cold blue eyes to show him she wasn't intimidated by him, then walked around her desk to close the door "I don't think it's wise to leave the door open while we discuss top secret intelligence."
She returned to her chair "Please have a seat Sargent." took a deep breath and spoke calmly
"I think, no I'm damn sure I'm the lead east coast Intel analyst who was hand picked from Quantico by Nick Fury while you were still on ice with Hydra, who kept our intel operation running during the Blip while Nick Fury, Maria Hill and....hhmm, oh that's right, You, were all dust in the wind. None of my conclusions were specious and I followed the facts, without prejudice, as my job requires. This has less than nothing to do with your personal, ahem, entanglements. There's solid evidence to back up every claim."
Bucky shook his head "Bullshit. You've been acting put out since I rejected you and found a way to hurt me back. You obviously faked the proof. You better fucking retract this garbage and clear Sharon's name."
Cookie scoffed and shook her head "No Barnes. You're the one who lied to me and decided on your own to end our friendship but this has nothing to do with that." she turned away before he could respond and went into the filing cabinet behind her desk, pulling a thick folder from the top drawer then dropping it heavily on the desk.
"Here is all of the evidence that I have been compiling on the Power Broker since they showed on our radar during the Blip, and spent most of the night organizing. The pictures and the stack with a red paper clip all came in the mail from Latvia a few days ago, the envelope is attached, and was opened in front of Fury and Hill. The night before we received them I was on the phone with my top informant, the one who sent that package, who tried to tell me something about the power broker but was killed while on the phone. Before disconnecting a woman's voice told me to back off of the power broker or I'd be next." She played the recording of that call and others from the same informant.
Bucky shook his head "You've been doing this long enough, you could have made authentic looking evidence. Especially with all the AI stuff. Or had someone do it."
Cookie looked at him like he'd grown another head "Are you serious Barnes? You think I would ever intentionally risk the reputation and career that I've worked my ass off for my entire adult life, over a broken heart? You think that I would ruin someones life and risk legal repercussions on myself over a man? You know what this job means to me and what I've been through to get here."
Bucky hesitated with a pained look on his face and shook his head like he was trying to clear it. There was a voice in the back of his head, telling him this was all wrong but something made him push it down and keep going.
"Well, maybe one of your people is doing it. Are you even sure that informant is dead? Maybe the family is trying to get paid. Or the real power broker is smart enough to lead you to Sharon and you're all too willing to believe the worst because of me."
He paused for a minute "And I heard you call me a liar but I've never lied to you."
Cookie laughed "You sure about that? It's been awhile so I understand if your memory is failing. That morning? The last time you actually acknowledged me outside of work related, yeah you lied to me. Twice actually"
Bucky tried to remember back to that morning, something he tried to avoid because he knew he made one of the worst mistakes of his life. He shook his head to clear the image of her heartbroken face "Yeah I don't know what you're talking about."
Cookie scoffed "Of course you don't, I'm surprised you remembered my name when you came in here. First, you told me you weren't ready for a relationship but you jumped into one with Sharon before her car cooled down" Bucky opened his mouth to protest but she glared at him and he backed down "and second, you told me you loved me and wanted to stay friends but went to ignoring me before my tears dried."
She felt her eyes filling up and cursed "Fuck. You even started leaving the room if I was there. Do you know how it feels to have one of your so called best friends cut you out of their life like you were dog shit on their shoe?" She cleared her throat and wiped her tears.
"I would never frame someone, ever. No matter how I felt about them. Not even you."
Bucky stared at her then winced as though he was in severe pain and dropped his head into his palms before speaking again.
"Well something is going on somewhere because I know, in my gut that Sharon isn't the power broker. There's no way."
He picked his head up and looked at Cookie
"I'm not in a relationship with her, we're just friends. And I didn't lie, I was wrong. I thought I wanted to stay friends with you but I don't, I can't. You're always looking at me and making me feel guilty and I don't deserve that. Plus you've been nasty to Sharon since she got here, don't think she hasn't told me about the horrible comments you make to her."
Cookie laughed "This is the most we've spoken in months, I'm not doing anything to make you feel guilty. That's all on you. But Sharon has you all twisted around because she's the one making nasty comments to me."
Bucky bristled "I don't have anything to feel guilty for. I've done nothing wrong and Sharon wouldn't lie to me."
She shrugged "If you say so, I didn't say anything. Now I've given you the details and shown the evidence. What you do is on you."
Bucky stood up, winced again and shook his head "I don't know if you did it or someone you're working with but I do know someone is trying to frame Sharon and you're going along with it. I'll prove you're wrong, that's what I'm gonna do."
Cookie scoffed "Good luck with that, Barnes"
Bucky put his hands on her desk and leaned into her space, his voice quiet and cold "I'll prove you're doing this because of your jealousy and your job and reputation will be over."
Cookie spat at him "Go fuck yourself Barnes, if you think that poorly of me you obviously never knew me. I have never been anything less than thorough and professional. I guess I should be grateful you panicked and cut me out of your life before I let myself get too attached. Good luck with Carter and get the Hell out of my office."
She sat down and went back to the packets she was finishing.
Bucky stood and stared like he was expecting something to happen before turning around and stalking off to find Sharon.
He woke up in the dark, with Sharon curled into him and looked at his watch. 9pm? Not again, his last memory was yelling at Cookie after breakfast then finding Sharon but nothing after that. He decided he had enough and scheduled an appointment with medical in the morning to see if they could help him figure out why he kept losing time.
Cookie spent the rest of the day in more briefings with senior agents to discuss the Sharon Carter problem and how to negate it. Bucky Barnes attachment to Carter was discussed as well since he had already started causing trouble over the revelations and couldn't be trusted to do the right thing.
When she was asked why they couldn't just arrest Sharon and tranq Bucky if he caused a problem, Cookie told them about her concerns that Sharon had an ally in the intel department that needed to be weeded out before Sharon.
She was back in her office, cleaning up her desk for the day when Sharon Carter herself wandered in, sat down and waited expectantly for Cookie to speak.
"What can I do for you agent Carter? I'm a little busy."
Sharon smirked "I know what you're trying to do and I understand. You're in love with Barnes and he wants me. It sucks and I know you must be hurting but slandering me won't get him back. In fact he ran to me this morning to tell me what you were trying to do and wondering why you wanted to hurt him so bad. I told him I would work it out with you."
Her face turned nasty "So here's how this is gonna work. You are going to stop trying to smear my name and leave Barnes alone, he doesn't need or want you. Think you can handle that?"
Cookie kept her face blank. "I don't need you to tell me how to do my job, agent Carter, so get the Hell out of my office."
Sharon laughed "Don't mess with me Cookie, I'm not the girl you want to play with."
Cookie faked an exaggerated yawn "Sure Carter, I'm scared."
Sharon smirked "It doesn't matter what evidence you have, you know. Barnes won't believe you. You could record me telling you that I'm the power broker and want the Soldat to be my enforcer because that's the truth." She grinned and winked "and show it to him. He won't believe you, he's already mine." She sighed "Of course now that you're on to me I will have to adjust my plans but he will want to go with me, even beg to come to protect me from all of you.
Don't chase us little girl, you won't like what you catch."
Her grin grew to something that would rival the Joker "In fact, go ahead and show him. I know FRIDAY is recording all this so let's go and show him. I want you to see how pointless this all is so you can leave us alone."
Her face hardened "Let's go" she grabbed Cookie by her upper arm and dragged her away from her desk. Cookie tried to fight her but she wasn't great with hand to hand, give her a weapon and she might have a chance but Sharon didn't give her the opportunity to grab anything.
When they arrived at Bucky's room Sharon's face softened before Bucky answered the door.
"Hey doll, you don't have to knock just-" he stopped and frowned when he saw Cookie "What the Hell is going on, Cookie have you been harassing Sharon?"
He looked to Sharon for an explanation.
Sharon was able to squeeze a tear from her eye "I was by her office to talk to Maria and Cookie said she was watching me and knew she could prove that I'm the power broker. Listen to what she said. Friday can you play the audio from my talk in Cookies office a few minutes ago?"
"Of course agent Carter."
A recording started of Sharon and Cookies interaction in her office. Bucky started listening with a passive face but he grew angrier with everything Sharon said.
Cookie felt hopeful that he would finally see the truth about Sharon but he aimed his ire at her.
"Seriously Cookie? You just can't let it go can you? Sharon hasn't done anything except make me happy and it's killing you. Like I'm some prize to be won. I never thought you would compromise yourself like this but maybe I'll have a talk with Fury and Hill about your obsession with me."
Cookie just stared at him, trying to figure out what the Hell he was talking about. They both heard Sharon say she was the power broker but he still didn't believe it. "Are you listening to the same audio I am Barnes? She said right there shes the power broker and wants the Winter Soldier to be her enforcer."
Bucky glared at her "Jesus Cookie, that's not even close to what she said. Maybe you need to take a vacation because you're losing it."
He looked her up and down "Honestly you look like shit. When did you stop taking care of yourself? I definitely wouldn't have slept with you if you looked like this."
Sharon just stood next to Bucky grinning like a JackAss at Cookie. "I told you Cookie, he's mine so let it go."
Cookie took a breath then turned and walked away without another word. Sharon must have found some way to brainwash him again and Cookie knew there was nothing she could do right now except notify Fury and Hill that Bucky was under Sharon's control so they could work on getting him back. They scheduled a meeting for first thing the next morning at 5am.
Cookie was woken up by her phone ringing at 3am after just falling asleep. It was Sam, Bucky and Sharon were gone, Stark phones and tracking devices left sitting on the desk in his quarters.
Chapter 4
The Power Broker and The Winter Soldier, in the wind.
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mournings-stars · 3 months
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all i've ever known, again
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the fifth and final part to IF IT’S TRUE / the orpheus and eurydice fic :))
so i kind of lied to yall... cus pt. 4 was the last part of the prelude and i had a final last part already started LOL so heres kind of (very much up to you whether it is or isn't) an alternate ending to this greek tragedy-inspired story also thanks to this request: “a happy ending or continue the story like what happened after the reader failed to bring Lucifer back ect.” from @smnthvxe that gave me the idea to change it from a direct continuation to an semi-alt happy ending… i think yall will like this alt ending more than a canon-aligned continuation :)
includes: all that other stuff but fluff this time i promise….
tags: @lxkeee @viannasthings @majonla @sapphirecaelis
part one | part two | part three | part four
When he fell, you didn’t come to the trial. You couldn’t. You didn’t tell anyone about his indiscretions. You let everyone think you were still happily as close as you were, wishing it’d been more — that you had, did, and said more. You stayed in the house you shared, went on with your days as you had been, and slept in the same bed because you had trouble sleeping when he wasn’t there. 
But you didn’t speak. 
He’d try, and he didn’t go back to Earth for some time, but each time you tried, your throat tightened and you had to stop before you said something that would make both of you feel worse. You couldn’t look at him without expecting him to confess more of what he did, more of how he showed her things that were so special to you. You didn’t want to know what else happened, if he kissed her, slept with her, it’d only make things worse. But he told you he never did. He told you he comforted her, and she comforted him, and that was all. 
He tried giving you replicas of flowers when you accepted what he told you, but they didn’t mean the same as they did before, and the moment you took them, they began to wilt. “I’m sorry,” you’d try to say as he looked at the flowers in defeat, but nothing came out. He brushed it off, pretending it didn’t sting and offered to show you what he’d been working on, but you didn’t want to be the one he showed his pride to when there was no one else to go to. 
“I’ll never see her again,” he promised, his last attempt to fix what he’d done.  
“It’s okay,” was the most you said to him in weeks, but he wished he didn’t hear it. He wished he wasn’t hearing you tell him to be happy without you again. 
But he knew now; all of his doubtful thoughts, after he ruined everything, were true. He’d made them so. 
Yet, you still protected him. 
Until the very end, you protected him for years until you couldn’t without falling with him. Years, and you didn’t tell anyone. Years, and you started staying in your old home, alone. Years, and when rumors spiraled, he helped her flee from The Garden. 
Years, and he understood what your relationship had truly been as he began to spend years with Lilith. 
Years, and when you didn’t show, everyone knew the truth. 
He didn’t even try to fight falling. 
Then, it was months. You didn’t see Lucifer on the promenade, or in your garden. You didn’t even see him coming back from Earth. You hadn’t spoken in years, but you saw each other everyday, and you noticed quickly when you didn’t. 
No one told you he fell. No one told you he stood trial. All of Heaven was keeping you in the dark until you went to Sera. 
“Free will? You banished him for free will?!” You yelled at her, and she let you, having expected this reaction. 
“He was also unfaithful,” she said simply.
“We weren’t married.” She shook her head. “We were hardly together — Sera, you can’t do this—“
“You spent centuries together. Nearly a millennium, do not dilute that kind of love to excuse his sin.” Eyes appeared all across her being. She was more angry for you than you had ever been, and she wanted you to lose faith in him. Just as she had. 
“We spent that time together, yes, we lived together. We slept in the same bed, had meals together, held each other… But most of the kisses we shared were on the cheek, or hand. It’s not what you think—“
“Don’t do this, Humility,” she scoffed, “I won’t listen to you lie for him—“
“It’s true! Sera, please, listen to me. Free will can be good! We can root out the evil in humanity and send it down to this Hell you spoke about. Humans will understand right from wrong — they won’t just resort to evil without knowing that’s what it is. Let him explain, I’m sure he had the best intentions—“
“Intent means nothing when this is what happens!” You quieted at her stern voice and full angelic form, heavenly voice echoing off the walls. “You cannot fix this—“
“You have to let me try.” And again, years later, she watched you in defeat in front of her. First, you cried to her over what you were losing on Earth, and now what you lost because of it. Except this time, you didn’t blame the humans. “Please,” you begged, making her resolve soften as she saw the shine in your eyes. “Let me try, so I can show him I’d do the same for him, as he’d do for me.”
“What are you talking about…?” Her angelic form settled as she frowned at you. “Surely, you don’t blame yourself—“
“No.” You shook your head. “When the Earth began to change, and everything felt so bleak, he was there to help me back into the light with the garden.”
“What garden? Eden?” You shook your head again and she was even more confused. “Perhaps you could show me?” She got up, walked over, and put a soothing hand on your back. 
You were consumed in a golden wave of magic, transporting you to the garden you came to everyday. You blinked your glassy eyes at her, gesturing to the garden and the animals that came to you and hoping that would be enough to convince her. 
“I’ve never seen this place before,” she said, frowning, but soaking in the beautiful environment. “It must’ve been created by an angel…” She trailed off, understanding what Lucifer had done. “Humility…” 
Your tears fell in shock, wide-eyed realization coming to your face as you looked around. It all felt so familiar, so close to home. You thought it was because it reminded you of Earth before it changed, but there was a reason it helped you feel connected again; every flower you ever said you missed, every animal you ever treasured or showed to him, even the pond that two ducks circled. He recreated it all. 
You shook your head, looking down at your hands as a cloud of golden dust created a beautiful lily in them. The very same flower you shut him out for. Looking at it now, it was one of the most beautiful flowers you’d ever created. Poisonous or not, it stood out as something you would have loved. 
Sera sighed, peering down at the lily you cradled as if it could take you back in time. She avoided your sad eyes as she looked over your face, pondering the idea that was lingering in her mind. Perhaps you would finally lose faith in him if she did it — perhaps, he would prove that he did care — perhaps… there were too many outcomes that could come from this. 
But she said it anyway. “I’ll give him a chance,” she told you, watching the way your wings lifted as you looked up at her. “If you fail, he will stay in Hell… forever, but I believe you can succeed.”
She told you her test, bringing you to the golden gates and creating the stairwell you would spend days walking down — days, where all hurt feelings washed away the moment you set eyes on him and he looked happy to see you. Days, where you realized he had a ring on his finger. 
You were too late, you thought. He would never come with you, you thought. 
But he did, and you pushed yourself to leave immediately, following every rule until you reached the golden gates of Heaven and stayed with your back to the stairs as you stood in front of them, thinking he hadn’t followed you. 
You took a deep breath before you turned, seeing Lucifer step onto the clouds and feeling your heart race when you realized you made it through Sera’s trial.
He was still, unsure of what he was at liberty to do now that you were back. The adrenaline of seeing you after so long, seeing you so ready to take him home, that allowed him to hold you like he did before, had gone the moment he stepped inside that stairwell and replaced itself with overwhelming doubt that the moment you were back, things would be how they were; doubt, that convinced him he'd already failed. Doubt that convinced him to prepare to see you cry for him again. Doubt that convinced him he'd have to say goodbye—
He didn’t even have time to process your arms going around him, but he recognized the warmth of your wings, secure and tight around him, feeling like home. 
And, God, did he miss it.
His head tucked into your shoulder as his arms hugged your waist, holding so tightly that you had to speak up. “Lucifer…” He held you tighter. You held him close, fingers threading into his hair to soothe him. “I’m not going anywhere—” And you felt his shoulders tense as you reassured him, harsh breath and wetness hitting the crook of your neck before he lifted his head. 
“Forgive me for this later,” he muttered, hand going to your cheek before he leaned in. He didn’t give you time to think before he kissed you, lips urging and eager as a bright, golden warmth washed over you. You could feel Lucifer’s hot tears on your skin as his lips persisted against yours, your hands going to his cheeks to run your thumbs beneath his eyes as you kissed him back. The moment your wings unwrapped from him, he muttered a weak, “no,” and reached his free hand behind you to gently guide your wings back around him as he pressed his lips to yours once again. 
For the brief moment you were apart, you caught a glimpse of a light above you. You pulled back. “Luci—“ His mouth was back on yours before you could finish, but he paused. 
“What did you call me?” He asked hopefully, but you didn’t repeat yourself. Instead, you told him to, “Look,” pointing just above his head. His halo had returned, glowing brighter than ever. 
The glow settled after a moment, Lucifer’s gold and blue, beautiful angelic appearance returning to him for a brief moment as Heaven’s golden gates opened. 
You stepped away from him and he knew the moment was past, fingers grazing his lips as Sera appeared in front of you. 
“Lucifer,” she spoke. “I see you made it back…” She looked between you, then paused when she saw his halo. “I suppose I should listen to you now.” She looked to you, nodding, and you gave Lucifer a gentle smile before flying off as they went in the opposite direction. 
“I didn’t think you would be able to do it,” Sera admitted after a long silence. Lucifer had been looking back at you, watching you leave in the direction of your garden. He looked at her when she spoke up. “I wouldn’t have.”
“If I was leading, I might’ve failed,” he said. “But I had something to prove.”
“And everything to lose, yes.” She nodded with a grimace, looking down at the ring on his finger. “I’m surprised you came.”
“What?” He frowned up at her, then followed her line of sight to the ring on his hand. “Oh…” Sera hummed as he lifted his hand, pulling the ring off. “It’s not what you think.” He handed her the ring and she inspected it, looking at the inscription on the inside of the band. 
Music notes were engraved in the golden ring, and Sera could hear the song in her mind. “I haven’t heard this song in a long time — the Song of Love, isn’t it?” She handed it back, watching him slip it back on his finger. “But before that, it was—“
“It’s Humility’s song,” he said. “I made it a long time ago — when the world stopped needing it to change the seasons,” he admitted, twirling it on his finger. As he did, melodic winds flowed past them and sang the very same song. He stopped, the winds settling. “And for these past years, I wore it so that I might be able to hear it again. Even down there.” Sera pursed her lips, not responding to the admission. “Sera,” he sighed, “I never did anything with Lilith—“ It was her turn to sigh, as she’d heard it before. It was the only thing he fought against in the trial. “—I know how it seems. I know my telling Humility was a confession to being unfaithful, but I never did anything with her, and in the years I had with her, we’ve been nothing but friends. There was a connection, I can admit that, but it was nothing in comparison—” 
Sera laughed, shaking her head. “You should’ve realized that sooner—“
“—and I never acted on it. That was when I told Humility, when I realized — After Lilith told me she loved me, and it meant something different than the love I have for Humility.” Sera quieted, letting him continue. “I can live with Humility never trusting me again — but, Sera, all I ask is that you believe I’m telling the truth.”
Sera was quiet for some time, stopping their walk as she stared at the ring on his finger; just like the lily, it was like it brought him back in time. 
“You should tell Humility,” she decided, her belief would rest on that. Whatever you decided. Lucifer was quick to turn the opposite way. “Lucifer,” she called and he turned. “It was my intention to protect you both, not to plant doubt.” He could hear your voice repeating her warning of abandonment, the hurt and vitriol having replayed in his mind for years. And it finally stopped now. 
“I know,” was all he said before he left, heading straight for your garden. 
He found you there, sitting in front of the pond with the two circling ducks. Lilies floated in the water and sprouted at the bank, vibrant, warning colors surrounding you as you watched the water. 
Lucifer couldn’t bring himself to speak, wishing he could immortalize the beautiful scene as twirled the ring on his finger. Winds blew gently, guiding you to turn your head toward him. You could hear the faint song, a smile coming to your face as he came and sat next to you. 
“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said. 
You shook your head. “Tell me tomorrow… Let’s just enjoy today.” You took a lily from the bank and carefully tucked it into his lapel. “It’s the first day of spring… Come to the Celebration tonight?” There hadn’t been one in years, and he knew it. You were asking him to spend the night with you, just as he’d done so many years ago. 
“I couldn’t miss it.” 
There was a long silence before he placed a zealous, maybe overly so, hand on your cheek. His thumb ran over your skin and he smiled faintly. “I missed you.” You placed your hand over his, turning to kiss the inside of his palm before taking his hand with both of yours. He pulled it gently to his mouth, kissing the back of your hand. “So much.”
And you could feel it. You could feel the truth in his words, and you could feel that there was a truth you didn’t know, one that wasn’t what you dreaded years ago, one that compelled you to twist the ring on his finger and make that symphonic breeze begin to blow as you went to remind him…
But he spoke before you could, taking the opportunity to finally remedy what he’d done as he held your hands to his chest. “I know.” 
And you couldn’t help but smile.
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