#where Beat is trapped next to something upsetting and just becomes quiet and stays off to the side until he bursts into tears

[skater-brain]

✨︎ Beat pretty much shuts down when he’s really, truly upset. 99% percent of the time he’ll redirect negativity into anger or violence, or he’ll find something stupid or urgent that requires his attention more, so his ability to cope with his emotions is terrible; the 1% of the time where he’s just left alone with his sadness or upsetting thoughts, he can’t stop himself from ruminating on them... and he will, until he’s essentially too melancholy to function. It’s not very apparent because he avoids doing a lot of the deep thinking that would lead to it, but Beat’s actually the sort of person that gets stuck in his own head very easily, and he has no idea what to do about it besides withdraw and feel worse about himself.

✨︎ Which also means he turns into a mega Noise magnet whenever he feels bad 👍

#♠︎ ♥︎ ♦︎ ♣︎ hc #I think a lot abt the start of W3D4 #where Beat is trapped next to something upsetting and just becomes quiet and stays off to the side until he bursts into tears #for the rest of the Games he's in high-stakes situations where he can focus on something urgent instead of dwelling on being sad #but in the RG he doesn't have that distraction & I feel like he's a lot more prone to spiralling and getting overwhelmed by his emotions

[thisissirius]

writing this on my phone because it’s how i roll

breathe eddie/buck, THAT CLIP

Buck gets the call while he’s at work. 

It’s from the hospital and he’s hitting answer before he’s really thought about it. “Hello?”

“Mr. Buckley?”

“Yeah,” Buck says breathlessly, and he knows they have to confirm, but he just needs to know what’s going on. 

“My name’s Maria and I’m calling because we have an Edmundo Diaz who’s been admitted.”

Buck says, “Eddie,” and then realises what she’s saying. “Is he okay? What happened?”

Heads around the room pick up, but Buck ignores them, focusing back on Maria, who’s tone has softened. “Mr. Diaz was brought in with a suspected heart attack,” Buck can’t breathe, presses a hand to his chest and thinks no, please, not after, “—and his son is here.”

“Oh,” Buck feels adrift. “I’ll be right there?”

“Perfect,” Maria says, as if Buck’s not ignored most of what she’s said. “I’ll see you soon, Mr. Buckley.” 

Buck hangs up the phone, meets Bobby’s eyes slowly. “That was the hospital—Eddie’s been admitted and I need to see him, I have to get there.”

“Alright,” Bobby says slowly. “Call me, you understand?”

Already moving towards the stairs, Buck nods, mind stuck on a loop of heart attack, heart attack, heart attack.

_______________________

“It was a panic attack,” Ana informs him in the waiting room. 

Buck ignores her, not meaning to be rude, but Chris is there and he’s sat in a chair like he’s trying to get smaller, so Buck pulls him into a hug and lets Chris cry, face tucked into Buck’s neck. 

Sitting down next to them, Ana reaches over, touches Chris’ shoulder. “It’s just a panic attack.”

It’s not just a panic attack, Buck wants to snap. He keeps the words trapped behind his teeth, tells Chris he’s gonna find out where Eddie is, and dodges the hand Ana tries to catch him with. “What?”

“Eddie doesn’t want to see anyone—”

“I don’t care,” Buck says, crouching down in front of Chris. “You stay with Miss. Flores okay? I’ll be right back.”

Chris rubs at his face and Buck waits for him to readjust his glasses. “Promise?”

Holding out his pinky, Buck looks serious. “I promise.”

Following the Buckley secret promise, Chris hooks their little fingers together. 

_______

Leaning against the doorjamb, Buck watches Eddie’s. He’s not been noticed yet, Eddie too preoccupied with staring down at his paper work, brows furrowed into a scowl. 

“You gotta stop ending up here, man.”

Eddie closes his eyes briefly. “They shouldn’t have called you.”

“They actually said you were having a heart attack,” Buck says lightly, though his chest constricts. “As much as I wanna say I’m glad it’s only a panic attack, I bet you’re not.”

That self-deprecating look on Eddie’s face is one Buck’s become well acquainted with. “Chris was right there. He was shouting for me and I couldn’t even do anything.”

Buck sits next to him on the bed, leaving space between them because he doesn’t know how to exist in Eddie’s space now they’re not living together. “Eddie—”

“I’m his father,” Eddie says, and his face is stricken when he turns to look at Buck. “I thought I was dying and that I’d leave him in some stupid suit warehouse.”

“Listen to me,” Buck says, because this isn’t his first rodeo and he knows exactly how far Eddie can spiral when he gets on his I’m a terrible father kick, which is stupid. “If I thought for one second you were a terrible father, I’d tell you so.”

Eddie huffs. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t have to,” Buck points out, nudging his elbow into Eddie. “You’d see it all over my face. Look at me.”

Eddie doesn’t.

“Eddie,” Buck presses, reaching over to grab Eddie’s arm. “Look at me.”

Slowly, Eddie raises his eyes, biting at the inside of his cheek as he does. 

“You’re a great father. Chris loves you and yeah, you had a panic attack.” Buck squeezes Eddie’s arm. “Chris won’t hold it against you. He’s worried and yeah, it must have scared him to see you like that, but it doesn’t make you a bad father.”

Letting out a breath, Eddie ducks his head. He doesn’t try and move away from Buck, though, so Buck keeps his hand where it is. Silence falls, and Buck tries not to think too hard about where they are; how often they’ve been back for scans and check-ups and everything in between. Tries not to think about the blood on his hands, all over Eddie. 

“I looked at Ana,” Eddie admits quiet, pulling Buck into the moment. “All day it’s been a lot and ever since,” he trails off, and Buck doesn’t need him to elaborate, “and I just couldn’t do it, couldn’t handle being there, or what’s been happening, and I—”

“Easy,” Buck says, finally moving on the bed so that he can shift closer to Eddie, to reach over and grab his other arm. “Deep breaths, Eddie.”

“Fuck that,” Eddie snaps, tugging out of Buck’s grasp and onto his feet. “I can’t do this, I can’t have panic attacks. I don’t have time, I need to do—”

Buck stops him mid rant, a hand on his chest, using what little height he’s got on Eddie to keep him still. “Eddie,” he snaps, “this isn’t something you can ignore!”

“Why not?” Eddie snaps in return, and Buck pauses, sees Eddie’s expression shift, the pain he’s trying not to show. “Why can’t I just be done?”

“You were shot,” Buck says, voice shaky. Eddie opens his mouth, closes it, and Buck shifts his hand to neck, keeps him in place. “It’s not, there’s things, you can talk to me.”

Eddie swallows, leans into Buck’s touch, closing his eyes. “I can’t.”

“Please,” Buck says, breathless. “I want to help, Eddie, and I can’t if you don’t tell me.”

“I can’t,” Eddie whispers. “Not because,” he continues, looking Buck in the eye, “not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t know, I don’t know—”

Buck nods, pulls Eddie in for a hug. Eddie steps into it, arms coming up around Buck’s waist. He’s the perfect height, Buck thinks, pressing a kiss to Eddie’s temple. He’s not done it since, well since he left the Diaz house. Since Ana and— “Ana’s still here.”

Eddie sighs, the huff barely audible. His voice, when it comes, is muffled. “She’s with Chris?”

“I didn’t wanna bring him back here,” Buck admits, finally pulling away. “Not when I didn’t know.”

“Yeah.” Eddie runs a hand over his face. “What now?”

Buck wants to say we find Chris, take him home, I beg Bobby to cut me from the shift and we watch dumb movies all afternoon. Ana is out there, though, and he’s made a promise to stay away, to give them space, so he settles on, “I don’t know.”

_________________

Ana offers to drive Chris and Eddie home. 

Buck doesn’t have a reason to refuse so he pastes a smile on his face and bends down to hug Chris again. “I gotta get back to work, buddy.”

“But,” Chris starts. “You’re not staying?”

“I can’t,” Buck says, the same time Ana says, “There’s no need.”

Buck covers his irritation by promising Chris he’ll come by soon and they can catch up on all the movies they still need to watch. When he stands, wincing at the pain in his knee, he catches Eddie’s eye. “I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah,” Eddie says. “After your shift?”

“Oh,” Ana says. “I thought we were going out?”

Eddie frowns, confused, and something in Buck’s chest gives when he says, “were we?”

It’s instinct to reach out, curl his fingers around Eddie’s wrist. “You alright?”

There’s a beat. “Yeah,” Eddie says, but he’s still frowning. “Come over.”

“Eddie,” Ana presses. 

“Ana, please,” Eddie says, sounding as exhausted as he looks. 

An awkward silence settles that Buck decides to break. “Alright, I’ll be there.”

Relief drags Eddie’s shoulders down, and he smiles, soft and strained, but there. “Thanks.”

Ana looks upset, busying herself with Chris’ coat. It’s on the tip of Buck’s tongue to say he can do it, but he’s already causing a problem. 

“Hey,” Eddie says, twisting his wrist until he’s squeezing Buck’s fingers. “Thanks for being here. For later. I miss,” he trails off, gives Buck a wry smile. “I kinda miss having you around.”

“I’m still here, Eddie,” Buck promises, trying not to look at Ana. “I’m always gonna be here.”

Eddie nods, eyes drifting to Chris, to Ana, then back to Buck. Something in his expression softens. “You always have been.”

It’s almost a question and Buck frowns. “You alright?”

“Not right now,” Eddie admits, and it’s a lot, that look on his face, the admission. “But I will be. As long as you mean it.”

“Always,” Buck says. 

“Pinky promise on it!” Chris says, and Buck startles, not aware of their audience. He deliberately doesn’t acknowledge the knowing look on Ana’s face, the resignation. 

“Alright,” Buck allows, holding up his pinky. At Eddie’s raised eyebrow, he grins. “A Buckley tradition.”

“Oh,” Eddie says on a laugh. He links their pinkies together, eyes crinkling in that way Buck loves, the smile soft and warm. 

Buck’s chest is tight, his heart beating wildly in his chest. “I promise to always be here.”

“Good,” Eddie says. 

There’s a promise of his own in the weight of the word.

#fic by me #eddie diaz #evan buckley #911 fic #911 spoilers

[wisteriashouse]

comfort.

pairing: rengoku kyoujurou x reader

genre: fluff, comfort

word count: 2243

You’re pacing the grounds of the Rengoku family home, absentmindedly adjusting your haori and ears on the alert for anything that could indicate a need for your intervention. Kyoujurou’s little brother, Senjuro, sits next to you with a nervous expression on his face as he fiddles with his fingers. You feel awful seeing him look like that, so you take a seat next to him without warning and rest a hand on his head. 

He glances up at you in surprise with those eyes that look so much like Kyoujurou’s.

“It’ll be okay.” You try to be as positive as possible, petting Senjuro’s hair reassuringly. “Your brother is a strong man. He won’t be too affected by whatever your father says. No matter what, as long as you’re proud of him, I think Kyoujurou would be happy.”

“Of course I’m proud of him! I really am!” Senjuro hesitates for a moment before continuing his sentence. “But... do you think Father will be pleased?”

You pause, weighing your replies. On one hand, you do want to cheer Senjuro up and give him hope, but on the other hand, you really don’t think Rengoku Shinjuro will have much excitement over Kyoujurou’s inauguration as the Flame Pillar.

After all, he’s the one who gave up that position willingly.

Before you’re forced to give a suitable answer, there’s the sound of the washi panel sliding open behind you. Both you and Senjuro whirl around with wide eyes, questions already forming on your lips, only to see Kyoujurou standing there with a slightly forlorn smile.

He’s holding the flame emblazoned haori in his hand, but although he’s wearing his usual cheery expression, he doesn’t look particularly joyful.

His eyes meet yours, and he shakes his head without a word.

You falter, and your words you had been about to say stay trapped in your throat. Senjuro, clearly picking up that it did not go as hoped, pipes up quietly with a crestfallen expression on his face. “Was Father... unhappy about it? If I become a Pillar too, do you think Father will feel better?”

Kyoujurou smiles at his younger brother, kneeling before him so that they can meet each others’ gazes at the same level, a gentle hand resting on his shoulder. He doesn’t look upset, but you can feel the anger welling up inside you at the unfairness of it all. Kyoujurou trained so hard, fought so many demons, all to get to this point - and yet he won’t even get to hear a word of congratulations from his own father. It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.

Your fist itches for a Shinjuro shaped punching bag.

“I’ll be honest.” You hear Kyoujurou say as you remain quiet, staring at edges of your frost patterned haori to give the two of them some privacy. “Father isn’t happy at all. In fact, he said it was pointless.”

Senjuro sniffles up at him with shiny eyes, looking crushed. You wonder if Kyoujurou will hold you back if you decide to beat up his dad. He probably would, but you can let yourself indulge in some fantasies once in a while.

“But you worked so hard!” Senjuro wipes at his eyes, trying to keep the tears from falling and failing miserably. Each tear he brushes away are replaced by two more, and by the time he manages to get out the rest of his sentence, Kyoujurou is already patting his cheeks dry with his sleeves. “Your ears got so badly damaged, you always get injured, and you put in so much effort! Why won’t Father just see that?”

Exactly, you want to say aloud. Kyoujurou deserves so much more than this, he deserves people who will congratulate and celebrate with him, not that sorry excuse of a father who won’t get off his damn bed to wish his son good luck before he heads off on a mission.

“It’s alright!”

Both you and Senjuro blink at the sudden energetic shout from him, only to see him smiling brightly as the sun itself. He grins as he claps his brother on the shoulder encouragingly. “My passion will not die because of Father’s words! The flames in my heart will never disappear! I will never be disheartened!”

His smile is confident, but you wonder whether he’s saying all of this to convince Senjuro - or himself.

“And besides, you’re different from me, Senjuro!” Kyoujurou continues cheerfully. “You have an older brother, who believes in his younger brother! No matter the path you take, I am sure that you will be a wonderful person! With a burning passion in your hear that will not be extinguished!”

At his words, Senjuro begins to cry in earnest, big fat tears falling down his cheeks. Upon seeing his younger brother tearing up, Kyoujurou wraps his arms tightly around him, crushing the younger boy in a bear hug. “All you need to do is your best. Your big brother will always be supporting you!”

You turn away from this intimate moment that the two brothers are sharing, feeling vaguely uncomfortable at being privy to this, and look down at your hands quietly. 

Right now, you really wish you could give Kyoujurou a hug as well.

A few hours later, after you and Kyoujurou have left the Rengoku household, the two of you find yourselves at a small, pleasant restaurant with a private dining room for the two of you. Although Kyoujurou tries to pay, you insist on treating him to celebrate his inauguration as the Flame Pillar.

Throughout the entirety of the meal, Kyoujurou smiles, chatters and talks to you as he usually does between his shouts of umai, asking you about topics such as Pillar meetings and patrols, as if today’s incident with his father didn’t happen. But in the brief moments where silence interrupts, you see the lost, pained expression on Kyoujurou’s face, one he probably does not even know he’s making, mind clearly wandering somewhere other than here.

He still hasn’t put on the haori. It sits next to him on the floor, clean and neatly folded. You’re actually mildly surprised that Shinjuro didn’t raze it to ashes.

When the last piece of tempura disappears into the endless void that is Kyoujurou’s mouth, you take a moment to muster your courage to speak. The man opposite you doesn’t seem to notice your internal struggle, instead picking up crumbs of fried tempura batter with his chopsticks and tossing them into his mouth. Your hands fidget under the table, and you count down slowly from ten.

“Kyoujurou, I-”

“I would like to ask you a favour.” Kyoujurou says out of the blue, just as you’re about to speak up. He picks up the haori from the tatami mats, and holds it out with both hands reverently. Kyoujurou had told you once that it was an heirloom of the Rengoku family, passed down generations of Flame Pillars to eventually reach his father, and now him. You blink at him in surprise. 

“What do you need me to do?” You ask. Kyoujurou’s smile softens ever so slightly.

“This haori,” he looks down at it, fingertips gently brushing the flame patterns dancing across the fabric before his golden eyes meet yours once more. “Since my father will not put it on for me, will you do it in his stead?”

What?

Your jaw drops open at his request as you stare wide eyed at him, completely shocked. You, put on his haori for him? Seeing your panicked expression, Kyoujurou only laughs disarmingly, shaking his head. “No need to force yourself! I can always put it on on my own.” He begins to retract the haori, but before he can pull it away, you’re already by his side in the blink of the eye, gripping his hands tight.

“No, no! I want to put it on for you!” You say breathlessly, kneeling before him, his hands warm in yours. You can feel the callouses on his palms from years of unparalleled effort, and your throat feels thick. Kyoujurou looks up at you with gentle eyes, patient and understanding. You swallow heavily. “Of course I would want to put it on for you but...” You pause, hesitant. “Are you sure someone like me should be doing something as important as this? I mean-”

“The Rengoku family tradition is to have the Flame Pillar’s parents put the haori on for them in front of the rest of the family.” Kyoujurou informs you with a smile on his face, and you look down at the stiff white fabric between the two of you. “My mother is no longer around, and my father will not do it. I could think of no other person but you.”

Right, his mother and father both... You want to smack yourself over the head internally. Be a little more sensitive!

“It would be an honor to do this for you.” You say quietly, unfolding the haori in your lap. Kyoujurou sits up a little straighter, those pure golden eyes following every action your hands make. In place of a grand, lively ceremony, it’s just the two of you in this silent, empty room. Reaching around him, you set the white fabric around his shoulders, before your hands falter ever so slightly.

Kyoujurou blinks once and looks up at you, clearly confused about why you’ve stopped. “Is something the matter?”

“Kyo...” You say, unable to find the right words to convey your thoughts. “Kyoujurou... are you really... alright?”

 He smiles, because he’s Rengoku Kyoujurou, and Kyoujurou always smiles. He’s always been more of a parent to Senjuro than his father ever had, and now that he’s a Pillar, one of the foundations of the entire Demon Slayer Corps, he cannot afford to waver. 

“Of course I am alright!” His hand reaches up to clasp yours reassuringly, but doing that only makes you want to cry even more. “I said today that I would not let my Father’s words dampen my spirit, and I meant it! I-”

“I wasn’t asking about your resolve, Kyo.” Your hands fist into the fabric of his haori, and he stiffens when he feels your face press into the curve of his shoulder. “I was asking about you. You’re always a pillar of strength for someone else, but who do you have to rest against when you’re sad or weary? It’s so unfair.” The word tastes like salt on your tongue. “I’m angry because you deserve so much better.”

There’s a moment of silence, and Kyoujurou doesn’t reply. You almost worry that you’ve overstepped your boundaries, but before you can pull away and apologise, Kyoujurou sags beneath you, burying his face in your hair. You can feel his steady breaths against your skin.

“No.” His voice is small, fragile, fingers weaving with yours and gripping them tight. “I’m not alright. I want my father to acknowledge me. I want him to know that it matters, that if I can save just one life from a demon, all this training would have been worth it. I want him to treat Senjuro with kindness because he deserves it. I want my mother to put the haori on me.” There’s a shuddering intake of breath, and your heart aches for him. “But all those are things that I cannot change.”

You wrap your arms around him tightly, running a hand up and down his back as he collects himself. You don’t look at him, allowing him to pour out his own grief in silence, offering only comfort in the knowledge that you’re there for him. After a few moments, his breathing calms and he pulls away from your embrace to smile at you, a real smile this time.

“Instead,” he grips your hands tightly with his as he looks up at you. Your eyes are fixed on him, as if you’re trapped in the burning amber of his gaze. “I’ve decided to focus on the things that I do have now. So, no, I’m not alright now,” Kyoujurou grins. “But as long as I have you and Senjuro, I will be.”

You stare at him for a moment with tears in your eyes before you sniffle and hit him in the chest. He doesn’t flinch in the least. “How did it end up with me crying, you stupid man?”

Kyoujurou laughs and reaches up to wipe your tears gently with the pad of his thumb. “My apologies.” He says, not sounding very sorry at all. “Now, will you finish putting on the haori for me?”

Nodding, you lean forward to do the clasp, missing the way Kyoujurou looks so tenderly at you as you adjust the haori carefully around his shoulders. “There. The finest Flame Pillar since the feudal era.” 

“Surely you jest. I haven’t done anything as the Flame Pillar yet.”

You laugh. “You don’t need to, I already know.” You shift back to admire your work and the flickering candlelight dances across the flames patterned on his haori, making the man before you look as if he’s bathed in fire. His back is straight, and his eyes are proud and determined. “Kyoujurou.”

“Mmm?” He looks at you curiously, and you smile at your friend.

“Remember, no matter what your father says...” You grip his hands tight, trying to channel all your well wishes and hopes to him. “I believe in you.”

Kyoujurou’s smile is dazzling enough to light up the entire room.

“That’s enough for me.”

#rengoku #rengoku fanfic #rengoku kyojuro #kimetsu no yaiba #kimetsu no yaiba fanfic #demon slayer #demon slayer fanfic #kyojuro #rengoku kyojuro x reader

[giorno-plays-piano]

The Void

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x mutant!Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, HYDRA’s experiments, brief mention of suicidal thoughts, captivity, home invasion, stalking, kidnapping.

Words: 2381.

Summary: Once an ordinary human, you keep running away from both HYDRA and Avengers, knowing what your powers will be used for. The problem is the Soldat picking up your trail.

P.S. The reader is somewhat dark-ish in this one.

________________

Carefully slipping inside the laundry room through a broken window, you landed on the cold concrete floor and shivered, hoping you could find a really warm blanket somewhere upstairs.

Although you still felt a bit ashamed breaking in the houses of other people like that, at this point it was the one and only alternative you had. Of course, there was always an option to submit to HYDRA or whoever else was hunting you down, but you didn’t really appreciated it, simply trying to stay away from both heroes and villains since to you they were all the same. You knew perfectly well once somebody captured you they’d be using you for murdering other people.

Thankfully, laundry room wasn’t locked, and you started wandering the house, peeping into each and every room. Watching photos of the family the house belonged to, you felt guilty again. These people weren’t at fault you were homeless and chased out from every damn place on the Earth, but you still took what was theirs just because you could find no other way to live. Well, at least you tried to leave the place as it had been prior to your break-in, except a broken window in the laundry room and canned beans you’d eat.

God, you could kill for a bowl of homemade chicken soup. You barely remembered eating it before HYDRA captured you a few years ago. Of course, they didn’t try to starve you there, but you couldn’t call what they’d been giving you real food either. Thinking of your cell and those meals made you squeeze your eyes shut and take a deep breath. Everywhere was better than there, so you needed to put your shit together and take whatever fate offered you.

It was getting late, and you glanced at the tiny window in the basement, wrapped in a big grey comforter you brought from upstairs. You never slept in the rooms of other people, not knowing when the rightful owners of the houses you broke in could come back. Generally, you didn’t have problems with people, either escaping before their return or finding your way out secretly without them knowing somebody was hiding in their basement. However, sometimes you had a feeling people hunting you were coming close, and you didn’t risk getting too comfortable. Today was one of those days, and you bit down on your lower lip. These ones were probably not HYDRA operatives - they’d never risk attacking you at night when your powers were at peak. Nevertheless, it didn’t mean whoever was coming for you was harmless. You had to be prepared.

That’s it. Somebody was approaching, you could feel it in your bones. It was probably the one and only thing you were grateful to HYDRA - you were nearly invincible in the dark.

Silently leaving the comforter on the floor near an empty can, you got up, moving to stand near the wall behind the door, hardened black mass blocking tiny windows and leaving the intruder only one way to get in. You hoped they weren’t bringing explosives as you still had a hard time compressing the darkness around them - a month ago it resulted in some serious damage done to the house where you were hiding.

But this time was different: there was only one man who came for you, A strange man, though. He had a metal arm, and his body… It was something you had never felt before. The man was like that Duracell bunny they showed in TV ad, enhanced to the point he was barely human, probably.

But he was still just a man, now all alone with a monster like you.

When he entered quietly, leaving the door barely open, you blew it off its hinges. You had very little patience - now you would have to have a sleepless night, trying to find a new hideout as far as you could from this place and hoping HYDRA wouldn’t track you down. Its operatives were way more creative in their attempts to catch you: that mirror box trapping light nearly killed you last time.

Wrapping your fists into black mass like boxing gloves, you punched the man, but he quickly moved away, apparently, more skilled in combat than you were. Well, whatever, you thought as the darkness disintegrated on top of your skin, and then the intruder got a direct blow to his stomach without you getting near him. Coming to you at night was a suicide.

You kept beating him down until he dropped to the cold floor of the basement, beads of sweat and blood shining on his skin as you pinned him down, completely unharmed. You did your best to avoid the vital organs, but it was probably unnecessary - you could literally feel the soldier regenerating while he laid down, staring at the ceiling. Was he HYDRA’s creation just like you were? Or did good guys make beasts like him, too?

“I won’t do anything to you,” you told him, coming closer to look into his surprisingly handsome face, “but I’ll kill whoever you send to catch me next.”

“HYDRA’s… coming after you.” The soldier muttered, coughing and wincing from pain as you towered above him.

“You or them, doesn’t matter much.”

A part of you felt remorse for beating the stranger so bad he couldn’t rip the restraints holding him down despite his enormous strength, but the other part made you remember you were the victim, not him. The only thing you ever wanted was living like a human being, not a lab rat or a weapon of mass destruction used by whoever hold you hostage.

Besides, if this guy didn’t know the nature of your powers before attacking you, now he certainly did. It was unwise to let him live - he would definitely let his masters know - but you couldn’t force yourself to end him. Killing wasn’t nice. You had never enjoyed it.

“Avengers can protect you.”

What? Did the man work for them, then? You smirked, shaking you head.

“Avengers can’t protect themselves. Now please be quiet and let me leave. We’re done for today.” Turning your back at him, you went to grab your backpack and then put a few cans in it to continue your journey, tired and upset you couldn’t rest despite travelling all day long.

“I can help you.”

You abruptly turned to face him still chained to the floor and clenched your teeth. This was what HYDRA’s men were telling you year after year. Helping you, that what they were doing.

“If you don’t shut the fuck up, I’m going to plant spikes right through your tongue.” You hissed at him, going back and watching him with his pretty mouth finally shut. “If you wanna play a hero so much, go wipe HYDRA out and forget I’ve ever existed.”

The soldier stayed silent, and you exhaled angrily, marching through the basement to the stairs and quickly going up. God knew how many people could be waiting for you outside of the house - Avengers were usually gathering together on the missions, even you knew that from occasionally seeing them in the news.

Shit, it was going to be a long night.

________________________

One more month was gone as you continued to run and hide like the world’s top criminal, chased out of many cities where you could find peace for at least a couple of days. Now it was mostly one-night sleepovers anywhere you could find. You finally understood what being a mad dog meant - sometimes you thought you could kill for those canned beans you hated so much before.

Slowly, but surely you were running out of options where to hide. The only place now was the forest surrounding that little town where you relocated after your brief encounter with HYDRA two days ago. Forest was a bad place to be. You had very little skills allowing you to survive out in the wild for long. The more you thought about that, the more you realized you had, in fact, only one option left.

Suicide. Only then you could become truly free of that mad chase and ensure no one would use your abilities for killing others. You already had enough blood on your hands.

And still, when you though of black spikes piercing your head, you were shaking. It would be so much easier if somebody just shot you when you weren’t looking.

Huh, what a cruel world you lived in, you thought while finishing a can of chicken ham - God, you didn’t even remember when you ate something so delicious. It was harder to imagine killing yourself after a good meal, but you still considered the option, looking at the carpet with a dull expression on your face.

You were euphoric after your escape from that facility where you were held, and now you were thinking maybe it was better to just wither there like all those countless men and women before you, unable to contain their enormous powers in pathetic human bodies. What was the point of being so strong if you couldn’t have your life back? What were these powers for except the destruction? You’d gladly exchange your fantastic abilities on a chance to return home to your family. That is, if HYDRA let it be, which was unlikely.

You blinked, tired to the point you barely felt your own body. If they’d decide to come for you now, you probably couldn’t dodge the attack this time.

But it wasn’t HYDRA who came for you - with a syringe in your neck, you suddenly fell down to the floor, watching the handsome face of a man who had seemingly emerged from the wall behind you like a ghost. What was that? Was he like you, too? You didn’t sense it in him the first time, but maybe the soldier was more dangerous than you anticipated. Well, he certainly was, you thought as he carried you upstairs like a firefighter escaping the burning house. Would he lock you down in a cell, too? Would he let his masters experiment on you for the sake of humanity? Would he kill you once you closed your eyes?

Before the soldier reached the front entrance, you had already lost consciousness under the influence of the drag he injected.

The darkness that followed should had been calming, soothing, as you only felt safe in complete darkness, but you couldn’t find your peace: it was cold and lonely and scary when you were falling down deeper and deeper into the black void. Did he kill you, then? Was it the end? Would you spend your eternity in the dark?

It certainly felt like eternity before you woke up, still in the middle of nowhere, but feeling a soft mattress beneath your back. Your arms and legs hurt - it felt like you were tied up to bed. However, the fabric of your clothes was nothing like the ones you wore before the assault. It felt soft, and smelled pretty nice, too.

But you still saw nothing, nothing at all. Everything was pitch black.

Were you in a dark room? A cell? Whatever, you could work with it, you though and called the darkness as if it was a part of you.

And nothing happened.

You called again, then once more and once more, but the darkness didn’t free you. It didn’t answer to your plea - it wasn’t there at all.

Suddenly, you realized there was no darkness surrounding you as you heard a subtle buzz of dozen projectors directed right at you. The darkness was in your head because they blinded you.

You were screaming and crying and jolting on the bed, trying your best to break free, crush the metal headboard, do anything at all to just touch your eyes, discover what they did to you as you felt nothing but numbness and some tingling. Did they pluck out your eyes? Did they take them out because it would be easier to control you once you lost your eyesight?

You didn’t know whether you were still screaming when you felt a stranger’s hand on your cheek as he sat down on the bed. Exhausted and horrified, you tried kicking him, but the restraints kept you in place as he lowered his head to your face, “it’s alright. You’re safe.”

Oh, it was him. It was the soldier who had emerged from the wall of the house you were hiding the last time.

“What did you… do to me?” Breathing hard, you yanked your head to the side to avoid his touch. Huh, safe, that how he called it. HYDRA or Avengers, there had never been any difference to you.

“I had to temporarily blind and drug you. The effect will wash off in a few days.”

With that, you forgot how to breathe for a couple of seconds. Temporarily? Did it mean you eyes would be alright? Did he not pop your eyes out of their sockets?

“Please, calm down. I won’t hurt you.”

You stayed quiet, but not because the soldier asked you to. You just laid there, listening to the buzz of the projectors and thinking you would be able to see something again. For a few seconds you were filled with a bitter sense of triumph. Maybe you were crying again, though you couldn’t really feel the tears streaming down your face.

Oh, how could you wish to die? How could you even think of committing suicide? No, no, never again, even if you’d have to break each and every bone in the bodies of your enemies, and rip their heads off. Whatever it takes just never to return to that black void again.

“No one knows you’re here.” The soldier said somewhere close to your face, and you furrowed your brows. “HYDRA won’t find you.”

“Until you push me to the battlefield.” You sneered, still furious he did such a horrible thing to you, leaving you here like that.

“Avengers don’t know you here either.”

Laughing sarcastically, you fell silent as you felt his flesh hand touching your cheek and brushing the hair out of your face.

“Don’t worry, I will fulfill your wish.” You could smell the metal of his breath. “You won’t exist for anyone but me.”

_______________________

Tags: @finleyjayne​ @alexakeyloveloki​ @helenaeisenhower​ @villanellevi​ @hurricanerin​ @void-hoechlin​ @abyssaint​ @heeeyitskay @chris-evans-indian-fanfic​ @navegandoaciegas​ @rosalynshields​ @brattycherubwrites​ @sllooney​ @angrythingstarlight​ @soleil-dor​ @lookiamtrying​ @buckysbunny​ @iheartsebastianstan​ @stargazingfangirl18​ @ninefuckingoneone​​

#bucky barnes #dark bucky barnes #winter soldier #yandere #mcu #mcu fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #dark bucky barnes x reader

[letsgofoletsgo]

Hey There, Stranger

While the sun went down, the hum of the streets was still present on the isle. People whispering and scheming within the alleys, always on guard for unfriendly faces or unsuspecting targets. Street rats and no-gooders darting across stoney paths into the shadows, avoiding confrontation or stashing whatever goods they could get their hands on. It was an unforgiving environment, one that required constant vigilance and sharp street smarts. 

This was a life Jay knew quite well, initially out of necessity due to his father’s shop, and eventually becoming a source of fun. He had long since mastered the art of the heist, developing a clever wit and quick hands for pickpocketing and knicking trinkets. Though honesty wasn’t a key virtue among the islanders, it was an effective way to make a living, along with Jay being able to steal a few personal items for himself. 

However, tonight the boy found himself not wanting to think about either of those things. Normally, even if he was sneaking about in the shadows, he had a cocky grin on his face, expertly navigating the isle with confidence; Instead, he wandered about the worn down streets with his hands in his pockets, sporting an unusually disgruntled expression. He shot a threatening glare to anyone emerging from the alleyways, most knowing not to cross him on a bad day. After traversing the streets for a bit, he came into a quieter part of the island near the barricaded water. He walked onto a rotting wooden plank that was held up by the edge off a low roof, and stepped onto the building with practiced ease. He ambled across the slightly unstable buildings, cautiously hopping across a few roofs, before arriving at a certain building and sitting down against the cold material of its raised wall.

Jay sighed as he looked upon the island that he called home, trying to quiet the thoughts plaguing his mind. Frustration clawed at his chest, a feeling he wished would just go away. 

More than ever he just wanted to be away from here. 

He wanted to get off this island and go anywhere else. 

He-

“Hey there, stranger.”

He glanced to his side, his gaze meeting the green-haired girl who interrupted his train of thought, giving him a lopsided smile. 

“Wha- Azalea! What are you doing here?” 

She slid down next to him. “I happened to spot a certain thief I know sulking about in the streets.” 

“What makes you say I was ‘sulking’?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“C’mon, the Jay I know doesn’t walk around aimlessly in the middle of the road with his tail between his legs.”

“I wasn’t walking around with- I was just!-” He began, but eventually slumped back down, “...Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Azalea’s expression softened a bit. “So… Is something going on?”

Jay shifted, eyes not meeting her sight. 

“Just… Stuff with my dad, what else is new.” He gave a solemn chuckle. “I end up breaking one stupid vase and off he goes again with his usual spiel about how irresponsible I am and all this shit I’ve heard a million times. Wasn’t in the mood for it, so… Here I am.” 

 Azalea hesitated for a moment before speaking. “... Jay, I-”

“And like, you just get sick of it after a while, you know? I get that I’m a useless bum that does nothing helpful, but he doesn’t need to remind me every other day! Why does he keep me around if I only ever seem to inconvenience him, huh? Riddle me that!” He finished with a huff.

The two remained silent for a few moments, Jay staring into the darkness trying to quell the anger he had unbottled. He attempted to regain himself, when he suddenly tensed at the feeling of Azalea leaning against his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry.” She said with a genuine tone, one rarely heard on the island. 

The boy stumbled briefly with his words, not knowing how to respond to the unexpected act. “I-I mean, well, hey, ‘s just a matter of time before I find some way to ditch him, right?” He sputtered, attempting to lighten the tone somewhat. 

Azalea shrugged weakly in response, and they went quiet again. She tried to think of something to say, something to ease his mind; when she got an idea. 

“Hey, you wanna know something my mom told me?” She asked. “She said whenever she was upset about something, she’d look up at the stars and make her own little constellations. I always thought it was sort of silly, but she said it always made her feel a little better.”

Jay looked down at her, tilting his head. “Constellations?”

“Yeah! It's probably a bit harder to do on the isle, but I think we could give it a try.” She said with a playful smile. 

Still learning against him, Azalea positioned herself upwards, and began scanning the fairly cloudy sky above them. Jay was rather skeptical of this idea, yet followed her finger as it reached up to the sky.

“I think I see… a little mountain!” She traced a set of stars, outlining her newfound constellation. 

It took him a bit, but he could just about see the shape she described. “Huh. If you tilt your head and squint, I guess I can see where you’re coming from.”

She giggled. “Alright, your turn now.”

Looking up at the stars, Jay tried to mentally trace them in his head, seeing which ones he could piece together. 

“Look! It's a circle!” He said, circling his finger around a group of stars just barely resembling the shape. 

“You call that a circle?” She chided.

“Hey, this was your idea, leave my circle constellations alone.” He returned.

The next half hour was spent with the two pointing out whatever constellations they could string together. Some were rather impressive, some hardly looking like what the other was describing, but ended up being a fun time nonetheless. As time went on, the two exhausted the starry sky of possible designs, mapping it all out to the edge of their vision. However, there was one more pattern she could spot, and she had a clever idea of how to show him. 

“You know, I think I just found my favorite constellation yet.” 

She put both her hands around Jay’s left hand, lifting it to the sky. He was caught a bit off guard, but he let her push his finger into a point and slowly drag it across the sky.  

“See? It's heart!” 

He detected the heart constellation, taking a moment to admire it from the edge of his finger. Upon realizing his hand was still in Azalea’s, he drew back. 

“When did you become such a sap?” Jay teased. 

“When I started following boys onto rooftops and tracing stars with them, I guess.” She said with a smirk. 

“Better be careful Zale, wouldn’t want word getting out how much of a softie you are.” 

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Never turned down an excuse to beat someone up before, heheh.”

The two laughed, the tension that once filled the air no longer present.

“You really know how to make a guy feel better, huh?” 

“Well, glad I could be of service.” 

Jay felt Azalea nuzzle into him further, this time allowing himself to lean into the affection himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like this; safe, happy, carefree. His life was so full of thieving and hustling and being on the move, that just sitting here and existing… It was an unfamiliar feeling, but one he welcomed nonetheless.

“Hey, Jay?” Azalea spoke after a moment, yawning, “Do you think… we could stay out here for a bit longer? Don’t really feel like going back home just yet…”

Hearing the sleepy tone in her voice coupled with the warmth of her body next to him, something came over the boy that he couldn’t quite place. He found himself wrapping his arms around her snuggled frame, holding her even closer to him.

“I’d like that.”

Azalea sighed in contentment against his neck, beginning to close her eyes. Jay felt himself start to drift off as well, resting his chin on the top of her head. That night, the two of them let the stress and doubt that surrounded the isle wash away. For just a little bit, they didn’t feel trapped.

In that moment, they had each other, just the two of them. 

They both felt like things would be alright. 

-Tag List-   

@aricka-and-her-fictional-others @geronimostiltonshusband @sculkheartz @proton-selfships @ari-shipping-stuff @pastelsceneselfships23

DM me if you want to be added or removed!

#thief of my heart #selfship #selfshipping #self ship #self shipping #Selfship fic #s/i #f/o #romantic f/o #selfshipping community #selfshipper #selfship community

[beenbaanbuun]

WAYV’s reaction to teasing their S/O

Once again, its under a cut for obvious reasons. Feel free to request anything for NCT or Stray Kids - Lilly xx

KUN

It started off as an innocent night; watch a film, eat a bit, drink a bit, go to sleep. Kun seemed to have other plans, though. You realised this around half an hour into the film, which was probably the most boring thing you’d ever seen. At first, you felt your boyfriend’s hand on your leg, stroking up and down gently. He wasn’t really paying attention to the film; instead he had his eyes on your face, watching to see your reaction to the sudden contact. When you didn’t push his hand off or tell him to stop, he went a bit further, taking his hand higher up your leg. At this point you really wanted him, and the tiny whimper that came out out of your mouth as you were trying to focus on the film confirmed that. Kun let out a chuckle at that.

“Did you want something?” His voice was calm as his hand ventured dangerously close to where you wanted him, but not quite there. He kept his hand there for a moment, his finger brushing over your clothed core every so often. It was a little too often to be accidentally. You wanted him, but he wouldn’t give into you that easily. You knew Kun too well to be foolish enough to think that. He was going to push you to the breaking point until he actually did anything. “I’m waiting, baby.” His voice became deeper as he grew impatient waiting for your response.

“For god’s sake, Kun, just do something.” He tutted, taking his hand back down your leg, making you grow frustrated. Wanting more, your hand moved towards his wrist, but he soon slapped it away. He was in charge, and this was going to happen at his pace, not yours.

“You’ve just made this a whole lot slower, baby.”

TEN

God, he was annoying. At first, he strutted around the house with no top on, showing his chest to the world. He still had hickeys on his chest from the previous night, which he proudly showed off in front of his members. Later that day, he began putting his hands on your stomach under your shirt. It wasn’t a particularly sexual thing, but when you could feel every inch of him pressed against your back, it made you want him more than you could describe. The final straw was when he did this, but with a very evident hard-on. You needed him then and that was final, so you took his hand and began to walk towards his room, only to be stopped by the fact that he wasn’t walking.

“Where are you going, (Y/N).” His voice was smug, making you even more annoyed than you have been all day. There was a grin on his face; he knew exactly what he was doing. All you wanted was for him to wreck you, but he was being difficult, which wasn’t rare for him, but it was still annoying.

“Chittaphon!” You whined, tugging harder at his hand, desperately needing him. His eyebrow was raised as he watched you grow needier and needier. The tugging on his arm almost made him laugh, but he didn’t want to upset you. He wanted this as much as you did, but he clearly had more patience, which was working to his advantage. He was painfully hard at this point, but he couldn’t give in that easily. Not now anyway. He strolled up to you, not a trace of urgency to be found, and leaned down to your ear.

“Is my little baby that desperate?” The whisper sent shivers down your spine. “Well the, lets see what we can do about that.”

WINWIN

The way he watched you made his plans clear to you, but it still came as a surprise to you when he pulled you down onto his lap during WayV’s movie night. Before you could stand up and move next to him, he placed a blanket over your lap, hiding your legs from view. That was when you realised what was happening. Even though you couldn’t see him, you could imagine the smirk on his face, knowing that he could do what he wanted to you now and no one would know. That was if you kept quiet, anyway. That in itself was easier said than done; you had an incredibly attractive man underneath you, who’s hand was rubbing circles in your upper thigh. He knew how sensitive they were, which is why he wasn’t surprised when an almost silent moan left your mouth.

“Now now, baby. We wouldn’t want any of the boys to hear, would we?” You shook your head, definitely not wanting anyone to hear. You could just imagine the look on Ten’s face now. That worried you enough to make you stay silent, even though it was hard. You would feel how wet you were, and you were sure Sicheng could too, but he just carried on. His touch was soft, almost not there at all, but that just it worse. The gentle movement of this thumb against one of the most sensitive parts of your body drove you insane.

“Sicheng.” You couldn’t help but say his name, making his hand come down sharply on your thigh. It was lucky the volume was up so high, otherwise you were both fucked. It wasn’t long until he resumed his movements, only this time, higher up. It was almost like he wanted you to make sound. YangYang changed positions next to you both, reminding you how dangerous this situation was. It should have turned you off knowing that that was happening close the your boyfriends friends, but you only grew more desperate.

“(Y/N)’s tired, guys. I think we’ll go to bed.” Winwin finally spoke up, making you let out a sigh. Finally.

LUCAS

It had been an hour now and Lucas still hadn’t properly touched you. Sure, his hands were all over you, but never where you wanted them. No matter how much you complained or whined, all he did was smirk and let his fingers dance around your thighs, dangerously close to your core. His eyes never met yours; they watched his fingers, almost in fascination. He knew exactly what he was doing to you, and he loved the power he held over you.

“Lucas, please.” Your voice was weak, almost coming out in a cry. The feeling of his light touch was becoming too much; you needed him then and there. All pride went out the window as you cried out, begging for him to touch you. His deep chuckle spread through the room, sending a shiver down your spine. His voice did things to you. Things that were only amplified by the touched that were now even closer to your core. “Fuck you, Lucas. Touch me!” Once again he laughed, a tut leaving his mouth.

“Someone’s desperate.” His laugh was becoming more and more annoying by the second. “Should I do something?” The question was rhetorical, and answering would do nothing, but that didn’t stop you from nodding your head violently, wanting something, anything. He had to give in eventually. A moan left your mouth as his finger brushed against your clit. You’d entered heaven, the brushes getting more and more frequent as time went on, the moans leaving your lips getting louder and louder.

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it baby.”

XIAOJUN

You’d been teasing Xiaojun all day, walking around in minimal clothing, bending down in front of him for no reason, but whenever he tried to guide you to the bedroom, you’d walk away like nothing ever happened. One thing led to another, and before you knew it, Xiaojun had you pinned to his chest, his dick hard against your body. The longer you sat with him pressed against you, the more desperate you got for his hands to be on you. You squirmed, trying to get some form of friction, but every time you moved, his arms tightened around your waist. You were trapped.

“Stop moving, sweetie. You’ll only make it worse.” You stopped, knowing that his words were indeed true, and you didn’t want to wait much longer. Your legs rested on either side on him as you faced the TV in front of you. Whatever was playing was extremely boring, much too boring for you to take interest in over the ache between you legs right now. The one thing about it you were enjoying was that every time music played, Xiaojun would bounce his leg, giving you the friction you needed.

“Xiaojun.” A moan left your mouth as another song came on, his leg bouncing on beat to the music. You could feel his smirk against your shoulder as the moans became louder. It was lucky the other members were out. “Please, just let me have something.” He seemed to ignore you, his leg stopping as soon as you’d said that. It was almost as if this was fun to him. A few seconds went by, a few whines leaving your mouth, and his leg started again. No music could be heard, and his leg was most certainly not following a beat. He was doing this for you.

“Only ‘cause you sound so pretty, baby.”

HENDERY

The smug look on his face infuriated you. How could he strut around like that whilst you were tied to the bed, begging for his touch. Every wine you let out made him laugh, clearly pleased with the situation he’d left you in, which only made you more angry. God, what you wouldn’t do to take that cocky look off of his face. All you could do at this moment in time was glare, although that was hard when the feeling of your juices trailing down onto the bed sheets made you want to cry out. Hendery seemed to be having fun though...

“Hendery, you idiot, come here and do something.” Another laugh escaped his lips as you resorted to threatening him. He found it amusing how quickly you switched from slightly pathetic-sounding begging to calling him an idiot. You were adorable anyway, but even more so when you were like this, at his mercy. It just so happened that at this moment in time, he wasn’t feeling so merciful. You were surprised at how long he’d gone without touching you. He never usually lasted this long, especially when he had a hard-on like the one he had now. It seemed painfully hard, but he wasn’t interested in that.

“That’s cute, baby.” You thrashed about slightly, not enjoying the condescending tone of his voice. “You don’t think it’ll work though, do you?” Annoyance filled your body, flowing through every vein. But you had to admit, he was hot when he was like this. The annoyance added to your arousal, not helping at all as you let out a loud moan. Hendery laughed in response, shaking his head from his position at the foot of the bed. 

“That might though.”

YANGYANG

If you knew that this would happen, you wouldn’t have sat next to your boyfriend. It was just you two in the dorms meaning every single seat was free, so why did you choose the one right next to YangYang. You loved him, which was probably a good thing, although less so when he refused to give you what you wanted. The film you were watching was pretty boring. That was until a pretty realistic sex scene came on, making you feel kind of turned on. The way the actors moved and moaned made you want something. You wanted friction, and somehow YangYang knew. Its almost like he had a sixth sense, because the moment you realised that you were becoming wet, YangYang’s hand was at the top of your thigh.

He didn’t even spare you a glance as he rubbed it up and down, getting dangerously close to your core, but not actually ever reaching it. That was the moment you regretted sitting there. Sure, its nice to get what you want, but what you wanted wasn’t the same as what YangYang was giving you. You gave a quick tug to his wrist, trying to guide it up your leg, but all you got was a tut from your boyfriend. He shook his arm loose and continued on his path, rubbing up and down your thigh.

The feeling was over before it ever really happened, but it was certainly there. His little finger had grazed your core, but before you could even make a sound, it was gone again. Your eyes glanced over to his face, watching his lips pull up into a smile as he felt your body jerk. He did it a second time, shutting his eyes as a high pitched whine escaped your lips. He loved that sound so much.

“I’d do anything to hear that sound again, (Y/N).”

#nct #wayv #nct reactions #wayv reactions #nct requests #wayv requests #nct smut #wayv smut #nct scenarios #wayv scenarios

[astoria00]

Caged

Summary:  

“What...are you?”

She hadn’t meant to ask, but the question just tumbled out of her mouth. She could only hope it wouldn’t have bad consequences for her afterwards.The woman however seemed more amused than upset at her words, a gentle smile adorning her features, as she let one of her hands rest on the sturdy door of the golden gate in front of her, inspecting the three locks with mild curiosity.

“You could call me...a like minded soul.”

[Part of the Fractures series]

Characters: Salem & Cinder 

Genre: Angst; kinda dark;

Word Count: 5.4K

Rating: Teen

Warnings: mentions of torture; emotional manipulation; Child abuse

Then we got about seven years.

For what?

To train you for the Huntsmen exam.

That’s what he...what Rhodes said he would do.

Train her.

Cinder hadn’t known if she should believe him at first. Adults were a tricky bunch, always making empty promises...just like the woman who had first taken her to the orphanage claiming she was going to get a better life there.

All lies.

For all she knew Rhodes could have gone to Madame the very next morning selling her out...but he didn’t. He kept his word and started to train her.

At night though...only at night.

It made her lose sleep, but she wouldn't dare to complain.

This was her chance.

Her way out.

That’s what Cinder told herself over and over again to pull through...

When Rhodes left the first time without even acknowledging her.

When her adoptive sisters decided to torment her again.

When Madame made her scrub the floor for a whole day straight, without a break or food, to correct her work etiquette, only to punish her in the end anyway…

It would all be worth it.

She just needed to be strong enough to endure it until it was time.

In her rare free time...which basically only consisted of the time she was allowed to sleep, she began to practice on her own, going through the stances Rhodes had taught her diligently, cutting her nighttime short.

She didn’t need sleep, she needed to get stronger...better…

The first time she passed out from exhaustion she hadn’t even realized it, but then she started to dream.

It was a recurring dream, nothing Cinder wasn’t used to.

She was running from disfigured shadows that kept chasing her wherever she went. No matter what she did they always ended up capturing her, throwing her into a fancy bird cage made of gold with three locks on the front gate to make sure she couldn’t escape. They would point and laugh at her, calling her names, sometimes even throwing rocks at her and Madame’s voice would cut through the dark menacingly.

Without me you are nothing!

She would curl up into a ball on the cold floor and try to make herself as small as possible until she woke up again.

But of course this took its toll.

A week after Rhodes’ departure, Cinder got punished for passing out while darning her adoptive sisters’ socks. She hadn’t meant for it to happen, but when they both mocked her and threatened to tell their mother she lost control over her semblance and set the socks in her hand on fire.

Something she would come to regret afterwards, but seeing the girls’ terrified faces, filled her with...some sort of satisfaction.

Although a rather brief one.

When she was finally released by Madame after receiving her due justice, her face was tear stained and her voice coarse and rough from all the screaming. She felt hot and her head kept pounding painfully with each beat of her heart.

There wasn’t a day where she wasn’t hurting all over.

Collapsing onto her mattress, Cinder didn’t have the energy to fight sleep any longer, falling into a restless slumber.

Unsurprisingly she winded back up in the golden cage once more, the usual grotesque shadows gathering around it, ready to torment her for yet another night. Squeezing her eyes shut, she huddled down in the middle and tried to block them all out.

She wanted them gone.

Why did no one care?

She just…

‘I want to be free!‘

“Is that truly what you desire?”

Cinder looked up startled, peering through the darkness behind the bars, not daring to move or make a sound. The shadows had all disappeared, along with the Madame’s mocking voice. It was...silent? No...there was something...a soft buzz surrounding her.

This felt...different than usual.

And then she noticed it!

A slight movement, a figure, approaching her and her little cage. Gleaming crimson orbs shone through the darkness, pinned only on her as they drew nearer and nearer. With each step she could feel the air around her grow thicker.

A sudden fear sized the young girl, as she scrambled onto her feet, desperately searching for a way to escape...to hide...but of course no such thing existed. There never was.

‘Fighting it is then!’

She wouldn’t let a monster take her, not even in her dream.

In sheer desperation, she raised her fists like her mentor had taught her and tried to look as threatening as possible.

“Stay where you are!”, she yelled, baring her teeth, almost growling like a cornered animal.

Sadly the figure didn’t seem to care one bit, not paying her words any mind, as they slowly stepped into the dim lit area at the outside of the cage, stopping right at its closed entrance. The pale light finally illuminated their features.

It was a woman.

A woman unlike any Cinder had ever laid eyes on. Her skin appeared almost ashen, if it weren’t for those strange, red, angry veins spreading from her hands and crimson eyes. The long black dress she wore obscured her feet from her view, but it wasn’t like the girl cared too much about that fact at the moment...even if the thought of the woman floating instead of walking towards her caused her lips to twitch a little.

“What...are you?”

She hadn’t meant to ask, but the question just tumbled out of her mouth. She could only hope it wouldn’t have bad consequences for her afterwards.

The woman however seemed more amused than upset at her words, a gentle smile adorning her features, as she let one of her hands rest on the sturdy door of the golden gate in front of her, inspecting the three locks with mild curiosity.

“You could call me...a like minded soul.”

‘...a what?’

The confusion must have shown on her face because the strange woman began to laugh. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sound. It certainly didn’t sound as grating as Madame’s, nor as cruel. It was almost...nice? Inviting?

Whatever it was, it made her even more curious about the woman, her defensive posture all but forgotten, as curiosity got the better of her.

“Do...you have a name?”

The woman cocked her head to the side, appearing thoughtful before answering pleasantly:

“I have been called many names, Witch, your Grace, my Queen, my Goddess…”

She trailed off, circling the cage soundlessly, forcing Cinder to turn in tandem with her movements.

“You can refer to me as Salem...for now”, she continued amicably, before letting her hand run over the golden bars of the cage.

Cinder’s mind was reeling.

Witch? Queen? Goddess?

She couldn’t help but scoff at that. This dream of hers was certainly going into a very strange direction.

“Magic isn’t real though”, she retorted. There was a challenging note to her tone. Maybe...she wanted to be proven otherwise.

To her frustration her words only earned her a mysterious smile.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. In any case, you appear to be trapped, Cinder.”

Cinder froze at the mention of her name.

How did she know?

‘A dream!’

Right, of course this was a dream.

She tried to calm down the panic that was threatening to rise inside her, focusing her attention on that ‘Salem’ and how she tapped lightly against the bars, as she continued to circle the cage nonchalantly. It helped, but her guard had gone up again...dream or not.

“How do you-?”

“What is your favorite fairy tale?”

‘My...what?’

Fairy tale?

Why…?

Her face fell. She… she didn’t…

“I...don’t know any…”

The adults didn’t care about fairy tales in the orphanage and Cinder couldn’t even remember her birth parents. She just knew they gave her up. The unlovable child.

No one ever bothered to tell her any kind of story.

Salem’s eyes softened almost unnoticeably.

“Then I shall tell you mine. It is called ‘The Girl in the Tower’. I imagine it could help you in ways you can’t even understand yet.”

“What’s it about?”

Somehow the idea of getting told a story appealed to the dark haired girl. Something she had always wanted if she was being honest to herself.

“It’s about a girl who got trapped into a tower by her vengeful and cruel father, all alone and with no control over her own future.”

That peaked Cinder’s interest. She hadn’t realized how she had stepped closer to the woman at the bars.

“Is...is she getting out?”

Her voice sounded unusually small, but she really...really needed to know all of a sudden.

Salem motioned for her to sit down, looking at her in a way that made Cinder wonder if that was what having a mother felt like. It was...comforting.

Huddling against the bars of the cage she dropped down, hugging her legs close to her body.

Salem’s voice was something else.

She made her tale come to live, talking about magic, about heroes and freedom, kings and castles...and about the girl who managed to escape her prison through sheer wit and initiative.

“You see, she fought for her freedom. She destroyed the locks that kept the gate closed and drained the cage of its power, never to look back.”

‘Destroyed...the locks…’

Cinder’s gaze flitted to the three locks on her cage.

Oh how she wanted that. She could destroy them and run. Make them pay for what they did to her…

But…

‘Rhodes!’

/Hurting them isn’t going to make your life any better./

He was risking so much to help her. To give her a way out. She just needed to be patient...to wait…

‘Seven more years…’

No, she would endure this. Rhodes trained her to become a Huntress. Then she could go wherever she wanted...even help other people like herself...people in need. She wouldn’t disappoint the hopes he placed in her.

/Without me you are nothing!/

The girl flinched at the sudden scream, whirling around in terror.

Salem was gone...and with her with her the peace and quiet she had enjoyed in her dream for once.

xxxxxxxxxx

“The hearts of men are easily swayed. Duty is their utmost priority. I would be careful who you put your trust into.”

Since that night Cinder had some more dreams of Salem. She found that she looked forward to them. Most of the time the older woman told her fairy tales in that pleasant voice of hers that made her want to rest and relax.

It was certainly strange having an imaginary dream person to converse with, but she didn’t complain. It was better than being tormented...even if most of Salem’s words and topics confused her.

She peered up at Salem from her sitting position, visibly pouting.

“Rhodes promised to come back.

And he is the only one who even wants to help me.”

The older woman wasn’t deterred, though, giving her one of these affectionate smiles that filled her with a strange, foreign warmth.

“Sometimes actual help is found in rather unexpected places.”  

Cinder grinned at her playfully.

“Like you, you mean?”

The only answer she got was a mysterious hum from Salem and a weird twinkle in her eyes.

xxxxxxxxxx

“I told you he would be back!”

The eleven year old couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear, grabbing Salem’s hands through the bars with obvious joy. She wished she could jump around her to further let her happiness be known. At first she hadn’t wanted to believe her eyes when Rhodes had entered the hotel this year. Yes, he didn’t acknowledge her there, but he came to the cellar in the night. He had brought wooden staffs for them to practice with. It was simply amazing.

Not even her adoptive sisters and Madame had been able to quell her good mood today.

Her excitement got even Salem to chuckle in the end, squeezing Cinder’s hands gently.

“I never said he wouldn’t be back, Cinder.”

There was a...weird undertone to her words, but she was too happy to care about this now. It wasn’t important. Salem would tell her another tale later on and Rhodes was back to train her. Right now...life was good.

“I’ll show you what he taught me today”, she said energetically, jumping back to fall  into one of the stances she had been shown today.

Interestingly the older woman agreed and even corrected her here and there, all while regarding her with that gentle smile of hers.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Is magic real?”

Cinder knew the answer to that question. It was a dream after all. Nothing of it was real...not Salem or her tales. Everything was just made up by her somehow.

The older woman seemed quieter than usual. It made her uneasy...and sad in a weird way. She had grown to like their talks...the fairy tales…

“Every tale I told you is real, girl.”

Her tone was different, more on edge. The usual warmth that accompanied it was lacking. It made Cinder shudder inwardly.

The silence between them stretched on, making her nervous.

Why did Salem seem to be...angry at her? Disappointed?

“Salem?”

“Yes, child?”

“Why did you come here when you don’t want to talk to me?”

There was a loud sigh that caused Cinder to cringe. There was only so much silent disappointment she could take...especially from someone that wasn’t real. It was enough when Madame gave her those looks.

She subconsciously rubbed her neck, lying on her back, staring at the dark ceiling, as she waited for the woman’s answer, not sure if she was dreading it or not.

“Why you ask...call it an experiment that hasn’t yielded results as of yet.”

‘Experiment?’

How come her dream constantly threw stuff at her she didn’t understand in the slightest?

“What do you mean?”

‘What did I do wrong?’

This time however she didn’t receive an answer. Salem kept quiet.

xxxxxxxxxx

“You have golden eyes.”

“Yeah, what about them?”

“You realize he is keeping you trapped here, do you not?

That he is the reason you are still suffering?”

Salem’s voice sounded almost cold, indifferent and not for the first time Cinder cursed herself for caring far too much. It was hard enough getting through the days as it was. She didn’t need the older woman to give her deepest fears and doubts a voice of their own. Also her change of topics always confused her. First it was eyes now it was Rhodes.

“It’s only four more years...I can do this.”

She didn’t know if she tried to convince Salem or herself...maybe both.

It didn’t do anything to lift the older woman’s mood though.

“If you do not act soon you will never amount to anything and ‘that woman’s’ words will become your reality. Is that truly what you want?”

/Without me you are nothing!/

Cinder had enough. A hot wave of rage surged through her, as she glared at Salem.

“I don’t have to defend myself to you!

You are just a stupid dream I have!

You’re not even real, stop wasting my time with your crazy fairy tales!”

She immediately regretted her words. Crimson eyes flashed dangerously in the dark and the temperature around them seemed to drop. A cold shudder ran down Cinder’s spine, as her expression morphed into one of fear.

“You are right...I am wasting my time with you.

You are of no use to me!”

Before the thirteen year old could react, before the words had even registered with her, she found herself alone, safe for the returning shadows thicker and closer than ever before.

Salem was gone.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Say it!”

“Without you...I am nothing…”

Cinder was in agony. There was no escape anymore. The pain was everywhere. She could feel it in her bones, the burning that made her want to scream, to rip her skin open, to make it stop.

She had tried of course, oh how she had tried. Reopening her old scars on her right wrist. It had helped at first, but then her adoptive sisters had found out about it and Madame had made sure it would never happen again.

Salem hadn’t come back for months now.

It was weird and not for the first time she had asked herself if Salem had been real after all...but that was just ridiculous. Still...she was alone again and the shadows in her dream had gotten even crueller, not shying away from outright burning her with glowing embers they would throw at her, heating the bars, making her feel as if she was going to burst into flames at any moment.

To make matters even worse...Rhodes was late as well.

Curling herself down on the floor of the cage, she tried desperately to stop the tears from falling.

“Tell me a fairy tale”, she whimpered to no one in particular.

She just...wanted someone...to care...to be there.

/And the truth is that no one ever loved you!/

She winced, hugging her legs even closer to her body, as the tears finally escaped her eyes, trailing down her cheeks.

‘I’m sorry Rhodes…

I want to be strong…

But…’

“Once upon a time there was a despicable wizard living as a hermit far far away from any civilization.”

Cinder’s eyes shot open. Wide eyed she turned her head...and there she was...circling the cage, as if she had never left in the first place.

‘Salem.’

Any other day she might have questioned where she had gone and why she came back, but she was so tired. Closing her eyes she let the older woman’s soothing voice wash over her instead, dispelling the nightmares around them and granting her a little bit of peace.

xxxxxxxxxx

Cinder felt truly happy for the first time in literal years.

Rhodes had gifted her a sword. Her very first weapon!

In only three years she had proven herself to him enough to earn that privilege. It was surreal. Her future felt so close now.

Yes, she still had to endure four more years of her family’s treatment, but it would be worth it…

It had to be.

She had finished her chores earlier than expected today. Rhodes wanted to train with her at midnight, as usual, and she really couldn’t wait.

Last night she had asked him about fairy tales. Although he had been rather confused at the time he had told her one: The story of the Seasons…

The story Salem had told her. A tale she shouldn’t have been able to know.

How could Salem know so much when she didn’t?

‘Salem...doesn’t exist...right?’

But what if she did?

...ridiculous.

Shaking her head, Cinder made her way to the cellar. It was almost 15 before midnight. She should probably get ready. Stretching her aching limbs and muscles, she searched for her sword. She wanted to fight Rhodes with her own weapon tonight.

Her cheerful smile quickly vanished though, when she came up empty handed.

‘Where…?’

Where did it go?

“Are you perhaps searching for this?”

‘No!’

Cinder felt as if she got just dunked into ice cold water, fear gripping her heart. Slowly...very slowly she turned around, her eyes finding the source of her nightmares. Madame, head held high, holding her precious weapon in her grasp, not even bothering to hide the disgust spreading over her face as she inspected it with clear distaste.

“It seems we finally found our little thief after all”, she all but sneered, causing her daughters behind her to laugh.

The dark haired girl hadn’t even realized they were present as well. Lowering her head, she tried to make herself as small as possible.

She had to endure this.

Only a few more years…

Madame didn’t seem to like her silence, drawing nearer, that damned device ready in hand.

“Now, who did you steal it from, girl?”

“I didn’t-”

‘Wrong answer.’

The electric sparks she had come to know oh so well run through her throat, her skin hot and angry, as they sliced every nerve they could reach with ferocity, leaving only destruction and numbness in its wake.

Screaming always made it worse, but she couldn’t help it.

Even though she should be used to it by now…

Why was she so weak?

‘I want to be strong…’

Madame finally stopped, giving Cinder a few seconds to breathe again, the air burning in her lung with each gasp.

“Let’s try that again, shall we?

“It...it was a g-gift-”

“Stop lying!”

And her torture continued. Her hand flew towards her neck, but it was so futile. She couldn’t alleviate the pain.

She wasn’t lying.

What was she supposed to do?

Everything hurt…

‘Make it stop!’

[Destroy the locks.]

...the...locks?

[I will make you everything.]

The pain stopped again and had Cinder gasping for air, fighting the desperate urge to curl herself into a ball...or worse…

She had to endure this.

‘Only a few more years…’

Madame turned away from her, handing her weapon to one of her daughters.

“Here, find the owner and let them know we are terribly sorry, but we won’t be serving them any longer.”

‘...no!’

Wide eyed, Cinder raised her head, watching helplessly as her sword was passed between her adoptive sisters tauntingly.

Her weapon…

Her freedom…

Rhodes…

She would lose it all.

Her chest tightened anxiously.

No...no, no, nononononononono!

Without thinking about the consequences the dark haired girl jumped to her feet in sheer desperation.

“No please...I-I want to become a Huntress!”

Her voice almost cracked under the strain she put it under, but the panic was clearly audible enough for them to hear.

This time even Madame laughed.

Compared to Salem’s it was a rather cruel sound.

“A Huntress? You?”, she mocked, clearly amused at the prospect.

Soon enough her daughters joined into her laughter as well.

She hated them...oh how she hated them…

“You won’t go anywhere, my dear.”

She didn’t even see Madame press the button this time.

It was so fast and the pain never waited.

‘Hurts...hurtshurtshurtshurts’

There were muffled sounds, steps that drew farther away.

The girls were leaving.

Leaving with her weapon…

Her freedom…

Her...key…

[Destroy-]

‘The locks!’

Something inside Cinder ripped, exploded with an icy ferocity. She couldn’t breathe. Her vision shifted.

Red...everything was red, crimson...like those eyes she knew so well. The eyes that haunted her dreams. She was cold...numb, like the fire within her. She sank deeper and deeper into the cold embrace that cursed through her veins.

Shadows took form, surrounding her adoptive sisters, tearing into them without leaving traces, slowly suffocating them from the inside out.

There was horror in their gazes...honest, naked fear...and Cinder relished in it.

She didn’t know when she had made her way towards them, but she suddenly had her sword back, safe and sound in her left hand, while they lied motionless on the cold ground.

Only the biting buzz around her neck made the dark haired girl come back to reality, her golden eyes landing on Madame, who appeared to shrink away from her in terror.

Her normally cruel smirk had been replaced with a mask of utter panic, pressing the button of the remote repeatedly to yield results.

‘Drain...the cage!’

Cinder bridged the distance between them slowly, each step sending a wave of painful electricity through her sensitive flesh, dully echoing inside her.

But for some reason...it wasn’t enough to stop her.

Something was coursing through her veins.

Rage? Desperation? Aura?

She couldn’t say, but it was enough to finally make her endure it.

The way Madame flinched when she wrapped her right hand around her neck felt...exhilarating.

Fear… there was so much fear in her eyes...and she was the cause of it.

‘I want...to be feared.’

“You’re right. Without you I am nothing”, she practically spat the words out, a weird laugh ripping itself from her throat, raising her hand higher, as she let Madame scramble for air, “but because of you I am everything!”

‘Make me...everything!’

The light finally diminished in Madame’s eyes, her whole posture going limp in her grip. Dropping her to the ground unceremoniously, she was about to reach for her necklace when…

“Cinder…?”

Rhodes!

Relief flooded her.

He was here.

He would help her.

He would understand

She turned to him with a relieved, teary smile.

“I won’t have to run now.”

“That’s all you’ll ever do.”

‘...huh?’

There was no understanding in his gaze, only tired resignation.

What was he…?

Rhodes drew his weapons and any remaining hope Cinder had left shattered…

And with it came the burning rage that had been absent before.

‘Destroy the locks!’

xxxxxxxxxx

The following night Cinder dreamed of the golden cage bursting into flames, but it felt hollow. She had trusted Rhodes. He had been the only one who believed in her...and the first one giving up on her as well. She was torn between rage and sadness and all its pointlessness. She still wasn’t free. Atlas in itself was a prison. There was no way for her to run from the authorities for too long. She couldn’t stow away on an airship with how tight controls were right now.

Hugging her legs for comfort, she tucked herself closer behind the thin wall of cardboard she used as her makeshift shelter. The alleyway was dark and cold...but oddly enough it was better than what she was used to. No one would torture her...no one was able to…

‘But for how long?’

The thought caused her to shiver. Even thinking about it made her sick, but the people of Atlas had already taught her what to expect from them.

The dull noises of the nightly traffic made it hard for her to find any rest, so she tried to count the sounds she was hearing.

5 times a dog howled…

10 times brakes screeched…

15 times a crow screamed in the distance…

20 times her heart pounded in tandem with falling raindrop water…

25 times soft, muffled footsteps could be heard echoing through the alleyway, getting closer…

30 times-

‘Wait...what?!’

Cinder held her breath and listened as intensely as she could.

Tap...tap tap...tap…

Someone was coming down here...maybe even more than one. Instinctively, Cinder gripped the handles of her weapons tighter.

“Here?

Are you sure?

I am risking a lot just by being back in Atlas!”

A man...his voice sounded similar to all those elite people she had to cater to in the hotel. Full of superiority and arrogance.

“Salem said she is. She is probably hiding somewhere.”

Another, more deeper and gruff voice joined the conversation, but she could only focus on one thing.

‘Salem!’

They said Salem!

Could it be just a coincidence? Another person named Salem? After all Salem was just a figure she made up in her dreams...right?

There was no way someone like her could actually exist.

Magic wasn’t real…

And yet she had been telling her fairy tales that Cinder couldn’t possibly know. In the end she had to know, had to make sure. Crawling out of her hiding spot, she dashed through the darkness, precise and swift, jumping on the tall man’s back, holding one of her swords against his neck.

This one was clearly Atlesian with how he dressed.

“Who is Salem?”, she snarled at them, fixing her eyes on the other, more muscular man.

The tall man scoffed at that, rolling his eyes at his companion.

“Really? Her?

Couldn’t she have gone for someone a bit more refined?”

Oh yes, he was definitely an Atlas elite with how pretentious and bored he sounded. They were all the same.

‘Such arrogance!’

She pressed her weapon closer to her hostage’s jugular.

“Watts!”, his companion seemed to chide him, before holding up his hands, maybe to show the girl that he was unarmed.

“You are Cinder, correct?”, he asked after she failed to respond to his actions, “I am Hazel and this”, he motioned to the tall man, “is Dr. Watts. We are tasked to escort you to...our queen...Salem.”

“Salem...is real?”

There was no doubt in her mind that they meant her Salem. She did mention that her people called her their queen...but that also meant…

Everything she told her was real as well?

I’ll make you everything.

Should she really follow these strange men?

You have golden eyes.

Lowering her weapon, she shoved Watts away from her, ignoring the death glares she received in return and the silent curses he muttered under his breath, focusing on Hazel instead.

If she ended up throwing her life away for a fairy tale so be it. She had nothing more to lose anyways.

“I am ready.”

xxxxxxxxxx

The flight had been...mildly uncomfortable. Cinder had so many questions, but didn’t dare to ask her strange companions any of them. If the hotel had taught her anything it was keeping her mouth shut. Hazel had his eyes closed for the whole flight. She couldn’t quite tell if he was actually sleeping or just resting. Watts, to her dismay, wasn’t sleeping. He sat in his chair, sipping some dark red wine, pointedly ignoring her entire existence. The dark haired girl didn’t mind. She would probably despise every word that came out of his mouth anyways.

It had taken them a couple of days, but finally the terrain around them seemed to change.

Cinder was the first one to notice. The sky had begun to darken...to redden even, and the land beneath them...was dead. Lifeless and dark it spread across the continent, being parted by pitch black pools and lakes that seemed to birth...grimm?

The sight was terrifying...and oddly fascinating as well. She had never really seen a grimm in her life, only listened to the stories people would tell about them.

‘Humanity's worst enemy.’

Funnily enough no grimm had ever harmed her...only humans.

They landed near a...castle of sorts. It was a mesmerizing sight. One that sent chills down Cinder’s spine, but mesmerizing nonetheless. The purple, reddish glow reminded her of something...someone, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Hazel and Watts lead her through empty halls, lit by thousands of candles, which adorned most of the decor.

She felt more and more restless, the closer they got towards the massive wooden door they were heading to.

Hazel was the one pushing the two heavy wings open for her, stepping aside and motioning for her to enter, giving no indication of following after her. Neither did Watts, even though he seemed somewhat delighted at her nervous expression, twirling his mustache between his fingers.

Clenching her hands into fists, Cinder ventured into the room alone. It was similarly structured to one of the offices she had cleaned at the hotel...with some exceptions of course. The biggest probably being the throne right behind the long meeting table...and the person sitting on it.

A woman, she had only ever seen in her dreams before.

“Salem...you are real…”

It wasn’t a question any longer, it was a statement. How long had it been since she had last heard Salem’s gentle voice?

“What is your favorite fairy tale?”

Cinder blinked owlishly. That was...the same question she had asked before. It was confusing, but so had been a lot of things Salem had talked about in her dreams. Thinking back, she tried to remember the tales she had been told.

Tales of magic…

Of freedom…

“The Girl in the Tower”, she answered hesitantly, not missing the spark of interest and amusement that shone behind those crimson eyes, holding her gaze steadily.

“An unusual choice.

Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

No more cages.

No more locks,

A fable of magic and freedom…

Salem’s tale.

I won’t have to run now.

That’s all you’ll ever do.

She would prove him wrong!

She would prove everyone wrong!

“I want...to be powerful!”

An affectionate smile spread over Salem’s regal features at her words and oh how she had missed those smiles. Standing from her throne, the older woman made her way towards her, extending her pale hand. Hesitantly Cinder laid hers atop of it. The touch wasn’t cold like she had expected it to be, instead she felt warmth.

This...this was real.

Smiling weakly she squeezed the palm beneath hers softly, not daring to hope.

Salem’s eyes softened, her fingers closing around the girl’s hand gently.

“Welcome home, Cinder.”

#cinder fall #salem rwby #rwby #fanfiction #rwby fanfiction #just my writing

[a-solitary-marshmallow]

Do No Harm Take No Shit Chapter 7: Fox Trap

Adrien cursed and grabbed Marinette’s wrist, ready to yank her away. They had to transform, to catch Lila before she did too much damage. The akuma fluttered through the agape classroom window in a flurry of black wings. It swooped down towards the still spitting Chloe, onto to be blown away as Sabrina swung her folder at it in panic. Ms. Bustier cried out, “Students, please, stay calm! Everyone needs to leave the classroom immediately!”

Way ahead of you. Adrien and Marinette were already darting for the door. Adrien glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the akuma dart towards a grinning Lila, then flutter past her to land in Alya’s phone.

He froze. Lila let out a squawk of indignation.

A magenta haze lit up Alya’s face and sent students spilling away from her with frightened yelps. Alya’s eyebrows furrowed. She glared at something that wasn’t there.

“Yes, of course I wanna kill her. But I won’t hurt Marinette more by becoming a – hey, don’t take that tone with me, old man – get out of my head!” Alya clutched at her phone with white fingers. “Fuck off!”

She threw her phone to the ground and stomped on it, cracking it in half and sending the akuma fluttering free. It darted around the crowd of confused students before being snatched up in an all too familiar hand. Marinette cursed and now she was dragging Adrien into the hallway as Lila was engulfed by black smoke.

“Well.” Adrien panted as they dashed down the stairs, hand in hand. “I didn’t see that coming.”

They bolted into an empty classroom and slammed the door shut. Plagg wriggled out of Adrien’s pocket with a snicker.

“Oh, is it time to beat up the liar already?”

“We just have to de-akumatise her, Plagg.” Marinette said crossly. “Did anyone see where the akuma went?”

“No, I didn’t.” Adrien shot Plagg a considering look that he hoped communicated, ‘maybe a cataclysm to the face will help de-akumatise her’. Plagg grinned back at him with wicked fangs.

Marinette nodded determinedly. “We don’t know what she could be doing to everyone! Tikki, spots-”

The door exploded inwards with a percussive boom.

  Adrien went tumbling, banging his elbows on the hard floor as he rolled to a stop. He groaned and picked himself up on his throbbing elbows, hearing Marinette sitting up somewhere behind him.

“Ow.” Adrien mumbled.

“There you are~” A saccharine voice sounded. Adrien looked up in irritation to see an akuma in the doorway. She might have resembled Volpina, once. If not for the extra bulk in her suit, and the fur rippling down her back and arms like that of a demented werewolf. Her hair bristled bright red and was bunched up with black ribbons that matched the black claw marks streaking her suit. Her mouth was a wide red slit as she cooed, “Oh, poor baby, did you hurt yourself? Well, you’ll be hurting a lot more when Vulpine’s done with you!”

“Oh for fuck’s sake-”

Vulpine snatched Adrien’s wrist in a deathly tight grip, claws pricking through his sleeve. She leered at him. “Language. Wouldn’t want to upset our fans, would we? I’ll have time to punish Maribrat later, for now we can have some fun together!”

Adrien yelped as Vulpine wrenched him to his feet. Marinette shouted but the akuma had already dragged him down the halls. She was strong. Did Volpina get bitten by a radioactive fox and become fox villain squared? Adrien’s feet dragged on the ground as he uselessly tried to regain his footing.

“Let me go!”

Vulpine tittered. She was heading for the front gates. Where was she planning on taking him? The students they passed shrieked and darted back into their classrooms. Adrien yelped as Vulpine cheerily hopped down the stairway and strode out into the busy Parisian street. A bystander screamed, “Akuma!”

“What do you say we go somewhere more public?” Vulpine cooed. Adrien tried and failed to wrench his arm away from her. Where was Plagg? Adrien had lost him in the explosion. “Hmm, I’m thinking the Eiffel tower? Everyone will have a good view of us there! Come one, come all, to Paris’s first of many public executions!”

Vulpine sprang into the sky, dragging Adrien along with her, only to be knocked out of the air. Adrien screeched as Vulpine lost her grip on his arm, but he was only in free-fall for a few moments. He slammed into a pair of familiar red arms. Ladybug landed lightly on the school roof.

“Are you okay?” She demanded. Adrien nodded mutely. God, was Marinette always this beautiful? She placed him down with a quick call of, “Get to safety,” and then she sprang forward towards the cursing Vulpine.

He had to go and help her. But first things first, find his kwami. Adrien bolted down the stairwell and followed the trail of destruction back to the half-crumbling room. His shoes crunched in rubble as he skidded through the empty doorframe.

“Plagg! Where are you?”

No answer. Adrien spun in a wide circle. Where could Plagg have gone? Where would he be? Maybe he would follow after Ladybug, or go off to try and find Adrien himself, or-

“Adrien!”

Adrien spun to catch the flying kwami and cuddle him close. Plagg purred against his chest.

“I was so worried.” Adrien confessed. “Plagg, I’m so sorry I lost you. I promise I’ll make it up to you but right now we have to help Ladybug.”

“Fine.” Plagg grumbled, but his rumbling purrs betrayed him.

“Plagg, claws out!”

  When Chat Noir bounded into the school courtyard, there was no sign of Ladybug or Vulpine. A boy huddled near the gate pointed, and Chat Noir nodded in thanks before leaping to the next building in that direction – headed straight towards the Eiffel tower. Vulpine was a fox on a mission, and she had said ‘the first of many public executions’. Ladybug would probably be just as good as Adrien Agreste in her eyes. Which meant he had to hurry.

It didn’t take an expert eye to spot them (hehe, spot) next to the Eiffel tower. Vulpine wasn’t the subtlest of akumas – she’d seemed to have given up on nuance and stealth in favour of possessing the brute strength to fling cars. Chat Noir dodged a grey Sedan mid-air and slammed his baton down on Vulpine’s head from behind. She roared and spun on him only to have Ladybug’s yo-yo wrap around her neck. Vulpine grabbed at the wire and pulled. Chat Noir’s eyes widened.

Ladybug was yanked forward with a cry and slammed into him, sending them tumbling. Pain flashed through his midsection. Aaaaaaand she’d landed knee-first on his stomach. Great.

“Ow!”

Ladybug was all elbows and knees, but she jumped up quickly. Chat Noir wheezed on the ground. Her eyes widened. “Chat, are you okay?”

“My pancreas has seen better days,” he muttered, “But I’m good.”

A cackle drew their attention. Vulpine had already scaled the Eiffel tower, and she hung tauntingly from its top platform. She shouted something but she was too far away for Chat Noir to hear. He sat up, wincing, and shouted back.

“WHAT?”

Vulpine’s yelled reply was too quiet to him to understand. Ladybug pulled Chat Noir to his feet.

“She knows we can’t hear her, right?”

“Let her have her moment.” Ladybug shrugged. “Look at it this way – we don’t have to hear her monologue.”

“Excellent point. Shall we?”

“After you.” Ladybug smiled and spun her yo-yo menacingly. “Let’s go catch us a fox.”

  For someone who was supposedly working with Hawkmoth, Vulpine was surprisingly easy to defeat.

Her power as Volpina had come from her illusions and craftiness. This new form might have been physically stronger, but it didn’t nearly compare to the might of Stoneheart or Gorizilla, and right now she had the battle strategy of a drunk lizard. Too caught up in her raging to care about anything else, she screeched and swung at the heroes wildly. It was all too easy for Chat Noir to trip her over the side of the tower; for Ladybug to lash her yo-yo around the villain’s ankle and stop her mid-fall; for them to reel her up and restrain her. Not even a lucky charm or cataclysm needed. Chat Noir grunted as the furious akuma thrashed in his grip.

“Where’s her akuma?” He shouted. Ladybug dodged a swinging claw.

“I don’t know!” Ladybug darted forward to yank Vulpine’s orange bracelet from her wrist. It cracked, but nothing came out of it. “Damn.”

“YOU’LL NEVER FIND IT!” Vulpine yowled. “I’ll destroy you and then I’ll destroy those idiots in my class and I’ll deliver your Miraculouses to Hawkmoth-” Vulpine tore free of Chat’s grip and lunged towards Ladybug. He yelped. Ladybug was faster in her reaction.

“Oh my god shut up!”

She decked the liar across the face.

Vulpine shrieked in shock and clapped a hand to her bleeding nose, giving Ladybug enough time to snatch the ribbons from her hair and tear them in two. The akuma fluttered free.

“No!” Vulpine lunged at it. Ladybug’s yo-yo snatched the akuma from her fingertips and snapped back into the heroine’s hand. Vulpine screamed in frustration. “No! Give that back! I will DESTROY you, you lemon-faced mother fucking insect-” The smoke engulfed her, leaving Lila Rossi to continue her threats and stamp her foot. “-two-faced goody-two-shoes bitch!”

Ladybug released the purified akuma. Lila grabbed for it with frustrated tears in her eyes, but Ladybug caught her wrist in an iron grip. Lila cursed her out again.

“Miss Rossi, I am putting you in police custody.” Ladybug said coolly. Lila shrieked and tried to tear free but Ladybug’s grip was immovable. “If you resist, I will incapacitate you. Do you understand? Today you have knowingly abetted a terrorist-”

“Oh FUCK YOU!”                                        

Ladybug hummed and twisted Lila’s arm, spinning the girl to lock her wrists behind her back. “I did warn you. Chat?”

“My pleasure, Milady.” Chat Noir stepped forward to take hold of Lila’s wrists while Ladybug cast her miraculous cure. He took malicious pleasure in holding her tighter than necessary, ignoring her furious shouts. A few claw marks weren’t such a big deal. Not compared to the complete and utter shitshow she was about to face.

Chat Noir probably shouldn’t have taken so much pleasure from Lila’s suffering. Well – maybe Marinette was just a better person than him. She was gracious and forgiving enough for the both of them, even if she had earned more than her fair share of wrath and revenge.

Speaking of revenge and payback and what have you, a company had gathered at the bottom of the Eiffel tower. Chat Noir’s keen vision picked out a few police officers, Chloe – was that Sabrina nearby, talking to her father? – and an unfamiliar woman who was radiating bad vibes even from here. Chat Noir hadn’t had a mum for a while now, but he could vividly remember the horror that was a mother’s scorn. Probably Lila’s mother, the diplomat, from the official suit she was wearing and the cropped-short brown hair.

They took the elevator down. Chat Noir would have preferred just dropping down to ground level (and catching Lila once he’d landed, of course, Plagg may have whispered the opposite in her ear but he wasn’t totally heartless) but Ladybug thought it best to take the slower way. Which made sense – Lila could twist a quick descent into stories of superhero brutality. Chat Noir did not need more legal trouble after that debacle with Copycat. So the elevator it was. Lila had finally run out of insults and stood glowering the whole time.

When they stepped out onto solid land, the brown-haired woman was there to meet them. Lila let out a gasp and her face instantly crumpled into a teary expression of fear. Chat Noir was impressed by how quickly she’d adapted.

“Mama! I promise it’s not what it looks like-”

“Is it true?” Ms. Rossi demanded at the heroes, ignoring her daughter’s cry. “The stealing and tripping a girl down the stairs and lying about schools being closed?”

“I’m afraid so, Ma’am.” Ladybug replied evenly. It was only through years of knowing her that Chat Noir noticed the twitching of her lips and realized she was carefully hiding a smirk. Ms. Rossi ran a hand through her hair.

“And – the akuma attacks, how long do they last for? I thought – it’s barely been half an hour, I just got here, and she’s already…”

“A couple hours at most.” Chat Noir slid in smoothly. He glanced over the diplomat’s shoulder to where Officer Raincomprix was hurriedly approaching. “Like always. Has someone told you differently?”

“You could say that.” Ms. Rossi said faintly. Lila tried again.

“Mama, you have to help me, Ladybug is lying about me and-”

“Hush.” Ms. Rossi silenced her with a lifted hand and a quickly-recovering glare. “I’ve had enough of your tales, young lady. There are policemen here to talk to you. My job is in question. So you can hold your tongue!”

Lila’s face flushed red with indignation. “Mama-”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Ms. Rossi yelled. At that moment Officer Raincomprix arrived and Chat Noir happily handed Lila over to police custody. She howled the whole time, of course, while Ms. Rossi looked on tiredly. Chat Noir wasn’t very well versed in law but he did recognise words like ‘truancy’ and ‘assault’ and ‘defamation of character’. Damn, Marinette had even got Jagged in on this, and boy did the rockstar have a bone to pick with Lila – at least, judging from the length of the list of charges. Maybe claiming a forty-year-old man had written songs about a fourteen-year-old girl wasn’t the best idea Miss Rossi had come up with.

He and Ladybug watched, mostly out of spite but also a little bit to make sure there were no issues, as Lila was arrested. Ladybug slipped her hand into his and he squeezed back. After another moment Chat Noir leaned in to whisper, “We should probably get back. Everyone will be worried.”

Ladybug nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.” She turned to the small assembly and sent a cursory wave before flinging out her yoyo and zinging away. Chat Noir sent a two-fingered salute and followed.

#writing #my writing #dnhtns #ladybug #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #fic #chat noir

[jabbajambler]

22

Human

The Mandalorian/Din Djarin x f!OC

Word Count: 2,031

*GIF by @tintinwrites​*

         "Ouch... Ouch! Ouch, watch it!" Myrah snapped and ripped her arm away from the Mandalorian. Her bicep was red and crusted in dried blood.

         "If you had told me about it sooner, we wouldn't have this problem." He grumbled under his breath as he tried to pull the strings of her shirt that stuck to the somewhat fresh wound.

         She shrugged and looked down at the cut on her arm. It was bright and swollen, but it wasn't too deep. All it needed was a good cleaning and bandage. She couldn't figure out why he was so upset about it.

         "Well, we had more pressing matters at the time. You know, dealing with Fennec and all."

         "So this was when we got knocked off the bike?" He sat back on the stool he had placed next to the cot where Myrah sat. "We could have wrapped it."

         "But if I had told you back then," she grabbed his hand and pulled it from her arm, "we wouldn't get to play medic right now." She sent him a playful wink and her signature charming grin that made his heart beat faster.

         He sighed and pulled his hand away, trying to calm the rapid pulsing of his heart. "Take off your jacket."

         "Woah!" She raised her hands in the air and let out an innocent giggle. "You could at least take me to dinner first."

         "Shut up and take off the jacket." He snapped.

         "Pushy, much?" She rolled her eyes and peeled off her jacket to reveal the black long-sleeve she wore beneath it. Din tilted his head in judgement and crossed his arms over his chest. "What? You want me to take this off too?"

         "It's that or cut the sleeve off." He paused. "How many layers do you have?"

         She shrugged and brought her hands to the bottom of her top, starting to strip it from her body. Din's hands quickly caught hers and pulled the shirt back down to hide her stomach.

         "We should just cut the sleeve." His face began to warm and flush red beneath the helmet.

         "Don't want to see me shirtless, Din?" She drew out the name, the corners of her lips quirking up.

         "Stop." He growled and grabbed the knife from his boot, quickly slicing the sleeve off her shirt.

         Her face contorted into one of disgust. "When was the last time you cleaned that? Didn't you use it on the mudhorn?"

         "Yup." He answered simply and grabbed a few items from the medic box, setting them next to her on the small bed.

         "Ew." She shuddered and watched him work. "You know, maybe it would be easier if you didn't have those beefy gloves." His head snapped to hers in a way that she couldn't interpret. "What? It's not against the code. Don't forget that I know the rules too."

         He nodded and hesitantly pulled his gloves from his hands, his gaze never leaving hers. Her lips lifted into a smile that made his heart swell. He was upset that she hadn't told him she was hurt, but seeing her smile made him realize that he could never stay mad with her.

         Myrah's eyes wandered down to his hands, wanting to reach out and trace her fingers over them. It felt crazy to want so desperately to touch his hands, but she had been so deprived of anything else from him.

         Sure, they had their playful banter and bonding moments, but never physical. The closest they had been was when she fixed his wound way back when. Since then, she hadn't seen even a sliver of skin, no proof that he was even human.

         But here? Now? All she wanted to do was hold his hand, run her fingers over his skin just to know what it felt like. She could feel her hands twitch in anticipation, her heart leaping from her chest as the air grew thick.

         Her thoughts were interrupted once she felt his hands gently grasping her arm to hold it in place. He poured a small canteen of water on her wound and wiped away the blood that surrounded her cut.

         His hands were softer than she expected, but he did wear gloves all of the time. At first she suspected they would be rougher from years of hunting. The gloves must have protected his skin from becoming worn out.

         She winced slightly as he used a soft cloth to dry the area. His eyes lifted to meet hers while he carefully rubbed a healing ointment into her skin. He studied her behind his mask. From the way she closed her eyes and took slow deep breaths to her relaxed posture and how she leaned into his touch.

         He took a deep, shaky breath and forced himself to tear his eyes from her. He found himself lost in thought, wondering if her hair was as soft as it always looked. He had to stop himself from reaching to brush away the gentle strands that fell in front of her face.

         With the bandage wrapped firmly around her arm, he stood up, happy to pull himself away from a potentially messy situation. Then he felt something warm grasp his hand and pull him back. He couldn't bring himself to fight it.

         "Where are you going?"

         "I was going to fly the ship." His voice came out soft and low.

         "It's on autopilot. Besides, we don't have any specific destination." She didn't know why these words were spilling from her mouth. She desperately wished she could keep her trap shut for once.

         He couldn't look at her. He knew that with one look he would stay and never want to leave. "You need rest."

         "So do you..." She sighed and packed away the medical supplies in a small cubby. "Care to join me?" She held out her hand and scooted further back. She already figured she was in too deep, too late to stop now.

         He watched her movements from the corner of his eye, feeling a soft fluttering in his chest that drew him to the woman in his bed. After a moment, he nodded and flicked off the main cabin lights, leaving nothing but a dim light above the bed to light the area.

         Din awkwardly sat at the end of the cot, his posture stiff and tense. It was a small space and he certainly didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but he had no sense of what to do. He was no monk, but this was different. He cared so much for her and was terrified of making a mistake.

         "Relax." She giggled and grabbed his hand, feeling his hand immediately grip hers.

         Her fingers traced the lines of his palm. Slowly, dauntingly, causing a ghost of a shiver to roll down his spine. He could have melted into her touch no matter how small it was.

         "Come back here."

         At this point, she didn't have to ask him twice.

          He pushed himself to the back of the small cot, still sitting, but present and there with her.

         "You know... If we turn off that light, it'll be pitch black in here. I won't be able to see anything." She glanced up and threaded her fingers between his, pressing their palms against one another. Din swore she could feel his heart speed up.

         "You could take off the helmet and be comfortable." She whispered and squeezed his hand.

         He didn't say anything, not even so much as a nod. He simply reached up and pressed the button to the light. Nothing more needed to be said.

         Darkness immediately encompassed them, not even a shadow could be seen. The ship was silent, the child was asleep, and they were peacefully soaring through the skies.

         It was a few moments before Myrah felt his hand leave hers. She heard a soft hiss, followed by the clink of metal against the stool beside the cot. That alone made her breath hitch and caused her heart to pick up speed.

         His hand found hers again, playing with her fingers. He simply enjoyed the feeling of her soft hand against his. His heart had dropped to his stomach in fear. Of what? Who knows. But he was nervous as hell and just wanted to hear her say something.

         Myrah managed to steady her breath and leaned against him. Her hand pulled from his and reached up towards his face, her fingers barely brushing against his cheek. His jaw clenched and tensed against her touch.

         "I'm sorry." She mumbled nervously. "Is this okay?"

         "Mhm..." He hummed and allowed himself to relax. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched his face, even so much as a graze. The feeling was exhilarating yet absolutely terrifying.

         "Well, you need to shave."

         He chuckled, a warm, soothing chuckle that Myrah found so much sweeter without the modulator. If she could hear the sound on replay, she would.

         She turned her body to face him and cupped his jaw in her hands, rubbing her thumbs over the slight stubble. Hesitantly, she pulled her leg over his hip and slid onto his lap, running her hands through his soft hair. The closeness was something the two desperately craved.

         "And a haircut."

         He let out a quiet gasp and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. "Maybe you can help with that sometime."

         There was the voice. The voice she was waiting to hear. It sent a shiver down her spine and brought goosebumps to her arms.

         "You'd trust me with scissors around you when I can't even look at you?"

         He hummed and lowered his head to the crook of her neck while she played with his hair. She was intoxicating to him. Everything about her left him wanting more.

         "Din?" Myrah felt his nose press into her neck with his lips relaxed against her collar bone. It nearly drove her mad.

         "Yes?"

         "Thank you..."

         "What for?" He lifted his head and moved his hand to her hair, running his fingers through the strands.

         It was just as soft as he imagined.

         His fingers trailed down her jaw and held her chin as though she could break at any moment. She sort of felt like she could.

         "For trusting me... After everything I did, I-"

         "How could I not? We're in this together, right?" His other hand rubbed soft shapes on her back through her shirt. He felt like everything in the galaxy could stop and he would be perfectly fine with it.

         "Right." The word came out breathy, hardly spoken at all, but Din heard it.

         His hand wrapped around to the back of her neck, wanting more than anything to pull her closer. This was something they both wanted, right? He was ready to risk it all. The code, the emotions, the wall he had built.

         But the sound of a gentle cooing put all of his actions to a halt.

         They both groaned in irritation, especially when they heard the soft patter of the child running.

         Myrah rolled off of Din and onto her side next to him, facing the wall. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Looking down at the woman next to him, he wondered what would have happened if there was no interruption.

         It didn't seem like she would have stopped, but what would have happened to them? Would anything have changed? Would they pretend it never happened? Why did he-

         "Lay down." Myrah mumbled and struggled to find his hand behind her. "Relax, Din. Sleep."

         He rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. He unbuckled the rough armor and laid down next to her in the underclothes he wore.

         It wasn't as uncomfortable as he expected from the small area. His arm draped over her waist, allowing her to hold his hand as she had wanted while he rested his head against the back of her shoulder.

         "Will do, Princess." He purred as they both drifted into arguably the best sleep they've ever had.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x oc #mandalorian #mandalorian x oc #din djarin #din djarin x oc #dyn jarren #jedi #oc #star wars #pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #babyyoda

[write-like-you-mean-it]

A Hunter’s Prey: Doors and Hotel Rooms

I suddenly realized how all of this might look to an outsider. I, a fully grown adult, was talking with a child about the whereabouts of his best friend. He seemed so young and hopeful yet I could see some anguish deep within his eyes. It's the same look Illumi gives me when I ask about his past. It's the heartbroken look a mother gets when discussing an unborn child. 

Gon’s facial expressions scrunch up the rest of his face. “You’re friends with Illumi? Why?” This child’s hand was firmly on the door with the look that he'd shut in on my face if I said anything wrong. 

“Well,” I sigh looking down at the ring on my finger. “It’s a long, long story. Let’s just say that I had no way to not be his friend.”

“Are you being manipulated?” asked the green-haired boy. His eyes were squinted why he pursed his lips into a frown. “Do you need help?”

A smile crossed my face before I shook my head. “No I am completely alright. I’m here to see you.”

“I know that,” said Gon. “Are you going to give any information back to Illumi about Killua.”

A chuckle came from my lips. The sky had become a deep mauve before turning to night. Sea air held a misty feel around the small house. “As much as I would love to, he’s gone on a business trip far away. He told me that he’s going to be gone for a month at least.”

“Where would he go?”

“He’s with the Phantom Troupe on a mission. Illumi refused to tell me more about it,” I sighed while shifting the backpack. 

“Illumi joined the Phantom Troupe?” shouted the little boy as if this was a huge revelation. How did he know about the Phantom Troupe? Who was this kid? I felt as though I was back in the manor and Illumi was refusing to tell me anything once again. He’d sent me on a mission with so little information that it was going to be a struggle to even survive, let alone, find information about his brother. “Kurapika is going to be so angry. I should try to call him again. Maybe Leorio can tell him.”

Kurapika? Leorio? These names sound so familiar. Where have I heard those names before? No. I read them. They’re in the little book that Illumi had. I pushed the backpack off my back and started rummaging around inside until I felt the hard leather. My hands skimmed the pages until I found those stars. 

“You’re talking about Kurapika and Leorio Paradinight right?”

Gon’s eyes beat down on me as if I was going to attack him. He must be waiting for something dangerous to transpire. “Why do you know them? What’s in that book?”

“Oh,” I exclaim while closing the book. “It’s nothing. Illumi gave it to me before he left. I saw it when I was at the house and looked through. Yours, the other two, and Hisoka’s name were the only ones treated with a little star by them. It seemed harmless enough when I asked. He just said you guys were friends of Killua.”

“Illumi talked about me?” 

“Not really. Just enough to say that you’re Killua’s best friend.”

“I thought Illumi didn’t believe in friends.”

“No. Hisoka’s his friend.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“No. He told me the opposite but he was upset when Hisoka died,” I said nonchalantly while closing up the backpack once again. 

“Hisoka’s dead?” gasped the little boy. “What? How? What happened? How do you know? How did he die?”

I shook my head at the questions before the flashbacks would appear once again. Flashbacks of Shalnark att strung up and bleeding from the swingset or Kortopi’s head sitting next to them. Even the ferocious look Machi gave to me when I had to cut her out of his trap. “Hisoka’s not dead now. He fought with someone in Heaven’s Arena and almost died. Well, he was dead and now he’s not.”

Gon’s face changed to a quizzical look. “So Hisoka isn’t dead.”

“Gon,” called the woman from inside the house. The boy turned to look back inside his abode.“It’s getting late. You still have a lot of school work to do tomorrow. Tell your friend you’ll see them tomorrow.”

He turned back to me before slowly starting to close the door. “I’ll meet you in the marketplace tomorrow. I’m not going to tell you about Killua just yet. He’s my best friend and he’s running from his brother.”

“Oh,” I say while cocking my head to the side. “I didn’t know he was running.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow Y/N,” said the boy as he finished closing the door. I was left in the pale light of the house's interior. My head began pounding at the thoughts that rushed through my brain. This was going to be much harder than I originally thought. 

I turned to go back to the central square of the small island. I‘d hope there would be a hotel that would allow guests. The once crowded, bustling square became desolate in the night. Shop keepers had closed down many hours ago. All that was left were a few empty stalls and a small building on the side. The lights were still on and a sign was hung stating: vacancies.

I walked into the quant building that seemed more like a bed and breakfast rather than a hotel. The front desk person was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a sign that read “ring bell for service.” A shiny silver bell was placed next to the sign. 

A single tap was enough to ring throughout the small entrance. A groggy woman stepped through the door. “Want a room?”

“Yes please,” I said while looking for the card Illumi had given me only hours ago. Had it only been hours? Time seemed to move so quickly whenever I wasn’t near my love. 

“How long will you be staying?”

I looked down at the fully black card with gold lettering that read: Illumi Zoldyck. “I’m not sure. Let's start with a week.”

“You’re going to stay here a week?” questioned the lady. A heavy scent of cigarettes filled the air every time she spoke. “No one stays here a week.”

“Okay,” I questioned. Her apathetic attitude threw me off. “Then we’ll say 4 days. Is that much better?”

“It’s your money sweetheart. Not mine. You can do what you want.”

The lady typed on an old computer. She picked up on the other keys that hung behind her in a rack. “Your room is on the second floor to the left. You’ll have to find your own breakfast. Enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you,” I said while taking my card and key from her hand. I climbed the stairs that were only a little further than the front desk. Indented in the key was the number three. Passing doors one and two, a thought ravaged my head. This was the first normal thing I was doing without Illumi. Getting a room and going to sleep as if I was on vacation or a small business trip. 

Loneliness settled deep within me. Freedom was always a prideful thought that pursued my life. Now I was a sad puppy with the hopes that Illumi would return to my side once again. I shook away the insecurities as I arrived at my door. 

The room was quiet. The designer must’ve been someone much older than myself. A quilt was placed on top of the bed to give some pizzazz to the bland space. The white walls were a different shade than the white carpet. 

A sigh left my lips while I flung the bag onto the bed. My body followed soon after. I rubbed my aching temples while my eyes stayed firmly shut. It wasn’t until I noticed a small shine that I fully opened them. The light reflected so beautifully off the diamond ring. “Lumi,” I mumbled while cuddling into the sheets. “What should I do?”

I knew Illumi wouldn’t tell me even if he was here. This was my problem to solve without him. Illumi was such an ass when he wanted to teach me anything. This mission was no exception. Illumi’s the biggest ass that I’ve ever known. But he’s mine. I miss him. 

I need to learn more about Gon before I can continue to tell him about secret information. If I could reverse time, I’d kick myself for giving away information about Hisoka. I could’ve used it as leverage for information with Killua. I’m so stupid. I don’t deserve the Zoldyck name. 

I groaned while finally sitting up in bed. I have to get down to business. If anyone would know the dirt on anyone, it would be the Zoldycks. Sadly, my favorite one was out of the picture. Kalluto should be on the ship too. Killua wouldn’t answer the phone. This leaves one Zoldyck sibling to call: Milluki.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Full Masterlist

#illumi x reader #illumi #Gon #HunterXHunter #a hunter's prey #hxh #chapter 33

[harleenfleck]

“Despite the danger (Part 2)”

Arthur Fleck/Joker x Reader

Summary: Joker is the love of your life; despite the reputation it carries. You know that, but you don’t care, after he rescued you from a horrible hole you were trapped in. Now, you both live your lives together, but you ignore all the risks that come with being the lover of the Clown Prince of Crime.

This is the continuation. Part one here (Idk how put links in tumblr AAAAAA)

Warning: Description of violence, smut (Oh yeah), unprotected sex, oral sex, and fluff cause why not.

Words: 3.2k

Notes: OMFG I’M SO SORRY I KNOW I KNOOOW It took me about a month to post the second part, you have no idea what happened to me in all these weeks! New job, a little move, trying to survive, creative block (I’m suffering with this one), I almost itchy a scorpion, I didn't have Internet for two weeks, for a moment I thought I was in contact with someone with COVID-19 and fortunately that someone was sick from something else (Pneumonia in case you had doubts), I started to be attracted to a guy who turned out to be a criminal (HAHA later I'll tell you how this shit was over) anyway, too many weird things happened to me.

Finally I can post the second part, and the truth is that it is the first time I write smut or something in English :'0 honestly I think it was sexy, but I still feel a little ashamed (that’s the correct word?) to post it, ahhh, it's weird the feeling. But wow, I think the thing was beautiful:3 I honestly hope I can beat the creative block and keep writing more stories like that, shit, anyway, Arthur it’s my beautiful muse.

Time for thanks! Thank you to the Microsoft translator for helping me translate things I don't know into English, thank you to Lana del Rey for helping me get out of the creative block with your songs, my two neurons for not giving up and doing synapses, and thank you for your patience <3

And fuuuuckinggg agaaaain the fucking same apology, I’m sorry if I make some grammatical, spelling or writing mistakes, english is not my native language blablablablablalaaablablablaba just enjoy the porn.

Hope you like it! <3

...

 He’s out of his mind.

He was yelling at his men to do the damn job, to search the whole damn city. His beauty doll is missing

You were missing, you weren’t by his side, and that was a tragedy.

He was going crazy, and how cannot be? His enemies don’t leave no clue, just the threatening note. He read it, trying to find something, some sign. But nothing.

“In every fucking corner! In every fucking street! In every fucking neighborhood! I don’t fucking care! You have to find her!”

He yelled at his men in clown masks, they were orders that were to be fulfilled. But everything was more complicated than it seemed.

“We've searched all over Gotham and there's no sign of her”

“Keep looking!” He screamed again.

The clowns have never seen their leader so tense and stressed. It wasn't for nothing. His darling was kidnapped by something he had done, and time ran. Anything could happen to you with every hour wasted in found you.

"Mr. Joker, we've searched everywhere, but there's no way to find her, do you really think it's worth it?"

“What? What do you mean by that? What are you implying about that?”

“I mean Mr. Joker, you found her in a disgraceful place... You could do that with any other slut, you can find another-”

Bang!

Before he could keep opening his mouth, that man was already dead.

"I don't have time for this stupid shit! You must don’t give a shit about my doll's past! You must do your fucking damn job!"

The rest of the clowns, seeing the violent scene, came out of the room. Joker ordered two of his men to undo the body.

Sitting on an elegant red couch, he took a hand to his face and breathe out heavily.

Where were you? Would you be ok? You’d be safe?

Every question stressed him. And he felt guilty leaving you alone, he shouldn’t have done that.

Knowing that sometimes his clowns could become useless, he got out of his seat and walked outside of the room. "If they don't find you, I'll do it myself”

He got into the car and went to Gotham.

“My y/n, where are you?”

…

Your hands behind you back were tied. Your feet too.

Could barely remember what happened to you. Hours before, you were reading a book in complete calmness, but someone broke in the house. You screamed and ran for the emergency gun, but the assailants caught you first and put a damp fabric in your face.

You slept soundly for a couple of hours, when you woke up with a blindfold. Immediately, you went into fear.

“Look! The bitch woke up”

Your eyes saw again, they took you the bandage off. Looked at some men you didn’t know who they were.

“Just look, the little whore of Joker” One of the kidnappers took you by the jaw “Are the rumors true? The Joker pulled you out of a brothel after you fuck him so good?”

A big spit came into the kidnapper's eye. You pointed very well at his face.

“Fuck you!” Was the only thing you yell to him “That's something you don't give a shit!”

The others men laugh a lot, making fun of your little defense. The affected person rubbed himself with a tissue and you realized spitting him was a big mistake.

Scared, you looked everywhere, you had to find a way out, you knew that if you stayed there, they could kill you, but there is no escape.

“What idiot would want a whore like his couple?” The kidnapper spoke as he approached you and lifted you from the ground "Although if it's true that you were a prostitute... We could take advantage of that…”

They looked at you with malevolence, you knew your Joker had done terrible things to them, and they revenge were going to drop it on you.

“No, no, no! Don't you dare! If you do, you'll be dead men!”

“Maybe, but the first one to die will be you”

They pulled out a knife right in front of you, played with this one, gently passing it down your chest and face.

They started ripping the fabric of your dress. You cried. They laughed.

Please Arthur come, come for me, please Arthur

“We are three, you're going to have to give each of us pleasure at the same time, you know what that means? Anyway, you're already experienced in that”

They took your dress in pieces, staying only in your underwear, they began grotesquely touch your body and make fun of you. You just implored that it wasn't painful and that your death wasn't so violent.

Although that was improbable.

You closed your eyes, accepting your unfortunate destiny.

A violent noise was heard, and one of the men fell to the ground.

"Leave her alone right now!"

Hearing that scream you felt in heaven, protected. You were safe. Joker was there, pointing the bastards who wanted to hurt you with his gun.

“Oh! Look who's here! Just when we were going to have our banquet, don't you want some?”

Another one fell to the ground. You tried to escape the only one left alive, but he catched you, putting the knife around your neck.

“Let her go of or you're going to regret it!” Joker screamed in a tone of voice you'd never heard before. He was heard so rude and furious, and at once determined.

“Let her go? You ruined what my men and I built for years; I'll take away what you cherish most in front you. And you can’t do anything to avoid it”

Joker's blood boiled with angry. How did he dare to hurt you?

"I won't warn you again, let her go right now, NOW!"

The guy, just for enjoying Joker's furious, put the knife down and cut your abdomen, you cried in pain. Joker went crazy, and when the knife stopped touching your skin, bullets were raining at your kidnapper.

You ran away, tripped and fell, but you could see Joker unloading the bullets on his enemy.

No enemy was left alive. You were free. But you were so scared too.

Joker looked at you, put away his gun and ran to you.

"Arthur!" You hugged him very tightly.

"y/n are you okay? He cut you, that motherfucker, I must to take you to the doc—"

"No! Please Arthur, take me home! Take me with you!"

"But y/n, you’re hurt—"

"It's nothing! I swear, just take me with you!"

Crying, you begged him to get you out of there. Joker took off his red coat and put it on you, covering you. He hugged you and both got out of there.

…

You two came home. He carried you in his arms and you hugged his chest. He left you in the bed while you still crying.

"I won't let you get hurt again, my doll" Arthur drew his fingers to your face, drying away your tears. He hurt him see you crying.

"Arthur, I thought I'd never see you again”

"No, y/n, I'm here, I'll always be here. No one will hurt you again"

You hugged him a lot, you didn't want to let him go. Despite the facade of the worst criminal of all and Gotham's worst lunatic, he saved and protected you.

Arthur left the room for a moment and came back with a medicine cabinet. He healed your wound while you were trying to relax, but that was almost impossible. Once you bandaged, Arthur lay down next to you, and you couldn't help hug him. He did the same thing, caressing your hair and smelling your scent, like the first time he and you met.

You and him slept soundly. You were so afraid you wouldn't sleep in that bed again. However, your night wasn't quiet, you dreamed of those three horrible men again, you dreamed that those men did what they wanted with you, and Arthur never appeared.

You woke up upset, in tears again.

But at the same time, you calmed down, because you were home. Arthur woke up with your crying, he immediately paid attention to you.

"What's going on? y/n, what happened?"

"A nightmare"

He took you carefully and kissed you on the forehead. You hugged him back, you clung to him, you never wanted to leave him in your life.

He really is the love of your life.

And you wanted to thank him for being.

"Arthur..."

"Yes?"

You took air, you never thought you’d be shy to ask Arthur that, even when you did this night after night.

“Could you love me, please?"

The eyes of Arthur lit up, and a big sense of desire ran through his body. But despite that, you were always above everything.

"y/n… But you’re hurt"

"Art… I’m fine, it was something superficial, it's nothing” And that was true, but on his face could you see he wasn’t so convinced “Please Arthur, I need your love”

He looked at you with concern, with silent, perhaps he feared to hurt you.

But at the same time, he looked at you with desire, in need and lust.

Arthur needed you very badly too, but he was afraid to revive your pain. However, you started kissing him, at first shyly, because you didn't know what his reaction would be.

But you knew him perfectly, you knew that with a simple touch of yours he could go crazy. He gently took you from the back of your head and quickly got on top of you. His hands started stroking your neck, your collarbone, your chest. His fingers started playing with the straps of your bra and at the same time left little kisses on your breasts.

Fear left your body, and desperately asked for Arthur.

Arthur took your bra off and threw it somewhere in the room. Hypnotized, he admired your body. You blushed, he always saw you as a deity, even though you two made love a thousand times before.

"You're the most fucking beautiful woman I've ever met"

He bit his lip when he saw you. You, on the other hand, put the shyness aside, your hands went to the buttons on his yellow vest, unbuttoning them. Arthur noticed your intentions and helped you with that. You did the same thing with his turquoise shirt, looking now his chest.

You exhaled. You kissed him deeply, his tongue entered your mouth, and you couldn't help pass your hands through his chest and abdomen.

Without warning, you started to kiss his neck and shoulders, he didn’t wait that, but with a smile, he let you continue. You kept kissing him, went down to his red pants. His lust trapped in that red pants was already evident.

With little kiss on the fabric of his pants, you unbuttoned and zipped down. You looked him before continue. Arthur looked at you in need, desire and a huge smile on his clown face.

You backed off his pants and his underwear, his length appeared on your face and something inside you burned. You took it with your hand and let a little kiss in the top.

With more desire, you pass your tongue, sucking it, you really enjoyed that moment, more when you put it in your mouth and heard his deep moan.

"Damn it, y/n!" Arthur almost cried out loud. He was wet in lust, he looked at you with his green eyes, saw as you gave him pleasure, as you loved making him feel good. He took your hair, started directing the movements.

You relaxed your throat, took some air and got on with your work. You used your tongue to drive him crazy, and hearing his moans caused you to get wet. “Fuck! y/n you… you’re amazing…”.

You viewed that he grabbed the sheets with his free hand, his head was back and his chest became large and small as he breathed deeply. You could think he was close to finishing. But he decided to change things.

He took your hair and forced you to apart himself, you looked at him a little confused, but his gaze said he was going to back to you everything you caused him. Taking your shoulders, he dropped you in bed. He quickly got between your legs, starting to play with the elastic of your lace panties.

He dropped your panties, stared hungry at what these were hiding. And he realized you were already wet.

"Art... Do-Don't be so rude, please" You pled him timidly. Arthur blinked, setting aside his desire, remembering what you had spent the last night. He looked at your reddened face, and felt slightly guilty. He didn't tell you, but he thought maybe he scared you.

"Of course not, my doll" slowly lowered his face until you reached your entrance "If you want to stop, I will, just say it y/n" kissed one of your thighs, and seeing you, started playing with his tongue inside you.

Now, it was your turn to yell.

“Oh fuck!” You remember why Arthur loved that game. He was very skillful. He kissed you, licked you, played really well down there. You took his green hair between your fingers, begging him to go deeper. You heard a little laugh.

“I want you Arthur…” You couldn't take it anymore, you started begging him, as tears of pleasure fell down your cheeks “Please Art, I want you, make me yours…”

He didn't listen to you, he just kept licking you, and you couldn't do it anymore. You cuming in his mouth, and he drank you all.

Bastard you thought You wouldn't let me do the same with you

As you recovered from the orgasm, he stands up, his makeup was already a mess, but that's what you loved, as you could see Arthur and Joker at the same time.

“Come here, boy” You extended your hand to him. He took it and placed himself on top of you "I really want you for me”

“You just want me?”

“Why the question?”

"You seem to need me" Arthur kiss your hand, as you felt the rub of its length in your entrance, he was torturing you.

“Arthur, please…”

“Please what?” He passing his tongue in your hand and finished with a kiss.

“I-I need you…”

“Yes darling?” He saw you again with those emeralds that drove you crazy. How much you love him, and how much he loves you "Did you know I always need you, y/n?" With that deeply voice, he began to play again, giving small blows with his tip, causing you to moan.

“Y-Yeah…” Your voice became trembling at the end of that word “Arthur, please…”

“Please what?” He repeated that question again while without warning, he passed his tongue through your breast, provoking you more and more.

“…Fuck me…” You didn't ask him, you pleaded him. He laughed a little, and kissed you on your lips, looking for your tongue with his. And as your tongues fluttered in your mouths, he entered in you.

You moaned in his mouth, that strange sense of pain and pleasure was so addictive to you. He moved inside you, going out and in. You could hear him moan, and that excited you more, hearing his voice full of pleasure.

With more desire, you hugged him, moaned and cried. You didn't want anyone else in your life. You only want Arthur, just him.

It was so much pleasure and delight that you even forgot the wound on your abdomen.

You raised your hips just to join him more. Arthur kissed your neck, while he too got lost in lust. The bed hit the wall hard, it could break at any time, and you wouldn't mind. You two couldn't separate, nothing could separate.

You didn't know how much time was going on, but every time Arthur made love to you, time seemed to stop alone for the two of you.

“Arthur…” You cried his name “I love you… I love you”.

“I love you, y/n” you heard his hoarse voice against your ear again. He raised his head, only to see you adore this intimate moment “I love you too”

You kissed him, so much passion overflowing. You felt close again.

Before you could tell him, your body couldn't keep it anymore and gave into the pleasure, you screamed so loud. Arthur began to penetrate you slowly and deep at the same time, prolonging your orgasm, making it more torturous and pleasurable.

Breathing deeply, you looked at Arthur, taking his cheek with your hand, you still felt weak, and loved too.

He came out of you, and he started masturbating in front of you. "Could you help me, doll?" Oh yes, you knew that meant.

You knelt in front of him, took his member and carried him into your mouth. He tried to suppress a groan but failed. A few seconds later he made you stop, and you'll look him in the eye from where you were.

"You want it, don't you, doll?" you didn't answer, you just moved your head up and bit your lip. Like the first time you saw him. You began to masturbate him and kiss his member.

He caressed your head, closed his eyes. If that wasn't heaven, he didn't know anything else it could be.

His body tightened, and his breathing became heavy “y/n, I’m gonna coming, come here”.

You stopped, opened your mouth, sticking out your tongue. With a little scream from him, you got his climax in your mouth. Every drop fell into your mouth, and some escaped through the corners of your lips. He tasted so good; you loved his taste.

Arthur took a deep breath, his eyes were still under in his eyelids, recovering. He lowered his head and opened his eyes, watching you. You gave him a naughty smile. He caressed your cheek, and stroked you with his thumb.

"Where have you been all my life?" For a moment he thought about it, but he really said it. And you blush at those words. The naughty smile was replaced by a shy smile.

"Lost, like you, my love"

Smiling at you, he went to kiss you one more, one more loving, more romantic. “Arthur Fleck, you really are the love of my life” You said to him in the middle of the kiss. You could feel it how he trembled at your words. He separated from you and looked you in the eye.

“You too, y/n, you’re the love of my life”.

He kissed your cheek and pulled aside some locks of hair that fell on your face. "Come here" Took your hand "Look at you, you're a mess, we're going to have to clean you up"

You knew that was just the beginning, it was going to be a long day.

But you didn't care because you loved him, you loved Arthur Fleck, and Joker too, despite the danger. You didn't really care about danger, Arthur would always protect you from adversity, and somehow, you also protected him.

End

#joker #arthur fleck #joker fanfiction #Joker x Reader #Arthur Fleck x Reader #arthur fleck smut #fanfiction #sexy timeeee #joker smut #lemon #Arthur fleck fanfic #joker fandom #why I'm still feeling weirdo with this? HAHAHA #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA #Don't ask #Just enjoy it #aaaaAaaaAAAAaaaaAa

[lihikainanea]

Ah, okay okay so imagine tiger and bill aren’t doing too good. Like they aren’t fighting or anything but things are tense and they get upset easily with one another over the tiniest of things and tiger starts to feel glum about it because she loves the dude but neither one of them are in the frame of mind to talk it out and figure out what’s going on. D’you imagine tiger would get some advice from his brothers or maybe even papa Stellan? (Sorry angst, but my situation right now minus Skarsgårds)

Nani, I am mildly here for some angst tonight because I’m writing something that needs me to be in that mindset a bit.

I love this. I love this because it’s so human, you know? Relationships ebb and flow--sometimes it’s the easiest thing in the world, and sometimes it’s the biggest source of your frustration, your anger, your pain. Sometimes there’s a reason for it being that way--but more irritatingly, sometimes there is no reason. No logical path as to how it got here. And somehow, it always catches us by surprise--like we rarely see it devolve, we rarely see it get to that point until we’re at that point and we just sort of look around and go “...how did we get here?”

Maybe it was a result of work. Maybe they’ve both had a lot going on lately that is stressing them out, and they’re snapping at each other. Maybe they’re both tired, a little weary, dealing with things in each of their own lives that they just can’t find a way through. And they’re not fighting, at least not at the very beginning, but they’re definitely both...distant. And the longer they stay distant, then the further that distance gets. Maybe the sex is just mediocre for a long time leading up to this point and hell even through it, so they’re both not finding that physical closeness and intimacy that they look for in the other. There’s no solace, no salve, no soothing balm in the way they both always are for the other. Maybe there’s a reason behind it, or maybe they have just literally hit one of those ruts that all relationships go through. And neither one really knows what to do, they don’t know how to reach out, how to fix it, how to reconnect.

Bill might have gone to granny--hell they both might have--if she was still alive. Just for some perspective, Bill knows tiger, knows her better than anyone, but Granny always has a different perspective on her granddaughter that maybe gives Bill something new to think about. Maybe if tiger was close enough with Gustaf, if she felt comfortable enough, she might approach him for some perspective on Bill.

But shit son, that might not even help. Let’s say beyond shadow of a doubt that Gustaf knows about the two of them, right? Let’s say he knows everything. When tiger goes to him for advice, maybe it doesn’t help at all because in the past when Bill has started to get distant with the women he’s been with, it’s because he was....breaking up with them. It’s because he was done. Gustaf is an honest motherfucker, and maybe he mentions that to tiger because he forgets for a second that he’s not talking to Bill’s best friend anymore. He’s talking to his...he doesn’t even know what.

“He’s always been funny like that,” Gustaf says, “It’s not that he’s hard to tie down, he just needs a lot of space. He’s always liked his space. And when he feels trapped, he flees.”

Tiger stays silent.

“Always been like that,” Gustaf continues, “It lasts for a year or two and then he’s on to the next one.”

And tiger knew that about Bill. She knew it, because she had seen it. She had seen him do it with all of his girlfriends before. The difference is she never even saw this one coming.

But like look, these two fuckers, they’re better than that, right? They’re not going anywhere. And there’s a whole other angle here--this is such a slow, gradual slope but a real slippery one--except it’s so gradual that I really think both fuckers don’t even realize it’s happening. Don’t even realize how distant they’ve become, how much of themselves they’ve lost, how much of the other they’ve lost.

Until they start to fight. Bicker. Actually snap at each other. Until they start spending nights apart, the way they sometimes did at the beginning of their friendship. And it’s easy to wonder how people can drift so fucking far apart and not realize it, until you’re there--and until you realize that they are seeking out what feels good, again. Bill goes back to sleep at his apartment alone because somewhere along the line, that started feeling better. Started feeling better than having tiger snap at him for falling asleep during a movie again, having her not cuddle into him when they sleep, and having sex that felt a lot like just checking a few boxes so that they didn’t become those two people who could go months without sex.

And tiger, for her part, would leave his place and go sleep alone at her own apartment because it was easier than Bill going to bed and not reaching for her anymore, it was easier than him snapping at her when she left things all over his apartment--a random sock, the pile of dishes--and it felt better than having to resign herself over to mediocre sex that was once phenomenal, all to ensure she was doing her part so that they didn’t become those two people who never had sex.

Intimacy, man. It takes forever to build up and it takes a long time to lose. You never see either of those scenarios coming until it’s too late.

But they’re fighters. And I think when the actual fighting starts, is when one of them calls it like it is. And I really don’t know who would be the one to do that, but I kind of like the idea that it’s tiger. Because she’s strong, but with him--she learned to be vulnerable. And that is also a tremendous strength. So they’re fighting--actually fucking arguing, about something she can’t even remember anymore, and their tones are too harsh and their volumes are too high and she just holds up her hand.

“Enough,” she says, “Red. Pineapple. Whatever the fuck word you want to use--enough.”

Bill stares at her, his mouth still open waiting to spit a comeback to whatever he expected her to accuse him of.

“What?” he asks.

“I miss you,” she blurts out. And it’s so fucking honest, so courageous that Bill just stops and stares at her.

“I’m right fucking here,” he says, and she shakes her head. She even walks over to him, grabs his biceps.

“Bill, kiss me,” she demands. He grabs her face---a little roughly--and just pecks her lips. Bland. Boring. Emotionless.

“No,” she says, and she reaches up to cup his face, weave her hands into his hair, “Bill, kiss me. The way you used to.”

He pauses for a second, stares down at her--but ultimately he lightens his touch, runs his thumb over her lips and draws her in for a good one--like the way he used to, the way that somehow got lost. It’s a long one, deep and slow, and he’s not really sure what to expect from her when he pulls away.

“I miss you,” she repeats, “I miss that. I miss us. We’ve lost our way, bud.”

She purposely stays in his arms, wrapped around him, but Bill has developed quite a defensive shell these past few months.

“No we haven’t,” he snaps.

“Yeah we have,” she murmurs, “Bill, we’re snapping at each other all the time. We’re sleeping apart. We don’t kiss each other anymore, the sex is mediocre at best, and we’re just--”

“What the fuck, tiger,” he interrupts, “You’re seriously coming after me like this? Maybe the sex wouldn’t be so bad if--”

“No,” she cuts him off, “This is on both of us. We both did this. And I’m telling you right now--straight up, bud--I’m fighting for this. I’m fighting for us. I want to fight for us. I want to fix this.”

He’s glaring at her, but she doesn’t care. It’s actually a bit of a comfort--the more defensive he gets, the more she knows he’s feeling this too. That he’s noticed it. And if they can both admit it--then they can both fight to make it right again.

“There’s nothing to fix,” he snaps. But tiger isn’t backing down. Not about this--it means too much to her.

“Bill, when was the last time we kissed like that?” she’s careful in the way she words it, not wanting to place the blame on anyone.

“Nothing is perfect, kid,” he sighs, “Fucking like rabbits and all that passionate shit happens at the beginning. No relationship sustains that the entire time.”

She doesn’t yield.

“Bill, I'm fighting for this,” she says, “And if you tell me that you will too, then we can fix it. My cards are on the table.”

And then, she walks away.

He needs time, she knows. Time to admit to himself that there’s an issue, time to get over the hurt that she pointed the issue out when he was trying to ignore it. And maybe when he comes around--it’s gentle. Soft, in a way that she didn’t realize how much she missed. Maybe tiger makes a point to stay over that night, curling up in his bed. It’s not immediate--not even fast--but eventually, eventually he comes into the room too. She feels the bed dip as he sits down, and her heart skips a beat when a gentle hand rests on her rib cage.

“How do we fix it, kid?” he asks. It’s quiet--worried, even.

“I don’t know, bud,” she answers honestly, “But I think we start just like this.”

She can hear him sigh as she sits up, crawls over onto his lap for the first time in a long time. She kisses him softly.

“Maybe we...maybe we go away?” he suggests, “Me and you. To reconnect. And we can work through it there.”

“I like that idea,” she says, “It’s me and you, bud. No one else. And I’m in this. I’m all in.”

“Me too,” he confirms, kisses her again.

“So right now, let’s just lie down and get some sleep. And when we get up tomorrow, we’ll both agree on where we’re going to go, and we’ll pack our bags. Okay? One step at a time,” she says.

“Okay,” he whispers.

“I’ve got promises to keep,” she murmurs, as he hugs her to his chest.

“And miles to go before I sleep.”

[grimtwin]

Favorite ZoNa moments?

All of them of course!

Their first time meeting! Zoro saves Nami from Buggy’s crew as they made to attack her for refusing to kill Luffy. Fending off something like five or six attackers easily, Zoro casually asks her if she’s okay. 

Then on Usopp’s island, where Nami and Zoro are trapped behind an oil slick. Nami steps on Zoro so she can safely cross, while Zoro gets stuck. A short while later, when a couple of Zoro’s are taken from him, Nami tries to retrieve them. Even after taking a brutal hit from Jango, she’s able to kick Zoro’s swords to him, which kind of annoys him, but she has this cheeky, “is that how you thank someone?” line, and Zoro gives her his thanks, before whooping ass. That and his terrified reactions every time she’s attacked during this fight with the Black Cat Pirates.

Then we jump to Arlong Park for a few more scenes. This is one of the biggest shipping moments for the two, for a lot of fans. After getting nearly bisected by Mihawk, Zoro’s pretty banged up, and gets taken prisoner by Arlong’s crew. After some cheeky back and forth between Zoro and Nami, Arlong says some pretty fucked up things about Nami being a cold hearted witch who would even forget Bell-mere’s murder for money, which clearly upsets Nami. That doesn’t go unnoticed by Zoro, who then throws himself into the water. He’s bound at the legs, with his hands tied behind his back, and one of the most gruesome wounds we’ve ever seen in OP...so no way is he getting out of that. Until Nami dives into the water and drags him back up that is. Kudos to Nami’s strength here btw, she’s gotta be strong as hell to do that. Anyway, Zoro calls Nami’s bluff here, telling her he knew that she couldn’t have let him die and to stop acting cool which infuriates her enough to stomp on his back. She then asks why he has so many bandages on, and in the English dub, he flirts a bit by saying he didn’t have another shirt and didn’t want Nami to be distracted by his chest/abs, to which she immediately punches him as hard as she can in his Mihawk wound.

After a dramatic flashback and Nami stabbing her arm to slice away the Arlong tattoo, Luffy and the crew go to kick Arlong’s ass. It’s here were we get the next short, but sweet moment that I like. Zoro’s wound has been hit a few times, he’s got a stupid high fever, is damn near dead on his feet at this point, but he’s fighting Arlong in order to give Sanji and Nojiko time to save Luffy’s life. He gives Nami a thumbs up, saying he’s good, but in his weakened state, Arlong gets the better of Zoro, and is holding him by the throat. Its then that Arlong tears away Zoro’s bandages, and that’s when he, Nami, and the rest of Cocoyashi’s villagers see just how fucked up Zoro is right now. Zoro’s got this death glare that startles Arlong to his core, Nami’s lets out a horrified gasp, and Arlong knows he has to kill Zoro here and now because it’ll be too dangerous to let him live. Well...that is until Luffy finally shows up, freed from his stone prison at the bottom of the ocean, grabs Zoro by the shirt color, and throws him several hundred yards to the back of his head lol. 

I suppose the next instance would be at Whiskey Peak. The crew has just made it to the Grande Line, and survive a hellish wave of storms...all thanks to Nami, and no thanks to Zoro, who was napping. When he wakes up, Zoro is interrogating Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9, who jumped on their ship, and just when he’s about to uncover some secret, Nami shows up and beats Zoro’s head in. She’s pissed he was sleeping during all the chaos, and even though Zoro tries to get tough with her, she just beats him some more. We all know who wears the pants...or short skirt in that relationship. Later, the crew are happily welcomed into Whiskey Peak’s village, where a massive party is thrown for them by the villagers. The crew is having a grand ol’ time, drinking eating, partying their asses off and we see both Nami and Zoro engaging in a drinking contest. Zoro “goes down” around the 13th tankard of booze, while Nami “goes down” around the 15th. It’s then that we learn that the village is one of 100 Bounty Hunters, who aim to kill/capture pirates making their way into the Grand Line. Just as they unveil their big secret, Zoro appears on top of a house, in one of the most bad ass moments of his up to this point in the series. He was faking being drunk, saying no way would he trust a village welcoming pirates into their midst. He then announces he knows they are Baroque Works, and proceeds to beat the shit out of the entire village in a dope ass fight.

And after that tussle, Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine’s Day show up! It seems they have an intruder in their organization, and it’s Miss Wednesday, aka Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta! They’re on the hunt when Mr. 8 pleads with Zoro to go save her, as he is actually Igaram, Vivi’s royal guard. It’s then that Nami appears, agreeing to help Vivi..but at the cost of one billion beri! Zoro questions what she’s doing there when Nami says the same thing he did earlier, that she couldn’t trust a town welcoming pirates, and that she could handle way more booze! These two are can handle their drink alright. Nami and Igaram negotiate, and after coming to terms, Nami commands Zoro to go save Vivi! He immediately refuses until Nami counters that her contracts are HIS contracts as well, and that Zoro still owes her payment for the money she lent him at Loguetown. She guilt trips the ever loving hell out of him, and Zoro has no choice but to run off and save Vivi. 

Now we’re at Little Garden, the isle of giants and dinosaurs. The Straw Hats food reserves are low at this point, so Zoro and Sanji decide to have a contest of who can bring back the bigger dinosaur and most meat, very much like Dory and Brogy did 100 years prior. After some running around, Zoro kills his prey and is trying to make it back to the ship when he gets lost; big surprise right? During his search for the ship, he suddenly sees Nami leaning against a tree and happily calls out to her with a big ol’ smile on his face...but cut to black. It was all a trap set up by Mr. 3! A wax dummy of Nami, who has now captured Zoro, Nami, and Vivi! More stuff happens with the other characters, before we’re shown that Nami, Zoro, and Vivi are attached to this big candle with a spinning top that, as it melts, will spray a wax coating over the trapped victims, turning them into statues. Zoro being cool as shit, decides that if they’re just going to die as statues, he’ll cut his feet off and go kill Mr. 3 before this can happen. Just as he goes to do this, an action which horrifies both ladies at his side, Luffy, Usopp, and Carue show up, and Zoro stops about half way through his legs. The pooling blood freaks Nami out, who berates him. A short while later, things are looking bad for Luffy, Usopp, and Carue, so Zoro decides if he’s going to become a statue, he’s going to strike a cool pose. Again Nami gets angry with him, and Zoro jokes with her that she should have taken a better pose too. All three, plus Brogy are completely encased and wax...until Usopp, Luffy, and Carue set them on fire! The wax melts, Zoro, Nami, and Vivi burst out of the towering flames, and take out Ms. Valentine’s Day and Mr. 5 in one shot! 

Next, we fast forward to the Alabasta Kingdom. For years, Shichibukai and leader of Baroque Works, Sir Crocodile, has engulfed the country in a civil war, all for the goal of gaining access to a poneglyph, a stone with the location of an ancient weapon known has Pluton, carved into it. And under his employee are the assassins partners Mr.1, Daz Bones, and Miss Doublefinger, Zala. During all the chaos of the final battle, these two would become Zoro and Nami’s opponents, tricked into following the Straw Hats away from Princess Vivi. Zoro tells Nami to stay quiet and hide, but it’s the assassins golden rule to take out those that are weakest first, so they immediately go to attack Nami. Just before Mr. 1 is about to cut her down, Zoro comes to her defense just in the nick of time once more! (In the anime he gives her a cocky grin) The two separate to take care of their own battles, both bloody and brutal, and after Zoro and Nami prevail, Zoro collapses in the street in need of a nap from blood loss. Nami finds him soon after and smacks him awake, but since she’s had her foot and leg stabbed through by Miss Doublefinger’s needles, she can’t walk to well, and gets a piggy back ride from Zoro as they search for Vivi and their friends. 

Onward to Jaya! This one is short and sweet. After Luffy and Zoro take a massive beating from Bellamy and his crew, a fight that held no meaning for the Straw Hats so they just didn’t counter, Nami is thoroughly pissed at for being mocked and made a fool of. Later on, when Luffy goes to confront Bellamy for stealing Norland’s gold, Nami asks Zoro why he didn’t go with Luffy to fight. A small, but cute, argument breaks out between the two. They fight like an old married couple! Just get hitched already dammit!

Further still, it’s up to Skypiea! Here we have a lot of good moments between the two. After Pagaya and the people of Skypiea rat the Straw Hats out to Eneru, the Going Merry is attacked and dragged off by some massive sky shell fish. And on the ship, are Robin, Chopper, Zoro, and Nami, where they’re carried to an area  where they are meant to be used as sacrifices for Eneru and his warriors. While trying to leave the sacrificial alter, the crew is attacked by Sky Sharks, which try to eat Zoro right away. He gets soaked during the scuffle to kill the sharks, and strips his shirt off, to which Nami goes into his room and then tosses him a new, dry one. Nami warns Zoro that God and the guardian priests are in the forest and are too strong to compete with, but Zoro tells her he’s never prayed to any god because he doesn’t believe him him. Chopper thinks this is cool as hell, and Nami cries, saying she doesn’t know Zoro lol. So Nami, Robin, and Zoro leave the alter to go check some things out, and during their trip, some delightful arguing and banter takes place, and Zoro saves Nami from several sky sharks and a sky alligator trying to devour her. He had been taking the lead on their journey but slowed down to walk behind Nami so he could protect her more easily.

Later on, during a hellish battle set up by Eneru, involving his forces, the Straw Hat Pirates, and the Shandian Warriors, Zoro are fighting alongside with the gargantuan sky snake Norla. In the ensuing chaos, Norla swallows Nami and Aisha appear in the midst of the battle, and are attacked by some goat men under Eneru’s command. Zoro, Wiper, and Gan Fall protect them...but soon after, Gan Fall, Nami, and Aisha are immediately swallowed by Norla. In a fit of anger, shock, and urgency to save Nami, Zoro tries to swiftly deal with his opponents at the time, Ohm and Holy, who activate a cage of iron cloud barbed wire to trap the combatants inside, while also fending off Wiper’s attacks. After defeating Ohm and Holy, the ground beneath his feet is blown away by Eneru and everyone falls to an area below. In all that, Norla spits up Gan Fall, Nami, but then Eneru attacks the snake, and fries it with a massive electrical attack. Zoro, seeing this, is terrified for Nami, until she pokes her head out from behind a rock, revealing that she’s fine. Zoro almost looks annoyed that he was caught looking so scared.

I could continue on, but this is crazy long as is...so this is a good stopping point!

#Zoro #Nami #Gust Sword #Sword Gust #ZoNa #One Piece

[penumbral-phantasm]

What I Am - Kingdom Hearts Fic

Finally cracked down on some KH fic. This one is post kh3 with a slight au, so beware! Basically this is me trying to bring Vanitas into the Sora click once everything has settled down u_u

Rating: Gen

Warnings: None

Characters: Sora, Ventus, Vanitas, Roxas ft. Riku, Kairi, Namine, Terra & Aqua

Summary:  Post KH3 with a slight AU where everyone is fine at the end. Sora can't stop thinking about his interactions with Vanitas who is now alive and somewhere out there. Lots of bonding between the look-alikes, somewhat redemption for Vanitas. Probably not as angsty as you think it is.

“Ven! Roxas! Come over here!” Sora beckoned from near the paopu tree. His island had never looked so small. Kairi, Riku and him were now grown up, plus they had so many more friends than what they started with two years ago, and all of them were gathered below to bask in the same warm sun. He was starting to see how Riku could call this place tiny.

The two of them perked up from the lower part of the island, running over to see what was up. Kairi passed them as they came, most likely to go and finally make some real conversation with Namine and Xion. Sora still didn’t entirely understand the Xion situation, but looking at her gave him a warm sense of nostalgia and she made Roxas and Axel /so happy/ that he instantly knew he could trust her.

“What’s up, Sora?” Ven asked as they arrived, huffing.

“I wanted to take a selfie with you guys! How cool is it gonna look framed between you two?” He pulled out his phone, already holding it up.

Roxas rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. Sora could tell he really liked selfies and had been eyeing everyone’s phones closely. He was probably going to nab someone’s soon.

“Get in close!” Sora said, angling the camera just right. “Cheese!” The camera clicked off and he eagerly looked at the result.

Ven and Sora were beaming, as per usual, while Roxas had a careful smile there. “You should smile more, Rox,” he said.

“Hey, if you want better smiles just look at Ven.”

Ven chuckled. “Aqua and Terra always did say I have a great smile!”

It was still a little weird to hear the two of them and see the two of them and even more shocking how easily they had melded into friendship, but Sora wasn’t complaining. It was kind of funny and adorable. Roxas, now that he was free to be his own person, could probably take a few lessons on happiness from Ven. There was nothing to worry about anymore!

He looked down at the picture. Well, mostly nothing to worry about. Seeing Roxas and Ven so close together reminded him of his own look-alike. Vanitas was somewhere out there. He hadn’t returned to Ven’s heart but he hadn’t died at the keyblade graveyard either.

It was terrifying to see himself all skewed in anger and darkness. Sora knew how to be angry, and he often was when people were trying to hurt his friends, but Vanitas just seemed to be angry because that’s all he was. Anger, hatred, darkness. Something about it still felt wrong, but the finality of Ven’s ‘okay’ stuck in his mind. He didn’t really know the full story of Ventus, Vanitas, Terra and Aqua. He didn’t know how terrible it might have been over a decade ago. After all, Vanitas was the reason Ven had to take refuge in his heart at all.

Maybe that wasn’t a guy he should think about or worry about. Maybe he was just sensitive about this because they looked so similar. Maybe it was time to put all of that behind them and move forward.

But Riku had struggled with darkness, had been engulfed in it, and he came out balanced and strong and inspiring. What if something was salvageable in Vanitas? He glanced at Ven who was laughing at another one of Roxas’ dry jokes. Ven didn’t seem to think so. Maybe if he knew someone like Riku, he would think differently!

Oh. But there was Terra. Ven /did/ know someone like Riku and had watched his friend struggle with darkness. And Aqua. She was in terrible shape in the Realm of Darkness. Ven probably came from way more experience than Sora could imagine when it came to darkness. Really, he should give it up, forget and ignore Vanitas until he eventually became a threat again.

“Sora? Are you okay?” Ven’s voice broke through his thoughts. “You’re staring at that selfie really hard. Is it not good enough?”

“Did you catch yourself from a bad angle?” Roxas asked.

“No, no! It’s perfect. Sorry, I was just thinking about a lot of things. It’s been crazy, you know?”

Ven nodded. “Life’s definitely taken a dive I did not expect. But it’s over now, we’re free. Don’t get bogged down with all that thinking!”

Roxas crossed his arms. “To be fair, he just came back from nearly dying to save Kairi’s life. Maybe some thinking is in order.”

Sora restrained a sigh. Why did he feel like he had an angel and a devil on each shoulder? He shut off his phone and put it away. “I’ll try not to think /too/ much,” he said.

“Good!” Ven smiled. “And if you ever need to talk we’re right here. I did spend nearly twelve years in your heart, after all!”

Once more, Sora tried not to groan at being reminded of that. He had done a lot of stupid things as a kid when he thought no one was looking. For all he knew, Ven had always been looking.

Roxas wrinkled his nose. “Glad you left it. It was starting to get stuffy in there.”

Ven shoved him playfully, which led to the two of them racing back across the bridge and down to the beach, shouting at and laughing with each other.

Sora hung back for a moment, watching everyone be so happy and filled with light. In his heart he always knew that this had to be the outcome. He wouldn’t accept sadness and death. It wasn’t an option. But things had been scary for a while back there, especially when he lost Kairi, and this image of joy had seemed more and more like a dream.

It was real. It was really, really real.

“Sora!” Riku called with a wave of his hand. It looked like him and Terra were setting up that beachside barbecue they had been talking about. Sora had never had one without the help of his parents or on this little island, but he was glad his first would be with so many friends, old and new.

The sun set quickly around them, the night air mingling with the scent of salt and dying embers. Everyone had settled down to sit on the beach and stare up at the stars. Quiet bits of conversation passed between them all in a comforting hum, some more talkative than others.

Somewhere behind him Ven said, “It’s been so long since I’ve seen these stars.” He almost sounded uncomfortable.

“They’re so pretty,” Namine breathed.

“They really are,” Xion said. “They almost beat sunsets.”

Sora didn’t realize he had taken the stars for granted. So many of these people had been trapped, stuck, waiting, and he had just been carrying on with life like nothing was wrong. He had forgotten meeting Aqua, forgotten taking Ven’s heart in his own, acted like it was okay at first when Roxas had returned to him. He should have acted sooner.

What if there were other people who needed saving out there and he didn’t even know it? All those stars, all those worlds, and he was just sitting here. Yeah, he needed the break, he really did, but how soon would he have to set off to help another heart in need? How long would he keep people waiting?

...What if Vanitas was one of those people? He still couldn’t chase him from his mind. Sora wanted to help people all the time. Something about that goodbye hadn’t sit right with him and that familiar tug to become someone’s savior once more stayed heavy in his heart.

There was a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Kairi’s concerned face illuminated by starlight. “You look a little upset,” she said. “Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

He could tell there was extra concern over the last journey they had made together. To be honest, he was still concerned about her too, even though she was fine and sitting right next to him.

He put on a signature smile. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I just need a minute.”

“You sure?”

“Positive!” He got up, dusting sand off his pants. He made sure to give Riku a comforting smile as he walked away from the group, just to ease the soft look of concern that was already dawning on his face.

He took refuge back up at the paopu tree, leaning against its sturdy trunk. He was surprised by how quickly he heard footsteps after him. They weren’t the familiar trot of Kairi or Riku, so they could be just about anybody from the group.

He could tell it was Roxas when he got close enough without looking at him, though. He took a spot right next to Sora, leaning against the tree like they were comfortable, life long friends.

“Hey Rox,” he said. “I, uh, kind of wanted to be alone for a bit.”

“Yeah, Riku said that.”

“So…”

“Well, it was Riku, so of course I had to do opposite to what he said just to piss him off. Don’t worry, you don’t have to say anything to me. I’ll go back in a bit.”

Sora chuckled softly. “Alright then.”

Roxas’ presence didn’t feel like an intrusion. It was almost a comfort, but it was scary to admit that if Sora let his mind drift enough then he could easily forget Roxas was standing there at all, like his shadow.

“Did you ever hate me?” Sora asked in a quiet voice.

Roxas crossed his arms like he was blocking something out. “Hate you? You… confused me. Annoyed me. Once I knew who you were to me I was constantly jealous. Bitter. Upset. But I don’t think I ever hated you. And now? I owe you too much. Trust me, there are a lot of other people that are easier to hate than you.”

He glanced toward everyone on the beach. Sora didn’t have to follow his line of sight to know he was looking at Isa.

“Is that what’s been eating you?” Roxas asked.

“I dunno. I’ve been thinking about doubles lately.”

“Doubles?”

“Don’t tell Ven, okay? But I’ve been thinking about Vanitas. Do you know who he is?”

Roxas tilted his head back and forth. “Axel explained some things. He’s Ven’s darkness, right?”

“Yeah, and he looks just like me.”

“He does? Well, I shouldn’t be surprised at this point. Basically every girl on that beach except Aqua and Olette have Kairi’s face.”

At least all of Kairi’s look-alikes were nice. Xion never looked like she wanted to rip a man in two.

“So you’re bothered you share a face?” Roxas pressed on.

“It’s more than that. I know he’s darkness, that it’s just what he is, but something feels wrong about it. Even Ven seemed kind of mad about it all. About being split perfectly. And Ven’s the light half! Vanitas just… told us that it was what it was, basically. That he was darkness. It made me think of the Nobodies and the Organization when Xemnas ran it. And of you.”

Roxas narrowed his eyes inquisitively. “How so?”

“When I met you in my dream you seemed so resolved to being stuck there. To thinking we were the same. But we’re not, and I /basically/ proved it by being your connection and bringing you back. Now, you’re happy!”

“...I see. And the Organization? What made you think of them?”

“I was thinking about how Xemnas lied to you all. You all had hearts the entire time. Ventus and Vanitas were broken apart, made to be just dark and light, by Xehanort. What if, like a heart, light can be regrown? It can come back? Xehanort would have never told them. What if Vanitas isn’t as dark as he thinks, or doesn’t have to be?”

Roxas leaned back a bit. “You’d also be implying that Ven is capable of having darkness in his own heart again.”

Sora looked to see Ven was dramatically telling a story to Riku and Terra with big sweeps of his arms. He was grinning from ear to ear. He still remembered the warmth and light that had lingered when he woke Ven’s heart. It was hard to imagine darkness could reach any part of it, just like Kairi’s.

“Look,” Roxas said. “If you don’t think darkness can reach Ven’s heart, then I don’t think light can reach Vanitas’ heart. And, if I’m being honest, it sounds like you’re creating a problem when there isn’t one. No one is looking for Vanitas. Maybe you should just enjoy the break for once. I almost regret telling you to think more.”

Sora sighed. “Yeah, you’re...you’re right. I’ll lay off. Let it go.”

He clasped a hand on his shoulder. “Sora, if you /do/ decide to do something, don’t forget you’ve got everyone here. And, uh, probably don’t do anything about Vanitas without telling Ven. Or at least Aqua.”

“Yeah, of course. Thanks.”

“No problem.” Roxas left him with a final wave and rejoined the others. Sora could see Riku leaping to his feet, flinging questions at Roxas. It warmed his heart that his friend was so concerned for him. Of course he had everyone here. He wasn’t going to do anything alone anymore.

And maybe… well maybe he really should just let it go.

It was only a few weeks later when Sora got a call from Ven. He had been relaxing on the beach with Namine, finally taking some time to really talk to her and watch her cute drawings, when his phone went off.

Namine leaned over his shoulder curiously as Ven’s disgruntled face appeared on screen. “Hello Ventus,” she said with a smile.

“Hey Namine, Sora. Thought I’d let you guys know that Terra, Aqua and I just got out of a bit of a situation.”

“What kind of situation? Heartless?” Sora asked.

“Unversed.”

“Oh.” They had all assumed it was only a matter of time before the Unversed returned to be a menace, but everyone thought it would be at least a few months. Vanitas didn’t waste time, it seemed. “Was it a lot?”

“No, not really. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be in the future or that they’ll only appear at the Land of Departure. Keep your eyes open, okay?”

There was a muffled ‘is that Sora?’ in the background before Terra appeared in view, squishing close to his friend. “Hey Sora!” He greeted. There was a bit of dirt on his cheek.

“Hey, Terra. You guys okay?”

“Yeah, those guys were no problem. You stay safe though! They’re no Heartless, but they’re not easy either.”

“Got it. I’ll let Riku and Kairi know.” He paused. “Are there any… long term plans to dealing with them?” Terra was right, the Unversed weren’t Heartless. They had a clear source and a clear way to stop that source.

“Right now, I’m not sure,” Ven said. “But you can leave that to us.”

“I want to help! If I can.”

He smiled. “Of course you do, Sora. But Vanitas is my --our-- problem. We know how to deal with him. Just call me back if Unversed appear on the islands, okay? I’m gonna let Lea and Roxas know.”

“Okay,” Sora said. “I’ll talk to you guys later.” He said his goodbyes and hung up the phone.

Namine was looking at him in a funny way. He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll deal with any Unversed that come this way. You’ll be safe.”

She shook her head. “I’m not worried about the Unversed.” She flipped through her sketchbook to what looked like Sora. No, the hair was darker, the outfit different. “I know loneliness. As a Nobody, I knew nothingness, too. But I wonder how lonely it is to wander the world of light as a creature of darkness.”

“Do you think Vanitas needs saving, then?”

“I don’t know. He either needs saving, or he needs to be stopped. But I really do wonder…” She sighed, flipping back to a clean page. “Whatever you choose to do, Sora, it’ll be the right thing because you follow your heart.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Namine.”

The Unversed that appeared on Destiny Islands were not the small rabbit looking creatures Sora had seen before. There was only one, for starters, and it was a big hulking mess. There were claws and arms reaching around in an innumerable amount and shifty eyes that bounced between Sora, Riku and Kairi. Parts of it were distorted too, like the monster just couldn’t get a grip long enough to be stable, which made pinning it down and hitting it all the more difficult. Leave it to Vanitas to take instability and use it as an advantage.

Riku struck it down with more ease than Sora or Kairi. He really did deserve title of Master, it seemed, and they all watched the creature fade away. Sora wondered where it was fading to, where Vanitas was that he could easily unleash the Unversed upon them when they were just relaxing.

Riku shook his head. “I thought it would be smaller.”

“I thought there would be more,” said Kairi, letting her keyblade disappear.

Sora considered searching the island for Vanitas, but he could be gone within a second. It wasn’t worth it. His phone went off with a text from someone.

“Who is it?” Riku asked.

“It’s Roxas. There was an Unversed in Twilight Town.”

Kairi frowned. An Unversed on their little island wasn’t nearly as disastrous as one in the populated Twilight Town. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yeah, it seems it. I’m gonna head to the Land of Departure.”

“What, why?”

“I want to talk to Ven about something.”

“I’ll come with you,” Riku said.

“No, it’s fine. I’m not doing anything dangerous,” Sora said. “Just wanna talk.”

Riku and Kairi exchanged a glance. He knew it was concern, but it came off with a level of distrust. He could admit that he may have made one too many rash decisions in the past to warrant their worry. Still, they let him go without further complaint.

When he arrived at the Land of Departure, Ven, Terra and Aqua were already outside talking with Roxas.

“Roxas?” He called, confused.

He waved at him. “Told you Sora would show up,” he said to Ven.

“You dealt with the Unversed?” Aqua asked.

“Yeah, with Riku and Kairi. Have you guys seen Vanitas?”

Ven shook his head. “No, but I can guess one place he might have slithered off to. He doesn’t have many options.”

“The Keyblade Graveyard?” Roxas guessed.

“Yup. You want to confront him again, don’t you Sora?”

“I just want to help.”

Ven exchange glances with Terra and Aqua. “You can come, both of you. We’ll probably need all the help we can get.”

“Thanks, Ven!”

The Keyblade Graveyard hadn’t changed at all since they last came. It was still void of life and filled with dull keyblades stuck in the ground. Roxas and Sora hung back a bit from the other three, the former leaning close to tell him something.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Roxas said.

“I’m just going to do whatever I can to help. My hopes are at normal level, promise.”

Roxas only gave a small huff as an answer.

“Look!” Terra said. In front of them a large Unversed had formed with a bunch of smaller Floods surrounding it. Others were appearing too, wearing expressions of frustration or confusion.

“That’s the most yet,” Aqua said. “Vanitas can’t be far.”

“You won’t have to do much looking,” an irritating drawl said. Vanitas himself stepped out of a portal of darkness. His helmet was gone, leaving the snarl on his face in perfect sight. “Already eager for a rematch, Ventus?”

Ven’s keyblade was out. He was already flipping it around in his hand with anticipation. “Won’t be much of a match!”

“I can deal with Vanitas,” Aqua said.

“No,” Roxas interjected. “All these Unversed are going to be way harder than one angry looking Sora. Let Ven and Sora deal with him.”

Sora gave a surprised look to Roxas, which was pointedly ignored as he drew Oathkeeper and Oblivion.

“But-”

“We can handle this,” Ven said. He exchanged a look of determination with Sora. “Come on!”

The two of them broke off from the other three to pursue Vanitas, who was already using the keyblades to his advantage to fly around. Sora wished that strange boy would appear and give him the ability to ride the keyblades again, but it was definitely asking too much. That was probably a one time deal.

Ven had always been a pretty good shot with his keyblade. He threw it like it was a frisbee, aiming right at Vanitas’ back. Too bad Vanitas himself was pretty good at dodging things on his torrent of keyblades.

Sora threw a blizzard spell his way, catching part of his shoulder. He didn’t let up, instead diving back down towards them with his keyblade raised and thousands more charging close. Ven leapt in front of Sora, ready to throw up a guard and protect him, when there was a sudden falter in Vanitas’ attack.

The keyblades crashed to the ground, taking their rider with them. Even though he was up two beats later, Sora could see there was pain etched in his face. He looked behind him. Roxas had dealt a finishing blow to the giant Unversed and it was seeping back into Vanitas.

Ven attacked Vanitas with a signature swift blow, but Vanitas pushed back easily, tossing him right into the distracted Sora.

Sora was surprised to hear the annoyed growl coming from Vanitas as the Unversed Roxas had just taken down reformed itself by those three again. The Floods were seeping back into Vanitas, too, and each one seemed to spark a note of even more frustration in his face. Frustration that he was losing? But he wasn’t, not really. He couldn’t seem to help reacting to whatever Unversed was being destroyed.

Ven got back up, giving a confused look to Sora who still seemed dazed. Vanitas went in for another blow, but Ven was quick to use his magic. The light of Salvation surrounded them, it’s warm healing aura rushing over Sora’s body like a wave.

It only hurt Vanitas who was pushed back by its force. His face was held in a tight grimace as he steadied himself against the light.

Ven narrowed his eyes. “What are you even trying to get at anymore, Vanitas!? There’s no war, no Master Xehanort to follow like a dog. We beat you once and we can do it again. It’s /over/.”

Sora finally got to his feet. Was he imagining things? What did it feel like to have the Unversed flow in and out of his body on the whim of keyblade wielders? “We can stop fighting,” he said.

It was too much to hope that those words would reach Vanitas. He hardly looked bothered or contemplative over them. Just annoyed. Mildly inconvenienced by them trying to negotiate peace in a scrap.

“And do what?” Vanitas asked. “Sit around braiding each other’s hair?”

Ven’s hand became a tight fist. “Why does everything have to be so difficult with you?”

“If I’m difficult, it comes from you.” He raised his keyblade, done with talking. His glare felt so /personal/ as more Unversed poured out into the graveyard around them. It wasn’t the cocky aggression Sora was used to.

Ven was quick to act, leaping at the nearest Unversed to smack it away with his keyblade. Sora made sure to join in too and not zone out, but every once and a while he glanced to where Vanitas was at the heart of the Unversed swarm, surprised to see the tightness in his face as his monsters were destroyed.

“He can’t just keep making these, can he?” Sora asked.

“I don’t know,” Ven grunted. “Usually he’d rather fight me himself when I’m involved. If we can get through them we can get to him.”

“And then?”

“And then we stop this. Vanitas had a chance. I don’t think he’ll take another.”

Sora didn’t think so either, but part of him wanted to try. It really… he really looked like he was hurting. Sora could almost feel it, too. A broken heart aching for something. Completion, light, warmth. There must be something he could do.

Larger Unversed were coming out now, but with Terra, Aqua and Roxas rejoining them they were no match. Each one fell easily, all the while thinning out the crowd to reach Vanitas. At this point Sora knew he wasn’t imagining things. Vanitas looked uncomfortable, pained, irritated, and each emotion became more prominent as they pressed on.

Killing the Unversed was hurting him somehow.

He was blasted back by one of the larger Unversed. He stared up at its scowling, monstrous face, stunned for a moment. How much did it hurt? What was he feeling? /This was wrong./ He didn’t want to hurt him. He didn’t want to destroy him.

“Sora!” Terra dove in quick, grabbing Sora with one arm and narrowly missing a swipe from the Unversed. He put him down, concern prominent in his blue eyes. “Are you okay?” He was already pulling a potion out.

Sora blinked, stunned. “I’m fine. I think the Unversed are hurting him.”

“What?”

“Vanitas. I think something happens when we defeat one.”

Terra looked around. “Maybe we can use that to our advantage.”

“Wait! I want to try talking to him one more time.”

Terra blocked a Flood jumping at them with his large keyblade. “Sora, it’s /Vanitas/. Talking with him won’t get us anywhere!”

Sora was already rushing through the crowd, narrowly dodging attacks on his way to the source. He felt Aqua fling a cure spell on him as he passed by and Roxas’ penetrating gaze as he got closer to Vanitas.

Of course Vanitas was ready to fight with an outstretched keyblade the minute he got to him, his former glare shoved down under a smirk.

“Ready for round two?” he teased.

“I’m not here to fight you or your Unversed,” Sora said.

Vanitas snorted. “I won’t sing Master Xehanort any praise, but how you bested him is beyond me. You have to fight if you want to survive!”

Sora blocked the heavy blow with his keyblade when Vanitas launched at him, but he didn’t fight back. He stayed on the defensive as he held off Vanitas and his monsters, trying to find an opening to say something or prove that he wasn’t here to cause more harm.

Flood launched themselves at him, wrapping their twisty little arms around him as if they were Dusks. His keyblade vanished under his restricted movements and he fell to his knees.

“Sora!” Ven cried out somewhere behind him as Vanitas approached.

“Hold on,” came Roxas’ quieter voice. The battlefield had stilled.

Sora struggled in the hold of the Flood. He stared up at Vanitas. He looked so sure of himself now. “Killing the Unversed hurts you, doesn’t it?” he asked.

“So what if it does? We all have a little price to pay for power. I’m not afraid to pay it,” he said.

“But you don’t have to pay it at all! You don’t have to fight us. What’s the point in hurting at all?”

Vanitas narrowed his eyes. “It isn’t hurt. It’s the emotions I poured out coming back into me.” He put a hand over his chest. “This incomplete heart can take the damage.”

“That’s even worse! What’s the point? If you hadn’t sent the Unversed out we would have never come to fight you here.” He could hear Ven and Roxas approaching slowly from behind.

“And leave you all to live out your days in peace? No. This is much more fun.” His grin was wicked.

“Well, /I/ don’t think it’s fun! And quite frankly, I don’t think you’re having fun, either!”

Vanitas pointed his keyblade at Sora. “Since when did I care what you think?”

Sora continued regardless. “Even if you’re ‘just darkness’, no one likes to spend their days hurting and alone.”

“We’ve had this conversat-”

“And you can’t convince me otherwise!” Vanitas scowled at being cut off. “I think you’re acting out when it doesn’t have to be this way. You’re -- you’re creating a problem when there isn’t one.”

He could feel Roxas and Ven’s presence directly behind him. “Vanitas,” the latter said.

Vanitas’ eyes widened, like he had been too caught up talking to Sora to notice them approach. “Ventus,” he greeted cooly. He looked to Roxas. “You.”

Roxas raised an eyebrow.

“Sora’s right,” Ven continued. “We’re not the same but… acting out sounds like something I would do. Have done, in the past. It’s time to stop this.”

“Trying to have a heart to heart, are we? I told you I made my choice.”

“And I’m offering a second chance. I won’t fight you forever.” There was a familiar sound of his keyblade disappearing. Even Roxas followed suit, but Sora could tell the heavy presence of Terra and Aqua would never dream of lowering their keyblades in Vanitas’ presence.

Vanitas narrowed his eyes, looking genuinely upset for the first time. “I don’t want your second chance.”

“What you want is to be whole,” Ven said. “Or to not be alone. Always hurting because of what you are when you don’t have to be that at all. You know, I’m starting to remember what it was like training with Master Xehanort. Rather, surviving with him. This isn’t about surviving, Vanitas. It’s about living.”

Vanitas gritted his teeth, raising his keyblade higher. Sora refused to wince or cower away. “I’m not above striking an enemy while they’re down, you know.”

“I’m not your enemy!” Sora said at the same time Roxas said, “You wouldn’t make it.”

“You don’t know what to do now that the master is gone,” Ven said. “Well, we’re offering you an answer to that! You don’t have to keep being what Master Xehanort made you out to be. If you turn us away, I won’t fight. I won’t come looking for you. I’ll let you go if you let me go.”

Sora could practically see the gears turning in Vanitas’ head. He did think loneliness was playing its part here. Without Ven and the others Vanitas had no one, and prickly though he may be, very few creatures could truly thrive in loneliness. Xemnas’ final words still stuck out to him about it.

“You make it seem so simple,” Vanitas said, looking up at Aqua and Terra. They were close enough to do serious damage if they wanted to, even with Unversed flocking them on all sides.

Ven actually smiled, albeit in a small and sort of pained way. “Guess Sora’s heart rubbed off on me.”

He’d take that as a compliment, for now at least. “There’s no room for shadows,” Sora said.

“Who’d wanna stay in their shadows anyway?” Roxas chimed in, arms crossed. “Just because you look like Sora doesn’t mean you have to steal his IQ, too.”

“Hey!”

Vanitas looked like he might have been stifling a real laugh there for a second. His rare silence might have meant something. He lowered his keyblade and the Flood holding Sora down released their hold. They didn’t disappear so much as crawl back to their creator with twitchy legs.

Sora recalled how quickly Vanitas had bailed when Ven woke up. He considered himself outmatched against three keyblade wielders and yet had picked a fight anyway with five of them. Was this supposed to be his last stand? Slowly, he got to his feet.

“Charming though this all is,” Vanitas said. “I don’t think everyone cares to broker peace.” He was smirking at Terra and Aqua.

Sora looked back at them. Their glares were spine chilling. Aqua tightened her grip on her keyblade.

Vanitas scoffed. “Still mad I broke that stupid wooden keyblade?”

“You broke my wooden keyblade?” Ven pouted.

“Ven, Sora,” Aqua said, ignoring the tease. “Not everyone can be reasoned with.”

“But they /do/ deserve the chance, even if it is a second one,” Roxas said. “Stop being such a tool Vanitas, and actually take the step into doing something right. Trust me, I know what being a tool is like. It gets old.”

Sora held his breath, afraid the harsher words would make Vanitas draw back in on himself. Thankfully, he didn’t look mad.

“You won’t want me as a friend for long,” Vanitas said, his words laced with a threat.

“Try me,” said Sora in an equally challenging voice. He felt like he was on the successful end of diffusing a bomb.

Vanitas looked around the Keyblade Graveyard. “There /are/ things brewing on the horizon. You and yours might make a good shield when the time comes.” He sounded like he might have seen something, but he didn’t seem particularly rattled.

“What sort of things?” Terra asked.

“Oh, you’ll see. Maybe I /don’t/ want to be alone when it comes. All the luck seems to be on this side anyway,” Vanitas said with a smirk. “Alright then.” He looked like a smug cat. “I’ll stick around. I’ll stop sending the Unversed to other worlds.” He extended his hand towards Sora, staring at Ven as he did so.

Sora took it without hesitation, giving a firm shake. “No more looming in shadows. If you’re really by our side, then you’re /really/ by our side.”

“For now.”

Roxas shook his head. “Friendship with Sora is kind of a lifelong thing. Do something to destroy it and your life probably won’t be so long.”

“Sure, sure,” Vanitas drawled. “We can paint each others nails and talk about how spooky the darkness is with a night light on.”

“Or,” Sora said, pulling out his phone. “We can start with something friends actually do.”

“What in the name of the masters is that ugly piece of-”

“It’s a phone!” There was a small surge of pride at knowing more than someone else when it came to technology. “We can take a picture so we always remember the day we won over your heart, Vanitas!”

“You didn’t win over shit.”

“Aqua, Terra, do you want to join?”

The two of them exchanged a pained look. They still had their keyblades out. “I think we’re good,” Aqua said.

Sora held the phone up with the camera pointed toward them. “All you gotta do is smile. Rox? Ven? You guys joining?”

Roxas had no problem walking closer to Vanitas and Sora to get in on the picture, but Ven was a little more hesitant. He seemed happy, but he had nearly given up on Vanitas before. This wasn’t going to be an easy thing to mend.

Roxas took the far left, squishing Vanitas closer to Sora, while Ven stood on Sora’s right, glancing at Vanitas. Sora wasn’t stupid. He knew this could all go terribly wrong and Vanitas wasn’t on their side now with the best of intentions. But at the end of the day, he could at least say he got a selfie with all the doubles.

“Everyone, say cheese!”

#kingdom hearts #kh3 #sora #vanitas #ventus #roxas #fic #i wrote another kh fic before #but thats on my ao3 #dont feel like moving it tbh #expect more of this au btw #i mean its not a promise #but i might write more

[platonichelaimagines]

Safe and Warm

I love you, angel. Light of my life, light in my darkness, my reason for staying. I hope this brings you some comfort and warmth. Always remember that I love you, no matter what.

Sometimes, Hela got a little lost in her thoughts.

She never meant to. She actively avoided it, at all costs, when she could. But sometimes something would trigger her. A smell that reminded her of the centuries she had spent locked away in Hel, a phrase someone said that reminded her too much of something her father had said to her to kick her while she was already down. And then before she knew it, her mind was sent whirling back in time, and she had a little trouble differentiating between what was real and what was only in her mind.

She hadn’t meant for Loki to hear her. That was why she had backed herself into the farthest corner of her closest, partially hidden behind the clothes that hung there. So that absolutely no one could see or hear her as she broke down entirely, lost herself to the pain and sorrow she kept bottled up inside herself for far longer than was healthy.

 It might have worked, if she hadn’t forgotten that she and Loki had made plans to read together that night.

“Hela…? Are you in?” came Loki’s voice from the other side of her bedroom door, and Hela looked up, eyes wild with panic, and with fear of her brother seeing her in such a state. Loki had only ever seen her be strong, a pillar of support whenever they were feeling a little off or unwell, or just needed someone to talk to. Hela couldn’t bear to let them see her like this, broken and battered and hurting. She needed to be strong. For Loki’s sake.

“Hela…? It’s just me… Can I come in?”

Hela wasn’t sure what she had meant to say. She reasoned she wanted to tell them to perhaps go fetch them both a cup of tea, or to go pick out a new book from the library, something to buy herself a little time, so she could gather herself, stop her panicked breathing, collect her thoughts into the little safe in the back of her mind and lock them away for however long she could manage to this time. But instead, all that came out was a choked little whimper, a pathetic little strangled sob caught in the back of her throat.

Hela could practically feel Loki’s worry as the door to her bedroom opened, and she heard as they stumbled in, presumably looking around in a panic when they saw she wasn’t in her bedroom. And then she heard their gentle footsteps approaching the closet door, and suddenly she was aware of just how loud her breathing was, how loud the choked little sobs catching in her throat were.

“Hela…?” Loki spoke gently as they crossed the threshold of her closest, ducking their head to try and see where she was inside. They paused when they finally saw her, tucked neatly in the back corner, knees to her chest and face pressed against her thighs, as though if she didn’t look at them, they might not see the state of devastation she was currently in.

“Hela…” They spoke softly, gently, voice nothing but a concerned whisper as they gently knelt down next to her, pushing the clothes away so they could see her better.

Hela only curled further on herself, turning her head the other direction and sobbing into her knees, entire body shaking with every sharp intake of breath. When had she started feeling like everything was closing in on her? When had she become so disoriented? Why did everything feel so off, so bad, so wrong wrong wrong?

“Hela… I’m not going to touch you, but I’m right here, alright? I know you’re a little frightened and hurting right now, and it’s okay that you are. I promise you, it is. But I need you to know this isn’t going to last forever, okay?” Loki continued to talk in a soothing voice, not moving from the spot they had knelt in as they watched their sister, nothing but concern in their gaze.

Hela wanted to desperately believe what Loki was saying, wanted to wholeheartedly believe, without a doubt, that everything was going to be alright, but for some reason, she just couldn’t, and as she forced out another choked little sob, she turned her head, enough so that she could meet their gaze, but not so that she was uncurled from herself.

Loki smiled gently, as reassuring as they could muster, when Hela turned to look at them. That was progress, even if it was slight. “Hey, there…” they murmured gently. “It’s going to be okay. I’m right here, alright? I’m right here, and I’m safe, and you’re safe, and we’re going to get through this together, okay? I just need you to try and breathe, okay?”

“…can’t…”she murmured between breathless little pants, but Loki’s concerned expression didn’t change at all.

“We’ll work on it together.” They paused, hesitating a slight second as they took in her state. “Would it be okay if I see your hand? Only your hand, and it’s okay if it’s not.”

Hela blinked several times, in an attempt to clear the tears from her vision, and she looked at Loki hard, for a long moment. She gave a few more shaky little breaths, and then held a trembling hand out.

Loki smiled again, encouragingly. “I’m going to take your hand, okay?” They waited for Hela to nod in understanding before doing so, squeezing gently, reassuringly, before bringing her hand to rest right over their heart, so she could feel it beating. “I’m going to breathe, and I want you to try and get your breathing to match mine, alright?”

Hela sat up a little straighter, and her ability to focus came back to her a little as she looked at her brother, feeling their strong heartbeat against her palm, and feeling the gentle rise and fall of their chest as they breathed. It took several long minutes, filled with choked little sobs and hiccups, but slowly, Hela managed to get her breathing to match her brother’s a little more naturally, and before she knew it, her sobs and shaky breaths had become more even and steady.

“There we go… Just like that, you’re doing great, Hels. You’re doing so well.” Loki continued to breathe with her for a few more minutes in silence before they spoke again. “How are we feeling? Are you up for a hug right now? Because as soon as you think you’ll be okay with it, I’d really like to be able to hug you. Only when you’re ready, though. Don’t push yourself. I know everything might still feel a little off right now.”

But that was all Hela needed to push herself from her corner, wrapping her arms around her brother and just burying her face in the crook of their neck. She didn’t say anything, and neither did Loki, but that was okay. Sometimes silence was all that was needed in a moment like that, and Loki understood that.

Gently, so as not to upset her or spook her, they wrapped their arms around her in return, cradling her head against their shoulder as they turned to press a gentle kiss to the side of her head, a silent promise that they were there and that everything was going to be okay now.

“I’m going to carry you to the bed now, alright? I’ve got you.” Gently, Loki shifted so they could scoop their sister into their arms, and stood, carefully maneuvering them out of the closet and into her bedroom. Tenderly, they sat on the bed, propping themself back against the headboard and letting their sister curl up in their lap, content to just hold her.

The room was silent for a long while, neither of them speaking. And then Loki heard Hela begin to cry again, quietly, desperately trying to muffle the sounds so she wasn’t being a bother, and they frowned, gently pulling back to face Hela, who was desperately trying to look anywhere but at them, but Loki was insistent. It was important that their sister knew she could talk to them, about anything that was bothering her.

“Hela… Sister… Light of my life, light in my darkness, my reason for staying… Please tell me what troubles you so…” They gently cupped her face and met her gaze, offering a sincere, if worried, smile. “I just want to be able to provide you with the solace you so often provide me.”

Hela looked at them, bottom lip quivering as she gave a quiet sniffle, and then a choked sob, and then began to cry earnestly, worming out of Loki’s grip only so that she could rest her head against Loki’s shoulder.

“Sometimes I worry that I’m going to wake up, and I’m still going to be there… Trapped in Hel… Alone and hurting and frightened…” she murmured, voice thick with emotion. “Sometimes the littlest things remind me of being trapped there. An off-handed comment… A smell that reminds me too much of that godsforsaken prison.” She hiccupped quietly, and brought a hand up to rub angrily at her eyes, but Loki stopped her, gently moving her hand away and wiping her tears away more gently.

Hela took a few slow breaths, trying to collect herself as she looked up at her brother. “And the sad thing is…” She gave a bitter laugh. “The sad thing is that… sometimes I still feel like I deserved it. That I still do. That everything I touch is destined to become broken or damaged, and that all I’m going to do is drag everything back down with me, drag you back down with me.” She gave another hiccup again, and paused, swallowing thickly. “I want so badly to be able to be strong for you, but sometimes I feel like I’m failing you.”

Loki felt their heart sink at their sister’s quiet admission, and they pulled her closer, pressing gentle kisses to the top of her head, to her temple. Just holding her close as she continued to shake with quiet little sobs. They remained silent for a long while, until Hela had somewhat gathered herself again, and then they pulled back, looking at Hela with nothing but love and adoration.

“Hela… You could never fail me. There is nothing you could ever do, nothing you could ever say, that would make me love you any less than I do.” They cupped her face, tilting her head so they could gently press a kiss to her forehead, a gesture she had done so many times for them, and a gesture their mother had done for both of them, countless times. “You are my sister. And you are my entire world. And I am so sorry that you’ve got all of these emotions and feelings welling up inside of you so tightly that they come tumbling out and make you hurt so badly. But I promise you, you did not deserve a single thing that you went through. You do not deserve pain and suffering. You do not deserve to feel like you are less than nothing. And if I have to remind you of that every day, I will do so, gladly, if it means you’ll be able to see how important you are to me.”

Hela appreciated that her brother was being so gentle with her, so calm, so caring. She had spent so often being a support system for them herself that she had never considered how much she, also, needed one in them. Having someone to sit with, to cling to when she was feeling so upset, to listen to her woes, to calm her when she was hurting, grounded her, helped her differentiate between what was reality and what was a fiction her tortured mind had concocted to taunt her. She appreciated it far more than words could say, and for the longest time, all she could do was sit there, still curled around her brother in silence and just taking in everything they had said.

Eventually, she sat back a little bit, wiping at her eyes again, and just looked up at her brother. A wave of nostalgia hit, and she remembered the tiny little baby she had adored hearing about from her mother when she was younger. Remembered every story her mother had told her about her brother as they had grown up, remembered every tale of the shenanigans they had gotten into. It was bittersweet, to see how the tables had turned, to see how much the both of them had grown. A thousand years had passed by so agonizingly slowly, and yet in the blink of an eye, at the same time. Before she realized it, Hela was hugging her brother a little more tightly, burying her face against their shoulder and just breathing them in, thanking her lucky stars that they had been able to be together, and to grow so close.

Hela blinked, coming back to herself, and saw that Loki was watching her, a little concerned, but smiling all the same, and she returned the smile, leaning up to gently kiss their cheek. “Thank you, angel…” she murmured, and then she paused. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Of course you do,” Loki contested, brow furrowing slightly. “You deserve happiness, and healthiness, and you deserve to feel safe and warm and loved, always.”

Hela smiled gently. “You do, too, you know.”

Loki nodded, and they fell into a quiet, comfortable silence. Hela found herself resting more heavily against her brother’s shoulder, and Loki had seemed to pick up on it, too, watching her with a soft smile on their face.

“Sleep… I’ll be right here when you wake up. I promise.”

Hela nodded, looking up at them meekly. “Would you sing for me? Like mama used to?”

Loki seemed taken aback for a second, and Hela wondered if she had said something that had hurt them, or brought up a bad memory. But then Loki smiled, and kissed her forehead before beginning to sing softly, the lullaby their mother had sang them so often, the lullaby Hela sang to comfort Loki when they needed it. And as Hela found herself slowly drifting off to sleep, warm and safe and loved, she thanked her mother for giving them this one little piece of her to carry on into eternity.

#tw: depression #tw: panic attack #elsawestguards #submission #hela #loki #hela and loki #sibling fluff #au #personal au #personal #sibling comfort #sibling love #thank you my angel #thank you so much #i love you so so so much #you are my everything #this helped me out immensely #tw: ptsd #tw: anxiety

[thingsarered20]

Jeremie Belpois and Jerlita:Part 2

Well my new puppy is finally asleep which means I have time to do part 2 of this essay . It will focus on season 2. 

(I don’t even know why I chose this pic, I just wanted an opening pic) 

Ready to get thrown into Sector 5? Then let’s go!

In the season premiere New Order, we learn Jeremie improved on the Superscan so that way Aelita would no longer have to spend every waking moment on Lyoko(prior to improving the Superscan Aelita was their only way to know if a tower was activated, the Superscan was merely a supplement to Aelita and had to be run manually). I find it cute how he actually took the time to upgrade the superscan so she wouldn’t have to spend the whole wait till he found an antivirus stuck on Lyoko. 

(Obligatory pic of them for reasons)

Later in the episode while Jeremie is walking with Aelita in the  woods to work on a project for Mrs.Hertz’s class, they talk about horror films and Jeremie states he does not have time for movies as he has his hands “full with X.A.N.A”). This quote sums him up pretty well, he won’t let himself rest or have any fun until X.A.N.A is gone for good. This is important because a common piece of dirt he gets thrown at him is that he doesn’t spend enough time with his friends. Wait...you’re telling me you’d rather he party then work as hard as he can to defeat the demonic entity that is constantly trying to kill him and his friends? There is also something else I don’t get about that, people claim because Jeremie doesn't go to Lyoko he doesn't do anything to fight X.A.N.A. Yet those same people also complain he works too much. So, which is it? Does he do nothing to fight X.A.N.A or does he do too much to fight X.A.N.A?

At the end of the episode Jeremie gives Aelita a cellphone as a gift and it is adorable!

(Yeeeesh how loaded is this kid? Cellphones are NOT cheap)

In Mister Puck, the visions Aelita had been having since first entering the Hermitage become too much to keep ignoring or to keep writing off as nightmares. So, when they all head to Hermitage to see if they can put a stop to them Jeremie reassuringly holds her hand.

(D’awwwwww)

As for St.Valentines’s Day I already talked about that episode in a separate post. However, I would also like to point out if you wanna demonize Jeremie for being a 12-year old kid experiencing his first bout of jealously then be my guest and frankly, everyone gets jealous at some point in their lives. I personally feel it does Jeremie a favor by showing he’s a regular kid with flaws like the rest of us rather then making him seem too perfect.

(”YELLOW!””PINK!” You guys are cool and know where that reference is from right?)

In Final Mix, Jeremie is hard at work trying to find Aelita’s anti-virus so they can defeat X.A.N.A and is too busy to fix a mixing board so Aelita does so in lieu of him. After fixing it she discovers she has a talent with the device and is picked to be the DJ for the school party later that night. When Jeremie hears he states he considers the party a “waste of time”(Gasp!). “What a jerk!”I can already hear people  saying but, wait...there’s more to it then that. Jeremie was already established as a hard worker in season 1. There’s no reason why in season 2 this would be any different. It makes sense why he considers working hard to beat X.A.N.A more important then partying. Sure enough, X.A.N.A does end up possessing Jim and kidnapping Aelita. This shows Jeremie is very much properly paranoid. Every event people get mad at him for blowing off to work gets wrecked by X,A.N.A in some way. Don't get me wrong saying it was a waste of time was harsh but I understand where that thought process comes from.Getting rid of the evil demonic A.I comes before partying in Jeremie’s eyes. I’d also like to point out he does not actively prevent her from going. He’s not happy about it but, he’s not gonna stop her from doing what she wants. Much as he likes her company and probably wants the extra help on his research, he knows she’s no little doll he can keep on his shelf and play with whenever he wants.

(Opening up about an addiction is tough)

In Temptation, Jeremie begins behaving very strangely to the point of getting rude and defensive for no reason. Even making unwarranted returns to the past despite knowing they make X.A.N.A stronger(they learned this in episode 30″A Great Day”) and starts blowing off classes that are not P.E to work. Aelita goes to tell him he should take a break but he responds “Oh yeah, does X.A.N.A take breaks?!”. When Aelita says she does not want to lose him, Jeremie realizes she really is concerned and gets his mind back for a second and goes to explain what’s been going on with him but right when he is about to open up to her X.A.N.A attacks “You see X.A.N.A never takes breaks!”Jeremie declares. After a RTTP Jeremie is found passed out on the floor. He cannot be woken up and is in a coma. Aelita hacks into his video diary and they find out that Jeremie has been using an neuronal headset to increase his intelligence with each RTTP in hopes of being able to find Aelita’s antivirus faster. It comes with a cost though each RTTP with the headset takes a drastic toll on his mental and physical health(explaining the moodiness and the coma). he knew this but still used it to try to save Aelita faster. What happens to him don’t matter as long as Aelita comes out the other end of it safe. In the end Jeremie is able to break away from addiction to the RTTPs and breaks the headset.

(What would you do if some girl came up to you and accused you of kissing her in front of your de-facto girlfriend?)

In X.A.N.A’s Kiss X.A.N.A plays on the groups emotions in a divide and conquer bid. Naturally Jeremie and Aelita are part of this and have a falling out as a result of it. When the realize they were doped they still need to find Aelita. Jeremie knows right away where she is and the fact that they polymorph got there first does not take away the fact that he knew right where to find her. Aelita is able to tell Jeremie about from his double because as she puts it the real Jeremie “Would not have kissed her like that” some take this to mean its’ because the clone kissed her without having consent and she knows that the real Jeremie would not use kissing her as a weapon to gain her trust. Wether you agree with that interpretation is up for you to decide.At the end of the episode guess what? Aelita and Jeremie both share their first onscreen, no X.A.N.A shenanigans, no ulterior motive behind it kiss with each other and it is beautiful. It’s even the trope image for “Post-Kiss Catatonia”.

(I would’ve put a screencap but it must be viewed in all its gif glory)

(Here’s a screencap anyway)

(I just liked this shot)

In Franz Hopper, the titular man himself shows up in the lab one day and deactivates the five towers that were activated without having to set foot on Lyoko. He then vows to help the group defeat X.A.N.A by finding Aelita’s anti-virus. The next day is Jeremie’s birthday and it is revealed that he parents still want him to consider going to the school for gifted children that was previously mentioned in “Plagued” and has been keeping this quiet from his friends considering he doesn't have any intentions to leave them. What follows after his dad call is a cute scene were his friends all wish him a happy birthday and he is given a cute drawing by Odd as a gift.

(Cute)

They then all go the factory to meet up with Franz who is shocked that they have been using the scanners to go to Lyoko as it is a “very dangerous procedure with serious side-effects such as cell degeneration”. Ulrich and Odd check out fine but Yumi is apparently suffered cell degeneration in her brain. The others upset about Yumi and most likely wanting a scapegoat pic on Jeremie as he is the “brains of the operation”and Franz names him the one who let “X.A.N.A destroy my(meaning Franz’s)diary”. This is not true, Jeremie didn’t “let”X.A.N.A  destroy the diary. X.A.N.A took over his body and made him do it. Everyone except Aelita treats him horribly and his role as operator is taken over by Franz during their mission to supposedly get the data to program the anti-virus for Aelita. Jeremie points out it in unfair he is being blamed and that they all decided to be in this together(which I point out in part 1 they did). Upset at being treated this way and having had enough Jeremie agrees to switch schools and calls his dad to take him the next day. He realizes while sitting in his room that there’s no real the real Hopper could’ve known about the diary. Only him and his friends knew. That leaves only the one who did the crime in the the first place:X.A.N.A! Forgetting his anger, Jeremie goes to rescue his friends. He stops Aelita before she can be virtualized into Franz-X.AN.A’s trap and sends the Scyphozoa a decoy of Aelita instead which gives it indigestion. Then he trolls Franz-X.AN.A and fixes the damage X.A.N.A did to his friends on Lyoko. The tower is deactivated and the next day Jeremie assures his friends that is not angry with them and that Yumi never suffered from cellular degeneration.Jeremie immediately  letting go of his anger at the way he was treated and being blamed for something that wasn’t even true the minute he found out his friends were in danger is a great show of how big this kid’s heart is. When he dad comes to pick him up he declines and instead elects to stay at Kadic with his friends. When Jeremie states his father is great, Ulrich states “like father, like son” and honestly I couldn’t agree more.

(D’awwwwww... again)

In The Key, following the revelation that Aelita is not an A.i but a human being, the girl develops a complex about her humanity and anger towards her father Franz Hopper for taking her life from her, shuts down the Supercomputer thus killing herself. However, Jeremie realizing the computer is not responding goes to the factory and finds her and is able to revive her from her attempted suicide. He comforts her while cradling her in his arms and tells her that they will save the world from X.A.N.A together and then she can start a whole new life.

 (Sniffs)

Having a suicidal friend/partner/family member is not easy, not matter how old you are but, the fact that this 12(well 13 now)year old boy was able to handle that kind of situation and talk her out of any more attempts on her life is impressive to me. When Aelita is saved by her father after having all her memory stolen by the Scyphozoa when she returns to Earth, Jeremie catches her and pulls her into a comforting hug,

(Stop making me cry episode!)

Jeremie later assures the other that while X,A.N.A may be free he’s not giving up and that he feels X.A.N.A is not invincible. He also assures Aelita that fighting X.A.N.A is not her job alone and that it’s there job. He then initiates a circle of friendship hand hold and the season concludes on that.

(If I don't stop crying I'll ruin my computer)

The fact that Jeremie, one of the least social of the Lyoko Warriors initiated the hand hold gets me every time. Well that’s it for season 2!

(What I’m going to attempt do now(meaning going to sleep)

Part 3 will come...eventually

#Code Lyoko #code lyoko essay #jerlita #jeremie belpois #jeremy belpois #aelita stones #aelita hopper #aelita schaffer #jeremie #aelita #Jeremy x Aelita #jeremie x aelita