#don't mind me just fiddling around with some original stuff~
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#OC
#my art#oc#original character#quinn#don't mind me just fiddling around with some original stuff~#me conceiving any character idea ever: what if....a hot guy 🫢#groundbreaking I know#anyway I don't have much on this boy because I just thought of him last week 💅#but his name is quinn and he's always cold and his bf is a vampire 😌#(this has nothing to do with the fact that I rewatched the twilight saga last week don't look at me)#please treat him kindly 🥺
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(send riize asks to @angeltsan)
{𐙚 10:43} l. anton + l. sohee
♡ 3.8k | dom!anton, subby inexperienced!sohee, fem!reader, cuckholding, oral (f!receiving), premature ejaculation, unprotected sex (don't be like them), cumming inside, cum eating, anton is kinda an asshole, sohee is kinda pathetic
♡ a/n: DON'T READ THE LAST SENTENCE OMG ITS SO BAD IM SORRY,, im so bad at ending fics,,, anyways its been tew long since i wrote smth new so feast my loves,, i've kept y'all starving fr (i'm sorry) also new fic layout 😝😝 gonna be updating stuff on my blog so yeahhh.
you'd been with anton for a while. over that time you've come to learn a lot about him and things that he likes. of all the things you've learned, this might be the craziest one.
a momentary silence fell over the room as you looked down at your hands, fiddling a little. you crossed your arms over your chest and thought hard. “okay wait.. you wanna do what?”
anton tried to explain again, his voice quiet, “well sohee likes you.. and i know you like him and i'm okay with that.. i think we should let him have sex with us.. at least once.”
you continued thinking, “i mean yeah i like sohee, but i don't know if i like him like that.. a- and how long has he liked me?” you were sort of struggling to wrap your head around the whole thing, the idea of sohee liking you as more than a friend never crossing your mind.
“the same amount of time i've liked you, we both wanted you originally.. i just ended up being the one to make it official.” you frowned a little at this, suddenly feeling bad for sohee. you don't know if it was pity or if you really wanted this but something in you wanted to say yes to the whole idea.
you weren't vanilla by any means when it came to sex but bringing one of anton's close friends into your bed was a little daunting, the idea of being the reason to ruin their friendship scared you. anton contrasted from you, he had a very calm demeanor about the whole thing, this both intrigued and intimidated you.
“okay, we can do it..” you looked up at anton from where you sat, watching his eyes light up. he placed a large hand on the back of your head, just his gaze made you feel small. with his other hand he hooked a finger under your chin to tilt your head upward, leaning down to place a kiss on your lips. his kisses alone could take your breath away.
when you first got with anton he was nothing like this. he was shy, awkward, and honestly just overall submissive to you but the more you got to know him and the more confident he got, his personality began to really come out. he's still like that sometimes but the way he kisses you, the way he carries himself at times, even the way he fucks you is so different.
you whimper under your breath, pulling away slowly moments later, your teeth tugging at your lip gently, “so when do you want to do this?” you gazed up at the boy, your arms wrapping around him as you wait for his response.
“i'll bring him over.. we can kind of feel things out you know? maybe watch some movies and have some snacks beforehand?” you nod at this, a wave of nerves washing over you, “what if something goes wrong? like what if you and sohee aren't friends after this?”
anton chuckles at you, his cocky demeanor making you press your legs together. “we're still friends after i got the girl he wanted, what makes you think he wouldn't want to be friends after this? i’m practically doing him a favor.”
you nod at this, it's somewhat true, but you didn't want to let it bother you, anton was relaxed about it and this was his friend after all so you were okay with it.
you'd never paid much attention to the way sohee interacted with you until now. the way his hands would pull away extra fast when you'd hand him things, the fear of accidentally touching you taking over him. you even noticed the way he stared at you when he thought you weren't looking, you'd caught him out of the corner of your eye a few times now.
you brought a bowl of popcorn over to the coffee table that was in the middle of your living room. the tv was on, waiting for commands from the remote.
sohee sat alone on the couch to the side of the one you were on, the bottoms of his feet facing the tv and he kept his eyes trained on the screen, or at least that's what he wanted you to think. you see him now though, zoned in at the way he stares at your leg that's poking out of the blanket or how he just stares at you while you reach for another handful of popcorn.
you were sat in anton's lap, his back leaned against the arm of the couch while you laid on your side cuddling into his chest. you couldn't help the way your gaze wandered to sohee, curiosity flooding your mind. you'd never thought about him differently, he'd always just been anton's friend but you'd be lying if you said you still thought of him that way now.
you wondered what he'd look like naked, how his lips would feel on yours, how it'd feel to have his and anton’s hands on you at the same time, the thought made you squirm slightly in your spot.
“mind wandering?” you turned to anton with a smile, your head gently nodding. anton adjusted you in your spot, your back now flush to his chest. there was a small blanket lazily thrown across the two of you, the fabric covering your lap slightly.
anton's hands were gentle on you, big but delicate. you weren't looking at the tv at all anymore, your mind focused on the feeling of anton's hands on your body. he drags his hands across your waist and hips, fingertips slightly sliding across the waistband of your shorts.
he'd specially requested for you to wear this pair of shorts, it happened to be his favorite pair and apparently sohee's as well. the two of them seemed to have a lot more in common than you originally thought. anton also specially requested that you “forgot” to wear panties tonight.
his hand easily dipped into your pants, two of his fingers falling to your wet hole. he firmly dragged two fingers up your cunt, wetting it fully in the process. you breathed out of your nose, your legs opening up more for him.
his pointer and ring fingers push your lips apart, his middle finger lazily flicking your bud up and down. neither one of you faced the tv at this point, anton placed lazy kisses on your shoulder while you soaked up the pleasure.
anton speaks in a barely audible murmur into your ear, your eyes slowly peeling open at the sound of his voice, “let's show you off, call for him baby.”
you nod along with what he said, your mind already feeling foggy. he dips both fingers into your hole, his long slender fingers curving up into you, “s-sohee..”
he visibly perks up at the sound of your voice, his body stiffening. he was trying so hard to mind his business, you and anton moving around was so hard to ignore. he suspected something was going on but the sound of the movie drowned out the slick noises of your pussy.
anton moved the blanket off of your lap, his fingers thrusting in and out of you harder than before. “wanna come see the pussy you've been dreaming about?” anton's tone is dripping with lust and cockiness. he's smiling at sohee, his free hand moving to grab a handful of your breast.
your hand grips onto the arm he's fucking into you with as you feel yourself getting closer, you squeeze your eyes shut, a string of moans escaping your lips.
sohee's frozen where he's at, already embarrassingly hard all of this is too much, he can't believe what's unfolding in front of him.
the sound of your moans as you cum on anton's hand catches sohee's attention, he admires your beautiful expression, the one he'd daydreamed about for so long.
your breathing is ragged, your head leaning back on anton's shoulder as you catch your breath. he let's go of your breast and uses that hand to gently grip your throat, his lips peppering kisses on your cheek as he pulls his soaked fingers out of your shorts.
he rubs the backs of his fingers against your lips, your mouth opening for him. he slides the pads of his fingers down your throat, leaning to your ear once again. “invite him over.. let him play with you.”
you lift your head off his shoulder,, your shorts sticking to your slick. “wanna come over here? wanna sit by me?” you pat the spot in between your legs, almost like you're calling over a puppy. sohee hesitates, his eyes trained on you.
you could tell sohee was a bit more like anton used to be, again, shy, timid, a little awkward, and definitely not as dominant as anton is now.
sohee nods weakly, walking over to you, unable to look either of you in the eyes, especially not anton. he didn't expect for this to somehow be so humiliating for him. he sat in front of you, shivering when he felt your hand gently rub down his arm. this made you smile, “relax hee.. i don't bite.”
sohee let out a shaky breath, his eyes finally meeting yours. you brought your hand up to his cheek, caressing it gently. anton stood up as you did this, his hands moving to your shoulders. when he moved you readjusted, one of your legs resting gently on sohee's lap.
you could feel how hard he was under your leg, his breath hitching in his throat when you put the slightest bit of pressure on his cock. you noticed how small it was, especially in comparison to anton's but you thought that was so endearing, smiling at the idea.
anton leaned down to your ear, his whispers tickling you slightly, “show him how you kiss me, how you make me feel good..” he places small nibbles and kisses from your ear down to your shoulder. you shut your eyes at this, a shiver falling down your spine. his firm hands grip onto your shoulders, lightly massaging them in his grasp. you sigh contently at the feeling of anton's hands on your body.
you open your eyes again, they immediately meet sohee's pretty round orbs. “you alright if i kiss you?” you look down at his lips, suddenly noticing how pretty and soft they are. you smile and chuckle a little, noticing a few crumbs of popcorn on his lips.
you cup his jaw in your hand, your thumb wiping away at the bits of popcorn. he wordlessly accepts your question, his head nuzzling into your grasp. you pull him in, the taste of salt spreading across your mouth when you swipe your tongue along sohee’s lip. you're quickly able to take control of the kiss, one of your hands moving to the back of his head.
he pushes into the kiss, his body moving forward. sohee's desperate in the way that he kisses, the passion is definitely there. you can tell he's been waiting for this moment with the way he's carrying himself at this point.
your hand snakes into the hair on the back of his head, your fingers taking hold of the strands there. you pull him away from you, a smile creeping into your face at the way he whines at the feeling of you tugging at his scalp as well as the loss of your lips.
at this point you're more into this idea than you thought you'd be. you don't yet let go of sohee's hair, your gaze trailing up anton's body until you meet his eyes, his stare filled with satisfaction.
“should i let him fuck me ton? don't you think he's waited so long, so patiently?” your gaze falls back on sohee, his eyes are unconsciously pleading for you. you let go of his hair, your hand caressing his face again.
anton nods at you with a shrug, “i mean, he won't be able to fill you up like i do. his cock is so tiny, don't know if he'll even be able to make you cum.” you notice the smile that tugs at the corner of his lips, his smile widening at the sound of sohee’s sad whines.
“be nice ton! i'm sure he can make me feel good anyways, it's not always about size, right hee?” the boy nods eagerly, another whine leaving him at the nickname you call him. “i- i can do it! can make you feel so good!” he's both shy and desperate in the way he speaks to you, you're getting impossibly wetter by the second.
anton chuckles to himself again, his hands moving to readjust himself, he's so hard by this point but he's holding himself off.
he gets behind you once again, his hands grabbing onto the bottom of your top. he pulls it over your head, leaving you with your bra on. he tosses your top onto the table, his eyes staring at sohee.
sohee, although still fully dressed, feels naked under both of your gaze. he'd never seen anton have this look in his eyes before. he focuses back on you and the way you're laid out before him.
“go on hee, take my shorts off.” your gaze is heavy on sohee, performance anxiety slowly trickling in. you cuddle back into anton, fingers intertwining with his as they rest on your chest, your legs open in front of sohee.
with a shaky hand, sohee reaches for the waistband of your pants. he looks so cute right now, shyly moving your shorts down your body. you lift up to help him take them off your legs, the piece of clothing falling to the floor.
sohee bites his lip at the sight of your glistening pussy, swallowing hard as if his mouth was watering over it. “can i.. can i taste you first?” his voice is small and shy, but his fingertips run along your thigh, making you breath out a small moan. anton snorts at this, already knowing how it’ll play out. he leisurely runs his free hand up and down your body.
you nod eagerly at his question, your hole clenching around nothing. sohee notices this as he adjusts his position, laying on his stomach in front of you. luckily the couch is a little bit longer but one of sohee's legs still hangs off the couch, the other resting against the cushion but he doesn't mind.
you think he looks a little silly but don't pay it much mind, finding him too pitiful to laugh. his thumb shyly runs up your slit, his big eyes looking into yours for a second. he smiles to himself, his excitement evident.
although he asked to taste you, he actually wasn't too sure what to do, he tried to recall what he'd seen in porn videos but his mind was blank. anton noticed this and he smiled about it a little.
“you don't even know what to do, huh?” anton knows sohee lacks experience, technically he’s not a virgin, he did have sex once before but it wasn’t much to talk about. sohee shakes his head, his facial expression making you pout at him.
“do what feels right, me and ton will help you, okay?” you try to reassure him, giving him as much encouragement as you could. anton rolls his eyes slightly at the fact that he was volunteered but he agrees with you anyways.
sohee musters up the courage to do something, his lips nibbling at the skin of your thigh gently. he places small kisses along your skin, his lips finally resting on your clit. you're full of anticipation, wondering what he'd do next.
a confused expression plays on your face, the movement sohee's doing with his mouth feels strange and unfamiliar. you try to decipher what doesn’t feel right, “think you’re using too much lip sohee, use your tongue.”
he lifts his head again and nods, eager to learn from you. he sticks his tongue out, dragging it along your pussy, you suck in a breath at this, nodding to sohee. “there you go, such a good boy. anton struggled with this a bit too when we first got together.” your words encouraged sohee but were a bit of a blow to anton. sohee snickered quietly at this, noticing the way anton looked a little annoyed.
his nerves start to subside by this point, allowing him to think a little clearer. the tip of his tongue drew circles on your clit, earning a moan from you. your noises made him more confident, encouraging him to try new things. he sucks on your clit now, finding out what you like each time.
“such a quick learner, sohee..” the soft praises that fell from your lips got him more riled up than before. you noticed his hips begin to rut into the couch as he ate you out. your hips rolled against his tongue, sohee’s whines vibrating against you.
anton has his hands in your bra, his fingers playing with your nipples. “gonna cum y/n?” you moan in response to anton's question, your head nodding quickly. anton's fingers pinch at your sensitive buds, adding to the overall feeling.
sohee humps the couch, his orgasm building up too quickly for him to keep up with. you moan out, your hips stuttering against his tongue.
he slurps up your juices, his hips stilling too early as he cums in his pants. a frustrated sigh falls from sohee's lips as he accidentally ruins his own orgasm, still painfully hard.
you sit up after this, eyes locking with sohee's, “want you to fuck me hee, wanna see what you got.” sohee's mind is cloudy, his body moving quicker than his mind can. he stands up off the couch, removing his shirt before running his hands through his hair.
you move to help sohee out, your hands eagerly untying his pajama pants. when his pants fall down you're immediately met with the sight of his red, dripping, cock and it makes you smile up at him.
“no underwear? must've been so eager..” you grab his length in your hand, the size easily fitting in your grasp.
you look at it like you're investigating something, “did you cum in your pants baby?” sohee nods, suddenly feeling embarrassed again but you praise him instead, telling him how cute he is.
you lay flat on your back now, inviting sohee between your legs again. anton is standing again, now removing his own clothes
sohee hovers over you, one arm hooking under your leg. your hand caresses his cheek again, “fuck me pretty boy.”
he presses into you, his hips quickly becoming flush with yours. he leans down on his elbow, his face close to yours as his hips begin to rut into yours.
he wastes no time picking up a steady pace, his desperation taking over. his hips snap against you harshly, both of you moaning continuously.
you kiss sohee, eyes shutting tightly at the feeling of him. he's so caught up in the sensation, no thoughts in his mind right now. he feels his orgasm bud in his stomach, pulling away from the kiss. he nuzzled his face into your neck, his cum shooting into you.
“m’ sorry, so sorry!!” sohee's voice is apologetic and whiny as he speaks. you laugh quietly which catches sohee's attention, he slowly lifts his face to look at you. “it's okay, gorgeous, you're alright.”
anton sighs, hand gently stroking his length in his grasp. he’s had enough of watching the two of you, this was his idea after all but the thought of you being left unsatisfied has him almost losing it. “let me show you how to really fuck her good.”
he takes sohee’s place, positioning you with your ass in the air. its moments like this where you’re reminded how strong he is, the way he slightly lifts you by your hips. he spreads your pussy lips apart, the sight of sohee’s cum dripping out of you making his cock twitch.
“fuck..” anton’s big hands grip your ass cheeks firmly, just the feeling of his hands anywhere on your body makes you so needy. you reach for sohee, hands guiding him to the spot in front of you, where anton was sitting before. you grip onto sohee as you feel anton’s fingers dip into you again. sohee watches intently as anton pleases you.
the sound of your pussy rings in your ears, the slick squelching making excitement bubble in your stomach once again. anton rubs the tip of his cock against you, groaning at the feeling of you. he lines up with your opening, pressing his length into you. he slides in relatively easily because of how wet you are. you begin to feel full already, his full length not in you yet.
your hips push back on anton, moving side to side so he enters you fully. you moan at the feeling of him stretching you out. you lick your lips as you eye sohee’s smaller cock in front of you, red and leaking once again. your hand makes a fist on his length, pumping it once or twice in your grasp. sohee’s sensitive by this point, you can tell by the way his body shudders at the feeling of your hand on him.
anton's thrusts are rough and deep as he fucks into you, your body jolting forward with every hit. you muffle your moans on sohee's length, the tip of his cock tickling the back of your throat.
sohee thrusts into your mouth as he chases his high, one hand in your hair, head thrown back in pleasure.
your fingernails dig into the skin of sohee's hips as you feel anton repeatedly hit your sweet spot. anton smacks your ass persistently, the sting causing your eyes to roll back.
you pull off of sohee's length, pumping him in your hand as you moan out. you come undone first, unable to catch your breath as anton continues thrusting into you.
sohee cums next, his hand grasping onto your jaw so he can place your lips back on his tip, his cum shooting into your mouth. anton follows shortly after, his thrusts slowing down as you feel yourself being filled up once more. he slowly thrusts into you a few more times, his hands gripping you hard.
when anton pulls out of you he admires your cunt, the sight of you dripping once again, this time with his cum makes him feel good. you hold sohee’s cum in your mouth, sitting up and turning to where they both can see you. anton loves to watch you swallow his seed so it only seems right for you to do it for the both of them.
you open your mouth, showing the cum that pools on your tongue before you swallow it, sticking out your tongue to show them that you swallowed it. anton grins at you, kissing your cheek lovingly, “such a good girl.”
sohee watches you, his feelings for you getting stronger, maybe he shouldn't have agreed to this after all, but he can’t go back now.
#⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚ bunny writes <3#౨ৎ riize#riize smut#riize smut imagines#riize x reader#riize hard thoughts#riize hard hours#kpop smut#riize anton smut#anton lee smut#anton smut#anton x reader#riize sohee smut#lee sohee smut#sohee smut#sohee x reader
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Idk why, but I've really been loving the idea of Daryl proposing to reader recently. Like, he was just gonna pop the question in the confines of their own home, but maybe while on a hunt, the reader successfully tracks down and kills a deer on her own without Daryl's help, and while she's excitedly rambling about the fact that she finally did it on her own, Daryl just looks at her and thinks, "yeah, this is the girl I wanna marry," and then unexpectedly just says "marry me". He pulls a ring out and everything. Fluff all the way!
Thank you so much if you write this, but don't feel pressured to! You don't have to write something you don't want to. I completely understand either way. I appreciate you nonetheless 💜
❝ Marry Me ❞
pairing Daryl Dixon x F! Reader
cw killing a deer and some walkers
1.7k words
note this was such a cute idea and i loved writing it so much! i hope you like it and it fits the vision you had! =]
“What’s on your mind, baby?” You asked sleepily, running your fingers through his soft hair as his head rested comfortably on your chest.
“Nothin’,” he lied. He hated lying to you, but he didn’t know how to go about popping the question. Now would have been a nice time, with two of you cuddled comfortably on the couch in the privacy of your own home. Moments like these were some of his favorites with you and adding the memory of a marriage proposal to them would only make these moments better. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wasn’t scared you’d say no, in fact he would have bet his life on you saying yes. Yet, each time, the words kept dying on his tongue and the ring weighed heavily in his pocket.
“You can tell me anything, you know that, right?” You insisted. He looked up at you sweetly and muttered an ‘I know.’ You gave him a sad smile, wishing he’d tell you what he was thinking, but respecting his decision not to.
“I love you, Daryl,” you said dreamily. This was it, the perfect segue into a proposal. He sat up properly and felt around in his pockets for the ring. The words were just about to leave his mouth, but the tired yawn that escaped you interrupted him.
“G’nite,” you muttered as you dozed off. Daryl would never not be amazed at how fast you could go from being wide awake one minute to falling asleep in the next. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and fiddled with the shiny piece of jewelry. It was a small, elegant ring with a fairly thin band and diamond right in the center. Whoever had originally bought it had to have paid a fair amount of money for it, but stuff like that didn’t matter now. Even though you would say yes without a ring, he still wanted to do something nice for you because you deserved it. The weeks of examining the hands of every walker he killed and searching through abandoned cars and buildings all became worth it once he found the perfect ring for you. But somehow, that was the easy part. Finding the right words at the right moment was proving difficult as every minute he wasn’t married to you passed by. He sighed to himself and tucked the ring back into his pocket, disappointed that yet another opportunity slipped by.
He gently lifted you from the couch, taking extra care not to wake you from your peaceful sleep. He carried you up the stairs and into your shared bedroom before pulling back the comforter and sheets and tucking you in. He slid into the bed beside you and you gravitated toward his warmth like you usually did. He pressed a kiss to your forehead.
“Love you, too.”
The sun blooming over the horizon created an orangey hue across the clear sky, illuminating the once dark forest. It became easier to see the tracks of the deer you’ve been tracking since dark morning. Hunting wasn’t something you did before the dead started rising, but it quickly became a necessary skill to have and thankfully, you had Daryl to show you the ropes. He even showed you how to use his crossbow once when you joined him on a hunt way back at the prison. That same day you learned that you preferred a hunting rifle. In return, you shared with him the medical knowledge you had from being a paramedic. The quid pro quo relationship you had with the hunter slowly grew into something more deep and meaningful over time.
Finally, after hours of following the tracks imprinted in the damp earth, you came across a clearing where the doe stood. You aimed the rifle at her, careful not to make any noise and scare her off. Through the scope, you pointed the weapon at the place Daryl taught you to in order to ethically kill it. Just as you were about to press your finger to the trigger, you noticed walkers approaching the doe. Their loud groans and clumsy footsteps spooked her, sending her running into the forest just at the same time you fired your shot.
“Goddamn walkers!” You cursed. You put the safety on your rifle and hung it on your shoulder by the strap. Unsheathing your knife, you entered the clearing and approached the undead beings. You put them both down once they approached you and cleaned your knife on your jeans before putting it back into its sheath. Red blood contrasting on the green grass caught your eye. It belonged to the doe, meaning your shot actually landed and she could be somewhere wounded, or even dead. Excitement increased your heart rate as you followed her blood trail. This was the closest you’ve come to killing a deer on your own. You’ve managed smaller kills, like squirrels, before, but never a deer! You couldn’t tell if you were more excited about actually killing the deer or seeing Daryl’s reaction, but either way you were giddy.
After trekking about a half mile in the direction the doe fled, you finally found her lying in the greenery having succumbed to your shot. You were beaming with happiness as you effortlessly picked her up and carried her across your shoulders. You’ve carried people heavier than her out in the field during your paramedic days.
Daryl nervously fiddled with the ring as leaned over the railing of the front porch, smoking a cigarette. He hated how hopeless he felt when it came to actually proposing to you. With how long the two of you have been together romantically, the ability to propose should have come to him naturally. He knew there was nothing to be nervous about and that he was just psyching himself out and he should just ask you to marry him already. But every time it felt like the right moment to, that feeling was gone once he started digging around in his pocket for the ring.
The sight of you walking toward the house with a big smile on your face and a deer draped over your shoulders snapped him from his thoughts. Maybe it was just the sun shining from behind you, but you were absolutely glowing.
“Daryl!” You shouted excitedly as you increased your walk into a small jog. You set the deer down before hurrying up the porch stairs. He put out his cigarette before you excitedly jumped into his arms, embracing him like you haven’t seen him in months.
“Guess what!” You said as you reluctantly pulled away from the hug.
“Wha?” Based on the deer laying at the base of the stairs he was sure he could tell what happened, but you looked so happy and he wanted to share your excitement and hear you tell him yourself.
“I finally killed a deer! All on my own!” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as pride swelled in his chest. He remembered when he took you hunting with him the first time. You were the one who wanted to go with him and "see what he does when he's off to who knows where for who knows how long." When he finally did, you complained about how boring it was and how all you were doing was looking at dirt and not seeing any animals. But now, here you were with a deer you had hunted all on your own.
"I had been tracking it since way earlier this morning and I almost thought I wasn't gonna catch it but then I saw it in a clearing and so I was gonna shoot it but then walkers got in my way like they usually do, those annoying sons of bitches, and then the deer ran but I had shot at it so then I followed the blood..."
Daryl stared at you in awe as you rambled on about your adventure. The sense of pride and adoration he felt whenever he looked at you, but now especially was overwhelming. You were perfect in every way and he'd be damned if he went another second without being your husband.
"...and then I found it further in the woods and I was just so excited that I finally caught a whole entire deer all on my own for the v—"
"Marry me!" he blurted out suddenly.
"Huh?" You blinked at him in confusion, not sure if you heard him right. As if he suddenly remembered something, he patted all his pockets until he felt the one with the ring in it and pulled it out. The sparkle of the diamond in the sunlight caught your eye.
"Will ya marry me?" he repeated, this time holding out the ring to you. He lowered himself to one knee, still holding out the ring. Your eyes filled with tears, happy tears, and you held out your left hand to him.
"Of course!" you said as he slid the ring onto your fourth finger. It fit almost perfectly. As soon as he stood up from his position on the floor, you jumped into his arms. He caught you and held you tight as you peppered kisses all over his face. He set you back down onto your feet and held your face in his big warms hands, wiping away your tears away with his thumbs.
"I'm so proud of ya fer catchin' that deer all by yerself." The smile that graced his face was contagious.
"Learned from the best," you said, smiling up at him. He leaned down and you met him halfway in a kiss.
"Can't wait to skin this deer with my wife," he said once he pulled away from the kiss.
"Ooh," you exclaimed, giddy at the new title, "Can't wait to eat some venison with my husband!"
thanks for reading!
note i've been a pescatarian for 3-ish years now, but I've been wanting wing-stop, so i got some wing-stop and it was great. thanks for listening
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#the walking dead#fanfic#x reader#female reader#daryl dixon#fic rec#daryl dixon x reader#daryl x reader#twd daryl#oneshot#fic request#daryl dixon fanfiction#daryl dixon fanfic#the walking dead fanfiction#fanfiction#fluff#twd x reader#fluffy#hunting#virginsexgod69#marriage#proposal#marriage proposal#daryl dixon x you#daryl dixon x y/n#daryl dixon x female reader
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Syzoth/Reptile x reader
Apologies for the delay on this one, Outside stuff has been kicking my butt as of lately. But now I am here, I am refreshed and ready. So have some syzoth Platonic fluff !!!!. Word count:1K
Syzoth wanted to show his best friend y/n his Zaterran powers for a long time, He really did, But the back of his mind always feared how you would react.
"Get away from me freak !!!"
"Monster"
"Please don't hurt me"
Those words play in his mind every time he thinks about wanting to show you his true form, It scares him beyond belief when he thinks about it. That an amazing friendship would be broken for being himself. He even had nightmares about it.
Like one time when he showed you his powers and you ran off scared, As he tried to find you, you knocked him out and then yelled many profanities at him. He jolted awake, the cold sweat sticking to his pillow. He was so scared by how you would react.
You noticed how anxious and sad he looked for the past couple of days, you originally thought he was thinking about his family, but decided to check on him none the less. You walked inside and found him sitting by the steps as if he was deep in thought.
"Syzoth, Is everything ok ??" You walked up to him ??
"Oh, hello y/n..." He greeted but looked down again.
"What's wrong ??" You sat down next to him.
He went quiet for a while before standing up and offering you his hand.
"Come with me, I want... to show you something." He said hesitantly.
"Oh, Ok ??" You took his hand, helping you up and then began walking deep into the forest.
"Where are we going ??"
He remained quiet, and he also kept looking down and fiddling with his hands, You sensed then he was really anxious about what he wanted to show you. You could see it all over his face.
"Y/n... I've always wanted to show you this for a long time now, Will you let me show you ??" He looked at you with anxious eyes.
You tilted your head slightly in curiosity but none the less nodded "Ok"
He took a deep breath and stopped, Before transforming into his true Zaterran form, A hulking reptiloid creature, Your eyes went wide seeing him transform from a human form to this form.
He could see it and his nerves and heart started to race, He looked away in shame.
"It is okay if you don't want to be friends with me anymore, I understand y/n..."
"Syzoth" You politely interrupted him "It's ok.."
He shook his head.
"No it's not okay, I'm a freak, a monster, the very being that earthrealmer's and outworlder's despise every second I breathe" You could see tears of anxiety fall from his eyes. He looked so scared. "Just say it..." He looked down again in shame.
You grew sad for him, Not only was he hurt and ridiculed his whole life, He really thought you would stop being friends with him and and you would call him all those nasty words as well, Which was not true at all. You would always will be Syzoth's friend, You cared for him a lot.
Gently walking over to him, You wrapped your arms around his scaley body, Hearing his anxious heartbeat.
"Your my best friend syzoth... I would never call you a monster." You squeezed him a little tighter.
He was taken aback by your kind words and gesture before slowly moving his arms to wrap around your tiny form. "Thank you y/n" He looked at you.
You gave him a soft and kind smile before gently helping wipe away his tears. You then noticed something from behind him. His tail was swishing from side to side gently, He was happy again. This caused you to giggle slightly as he looked over and chuckled.
"It does that sometimes"
"Hey it shows you your happy" You smiled brightly.
"Now I have to ask, What does your true form do ??" You asked curiously.
He perked up and gave a sort of reptilian smile, He was eager to show you his powers. He looked around and then found a heavy looking boulder.
"Zaterrans have increased strength compared to most Earthrealmer's and Outworlder's" He walked over and then lifted the boulder with ease, before then gently tossing it and catching it with one hand, still keeping it in the air with one while flexing his free arm.
"Why do I feel johnny cage taught you that" You smiled and chuckled.
"He might have" He smirked and tossed the boulder halfway across the field.
"Holy shit !!" You were very impressed.
"What else you can do ??"
He then began to form some form of giant green ball from his mouth and then tossed it at a nearby tree, the bark dissolving and the tree gently tumbling down.
"Acid saliva ??"
"It is a strange ability yes, But a very useful one in Kombat situations that are worse case scenario" He nodded.
He then perked up again and began to climb the trees at record speed, Something that you have never seen before. It was an amazing sight to see him jump and climb from tree to tree at breathtaking speeds before landing back in front of you.
"That was amazing syzoth !!!" You smiled brightly.
His tail started to swish a bit faster.
"Thank you y/n, It means a lot to me that I can be my true self around you."
"Hey, Humanoid or reptiloid, You'll always be my best friend OK??" You smiled wrapping an arm around his side as he transformed back into his human form and did the same.
But you also noticed his tail was still there as it wrapped around the two. Making you chuckle.
"And I can also control certain parts of my form to coincide with my human form" He then showed you his arm transforming into its reptiloid form before transforming back.
"Your full of tricks syzoth, And that's what makes you amazing. It's what makes you, you" You playfully nudge him.
He smiled so brightly and turned to hug you tightly, Sighing softly in relief as his best friend accepted him for him, No matter what.
You leaned into the hug and then saw his tail gently swishing again from how happy he was with you. You couldn't help but smile.
Syzoth will always be your best friend, Humanoid or reptiloid.
Taglist @callofdudes @fun-k-board
#platonic#reader insert#syzoth mk1#syzoth x reader#reptile x reader#mk1 reptile#mortal kombat 1 x reader#mortal kombat x reader#mortal Kombat#mortal Kombat 1
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Rambling - Adam Raki Imagine [Adam (2009)]
Title: Rambling
Pairing: Adam Raki X Reader
Word Count: 476 words
Warning(s): mentions of people being dicks (to the reader)
Summary: A budding relationship between (Y/n) and Adam leads to new discoveries and rambling conversations.
Author's Note: Hey, look, Kyli wrote another self-comfort fic.
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It was early in Adam and I's relationship.
We were in what I've affectionately called the learning phase.
We hadn't adjusted to every small habit of the other person. We were finding out each other's favorites. Our pasts were slowly getting revealed. Good and bad date ideas were being sorted, pet names getting tested, affection getting figured out. Trial and error.
It was the first time that I had gone over to Adam's place for more than a few moments.
We were on the couch, just talking about anything that was coming to mind.
It was nice. It felt natural. I had never fallen so perfectly into a continuous conversation with someone. Adam just made me feel safe there.
I had gotten stuck on this rambling about an idea I had gotten for a book. I was already constructing characters and settings and plot points. No one else around me had shown any interest when I told them, but Adam seemed open to listening, so I just kept talking.
More and more details started tumbling out of my mouth. I was surprised that I wasn't stumbling over my words. I was so excited about every part of it that I had to fight to keep myself from talking too fast.
I don't know what really made me pause.
Maybe it was the look on Adam's face. Maybe it was the clock on the end table reminding me how much time had passed. Maybe it was my own brain playing tricks on me. Maybe it was all of the above.
No matter the cause, I found my rambling slowing down.
"Sorry," I muttered after a while. "I... I don't get to talk about this stuff much and I know I get a bit carried away. I didn't mean to bore you-"
"You aren't boring me."
I paused for a moment. "I'm not?"
Adam shook his head.
"Oh," I looked down at my lap, fiddling with my fingers for a moment. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Most people usually would cut me off by now," I shrugged. Honestly, I was scared that if I didn't shrug it off, I was going to start sobbing. "By ignoring me or interrupting me or insulting me... I don't know... they usually find something."
"That's rude of them," he replied.
I nodded. "Yeah, it is."
I shifted a bit so my head could rest on his shoulder. I tensed slightly, waiting for some indication that I needed to move. There weren't any though. He just seemed to relax a bit. That caused me to relax against him.
"I wanna hear more about it," Adam said after a few moments of silence.
"Really," I asked.
"Yeah."
I grinned to myself. "Okay."
Being listened to like this was going to take some getting used to. But it was an adjustment I was happy to make.
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What I Write For
Some Original Characters
#adam raki fanfiction#adam raki x reader#adam raki imagine#adam 2009 x reader#adam 2009 fanfiction#adam 2009 imagine#hugh dancy fanfiction#hugh dancy x reader#hugh dancy imagine#imagine#x reader#fanfiction
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It’s been a while… a long time. What about a angst-comfort of reader running away due to being overwhelmed and scared only to return to the Morvant doorstop a couple years later… since that’s essentially what I’ve done. I’ve missed them so much.
(I hope you don't mind that I held onto this one so long, beloved 👻 this was just immediately what I pictured when you sent it to me. I hope your Halloween is magical 🔮
also it is v difficult to find good group hug gifs so like here, I hope you get the vibe :’D)
The door opens again, still creaking ominously, to reveal Hector standing in front of a small wall-mounted mirror by the hat and coat rack - something obviously intended for last minute door checks before the grief-stricken walk outside into the world again. He's entirely fixated on his reflection, applying some deep purple pigment with his fingers to the angles of his cheekbones and the hollows of his eyes.
"Hey, Happy Halloween and stuff," he says, warm but slightly distracted. "Give me just a second, yeah? And I'll get you something really swee--"
He spots you in his peripheral vision, glancing once as if he thinks he's imagining it, then twice... before he sees your face for sure, and revolves on the spot to face you fully. He's wearing the deep black trousers of his Masquerade suit, but the jacket with the off-white ribcage is absent, leaving just a deep purple poet's shirt with the strings at the chest mostly undone. Around his neck is a medallion that bears the emblem of a grinning Calavera, slightly burnished from too much touching and fiddling on a leather cord. It's old. Maybe older than him.
His mouth is somewhat slack, like he's not even sure where to begin. He opens and closes it a few times, dark eyes wide with disbelief. "I... h-hey," he croaks, finally managing to speak at all.
After a moment, he shakes his head as if freeing himself from a daze. "What the fuck am I doing, christ. Amor," he breathes, crossing the threshold immediately and pulling you into a tight, swaying hug. "Oh my god, look at you! You look great!" He backs up, holding you at arm's length to look you over. "Where you been, beautiful, we've been looking all over for you! Here, hang on--" He turns from you, putting only enough distance between you and him to whistle piercingly into the foyer without hurting your ears. "HEY!"
Maxi leans out of the kitchen door in the distance, and Rora sits up from where she's being obscured by the back of the couch she's stretched out on. Both look slightly irritated at being summoned this way... until they see you.
"Baby! Hi!" Maxi's voice goes an octave higher from shock and excitement, nearly dropping the mixing bowl he was originally holding. He almost fumbles it again as he hurriedly sets it back on the counter, the black apron with skeleton print still on over his Masquerade clothes. He hustles over to join Hector, looking elated. "What a sight for sore eyes you are, good lord." He lifts you clean off the floor, spinning you around before hugging you just as tight. "We missed you so much!"
"Petal?" Rora's brow is furrowed, as if disbelieving what she sees. She's in something new, a white pantsuit that looks oddly similar in fabric to her dress from the October Incident. Rather than bones, the phtalo green thread that traces her suit jacket comes together to form a y-incision where it buttons, the top arms tracing her lapels. On every stitch, there are tiny, delicately embroidered leaves. She's skipped the makeup tonight, unlike her relatives, but her lashes were always dark enough to look applied.
She takes the longest to walk over, like a slightly spooked cat, but when she reaches you her brow unfurrows immediately with relief. "Oh, sweetheart." She pulls you into a hug scented with lilies, hiding her face in your shoulder. "You came back to us."
"Here, come on," Maxi sets a hand on each of your shoulders, gently steering you towards the kitchen with Hector's help. "You're sittin' down and havin' somethin' warm to drink, I won't hear otherwise. I've been bakin' all week, too, so there's plenty to go around..."
"You've been 'baking,' but I've been baking," Hector cuts in, the two of them falling back into old patterns. "Here, I've got this new thing I think you're gonna love, I thought of you when I was whipping it up--"
Once they've got you seated at your old favorite kitchen chair, like you never left, and you have a warm mug of cafe au lait in your hand and a heaping plate of snacks in front of you (each of the boys plying you with their own creations, each of them shooting each other dark looks as they try to subtly put their offerings front and center), the three of them sit around you - Maxi on one side, Hex and Rora on the other.
They each have their own mug of something steaming and warm, and Hex nods to you quietly, like he's giving you the floor. "So... where you been, though, for real?" he says. He nudges your socked foot gently under the table with his own. “We missed you.”
“Wherever you had to go,” Maxi chimes in, setting his hand next to your own on the table and resting his little finger on yours. “It’s okay.” He gives you a small, reassuring smile. “Sometimes people can’t always be around, and that doesn’t mean you love them any less. It just means things… need time,” he chooses his words carefully. “So people can be present again, together.”
“No one is mad,” Rora says, leaning forward and giving you her full attention. “Not at you, not ever. Hell, we understand. You did what you needed to do.” Her eyes remind you of falling asleep under your favorite tree in your childhood park, bright and green. “The important thing is that you’re here now, and we get to see you again.”
The three of them sit with you in a moment of comfortable, easy quiet. There’s no lingering fear or guilt. You’re just back, like you never left.
“…You got any cool stories though?” Hector asks, slightly hopeful. He leans his chin on his hand, giving you a nod. “Or just wanna talk, at least?”
Whatever you say next, whatever you decide to share, the three of them listen and never look away.
The cafe au lait warms your chest from the inside out, a liquid hug.
(I hope this is okay for what you were thinking, nonny, and I’m sorry it took so long. 🖤 happy halloween, we love you! 🥰)
#nice people!!#nonny!!#askbox trick or treating#morvant mortuary#maxi morvant#hector morvant-casares#rora morvant#slasher ocs#southern slasher ocs#necromancer ocs#queer horror ocs#halloween with the morvants
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Question game! Tagged by @dragonmuse and @thetardigrape 💕🙏🏻😊
if you're a writer and you see this, consider yourself tagged if you want!
Do you write in order?
Nope. Frequently quite the opposite. I tend to start with the climactic scenes of a fic, the big emotional cruxes, and then figure out how to get the characters there.
There's definitely exceptions, especially when writing more humorous or lighthearted fics, and I've been experimenting more in the last year with posting works-in-progress, which requires writing much more sequentially than I used to!
WDYDWADS and A Fucking Duel, my most popular fics so far, each started with a very cracky premise and I had no clear idea where I was going when I started with them. I had the occasional out of order moment—I've been sitting on the next chapter I'll be posting of WDYDWADS since July, because I wrote it and then realized a bunch of other stuff needed to happen first, and the third chapter of A Fucking Duel was written before the second. But mostly they were written in order and I posted up each chapter before finishing the next.
But my longer fics like Soaked to the Skin and Mutually Beneficial were written much more chaotically. Chapters 17 & 18 of Soaked to the Skin have some of the earliest scenes I wrote for that verse. It's been a bit longer since I wrote Mutually Beneficial, so I don't remember the exact order, but I know that the moment in Chapter 14 where Clark goes to his knees was the first one I envisioned and one of the earliest ones I wrote.
How fully formed does your writing come out the first try?
I tend to think over the scenes first, and then workshop sentences and paragraphs as I'm writing them, so it depends what you mean by "first try." Most of the time, the fic as you would read it after my first fully written draft is pretty close to the final version. It's just fine-tuning after that, unless something isn't working.
However, sometimes something isn't working, and then it can change a lot. For example, the aforementioned Chapters 17 & 18 of Soaked to the Skin were originally one chapter, and all from the Lucius' POV. After I'd written a bunch of the rest of the fic, I realized that we desperately needed to see what Izzy was thinking during it, so I ended up splitting it in two, expanding both parts, and flipping the POV in the second half. That doesn't happen to me very often, but pretty much every longfic I've written has at least one chapter that ended up getting overhauled, sometimes multiple times. The one I tend to remember with agony is Chapter 9 of Welcome to the Mouth of Hell (please mind the tags if you follow that link)—I actually swapped out one of the major characters in that scene twice before finally figuring out how to make it work.
How many drafts do you go through?
Well, that depends on what you consider a draft, lol. The longer and more serious the fic is, the more I tend to pore over it. I also tend to reread and fine-tune earlier chapters of a longfic to get back into the right mindset before writing more, so chapters written earlier may end up getting fiddled with a lot more than later chapters. But it's all a pretty incremental process, so I don't usually have multiple "drafts" of the entire fic in the way I did when turning in assignments in school.
If we're counting every time the text changes as a different draft, though—at least two? At the very least, I'll write out a fic in Google Docs, import it into AO3, and read it over again in the rich text editor, looking for import errors and fine-tuning as I go. I think the most I've ever gone over a chapter before posting it is probably around ten times? I do also reread over my old, posted work sometime (especially the smut, that's why I write smut!), and I'll fix typos and fine-tune sentences even years later if I notice them.
So an old smut like A Private Nightmare... and Fantasy, I've probably gone through three or four "drafts" since it was originally posted. As far as drafts that are substantially different from each other though, the record is three, for that chapter linked above.
Tell me about your process.
Well, I think I covered a lot of it as I blathered on through the previous answers! I tend to seize on something that seems important or interesting (preferably both!) to me, whether it's a dynamic between two people that I couldn't get out of my heard, or a piece of emotional growth that I went through and want to model, or exploring a sexual kink or orientation that resonated with me, just a particular premise that I thought was funny! (Or well, sometimes it's just 'write the smut you want to see in the world'...)
I usually try to have at least the broad strokes of what I'm going to write worked out before I start, although as mentioned previously, there are exceptions! With longer fics, I write outlines—I'll use the heading feature of Google Docs to lay out the main beats, then block out how many chapters I think I'll need, usually with a little summary of what I'm trying to do with each one.
I get somewhat overly married to (what I think are) clever story structures sometimes—for example, the alternating POVs in Soaked to the Skin, or each chapter of A Fucking Duel aligning to a number in The 10 Duel Commandments. I have one outlined WIP that using a four-person rotating POV. We'll, ahh, see how that goes if I ever start actually writing it.
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Day 4
Welp! We went with the junkyard. Originally Nyxx thought that junkyards only have old cars but after some quick googling (I'm glad the google servers are still up, is that how google works?) we figured out that there are a lot of things in these places, just like the movies! So we decided to plant roots in the old junkyard because of how close it is to everything else and how good it will be for the solar panel. We convinced Nyxx to bring some other stuff from her place in her family’s utility trailer so now we have more room besides just the trunk. So not only do we have all the camping gear, we also have bedding, a gaming console, a projector, and a projector screen thingy! We brought some other stuff too but I don't wanna bore you with the details.
The first thing we did when we got to the new base was get rid of all the zombies who were there. I saw some articles saying that they're trying to make a zombie vaccine (can you believe they're trying to get us to call it the Zeta virus?) which is neat. The articles also said it would be pretty much impossible to cure, at least in later stages, because of what it does to neurons and body tissues which sucks major ass. It makes me feel kinda not as bad that the things that I'm killing could never go back to being humans. Nyxx has told us that it would be best for our mental health to dehumanize them in our minds so that's what I've been trying to do.
After we got rid of all the ones there we set up camp, with the tents from Home Depot plus the ones form Nyxx’s place we all get to have our own, which is the best. I'm looking forward to customizing and decorating mine.
When we were looking around and exploring we found an old oil drum. We used some other stuff lying around to turn it into one of those oil drum stove thingies. We put it in the middle between all our tents. We also found an old ratty sofa and we put that near the oil drum alongside some camping chairs. Behind the sofa is where we put the solar battery and the solar panel. We gave it about an hour to charge up before the next order of business, figuring out how to make wifi happen.
We plugged in the router, I told everyone the WiFi password, and then we tried to get cell service to figure out how to set it up from there. After a few minutes N just snatched all our phones from us, walked over to the router, and after a moment or two of fiddling she brought our phones back to us, and they were all connected! We thanked N profusely and then we made dinner from some of the canned food. It was actually pretty good.
Today was a long day and now I'm just chilling on the couch with N and Raven. I'm not quite used to it yet and honestly, I'm not sure if I'll ever be, but there's no group I'd rather be with right now. I don't think I have anything else to talk about today. See ya!
#alt teens#alternate universe#text post#zombie apocalypse#long post#long reads#day 4#creative writing#unreality
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Interview Conversations
Awsten Knight X F!Reader
Word Count: 1.1k
Summary: You're lounging around in your living room when you get a face time call from Awsten. In the middle of his interview.
A/N: I had this idea when I watched the (I think it was) rocksound interview where Awsten just whipped out his phone to call Joe and that's what my brain spit out. Have fun reading it and tell me what you think!
Being in a relationship with Awsten was the most exciting thing happening to me in a while. And I didn't mean that in a cheesy I'm so crazy in love with you way. Nope. I simply never got chill with him. Not that it was something bad entirely but that man's mind worked in mysterious ways.
Like last week. They weren't touring at the moment, just doing some promotional stuff and of course Awsten was always writing songs. So as the good boyfriend he was, he took me on several cute dates which was all good and fine (a girl liked to be treated right after all). What I didn't expect was Awsten waking me up at the ass crack of dawn to go — you fucking guessed it — bungee jumping. Because that was how my boyfriend's brain worked.
I on the other hand, still half asleep had agreed to it under the condition that Awsten made breakfast. So he had been tutting around in my small kitchen, telling me about how cool this was going to be, posting about it on Twitter while I was just trying to get my brain to start working with a cup of coffee in hand. Awsten didn't hold back to tell me how messed up my hair was. And kissed me right after it so he wouldn't have to suffer from my death glare. Plus I knew that he didn't mean to hurt me with it. That guy loved to tease me and I loved to tease him. That was how our relationship worked honestly.
All was good and I survived the jump but that taught me an important lesson. Never agree to something out of Awsten's mouth before I knew the conditions.
Right now, I was lounging around in my living room and fiddling with my phone. Later today, Awsten wanted to drop by for a movie night but that was still a few hours away. So goodbye tidying up and hello comfy hoodie and sofa.
And then my phone lit up with a familiar face. It took me a moment to understand that I was in fact not looking at Dean hunting a demon anymore and instead at the still of my boyfriend. Which was weird as I was pretty sure that Awsten was in the middle of an interview. Don't ask me with whom, I had been still asleep when he told me about it. Don't try to talk to me before my first coffee.
"Hey baby! Love that hoodie!" Awsten waved at me through the screen.
I looked down and realized that I was wearing his merch. Arrogant fucker. "Aren't you like in the middle of something?"
From the way he was holding his phone, I could see the very tips of Otto's curls in front of something red and soft looking. Probably a sofa. There was some distinct mumbling in the background that Awsten simply ignored and pouted at his phone and consequently me instead. "Well yeah, but I've got a question for you."
This dude, I swore. I shook my head in fake disappointment but I was pretty sure that he could see the smile I tried to hide behind my hair. Knowing Awsten his question had exactly nothing to do with what the poor interviewer had originally asked.
"What is it?"
"No reason to be so rude, Y/N," Geoff peered over Awsten's shoulder. He chuckled as he said this, taking the venom from his words completely.
As soon as Geoff had come into the frame, Otto craned his neck towards the screen as well. He smiled brightly and then waved at me. "Hey, Y/N! Long time no see."
"Aw but you saw me just Friday," I reminded him, grabbing for a pillow. This would take a while so I might as well get comfortable.
"Would you stop flirting with my girlfriend?" A soft 'ouch' could be heard following the statement and Otto suddenly left the frame. Awsten looked up again innocently though it was pretty clear that it had been him. "Anyway. I was wondering if you know the name of that garage band we saw last week? We've been talking 'bout Joe and I remembered that I wanted to tell him about 'em but I forgot their name."
Right. A day after the bungee jumping incident Awsten had made amends in form of my favourite bar and a little book shopping trip beforehand. Not that he had something to make amends about (it had actually been pretty fun) but Awsten had claimed it as such. And there we had seen this small band perform. They hadn't been that bad in my opinion and I even had gotten Awsten to dance with me to one of their songs.
It took me some serious mind tricks but then I remembered their name. "Hang on, it was something with face or something like that in the name. No wait. They were called 'Poison From Your Lips'!"
Awsten hit his forehead and nodded in confirmation. "That was it. Thanks, babe!"
"No problem!"
Muted mumbling in the background. Probably the interviewer trying to get their attention back. My suspicion was confirmed as Awsten's head snapped up and he asked, "What was the question again? Sorry, got a lil caught up here."
More words I couldn't decipher. Still, I waited patiently in case there were more questions for me. But Awsten just nodded and hummed along, his phone angled up so I could see only his neck and chin.
"Yeah, I really like working out all the details for the fans to find. It's like scavenger hunting only through songs and posts. There's a bunch of stuff you haven't found yet by the way," Awsten tilted his head at a camera and raised his arms while speaking.
Which made him realize that the call was still going. I suppressed a giggle and waved at him and he turned the phone back upright. "You're still there!"
"That I am," I nodded solemnly to his confused excitement.
Geoff and Otto were coughing suspiciously but Awsten didn't let himself get distracted. Instead he rolled his eyes at me. "Smartass."
"You love it."
"True," Awsten agreed and caught me off guard with the honest look in his eyes that he masked with a flirtatious wink, "but I fear I have to say goodbye for now. Wave for the camera!"
And then, the screen got blurry while he whirled it around. I waved dutifully at the schemes that were supposed to be people.
"See you tonight," I said to Awsten before the connection cut off. A lost blown kiss and the call died.
Shaking my head, I stared at the dark screen. I loved this man so much, it wasn't even funny anymore.
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Taglist: @immrbrightsideeee
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FIRST FIGHT sae-byeok x female reader
this is the ninth part in the series! if you want to request something, the post for it is here for the rules and fandoms that i will write. ugh sorry that this isn't so good.
Since you had began to hide from your father, you grew more irritated that you had been unable to go outside. You had told Sae-byeok about your father and his place in your family's past. That he was a dangerous man that was equally as selfish and wanted to take you and your brother home with him.
That wasn't the only thing that had been bothering you lately. You girlfriend had been going out nearly everyday. Sure she would make it up to you by getting you a tea or a coffee that she knows you enjoy. A few nights she had promised you that you had her all night long.
It wasn't like she had gone home, wherever that was. You two had basically agreed without verbal confirmation that you two were living together. The proof was her keeping her hair products and toothbrush in your bathroom, her clothes next to your clothes in the closet. To you, there was no discussion to be had about whether you two were living together or not.
You heard your front door open and it being slammed shut. You looked over your shoulder from your spot on the couch and saw Sae-byeok getting herself a glass of water, "How was your day?" you questioned as she sat next to you.
"Doesn't matter, I feel better now that I am with you," she answered before pecking you on the lips. Instead of kissing her back you kind of...stood there, "What's wrong darling?" she asked with a confused expression on her face.
You sighed and stared at the TV in front of you, "What do you do all day?" Sae-byeok stayed silent, "I am in here all day, loosing my mind cause I can not go out for fresh air. Meanwhile, you are out all day and nearly every day doing I don't even know what."
Your girlfriend crosses her arms, "You don't need to know about what I am doing every second. I am just doing some work to get a little cash every now and then. It is nothing to worry about I promise you," she tried to hold your hand and you allowed her to lead you into the kitchen to see what to have for dinner.
The next day you were so very bored as the day earlier. You decided to look around for something to entertain yourself with in drawers or shelves. You found one of Sae-byeok's hoodies and decided to put it on. You placed your hands in the pockets and felt something in them, something papery.
Within your hands had revealed some cash.
What the fuck was Sae-byeok doing with so much cash?
You didn't know how to react, or what to think other than questioning about the origins of the money and why it was doing in your place.
You took off the hoodie and placed it and the money on the table that Sae-byeok would see when she would walk through the door.
Soon enough the said girl did walk through your door and did see you sitting at the table that had the hoodie and money upon it. The girl's eyes widened as she saw your angered eyes, "The good thing about staying home all the time is that you can find out what people are keeping from you," you said as you fiddled with your hair.
"I told you it's nothing to worry about."
"When there is this much cash lying around in my apartment without my knowledge, I think I have a right to be upset about it."
Sae-byeok snatched the hoodie and money into her grasp, her tone stern and angry, "Don't you ever go through my stuff again unless I say so. Just pretend that you never saw it," she went into your bedroom and you followed her.
"That is a bit hard to do since I am already a little worried for your safety everyday since you don't tell me anything," your tone grew a little louder.
Sae-byeok finished placing the hoodie and the money back to their places, "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Just drop it."
That angered you more, you weren't getting anything out of her, "Well I am not going to unless you tell me what is going on. I thought that we are at a point in our relationship where we are doing so well with communicating to each other."
"Well then you're wrong," she sighed in annoyance.
"Are you saying that I am wrong about other things about us?," you questioned.
"No, for fuck sakes I cannot think right now. I need to go, get away from you for a while," she said.
That last sentence hurt you. You got out of her way and heard the door slam shut.
Maybe you were too harsh? Not harsh enough? Did you overreact? No, don't over think this, just go to sleep and it'll be better tomorrow.
#player 067 x reader#squid game#kang sae byeok#player 067 imagine#sae byeok imagine#squid game imagine#squid game oneshot#sae byeok oneshot#squid game 067
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𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕒𝕝 - peter parker
original wattpad post | complete masterlist | mcu masterlist | peter parker masterlist
"𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕞𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕟
𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕕"
- cherry flavored | the neighbourhood
words || 𝟠𝟘𝟘
a/n okay - last one for today. if anyone wants to request characters and/or plots, please do so. otherwise, new stuff is out soon.
➵ originally called 'cherry flavored'
summary || in which the reader is worried that her feelings about peter are too strong, too fast.
warnings || fluff
"sorry, what did you say?" my gaze shifted from the floor to look up at peter. he was standing up, notebook in hand, looking down on me as he had just said something.
"i said that you're definitely going to fail this quiz." he chuckled, but there was little humor behind it. i forced a smile, and tried to maintain my focus on him. he turned away from me, looked outside my window, and sighed quietly.
i knew that, usually, both of us would be concerned about the other. we both knew the other was preoccupied, but i think that was the reason neither of us wanted to say anything. 'if they have to talk about how they're feeling, then i'd have to do the same.'
about three months ago, we had started dating. it was so great for so long, and we rarely fought or, really, had any problems. but, a couple weeks ago, i noticed we were becoming more and more distant. i knew it was too little to cause any permanent problems, but it was enough to make us both uncomfortable.
i had noticed it only a couple days after it started. i was just scared of saying anything. i wanted to try and keep this thing between us kind of casual, and was worried that talking about it would lead to something weird and personal happening - exactly what i didn't want.
but after nearly half a month, i can't do it anymore. so, i invited him over to study, in the hopes that i'd have the balls to talk to him about it. i'm sure i'll do it tonight, but not yet.
so, i tried to keep the conversation going.
"honestly, i blame ms. williams for this." i fiddled with my pencil, glancing between my notebook and peter, "if she actually knew how to teach, we wouldn't be in this situation." peter walked back from the window and sat next to me, a small smile on his face. he gently pulled the notebook out of my hands and started to write some things down. i watched him as he wrote. i loved how he looked when he was concentrated on something.
love? no, i meant i like. it's cute. that is cute, right?
i tore my eyes from him. 'what?' what was that? i shook my head lightly 'shut the fuck up, y/n. be casual.' the word rang in my head.
i didn't even notice peter calling my name, until he touched my shoulder. i jolted my head towards him.
"huh?" he looked concerned. i was still dazed. his eyes left mine, and i saw him scrunch them shut, before opening them again, inhaling deeply.
"what's the matter with you? i didn't want to mention it, but you're acting nothing like yourself. what's going on?" i opened my mouth - more in shock rather than to respond. honestly, i didn't expect him to be so forward about it.
"i- i um-" i stammer, not really knowing what to say. i take a breath, and turn away from him for a second.
"casual." i muttered to myself, rolling my eyes. me trying to be casual led us to this fucking problem, and now i don't know how to get out of it.
"sorry, what did you say?" i heard peter say from behind me.
"peter, to be honest with you, i wanted to keep this as casual as possible. i've had so many relationships end because i fell too hard, too quickly. i wanted this time to be different."
he didn't speak, so i allowed myself to turn around, and continue. before i knew it, i was saying anything and everything on my mind. "i don't know, maybe it's just me because this happens every. fucking. time. but every time i look at you, i think about how much i love you and your little quirks - the way you look when your concentrated, or when you're talking about star wars or when you're reading. and i don't know how to make it stop. but i didn't want to scare you, so i tried to stop being too close, to see if it would feel more relaxed but that obviously didn't work so i-"
"y/n." my mouth stopped mid-sentence. "i feel the exact same way about you." i looked up at him.
"what?" he smiled
"i love how you look when your confused, i love how you act when your telling me about your day, i love the way you ramble. y/n, i think i love you too." my face broke in a cheesy grin and a feeling of elation coursed through my limbs.
"i guess that's all i need to hear."
#peter parker#peter parker oneshot#peter parker imagine#peter parker x reader#spiderman#mcu imagine#marvel#peter parker fluff#cherry flavored#cherry flavoured#tom holland#casual
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Helloooo 🙈💕 How is it going for you? Thank you for fulfilling my latest request; I literally screamed, that's the best thing I saw first thing in the morning. This request might be sappy at best but may I request for Barista!Bam x reader? I prefer it to be fluffy and sfw! Thank you so much for your writing always (also could you please tag me on bleach and aot requests too if you don't mind? I hope you have a good day!)
Hello, everything’s going good thank you. And you're very welcome.
SFW
Word Count:
There was nothing that was going on, no work, no chores, nothing. So you decided to wander around the town for a while, your eyes looking at everything around you.
At the end of a row of shops, there was a small alleyway, a small cafe sat at the end of it.
It really didn't stand out too much, and, from what you could see, there was only a small number of people sat in there.
You had never originally noticed anything when you walked past before, so you felt like you had to walk down to it, to be just a little bit adventurous.
It was small and quaint, a few small flower pots were littered on the window sill. It wasn't a big café only six small, round tables fit into it.
Walking inside, it felt homely. Your nose captured the smell of sugar and coffee as it brewed.
Your eyes wandered around, seeing everything, the small details in the wallpaper, the carvings on the edges of the round tables. But you could feel it, you were being watched. Normally, anyone would be creeped out by it, but it was different.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" A soft voice came from behind the counter. You were swiftly snapped out of your thoughts by this person's voice.
You were met with the barista's eyes, gold, you had never seen someone with eyes this captivating before. It was hard to look away from him.
"Are you okay?" The voice asks, again, snapping you out of your thoughts.
"Yes, uh, I'm sorry about that, I just, uh," you say, embarrassed.
"You don't need to apologize,"
His smile was as soft as his voice, it made his face glow. Damn, was he attractive? Everything felt like it was all just a setup, but it wasn't, it was all real.
You struggled thinking of anything to get, your mind completely shutting down after witnessing his smile.
"Can I get you anything?" He asks.
It was a struggle, but you wanted to withstand it, it wasn't very often that you saw a guy as pretty as this.
"I don't know," you say anxiously, "surprise me," you try to smile at him.
---
Your embarrassment slowly shifted, and your awkward attempts at starting a conversation did, too. The calm feeling inside the shop helped you become more comfortable, and it was getting easier to talk to him.
He sits down in front of you at one of the round tables, your fingers fiddling with the cup in front of you.
"This place is so well hidden," you say, looking around the café again, "I've walked past and never even seen it before,"
"A lot of people have said that," you were still fixed on his eyes, even when he smiled or talked to you, "it's not very easy to point out to people, is it?"
You smiled in response, trying to avert your gaze from his eyes to the table. amount
"How long have you been working here?" You ask.
"Not too long, only a few months,"
"I doubt it gets lively here, doesn't it bother you how quiet it is?"
He rests his arm on the table and his head in his hand, he was thinking about the question you asked him. There was a fair amount of concentration on his face, his teeth biting down on his lower lip, making you shudder a little bit. He noticed.
"Are you cold? I can make you another drink if you want,"
"No, no, it's okay, I'm not cold," you reply adamantly.
You had planned to wander around and found yourself getting drawn towards this place, and its handsome barista, who was anything but rude.
The light from outside slowly fading out of the windows.
Your eyes look towards the clock on the wall, it was half-past-five, you didn't intend on staying out this long.
"Is something wrong?" His voice came again, soft like it was before.
"I need to go now, it's getting dark," you stood up, gathering your stuff together, "I never asked, what's your name?"
He lays his arm flat on the table and smiles at you again, "my name's Bam,"
"It's been nice meeting you Bam, my name's (Y/N)," you respond, "I won't hesitate to come back to talk to you again,"
He reaches behind him to the counter, fiddling around for a few things before pulling a pen and some paper towards him, writing something down.
He hands you the small piece of paper, which had a phone number on it, it made you blush and smile.
The sound of wood scraping across the floor flooded your ears for a second as he stood up, offering you a hug before you left.
"You're so damn nice and sweet," you compliment him, earning a giggle from his mouth.
"Come back whenever you want to, I'll always be here,"
taglist
@unexceptional-h @jaundrew @koi-chairowo @rizonacigaravenue @aoi-turtle
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Chapter Three: An Explosively Good Time
Chapter three guys! I'm both nervous and excited for you all to read it. It's pretty long and we delve a bit deeper into the story. Kirk wants answers and Bones needs a new shirt. 👀 Well, I don't want to give anything away. I truly hope you all like it! Thank you to my wonderful beta reader @dw-writes. You're amazing doll!
The tram slowed to a smooth stop, John lifted his weapon just as the doors opened. He swept the area with Beckworth on his left. Nodding to the security officer, John moved forward making sure Kirk and Chekov were just behind him. Taking up the rear of the group were Lawrence and Bitar, bickering all the while. Rolling his eyes, John squared his shoulders as he led the group into the residential area. The double doors hissed open to reveal a courtyard and John couldn’t help but appreciate how real it truly looked. Cobblestones, rich green plants, a running fountain, and automated birds chirping happily.
Beckworth let out a low whistle from beside him, “Fancy digs,” he murmured with an amused smirk. John stopped, listening for any possible threats that could be hiding in the area. Nothing. Just the hum of the base and the bubble of the fountain in front of them. It was way too quiet and peaceful for his comfort.
Jim moved so he was standing on his other side. “I don’t like it,” the Captain whispered to him.
John hummed in agreement, something didn’t feel right. He almost let out a snort. ‘Nothing about any of this feels right,’ he thought. The hair on his neck stood on end. John scanned the area again, only this time he eyed the plant life and the cobblestones. All of this said “TRAP”
Lawrence walked forward, his gaze on the plant life all around them instead of what was right in front of his nose.
Spotting what he was looking for, John hissed and was behind the young man within seconds, he grabbed the kid’s vest and yanked him back.
Lawrence yelped as he fell onto his ass, “What the-”
John held up a hand to silence gasps and yells of surprise. He then pointed at a thin fine wire mere inches away from where the security officer had been standing.
“Shit,” Beckworth grumbled crouching down to get a better look at the “Booby trap.”
“Holy crap, thanks Doc.” Lawrence gasped out as he scrambled to his feet again.
Bitar rolled her eyes. Reaching up, she gave Lawrence a swift smack upside the head. The action started a whole new bickering match.
John sighed, gesturing for the others to follow him and move out of the way. Pulling a knife from his boot, he gently tossed it up into the air before catching it nimbly by the blade. With a quick flick of the wrist, the knife shot from his hand. Spinning in the air a couple of times, the blade sliced through the wire before embedding itself into the cobblestone. Cocking his head to the side, he heard a mechanism click. Chekov let out a startled squeal as a haphazard metal spike trap sprung from the bushes and trees. Grunting, John strode forward, he examined the trap with a deep frown.
“Used pretty recently,” he muttered, touching one of the spikes. He showed his fingers to the group, “Fresh blood, and someone had to have reset it.” He wiped his hand on his pants.
Kirk furrowed his brow in confusion. “Do you think that means we’re not the only ones surviving here?” he asked, sounding hopeful.
John jerked his knife free from the path. He grimaced at his friend. “Honestly? It could go either way,”
Jim wasn’t the only one looking at him with a confused expression. Sighing John fiddled with the knife in his hands. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to come up with the right words. He really didn’t want to give his best friend any more bad news. Sheathing the knife back in his boot, John pulled his tricorder free. Scanning the blood he began to explain. “This stuff can really mess with your head, and I’m not just talking about C-24 fucking with your DNA. Being hunted by monsters with an extreme possibility of never making it out, and a chance that you’d turn into something that is worse than death...well, I’ve seen highly trained and skilled men crack. Go insane and beyond reason.” He paused as the scanner chimed with the results that he wanted. Turning the device around so the screen faced the group in front of him. Chekov’s mouth dropped open in shock, he looked at John with horror in his eyes. John continued, “The blood has no trace of C-24 or any sick and twisted variation. It’s completely human…” He paused glancing at the screen again, “And Andorian, and Vulcan,”
Kirk choked for a second, “So you’re telling me that the trap was made by a living person and they’re killing other living people?”
John put the tricorder away, “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
Chekov took a shuddering breath, while Kirk just set his jaw. “So we’re being hunted on two fronts,” the Captain sighed, running a hand messily through his hair. Beckworth’s eyes darted around the peaceful courtyard with a healthy dose of paranoia. His younger security officers ceased their quiet bickering and pulled out their phasers, ready for a surprise attack.
Reaper clenched his jaw and tensed. The hair on the back of his neck and his arms stood straight up. They were being watched, and not just by the cameras, but by a live body. He could hear their heartbeat thudding deeply in their chest. In his periphery, John saw a shadow on the second story landing.
Jim Kirk knew Leonard McCoy. Even though he may not have known as much as he originally thought. So when Bones - Reaper- tensed, he knew something was wrong. “Bones…” Jim prompted, trying to keep as casual as possible. The man tilted his head to the left; a subtle gesture but Kirk got what his CMO was trying to say: “Someone is watching”
Out of the corner of his eye, John watched as a shadow quickly disappeared. The sound of muffled hurried footsteps echoed in his ears. “Beckworth,” his voice carried no southern drawl but reverberated with authority. Beckworth couldn’t help but stand up straighter. In fact, everyone stood up a bit straighter, even the Captain.
“Yes, sir?”
“Get everyone to the third floor, there’s a bridge up there that attaches to the rest of the shopping district.” His orders were clear and without room for argument. Jim opened his mouth to protest but Chekov beat him to it.
“But what about you?” he asked, eyes wide.
John couldn’t help but smirk at the young navigator. With a half-hearted shrug, he turned to look at the second-floor balcony. “I’m gonna go say hello to the locals,” he muttered while moving off. The rest of the away team watched slack-jawed as Reaper bounded up onto a nearby chair, and table before he lept up, catching hold of a stone carving halfway to the second floor.
“Jesus, McCoy!” Beckworth called out with a short hysterical laugh.
John easily clambered up to the second floor. Swinging himself up onto the metal banister, Reaper sat and appraised his surroundings. From this vantage point, he saw a lot more, he couldn’t decide if his new view was a good thing or not.
The courtyard was clean at first glance, but from where he was John saw the gore underneath all the beauty. There were multiple bodies hidden in the garden, blood tainted the fountain and coated the walls surrounding him. Frowning, John leaned back on the banister to look down the long hallway. He was being watched again. Glancing down, he saw that the group was making their way through to the stairs. Nodding in approval, John rolled off of the banister onto the dirty corridor floor. A long blue - or what used to be blue carpet was covered in blood and torn to shreds - lined the hall. If John could hazard a guess, he had a faint idea of what wandered through. ‘ Damn Hell Knights,’ he thought darkly.
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Reaper let his surroundings disappear for a moment. He could hear the base thrum under his feet, but it was growing faint; they were on the clock. The heartbeats of the rest of the away team thudded steadily, some rapid in fear, some in calm easy thuds. Then there was what was a lot closer. Running footsteps, and labored breathing. It was heading straight for him. John sighed sadly; this wasn’t going to end well.
Cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders, John opened his eyes just as a blur of a man jumped at him. Quickly stepping to the side, John saw what had been killing everything and anything. The man was ragged like he had been surviving in this hell hole for quite some time. His hair was long and matted, full of knots, and coated in many different substances. His clothes were ripped and repaired and ripped again. Reaper wrinkled his nose, pitty filling his gut.
‘Poor bastard,’ was all that ran through his mind as the cracked man screamed at him, pouncing again. John leaned back, holding up his arm, only noticing the makeshift knife at the last second. Letting out a string of curses, Reaper kicked away the madman and looked at the shank sticking out of his arm with an annoyed expression.
“God fucking damnit!” he hissed, yanking the blade out of his forearm.
The man he had batted away looked at John in pure terror. “Demon!” the man shrieked, pointing at John with an accusing finger. Rolling his eyes, Reaper tossed the knife away over the side of the nearby banister. He could hear it clunk against a mass of water as it landed in the fountain.
“You’re not the first to call me that, and you’re sure as hell won’t be the last,” he drawled to the man, who was scurrying backward away from John as fast as he possibly could. John held up his hand peacefully, “Easy now, I’m not gonna touch you.”
The ragged man stopped his scuttling and paused. He looked visibly confused. “You’re not- who are you?” he asked, voice raspy and raw.
Reaper chewed on the inside of his cheek; Jim called it his nervous tick. “My name is Doctor Leonard McCoy, I arrived on the USS Enterprise. My team and I are trapped here just like you,” he soothed trying to bring out the humanity in the man before him.
“Enterprise,” the man breathed eyes wide, his breathing quickened, almost panicked. “No, no, no,” The man shook his head in denial, he reared and screamed “No!” once more before he started laughing. It was hysterical and Reaper was now completely convinced that the guy was way too far gone.
John watched the man carefully, trying to figure out if he needed to be taken care of or just locked away in a closet until they could get back to the ship. But before the ex-privine could formulate a plan of action, the survivor abruptly stopped laughing, looking as serious as could be. “You’re the one she wants. Death himself.” The words were in a hissed whisper as if speaking any louder would bring forth the demons lurking in the shadows. John froze, body tense ready for an oncoming attack but none came. “You can’t run away from your past forever. If you do those around you are going to suffer and die.” With those final words, the man whirled around and sprinted at break-neck speed down the long hallway. “Face your past Grimm!” he hollered as he rounded a corner and was out of sight.
That was until John heard him let out a startled scream. To anyone else, it sounds as if a paint-filled balloon popped behind a closed door but, to Reaper, it sounded almost too familiar. During the third world war, John experienced a new form of suicide bombers. The bombs weren’t visible, you could almost never tell it was there until it was too late. “SCED” or “Subcutaneous Explosive Device.”
Reaper flinched at the memories that assaulted the forefront of his mind. During world war three John was not officially in the armed forces but had stepped in multiple times to help the wounded and civilians to safety. During that time he had seen and experienced firsthand what a “SCED” could do. Shaking his head, John moved cautiously forward and peered around the corner. John choked on his breath his eyes went wide,
“Shit,” he cursed, stepping out to take in the scene full on. The corridor was dripping and smoking. Blackened blood coated the walls and floor, parts of more than one person could be identified. What made John’s stomach churn and made his scientific mind curious was the fact that the blood was smoking. The man who had run from him was laid curled up on the floor, covered and burnt beyond recognition.
Kneeling down, John examined the man more closely: he was missing a couple of limbs and his face was stuck in a silent scream. ‘Burns aren’t consistent with an explosion,’ he thought with a furrowed brow. Cocking his head to the side, John sniffed the air and immediately sneezed. Wrinkling his nose, Reaper scowled. “Acid. It smells like fucking acid,” he muttered with a shake of his head. “What in the hell are these things mutating into?” he asked himself quietly as he slowly got back to his feet.
A low rumbling growl made John freeze and cautiously turn around. There stood a very large, incredibly fat infected not even ten feet away from him. Raising an eyebrow, John harrumphed, “Well, aren’t you all quiet-like. I’m impressed with you bein’ as big as you are.”
He had never seen an infected like this before; John fully just realized that he was in completely new territory. The demon snorted, seemingly unimpressed by Reaper. It stepped forward, its form expanding and gurgling as it went. Backing up, John reached and pulled his rifle from his back and took aim. The demon let out a blood-curdling scream as it expanded further, its skin pulled apart and cracked, revealing a glowing blackness underneath.
John fired just as the monster before him blew. The final thought that ran through his mind for quite some time was simple: “Fuck me,”
------------------oOo----------------
Sound was the first thing that came back to him. It wasn’t that spectacular if he were being honest. His head ached and the ringing in his ears was starting to piss him off. Groaning, John rolled to his side so he was sitting up on his elbow. His vision was blurry but was quickly clearing, and he grimaced as his surroundings came into focus. The area was worse off than before, the walls were practically melting and Reaper didn’t want to find out if this was going to cause a hull breach. Quickly pulling his rifle from under him - it was a miracle in itself that he managed to save it last second- and got to his feet, John stumbled down the corridor until he hit the stairwell. ‘Third floor,’ he thought numbly, he could faintly feel his burns and other fractures slowly knit back together. The healing process didn’t take long but it was damn uncomfortable. It felt as if his whole body had gone to sleep, the sensation of old TV static. It was always a painful experience.
Staggering up the stairs, John let out a sigh of relief as the numbness in his body began to fade. “ ‘bout fucking time!” he growled out as he made his way to the third floor. As soon as he was close enough for the sensor, the door hissed open.
Multiple cries of concern and joy filled his ears.
“Bones!”
“Doc!”
“Thank the Gods, we thought you were dead!”
And Chekov’s accented, “Doctor McCoy,” made him smile minutely.
Waving away whoever’s hand was trying to help him through the door, John straightened and cracked his back and neck. He looked closely at the group in front of him with a doctor’s eye before nodding satisfied.
Kirk coughed trying to cover a chuckle, “Ugh Bones, you uh need a new shirt,” he faked whispered, and pointed out the obvious.
Reaper rolled his eyes, “Oh gee Jim, I haven’t noticed,” he ground out.
The Captain scowled back half-heartedly but everyone could see his concern. “You okay?”
“I just got blown up by a fleshy acid bomb and I’m stuck in what has to be one of my worst nightmares. I’m - “ Reaper took a deep breath and shook his head. “I’m fuckin’ fantastic. This place should rate five stars, too bad Yelp is no longer a thing,” he muttered walking toward one of the residential quarters. Kirk grimaced at the blatant sarcasm, McCoy’s tone and quips were answer enough.
John squinted at the nameplate next to the door controls, his lip twitching in irritation. Sure, he was glad to see the away team unharmed, but the exploding demon really wrecked what was left of his day; though that wasn’t saying much.
“Well, Daniel Garrets, I hope you have a shirt my size,” John muttered punching the door just right. Bitar let out a soft curse from the group behind him as the door bent and caved in ever so slightly. Pushing his fingers into the small gap John yanked the door open easily. The door let out a shuddering groan as it was forced to roll on its track. Light from the corridor shown faintly into the dark room. Before anyone could go in, Reaper held up a halting hand and cocked his head to the side, listening. He breathed in deeply and all he could smell was must and dust.
Nothing had been in there for quite some time.
Moving in, John pulled his rifle around so it was aimed into the darkness; he’d rather be safe than sorry. Despite his gun being slightly melted it still worked perfectly fine. Reaper didn’t want to express it but he was rather impressed by how detailed the replica truly was.
Clearing the room, John waved the rest of the team in. John eyed down both sides of the hallway before he forced the door closed with a deafening squeal. Turning around, he saw that Chekov all but collapsed in a chair, his nose buried in a PADD. Jim paced the length of the room in deep thought, muttering to himself. The three from security were quietly talking about the best way to keep their captain and Chekov safe. John wasn’t the least bit offended that he was no longer included in that list. Though it did make him a bit sad, it was a step closer to leaving the Enterprise. To leaving his first home in a long, long time.
Sighing, Reaper shucked his rifle and his tattered shirt. Bare-chested he moved through the small room to the closet, silently praying that the man who had once lived there wore the same size. Opening the closet John frowned a little, not quite but close enough. Grabbing a simple black t-shirt from the hanger he pulled it over his head and rolled his shoulders so it fit on his frame better. Turning from the closet he moved into the bathroom.
Upon finding the sink, John started the tap and let the water run for a few seconds before ducking his head under the stream. Grumbling, he ran his hands through his hair trying his best to pull the matted blood and bone from the tresses. Lifting his head he saw Jim in the mirror. He was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, an almost unreadable expression on his face. He wanted answers now.
The shock of the reveal was wearing off and now Jim Kirk wasn’t going to hold back anymore. Veera’s dramatic reveal was something he didn’t want to believe but now he didn’t have a choice. Since the atrium, Jim has been in complete and utter denial. He had seen what his best friend could do, he had seen how different he was. Jim’s eyes flashed in the light, his jaw set. No more joking, no more keeping up his causal maverick front. He was pissed and McCoy - Grimm- was going to see it. But no matter who Bones was. He will always be Jim’s friend. He had already decided to hear the man out. To listen to what he had to say, to hear what’s true and what’s fiction.
Reaper hummed and jerked his head, inviting Kirk into the small space. Moving into the room, the starship captain kept silent waiting for his friend to talk. As he carefully thought over his words, John rummaged through the cabinets around him, after he found what he was looking for (an electric razor) he finally spoke.
“I told you the gist of what happened on Mars. Olduvai. It was an honest to god shit show, Jim. Eight fully trained specialized privines - eh private military contractors - were sent in to search for some scientists. Well, we sure as hell found them.” John let out a dark humorless laugh and shook his head. He was halfway done cutting down his hair, it was no longer messy but shortened and military. John swallowed hard, he looked just as he did when this all happened the first time.
Kirk thinned his lips as he let his friend search for the words he was looking for. Reaper brushed away the dirty hair from his shirt and clicked off the razor. He turned and leaned against the sink, crossing his arms he looked down at his boots.
“We found that the research up there wasn’t exactly kosher. They uncovered humanoid remains in the archeological dig and found that some of these remains had a synthetic chromosome. It made them superhuman. Faster, stronger, incredibly intelligent, and apparently live obscenely long lives. The Oldulvians ruined themselves and we almost followed in their footsteps more than once. They created a rudimentary transporter called the Ark and fled to Earth to escape themselves. You see, C-24 didn’t affect everyone the same way. There were some that turned into monsters.
My sister - Sam- who was an unwitting accomplice in all of this, had a theory that it only turned those with genes that had markers for insanity. She was actually the one who discovered that not everyone would turn into monsters. But, by that time, my CO had lost what was left of his sanity. He began to kill everyone whether they were infected or not, and at this point, some infected had gotten through the Ark and into the Earth facility. No matter how horrible it sounds, but we were lucky that the quarantine was still active at that time. A little over two hundred people died, men, women, and children, my unit included. Only Sam and I made it out.”
Kirk was smart enough to figure out this was a shortened account of events but it was enough for now. He nodded but frowned, “How did you get C-24?” he asked curiously.
John snorted, chuckling darkly. “Projectile weapons are a bitch kid. I got a damn ricochet in the gut. I was bleeding out and on my way to hell but my sister decided to take a gamble and inject my ass. Turns out she was right, but it had its consequences.” John ran a hand through his newly cut hair, a haunted look crossing his face. He looked up, “For what it’s worth Jim, I’m sorry.”
Kirk looked away his expression guarded. John knew he wasn’t going to get away cleanly but knowing the outcome of something didn’t make it hurt any less. His eyes were locked onto the floor, he was wound tighter than piano chords. He was expecting to be shouted at, told to go to hell. And he believed he deserves it.
“What can we expect here, Bones?”
John relaxed ever so slightly, shocked at Kirk’s tone. It showed less anger and frustration and more like his friend, John wasn’t forgiven yet but it was a start. He grumbled, “Well, we can expect strong ass monsters who want to either turn you or eat you. Other than that, I’m in new territory. This is completely new and, if I had a month, maybe I could tell you how much of a difference it is. The crazy pirate bitch changed things so much that it shouldn’t even be called C-24 anymore. Who knows what else is lurking out there.”
John could see how much Jim didn’t want to hear that by the set of his jaw.
“Keptin, Doctor!” Both men turned to face Chekov as he barreled into the small room holding up his PADD.
“What is it, Chekov?” Jim asked hopefully. The young man turned the PADD around and showed them a single dot on what appeared to be a map of Genesis.
“Sir, I managed to vind this under the station's jamming signal. It appears that there is another Starfleet officer trapped here! “
John and Kirk looked at each other, both were wondering if it could be a trap. “Is it just a signal or-”
Chekov was already shaking his head before Jim could finish. “No, there is a single message attached to the ping. It just says a name and some sort of code…” he trailed off as he tapped hurriedly at the screen. Turning the PADD around Chekov let the message play.
John felt his blood freeze.
“This is Layla Grimm, I’ve been compromised. Code: Ghost, I repeat - Code: Ghost! Run Uncle J-”
Reaper felt his knees buckle as screams filled the air of the bathroom. He faintly felt Jim grip his arm trying to keep him upright. His blood pulsed in his ears and all he could see was red. The look in John’s eyes made both Kirk and Pavel back up a step giving the CMO some space. John gritted his teeth breathing hard. “Where was that sent from?” his voice was sharp, making Jim wince.
Chekov cleared his throat as he looked down at the screen in his hands. “The medical wing sir,”
John looked at Kirk who just nodded in approval.
“Looks like we’re goin’ hunting.”
Tags:
Everything: @thottiewithashotgun, @lauraaan182, @writerdee1701, @stileslover13-blog, @cowenby2, @bluesclues-1234
Hollow Castle: @chook007, @lauranthalasah
#star trek aos#doom 2005#doom!trek#leonard bones mccoy#leonard mccoy#john grimm is leonard mccoy#john reaper grimm#john grimm#james t kirk#jim kirk#pavel chekov#redshirts#reaper!bones#hailey the queen of typos#hollow castle#The Four Horsemen Series#Boom goes the...#okay that was gross
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Hi! I just read your rant about how Duggan uses and sees feminism. His book is nothing of that. To me, it uses fantaisies of white men and makes it believe it's feminist. His feminism is very lazy, it's like he read twitter and hop he put it in his book. Actually, if i have to call it feminism, i would say it's white feminism and nothing else. His book isn't inclusive, it's just about Emma and Kate doing badass stuff. Now, it's easy to say productions, writers and tv shows use the feminism to sell their creations. To me, it's the case for Duggan. It's clear he doesn't understand a bit of what the feminism is. It's not just being badass or using the me too movement. No it's far than that. It's a fight for equality and for men to acknowledge, we the women, are also human being and have the right to be respected and to have the same rights and duties than them.
I'm sorry to say it but duggan is far far of being a feminist. He used Emma in particulary as one of his strong female character fantasy. She is always sexy, she knows everything, she is always strong. To me, his version of Emma is badass and great but something is missing in her. She is just badass. So since he creates his fantasy of strong females characters, it's logic he is dismissing the men of the show. Look at who they are. They are all traits who can make us think the book is inclusive, all suffered from the humans, iceman is gay but he does nothing with them because he sees no interest in them. They are just here to tell us how amazing the strong females characters are. If you want my opinion (which you don't sorry), Duggan is very insecured with the way he writes Emma and Kitty who are very basic. His writing is just here to tell "yo look i understand you, i am a feminist, i can't be sexist see". If he starts to give a proper writing to the others characters, we will start to see that his writing of his fantaisies aren't that great.
But again it's an opinion. It's just to sell his book.
Hey, I very much appreciate your detailed opinion!
I think we're also talking about the difference between Strong Female Character and actual strong female characters. Writers and film-makers have interpreted the desire for strong female characters as "more sexy, badass women" (and of course, they must always be sexy), when what many of us female readers/audience members really want is women who are complex, flawed, interesting, and allowed to be an important part of the narrative, just like male protagonists. It's nice to see strong, badass women - I admit, after the MCU being so male-centered for so long, I really loved seeing Captain Marvel being incredibly powerful in her own movie. But having a woman be a badass isn't the same as having her be an actual good character, and many movies will have the Strong Female Character who kicks ass then winds up playing second fiddle to the male protagonist, for whom she is also, of course, a love interest. A female character doesn't have to be a badass or physically strong to be a strong character, she just needs to be complex and fully realized.
I think Duggan is trying to give us strong female characters by making the women front and center, but he's really giving us Strong Female Characters by making Emma and Kate virtually flawless, which is really a disservice to both of them. Emma in particular is interesting because she is so complex, and capable of both great evil and great good, so watching her strut around being right all the time really flattens her character. (And it's kinda boring - I don't want to watch Sebastian lose to Emma yet again, I've been watching that for most of this series.) And he is also pushing a white, wealthy, model-beautiful woman into the spotlight, and down-playing Storm, the WOC on the team. And if you want to talk representation, the men who are being mostly ignored or used as window dressing in the series are: 2 POC (Bishop and Shinobi), 3 LGBTQ guys (Iceman, Christian and Shinobi). Not to mention Sebastian himself, who basically admitted to being bisexual in Hickman's X-Men, but that is being ignored. Pyro is the only supposedly cis, white, "straight" guy, and even he is arguably being "straight-washed" given that he was originally queer-coded back in the day.
I think the treatment of the guys has underlying layers of toxic masculinity, since they are so rarely allowed to to express complex emotions and are just expected to make witty quips or get angry. (Especially Bishop, Iceman and Pyro.) Not that I necessarily want to see "sad boy Pyro" breaking down in tears, but at least that might feel like serious character development for him. We don't get to see Bobby's grief over Kate's death, just his anger, and his relationship development with Christian is virtually nonexistent. We still haven't dug deep into Shinobi's relationship with Sebastian, and his "I still want to kill my father" is treated like a joke. (Admittedly, it's a funny line, and very in character for Shinobi.) The only guys who get to have "tender" moments are brief guest stars, like Masque, Forge and his human friend, and Jumbo Carnation. Which makes it extra frustrating, because Duggan clearly CAN write good, emotional character moments, but for some reason he can't be bothered to do so for much of the male cast of the book.
Damn, my Marauders critique really has gone far in the direction of "But what about the poor meeeeeen?" Maybe I'd feel differently if the two stars of the book were more obscure female characters, instead of two well-established and iconic X-Women. Like, I don't mind that Kwannon is clearly one of the stars of Hellions, because she is desperately in need of her own development and storylines as a character, and because Wells has managed to balance his writing to give all the cast something to do, rather than just dropping certain characters for months at a time.
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I’m on an adventure learning the basics of Nintendo DS ROM hacking/modding because there is a very stupid, very self-indulgent, very spoilery ROM hack/mod I want to implement for Ghost Trick. It has been a journey and I’m going to be recapping my adventures on here with the tag #leo-tries-modding-ghost-trick so it can be blocked as desired. Anything pertaining to the actual in-game spoilers down the line will be posted under a readmore.
Now.... for “progress” I’ve made so far, if you can call it that. The first thing I need to figure out is whether I can implement a talk sprite-swap. So I set out to try and isolate the talk sprites.
I started by checking out the Ultimate Nintendo DS ROM Hacking Guide, which seemed as good a starting place as any. I also downloaded the big zipped file with all the referenced programs, but as I found out later, some of the programs didn’t zip properly so I had to procure them elsewhere.
At any rate, I tried to open up the Ghost Trick .nds file in CrystalTile2, and that much was a success.... and just about that much only. Ghost Trick doesn’t use the file types referenced in the guide. There are .xml.lz files and .bin files. I didn’t know what to do with these yet, so I decided to just mess around in the tile viewer and see if I could find anything. After some aimless scrolling, I did find something that gave me hope that I was in fact looking at meaningful data:
(don’t mind the windows 7 and pesterchum and malwarebytes this is my old 2011 laptop from undergrad, it just so happens that a lot of tools for NDS hacking work great on windows 7 because shit’s old)
That right there is very unambiguously the Ghost Trick logo. It gave me a glimmer of hope. And CrystalTile lets you highlight a selection of tiles and export them as an image:
rearranged in mspaint to:
My rudimentary knowledge of How This Works tells me that it obviously needs to reference the right palette for the colors to be right, but whatever, this is CLEARLY IMAGE DATA so ALL IS NOT LOST.
...but, for a while, that was about as far as I got. Some googling brought me to this thread, where OP states that allegedly the ���cpac_2d.bin” contains all of the sprite data in the game [this is Capcom standard, it seems?], but having trouble actually accessing said data. Viewed as-is it’s a jumbled mess, haven’t been able to make heads or tails of it in CrystalTile although this could certainly be because they’re out of order in a way that’s not obvious. It is really, really difficult to just parse like this.... it’s a massive portion of the ROM, too, so even figuring out what general area of this I should poke around in is quite an undertaking. [looking w/ tile form GBA 4bpp as that is the only tile form that gave me a visible image for the logo above]... although I found some things which look promisingly like visual patterns, and might help me figure out how to re-order these tiles so i can maybe see something approaching an image. I uh... haven’t figured out how to customize the tile ordering in CrystalTile (like column widths) very well, that’s next on my to-do list. This one in particular I may come back to later:
(^Viewed at offset 4AD9E0)
There are plenty of others but this is among the more promising as far as likely actually being uncompressed visual data. There’s so much besides just this one though that I would be here all day posting screenshots; At any rate, there are patterns that may be worth looking into, but the sheer volume of data corresponding to this “.bin” file is going to make that REALLY tedious to try and comb through with any sort of reasonable efficiency. This could also be a fool’s errand, as it could be the data is compressed or out of order somehow and it is necessary to extract the true files hidden within that “.bin” to actually make proper sense of them. I don’t know. If I haven't made it clear, I'm a newbie at this and don't really understand what I'm working with yet.
So I briefly tried another approach. I thought, heck, I have the dev version of DeSmuME on here, let’s boot that baby up.
(oh boy did it chug.)
I learned some neat stuff.
First, I learned that for most of the game, the “main screen” is the bottom screen as opposed to the top screen, which makes complete sense if you’ve played it. Just goes against convention which is interesting. Except for during the title screen, where it is the expected order, for... reasons?
Anyway, I first tried isolating what layer the talk sprites were on on the “main” screen, which was unsuccessful but interesting. This is with every other layer turned off on the bottom screen (tools -> view layers, toggled off all except for “Main BG 0″)...:
It looks like a lot of things are on that same layer. Now we know.
(Worth noting that if you isolate just the “Main BG 3″ layer you get a nice view of the backgrounds!)
My next task was fiddling around in the tile viewer in the *emulator* to see if that got me anywhere. And, well, it did... I think! I don’t know what it means just yet but launching the tile viewer (tools -> view tiles) and selecting “LCD - 0x6850000″, at the 0x140 tile there is a very clear image of the current talk sprite. And this image DOES update when the sprite changes, so whatever this tile is pulling from is where I want to be.
...Unfortunately, I’ve more or less hit a roadblock here and am calling it a night. I have absolutely no idea how to figure out where that tile is getting its information from, and I don’t understand enough about NDS files to know how to parse the information in CrystalTile any better at the moment. I tried using this tool by Luigi Auriemma to dive into the .bin file after exporting it but it spewed out a billion .dat files that are no easier to make heads or tails of than the original.
That's all I got for the time being. If anyone reading this happens to know any directions they can point me toward I am all ears, otherwise I will continue to just poke at this from various angles until it decides to succumb.
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It Had To Be You
Ch.14: Shackles of Bonds // Story Masterlist
Fandom: The Flash
Pairings: Barry Allen x Original Female Character
Pronunciation of OC’s name: Bell-en. The last syllable has an emphasis so it’s not pronounced like ‘Helen’ would be.
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Chapter Summary: Belén struggles to move on after her father's death. Barry does his best to support her by doing whatever he needs to. However, in the midst of her recuperation Belén runs into some old (not so nice) friends...
Nobody move! I mean it!'
'Please, d-don't hurt-"
"Yeah, yeah, 'don't hurt me, please' I've heard the story , I don't have time for this - put the money in here-" there was a gesture of a bag,"-or then I will stuff you with this."
A massive blob of purple shot straight through the glass display at the entrance of the store, causing several people to scream.
"Money. Now."
Belén clicked pause on the video and thought for a minute of what she'd watched. Her eyes scanned every person in the convenience store looking for just one person...but came up short.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Plasticine was fed up with the relentless whimpers and pleads from the people in the store. Out of frustration, she shot yet another purple hit across the store. It hit the wall and splattered everything nearby. Turning her perfectly covered face to the cashier, she waited for the money to be deposited in the brown bag she was holding out. "Hurry up, hurry up," she leaned forwards to see how much was already in the bag. "Oh, look at that, I got what I needed - thank you." With a big smile she made her escape.
Belén switched to the next video and proceeded to watch yet another robbery from Plasticine. However, when someone knocked on the bedroom door she quickly shut her laptop thinking it was Iris. Joe had already been kind enough to let her stay in his home, the least she could do was keep his wish of leaving Iris out of anything metahuman related.
"Bells, hey," Barry peeked through, looking almost afraid of what he'd find inside.
Belén waved him off and grabbed her laptop again. "You know you don't actually have to knock right? This is your room after all."
Barry fully stepped into what used to be his bedroom in the West house. For the last couple of weeks, Belén had taken it as a guest room until she felt well enough to return home knowing her father wasn't going to be there anymore. "I'd rather knock and avoid...certain situations," Barry cleared his throat. If it were any other moment, she would have laughed. Nowadays, she only gave a look of silence. "Listen, Dr. Wells thinks it's a good idea to start, you know, maybe training a little more? Now with, well…" he didn't want to outright say 'the man in yellow' in case she would take it even worse than he did when he was younger.
"I said no the first time, and the second time, and...yeah, the tenth time," Belén sighed. She kept the videos on her laptop mute but kept a close eye on the screen for the person she was searching or. "I don't...I can't be out there again…"
"Why not?" Barry thought it was a stupid question but it was worth it if she just talked again. None of them had had such luck in getting the old Belén back. It became tougher when she refused to use her powers and go to STAR Labs altogether.
"I'm sorry, I just can't," Belén shook her head.
"You know we can't help you if you don't tell us how you feel…"
"But that's just it, I don't know...I don't…" she looked frustrated, and so she closed her eyes and exhaled. "When you were little, and your mom's...murder happened...how did you feel?"
There were many words that came to Barry's mind then, but he settled for the one that he knew she was probably going through. "Helpless."
"Yeah, because you were a kid, and you had no way to help," Belén opened her eyes again. "Now, my Dad was murdered and I'm an adult, have powers, am more or less smart, yet I can't do a single thing to help. I don't want to say that my problem is greater than yours because it's not but I feel completely and utterly helpless right now."
"Well, see, this is why you need to come to STAR Labs with me," Barry walked up to the bed and took a seat on the side near her. "We can practice and then-"
"I can't," she refused again. "I can't even dream to catch that man. I'm not fast and I don't think my powers are good enough to go against him. If I can't use them to help you catch this guy, why use them at all? What's the point?"
What an awful way to think, thought Barry. If he said that out loud the conversation would spiral into an argument and that was the last thing he wanted. He understood anger manifested itself differently in people, and this was apparently how Belén handled it. Well, it was better than him who punched walls and people, but he still didn't like it on her.
"You're Dad wouldn't want this, Bells…"
"Yeah, well, my dad's dead so I don't think it matters what he wanted."
Barry could see this was a lost cause at the moment. There were moments where Belén seemed to be on a much more cheery mood, but then there were these days where she hit...low. It was a process, and that's what everyone around her thought. All they had to do was just help her throughout it.
"What are you doing?" he noticed she was too delved into her laptop screen at the moment.
Her eyes briefly looked into his then quickly returned to the screen. "Just...something..." She glanced at him again and felt the rush of guilt fill her up again. She understood that at the moment she was being difficult - with everyone - and yet they all showed her the utmost patience. She turned her laptop over for Barry to see the current video which was yet again of Plasticine in the middle of another heist. "Felicity hooked me up with like every footage possible of Plasticine robbing."
"You want to catch her badly, then..." Barry mumbled. He hadn't been sure where Belén was in her brother's case and he hadn't touched the subject knowing it was still too soon to even talk about.
"I...I don't know, honestly," Belén admitted and turned the laptop back to her. "I just want to know if my brother's been with her in any of the thefts she's committed. So far, only Azul and that Pixel chick have aided her on occasions."
"That's...good?"
Belén sighed. "I honestly have no idea. I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but...right now, I just...I need to know if he's been out there doing crimes like any other bad meta we've seen."
Barry nodded. "If you need anything on that, you know we're here for you."
"Yeah, I know," she went back to her laptop, indicating in her own way that the conversation was over.
Not wanting to push, Barry let it be and got up from the bed. "If you need anything, just ask, okay?"
Belén's face softened as she recalled something that had been nagging her for days now. "Wait," she stopped him midway to the door, "There is...one thing.. I've been meaning to ask…"
"Okay," Barry turned back, "Anything you need," he could tell this was something important judging by her constant shifting and fiddling fingers.
"Well, I don't know if it's important - well, it's important to me - but I don't know if it would be important to you or anyone -"
"If it's important to you, it's important to me," Barry clarified at once. He came back to her side. "What is it?"
Belén opened her mouth several times, but nothing came out. She stuck her index finger's nail between her teeth and slowly began to explain. "You know the, uh, the, um...the present you gave me for Christmas?"
"Yeah?"
"It's tomorrow night...and…I know it's...way late but..." Belén gave a light shrug as if that would explain everything she couldn't say.
"You don't want to go anymore?" Barry guessed. Iris had been telling him of her constant failed attempts to get Belén out of the house. He'd already assumed a while ago that his gift would become one of those failed attempts to get out.
"Not exactly that…" she gave a sheepish smile, "I...don't want to go...alone. See, you're the one that...that gave me the present, and...my Dad...he helped you…" she took in a small breath before beginning over again, "It would really mean a lot...if you came with me."
"Oh," Barry's eyebrows raised up in surprise.
"It's just...it would feel like a last connection to my Dad, you get me?" Belén found it hard to explain without making it awkward. She felt her face warm but she pushed through - this was important to her. "You both worked on it together and…" her courage faded in a snap and she shook her head, "What am I saying. You don't want to go to that."
"No, it's fine - I'd love to!" Barry exclaimed, although somewhat blushing himself.
Belén visibly relaxed upon hearing his answer. "Really? Because...because you don't have to. I know it's kinda weird but…"
"I understand, don't worry," Barry assured. He reached for her hand and gave her a smile.
~ 0 ~
"Wait a minute, she asked you out on a date?" Cisco arched an eyebrow, a wide smirk settling across his lips.
Caitlin, who was coming around with fresh new papers for their training session, smacked Cisco upside the head and ignored his cry of pain. "She did not, weren't you listening?" She put the papers down on the table beside Dr. Wells, who was also shaking his head at Cisco. "Barry," she said after a moment, looking a bit anxious suddenly as she looked over to the metahuman finishing up his soda, "You do know that's not a date right?" she asked cautiously.
Barry had told them of Belén's current situation of the day and couldn't help sharing her request with them either. To answer Caitlin's question, he gave a firm nod. "I know that, Cait."
"Good," Caitlin visibly relaxed. "Because I think this is very important for Bells. This is her last connection to her father and it would be incredibly inappropriate for you to even think about-"
"You don't have to finish that, Caitlin," Dr. Wells interrupted, missing Barry's grateful glance towards him. "I think Barry understands quite well the situation Miss Palayta is in."
"I do," assured Barry. "I figure this is a way to start getting her back on her feet."
"She still refuses to come to STAR Labs?" Cisco inquired.
"Greatly," Barry said, adding afterwards with great discord, "She says if she can't help catch the man in yellow then why use her powers at all?"
"That's horrible," Caitlin made all face.
"Yet quite understandable," Dr. Wells said. "It's a normal reaction to a situation like this one. We only have to help her realize that people need her. Like Barry, she has the quality that makes her susceptible to helping anyone despite her own situations. She will come around, just give her some time."
The group felt a little more confident after hearing Wells' words. Being an expert he had to know what he was talking about, right?
"In the meantime, I need to do this again," Barry got up from his chair, motioning to the training area ahead of them. "I need to be ready for the man in yellow next time."
"I think you mean the reverse-Flash," Cisco said quite proudly, and when everyone gave him looks he rolled his eyes. "He said it, not me. And he's right. Yellow suit, red lightning, and evil... the reverse of Barry."
Caitlin made another face and turned to the computers. "Meh."
Wells gave a short smile of amusement as he admitted, "Actually, I kind of like it." Cisco beamed and shot Caitlin a smug look.
"All right, I'm still ready for another round," Barry started making way for his suit. "How many more drones do you have left?"
Cisco went in the opposite direction for the remaining drones. "Two. And they've got lasers."
"No," flatly went both Caitlin and Wells.
~ 0 ~
"So listen," Iris cautiously began as she sat beside Belén on the couch, both deciding - with Iris leading by about 40% - to have a movie night, "I was thinking we could maybe go tomorrow night to the little music fest the city's having down at the park?" Belén was midway through opening her mouth when Iris quickly jumped in, fearing her idea would be shot down like many others had been prior. "It doesn't even have to be for a full hour! We can just go, see how many free meals we can get by batting our eyes at the guys selling. It's just all about being out there. So, what do you say? I heard there was gonna be some of that lemon pie…" she nudged Belén with a knowing smile. "I know it's one of your favorites…"
Belén tugged on the blanket Iris had brought down for them, lightly smiling as she said back, "I can't."
Iris, assuming it was another failed attempt to uplift her friend, began to add on more reasons for Belén to agree. "There's going to be music, and lots of food - and did I mention pie?"
"No, Iris, I mean I can't go for real. I have other plans."
"Oh," Iris blinked, wondering for a moment if she had already gotten Belén to agree to a different event and just forgot about it.
Belén could see how stumped Iris was and decided to make it easier by explaining. "Tomorrow's the date for the aerial dancing show, remember? I'm going to use the tickets Barry gave me for Christmas."
"Oh you're going!? That's wonderful!" Iris beamed and hugged Belén until she realized something important. "Hold on," she pulled away to suspiciously look at Belén, "You said tickets in plural. Who are you going with? Can't be me, I've got a shift at Jitters."
Belén dreaded her answer but saw no way to get out of it. "I asked Barry if he would come with me." Iris bit on her tongue to keep in the first thing that popped into her mind. But her growing smirk said it all. Belén sighed and looked straight at the movie, her thin pajamas suddenly becoming like an extra layer of heat. "It's not a date, Iris West, so you better not even start."
"I'm not…" Iris reached for a couple popcorn on the coffee table.
"I asked him because he was the one who gave me the tickets in the first place," Belén continued, clearing her throat. "And because I know my father helped in that and I want...that connection...to live on. It's important to me."
Iris could see it was and so, for once, kept away all her teasing. But the smirk on her lips didn't go away. She leaned back on the couch, holding her last piece of popcorn as she watched the movie. "You gotta at least let me help you get ready tomorrow night."
Belén considered the idea for a minute, looked down at her messy hair, picked at a strand and shrugged. "My hair could use a little toning up."
As Iris laughed with triumph, Belén smiled to herself while sporting a light pink blush on her cheeks.
~ 0 ~
The following morning had been taken up by an odd case of breaking into a garage of prestigious cars covered under white sheets. Barry found the garage door had been frozen by none other than a freeze gun, making it easy for the thief to break in. The odd case was that no cars were stolen. Everything was in its place as it should be, thus allowing for the conclusion that the break-in had been more of a trap for the Flash. Knowing this, Barry rushed to STAR Labs to explain to the others so they could get working on a plan.
"Captain Cold is back?" Cisco was still in mild shock. The last time they'd met the man it had been a close call. If it had not been for Belén, their plan of using a vacuum as a gun would have failed and they would have died...
"For a non-metahuman, Leonard Snart is proving to be quite the nemesis," Dr. Wells remarked, although not entirely surprised to hear Snart was back.
"He still has the cold gun, the one he stole from us, the one I built," Cisco reminded glumly.
"Well, what does he want this time?" Caitlin asked from Barry.
"The Flash," he frowned. "If Snart wants a fight with the Flash, then I'll give him one."
He was so sure of it until Wells swayed his head. "Well…"
"You don't think I should?"
"I didn't say that," Wells clarified, "But, Barry, as fast as you are, you cannot be everywhere at once. And it becomes then a question of priorities. Now, in the last month, you have made a commitment to increasing your speed, enhancing your reflexes, and it's working. You're finally getting faster."
"Okay, but what am I supposed to do, just ignore Snart?"
"We could always ask Bells," Cisco reminded quietly, unsurprised to see the round of shaking heads st him.
"Not a good idea," Dr. Wells was the one to say it out loud. "If Miss Palayta is not focused she will only get herself hurt and perhaps even others."
"...there is always Nina," Caitlin quietly spoke up as well.
"She's not trained enough," Barry put that idea down, mostly for the sake of Nina's safety.
"She helped take you down back when you were whammied," Caitlin then said back.
"This is not her fight, it's not Bells' either, Snart is looking for me," Barry finally said what had been behind his earlier reasoning.
"The last time you had a fight with Snart, a train derailed. You were lucky to get all those people to safety," Dr. Wells began laying out the truth as it was, "And if you don't give him that fight…"
"He may just back off, and there'll be no casualties," Barry finished in a mumble, knowing fully well that was a high possibility. It just didn't mean he liked it very much.
"Look, Barry, Cisco and I will work with Joe and the police and devise a way to catch Cold-" Wells noticed the impressed look on Cisco's face and playfully rolled his eyes, "-Yes, I said it, Cisco. As soon as it came out of my mouth, I heard it."
"Yeah, we can definitely come up with ways to neutralize Snart!" Cisco exclaimed.
"Listen, Barry. Whether or not you go after Snart, that's your choice. We here, we will do whatever we can to support you. But after this past Christmas, after the events with the reverse-Flash... I just think he poses a greater threat to all of us."
Barry gave in with a small nod. "Okay."
~ 0 ~
"We're leaving in five minutes, Belén, and that's whether or not you have shoes on!" Iris gave her last firm warning from downstairs before crossing the living room to retrieve her purse. She was worried Belén was wasting time on purpose so she wouldn't have to go out anymore. Well, Iris was not gonna have that.
Someone knocked on her front door, and rather than answer it first, she hollered up to Belén that she would be coming upstairs whether Belén was finished or not to take her to the mall. When she opened the door and found Eddie on the other side, her boyfriend was in a state of surprise.
"You realize that can qualify as kidnapping right?"
Iris rows her eyes and gave him a short kiss before letting him inside. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was gonna see if you wanted to have lunch but apparently you have other plans…" Eddie's eyes drifted towards the stairs where he assumed Belén was.
Iris apologetically smiled. "I'm sorry. I told Bells we were gonna go to the mall today and...well...sorry…?"
Eddie lightly sighed, not too surprised. "You know, if she's ready to go to the mall then I think it's high time you told her you were moving in with me."
"I've been wanting to, I promise, but...I've can't just abandon her like this," Iris trailed off, feeling like she was between the wall. She had made plans with Eddie to finally move in with him but after Belén decided to temporarily stay with her, Iris didn't have the heart to tell Belén about moving out. She knew Belén was still struggling to get back on her feet after her father's death and Iris didn't want to make her feel forced into leaving. Belén had to leave when she wanted to, when she felt ready to.
Unfortunately, this was testing Eddie's patience. He wanted to help Belén as much as possible too, but he just didn't understand why he and Iris couldn't do that while also living together. "Iris, how much longer are you going to be living here?" he asked her.
"Until Belén decides she can go back to her house," Iris answered firmly. "And then...we can move in," she smiled at him, taking his hands, "And that shouldn't be long okay? I promise."
And at that moment, they heard footsteps coming down the staircase. A minute later, Belén emerged, neatly dressed with a low pony tail behind her shoulders. "Hi, Eddie," she greeted politely.
"Hi, Belén," Eddie gave her a small hug, discreetly taking notice of how put together she was in comparison to the last time they'd seen each other. Maybe Iris was right and this wouldn't take much longer.
"What are you doing here?" Belén asked him.
"I was, uh…" Eddie faltered in coming up with an excuse fast. Thankfully, his clever girlfriend was right beside him.
"My Dad forgot something from work and Eddie was passing by for it."
"Oh, okay," Belén nodded. "I'll give you guys a moment then. Iris, I guess I'll wait outside then?"
"You bet you will," Iris pointed warningly at her. "Because we're going and that's that." Belén rolled her eyes, took her bag off the table, and went for the door. When she was gone, Iris turned back to Eddie, once again apologetically smiling. "Soon," she repeated, giving him another kiss to seal her promise.
~ 0 ~
When Barry entered his lab, he found Joe working at his desk with plenty of files spread around. "Joe, hey."
"Hey. I'm glad you're back. I've been going over Snart's files," Joe reached for a Jitters cup he had on the desk and handed it to Barry.
"Thanks. Yeah, I need to talk to you. As CSI, my work on this case is done. And as the Flash, I don't think I can focus on Snart right now."
Joe arched a questioning eyebrow. "You mind telling me what brought about this change of heart?"
"This man in yellow, the man that killed my mom, is still out there. I have to be ready to face him, which means amping up my speed. It's a question of priorities."
Something about that last sentence didn't sit well with Joe. "Your mom's killer isn't the only reason you've been doing this. You told me that if you could use your powers to save someone from a burning building, you would."
"Look, Dr. Wells and STAR Labs are gonna work with you," Barry tried to make things a little better. "Cisco thinks he has a way to protect the police against Snart's cold gun."
"Barry, I can understand if you're scared. We talked about this."
"Of course I'm scared, Joe!" Barry snapped, though regretted it a second later. He was just frustrated nothing was going right. "This guy could run into the precinct and kill everyone in here in seconds. He threatened Iris. He killed Bells' father. I won't let him hurt the most important people in my life again. If that means devoting every second I have outside this place to getting faster and to stopping him, then that's what I'm gonna do. I'm sorry. I've made up my mind."
He didn't give Joe a chance to retaliate as he left in a rush.
~ 0 ~
"Hey, Barry, come in," Iris was the one to greet at the front door. "I thought you were going to be Eddie."
"Eddie? Why?" Barry asked, mildly confused while scanning the immediate area for Belén. Her show would be starting soon, and being who he was he'd ran a little late.
"We made dinner plans," Iris closed the door behind him. "But listen, I'm glad you're here on your own cos I'm a little worried about Belén."
"What is it?"
"I'm having a little trouble getting her to come downstairs…"
But by the look on Iris' face, Barry could tell it was a little more than that. "How little?" he asked.
"She locked herself in your room."
Somehow, Barry was not surprised.
Iris shook her head, leading him towards the stairs. "She was all gung-ho until I said I'd let her borrow my purse tonight. I walked out of the room to go get said purse and when I came back, she locked herself inside! And she refuses to come out! She doesn't want to go anymore."
"We'll just see about that," Barry straightened himself up and started up the stairs.
"Please get her to go," Iris called from her spot downstairs. "Eddie's gonna be by any minute now and I just...I really think this can be good for her."
"Don't worry, Iris. It'll be fine," Barry assured. He left her to go upstairs. He came up to his old bedroom door and used a vibrating hand to unlock the door.
Belén seemed to be expecting him to do something like this as she immediately threw a notebook at him from the bed. "I thought you said you would always knock."
Barry bent down to pick up the notebook that had hit him square in the chest. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." He stood back up and placed the notebook on the edge of the bed.
She was sitting on the same side of the bed, dressed in a green and blue, plaid, dress with black tights underneath. Her hair had been put into a low, side ponytail with all her curls hanging loosely. Beside the bed laid a pair of small heeled, black boots.
"You look wonderful," Barry thought it a good place to start, though he really did mean it.
"I'm not going Barry," Belén shook her head. "I'm sorry I wasted your time, I'm sorry for wasting Iris' time but I just...can't."
"You said it was important to you, remember?"
"Yes, I do, but...it's hard."
"Of course it is."
"I mean this is the last connection I have to my Dad. After this, I won't have anything else. I don't...I don't want that to go away."
"But if you never went, then you would lose that connection without even experiencing it." Barry came over to her side. "And your father's idea will have gone to waste. Do you want that instead?"
"...no," Belén answered meekly.
"Then, why don't we go and at least give it a chance? Don't forget that while your Dad did help I was the one who had the idea. You really want to void my gift?"
"Barry Allen are you really going to guilt me into this by pouting at me?"
Barry felt childish as he pouted at her but also felt quite comfortable with her. She tried upholding her look but she scrunched her nose in defeat.
"That's not fair!" she playfully growled and crossed her arms, huffing afterwards. "You can't do that to me."
"Well, you can't expect me not to try. Up, up we go!" Barry seized her hands and easily pulled her up to her feet, ignoring her groans. "C'mon!"
"No!"
"Bells, this is ridiculous, let's go before we're really late!"
"Barry, I can't!"
Barry stopped at the door and looked back at her, more or less irritated. "Why not?"
"I don't have my shoes on," Belén pointed down to her feet.
"Oh! Sorry!" Barry instantly let her go and rushed to retrieve her boots by the bed.
"I can get them on-" Belén shut her eyes at the strong gust of wind that surrounded her in the next seconds.
"Can we go now?" Barry asked after successfully putting on each boot on her feet.
"I could have put those on myself, you know," Belén said, mocking a scolding look.
"Yeah, but I'm quicker. So, can we go now?"
"I don't have much of a choice do I?"
"Nope!"
Although Belén gave a deadpanning look, Barry ignored it and went right ahead in speeding them to the theater where the Dream would be performing at. The moment Belén saw the place she gasped and froze on her spot.
"A-are you okay?" Barry worriedly asked her, looking between her and the theater which was beginning to crowd at the entrance.
"I-I just...need a moment," Belén made a gesture with her hands and turned away from the theater.
"It's okay," Barry assured her. "You just need to take it slow. You can do this."
"My Dad used to be front row..." Belén pointed back at the theater and slowly turned to face it again. "Every show I did..." but the words failed her. It brought back so many memories she had long ago buried. She had left aerial dancing because her mother told her too, and had never quite gotten over it apparently as she came to realize now. But everything was different now - her number one supporter for aerial dancing was gone and even as she went to just watch a show she could feel it was no longer the same. Her heart hurt, and her mind whizzed.
She felt something soft take her hand, snapping her from her thoughts.
"You can do it," Barry whispered to her, gently gripping her hand.
Belén felt slightly better then, without an explanation. She allowed him to lead her towards the theater, listening to his words of encouragement. Their tickets allowed them a good seat up front.
The stage was lightly colored at the moment, but its rainbow swirls were still clear enough to brighten up the dark room. Barry was all about the science, and the facts and the logistics, and what he saw that night was not logical.
It started slow and with soft pastel colors. Three female dancers appeared first, all dressed up in cream-colored one-suits with their hair tied up in high pony tails with white flowers embedded around. Different colored silks were dropped from the ceiling, two per dancer. It was unlike anything Barry had ever seen, and that was saying something considering he was the Flash who fought metahumans on a daily basis.
Silk was wrapped around ankles as the dancers swung till their feet were high in the air and their hair flung around. At one point, Belén had to hold onto Barry's arm to keep him from swooping in as the Flash because he was so sure one dancer was going to slip and fall. This was, admittedly, making it worthwhile for Belén. She loved being back in the environment she had left and it was amazing to see so many familiar people doing what they loved up on stage. Every minute or so she would get a new memory from her times up there. It made her heart swell, no longer hurting like before.
All that ran through Barry's mind, in the meanwhile, was: Holy shit, Belén actually did this stuff. She actually got up and did this. What. The. Hell?
Every now and then, he would literally glance at his concentrated friend and try to imagine her up on stage.
When a dancer wrapped a silk around their waist and leaned impossibly back, he wondered if Belén was capable of such flexibility. Could she sway her arms so delicately like the brunette up on stage? At one point, a dancer wrapped a green silk around one of her thighs and used it to swing down and proceeded to entwine another piece of silk over her other thigh. She swung herself again in a sitting position, opened her arms and swayed them again before completing another swing so that her head was down below. She grabbed both silk pieces on her sides and flapped them wide. The crowd 'awed' and cheered at her, and no one louder than Belén. At the end of the show, both metas were so delighted with what they saw that neither of them realized they had yet to abandon the theater and were but one of the few watchers left.
"I am so glad that we came," Belén laughed to herself as she reached for her purse. "I...I haven't been to one of these in a long time, oh my God."
"I...can't believe this is actually something real," Barry admitted, still gaping at the stage where a couple of dancers were still at. "Belén, are you sure you did this?"
Belén laughed and turned around, about to respond a full 'yes' when someone else called her name. Momentarily confused, she looked about for the source until she saw a tall blonde coming towards them from the stage.
"Mark?" she blinked, unable to really confirm it was who she thought it was under the dim lights.
"Belén? Have you really come back to us?" the blonde hopped off the stage and walked up to the two.
"Oh my God, Mark!" Belén exclaimed and immediately threw her arms around the man's shoulders.
"I thought I recognized that laughter," Mark pulled away and looked over to Barry, the latter standing awkwardly behind. "She just has a specific laugh you can't really...misplace…"
"Yeah," Barry agreed weakly, looking to Belén.
The ombre-blonde smiled, for the first time, at both of them. "Barry, this is an old friend of mine from when I was on the team."
"Hi," Mark politely shook Barry's hand. "Mark Forneez. Nice to meet you."
"Barry Allen," the meta introduced himself politely.
"Barry got me the tickets to see your show," Belén explained to Mark.
"Ah, nice move," Mark gave a knowing smile that put both receiving-enders in state of flushes.
"Christmas present, friendly present…" Barry sputtered but not a complete sentence.
"Barry's one of my newest friends so he didn't really know about my past until I mentioned it," Belén tried to explain in a way that would set it clear how they were only friends and that this had been just a friendly present. "He thought it would be nice - and it was really nice," she made sure to tell Barry himself. "My Dad did well to give you the idea."
"Right, I heard about your father, Belén," Mark said, his voice softening as he looked at Belén. "The entire team did, actually. We're really sorry."
Belén gave a small nod and received another tight hug. "Thanks, Mark."
"If you need anything, please just let me know. You know where to find us, right?"
"Still practice in the building right?"
"Always," Mark gave her a nudge.
"Thank you, Mark."
"Well, it was nice seeing you again - nice meeting you Barry - but I have to get back and help with the clean up." Mark started backtracking when Belén called for him again.
It ashamed Barry to think it was high time for them to leave and with that leave they would put Mark behind as well. Belén looked pretty content for the first time and who was he to tear her away from it? In the end, Belén had only called Mark back for an exchange of phone numbers. Afterwards, the two were back out in the streets on the way home. It didn't take long to start feeling like normal, and Barry had a lot to say about the show.
Every now and then Belén would chuckle at one of his crazy comments and questions. They hadn't even thought of just speeding back to the West residence yet, too engulfed in clarifying and praising the show.
"But honestly speaking, did you really used to do that?" Barry had asked for about the fifth time, still suspiciously staring at her.
Belén swayed her head with another soft laugh. "Yes, Barry, I did. I promise."
"So you actually swung on those silks like there was no tomorrow?"
Belén had to laugh and stop to do so. She covered her mouth and looked at him. "Seriously? Like there was no tomorrow?"
Barry widely smiled, partly out of embarrassment but mostly because she was actually looking like she was having a good time. Mark was right - she had a laugh that could not be mistaken for anyone else's. He quite liked it, actually.
"A figure of speech…" Barry coughed.
"So like, you basically? You run like there's no tomorrow. Does that work?"
"Yes, yes it does!"
Belén laughed again but suddenly admitted. "If you ever do doubt my word, though, there are videos of my old performances...if you'd like to see them, you know."
"I think, after seeing all that tonight, I would very much like to," Barry said with a matching smile for Belén.
"Okay," Belén couldn't think of much more to say, and she was very greatful for the darkness covering up her blush.
"Uh, we should, um...get you home," Barry gestured ahead, as if the West house was just down the block.
He was nervous, yes he was, and he wasn't quite sure why. Belén nodded, understanding what he was trying to say. He took hold of her from the side and in a second they were standing on the front porch of the Wests'.
"Thank you for the gift, Barry," Belén said quietly, still genuinely smiling. "You were right in making me come, and seeing it all, I just…" she felt her eyes shimmer with tears and, embarrassed, shook her head. "Sorry…"
"It's fine, don't you worry about it," Barry assured, hoping she wouldn't suddenly grow grim again. "I'm very glad this helped you, because we all love you Bells. And, STAR Labs does kinda miss you, you know."
"Right," Belén chuckled to herself, clearing up some of her loose tears. "I haven't seen them in forever."
"Cisco is finishing his new suit for Nina and she's not quite happy about it," Barry confided, both then laughing.
"He's not making her a skirt right? Because Nina will beat the crap out of him."
Barry laughed. "Uh, no, I don't...I don't think so. But it is coming out pretty cool."
"I will think about checking it up," Belén said truthfully. She stepped forwards and kissed his cheek so suddenly it froze him in place. "Right after I look for those videos I now owe you."
"R-right," Barry nervously nodded in what he thought was an idiot kind of way. She looked so nice in front of him and all he could do was nod?
"Goodnight," Belén wiggled her fingers and turned for the door. She thought her shoes were doing a funny walk - did she forget how to walk?
As soon as Iris heard the door unlocking she turned off the television in the living room and jumped to lean on the couch. "So, how'd it go!?" she excitedly asked.
Belén smiled softly and felt, after weeks of gloominess, good. "It was lovely."
Iris gave her teasing smirk and warned Belén they would have to talk about it after she got some drinks for them. Belén didn't even care at the moment. She was just happy, very happy. Belén reached to push some hair back but instead spotted the ugly green patch on her wrist. Her eyes widened in horror and quickly stuffed her hand inside her coat's pocket.
She couldn't even afford to be really happy now?
Get it together, Belén. No one could ever see that. Ever.
~ 0 ~
"Here, take these," Maritza handed over a couple pills to Rayan, along with a glass of a water. Maritza tried hiding her worried expressions as soon as Angie and Noah walked into the apartment.
"I don't see my sister with you," Rayan rubbed his temples, impatiently waiting for the pills to make effect on the nasty headache he had.
Noah rolled his eyes, quite used to that greeting nowadays. It was the same or each time he came. "You know, I don't understand why you don't do the same to her," he gestured to Maritza.
"She's my sister, moron, she has other things to worry about. You, on the other hand, only have this one task. So tell me, why isn't it done yet?"
"It would be easier if you just let me bring her here," Noah began the same point he always made when they got on the topic.
"She has to come willingly, we've been over this. I want her to realize this is where she belongs...with her brother and her sister."
"Oh that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Angie dropped herself on the couch across the siblings. She rested an elbow on the couch arm-rest and smirked at them. "Do you really think that goody two-shoes is going to leave her life of hero for this?" she languidly gestured to the place.
"Not to mention the fact she likes her partner," Noah added and elicited a laugh from Angie.
"Right," the blonde wagged a finger in the air.
"Is one of you about to say anything intelligent soon?" Rayan snapped.
"It's true and you know it!" Noah shut him down. "You see it too you just don't want to admit it. Your sister works with the Flash, she is probably near him more than anyone else. The way in which she defends him...c'mon!" he laughed at their ignorance. "It's obvious! The good news is, is that she hasn't realize it yet or it would've been public already. Which means, there is still a chance, albeit a tiny one, but there's still one. You just had to acknowledge it and make plans around it."
Angie gave him a curious glance. "That's actually smart. I think I like you now."
Noah playfully rolled his eyes at her. He pushed her elbow off the armrest to take a seat. "Thanks."
"You two are unbelievable," Maritza spat. "Belén is difficult, I know, but she's going to realize that she needs to be with us. After all, we were all affected by the stupid Particle Accelerator. Once she knows what happened to all of us, she'll understand."
"Well, unless one of you-" Noah gestured to her and Rayan, his words laced a warning, "-gets off your high and mighty thrones to do something with us, you can forget it."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, it's time to show yourselves to her. Tell her what's going on already, then we'll know who's side she's really on."
The suggestion was troubling for both Maritza and Rayan. Rayan could only think about it so much until his head began to hurt with more force. The headaches had been coming and coming for the past months.
~ 0 ~
In STAR Labs, Caitlin searched for anything Firestorm related online. She was certainly not expecting company at the moment, considering this was something delicate.
So, when Barry came in with a polite 'hey' she gasped and jumped in her chair. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
Caitlin turned her chair in his direction and smiled. "No, it's okay. I was just kind of focused."
Barry looked at the computer and saw glimpses of Firestorm articles. "Gotcha. What's firestorm?"
"It's one of the last things Ronnie said to me before he... flew away," Caitlin made a face as she realized just how that sounded. "My dead fiance can fly. I haven't broke that to my parents yet." She shook her head and then noticed the everlasting smile on Barry's face, even as he drank from a Jitters cup. "You doing okay?"
"Mm?" It appeared Barry had forgotten he was with Caitlin as he nearly choked on his coffee. He looked down at her, momentarily flushed while she knowingly smiled.
"I forgot to ask, how did it go last night with Bells?" she asked then.
"Good," Barry tried to remain casual but even he had become aware of his lasting smiles. "It went good."
Caitlin liked seeing him happy, but she felt a responsibility to remind him of the important details that pertained to last night. "Barry, you do remember that it wasn't a date...right?"
Barry's face immediately went red. He put his coffee down and cleared his throat, all the meanwhile Caitlin studiously stared at him. "O-of course I do, C-Caitlin! How could I forget?"
Caitlin's smile softened. "I was only reminding you. So tell me, did she like the show?"
"She loved it. It was like getting a glimpse of the old Bells."
"That is very good news," Caitlin pointed at him then turned her chair to face the computers again. "I wish I had good news like that."
"What exactly are you trying to find?" Barry leaned closer to the screens, seeing multiple articles about Firestorm.
"Just, anything about Firestorm. But, nothing comes up except gibberish," Caitlin sighed. "Like it doesn't exist."
Barry tilted his head, eyes scanning the abstracts of several articles, quickly seeing it had nothing to do with what Caitlin was looking for. "What if...what if Firestorm isn't a word?" he suddenly asked.
"What?"
"Ronnie was an engineer, you're a scientist, you're both accustomed to using acronyms for works."
Caitlin then understood what he was trying to say and started retyping. "What if Firestorm isn't a word?" She typed the acronym F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M and this time only one article popped up. She clicked on it and out came a long reading. "Fusion ignition research experiment and science of transmutation originating RNA and molecular structures." She read aloud but got to the bottom part and sheepishly looked at Barry. "It's 800 pages."
Unsurprised, Barry stepped closer to the computers and began reading at top speed. In less than a minute he was finished. "There's a lot of stuff in there, but it mostly focuses on transmutation, which is the process of altering the structure of an element by unzipping the atoms…"
"And rebuilding it to create an entirely new element," Caitlin nodded.
"Well, the article was co-written by Jason rush, who's a grad student here at Hudson university. So if anybody knows what happened to Ronnie…"
"Maybe he does," Caitlin said hopeful. "Thanks!"
~ 0 ~
When Iris walked down the staircase, she was largely confused to find the foyer room full of empty cardboard boxes. What got her more was Belén standing by the staircase closet with another box in hands.
"What's going on?" Iris asked slowly, taking the last couple of steps down.
"You're moving out," Belén shrugged like it was casual.
Iris' eyes widened. "How…?"
"I heard you and Eddie yesterday before going to the mall," Belén elaborated as she put the box down on the floor. "Iris, I had no idea what you were planning. If I had, I would've stayed at home."
"No, this is exactly why I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to feel guilty," Iris walked forwards.
"It's the truth," Belén repeated. "It's not fair for me to bring you down in my grieving period. I don't want you to stop living your life because I sullenly stopped living mine. You are moving out because a wonderful man's patience is being tested out there and it's just morally wrong."
The two shared a small laugh and got straight to work. In about an hour, the foyer room and parts of the living room were covered with boxes, clothes draped over couches and tables, personal objects on the floor and part of the staircase.. They had even gotten Joe to help, surprising him first that it was actually going to happen now. Apparently he was quite happy Belén was staying over because that meant his Iris wasn't going anywhere for at least another while. It made the two women laugh.
Sometime in the middle, Barry showed up as well, and he was just as surprised as Joe had been when he saw all the moving-out boxes lying about. "What's going on here?"
"You came to help her pack?" Joe inquired, although unbelieving it as well.
"No, no, no. Iris called and said that she had something for me."
"Yes, I do!" Iris got up from a nearby box and walked over to pick up a red backpack from the floor. "Bells actually found this in my closet."
"I thought it was just a backpack," Belén came over, seeing how wrong she was judging by Barry's ecstatic face.
"I haven't seen this in years!" he exclaimed as he took the bag, ignoring both Joe's and Iris' laughter.
"Well, the nerd survival kit is still intact," Iris patted his arm, still teasing him by laughing.
"Hey, Rayan used to read those," Belén inched closer to Barry as he pulled out an old comic book from the backpack. "He used to get mad at me for even breathing around them. What's so good about them anyways?"
"Don't even get him started," Iris shook her head.
"Once he starts he can't shut up," Joe added.
Barry, red-faced, gave them both a mini-glare. "Alright then." Belén laughed while he put away the comic into the backpack again.
"I think I'm late for work," Iris had checked her phone. "Dad I promise I will clean this up when I get back, okay?"
"Don't worry, Iris, I got it," Belén waved it off. "Least I can do for everything you've done for me."
"Thanks, Bells," Iris gave her a quick hug before heading out.
"Joe, do you mind if I have a quick word with Barry? I have to leave anyways too," Belén said sheepishly before adding, "And don't worry, unlike Iris I will have this cleaned up when I get back."
"How about you just don't leave either so that way Iris can stay again?" Joe tried his luck for the last time, making her chuckle. "Yeah, it was a long shot." With a light sigh, he signaled he would be upstairs.
"You're going back home?" Barry assumed immediately after they were left alone.
"Mhm. It's time I stop forcing people to mourn with me," Bells nodded. "Did you know that Iris had been planning on moving out but postponed it for my sake?"
"Well…" Barry rubbed the side of his neck.
Belén tilted her head disapproving. "And you didn't tell me either. Great."
"Iris asked me not to…" Barry sighed. "We just wanted to help you as much as possible."
"Well," Belén didn't look as upset as he thought she would be, "I'm going back home. It's time to face what is now my life. But listen, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Shoot then."
There was an immediate shift in attitude in her. Her eyes seemed to shimmer, not of tears as they commonly did but of excitement. "I met with Mark this morning…"
See, something about that sentence didn't make Barry feel quite good. He was aware of it too and felt more puzzled than ever.
"...and we got to talking. He's become one of the leads of the team and, so...he has more authority than other dancers. I told him how much I realized I missed the place, the dances, my old friends...and he offered me a chance to come by and just, you know, start practicing again." There was a visible streak of shock etching across Barry's face and Belén jumped to add something more, thinking he was disapproving. "It's nothing promising, though, just...just a way for me to keep that connection with my Dad, you know…"
"Bells, I think...that's great," Barry began, and she immediately relaxed.
"You think so?"
"Yes! I mean, I think it's what you've needed, honestly. You seemed to be missing that part of your life and if, if that Mark guy is willing to help then...you know, go for it!"
The biggest smile spread across Belén's face. "I think it is what I needed. For the first time in weeks it's making me feel something besides grief. And it...it feels nice," she exhaled.
"I'm happy for you," Barry truthfully said, although a part of him wondered if this meant they would be seeing even less of her. She was already refusing to come to STAR Labs, how would this affect things?
"I'm going to go tell him yes right now!" Belén's announcement brought him back to the present. She was looking for her jacket somewhere in the mess, babbling on about setting up a meeting with Mark.
Deciding to be helpful, Barry sped around the room and put away everything in sight, leaving a neatly stack of packed boxes by the door.
"Oh that was so nice of you," remarked Belén with a sheepish smile, "But, um...my jacket was somewhere in the mess...and you probably put it away."
Barry turned back to the boxes, sighing as he went back through them, all in the meanwhile Belén stood there and laughed at his antics.
~ 0 ~
That night, STAR Labs kept true to their word and came up with designed shields that were meant to protect policemen from Snart's ice gun. Assuming the next spot Snart was to attack, the policemen, including Joe and Eddie, filed out towards the local mini-airport where Mr. and Mrs. Rathaway would be arriving with a million dollar priced artwork. Sure enough, Snart made an appearance...but he was not alone. The shields were meant to protect below average temperatures but were not equipped to protect against violent flames. In other words, they had not calculated for Mick Rory, and a heat gun, to be there as well. There were minor casualties, but enough to put some chaos in the CCPD.
Barry was one of the first to hear and immediately arrived at the building, where sure enough they were in the middle of trying to get back in order. He found Joe by the threshold of the main offices.
"Hey, are you okay!?"
"I'm fine," Joe nodded. "Snart's new partner, he's got this handheld flamethrower. Almost everyone was treated on the scene, but... We got two in the burn unit, though."
This made Barry feel incredibly guilty. He should have been there - he needed to have. "I'm sorry," he said, though knew it meant nothing now. "I should've listened to you."
"It's all good. But... The next time Snart and his pyro pal show up, you make them sorry they ever messed with you," Joe warned with a finger before whipping out his phone. "I got to call the hospital."
Barry nodded, intending on seeing it through.
~ 0 ~
"I love it," Belén chuckled as she and Mark stepped out of the theater. Belén held Mark's cellphone and was scrolling through pictures of the team. "These are so incredible, I can't believe you guys went on to New York. And England!" Mark laughed alongside her. "Oh my God, is that Casey?" she stopped at a picture of him and two blonde women in front of a beautiful garden. "I haven't seen her in years. She wasn't in the last show, right?"
"She's with her sister - she's got a new niece," Mark informed with a bright smile on his face.
"I can't wait to talk to her when she comes back," Belén gushed over the thought of speaking to old friends. She gave Mark back his phone and settled down. "I'll see you Friday, then?"
"Friday," Mark nodded, giving her a goodbye hug. "Get your silks and training clothes ready."
"I definitely will," Belén assured. With a last goodbye, they went in opposite directions. She pulled out her phone to search for any missed calls. There were, unsurprisingly, several from Cisco and Caitlin. Her fingers hovered over each of their names, unsure of how to even call back. She made it like a life mission not to step foot in STAR since her father's death. It felt like she failed her father and that STAR Labs was reserved for the heroes that were actually heroes capable of doing their duties.
The moment she stepped in front of her car - her brother's old car - she heard a whizzing noise followed by a loud crack behind. Her eyes widened at the sight of the frozen window on her driver's side. Slowly, she turned around and saw none other than Leonard Snart and, unknown to her yet, Mick Rory.
"Long time no see," Snart devilishly smirked her way. "You shoot, you dance - if you come up with a third one you could be a triple threat."
Belén's heart hammered as the second man, Mick, stepped towards her. "N-n-n-n-no! Let's be rational!" she threw her bag at them and made a run for it.
Unfortunately it didn't work out.
~ 0 ~
Iris set down two mugs of cofee for a pair of customers at a table, asking them if there was anything else they would need. Upon a 'no' she turned back for the counter, and as soon as she looked up to the incoming customers, she found Maritza coming in holding the hand of her son Axel.
"Maritza, hey," Iris greeted, unable to mask her surprise in her tone.
"Hi Iris!" Axel greeted much like a four year old would, with excitement.
"Hello there, Axel," Iris smiled at the boy and headed back for the counter.
"I know it's strange seeing me," Maritza said quietly, understanding perfectly well the resentment she'd been getting due to her distance of her family. If they only knew why.
"Well, I just think when one of your parents die, it's customary to be close to your siblings," Iris said, rather coldly, not that she cared.
"We all mourn in different ways," Maritza said weakly.
"But family is important, too. They stick together in tough times, and you chose to wallow in your grief alone, leaving your sister alone in the process."
"I know it was bad, and that nothing I say can make it better," Maritza sighed. "I just...I just want to see my sister but no one was home."
"That's cos she's been staying with me and my Dad," Iris revealed, although there was something about her tone that put Maritza on edge. It was no longer cold nor anger seeping out.
"But…?" Maritza drew out.
"It's just...I haven't spoken to Bells since yesterday."
"What do you mean?" frowned Maritza. "Have you tried calling her?"
Iris bit her lip, her eyes discreetly glancing towards the wall clock that struck one p.m. and she now knew she couldn't keep thinking it was nothing.
~ 0 ~
Barry, Cisco and Dr. Wells were hunched over the desk computers in Labs, listening to Cisco's newest discovery over the cold gun and the heat gun.
"See, when the heat gun was fired, it increased the surrounding temperature of the air dramatically, sort of like an extreme heat wave," but Cisco had to stop for a moment as a new realization struck him. "Heat Wave."
"Stop doing that," Dr. Wells scolded but there was no actual meaning behind it.
"Okay. I measured the temperature output of both the cold and heat guns, right? And while the cold gun achieves absolute zero, the heat gun successfully reaches absolute hot, or the hottest temperature an object can reach."
"Planck temperature," Barry understood fast.
"So potentially, these two guns could cancel each other out," Wells liked what he was hearing.
"Yeah, but to do that, you'd have to make them cross streams," Cisco glanced over to Barry.
"You mean like Ghostbusters?"
"That film is surprisingly scientifically accurate. And really quite funny."
Barry rolled his eyes at him, leaving it at that because his phone was ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out, saw Iris' name and took the call. "Iris, what's up?"
~ 0 ~
"Hey, Barry, listen, I was wondering if you knew where Belén is?" Iris turned her back on the counter, lowering her voice so that the nearby Maritza wouldn't hear her. "I haven't spoken to her since yesterday, and, well...at first I thought it was nothing but now Maritza's here and-"
"Maritza is there? What is she doing there?"
"She's come to see her sister obviously. But the point here is she stopped by Bells' home and she wasn't there either."
"Maybe she just overslept or something," Barry suggested. "Or maybe she's at CC Pictures."
"That's what I thought in the morning but, well…" Iris trailed off, biting nervously onto her nail.
"Well?"
"I went into your room, Barry, and she wasn't there. The bed - it was untouched. It was like she hadn't slept in it."
~ 0 ~
That put Barry on alarm as well. He glanced at Cisco, the latter conversing with Dr. Wells over future plans with the guns.
"Do you know if she slept over with someone else?" Iris asked then. "I thought Caitlin-"
"No, Cait went to have a word, um...she's not with Caitlin," Barry felt it was not his place to divulge information on Caitlin's whereabouts last night seeing it had to do with Firestorm.
"Okay, now I'm feeling bad because I waited too long. I swear I thought she was with Caitlin or something…"
"Don't worry Iris, I'll figure it out," Barry assured, although he wasn't too sure himself. It wasn't adding up.
"I'll keep Maritza busy I guess," Iris said glumly before hanging up.
Barry hung up afterwards and looked around, trying to come up with quick places he could check easily. Just as he was going to put away his phone it vibrated again. Thinking it was Belén, he hurried to answer without checking the ID.
"Bells!?"
"Barry-" it was Joe, "-you need to get over here. Fast."
~ 0 ~
Out in the parking lot of the local community theater, the CCPD had put cautionary tape around Belén's car. Barry went straight past the officers, up to Joe.
"Joe, anything?"
"There's no sign of Belén anywhere," Joe shook his head, moving aside so he could see the car behind. "We found her bag over there-" he pointed a few feet from them, "-but nothing else."
Shattered ice pieces were left near the car, some of them coming from the iced, cracked window. "Oh my God," Barry whispered at the sight, running a hand through his hair. He could see nothing that could tell him whether or not Belén was severely hurt on the spot, but nothing guaranteed she wasn't now. Determined, he turned back to Joe. "We're getting her back. We have to find Snart."
"Damn right we do. Come on, let's go," Joe gestured for them to get a move on.
And so they returned to the CCPD to continue the investigation. The moment they arrived, they were greeted by Eddie with a new file in hand.
"We got a hit," he announced, "A second pair of prints," he handed Joe the manila file, "They belong to a Mick Rory."
"Who is he?" asked Barry.
"Big-time arsonist," Joe explained. "He and Snart worked a job last year that went bad. Half of Rory's body was burned in a fire that got out of control. He escaped from an ambulance on the way to the hospital, hasn't been seen since."
"Why would they kidnap someone like Belén?" Eddie frowned at them, utterly lost.
Singh came out of his office with a finger pointed at the higher placed televisions. "Joe, Thawne, it's on every station."
They all looked up to the unmuted television that sure enough was broadcasting an unusual stream. Snart was up-close and personal on the screen, while Mick held onto Belén.
'Greetings, citizens of central city. I am Leonard Snart. But you can call me Cold. I'm gonna make this very simple for everyone…'
~ 0 ~
"Oh my God..." Angie's mouth fell open at the television screen and immediately turned up the volume. "RAYAN!" she called for the man in the hallway. "You have to see this now!"
Rayan came out grumbling, about to tell her off for disturbing his sleep when he saw his sister on screen with two well known criminals. "What...?"
'...That red streak you've been hearing whispers about, the one mysteriously saving people these past few months? Well, surprise, he's real...'
~ 0 ~
"Is that…" Maritza looked up to one of the Jitters televisions, seeing past Snart's face to Belén in the background.
"What in the…?" Iris stopped pouring coffee to look up as well.
'He calls himself the Flash. Porter and Main, tonight, sundown. Come out, come out, wherever you are, Flash. Show the whole world you're real...'
~ 0 ~
'...Or this woman dies."
Though Belén was being pointed at she didn't care. She wasn't thrashing against them, nor looked the least bit afraid anymore. Once she learned their plan she knew there was no reason to be. They weren't after her. She was just a means to get the message through.
She met the camera with a straight face. "You don't have to," was all she said to the camera, hoping to God Barry would understand she would get out of it herself. She didn't want to force him to expose himself to the city.
The problem was Barry had made his decision before the transmission even ended.
~ 0 ~
Angie boredly stared as Rayan threw the television control at her television. "I'm gonna have to bubble wrap everything in this goddamn place," she muttered.
Rayan stalked into the hallway and Angie got up to follow. "What are you going to do?"
"FIND MY SISTER!" he screamed in her face and went into his room, slamming the door on her.
Angie felt no guilt whatsoever in hoping that they never did. She was becoming a nuisance, honestly.
~ 0 ~
"That hurts!" Belén hissed when Mick tied her second wrist down to the chair. She hated the rotten smell the warehouse they were in gave off, and she hated the two men around her who seemingly wanted nothing with her but to use her as bait. Mick ignored her and squatted down beside her, eyeing her. "What?" she snapped, meeting his look.
"You're a friend of his, huh?" Mick asked.
"You can say that," Belén smirked crookedly. "And I nearly shot yours."
"Nearly," Snart called from his spot across, hunched over a table.
"He's fast... Like fire," Mick suddenly said, whipping out a lighter and slowly waving it between him and Belén. "Fire, it's undefinable. Heat, light, energy. It's an evolution when things burn."
"Go get help," Belén concluded and looked away momentarily. "You're sick, do you know that?"
"Maybe you're the sick ones. You ever think about that?"
"Oh, good comeback," Belén rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with you anyways?" she eyed his burned skin. "You didn't ever think going to the hospital might help all that?"
"The fire revealed my true self, showed me who I really am. I wonder what your Flash will reveal when I burn his suit and skin off," he smirked at her, but it made no difference for her.
Belén leaned closer to him. "You won't be able to lay even a finger on him."
"So sure?" Mick challenged her, but she didn't falter.
"Absolutely. I'd say leave him alone but after what you did he's coming, and when the Flash is angry...watch out," the light smile on Belén's face only irritated Mick more.
"You're so sure he'll come to help you yet you told him not to," Snart turned from his table. "Which is it?"
"I hope he doesn't," Belén admitted. "But 99.9% of me knows I'm lying to myself if I think he's staying put."
Snart rolled his eyes and moved onto business. "Mick, time to go." Mick gave one last smile to Belén, who glared in return, and got back on his feet.
Mick rose up but not before pressing a red button on a small device strapped to the bottom of Belén's chair. "You better pray the next people that come through this door is us." He made sure to tie a gag around her mouth tightly.
"Nice to see you again, shooter-girl," Snart called and Belén tried to insult him through the gag.
When they two criminals had gone, Belén calmed down and let her vines wrap over the gag until it was untied and fell to the ground. The same thing happened with her wrists and feet. She was free, but she couldn't make her move without setting off the device under her chair.
"Just...great," she huffed at her predicament.
~ 0 ~
Momentarily alone in the cortex room, Barry stood in front of his suit on display. He was just waiting for the 'go' sign from Joe. The entire city was probably waiting for him and that...that put him on edge.
"She said you didn't have to," Caitlin's voice made him jump on his spot. She and Dr. Wells were the only ones left in the building since they would be monitoring him in the street. Cisco and Joe were tasked with finding Belén.
"And you think she meant that?" Barry asked her, meeting her soft smile.
"Yeah. But I think we all knew you wouldn't do it."
"If roles were reversed she would be doing the same," Barry said with the utmost certainty. "We're partners. I told her I'd have her back and she said she'd have mine."
Caitlin nodded, seeing there was nothing left to say on the matter. "Then go get them."
A second later, Barry's phone buzzed from his pocket, and when he answered it was Joe. "Okay, you're on," the man said with a tinge of fear. "Good luck, son."
"Thanks," Barry moved to hang up when Joe added as a final warning.
"Barry, after tonight, everyone's gonna know that the Flash exists. Are you ready for that?"
Barry understood completely the implications and still stood by his decision. It was worth it. She was worth it. "I'll see you soon," he said to Joe and finally hung up. He put away his phone and looked at his suit again.
"I'll go get Dr. Wells," Caitlin wished him good luck and went on her way.
Barry glanced to the side where Belén's green suit had been placed weeks ago and left untouched. He didn't realize it till then how much he missed seeing her in it, having her working beside him. Well, there would be a next time, he thought. There was no way in hell he was going to lose.
~ 0 ~
Zipping through the night streets of the city, Barry was very punctual in meeting Snart and Mick. The precise street had been evacuated and policemen, including Eddie, were on standby watching.
"The Scarlet speedster. Any preference on how you'd like to die?" Snart was the first to make a greeting. He waved his gun with the biggest smirk on his face. "The flame or the frost?" Barry only stared, though his mask covered up his anger it was pretty evident how he felt. "Not in the mood for chitchat. Gotcha. Ready when you are." Snart powered up his gun, as did Mick, and both shot forwards their respective beams.
Barry went right past them, easily dodging said beams. He gave only a second of a gap before he zipped right past them, disorienting both thieves for a minute. The second time around, the thieves had caught on. Snart caught Barry on surprise and, instead of directly hitting Barry, he formed an ice wall in Barry's direction. The speedster screamed in both horror and terror as he went straight first into the structure of ice. He tumbled on the ground, landing against a thrashed car.
"Barry?" he heard Dr. Well's voice through the comm. "Barry, are you okay? You know what you have to do."
"Yeah, get them to cross their beams and cancel their guns out. I know."
Mick stepped forwards and blasted flames from his own gun, causing the car Barry was hiding behind to explode into flames. Barry sped right out of it and onto a lonely side corner where he could catch his breath.
"It just not as easy as it sounds," he told Wells afterwards.
~ 0 ~
Belén was, shamefully, bored waiting to be rescued. She liked fairy tales, but she wasn't exactly liking having to once again be helped as if she couldn't do anything on her own. "What good is it to have powers if you can't use them," she sighed to herself. Maybe if she'd been practicing like Barry had told her over and over she would have more creative ideas to use her powers.
She heard a noise from the front doors and thought it to be someone else, seeing they were trying to bring down the locks. She heard a freezing noise, and for a minute thought it was Snart again. But the doors blasted into icy pieces and in came a familiar voice.
"Boy you sure love to get yourself into trouble, don't you?" Azul strolled in.
"You?" Belén frowned.
"Try not to conceal your disappointment," he rolled his eyes. "I'm not Flash but I do make an effort here. Would you like me to dress in red?"
"I can't...I can't decide if that was flirting..." Belén blinked, honestly having a hard time deciding.
"Is that disappointment I hear again?" Azul's smirk irritated the hell out of her.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?"
Azul laughed and started coming for her when she shouted again. "No! Don't come any closer! They put a bomb on the chair!"
"Why don't you just use your powers to escape? I thought that was the point of them."
"Escaping is no problem for me, idiot," she raised her free hands. "It's me getting out before the bomb goes off that's the complicated part."
"Thank goodness we've got someone better," Azul shot her wink. "Come in!"
Belén heard new footsteps and strained her neck to see who it was, as her chair was facing the other direction and she couldn't risk moving the bomb strapped underneath "Who's that?"
It was a tall man, dressed in black and grey leather, walked in. He wore a black, half-mask. However, the mask didn't stay on for long, as his hands reached up to take it off. Belén gasped loudly, unable to decide if she wanted to scream or cry at the same time.
"Hello my dear sister," Rayan greeted with the kindest smile ever, one that made Azul stop to question if this was the really the man he'd been working with. "Long time no see."
~ 0 ~
With the crazy shooting his way, Barry had no choice but to run up alongside buildings to dodge them or at least reflect them. However, on one of those he was struck by one beam and fell to the ground.
From the sidelines, Captain Singh ordered the other officers to get moving. "The fight is spreading beyond the evac area. We need to expand the perimeter."
"We can't," Eddie said determinedly. "We can't let this spread." He snatched up one of the designed STAR Labs shields and ran off, ignoring the calls of his name.
~ 0 ~
"It's okay, I can get you out," Rayan assured his younger twin. "This might feel a little weird, okay?"
"Weird how - AH!" Belén yelped in surprise as her body literally levitated off her chair. She turned her head frantically to see herself floating towards her brother and Azul. "H-how are you doing this!?"
Rayan hid his struggling face as he answered. He'd been having minor pain when using some of his powers but this was pain. He wasn't liking it, and he definitely wasn't going to show it. "With much love, Belén. I got you, don't worry."
"You're a telekinetic!" Belén exclaimed, gently dropping into his brother's arms.
"And you're a poisonous meta," Rayan's matching brown eyes met his sister's. "We've both changed."
Belén was put down on her feet. Her eyes shimmered with tears as she took in the fact her brother was right there in front of her again. She gave him the biggest hug possible. "I missed you so much!" she stifled a cry.
"As did I," Rayan admitted, relishing in the moment. "But, don't you think I've ever stopped watching over you."
Belén pulled away and smiled what she thought was probably the ugliest smile ever as it was covered in loose tears and dirt from her kidnapping. "I needed you, Rayan. Dad...he's…"
"I know," Rayan's eyes glistened as well. "And I want you to know that I will catch this guy and I will make him pay for what he did."
"It wasn't the Flash, did you get that message?" Belén asked quick. "It wasn't him, okay? It was a different speedster. They call him...the Reverse Flash apparently. It was him. He killed Dad because of some tachyons."
Rayan took Belén's hand and started leading them for the broken doors. The warehouse was not too far from the beginnings of the city.
"We're gonna find him, Belén. I swear."
"Why did you come for me?" Belén looked between him and Azul. "You say you've been watching over me, but when I needed you most you weren't there."
Rayan sighed. "It's complicated, Belén. But I wanted to be there. Things are…"
"Complicated," Belén finished for him. She glanced at Azul with nothing but disapproval. "You've been hanging out with the wrong crowds, Rayan."
"A lot's happened since the last time we saw each other," Rayan cleared his throat. "I was kidapped by some...gang, and it took me months to escape."
"I know, but why didn't you come back home?" Belén asked softly. "I've been looking everywhere for you and...you've just been playing hide and seek. You had your freaky metas come after me! You had them shoot me!"
"I didn't know it was you behind the mask!" Rayan immediately clarified. "Pixel got hell for that after I realized it was you."
"Rayan, what's happened to you?" Belén looked her brother up and down. She felt something was off about him, besides the new abilities and the evil crowd he was with.
"I survived," Rayan said coldly. "The Particle Accelerator did this to me. It did this to all of us," he gestured to the trio. "What I've done, I've done because of them. They have to pay for what they've done-"
"What?" Belén blinked. "You mean STAR Labs? No-"
Rayan reached for her hands and cut her off. "I want you to come with me. Your abilities are extraordinary, but you are wasting your time with the Flash and all the other accomplices. You belong with me, with your family."
Belén looked at the city and suddenly saw two distinct rays of orange and blue shooting into the sky. "The Flash…" she went wide-eyed at her brother and Azul, "...he's...he's fighting the two that kidnapped me. We...we gotta help him."
"Belén, you're not listening!" Rayan snapped, unusually harsh. Her widened eyes laid on him again and showed, frankly, some fear. "You need to come with us!"
"I am not going anywhere with your nor your little band of criminals," she snapped. "They're thieves! Murderers!"
"You've been looking for me, Belén, and here's your chance to reunite with me. We can take down the bad guy, and we can take revenge on those who have wronged us. Most importantly, we can be a family again."
"Rayan-"
"Don't call me that," he shut his eyes for a moment. "I want...I want to be called Neuro."
"What?" Belén's eyebrows raised together. "No, your name is Rayan and you can help. Please, we need to go help my friend."
Rayan gripped her hands, imploring her to listen by tugging her closer. "I came out because you were in deep trouble, Belén. I wanted you to come to me because you wanted to. So please, I'm asking you to come with me now, and forget all that you know from that Flash, that...that crazy idea you can be a superhero."
"Rayan, I-"
"Don't you want to be with your family?"
"Don't...don't do this…" Belén could see the decision she was being forced into, or at least unfairly by the circumstances. "Rayan, I love you, and I want to be a family again…" but her eyes drifted to the city again, where the gun beams were growing wilder.
"Then let's go," Rayan said quickly. "Now is the time for you to get out. Come with your brother."
Belén swallowed hard and let her eyes fall on the city again. Her heart beat rapidly as she thought of Barry fighting off Snart and Mick on his own. They were partners and this was what they'd promised to do, help each other. She'd been nothing but difficult lately and, even though she deserved to be alone, Barry had been there trying to cheer her up nonstop.
She took back her hands from Rayan, and with tears falling down her eyes, she shook her head. "He's been there for me and now I can be there for him. I want to be there...and I want to help people. I've just been so obsessed with you that I forgot about me. I can't keep doing that."
"Belén..." Rayan was definitely not liking where this was go.
"Dad would be so disappointed," Belén continued, her voice frail yet assertive. "In you. Not me." That wounded him, Belén could see it all over his face. "If you really want to be a family again then you'll leave all of this and come with me right now to help my friend. It's your decision now."
Rayan gaped at his sister, but she did not budge from her stance.
~ 0 ~
From his abrupt fall, Barry could not quite get up yet, even as Snart and Mick approached him. Just when the two were about to shoot their respective guns, Eddie managed to get through and shield him and Barry from the beams.
"I've got you!" the blonde officer exclaimed, though struggled to uphold his word.
With little energy, Barry sped them out of the way to safety. He left Eddie and returned to the street. "I can't get them to cross streams," he spoke into the comm. "Speed isn't getting it done."
"You're right," Wells said, as if just realizing it himself. "Maybe the way to do this is not by going faster."
"It's going slo-"
Someone else shouted from across, close to where Snart and Mick were. Thick vines had wrapped around a figure, revealing to be 'the Azalea' - and she was not happy. One thick, strong vine went straight for Mick, punching him across the face and knocking him to the ground.
"What's the matter?" she called to Snart who was taking in the uninvited opponent. She was furious, and it wasn't totally with him which only made things worse. Because she was in civilian clothing - though wearing a makeshift mask of her vines and azaleas - the blotches of green were trickier to hide. Belén could feel that uninvited rush of powers washing over her.
Go away, she desperately wished.
A low growl slipped through her mouth, indicating she was losing the internal battle. Before she knew it, she thrust a tendril of vine directly for Snart. The man barely dodged it but Belén was quicker in her state. She snapped the tendrils like lassos and forced him to continue jumping to dodge. He directed his gun at her and began to fire several times.
Relieved to see her, and a bit afraid for her life, Barry zipped across the street and got Belén out of the way. He hid them behind another car. "Bells?" he noticed she wasn't quite herself but blamed it on her kidnapping.
Belén gasped and came back as herself. Her eyes darted to ever inch of her body and was grateful to see the green had gone...she was just left wondering for how long.
"Belén?"
She met eyes with him and remembered where she was. "Oh...oh! I had a plan!"
"I kinda had one too...you shouldn't be here," Barry could hear Caitlin repeatedly telling him to tell Belén to get back to STAR Labs for a check up.
Belén shook her head. "Nope! I have a plan and it's quite easy too! It involves no more burned suit…" she was having a good eye on his tarnished suit, even making a face.
"New partner, Flash?" Snart called to them.
"They're allowed," Belén popped up from behind the car. "Now choke on this!" she sucked in a breath and released the familiar mist of pink poison towards him and Mick.
"Azalea!" Barry feared for a minute her anger would get the best of her and make her do something she would later regret.
Snart started coughing, forced to drop his gun as he clutched at his throat. "Dark…" he smirked nonetheless her way. The same was happening with Mick.
Belén jumped onto the car and watched with pride. "But not a murderer. The poison is enough to make you weak, but you'll be fine." She swung one arm to the right and slammed Mick with a tendril of vine against a closed shop's door. She snatched the heat gun then swung her other arm to the right and left Snart lying against a mailbox. She picked up the cold gun and brought both guns into her arms.
Barry got on his feet and looked at the sight Belén had left. "Did I mention I love having you as my partner?" he moved around the car and helped her get down. Before he could see her teary eyes she threw her arms around his neck for a well-needed hug.
~ 0 ~
"What do you mean she...chose another?" Maritza was appalled to hear such a story from her younger brother. The two were sitting inside the warehouse that had been hardly touched since Rayan's headaches started.
"Exactly what I said. Belén made me choose," he said, sounding truly offended of the matter.
"Well, I'll give her points for being a lot tougher than we thought," Maritza ran a hand through her hair. "I mean...I guess we didn't really think about what she would say."
"How could we? Neither of us are with her enough to know her," Rayan shrugged. "We've left her with some new people who...who are changing her every day."
"Then maybe that's what we need to work on," Maritza resolved. "We need to remind Belén that family is everything. She's always been family-driven so it shouldn't be that hard."
"You think so? Because I saw a different light in our sister's eyes. She actually wants to become a hero," Rayan shook his head. "Imagine that?"
"I do, but that's where we'll need to show her how awful STAR Labs actually is. It's just a matter of reminding..." Maritza put her arm around her brother's shoulders and gave a smile for both of them. "We can do it, Rayan."
But somehow, internally, she wasn't exactly sure.
~ 0 ~
The next day, Iris had finally finished packing and was now watching Eddie and Barry carry down her last box from upstairs. She didn't think it was all that heavy but apparently the two had disagreed.
"I think that's it," she said cheerfully nonetheless.
"This better be it," Eddie mumbled as he placed the box down with Barry.
"Well, like you said, you're ten minutes away, so if you forget something…" Joe had began to say when his eyes teared up.
"Okay, Dad," Iris gave him a tight hug.
Joe laughed. "I can't say it enough. I'll miss you."
Eddie walked over to the two. "You know you can come around anytime, Joe. Just give us a heads-up." But the look on Joe's face made him reconsider. "Or not. Come around whenever. You want a key? I'm gonna go." He quickly went back to the box and on his own picked it up. "I'll wait...in the truck." On his way out, he bumped into Belén, making her stumble back a couple steps. "Sorry, Belén!" he apologized but she laughed and stepped aside for him to keep going.
"Careful on the last step!" she made sure to warn before stepping inside. "Are you all set then, Iris?"
"Definitely," Iris said.
Belén was able to see the twinge of guilt in Iris' words and shook her head. "Iris, I'm gonna be fine, honest. I just...actually came for some things I left upstairs."
"You already left?" Barry asked, surprised of this. It had been late in the evening when Belén was able to return from the police department after giving her formal statement.
"This morning," she nodded, speaking quietly and averting her eyes from him.
"I guess...there's nothing left to say then," Iris stepped up and hugged her friend. "You know I really am ten minutes away, right?"
"Yeah, I know," Belén tried to remain happy for Iris, because she was, she just couldn't help feel like the loneliness would be more challenging than she thought.
"I gotta go," Iris looked at her father and Barry. "I'll see you guys later, okay."
Belén awkwardly smiled as she gestured to the stairs. "I left my laptop upstairs earlier. I'll be out soon too, promise."
"It's fine," Joe smiled her way.
"Thank you for everything," Belén honestly said and started up the stairs when she remembered. "Actually," she turned to the side facing the two men, "I don't suppose you thought about my suggestion from earlier?"
Joe raised his eyebrows, apparently having thought about it. Confused, Barry waited for some explanation but it never came. "Uh, what, uh, what explanation?" he finally asked.
"Belén was making a couple good points that I thought were...true," Joe began, but had trouble to finish.
"I said that maybe you could move back in," Belén contently finished for him. "I have never been to your place but everyone says it's a death trap-"
"It is," Joe made sure to leave clear. Barry shot him a small glare.
"I was just thinking maybe it could be easier for both of you…" Belén said kindly, leaning on the banister. "And I promise I didn't girly your room up. I didn't touch anything...I didn't understand what many things were, especially that one with a little mirror." She made the gesture of a circular mirror with her index and thumb.
Barry chuckled and glanced at Joe. "You know, it is getting hard to hide the blasting in and out of my apartment at all hours of the night from my neighbors. I suppose it would make sense for me to move back in. I mean, I am a millennial. That is what we do."
Belén rolled her eyes. "Well, you guys can figure that out. I will go get the rest of my things."
"Do you want some help?" Barry was too quick to volunteer, but he was surprised to have such a faster rejection from her.
"No, I'm fine, thanks," she made a hasty retreat to the second floor.
Barry glanced back to Joe, making a confused gesture. Joe just shrugged and went on with the topic.
"So, what do you think?"
"I think...roomies, definitely," the choice wasn't difficult for Barry to make. Still, as happy as he was to come back home, he couldn't help wonder what was up with Belén.
There was still the unaccounted way of how she managed to escape from wherever it was Snart and Mick had put her away in. After getting to STAR Labs, they helped heal her and whatnot but they could not get her to speak about her escape. She wouldn't budge. There was something that happened and she didn't want to say it - in fact, she didn't want to remember it.
#barry allen#the flash#ocappreciation#ocapp#barry allen imagines#the flash imagines#barry allen fics#the flash fics#barry allen fanfics#the flash fanfics#arrowverse#caitlin snow#cisco ramon#iris west#joe west#oc: Belén Palayta#oc: Belen Palayta#fic: it had to be you#noblecrescentedit
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