The Fight || Billy The Kid x reader

Summary: Billy involves himself in a physical fight over you.

Warnings: violence, swearing, blood

Wc: 1,347

A/n: uh- this is my very first time writing a Billy fic so pls bear w me (especially w how they talk and stuff) bc in the the series I don’t really find Billy talking like how ppl write abt him (absolutely not hate whatsoever to those who do, I absolutely love ur fics find you all so talented 😭) so I’ll try my best to be as accurate as I can. Do let me know if I make a mistake so I can improve :)

Divider by @pommecita

"I'd fuck her any day if she wasn't whoring herself for him," Ollinger slurs, throwing his head back to let the contents of the bottle run down his throat as the men around him laugh. Billy's head pikes up at the sound. Typical Ollinger, talking about some woman as if she was an object.

Billy watches from the other side of the room as he continues to talk to them, his voice becoming louder by the second. "hot for a fucking gringo, and that's saying something," He shakes his head his eyes half close by how wasted he was.

"Wonder how Billy would feel if I had her, don't think he's too keen on sharin?" He nudges the guy beside him before bursting out laughing. Hearing this, he realises that Ollinger was talking about you. Calling you a whore.

He slammed the bottle in his hand down on the table making a loud noise. Pat Garrett and Jessie slightly flinch before they look up at Billy who was already standing, fuming.

"What's goin' on?" Pat asks, his eyes trying to follow Billy's line of gaze. Billy doesn't answer, instead, he storms over to where Bob Ollinger was and his friends. They were all laughing until one of the guys ushered everyone and tapped Ollinger to face Billy.

He slowly turned around, seemingly not bothered by Billy's presence or the fact that he towered over him. "Have something to say 'bout my girl Ollinger? Hm?" He stands his ground, taking another swig of his alcohol as he maintains eye contact with Billy. Everyone in the room had quietened down, eyes trained on the two who never got along.

"Maybe. Wanna hear what I gotta say Billy?" He smirks as Pat Garret and Jessie had already stood up from where they were. Billy narrows his eyes at the man. "I think she's a pretty little gringa you got there, but she needs a real man, not some kid like you-" "You're fucking pathetic, y'know that?" Billy spat, venom laced in his words.

Ollinger seemed to have sobered up when he said that. He looked at Billy with pure rage. "What’d you call me, boy." His blood was boiling at this point. "I said." Billy steps closer, "You're fucking pathetic." He threw a punch at his jaw as Ollinger falls back from the impact and his lack of balance.

At this point the room was cheering the two on as they throw punches at each other. Ollinger swings at Billy but misses, he was glad he wasn't drinking as much that night. He then lunges and aims towards Billy's stomach, knocking him onto the table as all its contents fell on the floor. "C'mon Billy get up!" Garrett pushes him back up.

Billy had a busted lip and a cut on his eyebrow as a trail of blood fell down the side of his face. However, it was nothing compared to the damage he did on Ollinger. "Call a whore one more time, I dare you," Billy yelled, throwing punch after punch as he was on top of him. "Billy! Billy stop!" Billy heard your familiar voice but didn't stop. All he could see was red.

From the moment you stepped foot out of your carriage that dropped you off in front of the pub, you knew a brawl of some sort was going on inside by the way you could hear cheers and the noise of furniture being knocked over.

You hurriedly walk in. You couldn't see what was going on over the tall people who stood in front of you. Weaving your way through the crowd to try and see what the commotion was about, you bumped into Jessie. "Woah there-" "Jessie, what's going on? Where's Billy?" You quickly ask him before your eyes fall onto him.

He was on top of Ollinger, throwing punch after punch. Your eyes widen in horror as you try to go to him but was held back by Jessie who had an arm around your shoulder. "Let me go! I need to stop him Jessie!" You struggle against his iron like grip. "Can't have you get involved in fight, sweetheart. Can’t let you goin' home with a scratch on your pretty face now can I?"

He says against the side of your face as you squirm, helplessly watching the fight. There was blood everywhere and you feared that Billy had killed Ollinger. "Jessie!" You thrash in his grip before he gives Garrett a look who nods and quickly breaks up the fight.

"That's enough, Billy. You got what you wanted," Pat and few other guys pulled Billy back who was breathing heavily, blood covered his shirt and hands. Billy spits on the ground. "All right, show's over!" Jessie yells as people start leaving. Ollinger gets pulled up by a few others as he's dragged away, his body limp.

"Don't you fucking go near her! You hear me Ollinger?" Billy yells before he spits more blood out. "Enough, Billy!" You exasperated, kneeling beside him to take his face in your hands, inspecting it.

Thank god there wasn’t much damage, only a busted lip and a cut on his eyebrow. “For god’s sake Billy! What happened now?” You search his eyes as he stares back at you, blankly. You catch Pat and Jessie looking at you before their eyes find the floor rather interesting. You stand up, dress already spotted in crimson as you brush the loose strands of your hair behind your ears, “What happened here?”

~

You made a beeline to your bathroom. Billy closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of her bed, he let out a groan before falling back onto the soft mattress. He starts to sit up when he hears you walk back in, a first aid kit in your hands.

You hadn't spoken a word to him since the two of you left the pub and came back to your house. You were grateful that your parents were away for the week, they would have thrown a fit if they saw you covered in blood and Billy batted up.

Moving to stand in between his legs, Billy lifts his hands up to rest on your hips but you slap his hands away. "Darlin'-" "I don't want to hear it Billy," You say, annoyance dripping from you voice as he hisses at the contact of disinfectant on his cut.

Billy lets out a sigh, his eyes trained on your angel like face as you attend to his face. "I'm sorry, I really am-" "Five times. Five times you've gotten into a fight because of me." You scoff, tilting his head firmly as you go over his eyebrow.

"You told me you would stop Billy. I can't keep playing nurse with you because you can't bite your tongue," You make eye contact with him. "You expect me to just sit around and do nothing when some guy is calling you my whore?" Billy's voice gets louder as he furrows his eyebrows at you.

You gulp, eyes looking everywhere but him. "Look at me!" He grips your chin with his thumb and index finger, "You've known me long enough to know I ain't that type of guy," He spoke, his eyes darkening.

"And you've known me long enough to know that I can handle whatever they call me. I don't need you getting into a fight every time someone foul mouths me," Your eyes begin to water. You hated seeing Billy like this. You hated how most of his fights revolved around the topic of you.

"They're all worth it, doll. You're worth it." Billy wipes away the singular tear that managed to escape. You sniffle lightly before he pulls you onto his lap, your arms securing themselves around his neck as he strokes your hair.

"Try not to get into another fight because of me," You mutter, your fingers drawing random shapes on his back as you hear him chuckle, "Can't keep any promises, darlin'" He kisses your hair as the two of you hold each other.

Stuck With You

i wrote this blurb to compensate for the fact that it’s January and there’s no snow in NC :(

Word Count: 400

Content Warnings: None :)

You giggled as Spencer laid kisses along your neck inside the warmth of your little living-room fort. You and Spencer had casted blankets between the top of his couch and his coffee table and made a little fortress to read in with a flashlight. Clearly, though, you’d gotten distracted. 

His fingers tickled your stomach again, causing you to throw your head back further in a fit of laughter. “Spence-” You pushed his chest away, laughing. “The book!” You said as you nearly rolled over it to escape him. 

Spencer pulled away, gathering himself in a few breaths. You turned around and snuggled into his chest inside your little pit of blankets and pillows as he clicked on his flashlight and turned to the first page of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.

You rested your head over his heart so you could hear its steady beat rather than the rattling thunder that had knocked Spencer’s power out. “On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged…” Spencer trailed on, whisper-reading the book aloud to you. 

You listened to his words, feeling them tickle your brain and tug on your heartstrings. His sweet little whispers put you to sleep easily, calming any nerves you’d had earlier about the storm.

________________________________________________________________

When you woke up it was to the sound of a large snap that ended with a thwang, the vibration of a tree hitting the ground in front of Spencer’s apartment. You propped yourself up against Spencer’s chest, shaking him awake- but he’d already heard it.

“Spence-” You began to shake in his arms, but tried to hide it.

You immediately felt his soft hands rub your back slowly and soothingly. “Everything’s alright. I’m going to look out of the window for a minute.” 

You tugged on his sleeve in protest. “You shouldn’t be close to the window.” Spencer simply smiled at your worry, lifting your chin up to give you a sweet kiss.

“Only for a minute, okay?” Damn his kisses and how they silenced you. 

You poked your head out of the tent so you could watch your boyfriend sleepily walk towards the window above his sink that overlooked the building’s parking lot. 

“Shit, it’s blocking the entrance.” He whispered to himself, unaware that you had now snuck up behind him to have a look for yourself.

You placed your chin on his shoulder, “That’s too bad. I guess I’ll be stuck here with you.” You whispered. Spencer wasn’t even frightened by your surprise presence, just warm inside. He was warm and happy and almost glad you were stuck together.

“What if I told you I was glad you’re stuck here?” Spencer turned around to face you, resting his hands on your hips. 

Your stomach whirled. It’d been months and you still couldn’t make eye contact with him sometimes. You had him and you were still crushing on him. “Then I’d tell you I’m glad I’m stuck here too.” You whispered back, closing the space between you and Spencer’s bodies with a kiss.

History of the Corinthe from its Foundations, Part 2

A room on the ground-floor, where the bar was situated, one on the first floor containing a billiard-table, a wooden spiral staircase piercing the ceiling, wine on the tables, smoke on the walls, candles in broad daylight, this was the style of this cabaret. A staircase with a trap-door in the lower room led to the cellar. On the second floor were the lodgings of the Hucheloup family. They were reached by a staircase which was a ladder rather than a staircase, and had for their entrance only a private door in the large room on the first floor.

Under the roof, in two mansard attics, were the nests for the servants. The kitchen shared the ground-floor with the tap-room.

Father Hucheloup had, possibly, been born a chemist, but the fact is that he was a cook; people did not confine themselves to drinking alone in his wine-shop, they also ate there. Hucheloup had invented a capital thing which could be eaten nowhere but in his house, stuffed carps, which he called carpes au gras.

These were eaten by the light of a tallow candle or of a lamp of the time of Louis XVI., on tables to which were nailed waxed cloths in lieu of table-cloths. People came thither from a distance.

Hucheloup, one fine morning, had seen fit to notify passers-by of this "specialty"; he had dipped a brush in a pot of black paint, and as he was an orthographer on his own account, as well as a cook after his own fashion, he had improvised on his wall this remarkable inscription:

CARPES HO GRAS.

One winter, the rain-storms and the showers had taken a fancy to obliterate the S which terminated the first words, and the G which began the third; this is what remained:

CARPE HO RAS. Time and rain assisting, a humble gastronomical announcement had become a profound piece of advice.

[...] Corinthe was the meeting-place, if not the rallying-point, of Courfeyrac and his friends. It was Grantaire who had discovered Corinthe. He had entered it on account of the Carpe horas, and had returned thither on account of the Carpes au gras.

There they drank, there they ate, there they shouted; they did not pay much, they paid badly, they did not pay at all, but they were always welcome.

[...] About 1830, Father Hucheloup died. With him disappeared the secret of stuffed carps. His inconsolable widow continued to keep the wine-shop. But the cooking deteriorated, and became execrable; the wine, which had always been bad, became tearfully bad. Nevertheless, Courfeyrac and his friends con tinued to go to Corinthe--out of pity, as Bossuet said.

[...] The hall on the first floor, where "the restaurant" was situated, was a large and long apartment encumbered with stools, chairs, benches, and tables, and with a crippled, lame, old billiard-table. It was reached by a spiral staircase which terminated in the corner of the room at a square hole like the hatchway of a ship. This room, lighted by a single narrow window, and by a lamp that was always burning, had the air of a garret. All the four-footed furniture comported itself as though it had but three legs.

Two serving-maids, named Matelote and Gibelotte, and who had never been known by any other names, helped Mame Hucheloup to set on the tables the jugs of poor wine, and the various broths which were served to the hungry patrons in earthenware bowls. Matelote, large, plump, red-haired, and noisy, the favorite ex-sultana of the defunct Hucheloup, was homelier than any mythological monster, be it what it may; still, as it becomes the servant to always keep in the rear of the mistress, she was less homely than Mame Hucheloup. Gibelotte, tall, delicate, white with a lymphatic pallor, with circles round her eyes, and drooping lids, always languid and weary, afflicted with what may be called chronic lassitude, the first up in the house and the last in bed, waited on every one, even the other maid, silently and gently, smiling through her fatigue with a vague and sleepy smile.

Before entering the restaurant room, the visitor read on the door the following line written there in chalk by Courfeyrac: "Régale si tu peux et mange si tu l'oses.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear an appeal that could upend hundreds of charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including against former President Donald Trump.

The justices will review an appellate ruling that revived a charge against three defendants accused of obstruction of an official proceeding. The charge refers to the disruption of Congress' certification of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.

That's among four counts brought against Trump in special counsel Jack Smith's case that accuses the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner of conspiring to overturn the results of his election loss. Trump is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

The court's decision to weigh in on the obstruction charge could threaten the start of Trump's trial, currently scheduled for March 4. The justices separately are considering whether to rule quickly on Trump's claim that he can't be prosecuted for actions taken within his role as president. A federal judge already has rejected that argument.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in March or April, with a decision expected by early summer.

The obstruction charge, which carries up to 20 years behind bars, has been brought against more than 300 defendants and is among the most widely used felony charges brought in the massive federal prosecution following the deadly insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to keep Biden, a Democrat, from taking the White House.

At least 152 people have been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding, and at least 108 of them have been sentenced, according to an Associated Press review of court records.

A lower court judge had dismissed the charge against Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer, and two other defendants, ruling it didn’t cover their conduct. The justices agreed to hear the appeal filed by lawyers for Fischer, who is facing a seven-count indictment for his actions on Jan. 6, including the obstruction charge.

The other defendants are Edward Jacob Lang, of New York’s Hudson Valley, and Garret Miller, who has since pleaded guilty to other charges and was sentenced to 38 months in prison. Miller, who’s from the Dallas area, could still face prosecution on the obstruction charge.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols found that prosecutors stretched the law beyond its scope to inappropriately apply it in these cases. Nichols ruled that a defendant must have taken “some action with respect to a document, record or other object” to obstruct an official proceeding under the law.

The Justice Department challenged that ruling, and the appeals court in Washington agreed with prosecutors in April that Nichols’ interpretation of the law was too limited.

Other defendants, including Trump, are separately challenging the use of the charge.

More than 1,200 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the riot, and more than 700 defendants have pleaded guilty.

Less than 10 minutes into the new episode of Ghost Files and I’m dying at the juxtaposition of Shane and Ryan wearing masks going into St. Ignatius for their investigation and then Garret and Andrew just storming in with no preparation when they did theirs

Top 10 Movies You Probably Haven't Seen about Time Travel and Parallel Universes

If you are a fan of time travel movies, this list is for you. This list includes some gems you probably haven't seen but are totally worth a watch. Included on the list are movies with themes about time loops, alternate realities, parallel universes and time travel itself. So go on, get lost in time with this amazing list. Sorry, couldn't help it 🤣

1. Coherence, 2013

Sci-fi/ Thriller

IMDb: 7.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Director: James Ward Byrkit

Starring: Emily Baldoni, Maury Sterling, Nicolas Brendon, Elizabeth Gracen, Lorene Scafaria, Hugo Armstrong

Synopsis:

Eight friends at a dinner party experience a troubling chain of events due to the malevolent influence of a passing comet.

Google Synopsis:

2. Parallel, 2018

Sci-Fi/ Drama

IMDb: 5.8/10

Rotten Tomatoes: -

Director: Isaac Ezban

Starring: Aml Ameen, Martin Wallström, Georgia King, Mark O'Brien and Alyssa Diaz

Synopsis:

A group of friends stumble upon a mirror that serves as a portal to a "multiverse", but soon discover that importing knowledge from the other side in order to better their lives brings increasingly dangerous consequences.

3. Triangle, 2009

Horror / Thriller

IMDb: 6.9 / 10

Rotten Tomatoes: 80%

Director: Christopher Smith

Starring: Melissa George, Michael Dorman,Liam Hemsworth, Henry Nixon, Rachel Carpani

Synopsis:

Five friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.

4. The Endless, 2017

Horror / Thriller

IMDb: 6.5 / 10

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

Director: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

Starring: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Callie Hernandez,Tate Ellington, Lew Temple, James Jordan

Synopsis:

Two brothers receive a cryptic video message inspiring them to revisit the UFO death cult they escaped a decade earlier. Hoping to find the closure that they couldn't find as young men, they're forced to reconsider the cult's beliefs when confronted with unexplainable phenomena surrounding the camp. As the members prepare for the coming of a mysterious event, the brothers race to unravel the seemingly impossible truth before their lives become permanently entangled with the cult.

5. The Mandela Effect, 2018

Sci-Fi / Drama

IMDb: 5.8 /10

Rotten Tomatoes: 20%

Director: David Guy Levy

Starring: Charlie Hoffheimer, Aleksa Palladino, Robin Lord Taylor, Clarke Peters

Synopsis:

A man becomes obsessed with a phenomenon where facts and events have been collectively misremembered by thousands of people. Believing it to be the symptom of something larger, his search for answers brings him to the brink of insanity when a startling revelation forces him to make a difficult decision that, if he is right, could have consequences for the entire world.

6. Looper, 2012

Sci-Fi / Action

IMDb: 7.4 / 10

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Director: Rian Johnson

Starring: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Sagan, Piper Perabo, Garret Dillahunt, Jeff Daniels

Synopsis:

In a future society, time-travel exists, but it's only available to those with the means to pay for it on the black market. When the mob wants to eliminate someone, it sends the target into the past, where a hit man known as a looper lies in wait to finish the job. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one such hired gun, and he does his job well -- until the day his bosses decide to "close the loop" and send Joe's future self (Bruce Willis) back in time to be killed.

7. Madelines, 2022

Horror / Sci-Fi / Drama

IMDb: 3.9 / 10

Rotten Tomatoes: -

Director: Jason Richard Miller

Starring: Richard Riehle, Brea Grant, Perry Shen, Sydney Steinberg

Synopsis:

While working in their garage, Madeline and Owen discover the secret to time travel. However, a mistake in their code causes a copy of Madeline to appear every day, and the pair must kill her to prevent the universe from destroying itself.

8. The Alternate, 2021

Sci-Fi / Thriller

IMDb: 5/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

Director:Alrik Bursell

Starring: Ed Gonzalez Moreno, Natalia Dominguez, Syra McCarthy

Synopsis:

A man discovers a portal to another dimension in which he has everything he has always wanted.

9. Synchronic, 2019

Sci-Fi / Thriller

IMDb: 6.2 / 10

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%

Directors: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

Starring: Jamie Dornan, Anthony Mackie

Synopsis:

When New Orleans paramedics and longtime best friends Steve and Dennis are called to a series of bizarre and gruesome accidents, they chalk it up to a mysterious new drug found at the scene. But after Dennis' oldest daughter disappears, Steve stumbles upon a terrifying truth about the supposed psychedelic that will challenge everything he knows about reality -- and the flow of time itself.

10. Synchronicity, 2015

Sci-Fi / Thriller

IMDb: 5.4 / 10

Rotten Tomatoes: 47%

Director: Jacob Gentry

Starring: Chad McKnight, A.J. Bowen, Brianne Davis, Michael Ironside

Synopsis:

A physicist (Chad McKnight) travels back and forth in time to prevent a seductive woman (Brianne Davis) and a ruthless tycoon (Michael Ironside) from stealing his invention.

The Last House on the Left (2009) will be released on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on August 29 via Arrow Video. Eric Adrian Lee designed the new cover art for the remake of the 1972 horror classic; the original poster art is on the reverse side.

Dennis Iliadis (He's Out There) directs from a script by Adam Alleca (Cell) and Carl Ellsworth (Disturbia, Red Eye). Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garret Dillahunt, Spencer Treat Clark, Martha MacIsaac, and Sara Paxton. Wes Craven produces.

The theatrical cut is presented in 4K in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) with original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio. The unrated version is also included on Blu-ray.

The limited edition version includes a booklet featuring new writing by film historian Zoë Rose Smith. Special features are listed below.

Disc 1 - 4K UHD:

Theatrical cut

Introduction by director Dennis Iliadis (new)

Audio commentary by film critics David Flint and Adrian Smith (new)

Interview with actress Sara Paxton (new)

Interview with actor Garret Dillahunt (new)

Interview with screenwriter Carl Ellsworth (new)

Interview with producer Jonathan Craven (new)

Look Inside featurette

Deleted scenes

Theatrical trailer

Image gallery

Disc 2 - Blu-ray

Unrated cut

When athletic teen Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton) opts to hang out with her friend Paige in town rather than spend an evening in with her parents vacationing at the family’s remote lake house, it marks the beginning of a night no one is going to forget. The two girls wind up in the company of escaped convict Krug (Garret Dillahunt) and his makeshift family of vile career criminals, who kidnap and brutally assault them before leaving them for dead. Fleeing from the scene of their violent crime during a storm, the thugs inadvertently seek refuge with Mari’s parents, anxious as to why their daughter hasn’t come home yet and primed to unleash the full forces of hell on anyone who would dare to touch so much as a hair on her head.

Pre-order The Last House on the Left.

2023 Artist Preview

Here are the story summaries for the artist preview! I've done my best, but if you see a typo or mistake in the coding, please email [email protected]. Please be patient. On May 13 (at around 10 a.m. CST-ish), I will open the preview post for claiming. You can make ONLY ONE CLAIM. Also, please note that you must make your own claims. No one else can claim for you. Once claiming opens, artists may comment with their top two choices. Sound good? Any questions? Lemme know! Sam/Dean-1 Title: The Witch and the Wolfen Pairing: Sam/Dean Rating: NC-17 Summary: This is a post 15x20 AU (Not a heaven fic). Where Sam, unwilling to accept the death of his brother, embraces his magical abilities and travels through the multiverse to find another Dean. Weary and disappointed he lands on a post -apocalyptic world with no means of finding Dean. The world is a little like the old west, they ride horses, wear Stetsons, have no electricity, cars are rusted hulks littering the landscape and life revolves around each town's bar. He works as a witch, healing people. One day, a Wolfen in need of protection comes to him, it’s Dean. But a Dean that never knew or needed a Sam. But a Dean that is trying to stay out of the grasp of Lucifer who wants him as his new meatsuit. Images include: a Wraith storm, ghostly disembodied souls who are trapped on earth and haunt the living in vicious packs. They suck the life out of unfortunates caught outside during their passing. Dean as a Wolfen, a magnificent 300 lb timber wolf/shifter with white/grey fur and green eyes and grey freckles on his chest. The scene of Sam and Dean battling 8 foot ice monsters – like Wendigo who try and cage and drag Dean away. Sam, casting a storm spell to save Lawrence from burning down. Haymanville, a Mexican themed nearby town where every day is The Day of the Dead. Sam and Dean in a home made hot tub by a cabin and Sam’s eyes glowing white and his tattoos traveling to Dean’s body to embrace him as they make love. Sam battles a fire at a distance with magic. Epic end battle with Lucifer and bonus Gabriel. Various flashbacks and dreams of Sam’s as he remembers his Dean and his travels to other worlds both fair and foul. Warnings: M/M sex, AU Wincest ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-1 Title: Dreamhouse Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: Jared and his cousin Chad inherited an old Manor. The house is a mess, but they need more space since the two have to raise two little kids. Jensen and Justin Ackles have a TV show in Garden and Home TV (GHTV) where they renovate houses. Thank God they are planning a special. But what about the rumors that the house is haunted and what is it with all the accidents that keep happening? Warnings: None ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-2 Title: TRAPPED IN AMBER Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: After his parents' unfortunate divorce, Jared moves with his mother and younger sister from Texas to Boston. It's a new beginning, a chance to start afresh, but the old family home in Beacon Hills hides deadly secrets that endanger their future and even their lives. Boston aesthetics; Beacon Hills aesthetics; haunted house; gothic horror; a sick and twisted tree in a cobblestone patio; an Ouija session in the basement; claws reaching out from a well; a ghostly girl staring through a garret’s window. Warnings: Mentions of past child abuse and past rape of OCs characters (nothing graphic). ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen/Jeff-1 Title: One Too Many Pairing: Jared/Jensen/Jeff Rating: NC-17 Summary: Jeff and Jensen have been a couple for several years. It’s not unheard of for an alpha to add a third to a mating. Jeff always thought it would be a beta until he meets Jared and he just knows that Jared is the one who will complete their family. He and Jared get along well despite both being alphas. They don’t fight, they like the same things, work well together, and enjoy each other’s company. The night they make it official, Jeff gives Jared a claiming bite and Jared does the same to Jeff. The only issue is that Jeff has never given Jensen a claiming bite, only a collar. And that night, neither Jared nor Jeff gives Jensen a claiming bite. Jensen sees this for what it is, that Jeff was just keeping him around as arm candy until he found his mate. Jensen is aware of how Jeff’s parents see him - as an empty-headed gold-digger who conned Jeff into a relationship and that they have always hated him, never thinking he was good enough for Jeff, especially since he’s infertile. They love Jared and make a show of pointing it out to Jensen - how perfect Jared is for Jeff. Jensen even compares himself to Jared who is educated, polished, and always does and says the right thing whereas Jensen is none of those things. Seeing as how neither claimed him but claimed the other, Jensen packs his things and leaves with only a goodbye note leaving Jeff and Jared to worry over his whereabouts, how to find him and if they can salvage their mating if and when they do find him. Warnings: Threesome, A/B/O, A/A, A/O, A/O/A, Knotting, Collars, Claiming Bites, Jealous Jared, Oblivious Jeff, Non-Con, Dinner, Dating, Alcohol, Mating, Mating Ceremony, Celebrations, Medical Examination, Separation, Infidelity, Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, Anal Fingering, Rimming, Protective Jared, Protective Jeff, Scared Jensen, Upset Jensen, Angry Jeff, Angry Jared, Hurt Jensen, Dogs, Traveling, Hotels, Honeymoon, School, Online Classes, Volunteering, Cooking, Dancing, Infertility, Adoption, Alpha Jeff, Alpha Jared, Omega Jensen, Top Jared, Top Jeff, Bottom Jensen, Mental Illness, Medication ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-3 Title: Dare to Dream Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: Jensen is a successful omega, he owns and manages his own bookstore, Turn the Page. The past year of dating has been one disappointment after another, and he is losing hope that he will ever find his mate. With each successive heat, his heat sickness worsens, prompting his doctor to suggest an Alpha for Hire service. Jensen refuses to even entertain the idea of hiring an alpha, still dreaming of meeting his true mate. Jared is new to town and looking for a job. He’d broken up with his girlfriend to move for school and is striking out on his own for the first time. He dreamed of following in his alpha mother’s footsteps of being a teacher. Exploring his new home city while job hunting, he discovers more than a local bookshop that’s hiring. Jensen decides to hire Jared despite being wary of the alpha and takes another chance at securing the future he always wanted. Jared is determined to show Jensen that he is a kind and caring alpha. As they navigate the ups and downs of working together while learning more about one another, the tentative bond is severed when Jared’s ex makes an unexpected appearance, triggering Jensen’s rejection sickness. Finding Jensen near death, Jared takes him home and nurses him back to health. In the process, Jensen’s trust grows, and their relationship deepens. They begin to date, and after a couple of months, mate, starting a new chapter in their lives. Their first extended separation isn’t quite as hard as either imagined, but after a trip to study abroad, Jensen welcomes Jared home with a happy surprise. Warnings: A/B/O, true mates, heat/rejection sickness, miscommunication, past/present hurt Jensen, hurt/comfort, shared cycles, anal knotting, claiming bites, claiming bond, mpreg ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-4 Title: The Tending sen Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: Jared the youngest High-Born heir of the Padalecki House. They specialize in making warm fabrics and cloth for breeches and tunics. A waterwheel and woolybeasts are essential for this. Jensen is Jared's valet/slave. His Tending sen. In this society the word sen is used for an enslaved one and their names reflect that status. Drone sen wear pendants around their neck with a number because their Masse (master) wouldn't know their names anyway. Warnings: slave fic (but no non-con or dub-con), hurt/comfort ---------------------------------- Gen-1 Title: Anyone Can Love a Pretty Little Mansion Rating: PG-13 Summary: The house had stood alone and unloved for many years. It stood just outside of Palo Alto, silent, slowly aging behind a copse of valley oak. As a house it was large, quaint, with the kind of rambling structure that was popular in the twenties. It had a circular tower at one side, topped with a cupola, and high, pointed gables. There had been shutters on the windows, and some still hung loose on their rusty hinges, waiting for a vagrant wind to break them free and send them spinning into the overgrown vegetation that surrounded it. Sam and Dean tackle the House from Hell! Warnings: Corpses and gross stuff galore. ---------------------------------- Sam/Dean-2 Title: The Ties That Bind Pairing: Sam/Dean Rating: NC-17 Summary: The story of Sam and Dean Winchester doesn’t end that day in the barn. Sam keeps his promise to keep fighting, but with a Winchester twist – he uses the resources left to him by Rowena and his own determination and smarts to become a powerful witch. Powerful enough to live forever, but that’s not what he wants – what he wants is his brother. To Dean’s shock, he finds himself back on Earth thanks to Sam’s spell, but only for brief visits. He finds a Sam who’s changed with the great loss he’s endured and the dark power he’s using, and both Winchesters discover an attraction that they never acted on while Dean was alive. To complicate matters, Dean isn’t the only one who’s noticed Sam’s dark power, and the other witches are out to take him down - permanently. They’re unfortunately not the only ones – the Winchesters are breaking all the cosmic rules to be together, and forces even more powerful than Jack are out to stop them, putting Sam and his young son in grave danger (in the midst of a violent storm that almost rips them off the road). Witch Sam with wild hair and clothing, a wee bit obsessed and surrounded by spell books and potions; Dean and the Impala on the road in Heaven; soulmates reunion on the bridge; Dad Sam with Dean Jr. canon scenes; first Wincest kiss in the Impala at night; NSFW first time in a typical Winchesters-on-the-road motel. Warnings: Canon compliant for Dean’s death but he’s very much ‘alive’ in Heaven (and sometimes back on Earth) ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-5 Title: Fighting Gravity Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: Valdora Prime—proclaimed as a scientist’s playground—is quickly becoming the foremost research facility in the galaxy. Funded by a guild more than a millennium old, Valdora Prime recruits the best minds in medicine, engineering, geology, botany, and quantum studies, regardless of species. For Jared, working there means being more than a concierge doctor to the wealthiest colonies. Here, he can make a difference. Here, he can hide. Three years in, Jared’s safe, comfortable life pretending to be human is turned upside down, starting with the arrival of the new head of security, a Kesalonian named Jensen Ackles whose incredible physical strength is matched only by his charm. As Jared and Jensen grow closer, secrets begin to unravel, his research attracts dangerous attention, and outside forces threaten to destroy everything Jared has built. Featuring alien species, traits, and features, unique space-gardens and moonscapes, a futuristic and beautiful research station with all the perks, heroic rescues, injury/comfort, and more! Warnings: Alien species (and sex between them), descriptions of injuries/violence and minor medical treatment, prior (only mentioned) het relationship, mentions of a virus/pandemic (non graphic), mentions of sex work (positive). ---------------------------------- Sam/Dean-3 Title: He Told You He'd Wake You Up, When it Was Over Pairing: Sam/Dean Rating: NC-17 Summary: This is a non-linear story that jumps around through the Winchesters' early years up to Season 6. It has a lot of Greek mythological influence and includes a katabasis. There will be imagery of the underworld, Stanford scenes, and eventually I will do the greatest sin against Dean I ever have, make him fly in a plane. Dean is the narrator and he spends most of the story chasing Sam. There are a lot of re-visits of early cases but re-imagined with Dean chasing Sam instead of John. Warnings: This has a lot of dark, angsty moments. It contains sibling incest and some sexual scenes. ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-6 Title: Origin Story Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: Once upon a time, Jensen Ackles used to be the supervillain known as The Flame. Then he was overpowered and defeated by his former best friend, Jared, known as The Closer. Jensen might not be in prison anymore, but he’s still under house arrest—not to mention stripped of his powers. In the meantime, Jensen has had years to figure out how to deal with what he did and why he did it. He can't change the past, but he can accept it, and maybe live something like a life of his own. Then Jared knocks on his door, asking for help that Jensen can't refuse. And it turns out that while Jensen thought he'd come to terms with his past, he'd really just buried it. Helping Jared is bringing out things he's never fully dealt with, things he'd given up on a long time ago…like Jared himself. Warnings: none ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-7 Title: Maybe You Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: Danneel and Chad are the ones in love. Jensen and Jared are just the best friends there to pick up the pieces when things fall apart. They don't like each other... until they do, but they're only friends. Jensen's a fashionable bitch with zero interest in dating or relationships, and Jared is a hot mess barista chasing after his happily ever after. A heartfelt attempt (or spin) on a rom-com with images like kissing after being caught out in the rain and sitting on a park bench at sunset. Warnings: Explicit sex, alcohol use ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-8 Title: Have You Ever Thrown Snowflakes In The Air? Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: After a stroke of fate, Jensen Ackles leaves his old life as a successful music composer behind and spends his time alone in a lonely cabin. Every few weeks he drives down to the town with its oddball inhabitants to stock up on food. On his last trip before the announced blizzard, someone hides under the tarp of his truck. Jared thinks Jensen can get him out of town, but instead he ends up with him in his cabin. What secret led Jared to crawl into Jensen's truck? Spoiler: Scenes that might be appealing to an artist. Jensen in front of his cabin in the snow. Jared hiding under the tarp of the truck. Jensen finds Jared hiding in the chicken coop.Jared and Jensen walking in the snow. Jensen running after a fox and breaking into the ice. While Jensen has a fever, he dreams of seeing his daughter again and flying a kite with her. Warnings: Minor Character Death, Mention of abuse, Mention of drug use ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-9 Title: Coward Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: R Summary: Loosely based on the movie The Last Samurai (with Tom Cruise). Contains steampunk elements and an unusual understanding of Omega dynamics. Jensen is an army captain at the bottom of a bottle and a prisoner of war. Jared is an omega who has lost everything fleeing his fate; however, he could also be a prince. Warnings: forced sterilization, discussion of castration, death of a child (mentioned), omega-phobia ---------------------------------- Sam/Dean-4 Title: Did All the Thunder Bend Pairing: Sam/Dean Rating: R Summary: Dean wakes thirteen-year-old Sam in the night to flee after “something bad” happens to John. They end up settling in a small, snowy town in Maine, where they start building some semblance of a normal life together (or as normal a life as you can live when you’re playing house with your brother). When John’s vengeful spirit begins haunting Sam’s dreams and the Impala, the truth about the circumstances surrounding his death must come out. Will that truth ruin everything when Sam realizes their happy partnership is predicated on a lie... and John’s death at Dean’s hands in defense of Sam? Warnings: Implied/Referenced Character Death (Not Sam or Dean), Underage (no sex) ---------------------------------- Sam/Dean-5 Title: The Price of Love Pairing: Sam/Dean Rating: NC-17 Summary: Dean Winchester runs a brothel called Iniquity. Sam Winchester is an Assistant D.A. under D.A. Crowley. The D.A. 's office is going after Dean, who's suspected of money laundering and perhaps using exotic drugs, aka vamp venom and djinn juice. (NGL: not 100% sure about the fluids thing quite yet.) ANYWAY while it looks like Dean is Bad and Sam is Good, twists and turns (and deaths) reveal that the legal system Sam works for is corrupt to the point of murder. Dean turns out to be the one who takes care of his people, does not exploit anyone, and is actually the moral superior. Interspersed flashbacks recall the boys' childhood/upbringing/eventual relationship, infusing the present with memories and unresolved feelings. Other characters: Jess (Sam's girlfriend for a while), Lisa (Dean's playmate for a bit), John Winchester as dad/con artist constantly on the move while the boys are growing up, Benny as Dean's second, Crowley as the D.A., Dick Roman as a judge, Bela as his wife, Bobby Singer as the police chief, Rowena as a local witch, the Banes twins as undercover agents, and Victor Henriksen as an F.B.I. agent. Settings: Sam's condo with Jess; the courthouse and various legal offices; and Iniquity, Dean's exclusive, high class brothel. Flashbacks include skeevy motels, the Impala. Warnings: murder, criminal behavior and acts ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-10 Title: You Belong to me Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: Jensen is a well-known mystery writer who meets Jared, the owner of a local cute and quirky bookstore. They quickly develop a fun, loving relationship. But Jared's controlling ex-boyfriend Jeffrey isn’t ready to let Jared go. Jensen feels Jeffrey is dangerous and stalking Jared but Jared keeps giving him chance after chance, refusing to see Jeffrey's dark side. After Jared and Jensen have a fight about Jeffrey, Jared disappears and Jensen finds himself under suspicion of kidnapping him. The situation climaxes when Jensen finally finds a badly injured Jared in the remote cabin where Jeffrey has stashed him. Jeffrey shows up and threatens them both, shooting Jensen. Both Jensen and Jared survive, but in turmoil, Jared pushes Jensen away. In the end, they reunite and decide to do whatever it takes in order to save the relationship. It ends with them living together, still trying to find their way but determined to do so together. Settings: Jared's charming, quirky bookstore and the cute coffee shop attached to it. Jared and Jensen vacationing in Las Vegas. Jared and Jensen in domestic situations. The remote, spooky cabin in the woods where Jeffrey kidnaps Jared to. Warnings: Jared is violently attacked, but it happens off-screen and is never described in any detail. Jared has trauma due to being attacked by Jeffrey that is discussed. ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-11 Title: Rest & Restore Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: NC-17 Summary: Jared is a burned out romance writer. It’s tough to write about falling in love when he’s just fallen out of it—he’s one year post-divorce and still figuring out who he is after it. His publisher expects a new manuscript, but Jared needs a rest and a change of scenery. His ex’s grandmother suggests that he go stay at an old family estate in Peru, New York—a hamlet of seven thousand people—and see if he'd like to have a hand in restoring it. Jared thinks this is the perfect project to distract himself with while he decides which big city to move to next. Enter Jensen, a contractor in town, confident and capable of restoring the Whitney house to its former glory. Sparks fly between Jared and Jensen, but can either of them commit to the plot or will they move onto other books entirely? Set from spring to fall, this fic is filled with architectural details, ice cream, a dog named Maple, small town life, and Tina Turner tracks. Small town AU, Contractor Jensen, Writer Jared, slow burn, home improvement, post-divorce, small towns, exploration of sexuality, love confessions, light angst, slice of life, switch Jensen, switch Jared, explicit sexual content, oral sex, anal sex. Warnings: None ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-12 Title: (We are all of us in the gutter, But) Some of us are looking at the stars Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: R Summary: Jared is a professor of archeology on Earth, Jensen is the space captain he hires to take him to a distant planet, where he plans to retrieve an ancient artifact. From the beginning, the two men bicker and clash, but can’t deny the attraction they feel for each other. On the way to their destination, Jensen stops to take on some cargo, which results in a run-in with space sentries and a hide-out in an asteroid field, a visit to a desert planet where Jared meets some of Jensen’s old friends, and a rescue in space during which they take on new crew members. More (mis)adventures ensue, including a run-in with a bounty hunter who wants to sell Jensen back to a former customer at the brothel where Jensen worked as a young man. Following a daring rescue, the boys finally arrive at their original destination, only to face more challenges in their attempts to retrieve the stone Jared was assigned to bring back to Earth. This story is inspired by Indiana Jones, Star Wars (the first three movies), and Romancing the Stone. Warnings: prostitution, Jensen is a former sex worker who gets captured and enslaved by a former customer. Abuse is heavily implied, but not explicit. ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-13 Title: Hear the Songbird Sing Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: R Summary: A siren's call can be a powerful thing and even such a powerful dragon like Jensen can fall under his spell. Jensen owns the city and when he comes across the siren Jared working at one of his club's he knows that he is meant to be his. Jared never thought that he would catch the attention of such a powerful being like Jensen. The two cannot deny the call between the two of them and fall into a relationship that some think they can use to gain what they want not realizing that a Siren is as possessive and protective over their mate as a Dragon is. Warnings: Mpreg, bottom Jared, top Jensen ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-14 Title: If You Give A Dragon Shelter Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: R Summary: Alien Jared is awake from his coma and Jensen tries to understand him and teach him to communicate as he figures out how to get Jared home. Jared takes care of a dog (bernese mountain like) and a pony while Jensen goes to a swanky party to show off a large metal dragon sculpture. Dragons battling a truck with help from another and a motorcycle. Warnings: Some noncon body manipulation, mentions of noncon sex, alien sex, stalker behavior, depression and suicidal tendencies, mentions of past torture, kidnapping, heavy entitlement to another based on species-ism (very much like sex and class-ism) ---------------------------------- Jensen/Misha/Felicia-1 Title: The Crimson Tower Pairing: Jensen/Misha/Felicia Rating: NC-17 Summary: Four great houses stood ruling over a magical land, but an enemy from their distant past emerged hellbent on destroying them all, and they succeeded in killing one house, corrupting another, turning the third into isolationists, and leaving only the fourth to help the masses of refugees fleeing oppression. But now an ancient prophecy is on the threshold of being fulfilled. Will King Jensen, King Misha, and Queen Felicia together with their General, Jared, be able to turn the tide of war and restore freedom, or will the newly exposed enemy achieve a final victory over all magic in the land? This story provides artists opportunities to illustrate fantasy landscapes, depict magical combat, and all other aspects of a medieval fantasy milieu. Warnings: Graphic violence, swearing, sex, nudity, fantastic racism (in the sense of racism against fictional races--here magic users and magical creatures/species), reference to past genocide, body horror, vampire sex, blood drinking, harm to minors, major character death, slavery attempted genocide against magicals, think Game of Thrones, but with less incest ---------------------------------- Jared/Jensen-15 Title: The Kite And The Line Pairing: Jared/Jensen Rating: R Summary: When you fall in love, you get a tattoo. When you fall out of love, it turns black. Jared's got a couple to his name, almost all of them gone dark. Jensen's only ever had one and its colors have never faded. Warnings: Infidelity, Jared Padalecki/Stephen Amell as a side pairing, lots of angst and fluff, no trigger warnings ---------------------------------- from Supernatural and J-Squared Big Bang Challenge! https://ift.tt/mYfRAUO

Don’t Wake the Ancients - Chapter 5

read on ao3 | previous chapter | next chapter  

-

For the first time in days, the rain waned.

It was still falling, mind you, but the thunderous storm that had possessed Wayhaven seemed to seek new hunting grounds. Bernard Tucker, Wayhaven’s mechanic since he was sixteen, was beyond grateful.

On his little boat in the middle of a swollen lake, Bernard cast his line out, reveling in the noise as it sailed forward and entered the water. Dorotea would have a fit if she knew that she was out here, her oaken eyes flashing as she reminded him of the dangers of being out in these conditions, while it was still raining, without telling anyone where he had gone off to.

Bernard chuckled as he settled down, the quiet patter of drizzle against the lake music to his ears. She would just be jealous that he hadn’t invited her, is all. This year’s snowfall was coming unreasonably late, and he planned to enjoy as much fishing as he could before the lake froze over.

Work had been tough with the rain. Some idiot kids had driven their cars through the flooded dips in the mountain roads, not thinking of his own safety as he inched the tow truck along the curves. They were still piled up in the shop. Good riddance. Those kids could learn some patience, especially with the school closed and the curfew in place.

His line caught something.

Bernard sat up with a whoop, pulling the rod back and reeling her in. Something big, by the feel of it, deep in the lake. He set his feet and continued to bring it in, nice and gentle. No need to lose it.

All at once it stopped fighting, now sailing towards the boat. Bernard pulled in the last few feet of line, revealing-

A camera.

It was slick with muck and pond grass, and Bernard almost dropped it when he pulled it from the hook, but he managed to get it safely onto the boat. A nice film camera, the lense shattered and the strap fraying. He turned it in his hands, wondering what idiot hiker had dropped this in the crick, and then he remembered.

Dorotea.

With movements so sudden he almost capsized the boat, Bernard grabbed the oars and rowed back to shore, cutting through the tiny ripples on the surface.

-

Sunshine.

It peeked through the clouds, kissing the earth long after the slithering line of cars had made their way out of Wayhaven to the closest mine, passing the mound of now-wilting flowers left where Garret had been found.

Dorotea almost wept when she felt the first tray of warmth through her office window. The never ending darkness made day and night indistinguishable, not that she was using the latter to get any actual sleep. A week, now. A week with her little friend in her morgue, a week since she had been in her bed for more than an hour at a time.

Five days since she had been thrown from Kate Haye’s home for asking if her prescription painkillers were properly locked up.

Thankfully, she didn’t have time for the hurt or the grief to settle in. When Janet Greenland was found Wayhaven had mourned. She seemed like a nice girl, young, a damn shame. We’ll pray for the family. And a terrifying thing that something like that could happen here, isn’t it? Well, Detective, we’ll keep an eye out.

But Janet was an outsider. No one knew her, and no one really cared that they hadn’t. Garret was Wayhaven’s flesh and blood, its child. This air was all that his lungs had known since he was a babe. You don’t touch one of her kin without the wrath of God raining down on you.

If the townsfolk had somehow known who killed Janet, they might have told Dorotea, but they would just have likely kept it to themselves if they knew the killer. An accident, they could rationalize, or maybe she had been a threat. She was an outsider, anyway. But turning on one of your own? A youth? That was unforgivable.

During the stormy days, Dorotea parsed through the overwhelming amount of calls and evidence thrown her way. Neighbor turned on neighbor, each heartbroken that such a good kid like Garret could have been killed in such a horrible way. Most of it was utter horseshit, but Dorotea documented it anyway. By now, she had a near total understanding of what every citizen had been doing for the last week.

Who needed surveillance when you had Wayhaven?

And when she managed to drag herself out of the office in the late hours of the night she returned to Rebecca’s. It was a gargantuan task, cross referencing her father’s half-baked scribbles with the censored reports from the station, made even more so by the fact that Dorotea had no clue what any of it meant. He made it sound like vampires and witches and demons were walking freely around the town at the very moment.

At the very least, she was convinced that she couldn’t trust a lick of what the Agency and its employees told her about the blood.

Employees who were currently situated around her desk. Farah busied herself with Dorotea’s cattleman hat, adjusting it and shooting finger guns at her reflection in the window. She seemed to be the only one with any energy. While Dorotea blossomed like a poppy, Unit Bravo seemed uncharacteristically sluggish in the sunshine. Nate, seemingly the researcher of the group, scowled in his spot in front of her, typing on his borrowed laptop with his two index fingers. Adam spoke quietly on his phone in the corner of the office, occasionally sending a glance at Dorotea. And, as per usual, Morgan was smoking and ignoring everyone, but at least this time she had the courtesy to open a window. Dorotea considered it a victory and only gave her a disapproving look rather than a lecture.

A week and no animals had revealed themselves, other than a fox getting into a henhouse. Nate’s snail pace typing revealed nothing from the cannibal cults angle, just as Dorotea had expected. That left her back at square one with no suspects other than the four in front of her.

But there was sunshine, and Dorotea couldn’t help the chuckle that erupted from her when Farah tipped her hat. “If you're that attached, I can introduce you to our hatter.”

“Ugh.” Morgan’s face contorted as if she had just smelled something rotten. “Don’t give her any ideas.”

“Nah, it’s not colorful enough,” Farah eventually decided, though her lips twisted to the side as she thought about it some more. And then, in her deepest and most monotone voice, she turned to Morgan and said, “You put that out, now.”

Dorotea looked up from her computer when Morgan snorted. “I don’t sound like that.”

Four pairs of unimpressed eyes stared back at her.

“Well, damn.” Farah and Dorotea said in unison. The former giggled when the detective rolled her eyes. Dorotea put out a hand and snapped. “All right. Hat privileges revoked.”

Farah pouted but returned it. “You’re no fun.”

“That’s a good thing,” Adam sighed, returning his phone to his coat.

“I can be fun when my people aren’t dropping dead,” Dorotea retorted without any bite. “Some drinks, some dancing…”

Morgan groaned. “With you? Sounds like torture.”

“Now, now,” Nate tutted, clearly grateful to have an excuse to put the laptop away. “That sounds like it would be lovely, Dorotea.” Adam raised a brow at the informal address. “Wayhaven’s entertainments are intriguing, I admit.”

“Intriguing? Would you consider that a positive?” Dorotea folded her hands and rested her chin on them. “I am curious about how you’re liking my town.”

Farah collapsed in her office chair, sending her spinning back towards Adam. “It’s fine. Loads better than our last job in Alaska. Man, I don’t get how humans stand the cold.”

“The late winter here is much more agreeable,” Nate added hastily, shooting a quick glance at Farah. “The history here is so rich, and the mountains are just gorgeous. The only thing is, well-“

“You people don’t like us,” Morgan grunted when Nate trailed off. “Makes it hard to work.”

“It’s hard to like vultures when they’ve come to circle the dead. And trust me, I know I’m included in that.” Dorotea smiled ruefully. “You let me know if anyone is mistreating you, but I’m afraid the skepticism is just something that you’re going to have to get used to.” She paused, head tilted to the side as she thought. “No one’s gotten in your way, have they?”

Adam’s brow furrowed. “How do you mean?”

Dorotea shifted in her chair. “I just wanted to make sure that there was no interference from well-intentioned folk, or anyone else. I know a lot of kids hang out by the lake and throw bottles and generally make a mess of things. I just worried that there might have been an issue at the cabin or anywhere else you patrolled.”

It was painfully obvious, but Dorotea was not a woman of subtlety. This, in some ways, was an experiment. Her observations revealed that the commanding agent, for all of his stiffness, could not control his body when he was annoyed. Balled fists and feathering jaw muscles were subdued, but not as much as the still-missing chunk out of her desk. She suspected that if he reacted to her inquiry, then there was probably something that he didn’t want to discuss.

Sure enough, his fists tightened, but his expression and voice remained neutral. “As I am sure we stated before, we encountered nothing of interest.”

“Hate to interrupt whatever this is.” Dorotea jolted as Tina popped her head into the office, though no one else seemed surprised. She held one arm behind her back. “But do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

Dorotea cocked her head to the side. “Good?”

Tina smiled, the color returning to her cheeks for the first time this week. “Well, Bernie was out on the lake this morning-“

“In this weather?”

“And he caught something mighty big,” Tina continued with a laugh. Slowly, theatrically, she took the evidence bag out from behind her back. Condensation peppered the inside of the plastic, and it shook at the movement, sending a shower down onto the fractured camera contained within it.

Her chair shot back as Dorotea leapt to her feet. “Holy shit,” she stammered, forgetting any semblance of professionalism. “Look for a serial number. We’ll need to confirm if it was even Janet’s…”

Tina patiently waited as she rambled on, her smile growing smug. She jostled the bag. “Already took the serial number. I contacted Greenland’s parents, and apparently she gave them a copy of all of her equipment information while she traveled for insurance purposes. And this-“ she held the camera aloft, “-is Janet Greenland’s film camera.”

“Tina, I could kiss you.” And Dorotea did, bringing her friend’s forehead to her lips as she giggled. She took the waterlogged thing from Tina’s hands and studied it, poking it gently through the plastic bag. The camera was in no serviceable condition, with a shattered lens and pieces of pond scum poking out of every nook and cranny, but to Dorotea it might as well have been made of gold. “I’m not sure Verda will appreciate the challenge, but have him see if he can pull any prints from this mess. And if there’s still film in there it’ll have to be processed carefully.”

Adam cleared his throat. “Our agency should take the film. We have technicians who are well equipped to handle such a delicate task.”

Dorotea’s mouth opened to argue, but it hinged closed when she realized that there was nothing she could say. What would it look like to everyone in the room, not to mention the mayor and Captain Sung, if she refused? “My late father believed in witches and I’m becoming slightly amenable to the idea,” would not hold up, it would send her straight to a psychiatrist’s chair. She had no viable reason to be suspicious of her allies, even if her gut knew she did. “Sure,” she grumbled, already cursing the loss of whatever might have been on that film. She doubted she would ever see it again.

“And the bad news?” Farah asked.

Tina sucked on her teeth. “There’s, well… the morning paper just came in.”

Any joy that Dorotea felt at the discovery had all but evaporated away. She stormed from her office, Farah on her heels, and snatched the newspaper up from Tina’s desk.

“A dark cloud over Wayhaven,” the title read in bold letters. The front page went on to detail Garret’s life and untimely death. Dorotea’s heart clenched at the photo of him, a school picture where he smiled with full teeth. Many people gave quotes about his passing, Kate and Kenny and his teachers, and all together the first page was a lovely tribute.

And then Dorotea turned the page.

“However, questions are being raised about the competency of the investigation into Hayes’s death. No arrests were made for the death of Janet Greenland, even though inside sources confirm the police suspect foul play. The arrival of four so-called agents is also raising eyebrows. Greenland’s death marks Detective Dorotea Langford’s first homicide case since she was grandfathered into the role of detective two years ago. She lacked all of the proper training, though coincidentally, her late father Ricardo ‘Rook’ Langford also held the position for many years before his death in the line of duty. Sources close to the Hayes family say that Langford has been asking about possible drug use by young Garret rather than bringing in suspects or collecting more evidence. All in all, it seems possible Langford and her outsider agents are trying to paint his death as an accident to conceal their own incompetence as investigators, or perhaps she is bowing to the will of the agents. Either way, Greenland’s killer remains at large, and while her and Hayes’s death have not officially been linked, can we trust that? Can Wayhaven trust anything that Detective Langford says while her agents are still around?

“Of course, Detective Langford and the rest of Wayhaven PD should not hold all of the blame. While the town loses valuable income during this unusual torrent of rains, unable to go to the mines, (mines that have been owned by the Friedman family for generations), Mayor Friedman busies himself with corresponding with this outside agency.” The paper continued on to describe the rocky history of the Friedmans, detailing the closures to the local mines and layoffs that had left much of the town destitute. If she hadn’t already been seeing red, Dorotea would have agreed.

“Inside sources?” she growled, slamming the newspaper back down on the desk.

Farah picked it up, Morgan and Nate now reading over her shoulder as Adam continued to hover by the office door. “Who’s Bobby?” she asked, brow furrowed.

“Can’t you tell?” Morgan barked out something like a laugh as her eyes slid over to Dorotea. “Obviously an ex.”

Dorotea ignored her and stomped over to the welcome desk. But Garret was already occupied, face pale as he held the phone to his ear. “It’s for you,” he gulped when he finally handed it over. “My dad.”

“Langford,” she all but snapped.

“Cute.” Mayor Friedman’s voice dripped with venom. “You introduce yourself like a detective!”

“Is this about the paper?”

“Of course it’s about the goddamned paper!” Dorotea winced and held the phone further away. “And about your inability to do your fucking job!”

She ran a hand through her bangs. “Look, I’ll deal with Bobby. We just-“

“No, I will deal with Mr. Marks. And my waste of a son. You and the agents I so graciously allow to crash around my town are going out on patrol tonight. Yes, you are,” he said before she could interrupt. “You are going to show Wayhaven that you are being proactive and that there is no chance that anyone else will be harmed. Am I clear?”

Dorotea grit her teeth. “Crystal, sir.”

“Good. Now hand me back-“

But Dorotea had already slammed the receiver down. “Now’s a good time to take your fifteen, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Douglas agreed softly as he stood, though he hovered around the desk for another moment, hands deep in his pockets. “I’m sorry.”

Exhaling hard through her nose, Dorotea waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about it, kid. What’s done is done. Just don’t repeat it.”

Douglas nodded and shambled back to the break room.

“Y’all didn’t have any plans for tonight, did you?” Dorotea asked when she returned to an awaiting Unit Bravo.

-

The agents were right on time to meet Dorotea in the town square, the flickering street lamps the only light in the dark night. At least now the stars were visible, a patchwork quilt in the sky. Morgan shuddered the most when they approached, though all of them looked uncomfortable with the chill, their breath visible. “I suppose you are all used to doing this by now,” Dorotea said, more occupied with the nearby call of an owl than any answer.

“We’re familiar with our routes,” Adam responded, the collar of his pea coat popped up to his jaw. He withdrew something from his pocket. “A wireless earpiece,” he explained. “Just tap it to talk on the frequency.”

Once Dorotea was confident in her ability to work the device, Morgan, Nate, and Farah disappeared into the night. “You’ll join me,” Adam said, clearly in no mood for an argument. “It’s safer in pairs.”

“Which is why the rest of your unit went off on their own?”

“Must you always do that?” Adam shook his head, schooling his expression back into neutrality. “They are agents with years of combat training and experience. They are more than capable.”

Dorotea huffed but she didn’t say anything else. She didn’t feel any eyes in the dark, but she still kept close to Adam. With his broad shoulders and powerful limbs, she was sure that she was the safest person in all of Wayhaven.

The first hour passed without incident, Adam occasionally checking in with the rest of the team over the comms. They largely avoided looking at each other, the silence between them as palpable as the dirt beneath their feet.

“That’s the sixth time you’ve yawned in the past twenty minutes,” Adam said abruptly.

Rocks skidded as Dorotea stopped. “Pardon?”

She could feel him watching her out of the corner of his eye. “It is quite distracting.” The unsaid question released with his fog of breath.

“Tough case,” she muttered, now fighting off another wave of yawns. She hadn’t even noticed them. In all honesty, she thought she was doing a commendable job at keeping her exhaustion concealed. The area under her eyes had grown a puffy shade of gray, sure, but she always looked like that. “I ain’t sleeping much.” Her companion didn’t need to know the specifics of why.

Adam sighed. “I sympathize.”

“Oh?” Dorotea raised a bow. “Perhaps you can help me, then. Clear a question that’s been occupying my mind.”

“If I am able.”

Dorotea spoke before logic could take over. “It’s not a disease, is it?”

Now it was Adam’s turn to pause. He looked at her, green eyes hardening. They almost glowed in the low light, and Dorotea idly wondered when he had stopped wearing his sunglasses. “Excuse me?”

“The blood samples,” Dorotea clarified, holding his gaze even though her body wanted to crumple to the ground. “From Greenland and the cabin. It’s not a disease. Not a right human one, anyway.”

Trying this tactic on Nate would have been a smarter move. He just oozed sympathy and guilt, and it would have been easy enough to get him alone and away from Adam’s commanding influence. But unfortunately, she realized that Nate and all of Unit Bravo respected this blond brute for some reason. If he commanded them to stay silent, they would, even if they disagreed. That left going to the source. This was the first time the two had been alone since their talk in the car outside of Kate’s home, and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to push. Dorotea realized that the chance of him confessing anything was slim, but watching him squirm had its own benefits.

For a moment, something flashed across Adam’s face. Rage or fear, Dorotea couldn’t be certain. It was gone as quickly as it came, leaving only a furrowed brow and clenched fists behind. “Not human?” he asked through gritted teeth. “What an odd thing to say. I suggest using some of your sick days to catch up on rest. It is obvious it is affecting your ability to reason.”

“Don’t you try that with me.” It was a challenge to keep her tone light. “I’m sure your agency has its share of secrets. Maybe it’s a byproduct of some experiment or toxic waste runoff or something.” She snorted, remembering her father’s files. “Witches and vampires, perhaps.”

Adam stilled.

He opened her mouth to retort, but a chime from Dorotea’s phone cut him off before he could make a sound. Immediately forgetting the conversation, she pawed it out. “Langford,” she said, worry seeping into her voice.

“Tea!” It was Mitchell, whispering harshly. “Look, I need backup.” Dorotea was already rushing towards the direction of the bar, Adam following close behind. Something that sounded like glass crashed in the background. “That fool Marks and his goddamned paper. Motherfucking Kenny and Paul are at each others’ throats again. I worry I don’t have long until I have a full brawl on my hands.”

“Keep the peace as best you can,” Dorotea responded after cursing. “We’ll be there soon.”

They heard the shouting long before they crashed through the bar door. The crowd was thick, circled around some opening in the center. Chairs and one of the tables were overturned. Broken glass littered the floor. Dorotea pushed through without hesitation, barking out orders for people to get the hell out of her way. The few that didn’t were shouldered aside by Adam.

“-your good for nothing son,” Dorotea barely caught the end of Kenny’s slurred speech. “Fucked up. Just like his daddy.”

“You leave my boy outta this!” Paul and Kenny were nose to nose, snarling. A dark liquid stain splashed down the front of Paul’s shirt, now balled in Kenny’s fist. The onlookers watched them closely, clearly split into camps, violence alight in their drunken eyes. A few, like Lance and Mitchell, stuck to the walls, watching the exchange warily. “Some kind of man you are, attacking an innocent kid,” Paul spat.

“Innocent? Is that what you call all the dealing and drinking?” Kenny sneered. “Is that what you call getting Garret killed?”

“What the fuck would you know about being a dad? Kate never loved you, Garret wasn’t yours, and this won’t-“

“That’s enough!” Dorotea pushed in between the men before Kenny could throw a punch, panting heavily. She noticed Adam circling around her, keeping the crowd back with just a glare. Like a predator, hands flexing as he dared anyone to come forward and challenge him. “Now step back and tell me what the fuck is going on here.”

Kenny’s breath stung her eyes as he leaned over her shoulder. “This rat bastard thinks he can show his face around here after he and his ilk got little Garret killed.”

Dorotea’s expression hardened. “I understand the grief. All of us are feeling Garret’s passing-“

“Oh, really?” Paul interrupted, laughing ruefully. “Are you, pig? I think you’re too busy talking your dogs out on walks.” A bottle flew past Adam, narrowly missing him as it hit the wall. Emboldened by the howls from the crowd, Paul spat a viscous glob onto Dorotea’s shoe.

She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of reacting. “Don’t try that shit with me, Paul. Don’t act like I’m anything other than your kin. Were you there to tutor him? To watch him? Were you?” she added, eyes narrowing at Kenny. “You’re drunk and heartbroken. Go home before you do something you regret. This peacocking won’t bring the boy back.”

Kenny grabbed her jacket. Adam tensed. “What, like you regretting whoring yourself out to those agents?”

“The fuck you just say to her?” Lance bellowed, his chair scraping against the floor as he stood. The crowd fought to move away from him, his mountainous shoulders rippling underneath his coat as he took a step forward.

“You stay out of this,” Dorotea snapped, pointing a finger at him. Lance frowned but stayed where he was.

Paul turned to face him. “Listening to the cops and doing what you do best, huh, scab?”

Lance made to surge forward, but Adam stopped him with a hand to his chest. The damage was already done, though, the threat of a fight was enough to start one. Kenny and Paul jostled against Dorotea, attempting to get at each other. “Don’t you fucking dare!” she tried to yell over the shouting.

“Useless pig!”

“Your sorry excuse for a son should have been the one to have his throat torn to shreds, not Garret. Lord knows it would be better than having you as a father.”

Maybe it was intended for her, or maybe Paul was just too drunk to aim properly. All Dorotea knew was one moment she was attempting to shove the men back with her toothpick arms and the next she was flying back, blood spraying from her face. Pain exploded in her nose, turning her vision white as she struggled to regain her balance as someone picked her up by the waist and shoved her behind them.

The next one was certainly meant for Kenny. It hit him square in the jaw, but Kenny responded in kind, and soon the two were writhing against each other like two alley cats fighting over a scrap of trash. More joined the fray, swinging at random on their neighbors. Lance took a solid jab to the gut, immediately brushed it off, and obliterated the nose of the man who had attempted to harm him.

The cacophony lasted only a second. The next punch was caught easily by Adam in one hand, his other occupied with holding Dorotea close to his side. He twisted his grip, and Kenny’s finger bent with a sickening pop. Kenny screamed and cradled his injured hand against his chest. “Anyone else?” Adam growled.

“Stop!”

It was hard to choke out the word through the river of blood pouring down into her mouth, but it seemed to echo through the bar. Everyone was silent, watching as Dorotea glowered. “Is this what we are? Fucking animals?” She turned to Paul and Kenny. “You both act all high and mighty, but I don’t see either of you contributing anything other than a bar tab. Is Katie dealing with her grief alone right now? Is Tim?” They both shrank back as she stepped around Adam, who still kept a hand hovering around her midriff. “Who’s taking care of them if you’re both here pissing away your wages?”

She whirled on the crowd, not caring about the blood that probably splattered their shoes. “I have half a mind to arrest every single one of you for breaking curfew, not to mention the assault on an officer. You’re goddamn lucky I’m feeling generous. Close your tabs and go home. If your neighbor is too drunk, then get him home safely. Look out for each other, for fuck’s sake. Am I clear?”

A weak chorus of “yes, Tea,” answered her. She allowed herself one satisfied nod before shouting, ”Then get!”

Someone herded Kenny to the door, and another group gathered around Paul, and soon the once-teeming bar was almost empty. Lance remained, holding out Dorotea’s hat to her. She hadn’t even noticed she’d lost it.

“You should know better,” she scolded as she snatched it back, exhaustion now allowing the full pain to bloom through her body. “I meant everyone.”

Lance looked hopeless. “Missy…”

She pushed the hat down on her scalp. “Goodnight, Lance.” It looked like he might try to speak again, but his shoulders sagged when Adam glanced at him. He slinked away into the night.

“Dear God, Tea!” Mitchell exclaimed, scrambling out from behind the bar. He pressed a clean dishrag into her hand. “Is it broken? Can I get you something? A drink?”

“The towel’s just fine,” she responded weakly, all fight drained out of her. Christ, it was a lot of blood. Adam must have thought so too because he watched her intently, lips slightly parted. She wiped the carnage from her mouth and pressed the towel against her overflowing nostril. “Did anyone pay their tab?”

“Not a damn one.”

Dorotea winced after surveying the wreckage. “Sorry, Mitch.”

“We should continue on,” Adam interjected, glaring at the walls of the bar like he was a caged animal. “The others will grow concerned if we don’t check in soon.”

They were allowed to leave only after Mitchell fussed over her again, toweling off her chin and assessing the dark marks under her eyes. The frigid air seemed colder than it had before, but it was welcome, cooling Dorotea’s stinging cheeks and waking up her tired bones. “Is this something that happens often?” Adam asked, cutting through the silence.

“The pissing contests? Oh, yeah. Paul and Kenny have been at each others’ throats since they were in grade school.” No one really understood why. Jealousy that Kate and Paul had been high school sweethearts, maybe, or the rivalry that sprung up from both of them being natural football stars. Sometimes people just hated each other. Unfortunately, Dorotea was the one who had to deal with the fallout. “But no one’s ever swung at me before.”

“Two years as detective and you’ve never been in a fight?” Adam sounded almost amused.

“Never had need to.” Her voice was nasally as she pressed the towel harder into her nostril. “People usually just do what I tell them to.”

Adam tutted at the pointed comment, something like a smile ghosting his lips, though it vanished when she yelped. “Are you sure it’s not broken?”

“Pretty sure.” Dorotea touched a finger to the bridge of her nose, hissing at the contact. “It’ll bruise like a bitch, though.”

“Here, let me see.” Adam’s movements were slow, giving Dorotea more than enough time to bat him away if she wished. But she let him take her face in his cold hands, watching him with curious eyes as he tilted her chin up. As if she was made of glass, Adam brushed his fingers across her nose, pressing gently enough that she barely felt it. Her hand dropped slightly, the bloodstained towel hovering close to her lips, her breath turning to fog as it hit the frigid air. It seemed wrong to break the silence, somehow profane, so Dorotea didn’t. Adam continued his tender assessment, a wrinkle appearing between his brows.

A trickle of blood turned into a torrent, and then blood was gushing down Dorotea’s face again, staining Adam’s fingers and dribbling onto her shirt. “Shit!” She returned the towel to her nose, wincing as the white of the fabric receded. Some drops hit the dirt with a surprisingly audible plop. “My bad.”

But Adam didn’t seem to hear her. His gaze was fixed on the red smears on his fingers. His pale lips parted slightly and his pupils almost disappeared, replaced by the blood orange glow of the distant street lamps. For an odd second Dorotea thought he might move his shaking hand to his mouth, but then he stilled and the glow receded. His head snapped sharply to the side, ears angled towards the nearby woods.

“Oh my god.”

Dorotea could not contain her girlish giggle. She put her hand out, pain and exhaustion forgotten. Tiny flecks of white dusted her palm, her arms, Adam’s hair, white like her teeth as she smiled wide. “It’s snowing!”

It was like she was a kid again, packed into her oversized coat as Rosa hurried her outside to witness the season’s first snowfall. It picked up, the flakes growing larger and lasting longer before they melted on her skin. In the morning she might be able to attack Tina with a sizable snowball and collapse into a fit of laughter when it went wide and completely missed its target.

Something warm enveloped her.

Adam’s pea coat would have slid off her narrow shoulders if he hadn’t clasped it tightly under her chin. Snow kissed the bare skin of his arms, his gray tee shirt straining to contain him. He didn’t look at her, still focused on the dark shape of the woods, but he muttered, “So it is.”

Dorotea should have noticed the tight set of his jaw or the stiffness of his shoulders, but she was filled with too much wonder to even consider them. She laughed softly, and the movement hurt her nose. She didn’t care. “It’s so late in the season. I was beginning to worry it would never come.”

She enjoyed the silence for a while, Adam’s lingering heat warding off any chill. Morgan spoke low in her ear, saying that she was checking it out, whatever “it” was. “Thank you.”

Adam snapped back into himself. He finally caught her eyes, his breath catching slightly. “Whatever for?”

“The jacket, for starters,” Dorotea chuckled. “Though I think you need it more than me.” His arms were dotted with goosebumps. She sobered slightly. “And for having my back in there.”

“It is my job to keep you safe,” he answered, mistrust dripping from the words.

“Just like it’s mine to keep my people safe.” More snow settled in his hair, and for a brief moment Dorotea considered raising her hand and brushing it off. It seemed wrong to see him like this, messy and oh so human, rather than the rigid agent she knew he wanted to be perceived as. “That’s all I want. And I know you and your team want the same. Our duty is justice and protection. And I can’t do that if there are secrets between us.” The usual hard edge in her voice that she reserved for Adam had long since melted away.

She could see him move the words in his mouth before he spoke. “The nature of my job is secrets. I am being as forthright as I can be.”

“We both know that’s not true, Adam.” He flinched at the casual address, but his hands still remained on her shoulders. She was pleading now. “I don’t want to fight you. I want to trust that you have my back.”

Adam stared at her, jaw working. “I must follow my orders.”

Dorotea raised a brow. “Orders given by my mother?”

He didn’t answer, just sighed.

That damned phone, always ringing when Dorotea craved nothing but silence. She pulled it from her pocket, bumping against Adam slightly with how close he was. She tried not to let the defeat seep into her voice as she answered Verda’s call. “You’re working late.”

“Taking a page from your book, unfortunately.” Verda sounded uncharacteristically chipper. “Working on that camera was a nightmare. Powders wouldn’t work for dusting, so I had to get creative. And thank your agents for me, would you? I don’t envy them for taking the film off of my hands.” Dorotea could hear the sudden frown in his voice. “Are you alright? You sound off.”

“You’ll hear all about it tomorrow. Why are you calling?”

Verda sucked in a breath. “We have a print.”

Meeting Billy part four (final part!)

Summary: Billy comes back to apologize and you make a plan

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x femreader

Tags: fluff, mention of abusive parents, smut, happy ending,

Authors note: hope you guys like the ending I know it probably wasn’t what you were expecting

You’ve hardly moved from the couch since Billy stormed out on Friday. You just can’t figure out what went wrong. As you’re laying on the couch Sunday morning you hear a soft knock at the door. You look through the peephole and see Billy’s blood shot and red rimmed eyes. Had he been crying? You open the door and he won’t meet your gaze. Just mutters a quiet “can I come in?” You step aside to let him in and he slowly walks over to the couch.

You sit quietly beside him not sure of what to say and honestly still a little frightened after his behavior on Friday. He starts to take his shirt off and your confusion just starts to grow. He hasn’t said anything yet either. He drops his shirt to the floor and turns his back to you. Letting you get a full view of his bruised and welted back. You reach out slowly to brush your fingers along his back and can feel him tense beneath your fingers.

You move to the other side of the couch so you can look Billy in the face. You notice a lone tear has fallen from his beautiful blue eyes and you brush them away pulling him into a hug being careful to not put pressure on his injuries. You both sit there quietly for a few minutes as you run your hands through Billy’s hair. You wait for him to make the first move.

He pulls away slowly looking you in the eyes and says “I’m sorry, Y/N. I’m so so sorry. I ran because I didn’t want you to think I’m weak. My dad does this to me. I’m embarrassed by how I treated you and all I’ve been able to see is the fear in your eyes since I left, I never want you to feel afraid. That’s why I’m so protective of you. I know what it’s like to be afraid and I’ve never wanted you to be afraid but I’m the one who made you afraid and I just can’t stand myself for it.”

As he continues to ramble on you reach over pulling his mouth to yours in a gentle reassuring kiss. When you pull away he looks at you in shock. “I thought you would never want to see me again after how I acted on Friday.” Everything makes sense to you now. What Garret had said, why Billy never left the lights on and why he acted the way he did around you.

Staring into his eyes you have a crazy idea. Grabbing Billy’s hand you nervously pitch your idea. “Billy I could never not want to see you. In fact I want to see you every minute of every day. I have an idea. Hear me out. We’re both 18, and only have three weeks until we graduate. I’ve got some savings and I work and you work too. Let’s get an apartment together. You’ll never have to be hit by your dad again.”

He just sits there staring at you in shock. He can’t believe after his outburst you would be willing to talk to him again let alone move in with you. A smile cracks his face and he quickly agrees feeling like the luckiest man in the world. He runs outside to grab the Sunday paper as you both split up the ads to find an apartment.

By Tuesday you’ve found a tiny one bedroom furnished apartment and have moved in. Your parents were not too happy about it and made you leave the impala behind but it was worth it to be with the love of your life and to keep him safe. You consecrate every room in the apartment as quick as you can. You give him head in the kitchen while he leans on the counter. He licks and sucks your clit on the couch. He bends you over in the shower fucking you as hard as he can because he knows you like it rough.

And the things you do in the bedroom. That’s where you spend most of your time. Billy now walks around shirtless and you can hardly stop from drooling. The next three weeks goes by in a blur as you both graduate from Hawkins High and are ready to officially start your life together.

One week after graduation as Billy is in the process of tying your hands to the railings of the bed you hear a frantic knock on your apartment door. You’re confused because not many people know where you even live now. Billy gruffly yells “go away we’re busy!!” But in response there is more knocking and you hear a girls voice yell out “Billy, Y/N, please let me in I need help!” You look at each other both recognizing Maxs voice. Billy is more hesitant to stop but you can hear the urgency and quickly untie the one hand Billy had bound.

You throw on whatever clothes you can find and run to the doo. Max busts in crying with the starts of a black eye. You have gotten close with the girl over the last few months so you pull her into a tight hug dragging her to the couch. As you shush her crying and brush her hair Billy saunters out of the bedroom stopping in his tracks when he sees Maxs black eye.

She breaks down explaining that since Billy left Neil had been taking his anger out on Max and her mom. You can see the guilt in Billy’s eyes feeling as if he caused the black eye himself. “I’m going to kill him!”, Billy yells as he storms to the door. You and Max both grab him trying to talk him down. He turns around and kicks the couch side table causing it to go flying and the lamp to fall on the ground. Both you and Max flinch at the crash.

Billy noticed your reactions and immediately pulls you both into a hug. He never imagined he would be hugging Max but being with you has changed something in him. “I’m so sorry girls, I’m acting just like Neil and that’s the last thing we need. I’m just so pissed he did this to you Max!” As you both hush him and reassure him it’s okay the three of you continue to stand in a group hug which now has everyone crying.

When Neil left for work that night the three of you snuck to the house and packed some of Maxs things. From then on Max stayed with you and Billy. The first night Billy offered to take the pull out couch and let you comfort Max in bed. When he got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom he peeked in the room to see you cradling Max with her head buried in your shoulder. Instead of going back to the couch Billy slid in bed behind you wrapping both you and Max in a protective hug.

It was then that he knew he was never going to let anyone or anything hurt either of you ever again.

Mickey: Phil's with her? How! Jack: She was snatched off the road...Phil was there... Mickey: *looks suspicious* Do you wanna tell me what Phil was doing there? Jack: I asked him to look into things. I know what you're thinking Mickey, but if someone told me you were dodgy, what would you expect me to do? Nothing!?

Mickey: Guv, we need to lose DC Sim... Jack: Why? Mickey: Well you know why! DI Manson brought her over from Stafford Row...We don't want her compromised

Mickey: I'm sorry about DI Manson Jack: Well don't be sorry until there's something to be sorry for. I might not be as close to him as I was to you, but I trust him just the same. Mickey: Well I wouldn't trust me guv...I don't work for you anymore.

Neil: At some point, we're going to have to start trusting one another again. Phillipa: Yeah, well that has to be planned. Neil: There's such a thing as forgiveness. Phillipa: Oh and were always so good at that, weren't you Neil! Oh this is ridiculous, I don't care what you say, I'm going to report that probe. Neil: *sees the NCS Mob* Phillipa! Wait! Mickey: Mrs Manson, I have a warrant to search these premises for money and correspondance. Neil: Mickey, you know she's a lawyer. You start making false accusations and you'll regret it. Mickey: It's not your wife we're interested in Neil, it's you. Neil: Sneaking in the back way...I wouldn't have thought that was your style, DS Webb. Mickey: Well, with respect sir, given your position, we thought it would be more discreet. Neil: Does er, this look familiar? *passes the bug to Mickey* Mickey: *looks at the bug* No idea what you're talking about. Neil: Yeah, right.

Liz: 5 thousand pounds in used notes hidden under your sons mattress...how much pocket money does he get, I wonder. Neil: All I know is it isn't mine. Mickey: Then who's is it? Neil: Dunno. Mickey: Your wife's? Neil: You'd have to ask her. It's not very characteristic though, she tends to put it in the bank... Liz: Would you say you had a good marriage, Mrs Manson. DCI Brice: What was the name of that PC he was in the sack with? She was an undercover journalist wasn't she? Phillipa: No comment. Mickey: How did you know Julie had been hurt? Phillipa: No comment. Mickey: But you did know... Phillipa: Do you want me to read my statement back? A little slower this time?

Mickey: Guv, if you don't mind me saying, one of your strengths as a DCI is the loyalty you display to all your officers.

Jack: Neil Manson's my DI Mickey: Face it, Guv, he's bent. He couldn't have a bigger flashing light on him if he tried. Mickey: You think it’s me? Is that why you're here? You’re investigating me? Jack: Well? Mickey: Everything points to Manson... I cannot believe you wanna lump this in me. You got any idea how that makes me feel? Jack: How did you know that Neil was at Cassidy's flat? Mickey: I'm not at liberty to tell ya, even if I wanted to. Jack: So what are you doing here? Mickey: I'm here to see a priest. Jack: What do you want a priest for? Mickey: This is my fiancées church. We're getting married. And you just crossed yourself off the guest list. Get used to it will you, Its Manson. You think otherwise, you prove it.

Jack: Mickey… Mickey: Nobody even calls me Mickey anymore, my names Michael. DCI Brice: Did you have any idea it was Liz Mickey: No of course I didn't. What... What is this? What do you take me for? *storms out* Jack: What was all that about. DCI Brice: She's not just a colleague. Liz Garret is Michael's fiancée. Mickey: Why Liz, Why? Liz: Do you think I wanted this? Mickey: Tell me why though? Liz: McGowan helped me once. I owed him, I had no choice. Mickey: Why didn't you come to me? I could have helped you. Liz: Because I love you. I couldn't drag you into this. You're separate from all of this. Mickey: But this is murder. Two people have died now. Liz: Do think I wanted it to get to this. Please understand me. Jack: Mickey, it’s an NCS collar. Do you want it? Mickey: No, I can't. *walks away*

Mickey: Y'know something Jack. I really thought I'd found her. The one for me. I really did Jack: Well, if there was anything I could say Mickey: I know, you would. *throws rings in river*

Phil: Cindy had her car trashed last night, she reckons it was a fireman right - he thought the car was mine. Mickey: *Chuckling* You ain’t been knocking off a fireman's bird 'av ya? Phil: No! I mean, none that I know of...and definitely not recently! Look I'm a changed man now alright? Juliet: *Chuckling* Tell that to the fireman!

Mickey: All the flats that are involved have been sold in the last 6 months. Now who would have access to the keys or the alarm codes? Alex: Estate Agent. Mickey: Bullseye. Alex: If you nick an Estate Agent, Mickey, I'll put you in for a commendation. Mickey: I wasn't able to do an inventory, I was busy trying not to get my face smashed in. Craig: Mickey! That's a Senior Officer you are speaking too! Mickey: I was busy trying not to get my face smashed in, SIR! Craig: MICKEY!

Smithy: *lifting drugs out a pram* "Makes a change from a cuddly toy"

Dan Casper: I thought if i just left it, it would just go away! Gina Gold: Where? Never Never Land?

Dan: “Have you seen her today, she’s like Godzilla on crack."

Smithy: Right, the car details have been circulated, I just need to find out what happened from you… Louise: Must we? Smithy: *pauses* ...Right, let's start again shall we? I'm Sgt Smith, from Sun Hill, and you are...? Louise: *sighs* Louise Roberts… Smithy: There, see - wasn't that painful, was it Miss Roberts. Smithy: And what are you doing in Sun Hill? Louise: Just passing through. Smithy: In a multi storey carpark? Louise: That's right... Louise: You're not going to find the car, so I don't know why we're bothering... Smithy: Amazingly, they do turn up...and we'd like to find it, it's our job. It'd be a little bit easier if we turned up and everyone said 'oh no, don't bother finding my expensive motor that's just been nicked by some bloke'. So what happened? Smithy: Did he say anything? Louise: Maybe. Nothing worth publishing. Smithy: Age… Louise: Who knows? 17, 18? Smithy: *grins* Who knows, without cutting their heads off and counting the rings, it's difficult to tell, ain't it...

Leela: ...after he pulled a knife on her. Smithy: He what! She didn't mention that...but then again, there's a lot she hasn't mentioned. Smithy: Well, we can't hang around here all day waiting for her to say something, so let's go rattle her cage. Smithy: And now, your number? Louise: Do we have to? Smithy: Well yeah, I might have some other questions that you don't want to answer. Smithy: Sometimes it's the smallest details about someone that tells us the most. Louise: And what do the small details tell us about you Sergeant Smith? Let's see, for a start you're not married. Smithy: *raises his left hand* Well that's not exactly difficult, is it. Louise: You don't live with anyone either... Smithy: How'd you know that? Louise: Because you're wearing slightly too much aftershave, too much for the inside of a small car anyway. A woman would be sensitive to that, when she kissed you goodbye in the morning, she'd tell you that. Am I right? Smithy: ...Possibly. Louise: That means yes. So what else do we know? You're late twenties, doing pretty well to be a Sergeant by now. Local boy from the accent. I expect you've got a smart, bare little flat somewhere not too far from here. Big widescreen telly, but not much else. Not much clutter, white walls, sanded floors...which you did yourself cos you couldn't afford that nice laminate stuff. Smithy: What is this? Changing Rooms? Louise: And no partner. Smithy: You don't know that. Louise: You're dedicated to your job. That's why you made Sergeant. Because you've got nothing else to worry about. Apart from going to the gym. Maybe twice a week by the look of you. Smithy: Oh, thank you. Louise: You've had relationships. But let's face it, work just gets in the way... Smithy: Do you fancy a job in CID? Louise: You couldn't afford me. Louise: *returns to the car clutching just one coffee* Smithy: ...No thanks, I'm fine… Louise: Okay… Smithy: No that I think of it, it makes sense that you're not bothered about the car. It don't matter, not to people like you. Louise: People like me? And who are they? Smithy: People with money. Now I bet you're married to a *very* wealthy man...Now take those boots. They're at least three hundred quids worth... Louise: They were in a sale and I paid for them with my own money... Smithy: I bet you've never even done the housework. Or the washing up come to think of it... Louise: Why's that? Smithy: Look at your nails. And then there's your hair...That's at least once a week, and it'd take longer than a lunch hour, so - you've got some leisure time, which means you don't work, which means it's paid for by a wealthy bloke. Louise: Assistance? They're only kids. Smithy: Yeah, with knives and they're prepared to use them. I'm not stupid like you! Smithy: Put your seatbelt on. Louise: It's creasing my coat... Smithy: It'd do more than that if you went through the window screen. Louise: Thank you so much for caring. Smithy: Yeah, I don't. I just don't want the paperwork. Reg: Sarge, she's a bit of alright ain't she? Smithy: Not when you're stuck in a car with her she's not...

Louise: I could always cry... isn't that meant to melt the judges heart? Smithy: *rolls his eyes* Leela: Spoilt little rich girl with too much money Smithy: Yeah, you're probably right... Leela: Nice looking though... Smithy: Not really my type. Smithy: ...Leela? Can I ask you something? Erm, my aftershave… *clears his throat* Is it a bit strong? Leela: *looks confused* Maybe just a bit. Smithy: ...Right *walks off* Tony: Could you just carry on with the statement please, *looks at Smithy* I'm enthralled... Smithy: *nods*

Smithy: We get accused of all sorts... Louise: Like what? Smithy: I'm sure you know what I mean... Louise: Well I'm sure I wouldn’t accuse you of anything, we're on the same side aren't we? Smithy: You sure about that? Louise: *sees Smithy looking at a picture* You like it? Smithy: Actually I prefer the poster of that tennis bird scratching her bum but... Louise: You are joking, aren't you? Smithy: You spotted that...well done... Louise: I just don't want to appear in court, it's not me... Smithy: Well I'm sure Mr Larson will buy you a new outfit if that's what you're worried about... Smithy: ...not some phony like you. Louise: *excuse* me? Smithy: You're nothing, love - noone! All you've done is married well, so don't give yourself any airs and graces, cos you're no better than me! Smithy: And all of this! It's not yours, you're just a spoilt pampered little pet!

Smithy: Morning... Louise: It's time you were out of here... Smithy: Don't I get a good morning kiss, or something? Well how about a nice cup of rosy then? Louise: No! Smithy: Why not? Louise: Because, now come on... Smithy: What's the rush? Louise: I've gotta get going, and so do you! Smithy: If you've got time...*wraps his arms around her waist* we could er… Louise: No!

The Talon Saga + D&D Classes

Ember- Rogue (Assassin): One of the most cut and dry decisions, Ember was trained to be one of Talon's elite assassins, and doesn't dissapoint. From her stealth to her ability to neutralize enemies as quickly and silently as possible, she is Lilith's protege through and through.

Garret- Fighter (Battlemaster): Garret, someone who's spent the majority of his life in a militarized organization and whose only purpose in life for 13 years was to serve that organization, his fighting style is honed and perfected, with a lot of variation as to what he can do in the field of combat. However, like this class, his skills outside of combat can feel a bit lacking as he struggles to function in a non-militarized society.

Riley- Rogue (Inquisitive)/Paladin (Oathbreaker): Riley started his career in Talon as part of its spy network, dealing in information and sabotage— while Inquisitive rogues aren't built for hack and slash combat, they operate greatly from the shadows, where Riley tries to stay. His status as a paladin speaks towards his devotion to his cause and community, as well as his choice to sever ties with Talon and actively work against them.

Wes- Wizard (Divination)/Cleric (Knowledge Domain): Wes' specialty was, is, and will always be in support, not combat. His roots are in information gathering from hacking, finding enemy weak spots for other people to exploit and manipulating things from behind the curtain. As he left Talon, though, he not only gained a medical skillset, but also found something worth believing in— the thing that he devotes himself is not a god, but instead the underground that he and Riley formed, and that he works tirelessly to preserve.

Jade- Sorcerer (Storm Sorcery): While all dragons seem to have some sort of innate magic, Jade is the only one in the group who grew up in an environment where she could actually hone it into something usable, and doesn't hesitate to do so— as an eastern dragon, she's associated with water and storm, making her magic primarily weather-based.

Tristan- Fighter (Arcane Archer)/Rogue (Assassin): While Tristan may have his roots in traditional fighting styles, and can hold his own in hand-to-hand, he functions best far away from where the action is, where he can calculate, fire, and do a ridiculous amount of damage in one blow without ever being seen. While he shares a class with Garret and a subclass with Ember, the combination makes him unique from both, and especially suited for his place on the battlefield.

Mist- Rogue (Inquisitive)/Warlock (Archfey): With the skillset of a Basilisk, Mist may thrive in the shadows, gathering blackmail and issuing threats, but has also gained the favor of someone much more powerful than herself, who provides her with intel and resources, so long as she follows his orders. Her focuses, both as a rogue and a warlock, are in deception at their core, making her allegience a mystery to all but herself and her employer.

Dante- Bard (College of Whispers): Dante's skillset is reliant on his charisma, in convincing people to do what he wants, and in manipulating others to his benefit. He's made his den in a pit of vipers, and he wears that as a badge of honor.

Conclusion: There are so many rogues in this party

some things i am currently obsessed with:

needing to know what clothing preferences billy had in the 70s as an adolescent and early teen. and how he got from the phase we saw in his memories to his 80s teen denim and leather preferences. i have the mightiest of needs. i like to think of young billy and his earlier styles like a young leif garret but i could be wrong....

exploring more of how billy’s death caused an absence and rift in the hargrove household and what that meant for max and steve. how neil dealt with billy’s death and why he left the picture.

how did billy come to get his car? its obviously a used car, bc he would’ve been twelve in it’s model release year. did he buy it from a dealer or a family friend of some sort who took a shining to him?

FALL/SPOOKY THEMES:

billy getting talked into helping run a booth/attraction at a school carnival to raise money for the basketball team to travel during the spring season

having to pitch in and help haul in the fall harvest on local farms because Farmer So-n-so is getting older or got hurt and their kids all moved out of town so the high school kids are coming to help... Steve convinces him to come. hand pulling carrots, beets, lettuce, and cabbages OR...OR!

Billy having to actually deal with cow shit and help herd the cows and get them to the milking parlor. dear god.

taking max to meet the other kids at a corn maze. but they get lost in the rows...

exploring the abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of town where some murder happened waaaaay back in the day on halloween night. ‘dare you to spend the night harrington...if you’re not. ch-ch-ch-chicken.’ ‘alright hargrove, you’re on’ ‘whoever runs doubles theirs losses...’

scary movie night/storm/power outage trope. has that car been parked across the street this entire time?

walking home and crunching all the leaves under their feet, billy trying to be subtle about his enjoyment

leaving/writing small messages on the camaro window in the morning frost before it disappears

Third episode of A RIOT OF MY OWN, A free monthly podcast where Garret Schuelke showcases some of his favorite Folk Punk tunes, along with Anti-Folk, Indie Folk, and related genres (along with some surprises). Episodes available for free streaming and download from Archive.org. Uploaded December 29th, 2023.

This is a free podcast that is not monetized. Please support the artists and bands featured on this show by purchasing their music, merchandise, attending their shows, following them on social media, and supporting your local scene(s).

A RIOT OF MY OWN official website: https://riotofmyownpod.tumblr.com/

Garret Schuelke's official website: https://garretschuelke.tumblr.com/

Garret Schuelke on Twitter: @garretschuelke

Garret Schuelke's page on Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/@garret_schuelke

Featured Tracks:

Block 1

1) “NYC Like A Graveyard” – The Moldy Peaches (self-titled album) 2) “Fuck Scabs” – Neobeatglory (I Hate Living in the Future) 3) “The Whiskey Shakes” – Native American Walker and the Dutches (Bandcamp single) 4) “Song II” – JOE (Pass With Care) 5) “A Casual Communist Christmas” – Nascar Noir (Bandcamp single)

Block 2

6) “In The Woods” – Jeremy Ruggles (A Hole is to Dig) 7) “When the Frayed Wind Blows” – Matt Pless (Catch Me If You Can) 8) “NOT ASHAMED” – Homeless Gospel Choir (You Work So Hard Just To Be Like Everyone Else) 9) “Eat Shit and Die” – Harley Poe (Have A Great Life) 10) “Slippin' on the Ice” – Sam Kenny (See The Storm Through)

Block 3

11) “Sinker” – Almanac Shouters (A Long Road Home) 12) “Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist” – Ramshackle Glory (Live The Dream) 13) “Grandma's Song” – Defiance, Ohio (The Great Depression) 14) “I Don't Want to be Sad” – Human Kitten (self-titled album) 15) “No Home for Christmas” – Jonas Selander (Songs that never made it)

Block 4

16) “Fuck You, it's Christmas” – Tedd Hazard (Epilogue) 17) “A Late Christmas Card” – Jonas Selander (Songs that never made it) 18) “Winter's Tale” – Louis Rive (Bandcamp single) 19) “Merry Christmas?” – Phil Awful and the Experiments (Christmas is Awful) 20) “Communist Christmas” – Rathergood (Spongs in the Key of Life)

Whumptober 2022 Masterpost

Thank you all for this amazing month 🖤

Day 01: A little out of the ordinary

This wasn't supposed to happen: Batwoman 1x15 (Kate Kane) + Travelers 1x09 (Grant MacLarren)

Day 02: Nowhere to run

Caged: Doctor Who 13x01 (Dan Lewis) + Seventh Son (Kit Harington)

Day 03: Hair’s breadth from death

Gun to temple: Bodyguard 04 (David Budd) + Gran Hotel 2x21 ( Julio Olmedo)

Day 04: Dead on your feet

Waking up disoriented: Mononoke Hime (Ashitaka) + The Defenders 07 (Matt Murdock)

Day 05: Every whumpee’s needs

Running out of air: White Collar 1x08 (Neal Caffrey)

Day 06: Proof of life

Ramson video: Chicago PD 3x01 (Jay Halstead)

Day 07: The way you shake and shiver

Seizures: Kyle XY 1x09 (Matt Dallas)

Day 08: Everything hurts and I’m dying

Stomach pain: Guardian 08 (Zhao Yun Lan)

Day 09: The very noisy night

Caught in a storm: When the devil calls your name 16 (Ha Rip) + X-men Evolution 2x06 (Scott and Alex Summers)

Day 10: Poor unfortunate souls

Waterboarding: Salvation 1x04 (Darius Tanz)

Whipping: Thieves of the wood 1x07 (Jan de Lichte) + The Terror 1x04 (Cornelius Hickey)

Day 11: "911, what's your emergency?"

Makeshift splint: Hawaii 5-0 1x20 (Steve McGarrett) + The Untamed 13 (Lan Wang Ji)

Day 12: What could go wrong

Cave in: Descendants of the sun 08 (Yoo Shi Jin)

Day 13: Can’t make an omelette without breaking a few legs

Dislocation: Burn Notice 3x01 (Michael Westen) + Gundam Wing 03 ( Yuy Heero)

Day 14: Die a hero or live long enough to became a villain

"I'll be right behind you": Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End (James Norrington)

Day 15: Emotional damage

New scars: Rurouni Kenshin The Beginning (Himura Kenshin)

Lies: The Outpost 2x04 (Garret Spears)

Day 16: No way out

Mind control: Fushigi Yuugi 1x20 (Tamahome)

Paralytic drugs: Lost 3x14 (Rodrigo Santoro)

Day 17: Hanging by a threat

Breaking point: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood 19 (Riza Hawkeye)

Day 18: Let's break the ice

"Take my coat": My Amazing Boyfriend 1x18 (Xue Ling Qiao)

Day 19: Enough is enough

Repeatedly passing out: The Untamed (Wei Wu Xian)

Day 20: It's been a long day

Fetal position: Buffy the Vampira Slayer 4x19 (Oz Osbourne) + Mr Robot 1x01 (Elliot Alderson)

Day 21: Famous last words

Coughing up blood: The Resident 5x02 (Devon Pravesh) + The Vampire Diaries 2x21 (Damon Salvatores)

Day 22: Pick your poison

Allergic reaction: Bridgerton 2x03 (Edmund Bridgerton)

Day 23: At the end of their rope

Tied to a table: Alex Rider 1x06 (Alex Rider)

Day 24: Fight, flight or freeze

Blood covered hands: Under the Banner of Heavens 1x07 (Jeb Pyre) + White Lines 1x09 (Oriol Calafat)

Day 25: Silence is gold

Duct tape: The Rookie 2x16 (John Nolan)

Day 26: No one left behind

"Why did you save me?": Downton Abbey 3x10 (Thomas Barrow)

Day 27: Pushed to the limit

Magical exhaustion: Legends of Tomorrow 4x04 (John Constantine) + Rokudenashi Majutsu 03 (Glenn Radars)

Day 28: It's just the tip of the iceberg

Punching the wall: Doctor Who 9x11 (Peter Capaldi)

Day 29: What doesn't kill me

Sleep deprivation: Carnivàle 1x09 (Ben Hawkins)

Day 30: Note to self: don't get kidnapped

Hair grabbing: Ghost Whisperer 1x14 (Melinda Gordon)

Day 31: A light at the end of the tunnel

Bedside vigil: Our flag means death 1x04 (Stede Bonnet)

Now, by comparison— for comparison makes us comprehend an argument distinctly,— and we learned men love a comparison better than a similitude,— by comparison, then, if you please, master, as we see that the sea, when a storm rises, begins to rage, the wind roars and destroys, billows dash against billows with a great hullabaloo, and the ship, in spite of the mariner, goes sometimes down to the cellar and sometimes up into the garret; so, when a woman gets whims and crotchets into her head, we see a tempest in the form of a violent storm, which will break out by certain … words, and then a … certain wind, which by … certain waves in … a certain manner, like a sand-bank … when … In short, woman is worse than the devil.

— Moliere, The Love-Tiff