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webslinger-holland · 1 year

Note

Hi I absolutely loved heal his heart and saw someone say your request are open so I was wondering if u could write kaz brekker x sick reader just how he would take care of her. I’m sick right now and it’s kicking my arse lmao

Hope nice day :)

Deathly Fever | Kaz Brekker

Warning: mentions of severe illness, mentions of traumatic childhood, mentions of needles and bloodletting

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.7k

Over the past few weeks, Kerch had become a victim to a new disease brought from the harbor. It spread rapidly, mainly through air circulation and proximity. Many people speculated that the disease originated from Shu Han as a few cases had been reported from there. Other than the few cases, there was really no proof of where it came from.

People began calling it the 'fragile fever.' This was because the first symptom to show was a high fever and people grew quite frail due to their weakened state. The Shu were working frantically to find some kind of antibiotic that would dissolve the bacterial infection, but they had no success thus far.

The number of casualties was rising rapidly, reporting nearly fifty deaths each day. It acted fast and could take a life in less than twenty-four hours. Ketterdam had fallen into a very dark time.

Being part of the Crows, Y/n was always busy with something. She often ran errands for the group, choosing to buy the needed supplies for most of their heists.

It was now mid-afternoon. She was heading back to the club for the day with a much needed roll of parchment and a new container of ink for her boss. She felt incredibly hot and had even broken out in a sweat despite it being particularly cold that day. She brushed it off as her wearing one too many layers.

Back at the Crow Club, the small group of six were gathered to sit around one of the empty tables. The club wasn't supposed to open for another two hours. In the meantime, the group worked on planning for their next heist. They talked amongst themselves.

"Another ten announced dead from the Financial District," Jesper announced with his nose buried in a newspaper. He dropped the paper onto the table.

"It's moving west," Inej realized. She briefly glanced down at the paper.

"Could reach the Barrel any day now," Matthias claimed. He had been leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No news from the Shu?" Wylan asked Jesper. His voice hopeful.

"Nothing that the papers are reporting," Jesper stated. He directed his gaze to look at his boss who sat across from him at the table. He could see that he was deep in thought. "Thoughts on closing the club?" Jesper wondered.

The others turned their heads and looked at their leader expectedly. But Kaz kept his gaze on the silver crow head attached to his cane. He pursed his lips together in thought before shaking his head at the notion.

"No," Kaz said firmly. "We need the business and we need the money."

In that exact moment, the long wooden doors swung open to announce the arrival of someone. The six crows immedielty shifted their gaze towards the source of the noise. Their eyes landed on the familiar figure of the seventh member of the crew. Though, she didn't look quite like herself.

She was covered in a thick layer of sweat, which was clearly evident on her face. She panted heavily to herself; her chest heaving with each breath she took. It looked like she had been running, but she truly hadn't been. The color was robbed from her face.

"I'm...back," Y/n said slowly and breathlessly. She sent them a weak smile, shuffling towards a nearby table to lower her supplies down.

The others quickly looked between each other as if expecting to find some kind of explanation. In the back, Kaz slowly rose to his feet with the help of his cane. His eyes remained on her frail figure.

"Y/n," Kaz called warningly.

It was almost like she didn't hear him because she just kept organizing the things she had brought back to them. Unbeknownst to all of them, Nina moved her hands in a particular motion underneath the table. She sensed her rapid heartbeat, which ultimately meant she probably had a fever.

"Kaz," Nina whispered under her breath. She discreetly turned her head to glance at him through the corner of her eye. "Her heartbeat," Nina began.

He didn't need to be told anything else. He knew what this meant. He inhaled a sharp breathe. He was rudely reminded of his haunting past with disease and how it claimed the life of his brother. He shuddered at the mere thought.

For a brief moment, Y/n felt the entire room go silent. She saw these black splotches begin to cloud her vision. Her head felt light almost. Before she knew it, Y/n had completely lost her footing and had fallen unconscious to the floor.

Without hesitation, the six crows had jumped to their feet in order to rush to her side. It had been Nina who had gotten to her first. She grabbed her shoulder to shift her body to lay on her side. Her fingers hovered over her chest to feel for a heartbeat.

Kaz stood towering over Nina's knelt figure, watching her with hawk eyes. Inej had closed her eyes to say a silent prayer in the background. Jesper had taken Wylan into his arms to bring him some form of comfort. Matthias stood there with as much anticipation as the others.

"She's alright. Just unconscious," Nina announced which made the whole group release a sigh of relief.

"Matthias, take her up to my office." Kaz ordered immediately.

In response, Matthias had dropped down to the floor right beside Nina. He slipped his large arm underneath the unconscious girl's neck, linking his other one under the hook of her legs. He checked to make sure she was secure in his arms.

"Inej, go fetch the doctor." Kaz turned to her. She immediately left their company without another word. "Wylan and Jesper, head down to the market to get medical supplies." Kaz finished.

The two boys nodded their heads understandingly. They rushed towards the entrance with the intent of running to the market as quickly as they could so they could return as soon as possible.

"I'll stay with Nina," Kaz said mostly to himself.

Now Matthias had risen to his feet with the much smaller girl in his arms. He tried to handle her with the utmost care, knowing that if he didn't, Kaz might just have his head. He carefully made his way up the spiral staircase with Nina and Kaz trailing behind him.

Nina went to open the door to Kaz's office. She stepped out of the way so that Matthias could slip through the opening of the office. He stood still for a moment, indecisive of what to do next and where he needed to put her.

"Right over there," Kaz gestured to the sole crimson couch in the corner. So Matthias moved towards the crimson couch. He leaned down to lower the body onto the surface of the couch.

Once Y/n was comfortably laid down, Matthias took a step back so that Nina could sit beside her and Kaz could monitor it all. Nina kept her hand hovering over her chest, concentrating on feeling the pace of her heart rate. She brought her other hand to the side of her dear friend's face, shifting some loose strands of hair out of her face.

Her hair had begun to stick to her skin. Her shirt had a noticeably sweat stain around her neckline. Her breathing was wavering slightly. She looked so sickly up close.

All of the sudden, Kaz didn't see one of his crew members laying on his couch, but instead, the image was replaced of his dead brother who was still covered in those deathly firepox spots and whose eyes had been glazed over. The haunting feeling of his skin being so cold and damp. It gave him chills just thinking about it.

The memories only forced him to turn his head away from the scene. He squeezed his eyes tightly as if trying to push out the images flashing through his mind. He felt a strong sense of bile rising in the back of his throat, threatening to release if he didn't get a grip on himself.

Unable to handle his thoughts any longer, Kaz had left the room in a hurry despite hearing Nina and Matthias calling after him. He slammed the door shut behind him, holding the handle tightly between his leather gloves.

He pressed his backside against the surface of the door and allowed his head to fall back. He closed his eyes once again. His breathing began to increase in speed as he failed to get the sickly image of one of his crows out of his head. His hands shifted to grasp onto the head of the crow cane, keeping him steady.

After a couple minutes of waiting outside, Kaz began to pace back and forth in front of the door. He ignored the slight ache in his right leg. All of the sudden, Jesper and Wylan came clambering up the staircase. They each held a small wooden crate full of vials, rags, and healing herbs.

Upon seeing Kaz, Jesper had halted in his place. He narrowed his eyes at him as if trying to figure out what was going on, but he couldn't figure it out. He cleared his throat to get his boss's attention.

"Got the supplies, boss." Jesper stated.

"Bring them to Nina. She'll know what to do," Kaz did not stop pacing.

With a single nod, Wylan went to enter the office with his supplies. Jesper went to follow him, but he stopped one final time. He stood directly in front of his boss.

"Coming?" Jesper wondered.

Kaz shook his head in denial. He refused to look at him. He took a single step forward to continue his pacing, pressing the tip of his cane against the solid wood floorboards.

In slight defeat, Jesper decided to drop the subject. He turned to walk into the office, joining the others in their attempt to bring their dear friend out of an unconscious state.

Time began to pass.

Before anyone knew it, the large celestial clock of a full moon was hanging high over Ketterdam. The skyline had outstretched its black view of night over the entire city. The stars were sprinkled against the dark sky, almost like salt spread across a table. The lights of the city glowed yellow in the night.

By now, though it had only been a few hours, Y/n's state had taken a turn for the worst. She still failed to wake up. Heavy bags lingered under her eyes and her eyelids had grown darker in color. Her face was still drained of all color and her sweat continued to be an existing condition.

The doctor had been called earlier. He had arrived no more than an hour prior. He checked for the usual symptoms for which he had been seeing every day now. He worked in complete silence. The five crows stood around him and could not take their eyes away.

In the background, Kaz made sure to make no noise as he reentered the office. He stood in the dark corner as he did not really want to be seen by anybody. He held his breathe in anticipation, awaiting to hear the doctor's diagnosis.

Ever so slowly, the doctor lowered her hand back down onto the couch since he had just finished taking her pulse. He reached up to remove the circular glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He turned his body around in the chair to address the others.

"Well?" Jesper asked rather impatiently.

"Is she going to be alright?" Inej asked worriedly.

"It's hard to tell," the doctor shook his head.

"Well, what is it? Is it the fever?" Nina persisted. Her fingers pinched a little gold necklace around her neck to ease her nerves.

"I'm afraid so," the doctor replied. "She has all the symptoms."

"What can you do for her?" Wylan pushed.

"Not much I can do," the doctor sighed. He went to open his medical bag, taking out a rather large empty syringe.

"W-what's that?" Wylan practically trembled at the sight.

"It's an option. I can try to bleed her, see if any of the bacteria can be extracted..." his voice trailed off despite his urge to further explain himself.

"But?" Jesper wondered.

"If I bleed her, it might finish her."

Upon hearing this, Nina closed her eyes as if trying to prevent the tears from falling. Matthias went to wrap his arm around her shoulder. Inej began another little prayer to herself. Jesper wiped his mouth with the palm of his hand.

"There is no promise I can save her," the doctor confessed truthfully. "The fever acts fast. Her body grows weaker with each second. I need to know now if you want to to proceed with this."

Hesitantly, the five other crows had turned their heads and looked over to their boss standing in the corner. His eyes remained on the wooden floorboards since he was contemplating his options. He closed his eyes to ignore the stares coming his way.

Even then, Kaz still could not look at her. He couldn't even face his crows, coming to the realization that they were dependent on him to make the final decision on this. He thought for a moment.

"Do what you need to do," Kaz said finally.

Over the next hour, the doctor worked ever so carefully. He had successfully inserted a long tube into her arm to transfer some blood out of her system. The excess blood fed into a single porcelain bowl.

In the given moment, Jesper and Wylan were sitting in one of the corners of the room. They talked quietly to themselves. Meanwhile, Inej had been kneeling at the foot of the bed with her hands folded and her head bowed in prayer. She hadn't gotten up since. Then Matthias was pacing the room as he grew more anxious and nervous with each passing second.

All the while, Kaz remained in his own dark corner. He stood leaning against the wall with the help of his cane for support. Anytime Kaz's eyes fell on the familiar figure on the couch, the haunting memories of his brother came flooding back into his mind. He opted to keep his eyes shut to keep the memories out.

Now Nina came back into the room with a bowl full of cold water. She held a dry rag in the other hand, carrying both of them to the small side table beside the couch. She went to dip the rag into the bowl of water, wringing it out afterwards.

She proceeded to place the wet rag on the sickly girl's forehead in hopes of relieving the heat she felt in her head and to bring down her fever. In response, Y/n turned her head from side to side father slowly. She moaned at the feeling.

After a moment, the doctor removed the single tube from her forearm. He cleaned it off with a spare handkerchief. Then he stood to his feet and took hold of his medical bag. He went to leave the room, but was ultimately stopped by the leader of the group. He halted suddenly.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kaz quirked an eyebrow at the doctor.

"I have other patients to see. Others like her who are dying right now," the doctor insisted while gesturing to the patient behind him. Kaz closed his eyes upon hearing the word 'dying.'

"Name your price," Kaz grumbled under his breath.

"I-I can't stay here," the doctor shook his head in denial. "I have to help others."

In any other situation, Kaz would have stopped the man before he could leave the room. He'd force him to stay there until she got better. He'd pay him all the money in the world if it meant that he could do something to help her. But alas, this time, Kaz let the man go.

Before leaving, the doctor came to a slow halt in his steps. He dropped his head down in slight defeat. He realized that he couldn't do much to help her and he wished he could have done more.

"She's contagious," the doctor announced. He stole a quick glance at the young faces around the room. "If you value your life, you should leave town as soon as you can."

The six crows were able to remain unfazed by the doctor's comment. They glanced between one another, mentally wondering if they were all thinking the same thing.

"No mourners," Kaz began.

"No funerals," the others agreed.

Without another word, the doctor dismissed himself from the company of the crows. The rest of them were left there, slightly uncertain of what to do next. There was a beat of silence.

"We'll take shifts," Nina announced, stepping forward. "Switch every three hours," Nina suggested.

"I'll take the first shift," Wylan offered with a slight raise of the hand.

"I will too," Inej said while standing to her feet.

Over the span of a week's time, the crows had taken turns alternating shifts. It operated in a smooth manner: Wylan and Inej, Matthias and Nina, Jesper and Kaz. Though oftentimes, Jesper was left alone during the shift because Kaz just couldn't stand the sight.

The doctor was only able to come briefly every other day, checking for any signs of improvement. Though they were all running low on energy and sleep, they couldn't begin to imagine how the doctor was since he looked like he hadn't gotten sleep in a whole week.

The city was restless. More people were dying every day. There were a limited number of doctors. They often were forced to pick their work from the person who could pay the most. This left the poor people dying on the streets with no medicine and no doctor at their disposal. Death leaned heavy over the city, claiming the lives of countless innocents.

During the early shift, Inej and Wylan would do anything in their power to make sure their dear friend was comfortable. They tried propping up pillows or covering her with blankets. Inej always prayed over her and Wylan liked to swipe the sweat off her brow with a wet cloth.

In the afternoon, Nina and Matthias were tasked with trying to feed her broth. They would shift her into a sitting position. Nina sat next to her and let Y/n lean her body against her side. This meant that her head was often tucked into the nook of the heartrender's neck. Then Nina raised a small wooden bowl of broth to her lips and helped her drink the warm liquid.

Matthias had to sit in front of the two women. He always made sure that she didn't fall over and that she remained conscious if possible. He wanted to help in any way possible.

In the evening, Jesper and Kaz took on their shift. Out of all the crows, Jesper was the one who tried to defuse the awkward tension. He refused to believe that one of his closest friends was on the brink of death. So Jesper talked.

Especially when Kaz stepped out of the room, Jesper talked to her about anything and everything under the sun. It was almost as if they were just having a regular conversation, but she never responded back. He truly believed that she could hear him though and this encouraged him to keep talking.

Though Y/n had regained consciousness, she was far too weak to even open her eyes or move her mouth to speak. She ate rather slowly and drank little water. Her throat burned with each swallow and her breathes had become strained from effort.

On one particular night, Kaz needed to step out of the room for his own reasons. As soon as the door closed, Jesper directed his attention to the figure who lay on the couch. He leaned forward in slight anticipation.

"This is killing him, you know? Kaz," Jesper said in a low tone of voice.

Upon receiving no verbal feedback, Jesper crossed his arms over the stretch of his chest. He breathed a long sigh of defeat. It felt like their efforts did nothing to help her. They saw no improvement. And it was so disheartening.

"I am already the looks of the operation," Jesper said cockily as always. His cheeky smile faded. His heart became overwhelmed with pure sadness. He felt the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "I really don't want to be the heart now too," Jesper nearly chocked.

Without thinking, Jesper scooted forward in the wooden chair. He took hold of her limp hand with both of his own. He raised her hand to his lips, pressing a small kiss to the back of it. Then he leaned forward to rest his head against her hand. He cried softly to himself.

"I don't want you to feel bad if you have to go," Jesper cried. He lifted his head which meant the tears rolled down his cheeks. "We'll be alright," Jesper nodded.

Unbeknownst to him, Kaz had quietly opened the door in the background. His hand lingered on the door handle. He kept the door open just slightly to hear the conversation.

"I know what he means to you. And I know what you mean to him, even if he won't let you see it," Jesper added with a slight smile. "I'll look after him. I promise you that," Jesper whispered finally.

Suddenly, Jesper rose to his feet. He went to wipe the tears out of his eyes, sniffling once or twice in the process. He cleared his throat before saying what he thought would be a final goodbye. He pressed a single kiss to the top of her head.

"Goodbye, old friend."

When Jesper had turned around in his place, he was slightly surprised to see his boss standing in the middle of the room. He looked away as if he was embarrassed by his own tears. Instead of addressing it, Jesper simply pushed past him to leave the room and closed the door behind him. And it was just the two of them.

For the first time, Kaz went to sit in front of her. He was careful to lower himself into the wooden chair, forcing most of his weight to lean on his cane. He rested for a beat.

Lowering his gaze to stare down at his black leather gloves, Kaz tried not to think about the painful memories. He just couldn't shake the image of seeing his brother's dead corpse, lifeless and unmoving just like she had nearly been all week.

Now Kaz forced himself to take a deep breath before lifting his line of sight to settle on her sleeping figure. Instead of seeing his dead brother, Kaz was overwhelmed at the mere sight of one of his dearest friends. He wasn't an emotional person normally; he always hid his emotions rather well.

But finally being able to look at her made a part of him break inside. His heart physically ached in pain. He clenched his jaw in order to keep the tears at bay. He felt the anger rising within him.

Why did this have to happen again to him? Why was the world so against him? If saints truly exist, why didn't they save his brother or her by now?

He grew angry at the world just like he had been when Jordie died. He wanted his revenge, but this time, there was nobody to get revenge on. He couldn't help her and couldn't save her.

"I..." Kaz's voice trailed off because he couldn't think of the words.

His eyes trailed down from her face to her hand that was tucked at her side. He slowly moved his hand forward so he could take her hand into his gloved ones. He held her hand.

In a way, Kaz wanted the gesture to bring her some sense of comfort. It acted as a way for her to know that he was there beside her. But in a way, it became more of a comfort for him as he realized she was still with him. She hadn't left yet.

"I'm sorry," Kaz said for the first time.

The Bastard of the Barrel had never been known to apologize to anyone. However, in this particular moment, Kaz felt utterly hopeless. He wished to save her, but he knew he couldn't and he was sorry for it.

"We always say 'no mourners, no funerals.' But I think if you left us...I would mourn for you," Kaz confessed truthfully. "I'd mourn every day for the rest of my life, thinking back on all the times I could have said something about my..."

For his sake, Kaz chose not to finish that sentence. He feared a confession would bring him too much pain at a time like this. He'd save it for now.

"Doesn't matter now," Kaz shook his head. "You'll leave me now here soon. Just like Jordie."

In utter defeat, Kaz rose to his feet and let go of her hand in the process. He went to leave the room without another word. He closed the door behind him as if trying to close another chapter of his life. He couldn't handle it anymore. He broke.

In the very early hours of the morning, Kaz was awoken by a single sun beam hitting the side of his face. He opened his eyes to realize that he had fallen asleep in a chair downstairs. His line of sight was directed to the perch above the club and to the door of his office. It was slightly ajar.

Now Kaz didn't think much of it. That was until he heard a soft sobbing sound coming from upstairs. His heart plummeted into the deepest and darkest confines of his chest. Was she...

The hardest thing he had to do was stand to his feet as he almost felt like he didn't have the energy anymore. He forced himself to climb the spiral staircase, stopping at the very top. He saw Inej sitting on the floor beside the door. Her hands covered her face as she let out small sobs.

Just then, the door of the office opened slightly more. His right hand man stepped out of the room with large tears in his eyes. He took a single step forward to stand in front of his boss. Then Jesper broke out in a smile.

This look was all that Kaz needed. He pushed right past him to enter the room in a hurry. He halted in his steps.

Upon hearing someone enter the room rather loudly, Wylan had turned his head towards the door and revealed Y/n who was sitting up on the couch. She sat next to Nina who was making sure she didn't fall over and who was helping her drink some water.

For some unknown reason, Y/n looked like herself again. All the color had returned to her face. She wasn't covered in a thick layer of sweat since her fever dropped. The dark bags under her eyes had also disappeared from sight. Her eyes were so wide open. Had they always been that color? She looks different; she looks beautiful.

It all made sense now. Inej had been crying tears of joy because her prayers had finally been answered. Jesper had to leave the room because he was so overwhelmed with emotions. She made it through. She was a survivor.

Rather slowly, Kaz limped across the stretch of the room. He refused to take his eyes off her in fear that this all might be some kind of horrid dream. The other crows looked between the two of them, knowing that there was some type of unspoken thing. He stopped right in front of her.

"You're okay," Kaz breathed in a soft whisper. "You didn't..."

"Leave you? Never," Y/n smiled in retort.

"I-I thought I'd lost you," Kaz spoke as if the others weren't in the room. She only smiled up at him.

"You can't get rid of me that easy."

#kaz brekker #kaz brekker fluff #kaz brekker angst #kaz brekker smut #kaz brekker oneshot #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker series #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x you #kaz brekker x y/n #six of crows

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trentlife · 1 year

Text

mesmerised ☆

summary: in which you and jude go on your first vacation together and hes mesmerised at how amazing you look in a bikini and can't keep his hands off you....

masterlist

warnings: SMUT (18+), fluff, language

authors note: my first ever smut fic,y/n is on pill, I'll improve over time I promise lmao, enjoy🫣

________________

the sound of the jet landing in the 30 degree heat of ibiza disturbed you from sleeping comfortably on top of your boyfriends toned chest, while his hand rested softly on your butt.

"we're here love" your boyfriend spoke, as you lifted your head off his chest.

"wow it's bright" you smiled with your sleepy eyes.

"i cant wait for this break with you, our first holiday together" you looked up and smiled to your boyfriend, as he leaned in and gave your smooth lips a peck and wrapped his arms around you as you leaned into him.

as you stepped off the jet the heat shocked you, it was like being hit by fire. you had your bag in your hand and the other on the barrier going down the stairs with jude waiting at the bottom for you with a smile on his face.

as you got into the taxi to take you to the resort, you couldn't stop starting at your boyfriend, and how lucky you was to have him in your life, he was truly perfect for you.

jude placed a hand on your thigh and squeezed it and gave your hand a kiss.

"so what are we doing when we get there?" you lifted your leg over his and began a conversation.

"pool? beach? jet ski?" he glanced at you waiting for an answer.

"maybe pool? first day means more chill day in my opinion" you answered.

____________

when the car pulled up to the resort your mouth gasped at how beautiful it was, waterfalls, palm trees, it was perfect.

you both got your suitcases and made your way into reception and the cool breeze of air con hit you and cooled you both down and you both giggled.

"hello sir are you staying with us?" the receptionist asked

"hi I have a booking, under the name bellingham for two for a week" your boyfriend said running his hands through his hair.

once she had sorted everything out she then gave the room key to jude, and wished for the both to have a nice relaxing stay.

"also can I just say, what a lovely couple you two make" the receptionist looked at you both and complimented.

you both thanked her and looked at each other with a squinting face then smiled.

you made your way up to the room and on the bed was "welcome y/n and jude" and you couldn't help but awe.

"j i love it here already" you walked over to your man and wrapped your arms around his neck and gave him kisses all over his face as his hands lent down to your lower back.

"we need to enjoy it in the best way possible" he winked at you and slapped your bum and started laughing.

"oh shush you" as you rolled your eyes and walked over to you suitcase to grab a bikini.

you decided to go for a red rose colour which had a good chain on the front of the bottom. your favourite one.

you where nervous, even though you and jude had been together now for 6 months he had still never seen you in a bikini, thoughts where rushing through your head, but you stuck to thinking of the positives.

you put your hair up into a curly pony tail as it was way to hot to have it down and put some sunglasses on your head and touched up on your makeup.

as you left the bathroom, he was just sat on the end of the bed in his trunks on his phone, and as he heard you come out he laid his eyes onto you.

his mouth dropped as he placed his phone on the bed and told you to go over to him.

"oh my god" he said, he couldn't stop looking at you, he was mesmerised.

"why are you this beautiful? give me a spin" he told you as you gave him a little twirl.

you placed your arms on his shoulders as your legs where in between his as he sat down and his hands laid on your bum, and he kept giving it a squeeze every few seconds.

you leant in and gave him many pecks on his lips. as you where about to let go, he pulled you in for more and more. until his big hands met the bikini tie at your back.

you stopped him, and removed his hands away from yours.

"erm what are you doing?" he asked confusingly.

"later jude, i promise." you told him and he kept his patience.

you both made your way down to the pool area and placed your towels down on one of the little canopy huts which where comfier than sun beds.

alls you wanted to do was have a little nap before you maybe wanted to get in the pool with the sun shining on you.

"put this on me please j" you told him giving him the bottle of sun cream so he could do your back.

he rubbed it in smoothly and then suddenly stopped.

"i cant wait to rip this off you tonight babe" he whispered down your ear sending shivers up your spine and you jokingly slapped his muscular thighs.

once he was done, you laid back and relaxed, and had an hours sleep, with your boy leaning on your chest with his hand round you waist, which done you well as you where tired from the early flight.

you woke up by the sound of a big splash in the pool, you leaned up to see jude in the pool shaking the water off his hair.

"you getting in with me?" he spoke splashing water up to you.

"fine, but I'm not getting my hair wet!" you told him and made your way down to the pool steps.

he was waiting for you at the bottom and as you got in you wrapped your legs around his waist and arms around his neck as his hands roamed around your silk body.

"living the best live out here aren't we" you said and he nodded pouting his lips. you leaned in and pressed a long peck onto his smooth lips.

"well someone wants all the kisses today" you said laughing.

"could you blame me?" he smirked.

you purposely fixed your bikini top and shown him half of your boob to tease him.

"oops sorry about that" you giggled sarcastically.

"no not funny let's go" he said seriously.

he lifted you out of the pool and got all of your stuff.

as you got back to the room he only said four words to you, "in the shower now" licking his lips.

"ok sir" you spoke, trying to annoy him.

he put the shower on a medium temperature and you both got in.

he started pressing kisses all over your neck, then chest and then thighs, making your eyes roll back.

he placed his hands around you neck and lifted your face up and wasted no time and kissed you passionately as the water fell on your face and he then slipped his tongue into your mouth.

as his tongue danced away in your mouth, his teeth bit on your bottom lip and he grabbed your bum.

"wanted to do this all day" he smirked at you, placing his hands on your bikini top tie.

he undone the tie eagerly, like there was no tomorrow.

he threw the top on the floor and cupped both of your breasts and licked.

your hands met his shorts and you began untying him, until he sprung free.

"in your mouth now please baby" he wanted it bad, and you could tell.

you did what he said, and got down on to your knees and places your hands on his hips, you firstly licked his tip, and then took his length into your mouth. you gradually took him in and out and you could hear his moans as his hands ran through your hair.

"y/n im gonna come" he told you, warning you.

you picked up the pace until you could feel him come in you, and you swallowed it.

you stood up, and all you could feel was his hands run down to your waist and he pulled your pants down.

"i need you jude, like right now" you begged him.

he didn't waist any time, just like you didn't when he was begging you before, so he eagerly bent you over and felt all over your body.

he placed his finger on your clit and rubbed it until you moaned.

"please jude, i need you" you begged more.

a moment had past, and he was inside of you, you forgot how good he felt, how big he felt inside of you. he started off at a slow pace and then picked it up when he could see that you needed it quicker.

moans where leaving your lips faster than your heartbeat.

"j, im gonna come" you told him as you held on to you boobs as they where annoying you.

"come on my length baby" he said to you.

he then went quicker until you did, and he did likewise, and you then slowly reached your orgasm.

you where both breathing heavily, as he slowly and gently pulled out of you. you have to admit shower sex was one of your favourite.

"happy now?" you looked at him and smiled.

"round two now?" he looked at you.

"oh piss off" you said laughing and cleaning you both up, and also the shower.

you both took it in turns to have a shower and clean up and you both got into bed and snuggled up.

"thanks for the best first day, I love you so much" you kissed him.

"I love you more and more"

the end🤭

if you have any tips for my writing, pls always msg them 🫧

#explore #explorepage #jude bellingham imagines #jude bellingham fics #judebellingham stories #jude bellingham #jude bellingham smut #explore more

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xxgoblin-dumplingxx · 5 months

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Hi, just wanted to let you know that I am obsessed with werewolf Bruce just like I am with literally every other character you write??? Your work has a power over me that I can’t fight (not that I want to lmao)

I really hope this is one of the good days (since healing is never linear) 💛 please take whatever time you need and do whatever you need to do to prioritize yourself rn

"Let us see you home," Cass said, taking your arm. "It's too late to call a cab."

"Oh no I couldn't, I have-"

"Don't be silly," Steph said, taking your other arm. "Jason would you go and get wraps and-"

"I think Dick has already gone to get them," he said easily. He'd tried to stop Steph from running over you a few times but, in this case, he agreed. A sweet-faced young miss should not be seeing herself home.

"Wonderful," she said. "I'll just go make our excuses before they have time to bring out more of that dreadful cake."

Stephanie made her way through the crush easily, dragging Cass with her to make her way to the host and hostess, ready to smile and dimple and plead exhaustion after a lovely evening of dancing.

"I really can make my own way home," you tell Jason, not looking at him. "It isn't necessary."

"We'll humor Stephanie," he said, smiling just a little. "Besides, if word got back to our father that we didn't accompany you home after we monopolized your time all evening, he'd be furious."

"I don't- I- I had a lovely time," you assure him, feeling too warm suddenly. You aren't looking at him but you can feel him looking at you.

Before Jason could respond, he's saved by a sudden surge in the crowd. Some rowdy boys home from college. Pulling some sort of escapade, if the giggles and shrieks and raucous laughter were any indication. But when it sent a gentleman,a rather portly man a full head shorter than you toppling into you, spilling his drink down the bosom of your dress- as his face pressed into your chest- it was all he could do you pull you out of the way. Letting him hit the floor as you fumbled with your handkerchief, dabbing uselessly at the port that was staining the rose-pink fabric.

"Here," he said quickly, taking his jacket off and wrapping it around your shoulders. "Good grief," he said to the man on the floor,"what's the matter with you?" Please don't cry, he thought, when he heard you sniffle. He hated it when women cried.

"Sorry, my boy-"

"I'm not the one you should apologize to," he said gruffly. "Ladies don't come to parties to be-"

"Mr. Todd," you say quietly, "I don't think anyone saw."

"That's not the point," he hissed.

"Please- I- I'd like to go home. I- just. Before the stain has time to set."

"Alright," he said, taking your arm gently, and ushering you through the crowd. It wasn't often he was grateful for his size- he felt like a brute compared to his brothers. Or even the other men who were well- smaller. But. In this case, it was an advantage. Even in your gown, so long as he kept you by the wall and moved quickly, everyone was too busy looking at him to notice you.

"I'm sorry, you must think I'm very foolish," you murmur, accepting the clean handkerchief he offered.

"No," he protested. "It's not often-"

"Jason!" Steph said demanded Arriving with Cass and Dick, "What have you done to my new friend?"

"Nothing!" he protested, "I-"

"He rescued me from what could have been a very ugly scene if anyone had seen Genevieve's uncle fall into my well- and he spilled his drink on me."

"Ugh," Steph huffed, "People who can't hold their liquor should not be allowed to drink in public."

"And on that note," Dick said, noting Stephanie's latest pronouncement had attracted attention, "I think it's time to see the ladies home before father starts sending out telegrams."

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #ask answered #minors dni #reader insert #gaslamp!au

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nukaberries · 1 year

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Ahh im so happy to find a blog that writes new vegas! I got into it recently and its so fun! Sometimes i get tired of hearing the radio especially if im travelling way too much, so i just start singing any song that pops into my head or talk to the companions like they're real pfft

im also way too cheery for my own good lmao, game devs knew what they were doing when there was no push button for running, you know how many times i ran into mines and kept running 🧍🏽

I kinda wanna know how the companions would react to that? A Courier who practically bounces as they walk and if its not the radio or them talking to fill the silence, its them singing as they shoot radscorpions !! Couriers not half bad at singing either! They mostly sing quietly while walking the mojave for obvious reasons but on a night they feel especially safe, they'll be singing so well people will wonder why they're not making holotapes for mr new vegas to play (esp if they say the radio gets annoying at times)im sorry this is long im just excited to see a new vegas writer that hasnt left their blog 🤧

I'm SO late to this one, I'm so sorry! But I'm so glad you're enjoying New Vegas! It's tied with Red Dead Redemption 2 as one of my favourite video games! And I'm exactly the same when I play New Vegas, the radio's never off and I have no spatial awareness. I hope this was worth the wait!! (Sorry again lmao)

Companions React to a Loud/Chatty Courier (Includes: Arcade, Boone, Cass, Lily, Raul and Veronica)

Arcade Gannon Admittedly, he's a little intimidated at first. He agrees to go with the Courier since there's no point in him sticking around Freeside where he's not helping anyone. He just doesn't realise he's taken up with the most obnoxious person in the West. He's not annoyed by any means, in fact, the singing is actually quite a nice change from the radio. The constant talking is a little overwhelming for him at first though, as someone whose trying his best to keep his past with the Enclave a secret. He knows the Courier means no harm, and he feels a little guilty having to shut down their questions about him, knowing that they only mean well. They do bring out a different side to him he didn't know he had and he sometimes finds himself humming along to either the radio or Six's singing.

Craig Boone At first, he's annoyed by the Courier, but it's not like he has anything better to do. They're his best chance at wiping out the Legion, even if their incessant talking and singing is a little too much for him. He doesn't have a problem with them, but he prefers silence to having to begrudgingly answer someone who talks at a million miles per hour. The only time he'll really voice his complaints is when he actually needs them to be quiet, such as if they're trying to stealthily take out enemies, thankfully the Courier seems to know when to turn off their radio and stop singing. Eventually, the constant chatter and the singing - that he'll never admit is actually enough to rival the radio songs - become background noise he learns to appreciate. He'll never join in with the Courier's singing, but he tries his best to answer their questions and respond to their comments.

Rose of Sharon Cassidy Cass is another one who can't stand the Courier's chatter and singing at first, however, she's more than willing to voice this. A few times, she actually hid the Courier's Pip-Boy while they slept, unfortunately for Cass, they'd already memorised all the lyrics to Johnny Guitar and sung that on repeat for most of the day. It was starting to reach the point where Cass was certain they were doing it on purpose. The singing she hated, but the talking? She didn't mind the talking. In fact, Cass actually looked forward to the talking, she often struggled to make friends, considering her problems with whiskey, so it was nice to just make conversation sometimes. Sure, she'd still keep trying to put an end to the singing, no matter how good it was, but the talking Cass could live with.

Lily Bowen The first time Lily started travelling with the Courier, she was thrilled. Everyone in Jacobstown took life a little too seriously and being with the Courier was a refreshing change for her. Unlike most of the other companions, Lily actually loves the singing and the talking. She'll even suggest that the Courier tries their hand at singing on the Strip, the Tops and the Atomic Wrangler are always looking for new acts after all. Lily will even try and sing along with them, before realising her voice doesn't exactly compliment or rival the Courier's, but so long as they encourage to join in, she always will. The talking is just as lovely for her, it's nice to know that the Courier still cares about their grandma, even if they are growing up so fast.

Raul Tejada Never in all his years of being alive has he met someone like the Courier. It was one thing that they managed to deal with Tabitha, but the fact that they did it with Radio New Vegas playing on full blast from their Pip-Boy? Raul wasn't sure whether to be impressed or absolutely terrified. He leans more towards the latter once he starts travelling with them, struggling to keep up with the Courier constantly asking him questions about where he's from and what his life was like before the war and how he turned ghoul. Like Arcade, Raul finds it overwhelming and eventually asks politely if the Courier can calm down a little with all the questions, thankful when they actually oblige. He learns to love the Courier in spite of their loud habits, even being happy to fix their Pip-Boy when it stops letting them connect to the radio stations. It's against his better judgement, but they seem grateful for it.

Veronica Santangelo She immediately bonds with the Courier over their love for Radio New Vegas. Veronica wishes she had her own Pip-Boy so she could listen to the radio in her own free time, since lugging a radio around the Mojave Desert doesn't seem like the best idea. She absolutely loves the Courier's singing too, insisting that they don't forget her once they make it big in some bar in New Reno. She also tries her best to be the Courier's backup singer when wandering the wasteland, however, she accidentally stumbles up on a lot of her lyrics and trying to pronounce "Agua Fria" at the start of Big Iron quickly becomes the bane of her existence. Veronica also loves to gossip with the Courier, about her love life - and the Courier's if they're willing to disclose it - and all her least favourite things about her commanding officers in the Brotherhood. Whenever she travels with Six, Veronica manages to get a lot of off her chest

#fallout #fallout new vegas #fallout companions #fallout x reader #fallout imagines #fallout headcanons #courier six #arcade gannon #craig boone #rose of sharon cassidy #lily bowen #raul tejada #veronica santangelo

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flowerwrites06 · 2 months

Text

redeco — ksj

REDECO | Kim Seokjin | Drabble | Request or Original

Original Request: An au similar to mr and mrs smith, where both oc and seokjin hate fuck each other – anon Plot: Seokjin confronts his next target — his wife. Pairing: Spy!Seokjin x Spy!OC (Name: Akira) Genre: Spy | Marriage Type: Drabble Rating: Explicit 18+ Word Count: 1.4k Warnings: mainly smut as per request lol, explicit sexual content (rough, consensual slapping), violence, guns, fighting. Author’s Note: there's more smut than spy in this drabble but I had fun lmao it was refreshing to get a quick drabble out after the hectic couple of weeks. Hope you enjoy!

Bullets scattered all around the floor with the stench of gunpowder still lingering in the air. Their breathing ragged and a strange mix of anger, thrill and heartache shared between them.

Akira's reddened eyes stared back at him as the barrel of his gun pointed right at her forehead, which was pearled and shimmered with sweat. "Go on, you said so yourself you were precise and quick." Her voice was shaky and so was Seokjin's grip.

He was precise. Seokjin never hesitated and yet still his finger hovered over the trigger, testing life and death. Testing his own courage to do what he was trained to do. Akira didn't look frightened but it didn't change the ache in his chest. He hated it.

Everything about this was supposed to be easy. Seokjin had wanted her dead when she was just a name on a paper until he saw her face.

Akira scoffed with a chuckle. "Shoot me, asshole." She kept staring at him, barely blinking.

Seokjin could've asked her to look away but that would've been no less than a confession. That he didn't want her dead. That he wanted to clean everything up and be done with it. But something paused. And that was somehow strong enough to lower the gun.

Akira stared at the lowering gun with a grimace. "What the fuck are you doing?" she whispered.

"You do it, I won't." Seokjin placed his gun down on the table.

"Fucking shoot me, you won," Akira spoke through gritted teeth.

"And I'm retreating. I'm not shooting you," Seokjin said.

Akira’s lips quivered as her expression searched for some kind of lie, some kind of trick. She slapped him across the face. "Shoot me!"

"It's not happening," Seokjin said without reacting to her actions.

Akira grunted as she pushed him back. "You're a coward! All that talk for nothing." Tears formed little beads on her eyes but she kept staring at him with fire. She turned away with a sigh, running her fingers through her hair. "I hate you."

Seokjin swallowed thickly. "No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't. You would've shot me if you did."

"Fuck you."

"Admit it." His palms pulsed from the stresses of the fight. "I don't hate you."

Akira let out a bitter chuckle.

Seokjin walked to her. A small part prepared for her to grab a knife from somewhere but his body still moved closer, taking the risk happily. He grabbed onto Akira's arm, pulling her in for a kiss. Their bodies still thrumming and hot from the fight but her lips still sweet and fragrant like she was fresh from a rose bath.

Akira cupped his cheek, one still warmed from her slap but the memory of it still stirred in Seokjin. He gripped her hair, pulling from the scalp until she groaned at the tightness.

Seokjin broke their kiss, pushing her against one of the end tables where the mirror next to him rested in its cracked form. He danced his tongue against hers.

Akira pulled at his belt, taking it off and using it to pull his hips closer to hers, grinding together until the heat was unbearable.

Seokjin took the belt and wrapped it around her neck, biting down her bottom lip.

Akira unbuttoned his pants, pushing his pants down with her shoes, letting the leather scratch down his thighs. Her warm hand held onto his cock, just barely brushing before grabbing on and pulling until he let out a grunt. She smiled in satisfaction before her kiss bruised lips parted in a light choke from Seokjin tightening the belt around her neck.

Seokjin released the belt, pulling her off the end table. Akira turned around and with a flow of ease, he bent her over, ripping the slit of her dress and draping it one side. Her buttocks round and plush, encouraging him to swing against the soft skin.

Akira gave a throaty giggle, swaying her hips.

He pushed aside her panties, prodding his fingers against her slit, sticky and hot against his skin. One foot pushed her legs apart.

Seokjin positioned his cock against her sodden cunt, pushing in without letting her adjust. He pistoned into her as the tightened tension of their fight moulded into a desperate pleasure. Anything to loosen the nerves built in the mess of their house.

He thrusted harder and faster, letting the end table bang against the wall as the shattered pieces of the mirror clanked and clinked onto the floor mixing in with Akira's moans.

Akira turned herself around, pulling him for another kiss before backing away from him towards the stairs.

Seokjin chuckled breathlessly, walking quickly and stopping her at the end of the stairs. He pushed her to sit with her legs apart. He knelt and latched his lips onto her cunt. Akira relished in the flurry of warm pleasure as she laid back on the stairs.

Akira threw her head back as he sucked on her clit, lapping his tongue like it was a sonnet piece he played for years. She gripped onto his hair, pushing him further against her core. As the pleasure tightened in her lower belly, her moans grew ragged.

Seokjin pulled his mouth away at the sound. He slid his cock back into her, fusing her with the stairs as he fucked her into the carpet.

Seokjin wrapped his hands around her neck, pressing just enough for Akira to let out a pleased moan. "You enjoyed slapping me a little, didn't you?" he asked in a husked voice.

With half-lidded lust blown eyes, Akira grinned. "A little."

Seokjin kept his cock deep inside her, shaping her insides just for him. Sweat beads formed at the ends of his hair. His thumb brushed across her bottom lip until Akira bit down on it playfully.

"You want to do it to me?" Akira asked in a sensuous whisper like a siren requesting his deepest, darkest desires.

It could've made him spill inside her there and then. But he slowed his thrusts with a shaky sigh, moving his thumb against her cheek.

"Do it," Akira said with a grin. "Unless you're a coward at that too."

Seokjin chuckled, raising his hand and swinging a slap against her face with a satisfying little bloom on her skin.

Akira laughed with a thrill, biting down her bottom lip. "Good boy."

Seokjin smiled, leaning in and kissing her gently as his thrusts grew merciless. Her whimpers vibrated against his skin, only making him move faster.

She broke from the kiss to catch her already ragged breathing, her insides hot and aching for release. Akira pressed her heels against his back, letting out near cries of pleasure. "Don't stop."

Seokjin felt like a fire, hot under his clothes as he kept a feverish rhythm on his thrusts, holding onto a stair to keep his balance as he felt Akira clench around him. "Are you coming, baby?" He cupped her cheek. "Yeah?"

Akira made a noise of agreement, reaching below to rub her clit. As the warm reaches of his orgasm began to flutter, Seokjin let out a throaty moan as he pistoned in and out of her. Following the fastened pace Akira's hand against her clit.

Then it burst. Hot and thick filling inside her as Seokjin muffled his moans against her shoulder, pressed close against her.

Akira's felt her own climax tremor through her like madness and sweetness. Her legs shook and she bit into the crook of his neck. She couldn't help but let out a trembling laugh, fuelled with ecstasy. She threw her head back, relaxing against the throes of her pleasures and highs.

Seokjin pushed himself up, watching Akira slowly move through her orgasm. In a small moment of soft heart, he reached in and kissed her cheek.

Akira smiled, cupping his neck. She lifted her head to kiss him properly.

"Wasn't this better than a gun fight?" Seokjin asked.

Akira chuckled. "Perhaps."

Seokjin got off her and rested next to her on the stairs. Niether of them able to move to their bed but it didn't matter.

Four knocks echoed against the front door.

“Akira?” It was one of their neighbours calling from the other side in a worried tone. “Is everything alright?”

A moment of silence between them. Then laughter.

“Any excuses on your belt?” Seokjin asked, still smiling.

Akira hummed in thought as her body felt too much like jelly to move. “Redecorating?”

Seokjin scoffed. “Yep. Sounds good.”

masterlist

#seokjin #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts imagines #bts smut #bts angst #bts spy au #spy au #bts drabbles

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inlocusmads · 1 month

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gridlocked ~ trystan & nora

Nora and Trystan investigate a case of a missing student, except they realize she might have also gone completely offline; her internet footprints scrubbed off as if she were never there.

wc: 2.9k, warnings: mentions of blackmail

a/n: @choicesmonthlychallenge prompt "new life" // this is the first installment in many case-fics (I'm back writing more case fics!) to come (gonna be very very original here and title this part one of the 'The Casebook of Nora Rose' lmao). This doesn't follow any sort of 'canonical' timeline, so take it however you will

In the cases of missing persons, it is perhaps more important to observe one’s bedroom - especially if they didn’t have a verifiable presence online. The topmost sanctuary on a list of them. (The list went: locked blogs, private social media accounts, bedrooms and boxes, in that order.)

You’d be surprised the number of times Nora found the answer in an unsuspecting drawer. A ticket from a school charity carnival and suddenly the kid is on the run with the fundraising money, not knowing what to do, knowing they couldn’t just give up and afraid to stay in one place, afraid of getting penalized legally.

Maria Palmer’s bedroom was neat. Mrs Palmer had put in extra care in the form of extravagant housekeepers to dust everything with its own scent. Everything had its place. The vanity kit never bled into the verdant mahogany desk meant for working. Books never touched the bedside tables, given their own places on neat shelves. Working stationary was contained to two drawers alone; the ink kept far away from the silk bed sheets.

Nothing suggested a kid lived there; even if the kid just so happened to come from a line of wealthy corporate magnates. And that’s precisely where Trystan came in.

“I just had a talk with David and Clara.” he said, entering briskly.. “They said they last talked to Maria over the phone when she was en route back to her boarding school. They denied any claims of her ‘acting strange’ over the weekend and were puzzled to hear the news that she wasn’t present anywhere in school.”

“But you call bullshit.”

“Obviously. If anything, Maria would know how to hide well. Part of the whole ‘being a part of a pressurizing family’. Look-” Trystan pulled open the vanity drawer. “- generic brands of high-end makeup, never used. Books hardly ever opened. Everything feels so -- new, preserved like a museum here.”

Nora’s phone vibrated with a series of texts from Luke. She picked it up, giving it a quick glance:

Luke: Sending you Maria’s student profile from Wellesley’s. Luke: <sent an attachment> Luke: No luck w the social media stuff, I suggest you look for different means. Girl’s digital footprint is scrubbed off. Luke: can’t track her phone either. Tough luck but I'll keep trying.

“Must be one hell of a phone to have Luke not figure its entire schematic diagram out already.”

“Her student records say she was a well-rounded student with good grades. She started at Wellesley two years ago; transferred schools and got in on a soccer scholarship.”

“Funny. Maria’s parents never mentioned she took an interest in soccer. When I asked them if she liked her time in Wellesley, they said she liked to write and that the school had journalism clubs she was a part of.”

A quick look at the boarding school’s website suggested there was no such thing as a journalism club. A soccer team did exist with everybody’s names and accolades and while Maria’s name was emboldened at the very end under ‘reserves’ - points for trying out and having rich parents, Nora supposed - it still didn’t add up when her student records took her in on a scholarship.

“I don’t think we can trust their word.” Trystan said. “It is likely Father Palmer made a nice donation and they just had to get something on paper to prove Maria was admitted in on merit. And if I am not wrong, boarding schools pride themselves over obscure polo-esque sports. Hence, the field of soccer - pardon the pun - is open for anyone regardless of their skill.”

“They are usually sometimes right.” Nora switched her phone off, slipping it into her pocket. “Maria might probably enjoy writing. It’s the first thing her parents would have told you about her, right?” - she continued, off Trystan’s slow nod, “I don’t think they’re lying. They wouldn’t want us stumbling into this soccer scholarship. It’s good news for whatever press that keeps writing about them.”

Nora fished her phone out of her pocket. She handed it to Trystan. “I don’t think we’ll find any piece of tangible area to cover more than her bedroom. Can you do a sweep?”

“Right, because you think I am qualified because I stuff my poetry in a tree trunk.”

She gave him a you-dug-your-own-grave look.

Trystan sighed, hand on her shoulder.. “Word to the wise, go easy on them.”

___

“We called for carpenters when Maria came over the weekend. She had a bookshelf built for her.” David cupped his mug of tea, taking slow sips. “She was -- herself. Maria talked to us a lot. She seemed to be really liking her classes this semester. Very focused, you see? The bookshelf was a reward for her good grades. We try not to spoil her too much.”

Clara walked back from the kitchen, taking a seat on her plush couch. Her haunted look from before seemed to have dissipated. “Pardon me for asking, detective but - I have heard many things about your partner. He is the exiled prince, isn’t he? From that -- little city we went on vacation once and never again.”

“Yes, he is.” Nora answered, reluctantly.

“Thought I recognized his face somewhere.” Clara chuckled a little. “The memory - it’s a little finicky.”

“Did life get busy after Maria transferred schools?”

“Um- a little.” David was hesitant but hadn’t lost his temper yet. “She lived far away from us - we barely had enough time to think about ourselves because we were too busy worrying about her. It’s been years since we went back to Europe and even more since we took a holiday.”

“Must be rough, but - c’mon, who hasn’t taken a summer road trip anywhere, right?” Nora tried to make her enthusiasm look less synthetic. Fortunately for her, the parents were too dejected to notice whether she had an interest in the Palmers’ holidays.

“Maria spent her summers in Wellesley.”

“The whole summer? Did she have a project or-”

“We assumed so.” Clara interjected. “Guess we can’t trust our daughter anymore with anything, really.”

“Clara-” David motioned, as if he were trying to tell her to refrain herself.

“It’s true. She only came home for the weekend because she cared so much about that shelf. She doesn’t come home if there’s no little present waiting for her.”

“Clara, that’s enough.” David filled her empty mug with wine.

“I personally like to believe Maria would have appreciated the present. It is something she got after doing well in school, I presume? Considering you don’t wish to spoil your daughter.”

“No, of course not.”

“What do you generally reward her with? Might be a bit of an odd question to ask--” Nora started.

“No, no, nothing odd about it at all. Thing is, she never really asks for anything.” David replied. “She’s a good kid - easier to understand. We had no problems with her. She owned tons of books, read a lot, so we gave her a shelf. Told her she could customize it however she liked. We encouraged her to try out for the prom committee. Gave her the best dresses, makeup kits money could ever buy. We supported her journalism stint too - gave her the best camera possible..”

“Did she take them to school?”

“Presumably. Had she had the opportunity, she’d have had her bookshelf built in her dormitory!” David exclaimed.

Nora thought of the unused stationery, the makeup that still remained new, the wardrobe she’d only taken a quick look at - unsure what to make of the well-ironed dresses that never were worn. She thought of the books too, what Trystan told her about them - Books hardly ever opened. Six years in the industry and you too could tell if a book had been used or not judging by the fractures in its spine, forgotten bookmarks or creases on the pages. Judging by the parents’ accounts, it appeared they assumed money could fix their absence.

David purposefully fed his wife alcohol to keep her quiet; exhausted from having to project an image of ‘corporate calmness’ at his daughter’s disappearance. Clara had broken entirely; resorting to blame her daughter because it was easier that way. Nora concluded the mother and daughter wouldn’t have been the thickest of friends, considering how little of Clara appeared on the mantle of framed photos. One parent spoke highly of their daughter, while another shunned her every second they could get their hands on. Clearly Maria had different relations with them.

“Did she have plans after Wellesley?”

“She’d always expressed an interest in the family business.”

“Pfft.” Clara scoffed. “Clearly she had more interest in running away with her imaginary boyfriend.”

“I apologize.” David interjected quickly. “Please go check on the bread. Clara? -” he ushered her away to the kitchen, “I’m sorry for that. My wife is a bit of a cynic sometimes and this has taken a hard toll on her mental wellbeing. Could you give us some time, please? And if possible, could you wrap this up a little sooner? It’s best for Clara that way - if it is okay with you.”

_____

“Have you thought about it?” Trystan asked. The two of them stood staring out of Maria’s bedroom window, at the brilliant front garden. A few books were stacked up on the desk, but left halfway through - something that could be said for Trystan’s “sweep” of the bedroom that had hit a brick wall.

“If Maria is a writer and the parents believe her to be, you and I do the same, where is the expression? The writers I have met are expressive, are - really out there. Nick Bastion would take part in cult orgies to write a mystery book about the same thing. Writers are expressive people. If Maria had free reign to do - well, just about anything with her parents’ money and them willingly giving her everything, regardless of whether she likes it or not - it is likely she has already expressed herself.”

“But what is it? It’s not in writing. Not on social media. Nothing coherent.”

“The very absence of expression - can we say - amounts to some expression as well?” Trystan turned around on his heel. “The bedroom matches the walls, the hallways, and the rest of the house. Where does that leave Maria?” Trystan asked. “If she has her parents’ personality bleeding into her space? These books -” he pointed at the pile at the desk, “-are all from the Wellesley Student Library. They all have that slip of paper attached to their covers. She never took them back to her school.”

“Let’s piece together a timeline.” Nora flipped open the first book, then the second, third, fourth and fifth. She noted down the dates of Maria borrowing them and the dates they were due back. It was clear she’d brought them with her, but left with a suitcase lighter than usual.

Nora went back to the wardrobe, phone in her hand with the Wellesley website open showing her the dates of all the important events the school were to celebrate. Prom was only a few weeks away. The Annual Athletics Meet was only a few days away. All her formals hung limp in her closet. The smoking gun was finding a haphazardly thrown-away jacket with the Wellesley School’s soccer team insignia that had her name embroidered. Boarding schools might be rich, but seldom did they give more than one blazer to their athletes - reserves included.

Suffice to say, the absence of expression amounted to a greater deal than the slightest bit of difference among the gold and silver wallpapers. Maria knew her parents well enough to ensure she left her room in a way that would never reek of suspicion. After all, she was David’s little girl; Clara’s disgraced daughter, the Palmers’ spoiled child who always left with something more than she came home with.

It was a common unspoken piece of information at this point, that it was safe to assume Maria had run away. Whether it be on her own volition or through peer pressure, it was clear she’d prepared herself for it long before she’d come home.

Nora sat on the bed, scrolling through more details she could gather from Wellesley’s website, only to find a dropdown menu that said - ‘summer programs’. Curious, she clicked and gave the article a quick perusal.

“Trystan, do you have a copy of Maria’s student records? Does it mention she has any history of doing a summer program?”

“No- none at all.”

“Language arts, swimming, Latin-” Nora read off the course list. “It says that students who aren’t involved in summer programs would not be allowed to stay back in the school. The Palmers think that Maria is doing a summer program and that’s why she doesn’t come home for summer. And if you wish to stay back, you need consent from your parents.”

“But it says she’s never done them. At all. No mention of it in her records. Or any history of her staying back.”

“Everything - like you said - with her, concerns an absence.” Nora went over to the desk, picking up the books issued by the library. “No wonder we couldn’t find anything about her online. The books don’t have a barcode sticker, which means they’re not uploaded in the system yet.”

“The titles too.” Trystan highlighted. “New York Subway Guide. Perfect for a girl who is new to rapid transit commutes.. Home Repairs and Improvements. Worthy if you are taking a woodworking class. Worthier if you’re starting a new life. You get the idea. Question is, why did she leave them behind if they are useful guides?”

“They’re books.” Nora answered, which didn’t really prove her point.

She sighed, substantiating further. “Books are heavy. She can’t take pictures on her phone camera - no, unless she has one of those low-quality burner mobiles. David mentioned giving her daughter a camera to support her journalism hobby. Perhaps she could have taken what she needed, ditched the books back because she didn’t need all that extra weight. And it works out for her because the books don’t land up in her records. She doesn’t need to have her Google searches leave digital footprints.”

“It is a reasoning.” Trystan compromised.

“Another thing that I found strange-”

“Which is?”

“Her parents. Neither of them - in my brief conversation with them - ever wrestled with the possibility she could have been kidnapped. A sixteen year old girl travels alone. That sentence doesn’t end well in many stories. One could say it’s a likely response to trauma or distress but -- like I said, subjective.”

“We can’t rule that out either. The parents have their own differences to settle. The child could have been caught in the middle. Question is, if she really did wish to run away, why do it now?”

“It’s the timing. David said Maria was very excited to come home to customize her bookshelf. He said they had to get carpenters to work on the customizations. Depending upon the commission, furniture businesses usually insist you pay before you get a shelf assembled for you. Typically the package would also cover the costs for carpenters--” Nora searched the bookshelf for any signs of a logo stamped across the side. She emerged with a satisfying smile, giving her phone a couple of taps, pulling up the contractor’s website. “-- like so.”

“Nora I genuinely have no idea where you are leading with this.”

“She needs cash. She needs a nice check so that she can trade for physical cash. What did you tell me about Maria having free reign?”

“If Maria had free reign to do anything with her parents’ money and them willingly giving her everything, it is likely she’s -- expressed herself?”

A quick word with David and Clara only cemented this theory further.

“Maria told me to address the check to Harriet Trout.” David sunk his head into his hands. “I didn’t -- I thought it -- I mean, it was a couple hundred dollars--”

“Can we get an exact amount?” Trystan queried.

“A thousand dollars. I--- I should have checked, I-- I genuinely thought --”

“We’ll look into this.” Nora told the distraught couple. “We’ll be in touch.”

Wishing not to engage further with the internal politics in the Palmer household, Trystan and Nora took their leave.

____

“Harriet Trout wouldn’t be that hard to narrow down.” Nora said, as they walked back to their car. “A made-up name at that too. Maria would be avoiding getting her transactions on paper, so she’s traveling with cash. She wouldn’t have gone out of state. Last-minute plane tickets can rake up prices. She needs money for food and living.”

“We’ll have to look into nearby motels with cheap price ranges.”

“Somewhere near Wellesley would do it. If she hadn’t come back home for the summer and likely wouldn’t have gone out of state either, given her parents would know either way, she would have hung around in motels. Perhaps someone was sponsoring her stay through the summer. Ensuring she doesn’t have to use her card because her parents would come to know if she were to withdraw huge amounts of money overnight.”

“Do you think she might have opened up an account in Harriet Trout’s name?”

“Possible.”

“Nora wait-” Trystan placed an arm on her shoulder. “What if she didn’t run away like we assumed? What if due to this - sponsor, she was forced to go back and repay the money? But a thousand dollars would hardly cover two, three months’ stay. With three meals a day and transport. And that discounts your everyday expenses. It could be well above a thousand.”

“Maria’s father told me she never really asked for anything. It could be her guilt holding her back.”

“Think about it.” Trystan implored. “The sponsor would likely be more experienced than her.. Them telling her how to get the money, how to get it from her impressionable parents. Her father, especially, because they had a good relationship. It is unlikely for a sixteen year old boarding school student to do something like this if they don’t already have a steady hand guiding them through.”

Nora agreed. “The sponsor seems to understand her better than anyone else that she would leave home for it. Something that is holding her accountable somewhere. One which she had no control of.”

He continued. “After all, that is all people want, yes? Someone to understand them better? And they’re more vulnerable then?”

Vulnerable sent shivers down Nora's spine. She immediately took her phone to call Mafalda.

_____

Tagging:

perma: @quixoticdreamer16 @tessa-liam @stars-are-within-me @thosehallowedhalls

crimes: @trappedinfanfiction @ao719 @cassie-thorne @peonierose @moominofthevalley @jerzwriter @dutifullynuttywitch

Also tagging @choicesficwriterscreations

Please let me know if you'd like to be tagged/removed, as always no hard feelings.

A/N:

This is *technically* my first foray into writing short mystery stories and I really hope I did a good job of it and that there are no unaddressed plot holes that makes me want to astral project myself into hell.

I want to bring out bits of characterisation in the story and I loved writing how Nora sees a problem versus how Trystan sees a problem. Nora's rooted in pragmatic explanations while Trystan tends to challenge both pragmatism and abstract-ism with a flurry of "Wh-" questions.

I especially liked writing the last bit because it kind of has them show a lot more sympathy than they originally started off with and both of them can kind of put themselves in Maria's shoes. I didn't plan on writing an end to this, given it would likely exceed 4k words and I did not want this little short story project to just derail into a pit of hopeless nightmares. You can expect Maria to have a happy ending, reunite with her parents and have Nora and Trystan be able to use their assumptions and deduction to derive a thread of a possible explanation to bring Maria home.

Thank you for reading <33

#w:inlocusmads #trystan thorne x mc #crimes of passion fics #crimes of passion choices #trystan & nora

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moremaybank · 1 year

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hello can you do some headcanons where yandere klaus and his girlfriend had a fight and she ignores him for days and klaus is desperate and will do anything to reconcile with her

klaus trying to reconcile with you after a fight...

a/n: kinda long, sorry lmao. gf!reader. also didn't realize it said yandere!klaus until after i finished writing so let me know if you want me to do another one with yandere!klaus

klaus masterlist

to say klaus was losing his mind was a gross understatement

you two had a fight

a huge one

you stormed out of the compound, barely being able to look him in the eye

and that has remained true over the past week

any time klaus even laid eyes on you - when you walked past him in rousseau's, when rebekah invited you over to the compound for drinks and a girl's night, even when you came to babysit hope - you couldn't look at him

or rather you wouldn't

as far as you were concerned, you had nothing to say to klaus

you felt bad for ignoring him, but not quite bad enough

klaus on the other hand felt like he had everything to say to you

and lord did he try

he left you nearly a hundred voicemails, all of which were ignored

he had come to realize that you weren't gonna sit and listen to what he had to say, so he tried to come up with other ways to at least convince you to be in the same room as him

you were sitting on a couch in the compound, holding baby hope in your arms as you pressed kisses all over her face, making her babble with an adorable toothless grin

klaus entered the room, a bouquet of roses in hand, along with beingnets from the pastry shop he introduced you to

he knew they were your favourite and even if it wouldn't fix everything, he thought it'd be a start

klaus stepped in front of you, "how are my two favourite girls doing?"

refusing to give in, you kept your gaze on hope

"did you hear something, babygirl? no? neither did i," you cooed as you stood up and walked out of the room, leaving klaus alone with a defeated look on his face

okay, back to the drawing board

he sees you getting ready for a night out with rebekah, hayley and freya

body clad in a gorgeous mini dress, makeup and hair done flawlessly

you look gorgeous, and he can't help himself

"you look beautiful. are you sure you won't need me to fight off the idiots that try to pursue you?"

he gives you his signature smirk, hoping his joke will at least get you to crack a smile, but he is sorely disappointed when you roll your eyes, grabbing your purse and walking out of the bathroom without a word

everything he tries seems to fail and it stings

you're his favourite person in the world (barring his daughter, of course) and you won't speak to him

he feels like he's dying, and for an immortal original hybrid, that's saying something

what the hell are you supposed to do when the love of your life can't even handle being in the same room as you?

he's run out of options

so when you come home, he opts to go for his last resort

you walk into the compound, heels clicking against the ground but coming to a halt when you see klaus sitting on the couch with a drink in his hand

you're ready to walk off so you can get ready for bed, but his voice stops you

"i can't do this anymore"

you furrow your brows, turning to look at him

he stands up and walks right up to you, silently hoping you won't step away or run off

"i understand that you're angry with me, i do. but i can't stand the idea of you hating me"

you sigh, "i don't hate you, klaus. i could never hate you"

"you can barely look at me. you won't talk to me, you can't even be in the same room as me without running away. listen, it's not that i don't think you can take care of yourself, love, and it's not that i don't trust you. you're the woman i've been waiting for my entire life. you're extraordinary, and you're everything to me. i can't live without you. so yeah, i'm going to be overprotective, and maybe a tad paranoid—"

"a tad?"

"alright, fine. extremely paranoid. the point is, i'll do whatever it takes to keep you alive and breathing. i love you, y/n. i love you, and i can't let anything happen to you"

you want to stay mad, you really do

but looking into his puppy dog eyes, the pout on his lips

you just can't resist

you exhale deeply, "you're gonna have to make it up to me"

klaus finally cracks a grin, pressing a kiss to your knuckles after grabbing your hand

"whatever you want, my love"

klaus mikaelson tag list (join here!): @princess-charming-01 @maybankslover @kittyqrt @trenchmaniac @techlipse @the-kaya-aa @catmikaelson20 @hopesdadswife @amournoir @skydisneylover

#klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson x reader #klaus mikaelson imagine #klaus mikaelson one shot #klaus mikaelson headcanon #the originals #the originals x reader #the originals imagine #the originals one shot #the originals headcanon #tvdu x reader #tvdu headcanon #tvdu #the vampire diaries #the vampire diares imagine #the vampire diaries headcanon

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harlivycentral · 1 year

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Harley & Ivy in Heroes in Crisis: Summary & Excerpts

A continuation of my series of collecting summaries and excerpts of all the relevant comics leading up to the new solo run of Poison Ivy.

"Heroes in Crisis" is told very non-linerally, but I'll sort of cut to the chase with this one. It's a fairly widely disparaged arc, and you can search "Heroes in Crisis" on r/Comicbooks or r/DCComics if you want to see a million people breaking down why everyone hates it so much. I'm just here to summarize the parts of the story that are relevant to Harley & Ivy's continued plot!

CW for brief discussions of (time-travel aided...) suicide (which is averted/not shown)

Okay, fine, a TINY bit of editorializing from me. I overall don't like the characterization of Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy in this arc--at one point Harley says she "doesn't believe in trauma," which is... ??? (She is a [formerly] licensed therapist with an abusive ex-boyfriend. LMAO.) But we're NOT here to dwell on that, we're here to summarize the plot points that are relevant for following arcs!

In short, "The Sanctuary" is a super-secret facility that the Justice League created so that heroes could get "therapy." I say "therapy" in quotes because the "therapist" is a robot that they programmed to a) do talk therapy with the heroes b) each hero is kept separate from the others but has a special room that can manifest anything/person/scenario holographically (think The Danger Room from X-Men). Most of the heroes use this to spend time re-living their trauma. We DON'T have time to get into how poorly written this series is.

As we saw in my previous posts summarizing "Everybody Loves Ivy," Ivy was sent to The Sanctuary. In flashbacks, we see that Harley (agains the rules of the sanctuary) showed up to visit Ivy. We see her interrupting Ivy's "therapy" and hanging out in Ivy's room.

However, by the time the series starts, everyone who was at the Sanctuary (except Harley & Booster Gold) was killed. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are investigating. Harley has reverted to her most murderous clown self, and we see her trying to kill Booster Gold while speaking in nursery rhymes.

We learn that Harley Quinn & Booster Gold are the primary suspects for the murders, but both of them think the other did it. It's revealed that Harley is acting so murderous and unwell because Ivy died.

We also eventually learn that it's actually Wally West (The Flash) who killed everyone. It was an accident; re-living his trauma caused a buildup of energy, which set off emergency alarms, and everyone in the Sanctuary who heeded the alarm and exited the sanctuary found The Flash outside, only to be killed when he couldn't contain the energy and released it in a burst that killed them all. We see that Harley was hanging out with Ivy in her personalized holographic room, but didn't go with her when the alarm went off, hence her still being alive.

We get a scene where Harley mourns Ivy:

We do get one scene that I really love. Harley is still trying to murder Booster Gold out of revenge, and she's being chased down by the Justice League. But then Batgirl appears, comforts Harley, and they decide to team up. Eventually, they realize Booster Gold isn't the killer either, start working with him, and realize that the Flash framed both of them to buy himself some time to make things right. They realize that, after five days on the run, he's going to go back in time, kill his past self, and plant the body at the crime scene to make it look like he wasn't the killer.

Louis Lane publicizes the existence of The Sanctuary, and during a voiceover from the Justice League addressing the public about it, we see the Flash discover the rose Harley dropped in the water while mourning Ivy. Over the course of a few issues, he plants it, and Ivy regrows.

He then apologizes to Ivy, and we realize it's his future self talking to her, about to kill his past self.

BUT Harley, Batgirl, and Booster Gold have figured out what's happening and appear in time to stop the Flash from killing himself. Harley sees that Ivy is still alive and they reunite.

That's pretty much the end of their storyline. The Justice League shows up, Harley and Booster Gold are implied to have their names cleared while the heroes both comfort Flash but also cart him away to atone for his crimes (again, we don't have time to get into the mess that is this comic).

We see them walk off together, and that's the end of that arc for them! Next up: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy (2019-2020)

Click here for my master list of posts excerpting Harley & Ivy's cameos in various Batman comics leading up to the current Poison Ivy run

#harlivy #harley quinn #poison ivy #DC comics

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oliverreedmasterass · 4 months

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Synopsis: A young Greta Van Fleet find hope in a local battle of the bands competition to finally catch their big break.

Words: 16.4k

Notes: Here's a whopper of a chapter lmao...thank you @infinisonicosm for the fic idea!

________________________________

Day 2

The next day, the members of Greta Van Fleet walked into the competition like they owned the place. After being showered with praise the day before from friends, family, and strangers alike, they all couldn’t help but think that they were bound to win the whole thing. It felt as if nothing could get in their way.

Sam was sitting with Danny at one of the picnic benches by the hot dog stand when Jake came rushing to them, his face obviously overcome with panic.

“Have you seen my baby?” he asked them.

“You have a kid?” Danny didn’t seem to follow what he meant.

Jake pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed. “My guitar. Have you seen my guitar?”

“It was with all of our gear,” Sam told Jake. “Is it not there anymore?”

“No.” Jake’s eyes looked like saucers. “I can’t lose that guitar, it’s all I have.”

“Wow, thanks,” Sam retorted. He and Danny rose from the table to follow behind Jake, who had taken off back towards the backstage area without another word, running as fast as he could. They saw him with Josh, tearing through their cases and cables, growing more frantic by the second.

“Someone must have taken it,” Josh decided as he watched his brother. Jake snapped back upright and fumbled to brush his hair out of his face.

“Whoever did this to me,” Jake started, “I will find them and I will kill them.”

“Let’s tone it down a bit, okay?” Danny tried to get Jake to follow some breathing exercises. Jake only started to hyperventilate which made Danny stop.

“But who would take it?” Sam had to ask. “I mean, maybe someone grabbed it by mistake? We can check with the other groups.”

Josh looked between Danny and Sam. “Why don’t you both do that while I calm him down?” Sam took one look at Jake and noted that he looked like he was on the brink of foaming at the mouth he was so stressed. The guy really did need to sit down and go through a guided meditation.

Sam grabbed Danny by the arm and they wandered around the grounds, hoping to find any of their competitors to see if they could shed some light on their situation. Danny pointed out the lead singer of The Bellhoppers, who was talking with some older guys in front of their jet black Mustang.

“Hey!” Sam jumped and waved to catch her attention. She spotted him and excused herself to join their side.

“What’s up?” she asked them, crossing her arms and looking Danny and Sam down with interest. She seemed to be at least a few years older than them, probably in college, and had tattoos covering her arms. Sam felt like he had never seen someone as cool as her in his eighteen years in Frankenmuth.

“We’re missing a guitar,” Sam cleared his throat to regain his focus. “Cherry red, like the one Jimmy Page played. Have you seen it anywhere?”

“I can’t say I have,” she answered after giving it some thought. “I’ll keep an eye out for it though and let you guys know if it turns up.”

“Thanks,” Danny told her, dragging Sam on to find the other bands.

Invalid Password was pretty inebriated when they found them, despite it being 1pm, and gave answers that were barely coherent. That was more than enough for Sam and Danny to consider them innocent. Their drummer kept asking their keyboardist where they were; if that was a mystery to them, they probably had bigger fish to fry than Jake’s missing guitar.

Sam checked his wristwatch and winced when he noted that they only had thirty five minutes before they had to take the stage. He knew for a fact that Jake wasn’t going to go out there if he didn’t have his old reliable, and then it would be all over for them. Sam still wasn’t sure where the guitar could have possibly gone, but he really hoped with all of his might that it was all just a fluke, and it would turn up soon.

They couldn't find anyone from Fellowship around, so they made their way back to Jake and Josh, who were sitting cross-legged in the field behind the stage. As they came closer, Sam realized that Josh was walking Jake through one of the meditation routines he had picked up from YouTube. It seemed like it was working, because Jake’s eyes were softly shut and his breath was level. Josh was still talking him through the steps in a soothing whisper but, when he saw Sam and Danny approach, he arched an eyebrow at them, checking their progress. Sam and Danny both shook their heads, and Josh visibly looked troubled.

Sam was about to offer that he do one more loop around the perimeter when Danny smacked him in the arm.

“Ow!” Sam called out in surprise. Jake opened one eye and looked at them with a frown, but then returned back to his meditation. Danny pointed across the stage to the other side, where a few members of Fellowship were huddled around something.

“They look like they’re up to no good.” Danny whispered to Sam under his breath. Sam looked at their opponent and squinted. Even though they were a decent ways away, Sam could hear them laughing about something.

“Should we investigate?” he asked back. Danny had already turned on his heel and was stomping across the stage to them. Sam hustled after Danny, appalled by his assertiveness. Danny was usually more of the methodical one between them; Sam wasn’t used to seeing him act so brashly.

Danny jumped down in front of the band and put his hands on his hips, taking in the scene in front of him.

“Are you serious?” was all that Danny could say to the other band. Sam joined Danny’s side and saw what he was scowling at. In the middle of the five band members was Jake’s guitar, laying on the grass with all its strings snapped.

“We found it like that,” their guitarist told Danny, trying to fight back a grin.

“Why are you standing around it like you’re doing a sacrifice or something?” Sam asked. None of the band members seemed to want to answer that one.

“You’re lucky we found this and not our guitarist,” Danny told them. “You’d all be in serious trouble. I mean, you don’t go messing with someone’s guitar. That’s, like, the number one rule in music.”

“You’re a bunch of shit heads,” Sam summarized what Danny was trying to say. “Just remember that karma’s a bitch.”

“Is that supposed to be a threat?” the bassist stepped closer to Sam. He was a couple of inches taller, but Sam felt like he could take the guy.

“That’s for you to find out,” Sam balled up his hands into fists. The bassist watched him and started to get his fists ready too when Danny jumped in, grabbed Sam’s shoulders, and steered him away from the band, only taking a brief pause to retrieve Jake’s guitar from the ground.

“Go fuck yourselves,” Danny told them before leaving. Sam was happy to see that all of them were gaping and, luckily, none thought of anything to retort back.

As they walked back to Jake and Josh, they tried to assess the damage. Danny held the guitar up and scanned its polished surface, looking for any scratches or nicks.

“It looks like they just messed with the strings,” he concluded. “It shouldn’t be that hard to fix. I can put on a new set in under five minutes, we should be fine.”

“WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?” they heard someone holler in the distance. Danny and Sam whirled around and saw Jake sprinting towards them with his head down, Josh chasing behind him. “MY BABY!” Jake shouted louder. Sam felt like he should duck and cover from his brother (he was so panicked he almost looked feral) but instead Sam remained frozen in place. He reached Danny and forced his guitar out of his grasp, clutching it to his chest. “My sweet girl,” Jake practically sobbed into the wood finish.

“It was Fellowship,” Sam told Josh under his breath, so Jake couldn’t hear. “They took it and cut the strings.” Josh’s face folded into a frown.

“Who the hell does that?”

“A band that’s afraid of us,” Sam tried to look for the silver lining.

Jake held his guitar back out in front of him and let out a sharp gasp when he saw the condition of his strings. “Who did this?” Jake turned back to Sam and Danny. Sam felt like it would be best if he withheld that information since it really wouldn’t be good for their music career if their lead guitarist was charged with manslaughter.

Josh, unfortunately, didn’t seem to have the same concern. “Fellowship,” he replied. There was a jarring fury blazing on Jake’s face, and then it calmed. In silence, he handed his guitar back to Danny and motioned towards the strings.

“Would you mind fixing those for me?”

“Of course,” Danny said without hesitation. Jake then looked at Josh.

“Come with me.”

“Hold up, what are you gonna do?” Sam tried to stop them. Jake and Josh were notorious for taking things a little bit too far. He let out a frustrated groan when he realized that his brothers were walking away, not bothering to answer his question.

“It’ll be okay,” Danny tried to reassure Sam.

“You’re not worried?” Sam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Danny was usually the one who was the most up in arms about keeping things civil. Danny shook his head.

“You don’t mess with someone’s guitar,” he repeated himself. “Whatever Jake and Josh do, Fellowship had it coming.”

“Dear lord,” Sam whispered. He didn’t realize how intense the music industry could get.

Jake and Josh returned back right before Danny was done adding Jake’s last string. Sam had been busy making sure that his bass was in tune (in case Fellowship tampered with that as well) but looked up when he heard his brothers’ jovial laughter. In comparison to the rage that had surged through Jake just a few minutes earlier, Jake seemed like he had entirely cleared it from his system. In a similar vein, Josh looked energized. Sam could only imagine what they had just done.

“I can take over,” Jake told Danny, motioning for him to hand him his guitar back. “Thank you so much for doing that.”

Josh took a seat in the folding chair next to Sam and let out a soft giggle to himself. Sam looked between his brothers and finally gave in.

“Okay, fess up. What did you do?”

“What do you mean?” Jake played stupid while he worked on the last string. “We took a walk.”

“You obviously didn’t,” Sam countered. He was going to press more but caught a whiff of a strange smell and took a longer, deeper inhale. “Is that smoke?” he asked. Jake and Josh exchanged a glance and tried to hide their laughter. Sam stood and scanned around the grounds. Sure enough, at the edge of the venue just past the food concourse area, one of the porta potties was set ablaze, turning into a growing fireball of melting blue plastic. Sam stared back at Jake and Josh blankly and jutted a thumb towards the fire. “How did that solve anything?” A few volunteers were running around in a panic, trying to find water to toss on the growing flames. The fire jumped to the next porta potty in line and erupted into an even bigger inferno.

“That’s our best work yet,” Josh nudged Jake in the side. Jake gave a wide grin and nodded while playing with an orange Bic lighter.

“Put that away,” Sam practically shouted at his brother. They had to hide the evidence, and fast. The way that fire was spreading, they were bound to be held liable for an unfathomable amount of damages. Jake tucked the lighter back into his pocket and took a break from tending to his guitar to lean closer to Sam and Danny.

“We stole the strings off all their guitars and basses,” Jake shared.

“Where are they now?” Danny looked confused. Jake let out a laugh and then tried to regain his composure.

“We put them all in the porta potty,” Josh finished Jake’s thought. “And then decided to partake in a little bit of fun and friendly arson.”

“There’s no such thing as fun and friendly arson,” Sam hissed.

“Sure there is,” Josh shrugged. “See?” Sam looked to see where Josh was pointing and watched as the volunteers finally got a hold of a hefty looking hose and smothered the flames with an impressive gush of water. “Only minor damages,” Josh concluded. “Fun and friendly arson.”

“You both need to be put on a watchlist,” Sam told his brothers.

Jake let out another chuckle. “You need to lighten up.”

Sam wanted to protest that it was incredibly hypocritical for Jake to even consider telling him to “lighten up,” but a stagehand stopped by before he could argue.

“Fifteen minutes before you need to take the stage,” the woman told them.

That got them to spring to action, and they rushed to their instruments. While Sam, Danny, and Jake worked hard to get everything set up, Josh hurried to find which band they were set to square up against.

“Bellhoppers,” he reported to the rest of the band, out of breath, a few minutes later. Jake pondered their matchup and then nodded his head.

“They’ll be tough to beat, but we have a stacked setlist.”

Sam had to agree with his brother there. While they had stuck to the blues and folk the day before, they made sure to prove to everyone on the second day that, at their heart, they were a rock n’ roll group. Jake, Sam, Danny, and Josh would all have time to showcase their skills in their own solos throughout their three song setlist, and that seemed to be what was feeding into Jake’s confidence.

“They’re good for covering songs,” Jake continued, “but we know how to improv, which is sure to impress the judges. That’s what the solos are for, boys. Don’t go wasting them.”

“But don’t get too carried away with them either,” Josh reminded his brother. Jake had a tendency to get lost in his music and, sometimes, it took pulling the plug on his amp to get him to stop. They didn’t have a time limit for the third round, but Sam had a feeling they could get some points docked if they played for too long.

Jake was about to make a sarcastic retort back at Josh when the guitarist from Fellowship stormed up to them, his face bright red.

“You took our strings!” he accused the band. Greta Van Fleet looked around at each other, turned back to him, and collectively shrugged. “Our bassist doesn’t have a spare set!”

“And what are we supposed to do about it?” Jake mocked the guy. Before he could argue back, Jake added, “Maybe think twice before messing with my shit next time, twerp.”

The dig didn’t really land, considering the guitarist was well over six inches taller than Jake, but it was evident that Jake had won their dispute since the guitarist let out an aggravated huff and then turned on his heel to clomp back to his band. Jake waved to the guy and then focused on his guitar, which was back in optimal shape.

“Those strings were getting old,” he shared. “If anything, those guys did me a favor by cutting them, as traumatizing as it must have been for my baby.”

“Way to look on the bright side,” Sam congratulated him.

“Oh good,” the lead singer of The Bellhoppers greeted the band. “You found your guitar.”

“The guys from Fellowship took it and cut the strings,” Danny caught her up to speed. She shook her head with disgust.

“What a bunch of cowards. You don’t do that to a guitar.”

“Exactly!” Jake and Danny both emphatically agreed with her.

“Well, I wish you all luck,” she looked around at them. “I can’t speak for the rest of my band, but I’ll be cheering you on from the wings. You guys have a spark to you that I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s really exciting.”

“We’ll be doing the same for you,” Sam assured her. He had really enjoyed watching her band play the day before. She grinned at him and then motioned for them to take the stage.

“May the best band win.”

“Hear hear,” Jake nodded.

They heard the host announce them and, just like that, they were back out in front of the growing crowd, ready to take on the third round of the Battle of the Bands competition.

Sam slipped off his boots at the back of the stage and made his way to his amp to plug in his bass. It hummed to life and, with nerves and excitement coursing through him, he made his way to center stage where Jake and Josh were facing Danny at his drum kit.

“Ready for this?” Josh asked around, wiggling his eyebrows. Danny twirled his drumsticks around a few times and gave an infectious smile.

“I’ve physically never been more ready,” Jake announced. He looked around at his bandmates with a mixture of love and joy, and turned to resume his position on the right side of the stage. Sam stood, facing the crowd that extended all the way back to the food tents over 50 yards away, and took a deep breath. They had made it to the third round. They were good, and the audience in front of him knew it. It was time for him to prove that what they thought was absolutely true.

“One, two, three, four!” Danny counted them in. Jake broke out into the opening on his old reliable, churning out a full and rich sound that Sam knew could partially be credited to his new strings. He had a feeling the Fellowship guys were probably kicking themselves for that “prank.” Sam played alongside his brother and let his head bob around to the steady beat Danny was keeping. To his left, Josh made his way in front of the microphone and took a deep breath.

“We used to say that come the day, we’d all be making songs,” he bellowed out while Jake played behind him, using his pedals and whammy bar to create a warbling effect with each chord he struck. The crowd started to cheer when they realized that they were playing a cover of the Fairport Convention song, “Meet on the Ledge.” Josh grinned at their recognition and sang louder over his bandmates, going through the rest of the first verse.

As they entered into the chorus, Sam kept his eyes trained on the neck of his bass to make sure he was playing the right notes. Then, alongside Jake, he approached his own microphone that was set in front of him and closed his eyes. He was definitely not the strongest singer in the band by a mile, but Jake had convinced him and Danny that their voices sounded strong together when they performed backing vocals. Sam was deemed the baritone of the trio, which worked to his favor since Jake and Danny’s higher vocals typically wafted above his and were easier to hear. So, while Josh sang his verse, Sam, Jake, and Danny sang behind him as they played, creating a mesmerizing wall of sound that filled the entire field.

Sam took a moment to open an eye and look across at Jake as they held their elongated notes, and saw that he was looking back at him with a twinkle in his eye. That was refreshing to see, considering Jake usually looked like he wanted to bash Sam’s head in whenever he tried to sing. Sam focused back on his vocals and listened as they folded in perfectly with Jake’s middle harmony and Danny’s high notes.

When they returned back to the second verse, Sam stepped away from the microphone to catch his breath and reopen his eyes. They were doing well, and he could see that the audience was visibly into it, swaying back and forth to their music. Josh had taken the microphone off its stand and started to work the stage, moving back and forth across it so he could wave and smile at as many people as possible. Sam chuckled when he saw Josh flash his old high school buddies a middle finger before moving back to center stage, right before the second chorus.

Without thinking, Sam plodded across the stage, right past Josh, over to Jake, who was just starting to gear up to lean into his microphone. He gave Sam a surprised glance but then let out a chuckle when Sam nodded towards the microphone and leaned into it so they could share it. The brothers crowded around the stand and let their vocals feed into the same input so it washed over the crowd. Josh seemed tickled by their theatrics and spent more time on Sam’s side of the stage, where it was empty, to sing and try out a kind of foot shuffle that got the crowd going. Sam and Jake finished their singing and Jake stepped away to take center stage for his solo. As he passed by, Sam gave his older brother a kick in the ass with his bare foot, which caused Jake to widen his eyes in shock. It was fortunate that he was on his A game and didn’t let that surprise flub his moment in the spotlight.

Sam took his position back on his side of the stage and smiled with content as Jake nailed every note of his solo, arching his back and holding his guitar vertically out in front of him, as if showing it off. Behind him, Danny was working hard as well, adding in fills that Sam had never heard before, but found to be perfect for the song. He kept beat on his bass, and Josh bumped shoulders with him after taking a chug of water.

“This is fun.”

“Yeah,” Sam laughed back.

Jake’s solo was wrapping up, so Josh hurried back to his microphone and belted out the last chorus of the song. Grinning from ear to ear, Sam returned back to his own microphone and closed out the song strongly, singing his rich harmonies while gazing out at the cheering crowd. Jake played the last note and let the feedback wash over the audience, who were clapping with all of their might.

Once again, they met at center stage. Jake was already starting to sweat through his velvet black blazer decorated in silver etchings, so he hastily tugged it off, which earned them more cheers. Josh laughed at that, and then looked back at everyone.

“Feeling good?” he asked around.

“Never better,” Danny was the one to speak for the rest of them. Sam could only nod in agreement. He wanted to keep playing; the adrenaline was intoxicating.

“Done getting naked for the fans?” Josh poked fun at Jake, who was readjusting his guitar strap.

“Go introduce the next song, shit head,” Jake looked back at him with a cheeky grin. Josh laughed back and approached the microphone.

“HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING TODAY?” he hollered so loud, Sam nearly reached his hands up to cover his ears. Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. “We’ve got a funky one for you,” Josh continued, “Well, kinda. It’s called Motown Funk No. 4.”

Jake began the opening riff while Josh was finishing his sentence, which earned him a scowl from Josh, but it was quickly replaced by a look of concentration. Danny joined in with Jake and, soon after, Sam played in parallel with Jake, blasting the crowd with their second song. Josh channeled a more bluesy and deep tone as he let out the first verse,

“Hey, lady! Whatcha trying to do to me? Hey, lady! Please don’t give me anymore…”

As Josh sang, Sam hurried to the back of the stage, where one of the stagehands had helped him set up his keys. Danny had expressed concern that he would be doing too much by switching between instruments mid-song, but Sam assured him the night before that he was faster than Roadrunner. He proved that to Danny right there in that moment as he turned down the volume on the bass, pushed it out of the way, and leaned over his keys to pound out the chords that he had written for the chorus. It went smoothly and, at the start of the next verse, he was back at the edge of the stage, playing his bass in line with Jake, tossing his hair around and mouthing along to the words.

He scanned around and finally spotted his family in the center, a few rows from the stage, dancing and waving their arms around with glee. Next to them, their group of friends were more excited than ever, jumping around, trying to open a mosh pit. It was unfortunate that the rest of the crowd wasn’t into that idea.

Sam retreated to his keys once more and got through the second chorus, feeling the power of their music flood through his body. Standing close to Danny’s drums made him feel like he was vibrating in place, and he loved the sensation.

Like they practiced in their endless rehearsals, the chorus came to an abrupt end and the audience began to applaud, thinking the song was over. Jake remained frozen in front of them, holding his guitar out and grinning. The cheers grew, and then Jake called out before ripping into his solo. Sam tried to work his part of the stage for the crowd while he played along on his bass, and made a show of flipping his hair and lifting his leg up when it felt right. Jake closed out his solo and pointed at Sam, who made his way to the edge of center stage, getting as close as he could to the people in the front row. He let his fingers dance over the neck of his dad’s bass and bopped back and forth to Danny’s groovy beat while he created a riff on the spot, deviating away from the bassline he had written with Jake for the song. His fingers flew up and down in complex patterns to the roar of the crowd and, after giving it his all until he felt like his hands were going to fall off, he played a long note with vibrato to indicate to the rest of the band that he was finished. Jake was quick to jump back in and take them into the chorus, where Sam once again found himself on the keys, taking a breather from his moment of fame. He wasn’t sure that he could replicate whatever he had done out there, but he swelled with pride that he hadn’t played the wrong note or created pesky feedback to dissuade the crowd and judges. He had contributed to the band in a way that would hopefully propel them to the final round and beyond.

They played through the last verse and then, as planned, Danny began his own solo, giving Josh, Jake, and Sam a breather before they started their third and final song of the round. While Danny played his heart out, pounding away on his drums and creating a tidal wave of noise to wash over the crowd, the brothers joined together on the wing of the stage.

“Great solo, Sammy,” Jake congratulated him, giving him a hefty pat on the back. “I didn’t know you could play slap bass.”

“I didn’t know either,” Sam admitted as he tried to sort his hair out. It was incredible how many knots he got after every one of their performances. Danny had suggested he learn how to do a french braid, but Sam didn’t feel like that was very rock n’ roll.

Josh opened a bottle of water and started to down it when he stopped, made a confused and then disgusted face, and spat it out onto the floor.

“BLEGH!” he called out. “What the hell is this?”

Jake snatched the bottle from him and took a whiff. “That’s rubbing alcohol, dude.”

Josh’s eyes bugged. “In my Dasani water bottle?”

“Good to stay hydrated, right?” the guitarist from Fellowship smirked as he approached them from where his band was hanging out.

“That could have seriously hurt him if he drank that,” Sam stared at the guitarist in shock. Isopropyl was potent enough to cause chemical burns.

“Like how he hurt my guitar’s strings?” the guitarist shamelessly countered.

Jake wasn’t having any of that. “Like how you hurt my guitar’s strings?!” his voice raised enough that a few people at the front of the crowd were craning their necks to see what was happening backstage. Sam was disappointed that he couldn’t focus on Danny’s solo since he was really killing it, but he needed to help his brothers put the asshole in place.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he tore off his denim button up and jumped at the guitarist. Now, Sam wasn’t usually the fighting type, but giving a guy rubbing alcohol to drink was a step way too far out of line, especially for a local band competition. Jake seemed to have the same idea as Sam, because they both flew at the guy at the same time, their hands ready to pound him in. To Sam’s utter surprise, Josh squeezed himself in between his brothers and the guitarist before things could get ugly, waving his hands around in a desperate panic.

“Don’t fight!” he called out. “Danny’s solo is almost done!”

Sam cursed to himself and took a step away from the guitarist, who was laughing and calling them cowards. Even though the clock was ticking, Jake couldn’t restrain himself from reaching up to launch his balled up fist straight into the guy’s face. They watched as the guitarist dropped like a sack of bricks and then, without saying another word, marched back out to join Danny. While Danny finished out his last drum roll, Josh approached the microphone like nothing had just happened.

“This is called Edge of Darkness. It’s about… the edge of darkness.”

Sam could already tell from across the stage that Jake’s hand was blossoming with purple bruises from the contact he had made with the guitarist’s face, but it didn’t seem to bother him while he picked out the opening riff of the song. While they were building out their setlist, Jake had been adamant that Edge of Darkness be added so he could try out a new part of his solo that he had been working on, where he played his guitar behind his head. Sam felt like it was a risky move, but that had been just about everything they had done in the competition so far, so it only felt right.

Jake’s playing was intense, and Sam could feel his anger and frustration with Fellowship brewing to the surface as he tore into his guitar strings. Josh, likewise, nearly shouted the lyrics into his microphone throughout the opening verse. Sam matched their energy, plucking his strings extra hard. He made a few glances at the chaos that was unfolding on the wing of the stage, where the host and a few stagehands were trying to tend to the guitarist, who was still flopped on the ground. His stomach dropped at the thought that they would be ejected from the competition for Jake’s violent lashing out, but he tried to tuck that bad thought into the back of his mind.

He started to play his bouncy bass part for the chorus, throwing in some higher notes to stand out over Jake’s guitar and Danny’s drums, and they moved into the second verse without any issue. Sam took a deep breath and released some of the anxiety starting to ripple to the surface about the repercussions of their feud. They were playing at their top level, and technically they hadn’t started the whole thing. If anything, Fellowship should be booted for nearly killing Josh.

Sam was so deep in thought about this that he let his muscle memory take over and, soon enough, was surprised to find that they were entering into the guitar solo. Jake nearly sprinted to center stage with a loud yell, as if releasing some of his pent up emotions. Whatever he was feeling about their beef was instantly channeled into his playing, as he hit every note with perfect precision and power.

“Do it, Jakey!” Josh called to his brother.

Jake’s body folded over his guitar as his fingers danced up and down the frets, and then he straightened upright and turned his back to the crowd. Sam could feel the audience hold their breath as he hoisted his guitar up and over his head, resting it across his shoulder blades so he could play without looking. Sam couldn’t believe it, but Jake’s playing increased in difficulty while holding his guitar in that unconventional position, letting his fingers flutter through complicated patterns.

While Jake was giving quite literally everything he had to offer, Sam noticed that a few of the members of Fellowship, excluding the guitarist who was still moaning on the side stage, were sneaking closer to him. He continued playing without pause, but used his peripheral vision to make sure they didn’t try anything with him. He was relieved that their path veered away from him, but then his eyebrows furrowed when he realized that they were headed towards Jake’s amp with a pair of wire cutters. Jake was at the climax of his solo, his guitar back in front of him, and sweat poured down his face as he exerted all of his energy into playing faster than the speed of light. They couldn’t stop him while he was at his literal peak.

Sam rushed to Josh, who was honed in on his tambourine playing, and gave him a nudge.

“Help,” he managed to whisper to his brother. Josh turned and saw the Fellowship guys closing in on the amp and shook his head in anger.

“Not on my watch,” Josh grunted. Sam watched him storm to the guys, grasping onto his tambourine like he was ready to use it as a weapon. While Jake and Danny continued to throw their bodies around to the music, entirely oblivious to the scene unfolding, Sam watched Josh hustle behind Danny’s drum kit so he could confront the three guys without anyone in the audience seeing. Sam poked his head behind the drum kit to keep tabs on the situation in case Josh needed backup, but it seemed like he had it covered. The members of Fellowship hollered out as Josh sprung behind them and smacked them all in the head with his tambourine. Somehow he managed to stay in time as he did it. That distracted them enough that Jake’s amp and cables were left unscathed, and Josh forced the wire cutters from the drummer’s hands and slid them across the stage to Sam where he could keep them safe by his feet.

“Stay the FUCK away from my band!” Josh barked after them as they scampered away.

Jake closed out his solo and, for the first time, seemed to realize that something had just happened behind him. He cocked his head to the side when he saw Josh stomp back to the microphone to barrel the final chorus out. Jake made his way to the side of Danny’s drum kit, where Sam was playing, and called over the music, “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you after,” Sam yelled back. He looked behind and saw that Danny was watching them with concern, but kept smacking away at his kit like nothing was wrong. They returned to their designated spots on the stage, gave the crowd what they wanted, and finished out the song with a collective jump on the last note. After waving goodbye to the crowd and blowing kisses to their families, the members of Greta Van Fleet rushed off the stage to get as far away from Fellowship as they could.

Jake was immediately on Sam’s ass. “Tell me what happened,” he demanded to know. Sam mulled over the right way to share the information without riling him up too much and watched as Jake wiped the sweat away from his brow with the back of his hand.

“Fellowship tried to cut your cable during your solo,” he shared. Jake’s face turned red.

“They’re playing dirty,” he hissed.

“You did pop the guitarist in the schnoz,” Sam reminded him.

“You did what?!” Danny turned to Jake in horror.

“They slipped isopropyl in Josh’s water bottle!” Jake raised his voice, motioning back towards the stage. “What the hell was I supposed to do?”

“Are we gonna get tossed from the competition?” Danny looked between Josh and Sam with worry. “That seems like something that would definitely happen.”

“Maybe we can negotiate with them to only eliminate Jake and you can take over the guitar, Danny,” Sam told him. Jake scowled at the thought.

“We’re the best ones out there - they’d be crazy to take us out of the competition.”

“Don’t get too cocky,” Josh reminded him. “We’re up against some really good bands.”

“You did hear us out there, right?” Jake checked with Josh. “We sounded fucking incredible.”

Whatever confidence Jake let take over himself immediately vanished when the host of the competition approached him with a grimace stretched across his face. The members of Greta Van Fleet all paled at his appearance.

“Is it true one of you punched a member of Fellowship?” He checked with them. They all looked around at one another, trying to telepathically agree on a plan to talk themselves out of their sticky situation. Josh finally took the lead.

“Yes sir,” he replied, keeping his gaze glued to the grass. The host made an annoyed ticking sound and shook his head.

“I was hoping it wasn’t true.”

“Please don’t kick us out, we promise we’ll keep our fists to ourselves moving forward,” Danny tried to plead with the older man. He looked back at Danny with a sympathetic smile and shook his head.

“I know this is a big deal to you all,” he started.

“Monumental,” Jake corrected him.

“But I also want you to understand that AutoFest prides itself in being a safe haven for car and music enthusiasts. Fights are vehemently prohibited, even if they are in self-defense.”

“What does that mean for us?” Josh’s eyes slowly rose to land on the host.

“I really do like you guys, but this can’t go unaddressed. You have to face some kind of repercussions for your actions.”

“What about the Fellowship guys?” Jake couldn’t hide his anger. “They tried to poison my brother! That’s the only reason why I threw that punch.”

The host’s eyes widened. “Of course they didn’t tell me that,” he pinched at the bridge of his nose. “Here’s my proposal: you’ll have to pay a fine to the city. All the more incentive for you to win this competition so you can forfeit some of your earnings instead of digging into your own pockets.”

“How much?” Jake demanded to know.

“$250,” the host had obviously given it some thought, he answered so quickly.

“But can we still play?” Sam checked. The host nodded his head, and the band released a long sigh of relief.

“I’d be crazy to pull you from the stage after the show you just put on,” the host admitted. Jake leaned into Josh’s side to point out that he had been right, and Josh owed him an apology. Josh responded by pushing Jake so hard, he nearly toppled to the ground. “You just have to promise me you won’t do it again. You know what? Consider this a warning. Do it again, and you’re out.”

“Crystal clear, sir,” Danny told him. Sam felt it was only right to give him a salute.

“I’ll have a word with Fellowship as well. I think it would be best for you both to keep your distance for the rest of the competition. You know, for all of your safety.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Jake nodded. The host gave them a wave and made his way back towards the stage, where The Bellhoppers were getting ready to go out. Sam watched him go and thought about following behind him so he could watch their competitors perform, but Jake grabbed at his arm. “Can you help me find some ice?”

Sam looked down at Jake’s hand, which was starting to swell a concerning amount, and pointed towards the food court.

“I bet they have something.”

Jake led the way and Sam followed behind, leaving Danny and Josh back to unwind after their performance. Sam wasn’t quite sure why Jake wanted some alone time with him, but that confusion was quickly resolved when Jake started to rant.

“It’s bullshit that we have to come up with money to pay a fine for something that I was forced to do!”

“You technically made the decision to sock the guy,” Sam shook his head. Jake studied him, looking disappointed.

“I thought you’d understand my frustration here, you went after the guy too.”

“I’m not saying what you did is technically wrong,” Sam backtracked. “It’s just a bit hard to play it off like you’re entirely innocent. I mean, it kinda looked like you broke the guy’s nose.”

“I hope I did!” Jake exclaimed.

They came up to the slushie stand and all Jake had to do was show his hand off to the college kid running the cash register. He fixed Jake a large Ziploc bag filled with ice and joked that he didn’t want to know what the other guy looked like, which got a chuckle out of Jake. Instead of making their way back to Danny and Josh, Jake motioned for Sam to take a seat with him at one of the picnic benches on the outskirts of the festival grounds. As he iced his hand, Jake continued to ramble.

“I think the Fellowship guys should pay our fine. What do you think about me threatening them with a broken bottle?”

“Jake, no,” Sam sighed. He understood that their opponents had gone way out of bounds with him and his band mates, but Jake matching their energy wasn’t the right way to handle the situation. The host had given them a warning, and he seemed pretty serious.

“Well I’m not paying that stupid fine,” Jake spat out. “$250 my ass.”

“Why don’t we try to earn it?” Sam thought aloud. Jake snapped his good hand at Sam with a look of intrigue.

“We’ll encourage people to bring singles to our next performance and Josh can do a strip dance.”

“No,” Sam quickly shook his head. “But you’re not too far off. We’ve played enough that I feel like we’ll be pretty recognizable around the festival. All we have to do is set up shop somewhere and do it how we used to.”

Jake tried to make sense of what Sam was suggesting. Then, his face brightened in realization. “We’re gonna go back to the good old busking days?”

“If that’s what it takes,” Sam replied. Jake seemed on board, but then he looked down at his hand.

“I should probably take a break from the guitar so I’m okay to play in the next round.”

“If we make it,” Sam cut in.

“If we make it,” Jake agreed.

“You can sing, Josh can drum, and Danny will take the guitar,” Sam thought on his feet. Jake didn’t look entirely on board but, the more he considered it, the more the idea seemed to grow on him. Singing in front of people was a better option than forking over $250 of their own hard-earned money.

“On one condition,” Jake held up a finger. “I’m not taking any requests.”

Fifteen minutes later, the members of Greta Van Fleet were stationed in front of the festival entrance, serenading the guests as they filed into the venue. Sam and Danny were making use of his electric amp, and Josh was in his element, playing away on Danny’s cajon drum. Jake, although he was stiff with discomfort, was stationed in front of the group, singing along to Wonderwall. An elderly couple had requested it as they walked in and, after handing Jake a twenty, Jake was backed into a corner and forced to suck it up.

Sam was glad that they had gained so much stamina from all their practice sessions because, otherwise, he would have been entirely burnt out. But between the excitement from their last performance and the determination to get the money they needed, Sam felt he had enough energy to continue giving performances for as long as they could.

“I said maybe, you’re gonna be the one to save me…” Jake belted out in his best Liam Gallagher impression. A girl around their age stooped down in front of them to toss a $5 bill into Jake’s fishing hat that he had been wearing offstage. Jake flashed her a cheeky smile and gave a thumbs up with his good hand as he continued on with more energy. Sam was glad to see Jake get out of his comfort zone when it came to singing in public: Jake needed to realize sooner or later that he was fully capable of being a frontman too.

At the end of their song, Jake took a pause to count their earnings. “$44.39!” He announced to the group. “Not bad for being out here twenty minutes.”

Sam wasn’t sure if that really was a good sign, but he couldn’t dwell on it for long since he caught the sound of The Bellhoppers’ set. It was hard to place the song at first, but then he realized that they were playing a fast tempo version of Everybody Wants to Rule the World. From what he could hear, the crowd was pretty into it.

“Do you think we’d have more luck if we did this after the competition is done?” Danny asked around. “You know, when everyone who watched us is leaving?”

“I want to celebrate at the end of the competition, not be working my ass off for money,” Jake protested.

“Again, Jake,” Josh called up to him. “We haven’t won yet. Please stop jinxing us.”

Jake let out a soft apology and then faced back out towards the clutters of people who were entering the fairgrounds. “Welcome to AutoFest!” He greeted them with a charisma that was more characteristic for Josh. On Jake, it felt unnatural and forced. “We’re Greta Van Fleet and we take requests!”

Sam arched an eyebrow at his older brother. Apparently his standards could change when they weren’t making money fast enough.

“Do you know Ed Sheeran?” a younger boy approached them. Jake had trouble hiding a look of disgust, but opted to play stupid instead.

“Who? I can’t say I’ve ever heard of Ed Sheridan before,” Jake said. “But we’ll play some Black Keys for you!”

“Nah,” the kid waved Jake off and ran in through the front entrance. Jake stuck his tongue out at him and then shook his head.

“I still have my limits,” he muttered to himself. Then, he looked back at Josh for help. “What music do rich people like listening to? Maybe we can lure them in.”

“We’ve been busking for years now,” Josh looked back at him. “You haven’t figured that one out yet?”

“Obviously I haven’t since we’re still busking,” Jake retorted. He combed his fingers through his hair while he thought, and then snapped his fingers together. “Dean Martin.”

“Do you know any Dean Martin songs?” Sam was genuinely curious.

“Of course I do,” Jake scoffed. And then he broke into the worst rendition of That’s Amore Sam had ever heard, mostly because he only knew half of the lyrics. Josh and Danny tried to humor Jake and play along with him, but Sam shook his head and opted to watch his brother make a fool of himself instead.

“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore,” Jake tried to sing in a deeper tone with an Italian accent that was bound to offend someone. “When the moon seems to shine and you chugga da wine, that’s amore,” he continued, and Sam winced. “Bells will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling ting-a-ling-a-ling…”

Sam couldn’t help but smack his forehead when Josh and Danny joined in with Jake’s botched song, messing up the lyrics in their own unique ways as well so the song was entirely muddled. One person approached Jake’s hat and took out a $10 bill, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Hey!” Jake took a break to holler at the guy. “Give that back!”

“Maybe when you learn how to sing Dean Martin right!” the guy called back, and then hustled away.

“So now we’re at $34.39,” Danny concluded.

“Okay, I’ll admit Dean Martin wasn’t the right choice,” Jake admitted. Sam strained to hear if The Bellhoppers were still performing and took note that the live music had stopped inside the fairgrounds. That meant that Invalid Password and Fellowship were bound to go out and face off at any minute before the winners were announced. A part of him wished he hadn’t told Jake about his busking plan because the nervous anticipation was starting to feel like it was going to eat him alive. He had no clue how The Bellhoppers had done in comparison to them since he missed their entire set, and doubts started to consume him that they would make it to the final round.

“I think you need to turn up the heat, Jake,” Josh advised him. “Flaunt what you’ve got.”

Jake pondered Josh’s words, and then gave a half-assed shrug like he had nothing left to lose. He had tugged his blazer back on following their performance so he wasn’t walking around with his nipples fully out, but he started to slowly shimmy out of it while Sam, Josh, and Danny played Feel Like Makin Love.

“Baby, when I think about you, I think about love,” Jake sang slowly in a husky voice, trying to make eye contact with everyone that passed. While some people did slow down to watch them for a bit, most snapped their heads down and hurried past them. Sam felt secondhand embarrassment from the countless rejections towards Jake’s show as he joined in the backing vocals. “Feel like makin’,” Jake sang out as he fully removed his coat. “Feel like makin’ love.” The blazer whirled around his head a few times and then was flung off in the distance, where it landed in a bush. With Jake’s chest fully out on display, he noticed that more people were gathering around them to watch. This encouraged Jake to go a step farther, and he retrieved a bottle of water from the ground by his feet and proceeded to dump out the contents over his hair, soaking himself. Sam thought he looked beyond ridiculous, but people started to step forward and drop bills into his hat.

To keep it coming, Jake tried out some dance moves that closely resembled what he did on stage with his guitar, and the people seemed to eat it up. When he started to rake his hands through his hair and wiggle his hips around, Josh put his foot down.

“Too much!” he shouted to his brother, who was getting lost in the performance. “I don’t want to see your ass moving like that back here!”

“You’ve got a front row seat to the show, why are you complaining?” Jake took a pause from his singing to argue with his brother. Josh shook his head in disbelief and continued drumming.

“I created a monster,” he told Sam.

“A motivated monster, that’s for sure,” Sam agreed. He wasn’t used to seeing Jake steal the spotlight out in public, around a bunch of people. It was much more common that he was hiding behind Josh, only coming out when he was comfortable, but he was obviously motivated to earn the money to pay off their fine.

The song ended and Jake made a show of bowing to those who stuck around for the full performance, and then called for five so he could dry off and count their earnings. As he sorted through the growing pile of cash, he took a pause to look at his bandmates.

“I really do appreciate you guys helping me get the money to pay this fine,” he told them. “And I’m glad I’m the one out there making a fool of myself since I’m the one who got us in trouble in the first place.”

“I mean, I’m glad you’re fronting this too, trust me,” Josh told him. “I need to rest my vocal cords, but we’ve been at this for a while and I need to take a breather. It’s been a long ass day.”

“I think we earned that rest,” Jake agreed, shoving the money back into his hat.

“We made it to $250?” Danny asked in surprise.

“Kind of,” Jake replied. “Well, close enough that I can pay the rest out of pocket if I have to.” He took a break to squeeze the water out of his long locks and study his drenched black and white striped pants. “I need to change out of these.”

“You go and do that,” Josh told him with a laugh, waving him off.

“I want to watch the other bands,” Danny shared, and Sam agreed with him.

“I need to hear from our friends how The Bellhoppers did.”

They collected their instruments and left their busking area behind, setting back inside the fairgrounds to the competition.

“They’re definitely an 80s cover band,” Leah shared when they found their friends hanging out near the fair games. Sam hoped his relief wasn’t evident to his friends but he was glad to hear that The Bellhoppers only played covers. That was bound to earn Greta Van Fleet some bonus points.

“The crowd loved them, but I think they were louder for you guys,” Ian added. “There was an older guy next to me who looked like he was having a spiritual awakening or something when Jake put his guitar behind his head.”

“Jake has a way of doing that to people,” Danny laughed.

“Speaking of Jake,” Tom cut in, “is he icing his hand because he was playing faster than is humanly possible?” They all turned to look at Jake, who had changed clothes and was with some of his own friends, trying to use his left hand to throw baseballs at empty milk jugs while keeping the melting bag of ice on his bruised hand. The poor guy obviously wasn’t ambidextrous like Danny because he missed the bottles by a mile, nearly taking out the guy running the whack-a-mole booth.

“He punched someone,” Sam shared, shaking his head with disbelief. Everyone gaped at him, so Sam continued. “We have some beef with one of the bands.”

“That one?” Ian asked, looking back at the stage. Sam tried to make out what Ian was looking at since they were a good distance away, but he scowled when he saw that Fellowship was taking the main stage.

“Yup,” Danny confirmed. “They broke Jake’s guitar strings, tried to poison Josh, and nearly cut Jake’s power when he was doing one of his solos.”

“What the hell?” Leah called out. “Who would do that?”

“A bunch of dickheads,” Sam replied.

“I think they’re all in college,” Danny added. “They must be especially desperate to catch their big break so they don’t have to keep attending lectures and taking finals.” Sam had never thought about it that way; he thought they were just a bunch of jerks.

Tom, Leah, and Ian nodded like they could see the rationale behind that. Sam heard Fellowship begin the first song of their set and excused himself so he could move closer to the stage. Danny’s eyebrows knit at that, and he trailed closely behind Sam.

“You’re not gonna pull anything, are you?” he asked as he struggled to push through the crowd. Sam shook his head, but he wasn’t sure if Danny had seen him. As tempted as he was to fire a flare gun at them, he was mostly curious to see what they brought to the table, and if he should feel as threatened by them as they were apparently threatened by his band. Sam found a spot in the middle of the crowd, off to the left side of the stage where the guitarist was, and put on a pair of sunglasses so the guy wouldn’t recognize him. Danny joined his side, out of breath, and positioned himself close to Sam.

Fellowship was playing a cover of a Rush song and, to Sam’s dismay, they did sound pretty good. Greta Van Fleet had attempted playing Rush before and, while they almost got it down, it wasn’t something they could confidently say they had in the bag. Fellowship, on the other hand, was playing through Freewill like it was nothing. The only thing that brought Sam comfort as he watched them play was the guitarist had two black eyes forming, and his nose did look a bit crooked on his face. Jake really did know how to throw a mean punch.

The people around them whooped and hollered as Fellowship jumped straight into their second song of the set, which was an original and dark song that sounded like a mix between Metallica and Ozzy. Sam hated to admit that the guitar and bass merged together to create a rich sound that he wasn’t sure he and Jake could accomplish. The drummer was like a blur behind his kit, he was hitting so many things at once. And the lead singer knew what he was doing as well: the guy was able to let out the lyrics with an impressive range, and made a show of dancing around and pulling some moves that Jake had attempted earlier during the busking to get the crowd into it. Sam would have to tell Josh to turn it to 11 if they made it to the final round, because they would have to go against a guy who really knew how to work a crowd.

As the guitarist went through a mind-boggling solo, Sam tugged on Danny’s arm.

“I’ve seen enough,” he called into his ear. Danny looked relieved and nodded, so they took off to find Jake and Josh. After they made it back to the open space away from the stage, Danny and Sam exchanged worried looks.

“I knew they were good, but I didn’t realize they were that good,” Danny admitted as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sam was utterly puzzled by everything.

“Why are they messing with us if they could easily win this whole thing?”

“Beats me,” Danny shrugged. “They must see something in us that we’re not seeing.”

They reached Jake and Josh, and Sam deliberated whether he should tell them about Fellowship’s performance or not. He didn’t have to, though, since they had already found out. Jake was fuming at Josh when they approached them.

“We need to edit our setlist,” he planned out while pacing back and forth between Josh. “No covers, more solos, we need to find ways to get the crowd excited. We need to be memorable.”

“You need to turn up the charm and seduce the crowd more,” Sam pointed at Josh. He and Jake both whirled around to face Sam and Danny. “We saw a bit of their performance,” Sam explained. “It’s gonna be really hard to beat them.”

“There must be something we have that they don’t,” Danny tried to assure them.

“We’re better looking?” Jake guessed.

“I was thinking more in terms of our playing,” Danny tried to steer him in the right direction.

Jake’s face scrunched together, deep in thought, and then his face brightened.

“I think I have a plan.”

***

Fellowship and Invalid Password played their sets and, right at five, they were brought on stage to announce the finalists. Greta Van Fleet allowed themselves a small celebration when it was shared that they would be playing at 7pm, going against Fellowship, but then they went straight back to their preparations.

Jake’s plan was an intricate one and, while Sam wouldn’t admit it out loud, it felt like they were trying to pull off a mini-miracle. The first step of Jake’s plan was that they dress to the nines: the members of Fellowship were all going for the skinny jeans and black shirt combo, so they could outshine them in that way. The band made a quick detour to the local thrift store and, after an hour, were back at the fairgrounds looking better than ever. Josh had found a jumpsuit on the women’s rack that looked like it was a Halloween costume at one point but, when he put it on, he looked like an ethereal being. The white velvet cloth decorated in rhinestones was guaranteed to make him stand out on stage. Danny found a mesh silver top that fit perfectly and glimmered in the sunlight, so he would be hard to miss behind his kit. Jake was ecstatic to find an army green suit in his size, and made a side comment about how he was going to customize it a bit. Sam wasn’t sure exactly what look he wanted to go for, but he spotted a baby blue suit similar to Jake’s and decided that was what he needed to wear. As they paid for their clothes, Jake whispered to Sam that he was going to add something to his outfit as well.

Back at AutoFest, Josh and Danny were already suited up in their new clothes and rehearsing backstage, but Sam was with Jake. There were a lot of things that he didn’t know about his brother, and the fact that he was a seamstress was apparently one of them. Out of the back of their car, Jake was hunched over Sam’s suit, stitching fabric between the sleeve and body of his jacket. Sam was holding Jake’s suit, which he had already personalized, in awe of his brother’s craftsmanship. In under twenty minutes, Jake had managed to add a moth decal to the back and front flaps of the coat, along with some swirls of gold, explaining as he worked that he liked moths because they chased after the spotlight.

“There we go!” Jake exclaimed, holding Sam’s suit up to him. Sam took it and studied Jake’s work, his eyes widening. Jake had added a rippled piece of fabric that almost looked like a wing beneath his arm. The fabric shimmered as he moved it, and Sam was immediately entranced. “Now get that on,” he told Sam. “We need to practice a bit more.”

Once they were fully suited up, they found Josh and Danny huddled around Danny’s cajon drum. Danny was trying to explain a pattern to Josh, but stopped when he spotted Jake and Sam.

“Looking good!” he grinned at them.

“I can say the same!” Sam exclaimed back. Danny gave a shy grin and shook his head with a chuckle. His eyes were darkened with some dramatic eyeshadow and eyeliner that fit well with his outfit.

“Josh started it, but Leah helped me clean it up,” Danny explained. Josh looked proud of himself.

“If musical theater taught me anything, it’s how to put on eye makeup.”

“I’d say we look like a rock band now,” Jake looked around at them with satisfaction. “How’s the practicing going?”

“Josh has almost got it,” Danny gave an update.

“Are you feeling good?” Jake checked in with Danny.

Danny looked at ease. “I know the part like the back of my hand, it’s not gonna be a problem.”

“Let’s run through it a few more times though,” Sam told everyone. He wanted to make sure they knew exactly what they were doing so they didn’t drop the ball when it mattered most.

The swelling in Jake’s hand had lessened enough that he was able to practice with them without any trouble, and they wound up running through their updated setlist right up until they were supposed to go out on stage for the final round. That worked best for Sam because he was so caught up in his bass and keys that he couldn’t think about how monumental everything was shaping out to be. Their big break was within grasp.

The host had explained to them that they were going to take the stage at the same time as Fellowship so he could announce them to the crowd that had well over tripled since the third round, and then Fellowship would go through their five songs first. Sam wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to put them out there all together, but both bands were so focused on winning that their feud was put on hold. As the host announced both groups, Sam let the applause from the crowd wash over him. This was something they had earned. This was where they were supposed to be. The feeling made him smile wide.

He was also tickled by how his friends and family reacted to their new looks.

“God damn, Danny!” someone had shouted close to the stage when Danny first came out.

While Fellowship got ready to play, Greta Van Fleet retreated to the backstage area.

“I don’t want to hear them,” Jake was telling Josh. “It’s just gonna get in my head.”

“Wanna sit in the car?” Josh suggested.

So they piled into Danny’s car and blasted some Tchaikovsky to clear their heads. Sam was glad that they weren’t watching Fellowship’s set; the panic he had experienced after seeing their third round performance was the last thing he wanted to feel before they were supposed to take the stage. Sam leaned his head against the passenger seat and closed his eyes so he could get lost in the strings blaring from Danny’s speakers. The rest of the car was silent as well, caught in their own heads.

Sam’s mind wandered away from Swan Lake to reflect on the turmoil he had faced prior to the competition. He had wanted to throw the whole thing away because he wasn’t certain how he wanted to spend his future. Thinking about that now felt absurd. He had experienced an indescribable amount of joy while playing in front of people and showing off his skills. There were other things that he definitely wanted to do with his life, but he had put a lot of time and effort into playing his bass, and he realized that it would be a waste to throw that away before he could reap the benefits for his hard work. The Battle of the Bands competition was really the first time he felt like he was being truly recognized for those countless hours spent in the garage and at shady bars around Michigan. He was all in on trying to make it to the top. Like his brother had told him earlier, he needed to remain in the present and not dwell too much on the future. And in the present, it seemed like he could have an exciting future with his music.

A timer on Danny’s phone made them all jump and Danny turned down the music.

“Fifteen minutes until we need to take the stage,” he announced to the car.

“Let’s do this,” Josh said as he threw his door open. “Before my nerves eat me alive. Plus I really gotta piss and I know it will take me a second to get out of this thing.”

Jake made some kind of half-assed excuse about checking that his guitar was fully in tune and hustled out of the car. Danny and Sam sat in silence for a few beats, and then Danny took a deep breath.

“Josh told me what you were going through yesterday.”

Sam’s shoulders slumped. Of course Josh couldn’t keep his secret between them. “I’m feeling a lot better now,” Sam tried his best to assure Danny. He frowned when he could tell that Danny wasn’t buying it. “I swear,” he promised.

“You really want to go to college, don’t you?” Danny asked down into his lap. Sam wished they could have this conversation at a better time, but he didn’t know how to steer things into more friendly territory.

“That’s how I felt yesterday, but now it’s different,” Sam locked eyes with Danny. “I love playing with you guys. I think we could go all the way.”

“But I don’t want this to get in the way of your own dreams,” Danny stared back at Sam. “This is your life we’re talking about. You don’t have to always make sacrifices for us. I know it’s been hard for you to miss out on so much.”

“You’ve been going through the same thing with golf,” Sam pointed out. “I’m sure that’s been a hard decision for you too.”

Danny considered this. “I do love golf, but it’s something that I can always do, no matter what. Being an engineer isn’t something you can just pick up in your offtime.”

“I’ll bring a Lego set with me on the road and be content,” Sam tried to joke. Danny chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

“I want you to be happy,” he told Sam.

“This is making me happy right now,” Sam replied. “And that’s what matters at this moment.” Danny’s frown lifted into a relieved smile and he gave Sam a pat on the back.

“I’m so glad to hear that. I was gonna offer to blow the whole competition for your sake, but thank god I don’t have to do that. Jake and Josh would probably have my head on a stake if I pulled that one off.”

Sam looked at his friend in amazement. He knew Danny would always have his back, but the thought of him offering to throw their big break like that was astonishing.

“How were you gonna do it?” he had to ask. Danny mulled it over.

“Play the wrong tempo maybe. Jake hates it when I do that and he misses notes when he gets flustered. Josh gets confused when Jake starts messing up. I know you would continue to carry, but I think that would be more than enough for us to get booed off stage.

“Well please don’t do that,” Sam said. “I really want to win this thing.”

“Me too,” Danny grinned at him. “I’ll be steady as a metronome back there, don’t worry.”

With that, they got out of the car and worked their way to the stage. Josh must have managed to get to the bathroom because he was back by their instruments, looking tranquil. When he saw Sam, he motioned for him to come to his side. Sam raised an eyebrow when he saw that Josh had decorated around his eyes with a series of rhinestones.

“Where’d you get those from?” he asked.

“The lead singer of The Bellhoppers,” Josh answered. “Now come here.”

Sam didn’t want to, but curiosity got the better of him and he cautiously approached his older brother. Before he could react, Josh was smearing silver eyeshadow with glitter over his eyelids.

“BAH!” Sam called out in surprise, wiggling his arms in retaliation.

“It’s for the aesthetic, hold still,” Josh instructed. Sam didn’t like his brother poking his fingers around his eyes, but he gave in and stood stiff while Josh continued to swipe his thumb into the palette and press it across his eyelids. “Your eyes will pop now,” Josh felt like it was important to tell Sam. Sam felt mortified that he was going to go out in front of his friends with eye makeup on, but then he remembered that Danny was wearing some too, and he looked good.

Josh finished and admired his work. “Pretty,” he commented. Sam could feel his face flush red. Danny took a look as well and whistled. Sam pulled his phone out from his pants pocket and used the reverse camera to check the damage. Josh was kind to use a lighter shade so it didn’t stand out as dramatically as Danny’s look. For what it was worth, it did look good with his baby blue suit and wing.

A stagehand told them they had two minutes until they needed to take the stage, and Jake hustled to their side shortly after. Sam did a double take when he realized that Jake’s eyes were darkened with carefully etched on black liner. He stared back at Sam and then gave Josh a cheerful pat on the back.

“You managed to get it on him! Congrats.”

“I let him do it,” Sam frowned. “Since when did you learn how to do that?” He pointed to Jake’s face. Jake gave his best blue steel and then motioned back at the crowd.

“Gabby did it,” he explained. Sam should have known that Jake needed some help from one of his friends. “We’ve got the look, we’ve got the setlist, we’ve got the extra pizzazz, we’ve got this,” Jake looked around at the group. “How are we all doing?”

“Feeling sexy and free,” Josh replied.

“Love it,” Jake pointed back at him.

“I’ve never felt more alive,” Sam said, and he wasn’t necessarily lying. Jake nodded with a smile.

“I wanna get out there,” Danny answered while twirling his drumsticks around. A stagehand nodded at them, which was their cue, and Jake pointed at the stage with the neck of his guitar.

“Onwards!” he called out. Leading the charge, Jake held his head high and made his way out in front of the crowd, making sure to wave and give thumbs up to as many people as possible. Josh trailed behind him and followed suit, blowing kisses to everyone in the front row. Sam decided it was only right for him to salute the crowd, and he wrapped an arm around Danny before he climbed behind his kit.

“Here’s to our future,” he told Danny. Danny squeezed his shoulder back.

“To our future,” he repeated.

Sam plugged his bass into the amp and closed his eyes for a brief second. It was the final round. They had proved their worth to the audience and earned their spot in the top two. All they had to do now was blow everyone away one last time to get their big break. Sam felt like they could do it.

Jake finished greeting the audience and, after getting his guitar set, he held it up to everyone to see and immediately flattened the crowd with the loud roar of his opening notes to Safari Song. Josh matched his energy with a long and powerful scream to kick things off and, just like that, they were sucked into the music. Sam didn’t allow any of his previous doubts and worries to reach him while he played along with his brothers. He felt free in front of that crowd, and bounced around on the balls of his bare feet, making sure to stay close to the front of the stage so everyone could see him.

During the chorus, Jake and Josh leaned into each other to sing into the same microphone, which was met with loud cheers. Sam caught a glimpse of Danny singing along at the top of his lungs as well while he drummed, even though he wasn’t mic’d up this time around. Josh had taken notes from Sam and Jake about how to increase his showmanship and get the crowd really into it, and made sure to dance around to the music more than he usually did. During Jake’s solo, he goofed around with some girls close to his age, flashing them his nipple before quickly covering it with a wide grin.

They sounded electric, and Sam was amazed to see that the audience was matching their energy. Even though Safari Song was a new one of theirs, the people caught on fast and sang along with Josh and Jake during the chorus, pumping their fists in the air. Josh joined in and led them so they were all in unison, creating a massive wave of fists in the air. Sam had never seen anything like it before, and found himself staring.

At the end of the song, Danny launched into the drum solo that he had been practicing in almost all of his spare time over the past year. Sam was with him for many of those hours when he was trying to figure out what solos to take inspiration from, and what moves he could use to impress. Sam hoped that the crowd appreciated what Danny was doing back there, because he was working his ass off and playing stuff that some professional drummers could only dream of accomplishing. While Danny was hard at work, Josh hurried to the side stage and retrieved a bouquet of white roses that he had picked up from a local florist after their stop at the thrift store. Jake joined Sam by his keyboard and watched Josh jump down from the stage and run across the barricade, passing out flowers to as many people as he could.

“Do you think he’s gonna need help getting back on stage?” Jake asked Sam. They watched him continue to speed around the front of the crowd and Sam shook his head.

“He’s gonna launch himself back on here, I’m sure of it.”

Josh did exactly what Sam predicted, thrusting himself up onto the stage with sheer arm strength, and carried the travel bottles of Fireball and Jameson that had been handed to him from the crowd to his brothers.

“They want us to do shots,” he told Jake and Sam.

“They know we’re underage, right?” Sam checked.

“It’s Michigan, does it really matter?” Josh shrugged back. He handed Jake a bottle of Jameson and Sam a Fireball and then booked it back to center stage so he could throw the hard alcohol back with no hands. Sam placed the small bottle on top of his amp and returned to the front of the crowd since Danny was nearing the end of his solo.

“Ahh, better the isopropyl!” Josh joked into his microphone after finishing his shot, which earned him a thunderous applause from the crowd. Jake shoved the bottle of Jameson back into Josh’s hand as he passed by to return to his spot on stage, and told Josh something that Sam couldn't hear.

“Let’s go!” Danny called behind his drum kit, and Jake took the lead, entering into their second song of the set, Black Smoke Rising. It was a crowd favorite when they played it at biker bars, and Sam felt like it truly captured the essence of Greta Van Fleet.

He was surprised to hear shouts from the crowd like they recognized the song, and even a few people outside of those they knew were singing along with Josh. Sam didn’t know what to make of that, but he liked the feeling of having the lyrics they worked so hard to compose sung back to them. Sam played through his complicated basslines and felt Danny’s drumming pounding through his feet. From his vantage point, they were all playing at their best, and the audience was eating it up.

“Yeah, Sam!” he could hear some of his friends holler from the sea of people. He scanned around for them and then flashed them a wide smile when his eyes met theirs. This made them cheer louder, and the people around them followed suit. On his side of the stage, Jake had the audience in the palm of his hand. They watched him in muted awe as he played and mouthed out his part and would scream when Jake jumped around the stage and shimmied his shoulders to the beat. Those in front of Josh were the loudest, and he egged them on by raising his hands up, indicating that they keep the calls of approval going. Sam only wished that Danny could experience the adrenaline rush he was feeling at the front of the stage, but he also knew that Danny was most comfortable in the back where people weren’t scrutinizing his every move. It had taken Sam a while to get used to being in that position.

Like he had pulled off in every other song of theirs, Jake effortlessly flew through his solo with his eyes shut and held his guitar in front of him as he shredded. The song ended with the buzzing feedback from their amps, and the audience cheered over the static. They let their applause carry them as Jake retrieved his acoustic guitar and Sam set himself up behind his keys.

“Thank you all for coming out here tonight,” Josh addressed the crowd. The sun was just starting to set, and Sam could feel the heat from the stage lights starting to reach him. “You all look beautiful out there,” Josh added. “I can’t say we’ve ever played to a crowd this big before but, well, I think I could get used to this.” Josh chuckled and then looked back at his band. “Ready?” he asked them, covering his hand over the microphone. They gave him nods and thumbs up, and Josh returned back to the crowd. “This next one is a love song to a really important movement that took place in the 60s. Some of you were around for it, and I’m jealous. It’s called Flower Power.”

Sam was the one to bring them in this time around, and he played up and down his keyboard on the organ setting, taking the crowd to church. Danny tapped his cymbals behind him, and then Jake joined in with his acoustic guitar, filling the field with their upbeat song.

“She’s a lady, comes from all around, she’s many places but she’s homeward bound,” Josh sang along. Sam looked up from his keys and grinned when he saw that people were starting to lift their lighters up and sway them to the beat. Josh reacted to the same thing and took a pause from the lyrics to call, “Light it up!”

“Like we did the porta potties,” Sam could overhear Jake call into Josh’s ear. Josh laughed, which made him miss the next part of the verse, but he quickly recovered.

“She’s a sparrow of the dawn, our love is born…”

Sam especially enjoyed playing Flower Power since his organ playing added a complex layer to the sound they already excelled at creating. He loved how the organ wafted in and out of Jake’s guitar playing, and fell in time with Danny’s drums. Plus, he could sit on his ass and take a break from making eye contact with as many people as possible. He left that to Jake and Josh, who stood together at the front of the stage and played back to back. Someone in the crowd tossed a bouquet of daisies onto the stage, and Josh leaned over to grab it as he continued to sing. He plucked out a white one and brought it back to Jake, checking with him first before tucking it behind his ear while he continued playing his guitar. Jake met the cheers with a bashful bow, and Josh brought the bouquet back to Danny and laid it by his feet, mouthing out “for you.”

The song came to a slow as Josh drew out his notes and Sam let the music take him away into his solo. He played with the chords he had used throughout the song and created a melody from scratch, blaring the sound from his keyboard and rocking his head back and forth to the beat. His hand passed up and down the keyboard and used both levels of the keys to play the bass and higher notes. He could see Danny, Josh, and Jake watching him and nodding with happy approval as he went and then Danny joined in on the cymbals, giving Josh the cue to let out his final note to close the song. Sam could feel the final note still ringing through his finger tips, and he took the pause to remove his suit jacket, exposing his bare chest to the crowd. Those stage lights really were intense.

Josh was back in front of the crowd and basked in their cheers for a while before calling over them, “We have a new one for you tonight. How does that sound?” They were met with roars of approval. Sam remained at his spot with his keyboard, buzzing with excitement while Jake strapped back on his electric guitar. It had been a part of Jake’s plan that they bust out a song they had been workshopping over the past year. It was a bold move, considering they hadn’t practiced it as much as some of their other songs, but Sam knew that they had created something special when they wrote it.

Josh pointed back at Sam and he played on his mellotron setting, serenading the swarm of people with a flow of hypnotizing notes. The vibrations from his keys rose from his fingers up into his soul, and he could feel the music taking him away. He took a pause from playing to hear the claps from the crowd, and then entered into the beginning of Age of Man. Danny softly kept the beat behind him with his cymbal, and Jake added in some ad lib playing, fluttering across his strings.

“This is about the story of us all,” Josh told the crowd over the instrumental music. “In an age of darkness light appears, and it wards away the ancient fears,” he began to sing. As Sam played along, he felt like he was transported outside of his body and soaring up into the universe, past all of the troubles of Earth. Out amongst the stars, as he played his mellotron, he felt light as a feather. He could feel the very essence of his being come to life, dancing in front of his eyes to the beat of their music.

“Ooh ooh, oooh ooh ooh,” Josh cooed into the microphone in his high register. Sam let in a deep breath and then exhaled as they entered the main part of the song, Jake’s guitar coming to life. Sam played in time with him and continued to feel the power of the music flowing through him.

“A tree of life in rain and sun, to reach the sky it’s just begun,” Josh sang with his eyes squeezed shut. The crowd seemed to be holding their breaths as the song carried them forward, and when they hit the chorus, it felt like there was a collective release. As Josh thundered out, “And as we came into the clear, to find ourselves where we are here,” Sam noticed that the people in front of them had let the music take control. Many of them had their eyes closed and their hands raised to the sky, swaying back and forth and feeling alive. Sam had never felt such a close connection with so many people at once, but he knew that they were all brought together in that moment. He looked to his right briefly and raised an eyebrow when he saw that Fellowship was standing a few yards away, watching Greta Van Fleet with their mouths hung open. Their bassist was even moving along with the crowd, like he couldn’t help it.

Sam was learning right then and there that, while engineering and going to college had its pros, he would never experience anything like what he was going through on that stage. He was bringing people together with his closest friends, and they were succeeding with flying colors. Sam began to understand the power of music and all that they could accomplish with it if they did it right, and all of his lingering doubts and concerns immediately flushed away for good.

The song finished and they were met by silence before some guy in the middle of the audience called out, “Holy shit!” People seemed to agree, because the cheers were deafening. Jake pointed back at Sam, and he stood from his stool, took a shaky breath, and bowed. He had never let a song take him so many places before. It was a good thing they decided to end things with Highway Tune, since that was one of Sam’s favorite songs to play, and he knew it by heart.

Jake teased the crowd by crouching low at center stage, looking around at everyone and wiggling his eyebrows as Danny crashed on his cymbals.

“We don’t want to go, but we’ll leave you with one for the road,” Josh spoke into his microphone. Jake nodded his head and started to churn out the Highway Tune theme as he continued to crouch lower and lower while tapping his foot. Josh, Danny, and Sam joined in and shocked the crowd out of their hypnotic state with the high energy song. Sam jumped around while he played and grinned when he saw the crowd bouncing along with him.

“Are you ready?” Sam approached Danny’s side of the kit to call to him. Danny didn’t miss a single beat as he smirked at Sam.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life,” he joked back. Josh ran back to join them and expertly swooped into Danny’s position behind the drums, swapping with him so Danny was free. Josh carried the beat forward and whooped out with glee, crashing some of the cymbals just for fun. While Josh went to town and Sam and Jake continued to play alongside him, Danny retrieved his own Fender from the side stage, plugged it in, and started an overdrive solo, playing next to Jake and surprising the crowd. Jake took over the rhythm guitar part and nodded for Danny to go out into the spotlight so he could have his moment of fame. While he at first looked hesitant, Danny made his way in front of everyone and came out of his shell, transforming into a rock god.

“Do it, Danny!” Josh hollered from the back of the stage.

Sam watched his friend go and could feel his heart swell with pride. Jake needed to be watch out for Danny.

Danny closed out his solo by jokingly tucking his own guitar over his head, but then motioned to the crowd that he was only kidding. He and Jake played a duet of the main riff and then the music opened for Sam to jump in and take his own solo. While Josh continued to bash on the drums with the power of a hundred men, Sam hustled to center stage, flipped his long hair out of his face, and let his bass take over the melody. He churned out bone rattling notes alongside Josh’s fast-paced drumming and was happy that he was playing a pretty funky line with a little stank on it.

While he continued to play, Danny took the opportunity to spend some time of his own with the crowd, and caught a bottle of Fireball that was tossed to him. Even though his parents and younger sister were in attendance, he quickly opened the bottle and downed it before returning back to his guitar part. Jake grabbed a pair of oversized Elton John-esque sunglasses that had been tossed on stage and brought them back to Josh to wear. Josh called out in glee when Jake pressed them onto his face, and then stuck his tongue out while he continued to play. For Sam, Danny placed a cowboy hat on his head, which made him laugh. It was like Jake and Danny were making all the costumes and props appear out of nowhere. Danny shoved a trucker cap onto Jake’s head and Jake retaliated by tossing a feather boa around Danny’s shoulders.

Sam’s bass solo transformed into a jam session on stage, and Jake inserted one of his favorite Black Keys riffs, which the audience approved of. Sweat was starting to plaster over Sam, so he knocked the cowboy hat off of his head and contemplated taking the shot Josh had given him earlier. Maybe not a good idea to do that, he told himself. So instead he made his way to Danny and whispered in his ear, “Do Elvis.” It was something they liked goofing around with during rehearsals. Danny looked eager to do it, and whispered the same thing to Jake. Jake passed it on to Josh and then, in a rapid transition, they slowed it down and started playing “That’s Alright.”

To everyone’s surprise, Danny stationed himself in front of the microphone.

“That’s alright mama, that’s alright with me,” he crooned in a nearly spot-on Elvis impersonation. He took a pause to laugh at what they were doing, and then tried out his best Elvis-inspired hip thrusts and wiggles. Sam heard a few girls scream in the crowd, which made him cackle. Danny fed into their energy and pouted his lips while he continued to sing the opening to the song. “Take it away, Josh!” he called, motioning back at Josh. He had a microphone set up in front of him, and started to scream the lyrics in his signature voice while flinging his drumsticks all over the place.

They made it through the chorus, and then Jake retrieved his lucky harmonica from his back pocket. He held it up for Josh to see so he would stop playing, and let his guitar lazily flop in front of him as he grabbed his microphone and held it up to the harmonica, which was practically glued to his lips.

All of the Kiszka children had been taught the harmonica by their father, since he was a pretty damn good player himself and wanted to pass it on to his kin. Of the four siblings, Jake had been the one to really feel a connection with the instrument, and spent a lot of his time on long road trips practicing, much to the protest of everyone else in the car. Jake’s incessant playing seemed to pay off though as he let out a bluesy tune which, backed with Danny’s concentrated guitar playing, sounded really good. At this point in their set, all of them were nearly drenched, they were covered in so much sweat, but Sam still felt like he had enough energy in him to light up an entire power grid. The audience was definitely into it, and their excitement was what made Sam all the more determined to give it everything he had. That, and he so desperately wanted to get Greta Van Fleet on the map. After all that they had been through, they deserved some recognition.

Jake and Josh started to do a call and response with the harmonica and Josh’s vocals which led to a hearty applause, and then Jake, satisfied with his performance, tucked his harmonica back in his pocket and turned his trucker cap backwards. He took back to center stage, bringing Danny with him, and stood with his guitar held out and ready to play. Josh, Danny, and Sam had stopped playing alongside Jake so the only sound was the on beat clapping from the audience. Jake beamed around at everyone, looked at Danny, and raised his eyebrows. Danny held his guitar out in front of him too, indicating that he was ready to go and, together, they brought everyone back into Highway Tune with the main riff.

While Jake continued on, Danny put his guitar away and switched back with Josh so he could finish singing while Danny closed out the song on his drums. Josh booked it to the front of the stage, got everyone to give a round of applause for Danny, and then belted out the last part of the song. As he let out his glass-shattering last note on “Sugar,” it felt like there wasn’t a single person at the festival who wasn’t cheering for them. Sam looked out at the sea of happy faces and tried his best to take a mental photo with his mind so he could remember how they looked for the rest of his life. It wasn’t too often that he felt like he had lived through a monumental experience, but this was definitely one of them.

The host came out onto the stage as soon as they finished, calling out, “How about that? Greta Van Fleet everyone!”

Sam dropped his arms to his sides and immediately felt the exhaustion catch up to him. He knew for a fact that they had never put on a performance like that before, and he was practically guaranteed to need a couple of weeks to recover. For that, he was grateful that Jake insisted they do their busking before the final round.

“We’ll be announcing the winner of our Battle of the Bands competition in fifteen minutes!” the host declared. “Stick around, we’ll be back soon!”

“Great job guys,” he congratulated the band once his mic was off and they were on the side of the stage. “Absolutely stellar.”

They thanked him, and then enveloped each other in a celebratory hug. Sam called out in protest when Josh started to ruffle his hair. As they released from each other, Sam was glad to see them all smiling, as spent as they looked.

“I hope someone filmed that,” Danny commented.

Jake nodded. “That shit could go in the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.”

“Cocky,” Josh warned him. Jake threw up his shoulders and laughed.

“I think I have every right to act cocky after a show like that, Jesus Christ.”

They teetered down the steps to get off the stage and almost immediately were met by a small crowd, congratulating them and demanding to know how they were so good. It made Sam a bit uncomfortable since he wasn’t used to being put on a pedestal, but he did have to admit that it felt nice.

But, there was still a voice nagging at him that maybe Fellowship had managed to be better. And that was something they would find out soon.

Final part >>>

#greta van fleet #gvf #sam kiszka #danny wagner #jake kiszka #josh kiszka #greta van fleet fanfiction #greta van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet fic #gvf fanfiction #gvf fanfic #gvf fic #jake gvf #sam gvf #josh gvf #danny gvf #the battle of the bands #baby gvf

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rapha-reads · 5 months

Text

The Star Beast

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

DOCTOR WHO SAID NONBINARY RIGHTS AND GENDER NONCONFORMING RULES!!!!!!!!

So. DoctorDonna is BACK. With a trans daughter, an absolutely wholesome husband, and a mellowed out mother!!!! What a BLAST that was, seeing her on screen again! It's what she deserves! FIFTEEN YEARS we've been asking justice for Donna Noble, and RTD delivered!!!!

(Also, is it me, or has Catherine Tate NOT aged at all?)

I'm super excited, that first special episode was awesome.

The Meep was terrifying and hilarious, even when they were being all cute, my very first reaction was "yeah, no, don't trust". Shoutout to Miriam Margolyes for the voice acting, that was perfect!

I loved that the Wrarth Warriors were so polite and official posh, with their look, it was super funny and interesting to watch and hear.

Oh, shoutout to our new UNIT liaison officer, Science Advisor 56 Shirley Anne Bingham! She sounds like the life of the party. I hope we get more of her (and her badass wheelchair).

I hope we get to see Wilf, it's so good that he's still alive, Bernard Cribbins is missed.

"Something that a male-presenting Time Lord wouldn't know to do" sent me OFF, lmao, also thank you RTD for all the references to Thirteenth, she WAS amazing and she deserves to be remembered.

Rose Noble is amazing and precious. She's going to grow up and be a brilliant, badass, amazing woman. That moment when she tells the Meep she feels lonely because she feels different hit right in the feels. Also her face when the stupid schoolboys bully her and call her deadname. [Personal aside: I argued with my mother today in amongst other things because she insists on calling me my full name version, which I don't like, instead of the diminutive, which is my chosen name - and she said "I named you Raphaelle, with the 'elle' ('she' in French, which, nope) at the end, very important", and that made me flinch so hard; please don't gender me, it's Rapha and that's it. Anyway, I'm glad to see more trans and nonbinary rep, especially in Doctor Who.]

Moving on.

If I had a nickel for every time the Doctor questioned "why this face", I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

DAVID TENNANT. Welcome back, Sir! I have to admit something: when everyone and especially people who kept shitting on Twelfth and Thirteenth got all excited about David Tennant coming back, I got a bit disheartened, because I felt (and a lot of people explicitly said) that it would overshadow and discard Capaldi's excellent work and Jodie's run, and I wasn't as excited about David as most people. BUT I gotta admit it: it is AMAZING to see David back in action as the Doctor, with the added weight of the Doctor's past three regenerations! He knows the character, he knows the history, he knows the universe, and it SHOWS. I love that he's older, wiser, grizzlier, more prudent, they got burn so many times, and yet still ridiculous, goofy, prone to fondness and kind to his bones... Yeah, that's the Doctor again.

And now onto the real star, the one true MVP... DONNA NOBLE. Most important woman in the universe. Brilliant, sassy Donna!!!! I looooove that amnesiac Donna gave away the money, and that it's the first thing she rails against when she gets all her memories back. It's just. Prime Donna stuff. All at once incredibly kind and driven to help, but also down to earth and practical. Yeah, yeah, helping others, of course, that's the priority, but also, damn it, take care of myself too, ya know? She's SO relatable!! Love that she adores her daughter and that's her calling. Remember when she felt so lost and aimless? Now she's got her objective: being a mother to an amazing daughter. Oh, and, uuuh.... Wrecking the Tardis every time she sets foot in it. Oops! Can't wait to see where they land!

Oh, oh, the Tardis! Not sure I'm a fan of the new design, tbh. Too white, too empty. I hope she's not going to stay like this too long. Pretty sure it won't, given that she's already on fire.

And on the last thing for this first episode: I do hope we're getting actual ties-in with the 60 years history...

Onto Wild Blue Yonder!

#doctor who #doctor who spoilers #dw spoilers #rapha is being a whovian #the star beast #doctor who 60th anniversary #fourteenth doctor #donna noble #rose noble #beep the meep #doctor who review

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cassioppenny · 1 year

Note

are there any other nightmare insecurity entities haunting any of the characters besides missingno in milesverse..........ALSO. if theres anythnig different from canon abt any of the gym leaders id like to hear it :)

hm well dawn and serena are possessed by giratina and zygarde respectively but that probably doesn't count. i don't have any plans for anyone else being tormented by evil shadow selves rn. maybe i'll think up something as i continue my marathon but rn nightmare insecurity entities are red exclusive sorry

as for gym leaders

surge, koga, sabrina, and blaine are or have been affiliated with team rocket. koga and sabrina aren't really willingly working with them for koga his daughter is being threatened and for sabrina they promised if she works with them that the pokemon tower will not be torn down for a radio tower (her family runs the tower and even though she's scared of ghosts she doesn't want an important burial ground for hundreds of pokemon to get torn down for capitalism). blaine assisted in the creation of mewtwo along with fuji and some unimportant blond guy. and surge is just an asshole (he becomes less of an asshole after red beats him)

blue kept getting in trouble for not using a monotype team while he was a gym leader. he eventually got fired post gsc and green replaced him lmao.

falkner, bugsy, and whitney were brendan's childhood friends before he moved to hoenn

not exactly differing from canon but mv hoenn is basically an orasified emerald so wallace is champion and juan exists

again not really differing from canon but NORMAN ISNT A SHITTY DAD like yeah he sucks ass at communicating with his son but he's not abusive like pokespe norman

anyway brendan's parents didn't know brendan went off on a journey and they don't learn until brendan (and wally) show up at norman's gym since he ran away without telling them

i think it would be funny if fantina had a weird gay thing going on with johanna. send tweet.

i really like the unova gym leaders as is so idk what to change about them except for kurusu obviously. maybe hilbert will challenge all three butlers like ash did in the anime idk.

dude i have no fucking clue with the kalos guys they're really forgettable sadly

mina find the weird kanto simulation thing (let's go) along with the kanto trio so that's why she's in let's go

this is more of a team yell thing than a piers thing but even though team yell started out as a a bunch of spikemouth residents it quickly explodes in members as marnie becomes the most popular gym challenger to the point piers can't control the hype around his sister at all. this gets so bad that rose ends up pitching to marnie to rig all of her future matches to her favor so they could make a ridiculous amount of merch about her so her fans could be happy

i saw a comic about larry coming from the real world but then getting eebied into paldea and i thought it was funny so i might incorporate it into milesverse. though im not sure yet incase the dlc gives us actual larry lore or something who knows

#milesverse #anyway yippie gym leaders!!#i do want to expand more on the gym leaders more eventually though #but anyway enjoy these guys for now :)

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anactualfuckingnerd · 1 year

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I'm entirely unfamiliar with your OCs. If you could introduce them and the setting they're in, though, I'll for sure read it! Tomorrow, though. I stayed up way too late being ultimately unsuccessful in a video game because of the poor choices part of my brain (which is the entire darn brain)

ough i am so so sorry for only getting to this now, i kept blanking whenever i tried to write but ive been having so much brainrot abt this oc all day that i need to talk abt her

This is Rose!!

(There's two picrews bc picrew is inherently very limited but I tried my best. Her facial structure and hairstyle in the second pic is more accurate, while the first pic has the right skin tone and actually shows off her personality a little.)

She's 21, 4'10, and infected with a demonic parasite that gives her super speed. I haven't really decided on the details of her backstory, but she was basically just constructed by some sort of godly force to use as a host, and then plopped onto Earth. Which happens to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland lmao

Humanity has been reduced to just about 100 small gangs, all of which are constantly scavenging, surviving, and fighting for territory. Rose happens to be part of a group called Target Practice (bc they suck really fucking bad). There's a lot more to the world than that but that's all the context you need for Rose.

She's very loud, bubbly, excitable, cocky, and comically stupid. She either has no awareness or just doesn't care about how other people percieve her; all that matters is that she and her close friends are having fun. This means she takes any opportunity she can to crack a joke because of that, no matter how stupid or crude it is. It's the epitome of "pinhead dipshit"

As for likes/dislikes/hobbies, she's a huge fan of pop and rock music and loves to sing whenever she has free time. She also likes exercising a lot, especially since the parasite provides her with a shit ton of stamina so she doesn't really get tired from running around. To top it off, she's a huge gun nut and loves to collect/shoot/nerd out about guns. No I'm not projecting at all shut up

It can get super fucking hot in the wasteland sometimes and she never gets used to it, much to the chagrin of everyone else. Rose gets really whiny and annoying about it, and she's basically bound to her room until the heat wave passes, which she also hates because she's hyper and energetic and NEEDS to move. This also happens with rain, but it's much easier since she doesn't get sweaty and the sound of rain is relaxing to her. (There's no nuclear winter btw)

That's about it for now! I'm probably forgetting a shit ton and I'm intentionally leaving out the worldbuilding because this post is just supposed to be about her, but if you have any questions at all, don't be afraid to ask. please 🥺

#oc from my brains

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interstitties101 · 5 months

Text

Ok my official dr who specials commentary bc no one asked and that’s why I’m doing it:

Star beast (re-watch already lol)~

They needed to compose proper theme music for this. The themes from the first era were too strong and emotive to skip over for this return - whether they kept the old ones or made new ones, there should’ve been character themes

Not a huge fan of the “whoniverse” thing just bc it gives MCU/DC universe stuff and it would’ve been cool if they did it differently

The floaty “last time on dr who” monologue - I understand why it was necessary for audiences who aren’t familiar with that era but damn they could’ve done it differently. Like tardis/London footage with a voiceover, not a monologue to the camera that felt like a trailer

LOVE the new title sequence. So colorful, beautiful, lovely.

They should’ve had a different way of the dr landing on earth. Also I hated the commercially happy music they used. Ik RTD wanted to bring in that goofiness but it came across more as cheesy bc of the pacing and music and it would’ve been better to have the scene be of tension and confusion - like why did this face come back? Why are the timelines converging? This could be a massive problem. They should’ve started the episode with 14 stepping out of the tardis in London, getting his bearings, and running into Donna [cue title sequence] and then getting into the silliness of it a la S4e1. That pacing would’ve been much punchier imo

Bro needs to commit to buttoning that vest or not ffs!! Donna was right even if she was rude abt it 💅🏽

Establishing the tension from the start also would’ve made the sudden arrival of the spaceship more fitting, less out of place - like heightening the danger rather than splatting it in (yes that’s a word bc I say so)

They should’ve made rose more bonkers given that she’s donna’s daughter… why is she so normal

AGAIN with the music. Be more interesting plz

Love the taxi ride with Shaun. Lmao Nerys mention

Seeing 14 not act just like 10 is So weird for me. Completely appropriate, obviously, but still. I’m like Why Are U Acting Like That Stop It Whats Wrong Ur Acting Weird

Donna is such a great mum.

The kitchen convo is PERFECT, no notes.

Great performance w Donna’s mum. Just the same as always, those two.

Again - it’s so weird that Rose is different from Donna. Like girl why are you not freaking out about this alien and are actively protecting it???

The meep’s dialogue in the alleyway (and later) makes much more sense given the reveal later. Like I was wondering why it was so crazy cheesycutesygoofy… it seemed a bit out of place

Ok the integration of 10’s theme - FANTASTIC. Wish they did much more of that. 👁️👁️

The dr talking to Shirley had so much exposition stuff that I personally think should’ve been at the start somehow. Or j much earlier imo. Like- they should’ve j had this bit earlier instead of the floaty monologue.

Love Shirley’s character btw.

Wish they didn’t have to cram so much stuff into this episode cuz if they were able to slow down the dialogue, it would’ve been so much more emotionally impactful. Like rose and the meep’s dialogue abt feeling alone/an other.

“What the hell” is appropriate, thank you Donna!!!

“YOU… 🤬🤬🤬” “Sylvia!!😙😙😙!” BAHAHHAHAHHA GETTIM

Very good chaos, thank you!!!!!! 😊👍🏽

Wilf!!!!!!!! He loved that man!!!!!!!! He died for that man!!!!!!!!! FUCK!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️

The explicit pronouns convo is so funny to me. Get fucked UK terfdom. Love u RTD, absolute icon

The “not today thanks” was so 13 lol loved it

The sonic is so beefed now it’s crazy. But I like it. I didn’t think I would but it’s sick. Love Sylvia’s reaction to it too

Love dt’s little run in place to get the meep moving

Thank you Donna for keeping everyone grounded in reality. “My house!!!!?!???!” Like YEAH HOLY SHIT!!

Sonic screwdriver explanation? Why? 14 needs to take the memory thing more seriously and stop having fun showing off (classic 10) bc it also gives the danger less weight

Shoutout captain Singh I love seeing Indian ppl in dr who nowadays. LONG awaited, much needed.

Passing by the sleeping guy is SO 11/moffat era

Seeing cheesy activities with high budget effects is so weird to me. The effects need to be less good for the whole thing to fit imo lolll

Love 14 being logically ahead of everyone and not telling anyone anything. But also they should’ve given him more “figuring out” shots in the action before the garage scene. Pacing again.

The wig was so random. King of giving no explanation whatsoever before doing things. Also shoutout lighting for making dt look like he has eyeliner on. Cunty. A little sexy for a man in a court wig tbh. I like it

The meep betrayal was THE craziest plot twist. I was NOT expecting that, esp after all the interviews talking abt how cute the meep was from the comics.

Donna is so right to be mad abt not knowing who the dr is. Bro is really edging her memory 😭😂. Wish they had more classic “10 looking sad and conflicted” shots. Would’ve added punch.

Rose is way too calm through all of this. Girl act more scared

The meep is scary fr. Why is everyone so calm - they’re being taken hostage by a rabid chihuahuasquirrelalien. Genuinely they need to look more scared, why are they just standing there looking mildly concerned

There needed to be a slight pause or change in the music to reintroduce Shirley. Reveals like that necessitate some sort of shift in the flow of the backing music. Otherwise her appearance doesn’t seem as surprising and punchy - it’s just like another leaf in the stream

Sylvia is really legging it for an older woman damn. Good for her.

Great slide dt that was sick. 10/14 stays moving so much more athletically than all the other drs fr. And honestly? I soooooo fuck with that. Stunt on em girl

More pacing (time) is again needed for the control room scene. These are phenomenal actors!! Give them time to let their words hit you!!!! Punches don’t mean anything without follow-through so give them room to follow through!!! The pauses between dialogue are clipped. There needs to be no music, just a lot of empty audio space for them to punctuate.

“No you are NOT!!!!! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE THIS??!!!” and then that sad sad loving look. Ugh. Dt is too good. GIVE HIM MORE TIME!!!!’nn

The winter solider programming is so unserious to me wth. I wish they’d done the physical touch thing instead but whatevs. Also how come it took Donna so long to remember all this shit when it took her like 20 secs to remember it all when the whole master thing was happening? Was it time apart? Getting used to alien stuff over the years?

Donna talking abt her money before anything else is SO funny. Real.

Using the classic 11 music for Donna popping off is like - I missed that theme but she should’ve had smth from s4

The “it’s working!!!!!!!” with the hands in the air is so 11 lmao

Ugh again with the PACING!!!!! THEIR FRIENDSHIP MEANT SO MUCH!!!!! THEY NEEDED SO MUCH MORE TIME TO BE EMOTIONAL TOGETHER!!!!!!! THAT COULDVE BEEN HER FUCKING DYING FR FR AND THEY WERE LIKE “🤷🏽… damn that’s craaaaaaaaazy”

They should’ve had the rose reveal thing running in cuts at the same time as the rest of the scene, not as a quick flashback imo. That would’ve made their explaining everything less cheesy cuz it would’ve felt more like them realizing than them explaining things to us

“Jammy”? Was that a reference I missed or smth? I don’t get why that was in there

The superhero pose at the end with the meep… 🙄 be so fr lol

The music CONTINUES to piss me off

The “male presenting time lord” is so stupid. Isn’t the whole point that gender and sex don’t dictate anything fr, especially belief? Like what if maybe the dr just didn’t get the whole thing abt letting but they did because of perspective differences, not gender differences?? He was a woman like 4 hrs ago!! And the dr, especially 10/14, is known to be a stubborn sonofabitch. It makes more sense to have it be a critique abt his character (which is a classic Donna thing to do) than some weird commentary abt womanhood. But anyway.

Also I’m sorry but rose’s character needed to be much more emotive throughout.

The dr and Donna needed MUCH more of a proper reunion hug processing type beat after she got her memories back.

“But not him” LMAO I know 10s arrogant ass took offense

Love 14 running around the tardis!! but almost wish he was in 13’s so ncuti could get his own experience

THIS is where they need a good hug - “it killed me it killed me it killed me” goddamn it Donna put that mug down and hug him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GIVE THEM TIME TO REUNITE PROPERLY FFS!!!!!!! WHERE WAS THEIR TENROSE REUNION MOMENT????????!!!!!!?

I love how Donna is so serious abt being a mum. Like obvs she would be but I just love seeing that. She always had so much love in her heart, I’m so happy she has a kid

Ok no way a spilled coffee made all that fire be so ffr 🙄❤️

Overall: needed music and pacing adjustments but was otherwise really good!!!! RTD + team will figure it out - I have hope. So happy to see dt and ct together again - I know the next episode with just the two of them is gonna be great. Dt and RTD said it’s gonna be very different from other dr who eps so I’m nervous but also excited!!!!! Ugh so good to see them back when they’re older 🥹❤️ and so happy dr who is being so forward abt trans rep in this political climate. *Really* great storyline too - loved it. Just a shame they couldntve made the episode 1h20m instead so there’d be space for everything.

#dw #doctor who #doctor who special #star beast #the star beast #dr who #doctor who spoilers #dr who spoilers #dw spoilers

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beoneofus · 2 years

Text

𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝, 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪?

part two of what the fuck is happening?

fandom: the lost boys

poly! lost boys x gender neutral! reader ( and oc's/friends )

length: short

warnings: swearing, attempted comedy, offensive jokes, rating band members, some nsfw talk, marko claiming he's straight

a/n: if you don't like or know guns n roses, rip and I apologize. the jokes may be a bit offensive, haven't decided yet, but if they are the warning is up there. if you have a problem with anything stated, honestly just don't read this, I'm not sugarcoating anything for anyone. besides that, hope you enjoy? / ps. not proof read, sorry for any errors /

tags: @nataliewalker93 @henhouse-horrors

( unedited, 5.27.22 )

a buzzing noise that went on and off, constantly sounded out throughout the quiet bedroom of a single, restless individual. they had slept peacefully in the night, but ever since eight o'clock, their phone has been going off nonstop. with a pillow folded behind their head, pressed over each of their ears, they heatedly glared up at the ceiling that was spotted with glow in the dark stars.

“ I swear to fuck, if that phone doesn't stop.. ” y/n mumbled to themselves, teeth gritted and jaw set. they were ready to chuck the phone at the wall, that's how irritated they were.

after five more minutes of listening to the obnoxious noise, they sprang upwards and leaped for the device; throwing the pillow across the way aggressively, in the process. snagging the phone from the bedside nightstand, y/n clicked it on and heatedly stared at the screen. once the passcode was speedily typed in, the home screen was displayed, and then the messenger app was clicked on.

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁

THE CUNT SCOUTS

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: why are you assfucks blowing up my phone? I'm ready to strangle you whores - sent at 9:36 am

(jessie wallace) daphne blake: because we can, bitch - sent at 9:36 am

(bryce jetts) gay thor: sorry honey, the only one I'd let strangle me is dave grohl's sexy ass - sent at 9:37 am

(ricky brooks) weed cadet: honestly not surprised - sent at 9:38 am

marlboro reds headass: who the hell is dave grohl - sent at 9:39 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: LMAO is that the weird mf from last night? - sent at 9:40 am

(ricky brooks) weed cadet: yeah 💀 popped dude's nickname cherry. also, turns out it's not just one guy behind the anon account - sent at 9:41 am

(jessie wallace) daphne blake: it's four guys, I pointed out that HE kept talking differently every time he typed & that's when they spilled - sent at 9:42 am

(bryce jetts) gay thor: well shit.. I should have read up, I didn't know that - sent at 9:43 am

marlboro reds headass: kind've offensive that you thought I talked the same as these other three. - sent at 9:44 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: call me a soldier cause I sure am taken off guard - sent at 9:45 am

(bryce jetts) gay thor: i- jail immediately - sent at 9:45 am

(ricky brooks) weed cadet: asking the lord for forgiveness cause I have tears running down my fucking face - sent at 9:47 am

(jessie wallace) daphne blake:

(jessie wallace) daphne blake: NO fucking words. you need locked up - sent at 9:48 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: jess told me that she's actually dying but I didn't hear it from her. interesting. - sent at 9:50 am

(jessie wallace) daphne blake: sewing you for violation of private information and my rights as a citizen - sent at 9:51 am

marlboro reds headass: this is fucking great - sent at 9:52 am

(ricky brooks) weed cadet: how the fuck are you awake right now? - sent at 9:53 am

(bryce jetts) gay thor: I'm guessing I missed something else as well? - sent at 9:54 am

(jessie wallace) daphne blake: one direction claimed to be vampires which is why ricky asked that - sent at 9:55 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: ||||| ||||| | a chart of how many times I've pissed myself this week due to jess joking - sent at 9:57 am

(ricky brooks) weed cadet: all I did was go take a leak and I come back to y/n talking about pissing themselves - sent at 9:58 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: sorry sorry, it's the r kelly in me - sent at 9:59 am

(jessie wallace) daphne blake:

(bryce jetts) gay thor: I'm gonna need you to set the phone down, babe.. - sent at 10:02 am

marlboro reds headass: LMAOO did I do that right - sent at 10:04 am

(ricky brooks) weed cadet: you did it perfectly - sent at 10:05 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: so vampires, eh? do you guys, ya know... slurp slurp? - sent at 10:06 am

marlboro reds headass: why would you say it like that..? - sent at 10:07 am

(jessie wallace) daphne blake: it's better than sucky sucky lmfao - sent at 10:08 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: since there's four of you bitches behind one account, what the hell are your names? - sent at 10:10 am

(bryce jetts) gay thor: I want to know too - sent at 10:11 am

marlboro reds headass: they aren't comfortable sharing but I don't give a shit. name's marko - sent at 10:13 am

marlboro reds headass: that's a lie I don't care about sharing I'm paul ;) - sent at 10:15 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: paul, commas exist dickweed - sent at 10:16 am

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁

“ the hell is a comma? ” paul scrunched up his nose as he stared down at the new message that popped up in the group chat, he learned it was called. he honestly didn't get the lingo of wherever they were, but he found the y/n person entertaining, so he wasn't complaining.

“ the thing with a dot that swoops down, I think. ” marko furrowed his brows as he clicked onto the part of the keyboard where the fancy symbols popped up. he clicked on the sign he was referring to, to show the blonde. “ that - the thing I used. ”

david, who was watching people that walked by and stared at their group with judgmental advances, glared at the passbyer's while taking a drag off of his cigarette. he'd be down to two sticks after the one in his mouth, finished, and he really wasn't looking forward to it. he had cash in his pockets, but by the looks of it, everything around the place they were in, ran weird. who knew if he had enough dough to buy himself some?

“ you two seriously don't know what a comma is? ” dwayne laughed to himself, while chucking pebbles at bird that had been cawing at him for the last hour. they had moved their placement to a bridge that overlooked the downtown part of the area, which was around eight miles away from where they were originally at. surprisingly enough, the sun wasn't effecting them at all. it gave their skin a tingly feel, but it didn't hurt them nor burn them to death. not to mention, they didn't feel too tired, just the slightest bit of weak. that could be from not eating, however.

“ no, ” paul bit down onto the word in a goofy tone, before throwing a glare at the brunette over his shoulder. “ not everyone went out to use a computer or typewriter in their free time, dwayne. ”

marko chuckled at the exchange between the two while taking the phone, he learned what it was, from paul's hand. he or the others have never seen such a phone before, but maybe that's just because they never really paid attention or cared. how wrong they actually were, though.

“ I'm aware. explains why you're such an airhead. ” the tanned man looked back over to the blonde, giving him a teasing smirk, only to duck when paul threw a stray brick at his head.

“ y'wanna go, vampy? cause we can go. ” now smirking, paul hopped to his feet, only to began dancing around dwayne in a predatory manner. “ betcha' don't got the balls to fight me, dipstick. ”

but he soon ate the words, because dwayne crouched, before pouncing forward and tackling paul to the ground. david shook his head at the two, a lop sided smirk on his lips. marko paid them no mind, and instead texted the groupchat; mainly talking to the person that seemed to peak his interest the most.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

you weren't too fond of finding interest in someone, so easily and so fast. it's happened before in the past, and its only led to heart break and making yourself look like a fool for not getting to know someone. although things work out sometimes in those situations, they were still rare; that's why you rather get to know someone, build a friendship and then possibly move onto romance. as of lately, a relationship or even a love interest wasn't in your schedule, but for some reason this anonymous guy - or guys - in your messenger chat held your interest. mainly the one known as marko, so far.

“ this shit is weird, bry. ” you groaned, flopping back onto your mattress, causing your covers and wrangled sheets to bounce up for a split second. throwing your forearm over your eyes, stopping the annoying ceiling light from blinding you, you heaved a heavy breath of air. “ I don't know this man, or men, nor anything about any of them. I only know two of their names. not to mention, they could be in their sixties for all I know. ”

“ so you'd settle for the fifties, then? ” a rather medium pitched voice, with a feminine undertone spoke through the other end of the line; clearly distracted, but also trying ho's best to listen as his friend rambled away at what was going on in their head.

“ shut up. ” they rolled their eyes, letting a small laugh leave them as bryce cackled on the other end. “ but I'm serious.. ” licking their lips, they slid their arm away from their eyes; vision now focusing on the outside world, through their window, as they turned their head to the side. “ what am I doing? I don't even think I want a relationship at this point in time... and, like I said, I don't know them. any of them. what if they end up getting my ip address, tracking me down and draining me of every drop of blood I have in my body? ”

they heard shuffling from their friend's end, before slight static, signaling bryce moved the phone to his other ear. “ because those dumbasses claim to be vampires? ” the chestnut brown haired male scoffed. “ get real. I know you believe in that shit, but I highly doubt we just magically came across some blood suckers that turned up out of no where, and appeared into our groupchat. ”

“ but that's honestly it, ” sitting up, you raised your brows in realization. “ how did they get into the chat? you can't just join groupchat's on messenger, bry - you have to be added to them. none of us know who they are, so how the fuck did they get in it? ”

a silence filled the line for a moment, before the other spoke up. “ well.. you have a point. but I mean, it can just be a glitch or hack or something. ” and bryce did speak the truth on that, but it isn't everyday a hacker would just hack into a groupchat. they'd have more important shit to hack into, like a banking system.

“ doubt it. ” you grumbled, rolling your eyes. “ I'm gonna' let you go, though, cause my phone is buzzing like crazy again. I bet those idiots are back, and jessie's interrogating them some more. ”

“ probably, ” bryce snickered. “ but okay. I'll see ya' later. ”

grinning to yourself, you pulled the phone away from your ear and ended the call. once you exited off of the contact list, you went right back onto the messenger app.

and, of course, you were right. an interrogation is being held.

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THE CUNT SCOUTS

(jessie wallace) candace flynn: so marko, since your little buddies are busy, why don't you tell us more about your undeadliness? - sent at 10:40 am

marlboro reds headass: what makes you think I'll tell you? - sent at 10:41 am

(jessie wallace) candace flynn: the fact that I'm asking nicely for once - sent at 10:42 am

marlboro reds headass: I don't really give a rats ass how you treat me, I can always find you and drain you dry later on - sent at 10:44 am

(jessie wallace) candace flynn: screenshotted, if I turn up dead in a parking lot you all know why - sent at 10:45 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: suddenly I'm in birdbox. I don't see shit - sent at 10:46 am

(ricky brooks) weed magnet: don't worry jess, I got your back - sent at 10:48 am

(jessie wallace) candace flynn: at least someone cares about me </3 - sent at 10:49 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: on a scale from 1 to 1k how hard would y'all smash the guns n roses band members? - sent at 10:51 am

(bryce jetts) gay thor: current or original members? - sent at 10:52 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: obviously I'm talking about the original members genius - sent at 10:53 am

(ricky brooks) weed magnet: considering I'm straight I'll need 100k up front - sent at 10:54 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: a guy entirely hetro would demand more like 1m or more. you've gotta be at least a little fruity. - sent at 10:55 am

(ricky brooks) weed magnet: I don't like dick or men, I just think axl and duff are beautiful people. - sent at 10:56 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: makes sense. bryce? - sent at 10:56 am

(bryce jetts) gay thor: I'd have to rank them... I'd say 1k for axl and slash because they're definitely my type, and super hot. probably 700 for steven, he's not my type necessarily but he's cute and looks sweet enough. duff is probably a 500, he's attractive and I'd make out with him, but I'm not too thrilled. and Izzy is a solid 200, I don't really find him to be all that but I'd give him a kiss. - sent at 10:59 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: well fuck.. talk about brutal. jessie? - sent at 11:00 am

(jessie wallace) candace flynn: duff 1k, axl and steven 800, izzy and slash 500 - sent at 11:02 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: fair enough. what about you, mysterious assholes? - sent at 11:03 am

marlboro reds headass: I'm not into guys n don't really go for looks, if any of us were to answer this it'd be paul but he's on cloud 9 right now - sent at 11:05 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: mm.. k. well for me, it's 1k for all of them. I'd ride each one like a damn pony. - sent at 11:06 am

(jessie wallace) candace flynn: just like I did your brother - sent at 11:07 am

(y/n l/n) royal cunt the third: bitch excuse you? - sent at 11:07 am

(jessie wallace) candace flynn: seen at 11:08 am

#the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #tlb 1987 #david the lost boys #dwayne the lost boys #marko the lost boys #paul the lost boys #the lost boys x reader #the lost boys imagines #reader insert #gender nuetral reader #y/n insert

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albino-whumpee · 1 year

Text

Fallen Bridges part 2

Goodness, its finally all getting together. lmao. Hope you enjoy!

CW//Pet whump, slavery, human trafficking, muzzles, shock collars, kidnapping, recapture, betrayal, shovels and death imaginary. Getting kinda dark at the end. Angst, hurt comfort and conditioning.

Taglist:

If you wish to be taken out or added, please send me a message.

@castielamigos-whump-side-blog @giggly-evil-puppy @cowboysrappin @haro-whumps @burtlederp @neuro-whump @comfortforthepain @whumps-the-word @whole-and-apart-and-between @broken-horn @ashintheairlikesnow @rosesareviolentlyread @starnight-whump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @as-a-matter-of-whump @whumpasaurus101 @grizzlie70 @twistedcaretaker @wingedwhump @unicornscotty @melancholy-in-the-morning

The road to Robert´s house was often without traffic. A big house by the woods with nobody around. A young Rupert Glass had chosen that house in specific because he couldn´t stand busy traffic or stupid neighbors. When he found it on sale, he didn´t even have to ask his wife, as the only thing she said was:

“I will put roses on the entrance”.

Those same roses were now withering, Sann noticed.

The pet had heard the story from Rupert himself once, and when he was there and allowed to, Sann helped Rupert take care of the flowers.

“C´mon Sann,” Robert said pulling him inside the house.

The boy offered no resistance. Once Robert´s hand rested on his neck and his tongue sizzled in his ear, his body had simply given up on fighting. Like a switch, one simple touch, one simple order from that man, and he would be on his knees in that dirty basement again.

A mean burn exploded inside his chest, but he had become an expert in suffocating any flare of defiance.

With this man, nothing was off the table.

As he handcuffed him to an anchor on the floor, Sann kept his head down. Something his owner had always liked when he brought him there to punish him, but then, he grabbed his chin and lifted it.

They stared at each other for a moment.

Sann looked back in misery while Robert studied his face in silence.

Robert noticed the tiny changes that had naturally happened when he wasn’t forced to fulfill a dead man’s shoes. At that moment, Robert saw him as Sann, and not that terrible copy of his husband.

Sann, that murderer´s whore lover.

Suddenly, he thumbed his cheek with a strange look in his eyes. The pet knew when he was demented, in a frenzy to turn him to a pulp, but even then, his body showed signs. He would have done something else when he flinched away.

“Welcome back” The man grabbed his chin between his thumb and his middle finger, munching up his lips in a bruising hold. “Don’t worry, Sann. You won’t be alone for long”

Sann´s heart stopped.

What?

Sann tried lifting his hands on instinct, but the handcuffs would only allow him to rattle the chain a little.

Kidnapping him was one thing, he had even expected it at some point, but the timing was off. There was also no time to ask about what happened. Wait, could it be it was related in some way to why Albus had run away? But then...Sann´s mental gears turned at full speed, concentrating that he almost missed his owner going away.

Impulsively, he tried to lift himself, try to beg for answers, before the man threw a cutting glare at him.

“...what a few months do to you, seriously” He snorted, before pointing at the floor with his finger “Stay. Don´t make me restrain you for real” At the threat, Sann sat back down. When he kept glaring at him, he bowed his head. Then, he grinned. “Good boy”

A few months away had changed him, indeed. And that´s why he lifted his eyes, trying to ask with just one look why take him back now when he could´ve done it before? when it didn´t hurt.

Somehow, the man stopped climbing the stairs. Turning around to look at him from the corner of his eye.

Right there in the quiet of the abandoned house, Robert told him something.

“I do this for you too, you know?” he said, before walking outside.

As much as he wished to stay and give his former pet a proper welcome-back party, his favored guest had yet to arrive.

On his way to the car he was pleasantly surprised with the news the 3rd den for runaway and lost pets inside the PCS training facility had the pet numbered 778900 under their jurisdiction, now waiting for the owner, Mister Robert Glass to further instruct them on how to proceed.

Robert took the folder resting on the passenger seat before pulling his phone on his ear.

“Rob?” he heard Claude say from the other side of the line.

“Do you want to make him pay for what he did?”

—

When the recovery team found him, they saw a 5 feet, weak pet. They never expected to find themselves thrown on the ground or have the goddamn bastard move like a snake and choke them.

They had a team of four and all of them sported bruises and scratches from the tiny pet being escorted inside the den.

“Down” the guard ordered him pushing him to his knees while another worked the chains and locks. The den had long chains hanging from one wall to the other, hooks every few steps to chain the pets. The chains were so close to the ground they could only sit or kneel. It was designed in such a way, a pet that tugged on the chains would injure the others, thus, any insubordination would be quickly fixed by their peers.

Albus looked around the room and was surprised by how crowded the place was. All of them, including himself, were muzzled and handcuffed. Their shock collars turned on, waiting for the light to turn red the moment they tried anything.

“Now,” the man started, reaching for a machine in his belt and fishing the boy´s left hand, uncovering his wrist to find the code bar. Knowing he would be scanned, Albus jerked back. The man wasn´t phased and simply passed his leg over his arms and pulled him. Forcing Albus to either bury his face against his butt or let him work.

He clenched his teeth against the bit before going limp. The man hummed, pleased.

“There you go, done,” he said, reading the information that appeared on the screen. “Albus, huh? Let´s call your owner and see if he wants you back, hm?”

Ah, if he had noticed them earlier, he could´ve gotten away. Maybe get to those safehouses Sasha mentioned. Maybe he should´ve waited for Sann, maybe he could´ve...

He was taken out of his thoughts when the guard smacked his head on his way out, laughing at him when Albus tried to kick his shin and got zapped in return.

Still feeling the tingly feeling in his throat, Albus tried to relax, to stop his shaking, and focus on what he could do once they took him back.

What would he even say? They had made it clear they would punish him. It was only natural. Sarahi was a merciful owner, but this crime was beyond it. Maybe, they would choose to return him to PCS, and then he would be refurbished again. But would they even attempt to resell him? He had been so cheap, he was sure the losses would be greater if he was refurbished and trained again.

If those rumors about the contract having an expiration date were true...then if being refurbished wasn´t an option anymore...

He shook the thoughts away.

But if he went back to them, he was sure he would have to face Robert at some point. He had traced Sann´s scars with his fingers, he remembered well when he came on “playdates” covered in horrible wounds.

That man was bad news and he had more than enough reasons to take revenge on him. He would do the same if their places were switched.

Tears slipped down the muzzle.

What a pitiful thing. Crying like that when he deserved punishment. But...But even if he didn´t remember what happened, he was sure he had never wanted to hurt anyone.

But he had. And he hurt people that had become so, so important to him.

He couldn´t hold his tears back any longer and began crying in silence.

It was unexpected to feel something bump against his back. When he turned, he found another pet leaning against him, his hands were restrained as well, so he couldn´t do much but slightly rub his cheek against his back.

He noticed then most of the others were in pairs or groups, leaning against each other, rubbing their shoulders or their cheeks, or even attempting to try and pat another pet´s legs. All of them were there waiting for their owner´s verdict on what to do with them now that they had shown they couldn´t be trusted to not run away.

The other boy stayed there, leaning on his shoulder before Albus rested his head on his. The boy´s warm presence was enough to slow down Albus´ mind which had jumped into survival mode.

Enough to notice the mistake in what the den´s watcher had said when scanning him. Albus frowned.

Him?

Claude, maybe? No, he wasn´t on his papers besides as an emergency contact. His real and only owner was Sarahi. So why..? No, there was no way he had figured out his plan without his letter, right? He still hadn´t received the news! Or...Or maybe...

For a few minutes, Albus hoped the person who came for him was one freckled guy. He tried to drown his hopes, but thinking maybe he could be saved from a painful future was a beautiful feeling. So, as the den began to empty, and even when the boy that had leaned on him was taken away by what he supposed was his owner, sneaking a wave at him as he was pulled away, the hope for salvation didn´t extinguish entirely.

Not until he saw a familiar face on the other side of the glass.

“Hey, mophead!” Albus' stomach churned at hearing that awful nickname again. He looked up, annoyed before his blood froze. “Your owner is here. Lucky you, he still wants you back”

Albus shot a glare at the den´s guard coming his way, the man on the other side of the glass smiling wide at him.

No fucking way.

In a panic, Albus jerked, paddling away from the man taking off the chains to his handcuffs. A shock quickly froze all his limbs, but even when he was lifted by his armpits, Albus planted his feet and jerked back.

That man wasn´t his owner!

“Stop it!” the guard yelled at him, delivering yet another, longer, shock through his collar that made him howl. However, when the man tugged on his arm to force him to walk, Albus put his hands together and used the momentum to punch him straight in the head.

The man´s scream alerted the other guards, who burst into the den looking for the pet who had run to the far corner.

“You little-!” one of the recovery team guys said, trying to grab him. Effortlessly, Albus avoided him, “Grab him!”

Albus was quick. Like a snake, he slid through openings when they jumped at him. But when he thought he had avoided all of them, he was violently pushed against the wall. The pressure on his trachea was so strong, he couldn´t even scream.

“I´m truly sorry for the problems my pet has caused you,” Robert told the watchers as he pushed Albus´ face against the wall. “I will be sure to discipline him thoroughly once we get back home”

Albus whimpered behind the muzzle when the man pulled him to walk, grabbing him tight by the neck. When the pet immediately tried to dig his heels into the ground, the man dug his fingers into his throat.

“Ack!” Albus cried.

“Let´s go, Albie. You are not running away from your punishment,” the man said dragging him to the reception. When the pet jerked back, a shock made his world turn white.

It was just one moment, but it was enough for Robert to drag him out. Once they reached the front desk, Robert slacked his grip making the boy collapse on his knees still trembling from the aftershock.

“I will only need you to fill these papers and you will be free to take him, sir,” the lady at the other side of the table told him handing him a few blue papers. The man gave her a smile and a short thanks.

On the floor, Albus watched in horror. How did they not know their mistake? This man wasn´t his owner! This man shouldn´t even be mentioned in his papers!

"That´s yours?” one bruised guy approached Robert. The terrified pet shook his head when the man smiled. “You should keep it muzzled and collared”

“I will. I´m very sorry for the trouble”

“We were told he was quite tame, so it was a surprise to see him move like that” the man eyed the pet being held by his collar by Robert. He weakly squeezed his arm, but Robert held his smile as if it was nothing. “You seem able to handle him. Care to tell me how he escaped? Is just for paperwork”

Robert stared at the man for a second before telling him he had tried escaping as a punishment.

Albus froze on his knees for a moment. That was not entirely false...but even then! He kept trying to get free from the man´s grasp.

The man hummed, scratching his chin before shooting a glare at the lady behind the table. “You know? When we received the alert, it was a woman who talked with us. Was it your wife that called us?”

Albus' dizzy head cleared up for a second at the man´s words.

He knew something was wrong! It was Sarahi who call them! Sarahi was his owner! He had to tell them.

“Oh no, she is--”

With great effort, Albus launched himself up to grab the pen in Robert´s other hand. Even when the man tried choking him again, his hand rushed to write on the floor.

“Knock it off!” Robert yelled, tugging on his collar so hard he had to twist on himself. However, the damage was done.

“He´s not my owner”?” the recovery team member read out, shocked to see a pet being able to write, but drowining the amusement to lock eyes with the girl on the desk. Albus felt Robert ease his grip on him and used that chance to scurry away to the recovery guy´s feet. Out of reflex, the guy grabbed him by the collar. But even then, Albus felt victorious as he watched the lady whisper something on the radio and Robert stared at the guard in complete silence.

“As I said over the phone with miss Lauren, my pet has yet to get used to his new home. He is refurbished. You know how refurbished pets always have trouble adapting” Robert exhaled loudly. The man looked unconvinced, but Robert didn´t push. Not until a security guard arrived. “I understand your mistrust. It´s not occasional some guy comes here to steal someone else´s pet, isn´t it? But this boy is mine. If you don´t believe me, why don´t you scan his wrist?”

Albus snorted, utterly amused that he thought that would work.

The guard reached towards his reader and didn´t expect Albus to extend his wrist so readily.

As the guard worked the scanner, Albus stared at Robert with a mocking grin hidden by the muzzle.

The reader´s alarm went off, and Albus craned his neck to read, knowing he would find Sarahi´s name and address. But no matter how much he squinted, the blurry words didn´t make any familiar names. Instead...

“778900 aka. “Albus”. Owned by: Robert Glass” the man read out loud.

Huh?

The pet snatched the machine off the guard´s hands before he could even react. Seeing with his own two eyes that man´s name appeared on the screen. Even though the address was the same, even if his photo was correct...why?

An electrifying pain shot through his whole body.

“Gimme that,” the guard snatched back the reader and showed it to the woman as Albus panted on the floor.

“If this isn´t enough, would this help?” Robert smiled easily. Then, slowly, he took out a folder from the inside of his coat. “Here is his contract, the receipt, the shipping date, the details of his training -- both of them. I had no need of a romantic for the work I wanted him for. Oh, that reminds me, his work permit,” the man smiled as he took the documents one by one.

By then, Albus was already kneeling before them, stretching his neck to catch even a glimpse of those documents. He had seen them all before, a long time ago, so he should be able to tell if they were his papers, but he couldn´t see them if the guy kept tugging on his collar. But, there just was no way. They had to be fake!

As the woman looked over them, Robert tilted his head, holding his chin with one hand, “Hm, I feel like I´m missing something...”

“His pet I.D.” A man said from behind Albus, freezing all the blood on his body.

Slowly, Albus turned to find the mountain of a man towering over him with severe eyes looking down at him.

“Oh right, thank you, Claude” Robert said taking the card and showing it to the woman and the guards. “The woman who called is his wife. We were enjoying a great night when Albie did a little fuck up and chose to run for it. Isn´t that right, Claude?”

“...Yeah”

Albus began to shake as Claude pulled him up by his arm and kept a firm grip on him. Albus' heart began to pound.

“The names match” The woman announced, making Albus snap at her. He shook his head slowly. How? Even his card? But...But how? He looked at Claude again, but the man´s eyes were nailed on Robert.

“Do you need anything else or can I take my pet home to continue where we left off?”

Albus shook his head vigorously as the guard and the woman exchanged looks. But his heart dropped when the guard put away the reader and knocked his head so the other man went away.

“Apologies, sir. As you said, it´s not unusual some opportunist wanders in trying to get a quick buck from the pets. I heard he was one hard catch, so please, be sure to keep an eye on him. Escapists tend to relapse” he told him, giving him back the folder. Robert laughed lightly.

“No worries officer, I´ll make sure he learns his lesson very, very soon”

Albus watched as he signed all the paperwork, mind blank until the corners of his mouth began to taste like iron with how hard he was clenching his teeth around the bit.

Noticing something else was rolling down his eyes, he rushed to wipe them off as Robert finished the paperwork and signaled Claude to bring him over. The man wasn´t gentle when he pulled him out the door holding his head down as they walked their way to Robert´s car.

“In you go,” Robert said opening the trunk and shoving Albus inside despite the boy´s thrashing. But Claude´s size and force were enough to throw someone half his size inside a car´s trunk.

“AGH!” The boy cried as his back crashed against something hard and metallic, knocking the air out of his lungs. He tried to climb out when Claude grabbed his legs and handcuffed his ankles together.

“Stop moving” Claude growled and when the boy tried to climb out, the man grabbed his shirt and shoved him back inside hard enough to make the car shake. “STOP” Albus trembled violently, but didn´t try to climb out again.

The trunk was shut closed on his nose and Albus could hear the engine start and the car starts moving.

He desperately tried to even his breathing, go still and clear his mind already wondering what exactly was gonna happen to him.

Were they gonna kill him? What kind of punishment could “correct” this? Robert was set on finding it, that was for sure. All the punishments Sann had the trust to tell him about, all the others he had to figure out himself, and the ones he was sure Robert was depraved enough to try, rushed through the pet´s head at a shocking speed.

Terrified of his brutal imagination, the boy grabbed his head between his hands.

Why did it have to go this way?

His heart was pounding so hard, he feared he might die of a heart attack before he could be punished. It was so hard to breathe and there was something below him poking him, so in a sudden outburst of rage, he tugged on the blanket to see the offending object.

Well, seeing wasn´t one of his strenghts, and the trunk was illuminated by one tiny red light, but Albus didn´t need his eyes to trace his fingers around the metal end of the tool. The shape of it was so easily recognizable when he connected the shape of the handle with the one in the other end.

His mind froze for a second when he identified the shovel.

His body tensed, as he allowed himself to shriek inside his head.

Where did dead pets end up?

He had sometimes wondered about that in the cold floors of the facility. Maybe some people would cremate them. Maybe others would use their own land as grave. He had never felt the need to ask himself that question while living with his mistress. But he didn´t belong to her anymore, did he?

A second later, fearing he would actually vomit, the pet curled further into himself, covering his mouth with his hand as he sobbed.

#whump #writing #you came back a stranger #my writing #pet whump #slavery tw #tw human trafficking #muzzles #shock collars #tw kidnapping #recapture #betrayal #angst #hurt comfort #tw conditioning

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