#so darlin can BEAT THE SHIT out of Quinn for their trauma | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dominimoonbeam · 1 year

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The Truth In Your Skin - 4

The Tattoo Shop AU! If you want to read it from the beginning it’s on ao3. The fourth chapter is below. The whole fic is heavy angst and hurt/comfort with some serious past domestic violence issues (Quinn. It’s Quinn. It’s always Quinn.)

Darlin/David. Sweetheart/Milo. Asher/?

tags: hurt/comfort, angst, learning to trust, scars, found family, past domestic violence, trauma, slow burn, tattoos, piercings

The Truth In Your Skin - 4

Darlin felt better than they had in a year. Longer even. It felt good to work, to be back in a shop surrounded by the hum of machines and music. The crew wasn’t bad, and no one touched their station.

No one asked them any questions they didn’t want to answer, either. They could have looked them up, could have found out on their own, but Darlin didn’t think they had. David knew what city they’d lived in before—where they’d worked. Would it be hard to find records of what had happened? Maybe. It wasn’t exactly newsworthy when someone like them got the shit kicked out of them, let alone by their partner. Ugly but not surprising. Right? That was what they’d been told. What did they expect?

They flicked their tongue against the inside of their lip, looking for the metal that wasn’t there.

Whether the others knew or not, they didn’t ask. Not even the guy that did the piercings, Milo. He’d taken one long look at Darlin’s lip scar before meeting their gaze again that first day and then pretended he didn’t know how that happened.

Darlin was grateful. The more time that passed, things settled into a new normal. It actually felt like they could move forward. They’d gone to that holiday party and it was nice.

Their station was across from David’s near the back of the main room. They caught him watching them work sometimes. Fair. It was his shop, after all. He’d have to make sure they weren’t doing a shit job.

Asher had the spot near the door. He was loud but never in a bad way. He only stopped talking when someone else did. His clients seemed to get a whole experience out of sitting in his chair, most loath to leave even when the work was done. And when his chair was empty, he’d come over and start talking up Darlin’s or David’s clients.

Through the archway, there were two more stations. Milo did the piercings and Sweetheart specialized in new school tattoos. They were still pretending not to be a couple.

The day was slow and well past lunch.

Asher flopped down in Darlin’s chair and stretched out until his tank top hiked up his stomach. “You busy?” he asked, hands under his mess of hair.

Darlin raised an eyebrow. They’d just cleaned their station. He knew it, because he had been in the same room all day. “Super busy,” they lied. They didn’t have anyone else lined up today. He knew that too because he handled the schedules in the mornings.

Asher had two thin rings in the side of his eyebrow, a bridge between his eyes, a stud under his bottom lip and another in his tongue. Somehow, he still pouted like a puppy. “I’m bored. Tattoo me?”

David snorted in the space across from them. He had a client laid out on their chest, shirt off and arms pillowed under their cheek. Their headphones were so loud they could almost hear the music over the beat of the shop speakers.

Darlin blinked at Asher. “Are you serious?”

Asher lit up. “Yeah!” He sat up and pulled his shirt off. He tossed it vaguely in the direction of his own chair, landing on the floor in the middle of the room instead. “Front or back?” He started searching himself for a spot.

Darlin pressed back a smile. “What do you want?”

Asher was still considering real estate. “Doesn’t matter. Anything that’s yours.”

Darlin might have doubted that and pressed for him to make a choice but looking at the assortment of random work on his body, they realized he meant it. He was a collector. They shrugged and started setting up.

“You don’t have to,” David reminded in a grumble.

Darlin nodded but put on the black gloves. “You sure you can sit still?” they asked Asher.

Asher laughed and stretched one arm up, hooking it under his head and offering them a patch of untattooed skin just under his ribs.

“Want to pick a color?” Darlin asked.

Asher settled in, his new position allowing him to watch David. “Nope. You pick.”

Darlin huffed but got to work, already forming an idea.

Asher didn’t squirm at all when the needle finally hit skin. He didn’t even miss a beat in conversation with David. Milo walked a client out and then came over to see what was going on. He turned his head to get a better look at the developing tattoo just as Darlin swiped away inky and blood. Milo smiled when he saw the round little bird in black lines that Darlin was currently adding a splash of neon yellow to. It would come out looking like watercolor stroked over a sketch.

The bell on the front door in the lobby chimed. “Got it,” Milo said, nodding and stepping back. He slid his hands into his pockets and walked to the reception.

“Almost done,” Darlin said.

Asher hadn’t looked yet. “You’re coming out with us after work, right?”

The shop was closed Sundays and Mondays and Asher liked to get everyone together on Saturday nights after locking up. Darlin had said no all the times before that holiday party and they’d bounced back and forth in their head since about what to do the next time. Go or don’t go? “Yeah. Sure.”

Asher beamed.

Darlin was just finishing up when the voices from the front room carried in, Milo leading a couple of people back with him. They were talking about a piercing. One of the two was taking the plunge and getting another one on impulse.

Darlin’s heart beat faster but they weren’t sure why at first—not until one of those voices pitched over the other to shout, “Holy shit! I remember you! From—”

Darlin had just put the needle down when the words struck them. The woman was talking to them. She remembered them. Her steps sounded impossibly loud as she came closer.

“Misfit!” she shouted the name she remembered.

Darlin winced. That wasn’t their name. It was just how he’d introduced them to people and it had stuck. “You’re not a Darlin. Anyone can see that.”

“Hell, I haven’t seen you in years!” She leaned against the back of the chair Asher was in.

Darlin’s brain felt like it was on overload, sounds and colors and light all coming in too fast and too hard.

“How have you been? What are you doing out here? Is Quinn here?” His name sounded like the thud of their forehead against the floor, a headache slicing through their temple. The woman looked around like he might be there in the shop, her smile huge and her teeth bright. Quinn’s teeth had been bright too, slick with red.

Darlin’s chest hurt and they fought the impulse to look around too, for one blinding second terrified that he might be there.

David had finished up with his client and started cleaning up his space. He had been sneaking peeks at Darlin’s work on Asher, not quite ready to process the pang of jealousy he felt. Maybe he just really wanted a tattoo from them too?

And then Milo returned with a couple of clients and everything changed. All of the ease that had built in Darlin vanished in a flash, their body went tight and their chin dropped to their chest. David was close enough and at an angle to see the way their eyes blanked out, like they’d fucking left their body.

“Back up,” Asher said, voice suddenly far from the light, humorous notes that usually filled the shop. He had sat up in his seat, physically putting himself between Darlin and the stranger.

The stranger jumped back, surprised. Offense warred with anger on her expression, gaze flicking between Asher and Darlin and then back to her friend standing with Milo.

Milo was quick to smooth things over, herding the two clients toward his station in the other room.

The woman went but spoke louder to make up for the distance.

“What the fuck is their problem? Do you think they broke up? It would explain what they’re doing here, but why be so dramatic about it?”

“Did you see their lip though? You don’t think Quinn did that do you?”

“No way. He’s so fucking hot. Why was he even with them? They probably just broke up.”

“Riley said Quinn was in jail…”

“Oh my god!”

Asher flicked his gaze between David and Darlin, asking without words what to do. Darlin was shaking, breaths tight like they were trying not to hyperventilate by taking in as little air as possible. They pushed themselves through the motions of putting away their equipment and taking out the gel and plastic wrap to finish Asher’s tattoo. Both men finally snapped, surging forward. Asher took the antibiotic gel and plastic wrap out of their hands and David gently caught their elbow, pulling them to their feet.

“I’ll clean up and close the shop when they’re done,” Asher said.

David steered Darlin toward the back door, grabbing their jackets off the wall on the way. They didn’t fight him at all and that was somehow just as worrying as the look on their face had been. He had never put hands on Darlin before, not in all the weeks they’d been working there. Darlin wasn’t touchy and he hadn’t missed how they always seemed to keep themselves out of arms reach if possible.

They almost tripped over their own boots when he guided them through the heavy door and out onto the sidewalk along the back of the building. He caught their side to keep them up and they jerked at that contact, like they were injured. It seemed to jar them back to life though, their breath deeper and their gaze flicking around the snow dusted parking lot. “Fuck,” they exhaled.

David handed them their jacket.

They looked at it, wincing before nodding and taking it. “I’ll come back for my shit on Tuesday…” They barely got the words out, voice raw.

“What?” David hadn’t known what to expect from them, but this was definitely not on his list.

Darlin pulled their jacket on, backpedaling a wobbly step away from him. Their head was still down, chin to their chest and hair in their face.

“You’re not fired,” David ground out, pulling his jacket on too but not taking his eyes off them in case their legs gave out. “You looked like you were about to have a panic attack.”

“Sorry,” Darlin muttered, swallowing hard.

David shook his head. He didn’t want an apology. They hadn’t done anything wrong. “You’re okay.”

They looked up at him, surprise so clear across their face. They straightened slowly, seeming to finally fully remember themselves again. “I’m sorry about that… I don’t know why I… It was unprofessional and—”

“Fuck that. And fuck them.”

Darlin blinked, shoulders easing down.

“You’re great at your art and you’re easy to work with. I’d have to be an idiot to fire you even if you’d told them where to shove their questions. You don’t owe them shit and you don’t owe us anything more than exactly what you give.”

Darlin stared, breath finally coming out in a long, easy exhale.

“You’re okay,” he said again. He wanted them to believe it, because fuck he wanted to make it true.

Darlin nodded slowly, like they were trying to.

They stood there together for a while on the cold sidewalk before David finally huffed a thin laugh. “You got me out of closing.”

Darlin smirked. “You’re welcome.”

David flicked his lip ring thoughtfully before asking. “Do you want to come up? We’ve got beer and we can order pizza when the rest of them are off.”

Darlin watched him, their gaze cutting toward the entrance to the apartments that were over the shops.

He’d invited them every weekend to whatever they were doing but Darlin had never taken this long to consider it. He hoped they didn’t think they were obligated. He’d meant it when he said they didn’t owe him anything but the good work they did.

Darlin nodded, hands in their pockets. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

David didn’t make a big deal of it, just nodded and led the way to the door. He’d text Asher when they were upstairs to let him know they were staying in tonight—so he could tell Milo and Sweetheart too.

It was the longest piercing of Milo’s life.

They were on their phones, looking up Darlin and this guy, Quinn. They exchanged an endless stream of information as they gathered it, pausing on occasion to turn big eyes to him and ask if he knew.

He hadn’t.

He had seen that scar on their lip and known something, but he hadn’t looked them up. None of them had. It wasn’t something they’d discussed or anything, it just hadn’t seemed right. If Darlin wanted to tell them what had happened, maybe they would someday.

But now he knew.

The details were spotty, a domestic violence charge. And then they’d talked to a friend of a friend who had more information…and photos. They groaned at the images and Milo tried not to see them. “They’re saying he actually pulled the ring out! Oh my god, look at those stitches! Why is their face swollen like that?”

Milo saw the photo. He didn’t mean to. Didn’t want to. Their face was swollen like that because someone had beat the shit out of them. There were stitches in their hairline too, and their cheek where another scar now lived.

If he hadn’t already done the piercing by that point, he would have kicked them out. He shouldn’t have brought them back at all after the way Darlin had looked. Was it a betrayal?

“I just can’t believe it. There are always two sides to a story. It’s not like Misfit is a sweetheart. It was probably complicated. Quinn was just so much fun. There’s no way.” His hands shook. He felt Sweetheart watching the whole time from their station across from him. They hadn’t said a word—hadn’t moved—but he felt their eyes on him all the time. It was grounding and comforting, but at the same time added to the mounting unrest.

He was relieved when he walked them back to the lobby and Darlin was gone. Asher was cleaning up their station—uncharacteristically quiet. Had he heard everything? How could he not?

Milo took payment and tip in a haze. He didn’t care if they underpaid. He didn’t care if they paid at all. He wanted them out.

As soon as the door closed, he rounded the counter and threw the lock, slapping the light switch for the front of the shop.

“Babe?” Asher asked, voice low with worry. “You okay?”

Milo wanted to laugh. Of course, he was okay. He wasn’t the one who had someone put them in the hospital. He dragged his hands through his hair and used one of the ties on his wrist to knot it. He nodded, jaw tight.

Asher looked like he understood, nodding back. “David took them outside. We’ll close up.” Asher’s phone plinged in his pocket and he reached down and pulled it out. He was still shirtless, his side shiny where he’d slicked it with gel and stretched plastic wrap over it. His expression lightened with surprised. “They’re upstairs.”

“What?”

“We’re doing beers and pizza at our place. Darlin’s hanging out too.”

Milo’s stomach twisted, thinking of that photo and the flood of gossip mixed with news.

“Want me to say you can’t come? I can make up a reason—” Asher offered.

“No,” Milo said just as quickly, shaking his head. “Fuck no.” He’d been hoping they could get Darlin out of their shell and hanging out with them. Did knowing change that? Absolutely not. And if he bailed, they might think it was with intent. He was already worried he’d crossed some line by working on that person.

He walked through the quiet studio, back to the room with his station. Sweetheart was still standing there, tattooed arms folded tightly against their chest and eyes on him—always on him. That stare was softer now, as soft as Sweetheart could get anyway. “Milo…”

He set his jaw and shook his head. He was fine. He had no right not to be fine. Nothing had fucking happened to him. He went to his station to clean up but then their hand was on his arm. He stopped.

“You’re not him,” they said, a whisper just between them.

Milo cringed. Who did they mean? The newly mentioned Quinn? Or his dad? Because right now he really wanted to hit someone. His hands were curled so tightly that his knuckles ached.

Their fingers hooked around the back of his neck, pulling until his head met theirs. He felt their eyes on him, intense as ever. “Wanting to protect people is different than wanting to hurt people.”

He wasn’t sure right then. He really wanted to hurt someone. Someone he’d never even met. He closed his eyes but it only made that picture of Darlin all fucked up and dazed from that stranger’s phone clearer in his memory.

Sweetheart scratched the back of his neck gently, trying to distract him. “Stop it.”

He dragged a breath and let it out, nodding. Whatever that was, what he’d heard them talking about, that was in the past. There was nothing to do about it now but keep an eye out for Darlin in the future. He winced again. How much of that shit had they overheard? Would they close off even more now that the rest of them knew something about their past? No. They’d finally agreed to hang out with the group tonight.

That was good. That was really good.

“Thanks, Sweetheart,” he said, wrapping both arms around them and hugging them tightly. He pushed his face into their neck and breathed them in. “If anyone ever hit you…” he mumbled, hating even the words.

Sweetheart laughed darkly, giving his hair a little tug. “I’d bury ‘em before you even got the chance.”

He sighed. They said that because they didn’t know what it was like to have someone you loved turn on you like that. He was glad for it. It was fierce and beautiful and he hoped they’d never lose that. As long as he was there, they wouldn’t.

“Are you two cleaning or fucking?” Asher called from the front room. “Because I’m about done out here…”

Sweetheart unraveled from Milo and turned toward the doorway. They started making loud sex sounds.

Milo bit back a laugh and finished cleaning his station while Sweetheart gyrated, calling out Asher’s name in a mock orgasm.

Asher came to lean in the doorway, one pierced eyebrow raised at the scene. “Nice, Sweets…” he said, tone flat with sarcasm but a little smirk pulling at his lip. “At least now I know what you’d sound like if I ever fucked you.”

Sweetheart put their hands on their hips, staring back at him. “And?”

He shrugged.

Sweetheart faked offense, hand flying to their heart. “What? What else could you want, Ash? I’m fucking amazing!”

He shrugged again, smirk back, and walked away to start shutting off the lights.

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venustothestars · 2 years

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Beware of An Angel

Part 2 of Night Night, Mutt.

TRIGGER WARNING: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH(S), SURVIVOR'S GUILT, EXTREME VIOLENCE, REFRENCES TO PAST TRAUMA

(tags: ofc @angel-noaxod bc this is based off of their idea and @darlin-collins bc yes)

There stood a figure, over the slain body of a vampire. The vampire had gone rogue, just like Quinn. Quinn. The man, no, not man, creature that had killed their mate. They pulled out a pocket knife, cutting the monster's fangs out.

“This’ll go great on my mantle. Thanks for the addition, leech.” They pocketed the bloody teeth, the rain beating down on their trench coat. They were soaked head to toe. They ran back through the forest, feeling eyes on them. They heard growling in the distance.

“Shit-” They hissed, slipping and slamming into a tree. They stopped, the sound of bushes rustling in the distance.

Fuck. They thought. They held their breath, not moving. There was a familiar noise, the noise of a shifter shifting back. What the fuck? Were some shifters chasing them?

“Do you have eyes?” There was a familiar voice, the Boston accent striking them. Milo. Milo Greer, gamma of the Shaw Pack. No, beta of the Shaw Pack. Ash was the Alpha now.

“Mhm…” Another voice responded. Milo’s mate. Stealth. British accent, has to be them.

“Okay, on three. One, two-” Milo whispered before Angel bolted, grabbing onto the branches of trees and swinging. They had picked up some tricks since they became a vampire hunter. They were surrounded though, they picked up around 6 recognizable voices. Milo, his mate, Asher, Tank, Sam, and Christian.

See, they knew they were fucked once Sam caught them. He tackled them, slamming them into the ground.

“I’ve got them!!” He shouted, 4 wolves and the stealth running towards his voice. A blood red bandana was wrapped around their face, obscuring their facial features from the people around them. The shifters became human again, the sounds of bones cracking made Angel sick to their stomach. Ash looked different, so different. He had taken on the rugged alpha look, sporting David’s leather jacket. His hair was longer too. Milo, he looked the same besides the new scars. Christian, he still was just as fucking annoying looking. Sam looked older, somehow.

“Pull the bandana down, Sam.” Ash commanded and Sam did so quickly. A small gasp left Sweetheart’s mouth once they saw who it was.

“That’s…” Christian’s voice trailed off.

“David’s mate.” Tank uttered in complete disbelief. Angel waved to the best of their abilities.

“Hi guys.” They smiled and their sharpened canines caught Milo off guard. “You a vamp killer now?” He asked, watching their every move carefully.

“Ever since… You know. I’ve been one since I saw David die.” They fought back the urge to cry. They missed their mate so dearly.

“I’ve never heard of an unempowered vamp killer…” Christian mumbled, loud enough for Angel to hear.

“Seems you still haven’t slammed some fucking sense into Chrissy here, huh?” They snarkily remarked, ignoring the snicker that came from Sweetheart. They could feel Asher’s eyes on them. Scanning them, investigating them.

“You really did put Quinn’s teeth on a necklace.” Asher mentioned, completely derailing the conversation.

“His head’s mounted on my wall.” Angel said, in all seriousness. Tank laughed.

“You do?” They said through a fit of laughter.

“Yep, it’s in my kitchen.” Angel smiled. The laughter seemed to calm their nerves a bit, before remembering they were pinned down by a vampire that was 10x stronger than them.

“Back to the point.” Sam said, stiffening his grasp on the human.

“Why are you killing vamps?” He asked, his voice rough.

“Revenge.” “Why?”

“You know why, Sam. A vampire killed my fucking mate. I find it to be my job to kill all of them. To make them all pay for Quinn’s wrong doings.” They spat, their voice strong but still quivering.

“I know this is a corrupted system and shit, but that doesn’t mean you can go around killin’ other species to the point of extinction. Do you know how many vamps have become mass-makers because of you, alone?” Sam was calm, he didn’t even sound mad! Angel was silent.

“I know you’re hurt. I really do know. But you can’t be doin’ this, you’re lucky it was us. Because if it was anyone else, they would’ve either killed you or gave you to the Department. They would’ve done way worse than just shoot you.” He loosened his grip, watching their eyes fill with tears.

“Killing Quinn wasn’t enough. I needed the closure somehow. I wanted them to feel the pain I feel.” Angel felt the tears roll down their cheeks. Pathetic. Weak. Human. Quinn’s voice rang in their head. Sam let go of them. Instead of running, they curled into a ball on the forest floor. Sweetheart kneeled beside them.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. We aren’t gonna turn you in. I’m not going to turn you in. I understand.” Their voice was soft, it made Angel feel safe…

“I want you in our pack.” Asher stated and Angel sat upright.

“Are you sure? Cause you don’t have to do this out of pity- I promise. I’ll be okay-” They sputtered, frantically trying to make their point.

“Calm down. I want you in our pack. You would be a good asset. Would you like to be an honorary Shaw Pack member?” His voice was stern and serious. They knew he meant it. He wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t mean it.

“Yes.” Angel responded. Asher offered a hand to them, which they graciously accepted.

“Welcome to the Shaw Pack, Captain.” He joked. They smiled softly. They had their family again.

Angel sat beside Asher in the massive truck. They cradled a bouquet of honeysuckles in their arms. A familiar sight appeared as the truck took a left.

“Dahlia Empowered Cemetery.” Angel mumbled. They had visited this cemetery at least 60 times in the last 6 months. It was tough without David. He was always taking care of them, making them happy. Life was horrible without their mate. They used to talk about David like he was still alive. No one ever corrected them. Why would they? Everyone hated the sad look in their eyes. Angel came to terms with his death about two months after. There was no more Davey. There was no more David Shaw. There was no more of the man they were going to marry. He was gone. After they realized, that’s when they started killing. In the past 6 to 7 months, they had killed off nearly half of the vampire population. By themselves. It impressed Asher and the pack, in all honesty. It was surprising. An unempowered human, killing that many vampires. Within 6 months, nonetheless.

“Hi Davey.” Angel knelt in front of the grave, leaving the bouquet on the step. They stared up at the massive wolf statue.

“I miss you so much. God, it’s so hard to live without you. I’m back to eating bad shit and ramen again. And every time I do I hear your voice saying “Don’t eat that, Angel. Have what I made.” everytime. I miss you everyday. I miss you when I close my eyes, I miss you when I cry, I miss you when I eat, I miss you when I write, I miss you when I speak. Everyday I wish that I could have one more conversation with you. One last hug. One last kiss. I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you, my love.” They sobbed. Ash leaned against the truck, watching as tears filled his eyes.

“I’ll never love someone the way I love you. I could never share a bed with someone again. I could never stare into someone’s eyes. It’s so hard to hear the word “Angel’ and not think of you, Davey. I could never love someone the same.” They were choking on their tears.

“Ash found me. He’s here with me. He’s wearing your leather jacket.” They laughed, gargling in their tears.

“You would’ve hated that he’s copying your style.” Ash smiled, laying a hand on their shoulder before sitting next to them.

“Hey buddy. I miss you too…” His voice was soft. This was the softest Angel had heard his voice since they reunited two weeks ago.

“Your mate is right. Everyone misses you. I could never live up to you, David. I could never be David Shaw, the gruff and great pack alpha. As much as I want to live up to that standard, I don’t think I will. You were one of a kind, Davey. You deserved everything but death. I wish I could’ve..” His voice faltered. Angel wrapped an arm around him, laying their head on his shoulder.

“I wish I could’ve killed Quinn faster and saved you. I hate myself everyday that I didn’t save you. I don’t deserve this title. I don’t deserve to be alpha. You deserve it. You were perfect, Davey. Perfect.” Tears slid down his cheeks as he leaned into the other.

“I miss you everyday. I miss bothering you. I miss your lectures. I miss you. I miss my best friend.” He choked on every other word, the emotion he held was so strong. This was the first time anyone had seen Ash cry since his death.

“Thank you for making me into the man I am today, David Shaw. I am forever grateful. I am forever grateful that we met. You have changed me. You saved me. Thank you.” His tears hit the cement as he weeped. His best friend. He just wanted his best friend back.

“Thank you for coming with me, Ash.” They said on their way back to the den. Asher gripped the wheel as they made a sharp right turn.

“It was… Nice to talk about it. To him. And around you. You understand the most out of everyone.” He stated. Angel smiled a bit at the last part.

“I go nearly every day. Everyday until you guys found me.” Angel confessed, looking out of the window at the dreary sky.

“I’m always willing to go with you.” He vocalized, making the person to the right of him smile.

“Thanks, Ash. It means a lot to me. You were his best friend and I know it means a lot to him too. Even if he’s…” They didn’t have to finish their sentence, he knew what they meant.

“I want you two to go find these two people.” Ash showed a picture to Tank and Angel, who just blank stared at him.

“Hey, uh, Ash? This is a demon and freelancer. Are you sure you want us going after them?” Angel commented. Tank nodded in agreement.

“They betrayed the Imperium. They told us to send our best two soldiers to find them.” The alpha stated. Angel smiled softly. Best soldier. They’d only been there for 3 weeks, so that was an honor.

“Okay, Asher. We trust you.” Tank nodded to their alpha, following behind Angel as they grabbed weapons.

“Be careful, Captain!! You too, Tanker!” Milo shouted after them, making the two laugh. Tank held the photo and a map Ash had handed them before they walked off.

“So you’re telling me we’re in a society with literal magic, but there’s no magical weapon to kill demons? Ridiculous.” Angel scoffed as they hauled the weapons into the large gray truck. Tank cackled. “I’ve been saying that since I entered this job, captain. It’s absolutely stupid. Like there’s bullets made for specific elementals but no demon knife??” They complained, opening the driver side door.

“Absolutely stupid, honestly. Tired of having to stab them in random places till it kills them.” They rolled their eyes, giggling.

“Ash just hands us weapons and goes “Here guys, go attempt to kill this entity not even the Department knows anything about!!”” Tank snarkily replied to the other, relishing in their smile. Angel never smiled much around the pack. Unless it was Tanker or Ash. Never Christian, or Milo, or Amanda, or Arden, or Sam. Only them. It made Tank feel special in a way.

“There’s no fucking way Ash gave us a physical map. With no directions. Bitch, at least give us a GPS. Or an address.” They squinted, trying to read the tiny words in the dark. They even put on Sam’s reading glasses to help (they didn’t).

“Captain.”

“Yes?”

“I think we’re lost.”

“You’ve gotta be shittin me.” Angel whipped their head to face the wolf, who had a sheepish look on their face.

“This is technically your fault, you’re the one with the map!” Tank accused, trying to defend themselves.

“Oh, don’t you pull that shit, I did the best I could!!” Angel bickered, closing the map angrily.

“You should’ve done better then!! This is some fucking dirt road, not the District 4 warehouse!!” Tank yelled, not noticing the truck slowing significantly.

“Why are we fucking slowing down??? Shouldn’t we be turning around, asshole??” Angel shouted, turning an accusing look at the other.

“We have a flat tire, dickhead. Now there’s two, great. Look at what you’ve done!” They exclaimed, opening the car door.

“C’mon, let’s go fucking check these tires out.” Tank scowled as Angel stuck their tongue out.

“Now there’s three! How the fuck did you-” Tank’s voice abruptly stopped.

“Tank?? Why’d you stop talking?” No answer.

“Dickface!! Answer me!!” Again, no reply.

“Augh, fuck it. I’m coming to your side!!” They yelled, hoping it snapped Tank out of this bitchass joke. Once they got the other side, Tank was nowhere to be seen.

“Tanker? Dickhead?? Bitchhole?? Where are yo-” Angel was cut off by something slamming into their head, making everything go black.

Tank’s eyes fluttered open, their head pounding and their eyes aching. “Aww look who’s awake!!” A voice coo’d, making Tank shrink back. The floor was freezing and were there chains on them?? Where were they? Why did it smell familiar? Angel was startled awake by another one of the people. “What the fuck??” Their voice was groggy. When they opened their eyes, it was dark.

“Tank, where are we?” They sounded scared. They were scared.

“Yeah, Tank. Where are you?” The man sneered.

“Charlie?” Their throat was dry. One of Quinn’s minions. Captain didn’t get to him yet?

“Nico?? Is that you too?” Their voice was shocked. Some of their closest friends from Quinn’s little toys…

“Hi, mutt.” Nico spat on their face. They were taken aback.

“The fuck do you want from us, Dickhole and Bitchhead?” Angel was annoyed, they just wanted to do their job and get home. Sure, they were fucking shaking in their boots, but this was annoying. Charlie walked around to the other side, which was where Angel was facing. He bared his fangs, attempting to frighten them. They laughed in his face.

“If you’re trying to scare me, it won’t work. I have plenty of teeth from the creatures of your kind on my mantle. I don’t really have the space for yours, too.” They remarked. Without warning, there was a sharp pain in their neck. He had bitten them. Why did it hurt so bad???

“Get them asleep, I’ll deal with this one.” Nico grabbed Tank by the throat, slamming their head back against the pole. Angel kicked, trying to get Charlie away from them.

“This’ll only hurt a little bit, Angel.”

“Those are the rules, got it, mutt?” Nico pulled them by their hair.

“Yes.” Tank replied almost immediately. When Angel woke, their head was pounding and the right side of their neck extremely sticky.

“The human’s awake.” Charlie mumbled to Nico, who smiled wickedly. Angel silently prayed to whatever thing would listen. “Just let me be with Davey.” They mouthed, making sure to face away from the vampires. A wish never hurt anybody, right? Wrong.

“Grab the human and the wolf. Take them to the arena.” A booming voice commanded over the loud speaker, making Angel’s ears ring. They said nothing as they were lifted up out of their bindings and carried. See, while Angel was passed out, Tank had made a deal. Kill them, they get to live another day with their mate, Sam. No matter how much Angel meant to them, they weren’t gonna waste away in here when they had the chance to save their life with Sam. Angel didn’t know this, though. Even in their normal state, Tank majorly overpowered them. Tank had nearly a foot on them as well. They were horribly weak, they would barely last five minutes like this.

The vampire chucked Angel onto the hard cement floor. This was no arena, it was a fucking dungeon. They handed Tank a baseball bat.

“Go fucking wild.” The voice said again and Angel winced. They could barely walk, much less get away from them.

“It’s okay, captain. Come here.” Tank said in a soft voice, almost convincing them. “N-No, please. You don’t have to do this, Tank…” They choked on air, trying to scoot away.

“I do actually. You matter but not as much as Sam does to me.” They swung the bat, purposefully missing their head.

“Wha-What??” They kept scooting back, their hands cut and raw from the cement. “If I trade your life, I can keep Sam. Bye bye, Angel. Have fun in hell with David.” They swung the bat, slamming it into their head. They loud out a loud scream before knocking out. Tank repeatedly slammed the bat into their head until their was a maroon liquid forming in a circle around Angel’s head. They were dead. They’d be at peace. They were with Davey now.

#redacted asher #redacted asmr #redacted angel #redacted darlin #redacted sam #redacted david #redacted milo #redacted sweetheart #redacted christian #venus writes fanfics #redacted gavin #redacted freelancer #redacted imperium #im so so sorry

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messenger-of-stupidity · 9 months

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Please share the full analysis on who best fit the betrayal trope I’d love to hear it :’)

For anyone who didn't want to know, blame this anon (lovingly said I'm actually so glad someone asked. idk if youre the same anon or not)

OKAY SO

(Should I put this under a cut? ... NAH. I'll put the other half under the cut)

Going with the supplied dialogue:

Going with a protective view first. The second half will have the character vs listener betrayal aspect.

I'm going to go with the people who this wouldn't apply to.

Sam and Darlin. Sam isn't exactly the betrayal type (Keep in mind, I sadly missed the Bright Eyes arc, so I didn't get to see toxic Sam moments.) and Darlin is not afraid of getting their hands dirty. They prefer doing things themselves, and they don't like getting other people involved. Especially if they care about said people. Now would they gladly be the person that someone sent to get revenge? Probably. They wanted to hunt down Quinn because they harmed their friend. (Honorable mentions to Sam beating the shit out of Quinn for his progeny and such)

The DAMN squad. Maybe this is my own bias coming out, but they all seem pretty logical versus emotion run. I mean, look at the Kody situation. Freelancer literally wanted the least contact involved way of dealing with Kody (they really should have avoided him so they could avoid the trauma of victim-blaming but whatever.) Huxley wanted Freelancer to talk to someone. And he was willing to beat up Kody himself. Same with Damien. Lasko wanted to distance FL and Kody as much as he could, asking about their schedule, ect. FL also stopped Gavin from going to Kody by not sharing the address (I would LOVE and LIVE to see how Gavin would have reacted to hearing that Kody was a bitch to the squad throughout different stages in the E&E Games and the Inversion. Let him go feral like Damien did.) Freelancer is probably the one that keeps everyone from going to jail or the deans office in some kind of way. (Thinking about it now, Gavin/Damien would be the most likely to go behind Freelancer's back to get a physical toll of revenge for them. So maybe they could apply.)

Aaron and Smartass: Follow the law. Murder is kinda against the law in case you didn't realize. This applies to the contemporary boyos. We haven't really seen their listeners face any major threat yet, so we don't have much evidence of how far these boys would go for their loves.

Anton and his Lover: Anton is wholesome.

Morgan and his listener: Self explanatory?

Cam and any of his listeners - While Cam wants to protect people, to the point he erases the memories of his own therapist... murder? Nuh uh.

Moving on to the more likely group but there's still some doubt:

Vincent and Lovely. Vincent killed Adam for harming Lovely. He killed Lovely (technically) to save them. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty. But Lovely is also very tough. They zapped the fuck out of Adam, that it broke his concentration of the wards he was using to protect himself from Vincent. That would probably be the forefront of his focus. Like I present to you this: Stranger who harmed Lovely: I'm fully aware they're trying to kill me. I'd like to see them try. Lovely's friend (Sam maybe...?): You really thought they'd do it themselves? They're not the type to get their hands dirty and you know it. (Here's where the doubt is here. Lovely can handle themselves.) Stranger: They're sending someone? Sam: They sent someone. Stranger: Who? Sam: Who do you think? Next thing that stranger knows their face is pressed to dirty brick of an alley, the texture of the bricks creating micro-tears in their cheek as a voice leans close to their ear. "You messed the fuck up. And now you'll pay for it. Slowly. Painfully. Your screams won't save you but feel free to try." I mean seriously... Vincent CANONICALLY killed for Lovely.

David and Angel: The doubt is here from David's strict moral code. He's not really the type to hurt people. But he's also extremely protective. And Angel is unempowered, so if they're facing a threat that's empowered? You bet your ass he will protect them. Really this could apply to any the wolf boys. Sweetheart tends to handle their own shit though.

Elliot and Sunshine: Is it possible? Yes. But it wouldn't be the first means he goes to. He literally connected with his brother after the department wasn't going to work, instead of just buying a gun.

Avior and Starlight: Avior just gives off protective vibes. I can't really explain it beyond that. He hates it when Starlight is in danger or puts themselves in danger. So yeah. I could see him being sent to save them or sending someone else to discard a threat.

And finally, those who this definitely applies to:

Vega and Warden - Do you really need an explanation for this?

Blake and Bestie - Once again, kinda self explanatory I think.

Brachium and Sunshine - Yall, did you hear him when Blake was threatening Sunshine? His lovers death will feel like a mercy. That line had me shivering.

Regulus and his listener - He literally edited memories to be with them. Killing someone isn't that much of a further stretch.

Hush and Doc - More self explanatory. Doc needs to be there to help though.

James and his spouse - James made comments that he's pretty morally gray, so the fact he was disgusted by the low morals of Marcus was "saying something". With loose morals, comes more opportunities for what lengths he's willing to go to for whatever reasons.

Vega-influenced Ivan and Baby - Loose morals once again.

There's the protective perspective. But we're here for the betrayal. I'm just going to go with those who this WOULD apply to:

Vega and Warden. I know I said that he would kill to protect them... but if they really dedicated themselves to putting him behind bars? What's more manipulative than making it seem like an "accident" happened to his dear Warden by an outside party? Honestly, he's so distraught that he wasn't there to help them to protect themselves so they had to use all their magic against this threat. But don't worry Darling, he'll make sure your sacrifice wasn't in vain.

James. Not to his spouse... but he just gives off those vibes that he will do whatever necessary. But he's also pristine. So he'll send someone to deal with the messy bits while he's the mastermind behind it all.

Hush and Doc. Their relationship isn't really solidified yet, so there's really nothing much to stop him from harming them. Did he express a desire of not wanting to? Sure. But while they were attempting to save him, he was willing to risk their life because he "wanted" to kill Reticuli. So it's not that much of a stretch to say he would kill Doc. But since he has that slight detachment to Elegy, that he needs a proxy to cause harm. So yeah. He would have no issue in using someone else to harm Doc.

Regulus and his listener. Have you heard that audio edit? The one that goes "If I can't have you... *stab sound* no one can." I don't know the extent of his effect on physicality completely, like sure he's a Fallen Empathy Daemon and Caelum can make a mess of FL's kitchen, so clearly they can effect reality. But it's also been made clear that Caelum and Freelancer are an extremely rare case. So maybe that's specific to Caelum and Freelancer as well. But we know Regulus can get deep into people's heads, so I could see him sending someone to harm his listener if a situation where it was necessary presented itself and no other tactics were working.

Those are the most accurate.

But Messy! Who would you want to see, even if there wasn't much logic to support it?

Omg.

Ignoring Echo's whole thing about calling us out on wanting to see David hurting Angel (We already have seen how David reacts when he feels betrayed. He get moody and distant. I don't see him hurting them.)

I want to see Vincent and Lovely. We already got a glimpse of it with the imperium. And the imperium is when decisions are made differently. So there's that small possibility of Vincent hurting Lovely if things were different. Plus the fact he also is likely with the protective route of that dialogue? MMMM the flavors are melting on my tongue! MMM this really hits the spot.

Sam and Darlin. They're so fluffy with each other. They were a slowburn. I want it break. i want to watch it slowly shatter until the trust is broken and then they just feel stuck in a bitter situation with each other. I want to see them miserable.

The DAMN squad. Platonic-wise... friendship groups falling apart is something I eat up. We saw a bit of it during the aftershock since everyone was kind of drifting apart from each other as they all tried to cope with what happened and with the survivors guilt. I loved that, angst wise. I want to watch it break apart.

#this was fun #messenger of answers #anon ask #redacted asmr #redacted audio #redacted verse #redacted shaw pack #redacted damn squad #redacted demons #redacted contemporary #redacted angst

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