bakerstreet | they live inside us

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they live inside us

FIGHTING YOUR INNER DEMONS

Everybody has them. Some are louder than others. Some are stronger. Some are overwhelming, and sooner or later you just give up fighting. But there are other people around you who want to help you - maybe they're suffering too, either because of your inner monster or their own. Or maybe they're one of the lucky ones with demons that don't howl so much.

You can help each other. It's better than the alternative.

Leave top levels with your character name and info.
Specify what you're running from, or if you're running at all, or if you just want to help.
Details may be useful, but are certainly not necessary.
Tag around for great drama and profit.

Warning: responses to this meme could potentially contain triggering material.

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( definitely running from demons. Lots of them. In the shape of his family :,) )

[Addicted to demon blood for the power boost it gives him, could probably use some help with it.

Will also kill your literal demons for you.]

[has demons, could be a demon]

Edited 2018-11-12 00:23 (UTC)

[ his past, his name, the weight of his duty in contrast with hating everyone that's done him wrong, crippling alcoholism, take your pick. ]

[He both stokes the desires of others and is running from his own demons.

I'm not current with the show yet. So far I've only seen through the end of the first season.]

Edited 2018-11-12 01:31 (UTC)

It's a quiet night at his bar, only half filled with the normal patrons seeking something in the darkness. On this night, one woman enters the bar and makes her way up to it. She's an enigma, a mystery as she orders her drink and doesn't speak to anyone.

Everyone's running from something. And she has a lot to run from.

Quiet nights are the nights when he'll often sit at the piano and play something, usually with a devilish theme to it. He's just finishing up when she walks in. He doesn't remember seeing her here before, but that means exactly nothing. A lot of people come through here every night.

He needs a refill on his own drink, so he stands, picks up the empty glass, and heads over to the bar. He glances over at her while waiting for it to be filled up again. "Tell me. What is it that you desire most?"

(Daddy issues. Emotional baggage. PTSD. She watched her partner die in a shootout and she lived. Where do you even start?

She can be the runner or the helper. Bring on the angst!)

[Everybody's got demons. But most of the time they aren't indestructible Kryptonian rage monsters bent on destroying all life on Earth.

He's a pretty good helper too though, when he isn't wrestling with aforementioned rage monster issues.]

[She had them but hides it well. Goes AU post "Knock Knock" and M/F for ships.]

[ son of the devil. so, yanno, a few demons to wrestle. ]

[His former mentor tortured and killed his wife, son, and unborn daughter, so he's been murdering British soldiers up and down the Canadian disputed territories. Got a lot of scars inside and out.]

[Usually the helper. Has hidden darkness and demons of her own that I would love to explore, though.]

[Oh, he's here to help. Though of course has demons of his own if you can get to him.]

[That varies.]

Edited 2018-11-12 10:16 (UTC)

[ His past. His crimes. His... everything? Caleb’s running but can ocasionally be the helper. ]

*Quite literally had a demon living in her.*

[ Elaine will like to help and support others. Canon point varies but always within the classic Carey series. ]

[inner demons, so many inner demons]

[Full of anger and rage at the mistreatment he's gone through in his life. Will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals, which tends to ultimately end up alienating the people he cares about.]

[Tried to kill all of humanity because he had an existential crisis right after he was born. Still having one over not really being sure if he counts as being real while simultaneously being afraid of whatever comes after death.]

[ Two weeks after half the population disappears, the world gets Tony Stark back, but she knows that he might as well still be gone.

She sees it, the moment that he and Rhodey arrive at the compound. He hugs her like he would, he goes through the motions of it all, but she can see it. That far away look, the one that tells her that he’s home, but not really. A part of him didn’t make it back, and it’s so reminiscent in so many ways to the days after he came home from Afghanistan that it feels as if it knocks the air right out of her.

She doesn’t call it out, though. Not yet, anyway. She lets Rhodey fill the silence, explaining what the team is doing while Tony’s eyes seem to be glued on the televisions in the control room. All the monitors are muted, but it doesn’t seem to matter. It’s not until she shares that she has been using one of the suits to help those along the East coast as much as she can, and that the Iron Legion has been reactivated and deployed throughout the country to help with Thanos’ aftermath, that Tony’s attention seems to shift back to her. She squeezes his hand, silently assuring him that it’s okay. He doesn’t have to do this alone, they’ll both help, but there’s something in his features that sends a chill along her spine.

Rhodey excuses himself then, and once he’s out of the room, Pepper gives Tony’s hand a squeeze again. ]

Its so good to see you. Are you...

[ Okay? No. She knows the answer to that without him even saying anything. ]

...injured? The medic bay is open, I can call someone in.

[ He's vaguely aware of Rhodey filling him in and there's a part of his brain that is clocking that conversation, but his eyes are glued on the news coverage of the destruction and panic that the world is still fighting. He thinks of how much help Peter would have given, swinging from fire to fire, trying to put them out and take care of people. I don't want to go. I don't want to go. Please, Mr. Stark. I don't want to...

He closes his eyes and waits for the wave of grief to pass, opening them on Pepper as she mentions Rescue and the Legion. He tries to focus on her voice. Lets her lead him back to the present and when she squeezes his hand, he squeezes it back.

He thinks about the stab wound that should've been the precursor to the one that would've been fatal, if Strange hadn't stopped it. He focuses on the pain, a dull roar to the background to the overwhelming feeling of numbness. He doesn't think he should let it go. He deserves it.

If it was fatal, it would've already killed him.

But then he looks back at Pepper's worried look and he knows that if he keeps this from her, it will kill her. He can't bring himself to hurt anyone else today.

He swallows.]

FRIDAY can look at it. I'll get her to scan for internal injuries and get patched up. It's nothing to worry about.

[ She doesn’t let go of his hand, and although she tries to not just stare at him, she can’t help it. Her eyes are glued on him, almost as if this way she’ll allow herself to believe that he’s really here. He’s really back. He’s really okay.

When he says whatever physical aftermath he’s dealing with is nothing to worry about, she attempts a small smile but it’s more concerned than anything else. ]

I think it’s a little late for that.

[ As she continues to hold his hand, she brushes her thumb against his skin gently. Along the callouses he has gained from the years of working with his hands on countless inventions. The creases and marks that she has memorized in the years they’ve been together.

She hadn’t expected to feel them again. When she realized he had been on that ship all she could think of was that that was it. He would be gone forever, and...

She swallows as she looks down at their hands together. ]

What happened up there?

[ He should be grateful that she's not demanding to know what he was thinking when he left on that ship, but the truth is he'd give into that if it meant that he doesn't have to recount how he'd failed. Or Peter turning into dust in his hands. He tightens his jaw, trying to figure out the right words.

She's looking at him, but he can't quite make himself look back at her. ]

Thanos... [ He takes a deep breath, lifting his free hand to rub at his forehead. ] We tried to stop him and we couldn't. [ That about sums it up. They'd almost had him. Then Quill had to fuck it up.] Everyone turned to dust. [ Please, Mr. Stark, I don't want to] Including Peter. [ He couldn't help him. He couldn't stop it.]

[ He clears his throat and looks down at their hands, then up at her. ]

I wasn't sure you'd be here.

[ He's not sure in what way he means that - not turned to dust, still here at the house. But in every way, he's glad she's here. He squeezes her hand. ]

[ Although Pepper had been upset with him when she realized that he was on that ship, it really hadn't been that big of a surprise. Maybe if he wouldn't have still been obsessing over the new suit, or the housing unit that he kept rambling about. Despite all his promises and assurances that he was done being a superhero, deep down she had known the truth all along.

That's why she bypasses the obvious. Of course he felt compelled to go on that ship. Of course he had to fight. It honestly would have been more shocking if he would have just gone back to find her instead. Yes, she's upset, but for now... For now she doesn't focus on that.

When he mentions how everyone turned to dust, she gives a small nod but goes still when he mentions Peter. She turns back to him, shock and sadness crossing her features because, even if she didn't know Peter the same way Tony did, she knows how much he meant to him. She knows that those dreams of being a dad hadn't been a coincidence, but rather it had been thanks to Peter waking up some fatherly instinct in Tony.

At his comment that he wasn't sure if she'd be here, a ghost of a smile crosses her lips. ]

What, and not see for myself if you'd defy the odds again and come back?

[ She had been terrified to think that everyone had been right, that Tony had died either up in space or had been turned to dust along with half the world's population, but here he is. Proving everyone wrong yet again.

Wrapping her other hand around his, her brow furrows. She wants to do more - she wants to pull him into a hug, but she's worried that he'll pull away. That his grief will make him want to isolate himself, so instead - for now, at least - she just wraps his hand in hers. ]

Tony, I'm so sorry about Peter.

Edited 2018-11-17 23:58 (UTC)

[ He loves her. He knows he doesn't deserve her and she doesn't deserve the things he does to her, but they both know who he is and who he always will be. He looks at her then, really looks at her as she wraps her hands in his. She may be one of the only people who understands what Peter meant to him. All the promise he'd had. The promise Tony had made him even if he'd never said it out loud.

He feels something break inside of him. ]

It was my fault he was up there.

[ He shrugs, pressing his lips together and looking her in the eye.]

Maybe if he hadn't... [ He shakes his head. ] Maybe it wouldn't have mattered. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop Thanos.

No, it wasn’t.

[ She keeps her voice quiet, but firm. ]

He would have found a way to get up there, whether or not you were involved.

[ His words break her heart, especially because she knows better than anyone the way that Tony carries that sense of guilt, and to know that he’s now adding what happened to that load... It’s heartbreaking. He doesn’t deserve this.

Shifting closer to him, she keeps holding onto him with one hand while using the other to rest it against the side of his neck, and shakes her head. ]

No. No, Tony, this was not on you. This is... this was like nothing we’ve seen before. There’s no way anyone could have stopped it.

[ He hears her, but his mind refuses to accept it. He knows that Peter's death is on him, just like he always feared it would be. He feels it, weighing on his shoulders and crippling him under the weight.

Still, the feeling of Pepper's hand against his neck and the sound of her voice is too much. He leans forward, resting his head on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist.

She's always been his rock and now he's holding on for dear life. ]

[ When Tony leans forward, Pepper is ready to catch him. Her arms wrap around him, and she rests her chin on top of his head. There's no way she can fix this for him, or change it, although she wishes like hell that she could.

So, instead, she just holds him tight. As if at least for now she can shelter him in the only way she can. It's not much, but it's her silent assurance that she's here. It's not okay, but she'll be here for him as long as he needs her. ]

[Listen. this meme. He was made for this meme. You can literally meet his inner demon.]

( his inner demon is a man who, if he injures/kills you in your dreams, somehow manages to injure/kill you in real life )

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they live inside us

kylo ren ( STAR WARS ) ota

Greyson Lorde | OC | OTA

Elektra Natchios | Netflix MCU

trevor belmont. castlevania.

Lucifer Morningstar | Lucifer

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Detective Anna Morasca || OC || OTA

Davis Bloome | Smallville | OTA

Kristen Kringle l Gotham

adam young | good omens

Declan Harp | Frontier | OTA

Claire Bennet | Heroes | ota

Loki | 2005's Jakub Ćwiek's "Kłamca" vol.1 | OTA, pan

Loki Odinson | MCU | OTA

Caleb Widogast | Critical Role

Casey Rance | The Exorcist (TV)

Elaine Belloc | Lucifer

Elijah Mikaelson | The Originals | OTA

Magneto | XMCU

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Tony Stark | MCU

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Eddie Brock | Venom

quentin smith / nightmare on elm street