#Best Online Hat Store

[kgbuapparel]

Buy stylish men's hats online now to elevate your headwear fashion. Browse our collection of trendy designs crafted from premium materials. We have a wide selection of classic caps and trendy hoodies. Make your outfit complete with KGBUAPPAREL. https://kgbuapparel.com/collections/hat

[cutelycovered]

Stylish Two-Piece Denim Set for Any Occasion | Cutely Covered

Turn heads with this chic Two-Piece Denim Set from Cutely Covered. Featuring a flattering crop top and high-waisted jeans, this versatile outfit is perfect for a casual day out or a night on the town. Elevate your wardrobe with this trendy and comfortable denim ensemble!

[divinedarknessblog]

The Timeless Elegance Why Is It Vital To Opt For The Antler Hat   

In the world of fashion, where trends come and go, some accessories stand the test of time, captivating our imaginations and adding a touch of uniqueness to personal style. One such timeless and distinctive accessory is the antler hat. Originating from traditional practices and folklore, antler hats have evolved into a fashion statement that transcends seasons, captivating the hearts of those who appreciate the fusion of nature and style.

The Origins

Antler hats have deep roots in various cultures and traditions. Historically, antlers have been associated with strength, masculinity, and the natural world. In many societies, antlers symbolize the connection between humans and nature, often featuring prominently in rituals and ceremonies.

In some indigenous cultures, antlers are crafted into headdresses worn during special occasions and ceremonies, symbolizing a connection to the spirit world and a reverence for the animal kingdom. Over time, these symbolic pieces have found their way into contemporary fashion, where they continue to captivate fashion enthusiasts and those seeking a unique form of self-expression.

Craftsmanship And Materials

The creation of antler hats involves a delicate process that requires skilled craftsmanship. The antlers used are typically sourced ethically, ensuring the well-being of the animals. Once obtained, the antlers are cleaned, polished, and sometimes carved or shaped to achieve the desired design.

Artisans often work with a variety of materials to complement the antlers, such as leather, fur, or fabric. This combination of natural and artificial elements adds depth and versatility to the hats, making them suitable for a wide range of occasions.

Fashion Versatility

Antler hats have proven to be surprisingly versatile in the realm of fashion. While they may evoke a rustic or bohemian vibe, they can be seamlessly integrated into different styles. Whether paired with casual wear for a touch of eccentricity or incorporated into a more formal ensemble for a bold statement, antler hats offer a unique and eye-catching accessory for fashion enthusiasts.

Beyond their aesthetic appeal, antler hats also serve as a conversation starter, allowing wearers to share the rich history and symbolism behind their choice of headwear. This connection to tradition and nature adds an extra layer of depth to the fashion statement, making antler hats more than just an accessory—they become a story to be told.

Environmental Consciousness

As the fashion industry grapples with sustainability concerns, the appeal of antler hats lies not only in their aesthetic allure but also in their eco-friendly nature. Ethical sourcing of antlers ensures that no harm comes to the animals, and the use of natural materials aligns with the growing demand for sustainable fashion.

Conclusion

The antler hat, with its timeless charm and deep cultural roots, continues to weave itself into the fabric of contemporary fashion. Beyond being a unique accessory, it symbolizes a connection to nature, tradition, and a conscious choice for sustainable style. As fashion trends come and go, the antler hat stands tall, reminding us that true style is not bound by seasons but rather inspired by the enduring beauty of the world around us.

[bgearapparel]

BGear Premium Hat Storage Box is a high-quality storage solution that keeps your hats safe and organized. It keeps your hats safe from dust, moisture, and damage. As a result of its high-quality materials and durability, the box is easy to use and can store up to six hats, depending on the size and shape.

[harrysformenswear]

The Top Men's Suit Store Near Me: Find your perfect fit today

A well-tailored suit is a must-have in any man's wardrobe when looking sharp and professional. However, finding a suitable case can be daunting, especially if you need help figuring out where to start. That's why we've compiled a list of the best mens suit stores near me. Whether you're looking for a bespoke suit or something off the rack, these stores have you.

1. Men's Wearhouse

Men's Wearhouse is a popular chain of men's clothing stores specializing in suits. They offer various suits in different styles, colors, and fabrics to suit every taste and budget. The staff at Men's Wearhouse is knowledgeable and friendly, and they'll help you find the perfect suit that fits you like a glove. They also offer alterations and tailoring services to ensure your case fits perfectly.

Men's Wearhouse has several locations nationwide, so there's one near you. Check out their website to find the nearest store and browse their collection of suits.

2. Suit Supply

Suit Supply is a European-based company specializing in men's suits and accessories. Their suits are known for their quality, style, and affordability. They offer various suits in different styles, colors, and fabrics to suit every occasion and budget. Whether you're looking for a formal suit for a wedding or a casual suit for a night out, Suit Supply has got you covered.

What sets Suit Supply apart from other suit stores is their made-to-measure service. With made-to-measure, you can customize every aspect of your suit to your exact specifications. They ensure that your case fits you perfectly and looks great on you.

3. Nordstrom

Nordstrom is a high-end department store that offers a wide range of men's suits from top brands like Hugo Boss, Armani, and Canali. Their suits are known for their quality, style, and sophistication. Nordstrom has a team of knowledgeable sales associates who can help you find the perfect case that fits you. They also offer alterations and tailoring services to ensure your suit fits like a glove.

Nordstrom has locations across the country, so chances are there's one near you. Check out their website to find the nearest store and browse their collection of suits.

4. Jos. A. Bank

Jos. A. Bank is a men's clothing store specializing in suits, dress shirts, and accessories. They offer various suits in different styles, colors, and fabrics, ranging from traditional to modern and everything in between. Jos. A. Bank is known for its attention to detail, quality, and excellent customer service. Their knowledgeable staff will help you find the perfect suit for any occasion.

Jos. A. Bank offers various services, including free alterations and tailoring, to ensure that your suit fits perfectly. They also offer a "buy one, get one free" deal on many of their suits, which makes it an excellent option for those on a budget. 

5. Indochino

Indochino is a made-to-measure suit company specializing in creating custom suits tailored to your exact specifications. They offer a wide range of fabrics, styles, and colors, and their cases are known for their quality, style, and affordability. Indochino has showrooms in several major cities across the United States, including New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, as well as a comprehensive online store.

What sets Indochino apart from other suit stores is its innovative 3D measurement system. This system allows you to create a custom suit that fits you perfectly without leaving your home. Input your measurements online, and Indochino will make a suit tailored to your body.

Conclusion

When finding the perfect suit, knowing where to look is essential. These five men's suit stores offer various styles, colors, and fabrics for every taste and budget. Whether you're looking to buy cufflinks near me or something off the rack, these stores have you covered. Head to one of these stores today and find the perfect suit to make you look and feel your best!

[littlealienproducts]

AI and PDF Crochet Patterns

AI generated images can be great for inspiring projects, but most of the time it's used online to generate revenue for scammers and the like.

Just scrolling through Etsy rn looking for crochet patterns, I've come across several listings (some with false 5 star reviews to boost engagement/trust) where the patterns and images are clearly AI generated and people, unfortunately, have fallen for the listings.

Some of the images might look totally obvious to you, but to the untrained eye they can be convincing.

SOOO, how do you spot AI crochet patterns?

Look at the stitches. Are there pieces that don't seem to stitch into one another? Are the lengths and sizes inconsistent? Some are more obvious than others, but AI fails to replicate consistent textures.

Lighting and saturation. AI images often are vibrant and cartoon-ish. Especially the eyes of projects - usually this is a pretty good giveaway. Additionally, is the image smooth? What's in the background? Does it make sense?

Limited photos on listing. Most legitimate shops are going to have multiple photos of the finished project on the listing - AI is fairly advanced, but not the best at recreating exact images. Does the listing only have one photo? Does it have multiple but with variants between projects (that are meant to be the same)? Are there any videos?

Is it even possible? This can be tricky if you are new to crochet, but as above, take a moment to look at the stitches and the overall shape of the project. Does it look plausable? Especially if they projects say 'no sew'. Additionally, if you have already purchased the pattern - does it tell you how much material you need, and does it make sense? Does it tell you crochet hook size?

Legit photo but AI generated pattern. Sometimes the images are real - but they've been stolen from another creators account and the scam shop has simply asked AI (such as ChatGPT) to write up a crochet pattern. These are less obvious at a glance, but most reputable shops will have social media, consistent themes of crochet projects and reviews with pictures of finished products uploaded by customers.

6. Ok, but what if they use AI but the reviews seem legit? Crochet Baby Duck - this is an AI generated picture and pattern, and while the shop has posted several pictures of the finished project it is clear that it does not match up with the AI generated duck pictured in the listing. The hat, feet, and bill are all different sizes and this is even noted in some of the customer reviews. While this isn't as scammy as straight up using AI generated images/patterns without showing how the finished project looks - it is still taking away from legitimate pattern makers. Being able to design and execute good patterns is a skill, and the prices of legitimate patterns often reflect this. Why does the shop even use AI pictures if they post the real life projects anyway? Cus it drives traffic, and lets be real - the real life plush dolls look no where near as good as the AI images.

This is the same as the walrus - AI generated image and pattern, this is even endoresed by Etsy so you cannot rely on 'Etsy picks' being legitimate as they choose profits over morals.

These patterns are not just limited to Etsy, they are often on Pinterest or websites for 'free' to generate traffic and collect data (asking for your e-mail for the free pattern). Such as this Peacock Crochet IRL figure by u/Echo-o_0 on Reddit.

This is not just limited to crochet, I've seen it in sewing, knitting, and any other PDF downloads that you can purchase or get for free. Unfortunately, it is a simple way for people to make a quick but and face little to no consequences as their store *might* get deleted and even then, they can just start a new one up.

[bleedingoptimism]

Eddie manages the band's TikTok when they are on tour. The content is mostly behind the scenes of them on the road, news about where they will be going next, band practice, jam sessions, etc. The boys have been friends since high school and get along amazingly, like family. But also like shit, just like family. So there are also videos of Eddie laughing while Frank yells at Jeff for farting on his pillow in the tour bus or Eddie filming himself while running as Gareth chases after him for eating the last cookie. HIS last cookie.

The channel is pretty popular even though it doesn't update often. And the links to their merch store and ticket store while on tour, help a lot with the band's expenses. Music being online makes people buy fewer albums and vinyls. And Spotify paying 0,03 cents per song makes being an up-and-coming band that needs money to rent a studio for recording, bus fares, hotel accommodations and to pay the roadies and technicians… kinda hard.

But the TikTok helps! So Chrissy, Eddie's best friend, Gareth's fiance, and their manager, suggests that Eddie keeps the TikTok going while on break from tour.

It doesn't take long to come up with the perfect idea. Restoring Eddie's old van to make it a small house on wheels for road-tripping. But they’ll need a handyman, someone who knows what they are doing.

Luckily, Chrissy has a solution to that. Her cousin Vicky, just came back from traveling the coast on a huge RV with her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s best friend and, according to Vicky, the man is an expert. He built the whole thing himself, from the ground up. So Chrissy tells Vicky, who asks Robin, who talks to Steve, and the meeting is set up.

On the day of the meeting, Eddie parks the van outside his place, sits on the back, and hits record on his phone, “Morning!” he says to the camera, squinting one eye as the sun hits his face because it’s actually noon, “I’m gonna do something fun during the tour break and I wanted to take yall with me. You see, ever since I was young, I've had this dream. Well, other than becoming a musician who can live off his music, thank you for that by the way,” he smiles and tips an invisible hat towards the camera. “The second thing I've always wanted is having one of those built-in movin' houses, a little RV, a camping van, you know the ones” he wiggles his brows and moves the phone a little around him, to show where he’s sitting so people know where he’s going with this.

“Sooo I asked a friend of a friend of a friend, who is an expert on making dreams come true, to help me and we are gonna mod my van. My lovely Haley, my faithful baby, who has been with me since the beginning… I'm scared. This dude better be good.” he laughs nervously.

part two -> 📱💞🚙

And then his focus shifts to something behind his phone, “Oh, here he comes now!” he waves enthusiastically and keeps looking, either forgetting he’s still filming his reaction or too distracted to save face, he squints a little and then frowns, blushes and, chuckles nervously again, “Oh no. he’s hot.”

☕🥐💕 coffee? by the lake's shore?

[levisrations]

Modern! Levi x reader fluff

Warnings: none? A cat wearing a birthday hat? Certainly a lot of mistakes.

Levi has gotten cakes on his birthday, but always store bought. This year you baked and decorated it yourself. First year of your relationship you took notes of his favorite flavors and searched for a recipe online that blends in his favorite flavors into cake. You didn’t wanna make him a simple vanilla or chocolate cake, you wanted him to feel seen, even with something as simple as cake.

He gets home from work, and you’re waiting for him in the kitchen with the cake, a few balloons, his presents and a homemade banner. You and your shared cat even have hats on! As soon as he steps in the kitchen looking for you he stops in his tracks, shocked. No one besides his mother has done something like this for him. At most he’s been taken to a dinner with some friends but nothing more. To be honest he hated the attention but he’s the best man you know and he deserves this level of attention at least once. And it’s just you and him in your home so he’s not being ambushed. Well and your cat, who’s being surprisingly good with the hat on right now.

Levi can’t come up with anything to say, he’s just so surprised. He knows this took some time especially that cake. He hasn’t cried in a long time and it’s the first time since he’s felt the need to cry out of happiness in god knows how long. So he just hugs you tight, mutters his “thank yous” and “i love you so much” into your neck. Now you’re crying for real. You tell him how grateful you are for him, glad he exists and glad you know him, especially in such an intimate level.

He opens his gifts, a nice watch, some very comfortable and expensive sweatpants (Levi likes good quality stuff, he rarely shops for himself for that reason) and a nice whiskey. He loves them all, gives you a big deep kiss, hand behind your head keeping you there, then a bunch of little kisses all over while you giggle. He also gives the cat a kiss on the head.

You both sit and eat the cake, he loves it. While you eat you talk about your days, you tell Levi the plan of watching whatever he wants on the couch, after a nice long shower together, and he puts in his new sweatpants and you both cuddle with your cat on the big ass couch you bought for the place, and fall asleep hours later under some warm blankets.

[schlattsdoll]

just saw your post from the 31st.

loverboy schlatt, i implore you. makes public playlists for you which are discreetly named. researches songs from genres you like and looks for love songs in those genre. he hears 'lovers rock' by tv girl (offtopic, he has tv girl in his playlist mr serotonin) on tiktok and immediately adds it after lyrically analyzing the entirety of the song. will deep-dive any cutesy song he hears and adds the songs he thinks you would like/relate to the best. looks for acoustic versions of them. loverboy schlatt who listens to malevolent creation because he misses you, and listening to them reminds him of the shirt he let you borrow with the band name on it.

loverboy schlatt who watches video essays on your interests and indulges in them, even if theyre off his radar. window-shops in online stores for things you would like.

loverboy schlatt who is whipped about his partner/crush and wants to become a better person for them. loverboy schlatt who buys you sanrio stickers. loverboy schlatt who asks you which is your favorite sanrio character, and surprises you with merch of them. loverboy schlatt whos favorite is badtz maru. loverboy schlatt who looks for merch of his and your favorites together.

loverboy schlatt who lets you win in mario kart. will notsoaccidentally hold A longer than he has to at the beginning of the race. loverboy schlatt who lets you pick the cup, even if he hates it. loverboy schlatt who lets you pick the CC without complaints, even though he loves 200CC with all he has. loverboy schlatt who will play your characters love interest or best friend. play peach? he'll play mario. if you ask, he just likes mario. he'll never admit how much he loves you.

loverboy schlatt. loverboy schlatt. loverboy schlatt.

(🐏 or 🪤 anon if you dont mind!)

🐏, your brain is unmatched!!!!

loverboy schlatt, who has a very strict "driver picks the music" mentality, but lets you play whatever you want when you're his passenger

loverboy schlatt who lets you decorate his car, and "your side" of it, with whatever you like just so hes reminded of you.

loverboy schlatt, who "accidentally" leaves clothes of his at your place just so you can have a piece of him when you miss him.

loverboy schlatt who keeps a polaroid of you in his signature yankee hat.

and his dashboard.

and his wallet.

loverboy schlatt <333

[euphoricfilter]

if we were to live among the stars:

pairing: carpenter! yoongi x bunny hybrid! reader

genre: fluff || non-idol au || hybrid au || established relationship

summary: a story of the compulsory new christmas bauble

word count: 1.6k

tags/warnings: tooth rotting fluff, they’re kinda just in love it’s sickening, christmas!!!!

notes: this is connected to this universe, however can be read as a standalone <3

navigation where you can find my other work!!

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆.

there were a few times a year the shop got slightly out of hand. christmas being one of those times.

yoongi would like to hope that with every year that passes, he’d be slightly more prepared for the influx of people that take an interest in his craft. but alas, another year comes around and he’s close to losing his mind with how much work needs to get done before he can rest until new year.

the both of you have slowly worked out a system. christmas is the one time of year yoongi never feels guilty recruiting you as his little helper. and on brand, he likes to indulge in a new costume for you to wear each year around the shop. the elf had been his favorite; naturally so because it was fitting for the occasion.

so many years of christmas costumes tucked away in the storage room. last year he’d convinced you to be a reindeer, not without complaint from you, the little antler headband knocking against your poor little bunny ears. which he pet in apology that night until your fallen asleep on his lap and he’d had to carry you to bed.

this year, it was you who had convinced him to match with you.

you’d wanted to be Ms Claus, which of course meant yoongi would dress as Santa. the beard had come off less than an hour of him working, frustrated huff passing his lips before it’d been dropped onto the slowly growing pile of wood on the floor.

although christmas was simultaneously yoongi’s least favorite holiday (simply because it meant so much more work, and less attention directed at you), he couldn’t help the most gentle smile that would grace his lips when he’d glance over at you every so often. your tongue dipping past soft lips as you concentrate painting each of the small ornaments for him.

always utterly determined to strive for perfection, because the work you produced was a reflection on yoongi’s shop, and you wanted everyone to know he was simply the best at his craft. that christmas wasn’t the only time of year they should bother pottering through the door, or checking what he had on the online store.

“almost done for today, my love” he murmurs, back of his hand wiping the sweat from under the fluff of his santa hat.

you pause, paintbrush hovering over the small wooden christmas tree as you glance up at the clock.

“but it’s only 3” you turn to look at him, eyes flickering over his face.

he hums, “we’re almost done with orders…” yoongi pauses, tongue wetting his bottom lip, “and we haven’t done any of our own christmas shopping yet”

you blink, nodding “yes”

“i sense a but” he narrows his eyes at you

“but… your work is important” you tell him, gently placing the paintbrush on the wooden pallet he’d made you.

“our work” he corrects, “and i know that but… we haven’t gotten each other anything yet. plus, we still need to get out compulsory new baubles for the tree”

you shake your head at him, “i told you i don’t need anything this year”

“but that’s doesn’t mean i don’t want to treat you” he argues

“save your money for something better”

he drops the chisel on the table, clank of it ringing in your ears.

“my love” he takes a step closer to you, crouching down beside your bed of blankets and pillows, “there is no ‘better’ than you”

you sigh, “i thought you were saving up for a new shop” it comes out barely above a whisper.

he falls back so he’s sitting, fingers slipping between your own.

“it can wait”

“but you’ve been talking about it for months”

“and?” his fingers squeeze yours

“and… don’t spend money on me because then you can save up quicker” you shake your head, “i’m more than happy just spending time with you, you know that”

he hums, tugging you forward. his eyebrows crease when your knee almost tips the paint water over your blanket, quick to help you step over it until you’re sat in his lap.

“i know, baby” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to your cheek, “i’m having second thoughts on the new shop”

you pause for a moment, “pardon?”

your eyes are wide as you look up at him, “but yoongi—“

he groans, head tipping back so he can avoid your eyes, “i know, i know. i’ve yapped on about it for months”

“then what changed?”

“you”

you blink at him, “me?”

“yeah, you” it isn’t accusatory, never would be and you doubt it ever will. because yoongi would never be able to bring himself to blame you for anything.

“why me?”

“look at us” he gestures between the both of you, “we’re happy. and we worked so hard for this place, it’s home”

“we can make home in another place” you murmur, “don’t give up your dream because of me”

“it’s just—“ he starts, eyes flickering across your face as he tried to find the right words, “i’ve had enough for that place i was looking at for months… i was going to call the guy who’s selling it but i couldn’t bring myself to do it”

“why?” you whisper, perhaps scared you’d ruin the mellow vulnerability if you spoke too loud.

“because this is us” he motions around the shop, “it would crush me to move us and then hate it, for me to walk into a new shop every single day and the warm feeling in my heart to never be there again” he tells you, “because you wouldn’t be able to nap on the window ledge, and we wouldn’t be able to walk down the street for coffee and your ice cream. years of you building up this—“ he points to your pile of blankets, pillows scattered how you like them, “would all be gone and it wouldn’t be the same”

“if you’re sure” you nod, “but if you change your mind—“

“i won’t” he stops you, “i know this is everything i need”

“and what if you need a bigger space?”

he groans, “i’ll throw away a table, i don’t know, it doesn’t matter. as long as it’s us and this shop then it doesn’t matter i’m happy”

“okay” you swallow, “i didn’t really want to leave anyways”

“why didn’t you tell me?” his fingers skim along the base of your bunny ears.

“because i’m not here to hold you back” you say, “i told you, where ever you go, i’ll be right behind you. because i trust you more than you’ll ever know”

“what if you were unhappy?” he runs a hand over his face.

“a piece of me will always be happy as long as we’re together. wether we stay here forever, or live among the stars with no one but us; i would be happy”

a smile quirks onto your lips as tears glaze over his eyes, the raw sort of love, all consuming, crazed, the kind of love that fills you up and threatens to spill out of every pore, so much contained within one fragile human body squeezing at yoongi’s heart as he looks at you.

his hands wander, over your shoulders and up to hold your cheeks, “okay”

“okay” you parrot, leaning into his touch.

“merry christmas” he leans forward, stealing the words from your tongue as he kisses you, ever so gentle and sweet.

“merry christmas” you whisper against his lips, quick to press a quick kiss before pulling away a little, “i might have already gotten our compulsory new bauble”

“without me?” his smile drops, eye brows furrowing

“we can get another one… but think of it as an early christmas gift”

you slip out of his lap, slinking over to your bag hung up by the door, fingers slipping past the zipper. yoongi can hear the paper bag crinkle between your fingers as you hold it behind your back, quick to sit beside him.

he turns his body to face you, knees knocking against yours.

you look down at the paper bag in your hands, mild hesitance painting your posture, sure to have so many thoughts running through your mind as you hand it over to him, not daring meet his eyes as he holds it.

“i like everything you get me” he reminds you at your clear nervous display.

“i know… but it still scares me” you admit

he lets the paper bag fall into his lap as he tugs your hands to hold his, “i love you”

your head tilts up to look at him, “i love you too but i don’t see—“

he stops you, finger pressed to your lips “i love you which means anything you’re willing to give to me will mean the world”

you frown, “open it then” you murmur

his hands slip from between yours, delicate as they unfold the paper bag.

a laugh bubbles up his throat at the sight of it, pure joy simmering beneath his skin as he holds it up in front of his face: a little wooden heart, a photo of the two of you sat prettily in the cut out.

he doesn’t remember when the photo was taken, but he remembers what you’d told him seconds before the shutter had captured that singular moment in time, locked in stasis forever.

“let’s love each other in every life, okay?”

because he remembers telling you that is the only way he planned to live, big smile on his face as you kiss his cheek.

“i love it” he whispers, eyes glued to the ornament like it were the most precious thing he had ever had the chance to hold, “i love you”

you smile, “i love you… merry christmas yoongi”

he lowers the bauble, “merry christmas, my pretty little love”

[penvisions]

by the firelight {jack daniels x reader}

Pairing: Jack Daniels (Agent Whiskey) x Reader

Summary: You enjoy a rustic dinner with your sweet cowboy.

Word Count: 637

Warnings: food, consumption of food, teasing banter, established relationship, hint of spice, nothin' too serious!

A/N: this was such a fun lil thing to make for the charcuterie board challenge hosted by @happypedrohours. i got jack and gouda for my wonderful pairing and i hope i did it justice!

-> navigation || main masterlist

The heat from the campfire is sweltering; causing sweat to bloom in the backs of your knees, across the brow of your forehead, the spaces beneath your chest. All of your skin sensitive to the touch as it doesn’t seem to cool down like the man tending to the pot over the fire had claimed. The sun was setting but yet it wasn’t take the heat along with it, if anything it was only settling lower to the land.

“Food should be ready in a few, just want the cheese to get all crispy on top. Know you like a good crunch, don’t you sugar?” The twang of the man’s voice pulls you from your reverie, eyes lifting from the flames licking at the bottom of the grill plate and to the broad stretch of his shoulders in a plain white shirt. The man in question is turned to face you, the profile of his face stark against the brightness lighting him up from behind. His brow is raised in a teasing manner, his lips quirked up equally so.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Oh c’mon, sugar. This was the only time we could get away and you know it.”

You purse your lips, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of agreement. But he was right, the ranch was busier than ever. His rodeo shows selling out and putting extra work on everyone, summer settling in nicely as the solstice finally dawns the season. It would be a busy one, his name making papers and articles online, everyone clamoring for a piece of the ‘Cowboy Wonder’, his photos holding his own atop a bucking horse everywhere bringing families and fawning women in droves.

The sharp scent of smoked chipotle catches your attention as it wafts in the steam from the closed pot, your face showing surprise. You knew he had run to the store that morning as you lay in bed, tired from the long workday of tending to the horses and then riding your own, both in the show and in the privacy of your shared home. The deal was you gather and keep track of the camping supplies while he gets the food and packs up the truck.

“Is that…?”

“Smoked chipotle gouda, you betcha!”

“Jack…” You can’t help the whine of your voice, that particular cheese was expensive. He had the money, you both did, but while you did enjoy the simple things in life, that was beginning to slowly shift as gifts and endorsements rolled in, ticket sales skyrocketing and higher cuts added to your checks. The ranch you worked for doing their best to keep you both happy as they gained renown.

But Jack is standing, placing the pot onto the small camping table he had set up beside the fire for him to chop and mix up stuff. His trademark stenson placed on the picnic table your seated at as he sidles up close to you. His large, calloused hands are cupping your face and his eyes are trained solely on you even as the sounds of the campsite ramp up all around, it truly was dinner time. You melt, much like the beloved cheese over what you were sure was his mother’s famous chili recipe bubbling in the pot. The flare of worry at the minor fortune spent on something he knew you liked waning as you feel him press a comforting kiss to your forehead, the hat you donned already removed.

“Only the best for my sugar. Nothing else will do.” He’s pressing his lips to your cheek, moustache tickling but you couldn’t care less as heat begins to consume you from the inside out. The feel of his hands around your waist, the press of his chest to your own, the breath he’s sharing with you now, all of it was worth it. The heat of the day turns into the heat of two bodies as the sun dips even lower, casting periwinkle and cotton candy pink streaks across the evening sky.

[kgbuapparel]

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[lawva-girl]

Historically.. We don't mix.

Law x fem!Reader, College AU

Notes: the things that don't mix are history and stem majors!!! this came to me in a dream forever ago and ive been sitting on it since. This is only part one to... idk how many but yes! I have a loose outline, we can bet on 5 parts but thats a scary bet to make methinks. Enjoy :) also i apologize if the pov switching in the first bit is weird, i thought i was cooking and i kinda think its cute now so it is.

WC: 1976

The classroom was quiet, you were the only one there. Class officially started in 4 minutes. Right as you pulled out your phone to double check the room another person walked in. You assumed she was a student since she was about your age, at least she looked it. When the woman instead walked to the front of the class you realized she was the professor. Shoulder length black hair, with bangs trimmed right to her eyebrows. Wearing a white cowboy hat, which you thought was peculiar. 

She removed the hat and set it on the desk, resting her bag in the seat. 

She wrote on the board “Robin, overview of women in war” then she leaned against the desk and pulled out her phone.

You looked back at yours, 11:18. Two minutes until class began, and there was now roughly 15 people in the room. You sat in the second row back from the front, and you noticed only one person in the front row. He had a weird beanie on, dark hair, and pierced ears. You tried not to stare, since you knew he could glance back at any second.

“Okay everyone, I am Nico Robin. I’m your professor.” She smiled for the class, and continued, “this class should be very exciting, we get to learn about women like Joan of arc, who really was a delusional farm girl, and Molly Pitcher, a women who fought in the American revolution. The syllabus is online, you will need books by next class. The student store has them for 15 dollars, I won’t take any excuses.” 

The professor paused, then opened her bag and pulled out the book, “it looks like this. It’s a small booklet of primary sources, mostly text and images, that we will take a deep dive into. Your grade this semester will be 40 percent exams, 25 percent homework, and finally 35 percent participation. Yes it is a lot, this class is modeled after my time researching, you cannot be a historian or teacher without being able to work as a group and communicate. I know it’s a challenge but try your best.”

A beat.

Law felt sick. He was not a talker, especially to people who were history majors. The men were always blood hungry, the women always poetic. This class would be rough, but if he could find one person bearable enough it might be okay. Sitting in the front seat, he couldn’t glance around to see his peers. While the professor was going on about the school's mandatory syllabus information, he took a quick look behind him, as if checking the clock. 

No one was paying attention, and he glanced quickly around the class. There was only one person who looked back at him, meeting his eyes. Of course they looked away immediately, and so did he.

The professor finally finished and gave the students time to “meet their neighbors”. Law turned and found the one student who made eye contact with him. 

“I’m Trafalgar Law, I’m a double major in history and biology.” He stated right to the girl, with no excitement in his voice, tone steady.

“My name is Dracule y/n, I’m a history major, and you are insane, Trafalgar.” She had a bit of sarcasm in her tone, which he took offense to. She was the fifth person to tell him that today.

“I’m not insane, I just like history and I want to be a doctor.” 

“That’s cool I guess, I’ve never met a stem major I liked though. You guys are all so “history is just memorization and dates”, I can’t stand talking to ‘em.” 

Law looked back at her and thought ‘I have never met a history major I liked either’. He decided on saying, “If you ask me historians are basically philosophers, you just think all day and pretend like the world changed.” 

She made an obvious frown, putting her hands onto the table with a bit too much force. “Huh?!”

“History majors have two options, teach or research, both are dead end jobs that don’t help people. It’s simple.” He stated nonchalantly, like it was crazy to major in history. 

“Well life isn’t all about jobs and helping people. It’s about living?” She looked him dead in the eyes before finishing with, “it’s not like the world collapses when doctors aren’t around.” 

“Well it was nice talking, but I’m gonna chat to my other neighbors.” He said with a huff, he didn’t have to talk to you at all, in fact he hoped he wouldn’t have to again. 

After about 10 more minutes, professor Robin spoke up again, “okay okay, since we don’t have textbooks yet I decided to make a fun assignment. I’m giving you your first and last handouts, you will need to fill them out before next class. Other than that, please look at the canvas page. Read over the syllabus and take my obligatory syllabus quiz. You are now free from this class.” 

You walked out into the hall, and booked it to the student store. You told your only friend and sister, Perona, that you would meet her there.

Law, coincidentally, told Bepo the same thing. Bepo was his only friend, having grown up with the white haired bear. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Only 10 minutes after class had dismissed you arrived at the store, already spotting Perona’s pink pigtails. 

“perona!” You whisper-screamed in her ear, trying to scare her. 

“Ahhh y/n”, she sighed, clearly unaffected, “you know you’ll never scare me. Anyways, what is my cute depressed friend doing on Friday?” 

You and her walked into the store, “studying... So I’m busy.” Giving her a quick smile before you two settled in the textbook section. 

“You are so coming with me then! I’m going to the mall that’s next to campus, I’m already so bored of our dorm room decorations. If we go to 5below I can get way cuter stuff for us! You need to come since it’s your dorm too, so I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Perona you have really good taste in stuff, you should be fine on your own!” You put some enthusiasm behind your voice, to encourage her. 

She frowned back at you, not buying into your typical antics. “If you don’t come then you won’t be leaving all weekend! You need to go outside y/n!” 

“Perona!? Hi!” A voice from behind you called out to her, causing you to turn instantly. 

“Bepo! What a coincidence! Do you have a picture of the textbook we need for thermodynamics?” Perona said, already stepping towards the bear.

“Of course! I have to be studious this year!” 

The two of them found the text book, it costed a whopping $300 dollars, and was written by their professor. 

“We can share, right Bepo? That way it’s only 150 dollars?” The both of them had a cloud over their heads as you watched the sad situation unfold. Peronas face was for sure one of desperation.

“Wait is there a digital version? It’s usually cheaper.” You suggested, reaching to pull out the info card. 

“Bepo! I’ve been looking.” Whoever said that sounded quite angry, and familiar?

“I’m sorry Law! I saw my classmate and got excited… sorry” Bepo turned to face the man. 

“You couldn’t have texted? just once?” Law replied, only just then looking at the two people who were with Bepo.

“Great this guy again.” You said with sarcasm dripping from your voice and turned to Perona, “we should leave, he hates me.” 

“I don’t hate you. I don’t even know you.” Law said, pinching his nose.

“Whatever, do you have Bepo’s number Rona?” Calling her by her self appointed nickname always made her happy, right now you were hoping it would get her to leave with you to the history section. 

“I don’t actually! Bepo! Here, put your number in!” She said with a smile, being way more friendly than usual. “I’m Perona by the way, how do you know my friend y/n?” 

It was a simple question but the way he answered really bugged you, rattling off a “we have a class together”. He was looking down at his phone and didn’t even bother to look up when he answered. Hell he didn’t even bother to introduce himself! 

“His name is Trafalgar by the way, we have women in war together.” You had a straight face, conveying how much it bothered you well.

“Awww how wonderful!” Perona had an enthusiastic tone but looked at you with a smirk like no other. “Would you be her friend? I’m the only one she has right now!” 

You cursed your friend and her constant medling. She loved to stir the pot, and when you got upset she would always say “you are so cute when you’re mad though!” With her words to Law, he finally looked up. 

He opened his mouth to speak, but was instantly interrupted. 

“He only had one friend too!” Bepo handed back Perona’s phone, “it’s me!” He said with a big smile.

“He seems like he would have no trouble! My y/n is super awkward and shy!” Perona practically ignored you, as you had started to form words before she interrupted you.

“No no! He’s pretty judgmental so a lot of people stay away from him, he also thinks he’s smarter than everyone!” Bepo replied back, as if they were two parents gossiping about their kids.

“She thinks the same! Maybe they could be friends?” Perona and Bepo look at you and Law.

“I am smarter!” Both you and law said in unison. Immediately looking at each other with frustration.

“Don’t say what I say!” You said to law.

“How would I know what you were going to say? Do you even think?” Law argued back.

“Of course I do! Do you?” You couldn’t think of anything better… 

“Good one. Bepo we’re leaving.”

“Rona we are leaving too! At least I don’t constantly speak in contractions…”

Law turned his head so you would hear, “you just said one too!” 

You and Perona had already turned the corner, you quickly led her to the history section. You spared her no look, you figured you would talk about it once the two of you got back to the dorm. Once you reached the history section, you squatted down in front of the book you needed and saw there were 3 left. Grabbing one then standing. Just as you were about to go pay for the book, you heard him again.

“Are you following me Dracule? Typical.” He said, with a touch of sarcasm. 

“Typical? We both know you don’t have anyone interested enough to follow you. Also, are you even thinking? We are in the same class so of course we would both need the same book.” 

“Whatever, I’m getting my book and leaving.” He quickly bent over, grabbed a copy and was gone.

“No comeback!?” You said, just a bit too loud. You wanted him to hear you, so that he knew you knew he couldn’t come up with anything. Feeling a bit triumphant you turned to Perona, who was standing behind you with a smile. 

“What now?” 

“He’s cute y/n!”

“No chance. He’s mean, and a biology major!” 

She scoffed, “there is always an exception to the rule! Like me!” 

“Yes Rona, an exception. A single exception. There can’t be two exceptions.” 

“Anything could happen! Plus if me and Bepo end up sharing a book you might be forced into hanging out with all of us! Who knows, maybe they also share a dorm!” 

You sigh and look at her, she looks so happy at the prospect that you might have a friend, especially one that’s a guy. You settled, your good side winning out. “Fine. I’ll be open to it. Only if he is nicer.” 

[mochinek0]

Where is MY Boyfriend (3/4)

PREVIOUS

"So, who wants to bet on how long it takes Demon Spawn to propose?" Red Hood asked, in the Bat Cave.

"Have they been dating that long?' Bruce questioned, taking off his cowl.

'I didn't even know he was seeing someone. What if she's from the League?'

"Her personality changed so much." Dick spoke, redressing into civilian clothes, "Is she sane?"

"Actually, it's not that much different than what B does when he has to go out." Tim sighed.

Bruce and Dick turned to him quickly.

"What do you mean?" Bruce demanded, "I don't act like that!"

"You turn into 'Brucie' the playboy billionaire at galas and for the board memebers, but then you come down here and you turn into the 'Big Bad Bat'." Tim rebuffed.

"Replacement's got a point." Jason commented, "You can switch personalities at the drop of a hat, too."

"I was trained!" Bruce growled.

"So was your son; you don't see him coddling up the hoards of girls that follow him. He looks like he would rather skewer the girls at school and you know he could." Jason sighed.

"So, what makes this girl different?" Dick asked.

Tim sat at the computer and looked up Marinette. He cross-referenced Damian and the school to get more information.

"I'm assuming he hid his own personal file on the bat computer or it's on his own." Tim spoke, "She's a foreign exchange student on a scholarship through the Wayne foundation. Her parents are bakers, which are extremely well known, and she's from Paris. She's here for fashion design."

"Paris is the fashion capitol of the world." Bruce stated, "Why would she come here?"

"Seems she was severely bullied." Dick announced, "She has restrainign orders on a lot of people. Some of them have well known parents and others are serving time in a detention center. From the look of this article, she knows a lot of people. Her bully lied about them and she pleaded with her classmates to see reason. She was later hospitalized and then she went all out. She made calls to her connections and left the school. She was homeschooled for a bit and applied to come here. During that time, she was cyber bullied and stalked. They blamed her for the bully manipulating them and for the rug being pulled from under them."

"Let me get this straight! That girl who took out the Joker was bullied by a liar. She tried to get her classmates to see she was lying but got bullied by all of them. When they found out, they cyber bullied her because they were upset? She left the City of Love to come here? Is that what you're saying?" Jason shouted.

"That's what it looks like." Tim whispered.

Bruce remained silent. They all did.

"So, back to my bet." Jason spoke, after recovering, "How long til she's a Wayne thru the brat? After that display, I'd be shocked if he didn't try. Brat's not one to play the damsel in distress."

"Robin isn't emotionally prepared." Bruce declared.

"When isn't he?" Tim scoffed.

"My point exactly." Jason smirked.

"Have faith in him." Bruce sighed.

Jason just rolled his eyes.

As they exited the Bat Cave, they spotted Damian entering through the front door.

"So, when are your prosing, Brat?" Jason asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon." Damian declared, heading up the stairs.

The Waynes' stared at him in shock.

"Called it!" Jason cackled.

"Are you sure?" Bruce asked, "How long have you been dating?"

"Five months." Damian spoke, continuing his way to the second floor.

"Damian-" Dick spoke.

"Have you pick out a ring?" Jason questioned.

"I am about to begin my search online. She deserves the best one and I can visit the stores later to see if the appearance is just as adequate." the youngest Wayne announced, leaving the others stunned.

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[heartthumpnovel]

Heart Thump: Chapter 8

“It Came From Outer Space”

Word count: 10434

Buckle up folks, this is gonna be a long one. Just in time for October too! By the way the tag-list is at the end and if you want to be notified of new chapters coming out just let me know!

cw: Cursing/Swears, Blood, Violence, Absolute Jerks

Last Chapter: Growing Pains

Next Chapter: Kill the Director ---

Days off are the best, paid or not. If Natasha has a few more hours to decompress from the chaos at work, she’ll take it. Not only did it mean she didn’t have to put up with office bureaucracy, it also meant that she can run away from all of her conflicted feelings that haunt her daily though the most escapist artistic medium she knows; video games. 

Natasha adjusted her chic pastel sunglasses in the right-hand side mirror of her venom motorcycle to make absolutely sure they would not fall off and cause an accident. Though she asked herself if the sun hat and trendy trench coat were absolutely necessary. Then again, she couldn’t be too careful in this imperative operation and it was crucial that no one from work would recognize her. A perfect picture of the worst-case scenario made Natasha clutch the bismuth that hung from her necklace. If one of her peers or, god forbid, the higher-ups found out she was buying violent, gruesome video games, then she would be getting a severely negative performance review. That could lead back to her mother finding out. 

While it might have been more time efficient and socially safe to order her games online, she really needed to get some sunlight and despite the risk she was taking, going to browse the shops was a pass time she missed. Oh, to be a young baby goth that ate burrito bowls in the food court, and ran away from security for disturbing a Hot Topic. Those truly were the glory days, gone by too soon.

Enough reminiscing and making sure her fool-proof disguise didn’t fall apart, blood and glory called to her. Natasha locked up her bike and made her way to one of America’s dying ecosystems; the mall.

Right before she could enter the front doors of a preppy clothing shop that led into the interior halls, she had to awkwardly scoot around a mother trying to calm down her hysterical kid crying about a monster in the bushes. Avoiding that, she managed to get inside and make a beeline towards the doors that had led to the actual store fronts within the building. Disregarding the entirety of the early-winter selection, she was already fashionable enough, thank you very much. 

The weekend had brought in a decent crowd, though considering this mall was in a bustling city it wasn’t hurting for customers even on slow days. Natasha braced herself for the oncoming noise by putting in her earphones and stared upwards at the five stories from the bottom floor. She could barely make out the people in the sea of colorful brands and the cacophony of voices. It was a wonder, for Natasha, that the employees can stand this much commotion every single day. Perhaps she should be happy she gets to work her life away behind a desk.

In any case, that video game wasn’t going to buy itself. Natasha strode onto the crowded escalator. She tried to not bump into the group of rambunctious youths in front of her and held onto the rail with a tight grip. Trying to focus on the electronic beats that played in her ears, her fingers tapped down on the volume button to dial her music up to cover up the loud conversation between two older women behind her.

The trial of getting to the third floor was, for the most part, grueling. Stepping off the escalator almost felt like flying. With a skip in her step, she quickly made her way along the balcony, pulling her hat down to cover her eyes. Eye contact with others was not mandatory on her day off. Her attention was laser focused on trying to spot the store front she was so keen on finding. She was so dead set on getting to the game store that she-

“OOF! Hey, watch it!” scolded the teenager she accidentally bumped her shoulder into.

Natasha’s attention snapped back into place as she backed up with her hands raised. “Oh damn, sorry!” Natasha faltered apologetically, “You okay? I didn’t hurt you did I?” Her guts were already twisting in embarrassment as the glare the youth was giving her made her feel like she was the size of a mouse. 

After what felt like forever, the tension broke as the teen rolled his eyes and put his ear phone back into his head. “Nah I’m fine,” he said while brushing off his shoulder, “It’s all good, see ya’ miss.” As if Natasha didn’t just hurt him, he shrugged it off and moved on with his day. 

As he walked away, Natasha hung around for a moment to ponder, wondering why he didn’t tell her off for shoving him. She should have been paying attention to where she was going and not turn on autopilot like an idiot. Pain from her forearm snapped her out of it, she hadn’t noticed her own fingernails were gripping tightly into her flesh.

One enormous sigh later, she watched the carefree boy just stroll further away from her, and turned away when he stopped, seemingly preoccupied with something on the ground floor.

Oh, to be able to just let things go. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Natasha continued her journey to the game store, which wasn’t too far from that spot. This time, she kept her guard up, and made it to the storefront of her usual place. While it was more hole-in-the-wall than the franchised game store in the mall, it had much older games for sale. Plus, the prices were much more reasonable than more recent titles.

Her expectant grin dropped when she realized that the employee who usually was manning the store wasn’t there. This time, it was a guy she hadn’t seen before, who was just staring at his phone, leaning apathetically on the counter. She surmised it was probably his first day and thought to give him a kind impression. While she never had to work retail in her life, the horror stories she had heard gave her empathy for those working on the front lines in society. 

“Hello!” Natasha cheerfully said in a chipper demeanor as she strolled into the store, smiling at the employee who barely raised his head. When their eyes met, a chill went down her spine as she not only saw indifference, but annoyance. She couldn’t understand his grumble before looking back down at his phone.

Brushing off that warm welcome, Natasha just assumed he was already having a bad day, though she wondered to herself if she had laid on the introduction too thick. She made her way to the previous-gen console games and focused less on the employee’s coldness towards her. She had actual business to attend to. 

Picking though nostalgic titles was a walk in the park for her. Natasha simply just had to pick out something that wasn’t already in her collection, maybe even a duplicate copy with an alternate cover she hadn’t seen yet. Her pink push on nails hooked onto a few survival horror classics and pulled them into her hands as if she was an excited pre-teen again. She was having a great time sitting there on her knees, she hardly even noticed the sourpuss employee behind her making passive aggressive sighs. 

Once she had a good stack of games in her forearm, Natasha turned to see the employee still glued to his phone. It turned out that the hard part of her trip wasn’t just getting to the store, but checking out.

“Hello!” Natasha said as she approached the counter, though her excitement dimmed as she noticed the employee didn’t even notice her greeting. He had to have heard her, he wasn’t even wearing any earphones. After one awkward silence, she cleared her throat and spoke up again. “Excuse me,” Natasha said with a more firm tone in her voice, though she didn’t want to cause a scene, “I’d like to buy these please.”

The death glare the employee gave nearly made her jump, unfortunately she knew this look and the knots in her stomach twisted. She didn’t like where this conversation was heading. This guy looked down at her hands and rolled his eyes in disgust as he shoved his phone into his pocket. 

“Fine,” the cashier grumbled as he nearly tore the games out of Natasha’s hands. While she was taken aback from how rude this employee was being, she had hoped he’d do the bare minimum and just do his job without a fuss. Unfortunately, her hopes dropped when the cashier stared at the cover of each game she bought as he scanned them. He shook his head and just had to open his rotten mouth.

“Your boyfriend ain’t giving you enough attention huh?” the cashier said bluntly with a sick smirk on his face, “Does he even like these games?”

Wow. That’s how it’s going to be then?

Luckily, being in countless upper management roles had given her the skill of keeping a lid on striking out to offense. Though she gave the cashier an unbothered smile, a furious rage burned in her chest. He couldn’t have been serious. “Nah,” Natasha responded, “These are for me.”

“Suuree they are,” Cashier said, stopping mid-button press as he was ringing up the items, “These are outdated garbage, nobody plays shit like th-”

“Cool, are you going to just yap or do your job?” Natasha interrupted him, not even giving him the reaction he wanted as she calmly just searched through her purse for her wallet. That made the ostensible incel shut his mouth, his ballooning red face looked like it wanted to explode. To his credit, it looked like he had some idea that if he were to escalate, he would lose his paychecks indefinitely. He shoved the games into the cheap plastic bag and basically threw the bag onto the counter.

“Twenty four fifty,” he grunted with spittle hitting the register. He scowled, seeing Natasha smiling smugly as she tapped her card on the reader. Natasha couldn’t have been more happy when she got the receipt and shoved the bag into her purse. While it looked like she walked away completely unbothered by the cashier’s behavior, her knuckles paled as they gripped the purse’s strap. 

The words he said just replayed on a loop in her mind, almost driving her to tears. Why the hell did she have to be punished for just buying video games on the only time she could let loose? Her heartbeat pulsed loudly in her ears as her firm sense of justice became too raw to bear. Without realizing, one of her hands pulled harshly on the waist of her dress. A meltdown was approaching upon the horizon, however, she had to push the wave down. If she were to shed even a single tear, she could be in bigger trouble than that disgusting pig. It was all becoming all too much, Natasha needed an outlet before she- 

Ping!

Halfway out of the store, her phone notification went off. Natasha didn’t know why she did, but in the middle of storming out of her ruined sanctuary she checked her phone. It looked like someone left a message in the personal friend group chat. Upon opening it, her eyes lit up as she saw who it was from.

Atlas Gang Group ChatNovember 23rd @  1:00 pm

Jason: Hello! Sorry I have gone quiet for the past two weeks. Recovery has been a bit more rough than I expected. Good news though, I’m coming back to work monday! :)

Her grip loosened with a sigh of relief. It was about time, she really needed an ear to listen to her right then. Natasha lost contact with the reality happening around her as she tapped her nails onto the phone’s keyboard. 

Natasha: HEEEEYYY! :D Omg i’m so happy to hear! MAN you wouldn’t BELIEVE what just happened at the 

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” screeched the pig’s voice.

Natasha’s head nearly spun off of her shoulders at the yelling, expecting to see an angry cashier confronting her. However, he seemed to stare in absolute horror at something beyond her shoulder. A rattling sound right behind her became apparent with an unnatural chill that made the hair on the back of her neck stand. She held her breath as she hesitantly turned her head to face… it.

Natasha’s day-off just got a whole lot worse. 

[Image Description: Natasha is face-to-face with a large monster that resembles an anthropomorphic  dinosaur that is made out of stone and glowing crystal. It is “drooling” and staring her down.] ---

Natasha: HEEEEYYY! :D Omg i’m so happy to hear! MAN you wouldn’t BELIEVE what just happened at the 

Jason: ??? Nat?

Jason had been staring down at the cut off message for about a minute, wondering why she didn’t finish what she was saying. Though he couldn’t ponder for long as a grating voice snapped him out of it.

“Yo what about LONDON TOWER?? EHHHHHH?” Motor gleefully suggested as he was flipping through the clearance costumes in the back of the clothing store.

Jason just gave him a tired stare and pressed the side button on his phone in order to put it to sleep. “You realize I’ve been an American citizen for six years now, right?” Jason said, “And for the last time, I will not be a masked vigilante, it’s literally illegal.” While it might have been too late, Jason had concluded that it was an absolute blunder to reach out to Motor for help. 

The original deal was to just go shopping for plaster to fix his ceiling and get used to controlling that pesky curse in public. Jason had to go back to work at some point as rent would not pay itself. At first it seemed nice to go out shopping after a whole two weeks inside, however, it quickly became apparent that the goal of their trip had changed from getting his life back together to picking out tacky Halloween costumes. Long after October.

“Oh come on Jason,” Motor said, “Don’t you know that great power comes with great responsibility?” He quoted that as if he was some professional historian, finger raised and all. 

“I am being responsible,” Jason answered as he folded his arms, “By keeping this thing under wraps and not breaking the law.” His gaze turned to the ultra cheap costumes around them, feeling a sense of embarrassment from the mere thought of wearing tight leggings and a wonky mask.

“Bro what the hell is the point of having a superpower and not usin’ it?” Motor asked as he held up a black jumpsuit towards Jason to compare sizes. The office worker shifted his glare to the jumpsuit and shoved it away. 

“It’s not a- ugh,” Jason grumbled as his palm hit his forehead, “I just need to learn to be normal again, nothing more.” He turned away from Motor with his arms crossed, his ears red with boiling fury. 

“Being normal sucks,” Motor retorted as he turned his back to throw the jumpsuit improperly onto the hangers, “Besides, it ain’t gonna kill ya to have a disguise for when you get a growth spurt.” Motor continued to clank through more clearance costumes on the hangers while pouting. Jason on the other hand, wasn’t going to bother to humor the nerd with his bizarre fantasies. Though if Jason had to concede anything to Motor, he had a point about needing to hide his identity in case it happens. All it could take was one escaping thought to cause a terrible scene and a call to the United States military. 

Perhaps, he could hide somewhere when he felt the butterflies coming on, or maybe just drop that silly crush on Natasha. Though the former was easier said than done. Suddenly Jason shook his head vigorously, realizing that he was treading dangerous waters if he were to dwell on his feelings for her any further. Looking for a distraction, Jason glanced over at the clearance table with all sorts of Halloween masks that weren’t lucky enough to be sold during the holiday they were made for. He reached out and picked up a bright white ski mask with wiring connected to it. Seeing the wires attached to the mouthpiece and the small battery pack on the other end made him realize it had a voice changer.

With his curiosity satiated, Jason was about to place it back down onto the table to check out the other masks in the meantime. Before he could get the chance to, both of the men heard a loud screech from the shopping mall entrance. They looked at each other confused, though did not say a single word as a crowd of mall shoppers ran into the clothing store and sprinted to the building’s exit. 

Grimly, Jason assumed that they had ended up in a situation that Americans are unfortunately too familiar with. Just as Jason was going to join the crowd to run from the apparent threat, a large hand that grabbed his shoulder stopped him. 

“Motor what the bloody hell are you doing!?” Jason shouted before he was dragged down to hide behind the hangers with the janitor. Motor promptly shushed him and Jason stared at him, wondering what was going through Motor’s head now.

“I didn’t hear a gunshot,” Motor whispered as they huddled behind the costumes, “Did you?” Now that he thought about it, a gun surely would have been fired by now if it caused this much of a panic. “I didn’t,” Jason confirmed, attempting to peek through the costumes to watch more people run, “But whatever it is, we shouldn’t be standing around to find out.”

In order to figure out exactly what the panic was about, Jason focused his new hearing towards the groups of people hustling to get to safety. Though what he heard cleared nothing up at all.

“Run for your lives!”

“WHAT WAS THAT THING!?”

“Lucy, come on baby! We’re almost outside!”

“I’m not making it up!! It’s HUGE guys!”

“Think I saw it chasing some lady, this is our chance!!”

It had left him with more questions than answers. They couldn’t have been talking about him as he was nowhere near the scene of the crime and the last he checked was his normal height. But, if the involuntary giant was with Motor, then what the hell else could they be referring to? Motor himself seemed to tune in the best he could. With his curly bangs covering his eyes, Jason found it hard to decipher if Motor had come to his senses yet. Nevertheless, someone had to use their common sense at that moment, and it sure would not be Motor. 

“L-let’s get out of here,” Jason shuddered as he turned to Motor, and witnessed one of the most horrifying things imaginable to him. A dark brown eye pierced through Motor’s bangs had its full attention completely focused on the little office rat. That sizzling stare burned into Jason’s mind as it was the telling sign of a reckless idea being born with full immunity to doubt.

“Jason,” Motor said, “Someone is in deep shit right now and needs your help.”

Hearing the unexpected serious tone Jason had thought Motor could never possibly possess, his face turned completely pale as he began to involuntarily shiver. Shaking his head, Jason tried to mutter out excuses though his disbelief. “Wh-what?!” Jason squealed, “I-I can’t do anything about this, we should get somewhere safe-”

A harsh, jamming finger into his sternum which took Jason’s breath away. “You have the power,” Motor argued, “Are you just gonna run away to do the safe thing, or the right thing?” 

This was one of those rare times where Jason could peek behind Motor’s bangs and saw those judgemental eyes stare deep into his soul. His resolve crumbled, unsure what the correct answer had to be in this situation. Never in his life he was depended on like this and merely asking something like this crushed Jason. “I… I can’t-” Jason sputtered, unable to give a simple reply as his scared eyes stared back at Motor. 

His fingers gripped into the plastic of the mask he had been holding onto.

“...Oh- oh bugger.”

---

Natasha’s shoes skidded as she sprinted around the corner, not bothering to look behind her as she heard a storefront’s windows shatter. Unfortunately, this didn’t buy the time that Natasha wanted. In the matter of seconds, the pursuit continued as if the thing didn’t just tumble through a wall of glass. 

The unnatural footfalls of the towering thing grew louder as it rapidly gained ground towards Natasha, who had burst into a full on sprint for her life. Her mind still held the glimpse of that living art school project and the unidentifiable wet substance that dripped from its claws. Out of everyone else in the mall, it had its eyes dead set on the prey it picked to give chase. Natasha wasn’t sure why, but this wasn’t the time to stop to ask questions. 

Her feet hit the laminated floors as her chest burned with every quick breath. 

She thanked herself for not going with the low-heels today instead choosing her casual white tennis shoes. It had done her a favor in running away from the ghastly creature behind her. 

Natasha’s skin raised goosebumps from the frigid breath tracing the back of her neck.

To her horror, she found they were heading towards the end of the floor that had nothing but a white plastered wall that had spelled out a grim fate for her. Natasha only had a couple of seconds to look around for a way out, as death trailed at her heels. At that moment, she saw the escalator which was devoid of people. Suddenly, the inner urge of her rebellious days long past called to her.

She acted upon it.

In one swift skip, she jumped onto the escalator railing and had dodged a swing from the beast, her backside landed on the rail. Swiftly, she slid down the railing, freedom blowing through her pink curls. Pure glee rushed through her heart, however it was brief as she attempted to hop off of the rail. 

Natasha was rudely reminded that she wasn’t fifteen anymore as she tumbled a few feet and didn’t make the graceful landing as planned. With a yelp, she fell onto her side and ended up rolling on to her back. Her trendy glasses broke in half on the floor and her hat floated into the mall’s koi fish pond.

Just before she could even think about getting up, its claws slammed right along her shoulders. The crackle of laminate filled her ears and the chilled breathing sunk into her spine. Before she could even register it, she had been caught.

“No no NO NO NO!!” Natasha croaked, “Not like this!” Pleading seemed to just bounce off the beast as it drew closer to her face, making no noise other than its scrapes on the tile floor. She tried to get up, push it away or anything, but her limbs were tired from running. Everything shut down as the end grew closer. The adrenaline pumping through her veins had blinded her to the mascara dripping off her face and how her throat had become hoarse from screaming.

Regrets sprouted from the depression her mind had cultivated. She should have stuck with her musical passions instead of safe corporate work. Maybe even sucked it up and just tried to ask Jason out on a date. Man, calling her ma first from time to time wouldn’t have hurt. Did she really need to pick up these video games today?

The blinding maw was open wide, and she would soon find her fate to be a cruel one. Her eyes closed shut, ready for the end.

“H-h-hey, y-you there!”

The icy grasp of death suddenly released, and Natasha heard a deep voice give a frightened screech. “Leave her al-AAAH!” Yelled the voice, “Bloody h-hell what are you!?” 

Natasha felt the overbearing presence above her shuffle away and she felt safe enough to open her eyes to see what brave idiot was dumb enough to get its attention. Turning her head she saw a guy, who began to slowly retreat. He looked like he ran out of ideas for a Halloween costume; dressed in all black clothing that covered just about everything except his face, which was covered by a knock-off slasher hockey mask.

Natasha could tell right away that he bit off more than he could chew, especially since he wasn’t even holding anything to defend himself with. She could only push herself up as she witnessed the stranger take shaky steps away from the approaching monstrosity.

“U-Uhm, sorry that was rude of me wasn’t it?” The stuttering stranger spoke, his voice became hoarse with fear, “See, you’re causing a huge ruckus and hurting people, d-do you understand what you’re doing?”

It towered over the skinny man. The full height of this thing had to have been almost twice as big as him. Even if the creature didn’t have long crystalline claws and a mouth a dentist would faint at, the idiot had no chance. While it was hard to gauge from where Natasha was prone, she could tell the pleads from behind the guy’s mask had not gotten through to that thing at all. An attempt to peacefully negotiate had been done in vain.

Natasha pulled herself up off of the ground and leaned forward to get a better look as she debated if she should make a run for it. While it would have been the safer option, she thought it cruel to leave this guy alone with that B-movie abomination. One glance was all it took for her to notice that they were the only ones in the mall, and she didn’t hear sirens. Worst of all, she saw the monster slowly lower its arms and bend its legs, just as if it was about to pounce on the shivering man who obviously froze in fear.

“Hey!” Natasha shouted, “Watch out!!”

The masked figure’s head jerked towards her direction, followed by a surprised gasp as he visibly was taken aback by her presence. Natasha could not even comprehend what happened next. She had to have been trapped in a nightmare conjured by her anxieties and caffeine overdose. In one blink, the masked stranger’s height lurched upwards, and he had gained an unexpected height advantage over the monster. Visibly cold vapor hissed through its ‘skin’ as it backed away, if only for a moment. From what Natasha could tell, the stranger didn’t expect this change either as he looked down to investigate his hands with a shaking head. Though the match up changed quite a bit, the monster had already lowered itself, disregarding the change entirely.

Unfortunately, the now-giant man didn’t notice it pouncing on top of him until it was already too late. The only thing he could do was to flinch backwards to stop the thing from slicing his head off, but alas, the glowing, blade-like claws scraped down his arm. A pained shriek rang out before a slam in the chest interrupted the man as the creature barged into him. Blood dripped onto the laminate floor as he shoved the beast aside with both arms. The stoney creature fell under its own momentum into an abandoned hot dog stand. Natasha stood up onto her feet, still trying to process the scene unfolding in front of her. This seemed to be a chance to get away from the insanity she’d had been thrown into, through her wet eyes locked on to the wounded giant. He had looked back at her, she could see his dilated pupils as he held his trembling arm. The stranger then dashed towards her direction.

Natasha backed away, preparing to make a run for but found herself cemented to the floor. To her horror she spotted the creature getting up from the greasy remains from the stand as if it was nothing. The fear upon her face caused the giant to look over his shoulder to see what she was gawking at.

That is, until he tripped over the edge of the koi pond and fell right into it.

Water splashed about and turned red from the blood seeping out of the masked giant’s wound. He had a rather difficult time getting out of the water, unfortunately, the creature had seen this and made a slow stride to collect his head. Tiles cracked under its weight as it approached the fountain, looking down at the incapacitated giant who was struggling with his pain. 

However, before it could leap onto the masked man, one of its feet landed on a stray puddle. Immediately it yanked itself back with a loud hiss as vapor rose from the affected foot. From where Natasha was standing, she could see the obsidian-like skin under its foot dull into an ugly gray and the light leave the pulsing blue crystals. Within the pond, the masked giant scrambled, not realizing the creature had halted its pursuit and wobbled back up to his feet. He leaped from the pond clumsily and tried to run past Natasha as if she wasn’t even there. As it didn’t want its prey to get away that easily, it readied itself and leaped across the pond as if it was nothing. The beast slammed down onto the other side despite it limping on its poor foot and made a bloodthirsty dash towards the wounded giant. Natasha took a step away from the scene, nearly slipping on ice. “WOA- huh!?” Natasha yelped as she saw that the spots where the monster had been had been frozen completely with the puddles becoming black ice. Remembering some parts of her highschool chemistry class, an idea sprouted from her mind. Her attention went back to the fight as she heard a loud clash.

The masked giant had grabbed a plushie stand and rammed it into the beast to stop its chase. While that idea might have worked out, the creature knew better as it grabbed the stand by the sides of it. Large bright teeth emerged from its gaping maw and it snapped its mouth in the middle of the stand, including an unlucky teddy bear. The stand had been torn in half to the giant’s horror and it didn’t take long for the beast to leap from the remains of the stand. A loud thump echoed across the empty mall’s lobby upon impact. Natasha saw the beast’s arms slam down against the giant man and pin him to the floor. She shivered, knowing that what that brave moron was seeing was that eldritch gullet. His screams then snapped her out of her inaction. She couldn’t just stand there and let an innocent… man? Die. Not because of her.

Quickly, her eyes darted around the mall, trying to see anything she could use to save his life. Her desperate mind then spotted the fire hose box across from where she was standing. Natasha made a bolt for it as the beating continued.

“AA- St-AH! Get-” The giant stammered as claws slashed into his chest, though an unexpected roar came from him. “GET THE FUCK OFF!!” He yelled as his good arm swung from the side and plowed into the predator’s head. It reeled back in agony, its growls sound less like an animal and more like crumbling glass. No longer was it holding him down as it held the side of its face, though it still was in grabbing distance from the giant man. The time to intervene was now, or more regrets would follow her.

The door to the fire hose box slammed open, and she tugged the end of the hose out of its roll. The beast made a deep rumbling noise as it glared down at its exhausted opponent with its blazing blue sockets. Before it could lash out at him once more, a daring human caught it off guard by jumping in between them.

“HEY UGLY!” Natasha yelled, hose ready in her hands, “WHERE’S YOUR RAINCOAT?!”

[Image Description: From the point of view of the monster, Natasha is spraying a fire hose at it while yelling. The quote “Random guy” on the floor is staring at her in amazement/fear for her safety.]

The water spouted from the nozzle and drenched its face completely. Vapor poured from the graying skin from the beast as it writhed in agony from the water pouring into every crack along the surface. It scattered away from the onslaught but it was already too late for it to run, as its feet twitched for the last time before they froze completely. Pieces of its arms withered and crashed onto the floor. To what Natasha could guess was a scream, it had made a loud engine like roar before the light from its eye sockets dimmed. 

From a creature made of crystal, it stayed a mere frail stone statue for only a couple of seconds as the pieces of it cracked onto the tiles, and what remained was a pile of rocks with its vapors dissipating into the air.

Nothing but quiet running water filled the mall lobby.

A clatter of a fallen hose's nozzle followed the moment of silence that was shared between the two of them in the lobby. If she wasn’t on high alert from the impossibly giant man behind her, Natasha felt like she could collapse onto the floor into her favorite fetal position for a mental breakdown. Her dim wine eyes held a haunting staring contest with the frozen remains of the thing that almost ended both of their lives. However, it was cut short as her shoulder jumped from the loud groan behind her. The winds of movement brushed against her back, causing her to turn around to face him.

Now that she didn’t have to worry about meeting her maker early, Natasha had a better look at her terrifying rescuer. It was as if he was a slasher villain that escaped his own B-movie. He had just about everything; The black clothing, emotionless hockey mask, incredibly imposing height and what she could see, his squinting eyes staring daggers at her. Despite his appearance however, the giant could only barely sit himself up and was clutching his chest, hissing in pain from the beating he took. Too many questions ran through her mind to pick which one she should ask first. Since she couldn’t find the words, the giant used his own. 

“Uhm.. you alright?” he asked softly, his hands trembling.

“I-I guess,” Natasha finally answered with a dry mouth, “Should be asking you that.” She pointed at his chest, however her eyes gazed over the torn sleeve that revealed a rather nasty wound. 

The giant’s head followed her finger and he slowly unclenched his hands, shaking and definitely had his blood on them. Even with a deep voice, he uttered a squeal upon seeing the deep scratch on his forearm and pulled it close to his chest. Natasha attempted to lean a little to get a better look, however he pulled it away from her view. 

“O-oh that?” he spoke, chuckling nervously through his strained voice, “It’s just a scratch, no big deal haha…” Even with his eyes hiding behind the black mesh within the mask, Natasha could tell that he was looking away from her desperately. Dude looked like a serial killer, but he acted like a puppy who’s paw got accidentally stepped on.

“You sure?” Natasha insisted as she reached her hand out timidly to him, “We should get that wrapped up atle-”

Before she could finish, wind knocked Natasha back as the giant jumped back up to his feet. Thankfully, she managed to not fall over, though her heart rate multiplied seeing him reach his full height. Even while he was hunching over his obvious wound, her stomach dropped as he was tall enough to punt her like a football if he wanted to. 

“That won’t be necessary!” he said, “I’ll just go and clean it… out…” The giant paused in his spiel, unintentionally looming over the shivering woman. Standing within his shadow, that survival instinct re-gained the hold of her heart. A tiny voice in her mind tried to remind her he had just saved her life, however she did not like the way he was staring her down.

“You’re adorable,” he finally spoke. 

“E-excuse me!?” Natasha yelled, unsure if she had misheard him.

“AH- I mean,” the giant clumsily backpedaled as he waved his hands, “Sorry! You’re just so small now.” 

Dread crawled up her spine as it felt like his examination was piercing through her. Natasha shuffled away from him as tears welled up in her eyes. “Y-you’re goddamn huge,” Natasha whimpered as she grabbed the sides of her fizzled hair, “Ain’t no way this is actually happening to me right now...”

As if a switch flipped, the giant perked up and put hands down gently, backing up to give her space. “Oh, bugger!” the giant pleaded, “I forgot I’m… this.” His sigh flickered through the audio processor in the mask, looking away from her and drifting his eyes to the ruined pond.

He began talking again, though Natasha couldn’t exactly hear what he was saying over the loud thoughts crashing into her head. Ringing in her ears deafened her as everything about this situation had just seeped in. This wasn’t normal. Her fingers became numb and suddenly it became harder to breathe. She almost died. She could have died. 

Natasha was staring into her muddled reflection of the cracked laminate floor, not even hearing anything rather than the noise popping in her ears and her own sobbing.

Why did life have to be so cruel?

A droopy hat pushed her out of her spiral as it suddenly filled her vision. Natasha blinked and realized it wasn’t just any hat, it was her hat that fell into the pond. Though soaked through and tinted red on some of the edges. Her shaking hands reached up to grab the sides of it and looked up. The giant had been holding her hat in one of his hands while kneeling to her as if he was some dashing knight. Their eyes met for the first time, yet it felt so familiar.

“You deserve better than this Natasha.” He spoke with as much warmth as he could with an artificially deepened voice. While this gesture would have been sweet, charming even given the circumstances, the calm Natasha felt flickered out as his hand suddenly doubled in size. She couldn’t help screaming loudly from the sudden growth spurt as his entire being grew bigger right in front of her. He’d let go of the hat at this point, startled by her outburst and stood up in order to give her space. There wasn’t much clearing he could give, considering his back had bumped into the balcony of the second floor. The hot dog stand’s remains also had to get a word in as one of his shoes slipped on spilled grease, which caused him to fall back down onto the mall’s tiles. The sound of the cracking floor followed as Natasha backed herself into a pillar opposite of the walking disaster.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry I didn’t mean to-” the giant tried to plead to the sobbing woman who had already been through enough that day. However, his attempt at smoothing things over was interrupted by a yell that came from down further into the lobby.

“Yo, did you show that thing who’s boss-” Motor shouted as he ran towards the scene, though his jog turned into a full on sprint as he saw who had become a sobbing mess, “NATASHA! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

Light returned to Natasha’s eyes, and didn’t waste any time running towards her best friend. Upon impact with Motor’s large frame, she squeezed him in a tight hug as she wept. Of course Motor returned the favor with a hug, though spiked a glare at the disruptive man taking up a quarter of the mall’s first floor.

“Man, I have never been happier to see you!” Natasha wailed as she pulled away from him with her hands on his arms, “This gotta be a nightmare right!?”

“Uuhhh,” Motor said, his eyes quickly checking Natasha for any signs of injuries, “You alright?”

“NO I’M NOT ALRIGHT!” Natasha shouted, her hyperventilating returning as she gripped the sides of her frizzled pink hair. Though Motor put a stop to that with a chapped hand on her shoulder.

“Breathe sis,” Motor said, herding Natasha to follow him out, “Let’s get you out of here.” Natasha kept her head down as she gripped the brim of her hat. She didn’t want to look at the chaotic scene around her anymore and just wanted to wake up in her bedsheets . However, their walk outside was halted as Motor looked over his shoulder at the quiet giant. 

“Hey big guy!” he yelled, “You might want to get out of here, I saw the feds getting ready to raid the place, the back entrance is clear!” Natasha couldn’t see it, but she heard a loud grumble behind them and felt the vibrations through the floor.

“Thanks… kind stranger,” the giant retorted, moving towards the other direction on his hands and knees. She heard him mumble ‘ows’ and sounds of struggle against concrete.

Curiosity got the better of her and she turned her head to look back at the giant. Her large rescuer was attempting to shove himself underneath a balcony and into the alcove that had the mall’s back exit. Though he wasn’t having much luck trying to crawl into it on the account of the fact that he was basically two stories tall. He sighed, turning back, and their gazes had once again met. His eyes were hazel. That flame of similarity was still there, despite everything. The only thing Natasha could muster was a small flap of her hand before being shown the door.

What a terrible day off this was.

---

“You people are worthless,” Blaire slammed the police car’s door shut as she was reprimanding a small group of quivering officers. One of the piglets, the one who gave the news to the government operative, stuttered in his words as he fiddled with his belt.

“Ma’am, you need to understand that the claims made about the situation were not believable,” he said, sweating bullets from the stare down he was receiving from Blaire, “How were we supposed to realize that the reports of an actual monster rampaging at the mall were credible calls?” The soul nearly left his body when a finger jabbed into his chest, nearly stabbing through his bullet-proof vest.

“Prank or not you should have sent SOMEONE to the scene!” Blaire shouted, her gaze burning up the officer’s will to protest, “Lives could’ve been lost for Christ's sake!” The officer only nodded his head like a dog as she removed her finger with the world’s heaviest eye roll. As it seemed like the day would not get any better from there, Blaire shoved a hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out her sliver lighter. “You’re all lucky my people arrived in Seattle before this shit show,” Blaire said as she was fishing out a cigarette, “Keep away the press and uninvolved civilians, tell them nothing, and let us handle the rest.”

Blaire didn’t waste the rest of her breath and carried herself with purpose into the frantic parking lot. Ambulance sirens backdropped the chaotic parking lot, as her agents attempted to keep the witnesses from asking too many questions to prevent the situation from boiling over. Knowing today was going to be a long one, Blaire lit her cigarette and took a deep puff while surveying the scene unfolding before her. It didn’t take long for her to hear fast paced footsteps trail behind and an unconfident voice spoke up.

“Uhm- Ms. Witch?” A woman dressed as if it was her first day at a clerk job said, fumbling a tablet to her chest, “I have the diagnostics ready for you.” Blaire didn’t bother to look back at her and kept on walking closer to the mall’s building. “Walk with me,” Blaire ordered. The girl picked up her pace and started going through the notes she had written on the tablet while trying to not make direct eye contact with her superior. 

“Sweep is already almost done collecting all the samples from the entity within a mile radius, and there have been no reported casualties from the initial incident,” stated the informant as she struggled to keep up, “They’re currently trying to figure out how to handle transporting the samples without them merging.”

That confirmed what Blaire had been suspecting when she read that light-weight documentation. The few experiments that had been conducted so far concluded that the alien mineral is strongly magnetic to many common metals, but especially magnetic to itself; the separate chunks seemed to fuse together on contact. She wasn’t even sure if ‘magnetic’ described this peculiar attraction appropriately.

Blair’s eyes landed on the torn open doors of the front entrance. “I’m assuming it’s been terminated,” Blaire said as she took another drag.

The new hire’s fingers tapped on her tablet as she bit her lip, “Yes?” she hesitantly answered, “Though Sweep have just found out water can completely neutralize the lifeform.” Blaire stopped in her tracks, causing a collision between her and the clumsy young woman as she smacked into her back. The informant stepped away quickly and sputtered out an apology. “Oh, my gosh I-I’m so sorry-” 

“Nevermind that,” Blaire said as she turned around to face her with raised eyebrows, “What do you mean they just found out that water kills it? Why wasn’t this anywhere on the documents?”

“Well uh, I-I guess no one bothered to try? I don’t know ma’am,” the informant continued, “It’s been confirmed that the entire structure of the entity has a terminal reaction upon coming into contact with water.”

“Huh, well I’ll be,” Blaire responded as she tapped the burnt bit of her cigarette, “The bastards are invading the wrong planet, huh?”

“Actually, ma’am we can’t confirm sapience or intent at the moment,” the informant flipped through the reports, “Witnesses stated it was mindlessly rampaging during the entire event.”

“Same could be said of the military to be honest,” Blaire bluntly said as she watched a small crowd of teenagers being rounded up for questioning, “So, which group was able to terminate the thing? Sweep? Police? Or God forbid, Mall security?”

“About that…” the Informant said hesitantly with her eyes traveling to her feet, “It had been neutralized… by a civilian, ma’am.”

“Is that so?” Blaire asked, now giving full eye contact to the informant as the cigarette in her hand was gripped, “Who is it?”

The informant’s hand pointed towards an ambulance several meters away with a small team of EMTs tending to a pink-haired woman curled in a foil blanket. Nearby there was a tall shaggy man loudly arguing with a couple of her agents. “Those two were the only ones who know what happened to it,” the Informant clarified, “Though there is also-”

Before the informant could say anything else, Blaire dropped her cigarette onto the ground and dug in her heel to snuff it out. “Begin a Hamilton stratagem,” Blaire ordered as she strode towards the ambulance, “There was a severe gas leak that caused mass hysteria, delete any evidence to the contrary and administer amnestics if witnesses prove uncooperative.”

“But- but ma’am there’s something else you need to-” The informant didn’t get to finish as her higher up was already pushing her way through the crowd to get to that woman. 

Upon the EMTs and agents realizing who had the audacity to interfere, they let the Witch through to the back of the ambulance where the lady in pink was sitting. At first glance, she did not seem to be the type to get into any sort of fight. She was hunched over as her knuckles were death gripping the blanket. One could only imagine what she saw with her petrified gaze that was staring into the parking lot asphalt.

Reality had been torn apart for this poor girl, soon enough Blaire will sew it right back up like nothing happened. Before that though, she needed that first hand information before it was lost. “Excuse me,” Blaire spoke up, pulling out her FBI badge from her pocket. The woman didn’t seem to hear her the first time, so she tried again. 

“Excuse me,” Blaire restated, “Miss?”

“Those eyes…” The woman mumbled under her breath, still unresponsive to anything Blaire was saying. That was until a pair of fingers snapping right in front of her face yanked her back to the present. “HUH- Oh!” she yelped, finally realizing that someone was trying to talk to her, “Sorry! Uh, can I help you?”

“Yes actually,” Blaire said, flashing one of her trusty badges, “Agent Mansley, I'm with the FBI and I’m here to confirm a few things with you if I may?” That scared doe-look upon the woman’s face melted into an icy stare as she looked away from Blaire. “I already talked to the cops,” she grumbled, “Why do you gotta talk to me? Not like you’ll take it seriously either.”

Of course, the local police force seemed to once again muddle her investigation with their less than lackluster civilian relations.

“Because I want to hear it coming from a reputable source,” Blaire said as she crossed her arms, “It will only be a few questions and after that we’ll take care of you, miss…?”

The woman looked back at Blaire with full eye contact, keeping her walls up with skepticism. Despite having come out of Hell completely frazzled, she pulled out a mask of confidence with a deadpan expression. “Maryham,” she answered as she pushed some of her pink hair strands behind her ear, “Natasha Maryham.”

Filling that name in the back of her mind for later, Blaire lent out a hand to Natasha. As if on instinct, she had reciprocated with a very firm handshake only a corporate rung manager could give. “A pleasure to meet you Natasha,” Blaire said, “Promise this won’t take too much of your time, I’m sure you are very busy today.”

“Actually, this was my day off,” Natasha responded as her hands traveled onto her lap and fiddled with her sundress, “Wished I was working, in hindsight.”

“I can only imagine,” Blaire lied, pulling out her trusty pen and flipbook, “What happened?”

The mask slipped as it took Natasha more than a minute to gather her thoughts coherently just as expected. Having a few false starts with mumbling, Though when the witness could warm up to recount her terrible day, Blaire was surprised at the details this shaken person was able to give of the entire ordeal.

“I-I was in one of the stores shopping, ya know, as you do,” Natasha explained as her eyes drifted back to the asphalt, “And all of a sudden this… thing jumped out of nowhere, I guess it had a problem because it tried to kill me!”

“What did ‘that thing’ look like?” Blaire asked, her eyes taking a knowing glance at the bismuth dangling from her neck.  

Natasha gripped the side of her head, fingers twirling through her curls. “I-I don’t even know how to put it,” she said, “You know claymation? Animated clay figures and stuff?” 

“I’ve seen Wallace and Gromit before,” Blaire answered with a smirk, attempting to make eye contact with her. Though no matter how much she tried, this one seemed to evade her gaze. Not on purpose however.

“Sort of like that but,” she said, “It-it was like someone messed up making a dinosaur or something- and… uhm. Teeth. Lots of teeth.” Through her recounting of its appearance, her breath became staggered, and she heaved every breath. The woman coiled her hair around her fists, tighter and tighter, threatening to tear the hair out at the root. Blaire took it upon herself to hover a comforting hand over Natasha’s shoulder, not quite touching her.

It took only a moment for Natasha, who was just about to break into more tears, to look over at the offered hand and shake her head silently. The hand retracted, letting the woman’s tears shed for a long minute. Sniffling, Natasha wiped her eyes, the ruined mascara smearing upon her arm before she turned to the agent once again. 

“That ain’t even the craziest part,” Natasha mumbled, her eyes traveling to find the words to explain, “When it… cornered me, some guy in a hockey mask got its attention.”

Blaire raised an eyebrow at this. She glanced back over to the large man that started to have a rather loud debate with one of her agents, noting the lack of a mask. Sure, it was rare that someone would play hero in situations like this, though it wasn’t impossible. Certainly wouldn’t be unwelcome. However, why didn’t the informant mention another witness at the scene? “This masked man saved you?” Blaire asked as she turned back to her interviewee, Natasha nodded.

Just as Natasha opened her mouth to continue explaining, Blaire asked another unprompted question. “Can you give me a description of him?” Blaire questioned as she actually wrote in her notepad, “I want to get information from him as well.”

“That’s the thing,” Natasha said, fingers fumbling, “He’s gone and, I-I don’t know how to put this but, he uh, wasn’t normal.”

Blaire looked up from her writing, staring at Natasha who seemed to be completely cognisant and stared right back at her. “Care to elaborate Ms. Maryham?” Blaire asked.

“If I told you that the guy grew ten feet tall, would you think I’m seeing things too?” Natasha responded, this time giving the agent full eye contact. Perhaps to see how Blaire was going to react, as if she expected the same brush off response the cops had given her. During her years of working for FAIRA, she’d become accustomed to finding the difference between people making stuff up for attention, figments of their imagination and the people that have actually seen something they shouldn’t have.

Just by the look in Natasha’s eyes, she definitely fell into the latter and that was a problem.

The EMT, who was standing by the two chatting, covertly waved a small vial of blood at Blaire’s direction. Question time was coming to an end and while there were a few more loose ends she’d like to tie up, she had a job to do. Closing the notebook, Blaire feigned confusion and asked, “Are you positive that’s what you saw?”

What light that was left in Natasha’s eyes dissipated, turning back to watch the pavement. “Knew you weren’t gonna believe me.” Natasha muttered, disappointed but not surprised. Keeping up with the act, Blaire gave a quick nod to the EMT and let him get Natasha’s attention.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the EMT said, “Ma’am we’re gonna need to get you on oxygen, we’ve detected carbon monoxide in your bloodstream.”

Natasha spun her head at him, worry plastered on her face. “Wh-what? ” Natasha asked, raising her voice, “Am I going to be okay?!”

The medical professional put a hand upon her shoulder and shook it gently, speaking in a soft voice as he administered his lies. “Oh, you should be just fine Natasha,” the EMT said, “We’re gonna put you on oxygen for about an hour and you should be okay to head on home.” He pushed the oxygen mask into Natasha’s hands, “Put the mask on, and breathe in, take the mask off, breathe out,” he instructed. Since she didn’t want to die, Natasha did as she was told. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” The EMT spoke as he grabbed a full syringe, “I’ll need to take blood work of your… expressive friend there.” And with that, he went to take care of the man shouting obscenities at the agents, thus leaving the two of them to chat.

“Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause hallucinations you know, ” Blaire off-handedly commented, “Think that’s what you saw in there.” Most people, when presented with a situation that challenges their reality, head straight into denial and try to come up with a normal explanation for it. However, sometimes they will dig deeper and become an issue that only an amnestic could solve. Even then, termination wasn’t out of the question either. It all depends on what reality the witness is willing to accept, and if they value their lives over the truth.

Blaire saw that thought spin in Natasha’s mind, when they are conflicted about which reality to accept to be true. “But- but it all felt so real,” Natasha sputtered as she took off the mask, “That thing literally tore apart the mall! How could I have made that up?!” She shook, holding both of her arms and had trouble catching her breath.

“Breathe,” Blaire spoke, forcing the mask back into Natasha’s mouth, “There was no monster, there was a gas leak. The monoxide’s gotten into your blood, convincing your brain you’ve seen something that wasn’t there. Hell, any crashing you felt was probably just a thousand feet, all stamping to get out of there. There’s no monster, you’re perfectly safe.”

Scared eyes stared at Blaire, though slowly, they dimmed as Natasha nodded along. Breathing in oxygen, and out of the mask just as she was told. Thankfully, this witness was not going to ask anymore questions, and they would not have to do this the hard way.

“Have a pleasant rest of your day ma’am,” Blaire said, “Feel better soon.” With that, Blaire left the ambulance and walked past the commotion of her agents corralling a rather frazzled brute of a man to an ambulance for a ‘blood test’. Right then it wasn’t a concern as they had a bigger problem on their hands.

Searching around the scene, she found her Informant tapping away at that damn tablet. “Informant,” Blaire hissed, causing the poor girl to nearly jump out of her skin. She spun around to attention.

“Y-yes ma’am?” whimpered the Informant.

“Why didn’t you inform me that there was a second anomaly?” Blaire asked as she loomed over her.

“With all due respect ma’am,” the Informant said, pushing up her glasses, “I tried to tell you earlier, but you told me to initiate the Hamilton stratagem.”

“That’s important information that should have been relayed immediately,” Blaire said, shoving the Informant’s shoulder, “Grow a damn backbone, and tell me what I need to know.”

On cue, the Informant looked back to her tablet and pulled up a video file. “Just as the incident occurred, this humanoid had appeared to fight the creature and inexplicably doubled his size during the confrontation,” the Informant told her superior, “We can’t gather information on where this man came from as it seems most of the cameras in the mall had been compromised right before he showed up, All we have is this security footage of the lobby to confirm his presence.”

Once the tablet was in Blaire’s hand, her eyes became glued to the screen. While the camera angle wasn't the best, being that it was on the third floor and pointed towards the lobby. She could still make out the last of the crowd storming out of the mall and not a moment later, Natasha slid and fell onto the lobby’s tiles. Knots tied in her gut, watching the initial anomaly pinning her to the floor. That poor girl indeed. 

Then came the other anomaly, stumbling in from the corner of the video reluctantly. As he was covered from head to toe, it was obvious that he was hiding his identity for a reason. That reason quickly became apparent, watching the anomaly outgrow his opponent and somehow still got his backside handed to him. It was a pathetic attempt at vigilantism, there was no plan and his flailing around could barely count as a fighting stance. The woman he was attempting to save had to be the one to figure out to save both of them from it. Despite the dangerous negligence the giant shifter displayed, what truly made Blaire’s stomach drop happened after the creature was turned into rubble. Trembling fingers fumbled through her coat pocket to fish out another cigarette, placing the butt onto her lips as she focused on the giant’s movements when he attempted to hand the hat back to the lady.

She didn’t pick up on it at first, but the sudden twitch in his hands and what she could make out behind the eye holes of the mask, they were wide every time the giant grew. Clumsy footsteps backing away from the woman and having to painstakingly shove his body out of the lobby in order to leave the premises. He wasn’t in combat anymore, so why would he need to increase his size again if he wanted a simple escape? There was only one conclusion to be drawn; he didn’t have control over his growth.

“Informant, wrap up the cover up here as fast as you can,” Blaire ordered as she shoved the tablet under one of her arms, “I’ll meet with sweep in order to collect any DNA samples of this new anomaly immediately.” Just before she could storm off to the mall, a tug on her elbow caused her to glare back at the Informant stopping her.

“Yes Ma’am but,” the Informant said as she instantly let go of her superior, “Wh-what about the aliens? What should we do about them?”

“We can put aside a task force for that,” Blaire answered as she brushed off her arm, “A basic patrol protocol and water can take care of them.” Blaire lit the cigarette hanging from her mouth as she gave the order. “There’s a moron roaming the streets of Seattle that could bring humanity to its knees,” Blaire directed the informant as she blew a puff of smoke into the air, “and we need to track him down, do you understand?”

“I-I suppose so ma’am-” She didn’t get to finish raising her concerns as Blaire stormed towards the mall. There was no time to dawdle and second guess her judgment. Lives were going to be at risk and there was no telling when the giant was going to make himself known.

Exhaling smoke from her lungs, Blaire stared back down at the paused security footage. The frame where the giant’s eyes were briefly caught stared right back at her. Despite the good intentions he might have, a threat is still a threat at the end of the day.

She had to track this anomaly down. It was Blaire’s duty after all.

[Image Description: Blaire staring down at the tablet with a lit cigarette, the video is paused at the anomaly's face that looks forlorn. There is text on the picture stating “End of Act 1”] ------ Taglist: @satethesatelite @me-be-lurking @smolcomfycat