#I had gotten stuck on how to transition from one scene to the next

[batfamhastwitter]

Since I think it'll be a hot minute before the next update, I figured that I'd post some headcanons relating to this au that have been floating around in my brain for a while!

Bruce is one of those celebrities that has tens of millions of followers, but unless you live in/around Gotham, there is a high likelihood that you have never seen his posts

Even though he spends zero to no time on twitter in his day to day life and doesn't have notifications turned on, Dick is always one of the first ten people to like his sibling's posts. There is a running bet going between the rest of the family about how he does it (there may or may not be a murder board)

Jason can and will get into heated debates with idiots on the daily on a secret account. Bruce has been begging him to stop because he knows that it will eventually end up reaching the media. Little does he know that's Jason's main motivator for continuing.

Because of her dyslexia, Cass doesn't really use twitter a lot, since the idea of reading scrolling walls of text doesn't appeal to her very much, which is why I don't have her make appearances very often (not that I don't love her! I just don't see her as someone who would be online very much anyways)

Tim was 100000% a Tumblr girly back in the day, and though he'll deny it, he totally still is. It's where he hosted the old blog he used to document his pictures of Batman and Robin when he was younger, and how it has transitioned to more general subjects, though sometimes he'll post a picture of one of the Bats from an angle that should be impossible for a civilian to have gotten to.

Steph actually had a big twitter following before ever being publicly associated with the Waynes! She's into the makeup scene and has posted the occasional video of her routines for years, at first on YouTube and then on TikTok. Even though the makeup wasn't great at first because she was a teenager and just getting started, people loved her humor, so they stuck around! Sometimes morons try to say that she's only successful because she's associated with the Waynes, and she takes great joy in showing them how being associated with the Waynes barely boosted her follower count.

Duke has had the same twitter account since he was 13, and occasionally an embarrassing tweet from that era of his life will resurface and be quoted around the manor until he starts retaliating by retweeting some of their "greatest hits" (like the one time tim crashed into a food table at a gala when he was nine because he had snuck his skateboard in.) Needless to say the rest usually quiet down afterwards lol

Damian has the second highest follower count in the family besides Bruce because people love how he goes from posting a cute photo of Titus and Alfred the Cat snuggling to doxing someone (coughTimcough) for annoying him

Lmk if you guys like this type of thing! I'm definitely down to post more headcanons and the like if there's interest, hope you enjoy! :)

[my5unday]

lps2012 tumblr, me and my friend @octonauter have cooked up a satirical vinnil fanfiction.. hope you enjoy 😭 (dont mind any spelling mistakes and stuff im too lazy to read through the whole thing and fix stuff). We were planning on writing a serious fanfic but veryy quickly turned into this demon

Beach Day or Bleak ay -

It was the hottest day of the summer. The pets lazily laid in front of the only fan in the pet shop

It was shop, all the pets lazing around in the hot summer heat. “This sucks” they say in unison  “yes” vinnie agreed, being the only one who didn't say in unison. Pepper then hit him in the head with rubber chicken, “ow!! What was that for” he said sadly “You were out of unison, moron” she replied. Vinnie scoffs, he rolls his eyes and walks away from the crowd. He decides to go to the fire hydrants which is his usual space where he spends time alone

Vinnie began writing in his diary “Dear Dairy, its me again. Pepper is such a conniving, insolent, beastly woman! I curse upon thee the sorrows of a thousand dead widows. He heard a scream from outside the fire hydrant, it was shrill and raspy, peppers voice to be exact. “What I do” he said, slowly peering out of the fire hydrant to get a look at what might've happened. She got stuck by lightning, the pets crowded around her in panic. There was available hole in the ceiling of where the lighting stuck from. She lay on the pet shop floor, rolling in agony burnt like an egg on the florida sidewalk. Vinnie gasped and went back to hiding. Blythe soon arrived on the scene and called the pet ambulance, pepper was soon taken away and Blythe announced their next plan.

“Pets, I know that was REALLY crazy, but we deserve to get our minds off of pepper for a bit. What about a beach trip!” all the pets cheered while the hip upbeat guitar transition music played in the background, except for Vinnie who was still processing what he had just done. He started to hyperventilate but sunil though he was challenging him to a fast breathing contest so he started rapidly huffing and puffing harder than the big bad wolf ever could [vinnie being the big bad wolf] Sunil glared angrily at Vinnie as they continued this one sided competition. Vinnie said “ENOUGH!” and stormed off, Sunil looked at him confused and then it shrugged off as vinnie just being a bad sport. 

***

“Somethings going on with vinnie…” Russel said a suspicious tone in his voice, minkas jaw DROPPED 

“WHAT???” shock etching every corner of her monkey face

“Yeah.. you heard me. Don't you think its WEIRD how as soon as vinnie left to the fire hydrant, pepper got smited” he suspicious 

Minka started jumping up and down and screaming at Minka and looked at Russell as if he just killed her family of 1 [her]. 

The pet bus arrived at the beach, blythe in her blythe styleish swimsuit that we aren’t getting paid enough to describe. Sunil was wearing the most fabulous swim shorts designed by Blythe truly. They were solid black with mangos with a seamless red to yellow to green ombre. The leaves of the mangos were embellished with opulent rhinestones of a diverse plethora of chroma. The material Blythe used was exceptional, and provided for utmost comfort as Sunil wore them. The drawstrings of the swim shorts were made of a glow in the dark material [incase Sunil happened to find himself at the bottom of the ocean.] Finally the back of the swimshorts said “Juicy”, in an attempt to imitate the luxury brand Juicy Couture. It was truly a divine masterpiece work of art. Opulent.

Vinnie started burying himself in the sand to ignore the rest of the pets and hide from his guilt, he might as well live there for the rest of his life. He pulled out his sopping wet diary that he forgot was in his pocket before it was too late, it was completely damaged and unsalvageable. “I should've gotten rid of this stupid thing years ago anyways!” he yelled, throwing it out into the distance. Meanwhile Sunil stood on the beach near the water gazing down at it but not stepping in, he suddenly felt a weightful force crash into his noggin and send him flying across the ocean with an intense and unpredictable speed. He screamed in terror flailing around. Minka started recording.  He landed on something smooth, relived he sighed, until he looked down and saw he was laying on a shark. He screamed once again and started to swim away as fast as he could. “BLYTHE!!!!!! I NEED YOU TO SAVE ME R IM GOING TO BE EATEN BY THIS aaauGGHHAAAAAA” he yelled being cut off by the shark chasing after him.

Penny Ling looked around, “Say.. where is Blythe..” Blythe wasnt responsive , she was playing dress to impress on roblox and was too locked in on her outfit to pay attention to anything else. Despite the fact that Youngmee, Sue, Jasper, Mrs Twombly, her father, all the pets owners and cousins and all the horses and all the king's men were calling her on her phone she still persisted on playing her game [the theme was Beach day].

Vinnie felt at fault for all of this, including Blythes crippling, deprecating, disgusting addiction/fixation on dress to impress [he introduced it to her]. If he hadn’t smited Pepper with his diary, Sunil wouldn't be drowning while being chased by sharks. He mustered [mustard] up all the mustard in his body [courage] and ran into the ocean at full force

“I'LL SAVE YOU SUNIL!” Vinnie yelled. Youngmee, Sue, Jasper, Mrs Twombly, her father, all the pets owners and cousins and all the horses and all the king's men all stared in unison at Vinnie’s amazing feet as he blazed across the water like a trail of fire to save sunil.  At that point, Vinnie could only see Sunil’s paw sticking out of the water, which was also hard to see given the ocean water was the same color as his fur. Sunil sank. Vinnie divedin after him, racing down the water to catch up to his sinking body, he was unable to spot him until eye spying with his little eye, glowing in the water! The emergency glow in the dark shorts! from his drawstrings! Despite her disgusting addiction to dress to impress, Blythe was a genius! Then vinnie swept him out of the water graciously and swiftly, water exploding all around them where they emerged. Their spinning wet bodys reflecting in the sun. All the kings men or whatever stared in awe.

“I got first place with my outfit!” Blythe squealed in excitement, not paying attention to a sliver of what just unfolded. Vinnie laid Sunil on the soft, yet scorching hot sand [cause it's the hottest day of the summer] like it was his fourth of July party. Sunil was still unconscious. Blythe was still too focused to help, he thought… This only meant one thing. Youngmee, Sue, Jasper, Mrs Twombly, her father, all the pets owners and cousins and all the horses and all the king's men gathered around vinnie and sunil as they watched the INSANE scene about to fold in front of them. Vinnie pressed his lips to Sunil like it was his October third party in 2002 at 1:06AM [Eastern standard time] “It’s just cpr… it’s just cpr…” he thought to himself, but with every puff of air his mind wandered away from just saving his best friend. Sunil awoken and gasped, he looked around in fear and confusion, shaking and sputtering out incoherent words. He had had a thumb sized cut on his cheek [he has a FAT thumb]. “Shh… It’s okay Sunil… I’m here…” he said in a hush. Sunil screamed and ran away, his footprints in the sand like Cinderella's slippers. And NO ONE could find him… He must be embarrassed by the cpr, Vinnie thought, and chased after him like Prince Churning. 

The trail ended behind a rock, where Sunil was crouched behind a rock, weeping ever so softly. Vinnie slowly walked up to Sunil, trying not to startle the mongoose. “Hey, Sunil… I know I just gave you cpr and stuff but… you don’t have to be all sad about it, y’know.” He put his hand on his shoulder. Sunil looked back at him with the most softest eyes, amber glowing golden in the hot sun [it being the hottest day of the year afterall] his soft eyes then turned sour [stream olivia rodrigo], he was angry at vinny for embarrassing him in front of all of the kings horses and all the king's men. “This is all YOUR fault! If you hadn't thrown that STUPID diary, don't think i didn't see what it said before i fell into the water. “I curse upon thee the sorrow of a thousand dead widows ?!” YOUR the one who smitted pepper. And we don't even know if she's going to survive!” his voice cracked with emotion, tears swelling up in his humongous amber eyes, the salt of the tears stinging the thumb-sized scar on his face. . Vinnies breathing began to quicken uncontrollably, he became lightheaded and the world spun around him. His heart pounded in his chest as he hyperventilated. This WAS all his fault… “And ENOUGH of that breathing competition, you are so.. so.. IMMATURE!” he rolled his eyes

Vinnies heart was in a million pieces. He truly believed Sunil felt what he felt when he was giving him cpr, it turned out to be all a delusion. 

TO BE CONTINUED…..?

[i hope not]

[toriafiction]

Lightning in his Eyes and Thunder in his Wings

Author's Note chapter 4

Introducing

Dick "I need to fry some bastards" Grayson

And

Jason "I'll break you if you touch him" Todd

I'm excited about having gotten this far. I personally feel like this is where things really start in a way. Chapters 1 and 2 are backstory, and chapter 3 is the transition, but chapter 4 is the start of what I think of as current time.

You might notice a change in pacing from here on. There won't be any big time skips, just brife mentions of a few weeks passing between point A and point B here and there, but nothing substantial. While the passage of time will be slower, events will pick up.

Years have passed between the events in Titans Tower in chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 4, and in that time Dick had created a new normal for himself, something that he believed was sustainable. Now, as promised in the story summary, Jason is back and, by merely existing in his space, has awakened something that is going to flip Dick’s world upside down.

Dick isn't human, and he has gotten to complacent with that fact.

This chapter introduces Jason into the story as an interactive character that we are finally getting to see, and I wanted him to come in with a big entrance that felt genuine to the story. This led me to writing my first ever fight scene. This was both easier and harder than I thought it would be. Dick’s sole fight was easy. I wanted to showcase how he used his abilities in a fight and him just being a badass fighter in general, so I just let him kick ass. No problem.

I had a problem after I brought Jason in. I really wanted to have them fighting together, not just in the sense of fighting back to back but actually playing off each other. Such as where Dick rolls across Jason’s back to defend him. I wanted to have more things like that, but I couldn't come up with anything. I even tried looking up fighting videos, and that was a huge bust. I hope I still got the point and the feelings across.

The next problem I had was even worse.

Talking.

I had no idea how to have them interact or what to have them say to each other. I knew the emotions and what the ultimate outcome of the interaction was supposed to be, but I agonized over this tiny little part for weeks. I even wrote around it until I hit the exact same problem with the next chapter.

I was stuck, and at that point, I stepped away from this work for quite a while, and it sat collecting dust in my docs for some time. When I came back, I still didn't know how to write the scene, but I wanted to keep my focus on this story, so this is the point that I started naming chapters. I also changed the name of the fic at this point. I was using a temporary name of "Lightning Strikes Twice." I knew that it wasn't a title I wanted to keep, and while I sometimes worry that my current title may be too long, I am much happier with it.

I finally got over my writer's block with this section while I was at work one day. I was hit with the idea of Dick’s line about Jason being snake bitten, and it seemed to shake everything loose. During my break, I made a rough outline of the scene and jotted down a few ideas for the next, and finally, I was able to move forward again. Yay!

Previous notes- 1st, 2nd, 3rd,

[rinbylin]

lzj ep 21

yeah i enjoyed the first quarter quite a bit but at the same time i've been quite aware it's not objectively tip-top. so indeed the weaknesses have reared its head in the recent few episodes where the story has transitioned into a different kind from its initial fake marriage premise which was not difficult to pull off if you understand the simple mechanisms of it.. otoh i just don't think they dealt with the transition very well, albeit the show still being watchable. then again, its faults are totally not unique to itself. they're extremely common romance drama storytelling problems. so if not for the fondness it had managed to earn earlier on, i would not have even bothered with this post

a thing from this episode that i like(!!) though: as 'better let the truth out and have cxz suffer NOW!!' lobbyist, i admit i failed to consider the other even more delicious possibility which is DENYING HIM THE CATHARSIS OF HONESTY. make him suffer in a whole other dimension yeahhhhh babyyyy. our girl lmt pretty much telling cxz she wants him to keep suffering from not being able to tell her the truth...I SUPPORT YOU QUEEN <3 剪不清理还乱 is a great direction to head into even though atp idk if writers are competent enough to see it through

then there was lmt literally acknowledging what i had on my mind for these couple of episodes: cxz doesn't actually love her - he only knew and love her as lmt the (amnesiac) wife. but as audience we also know the writers are trying to counter that by (1) showing us how ~sincere~ cxz's feelings for lmt are, citing that she has shown him the bliss of a simple life etc etc; (2) having him repeatedly state that lu wen (aka lmt) is his only worthy opponent so to say he and lmt (the real her, not the wife lmt) are intellectual matches. but the most fatal problem is that we have NOT! GOTTEN! TO SEE/UNDERSTAND! WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN THEM AS COMPETING RIVALS!! so far it's merely cxz's side of the story, saying that he has a special feeling for "lu wen". but in what way? how? we know almost next to nothing about what went on between them as rivals - except lmt almost killed him a few years ago. (AND!! lmt hasn't seem to echo his feelings about their special relationship of rivalry??) so it makes point (2) quite an unconvincing case yet. which in turns make their post-amnesia and aka the "real" relationship quite frail.

another fatal issue is that it feels like, to me, that there's no love left in lmt for cxz at this point (the bathtub scene was what drove home the interpretation for me)... there's very minimal portrayal of any struggle, conflicting feelings in her. i think this is one of the way its earlier writing issues manifest as well: it's always quite clear why lmt is so important to cxz beyond their niceties as a married couple. but it's far less defined what cxz meant to lmt as a person. what value does cxz provide to her at a deeper intellectual and emotional level? when she was amnesiac wife lmt, she liked him for being a gentle, understanding guy - which turned out to be a mere persona of huaiyang wang. she stuck with him because he was her husband, but it turned out their marriage is just a ruse. so what is left? it's no wonder she seems to have little affection for him left yet that completely defeats the purpose of a romance drama... and i just don't feel the same joy i felt in earlier episodes whenever they're together at home..

i've come to feel the story would work a lot better if it wasn't a romcom (comedy as in a broad sense) and not tied to an obligation of HE. i don't even want them to end up together romantically. i just want them to get entangled and emotionally torment each other lol (oops sorry what's new of me). and so when the writers made cxz say that whole speech to his mother about how he truly loves lmt and how she has changed his life...and that he doesn't want just a "相见如宾" (ie. cordial) marriage. i felt almost betrayed because bitch (@ the writer / cxz) you owe it precisely to 相见如宾 that i even adored the show in the first place!!! it is thanks to 相见如宾 that your relationship even took off in the first place! in what way do you think its current state is different from it? this is a fake marriage story how dare you say that. :[ ...but again what's new. i've seen these problems from dramas a million times over by now.

one of the reasons why the earlier episodes worked - within the parameters of the fake marriage + identity porn tropes - is that it managed to have the reactions of both leads bounce off each other consistently. what i mean by that is...like in the earliest arc, despite cxz being the mastermind behind the bogus life lmt was living in, lmt was still able to display agency by reacting accordingly to the circumstances around her. she duly suspected cxz and was consequently driving the story - then cxz had to react accordingly and twist around more of the truth. there's a pretty nice push-and-pull between them - which is actually sorely missing ever since a few episodes ago when cxz was moping around coming up with solutions to keep lmt by his side. at that point, lmt totally takes a backseat in the narrative. and now that lmt has regained her memories, cxz is the one who is passively reacting to the occurrences in their relationship (though he's still taking the charge in the politicking plotting stuff). this is also what i meant about the writers dealing with the transition poorly.

these are pretty much the broad strokes of the main problems i'm identifying from the writing especially after ep 21... besides a few of the other pesky things like cxz's mum and yun'er's characters being completely flat stereotypes and are so extra annoying that they're fuelling the problems in the writing of the lead's relationship. (i have lost count the number of times i rolled my eyes when cxz's mum is onscreen... i think a mum character who appears loving but completely insensitive to her son is so interesting and they actually have a fucked up mother/son relationship but it looks like the writers are incapable of actually realising it so.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[gremlinshitposterthesecond]

Stress Management

A/N: Hello! I didn’t introduce myself the first time, I’m a horny goblin who only posts raunchy things after midnight when they’ve had their fill on fluff posts. I strive for the most vivid, vulgar scenes. I hope you enjoy the Pt. 2 of this exploration of a ‘What’s Mine is Yours” alternate timeline. Reminder that Kenshi still has his eyes and my OC is a black woman.

WARNING: This post contains graphic depictions of sex and includes discussion of polygamous sexual acts (M/M/M/M/F), oral (f!rec/m!rec), double penetration, (unprotected) P in V, and more. Minors DNI! Read at your own discretion!

Adelaide walked in through the door and kicked off her black heels haphazardly. It joined the mess of 4 other pairs of shoes as she stretched, popping some joints and pulling taunt muscles.

“How was your day?” Raiden made his way around the corner to greet her with a kiss.

“Pretty damn stressful honestly. I was by myself today since Johnny had scheduled interviews and people haven’t gotten the memo that I’m not the one to fuck around with.” Adelaide continued to get comfortable as she took her dreadlocks out of their professional bun and rubbed her scalp, sighing in relief.

“Come, sit down. I’ll have Lao make you some tea.” Raiden took her hand and guided her to the couch. He then walked away, probably to find the aforementioned man. He returned with him in tow before they split ways: Raiden back to Adelaide’s side and Lao to the kitchen.

Instead of sitting on the couch beside her, he took a spot in front of her facing away from the television. She was about to ask what he was doing but he silenced her with a look that said “Let me do this for you”. He began rolling up the leg of her dress pants and began massaging her calves and feet.

Adelaide let out a long sigh at the relief he was providing her before Lao came out with her tea. She also gave him a peck on the lips for his service and invited him to sit next to her.

“Thank you boys. I would rather not think for the remainder of the day.”

It was already late into the afternoon, basically transitioning into the evening. The good thing was that it was Friday, so Adelaide did not have to get up early from the comfort of Johnny’s king bed and untangle herself from the limbs of four different people.

“I need a nap.” Adelaide announced to seemingly no one.

Lao chuckled, “You sound like one of those bootleg devices when they need to be charged,” he stated before he mimicked the “Battery low” announcement.

Adelaide and Raiden laughed with him and she set the teacup on the coffee table before resting her head on Lao’s lap. He gingerly ran his hands through her hair. Raiden, who finally joined on the couch, still rubbed circles into her calf which allowed her to drift into sleep.

When she awoke, before she even opened her eyes, she was met with the sound of conversation. She made out Raiden and Lao’s voice with the addition of two others. She opened her eyes to see that Johnny and Kenshi had joined the relaxing session. Johnny spotted her first.

“She’s alive!” He proclaims, as if he was Dr. Frankenstein.

Rubbing her eyes and sitting up, Adelaide asked, “How long was I out?”

“Only about 30 minutes. We ordered takeout in the meantime if you don’t mind.” Kenshi held up his phone to show the status of the order.

As if on cue, Adelaide’s stomach growled.

“What’re we getting?”

“That place that sells both Chinese and Japanese cuisine.” Raiden stated, now with a hand on her thigh, still rubbing soft circles.

Johnny had gotten up from his position on the other couch with Kenshi before pushing Kung Lao out of the way, plopping himself next to Adelaide.

“Hey!” Lao said in an offended manner.

“Your cuddle time is up, Panda. I haven’t seen her all day and she’s my agent.” Like a child, Johnny stuck his tongue out. Also like a child, Kung Lao crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

“Speaking of,” Kenshi rose too.

“Noooo.” Raiden slumped down, using dead weight to his advantage as Kenshi tried lifting him away from Adelaide.

“Raiden, I swear to the Elder Gods —“ Kenshi grumbled through grit teeth as he dragged Raiden off the couch. “Are you seriously Earthrealm’s champion?”

Raiden accepted defeat as Kenshi managed to drag him off the couch and onto the floor before plopping himself down in his previous seat.

“You are all hopeless.” Adelaide smiled as she cradled Johnny and Kenshi’s heads. At the same time, Kenshi and Johnny turned their faces to her and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

Checking her watch, she say that it was only 7 PM. “How long ‘til the food gets here?”

Kenshi checked his phone again, “35 minutes.”

She arose suddenly, causing the cuddle pile to collapse in and Johnny to let out a dejected whine.

“Don’t worry, I’m just going to take a quick shower.” She pat his head.

“Without me?” All the men said in unison.

“You guys are gross.”

After performing her usual routine, Adelaide came back downstairs to the living room much more comfortable. She wore one of Kenshi’s sweatpants that she had to roll up a few times and one of Raiden’s shirts that came down to her the middle of her thigh. She was just in time to see Raiden receiving multiple bags of food.

While she was distracted, Kenshi came up from behind and gave her a little tap on her ass.

“Looking good.” Kung Lao added who saw the quick interaction.

“You know, if you weren’t my agent, I’m sure someone would scout you for a model.” Johnny cooed.

Adelaide stood unamused in the entryway to the kitchen with her baggy clothes and acne patches plastered over her face.

“I look like a cryptid.”

“You look great, angel. Let’s watch a movie, yeah?” Kung Lao picked her up and carried her back the couch.

Johnny browsed through the steaming services raving about each movie he had seen before finally settling on one that was dramatic.

Already 10 minutes in, Adelaide shifted in her seat while picking up some fried rice with her chopsticks, “Ugh, I hate secondhand embarrassment, this could’ve been solved with a simple conversation.”

She was positioned between Raiden and Johnny while Kenshi laid in between Kung Lao’s legs, his head on his stomach.

“You’re thinking too much, my love.” Raiden went back to circling her thigh. Adelaide tried not to think about how high his hand was.

“I’m just saying…” her voice turned shy.

One of the actors in the movie began monologuing, which meant it was prime time for conversation.

Kenshi looked up from Lao’s lap and asked Adelaide about her day as he and Johnny weren’t around when she said the first time.

“I’m a little stressed. Most people don’t take me seriously so I have to be a hard ass and my brain has to be on all the time.”

Johnny wrapped a hand around her waist before cooing over her more.

“Aww poor baby. If they disrespect you let me know and I’ll be sure they are blacklisted.” He finished with a kiss to her neck.

Fighting a moan, Adelaide responded “I can take care of myself.”

Kenshi looked at Kung Lao who was already looking at him. Kenshi looked over at the trio and saw that Raiden and Johnny were also already looking at him, they were fighting back smirks. He loved that they all were on the same page.

Lao spoke next, “ But you always take care of everything. You take care of us, Johnny in more ways than one. He’s hopeless without you.”

“Watch it.”

Adelaide could barely make anything out of their words of affirmation as Raiden’s hand was ridiculously close to her core, still rubbing tight circles into her skin. She also realized that Johnny’s breath was on her neck.

Raiden set things in motion when his hand broke the waistband of the pants she was wearing. He laughed when he found out that was all she was wearing.

He whispered, “Maybe you need to stop thinking for a while.” as he trailed a finger up and down her wet slit.

Adelaide’s breath had become real heavy as she tried to shift in place only to realize that Johnny’s arm across her waist prevented her from moving.

She whined at her predicament. They became even louder when Raiden started kissing and licking her neck. The sounds were cut short when Johnny pressed his lips to hers, the make out intense and sloppy. Meanwhile, Raiden’s fingers shifted to rub her clit which made her jump in their hold and moan in Johnny’s mouth.

“There you go. Relax and let us take care of you.” Kenshi got off Kung Lao to get closer to the view. Lao followed suit.

“Take these off.” Kung Lao said, grabbing the waistband of her pants, pulling them down and off.

Now, she was on full display, one leg over Raiden’s lap, the other over Johnny’s, as Raiden toyed with her. Her shirt was pushed up to reveal her breasts.

Adelaide felt extreme heat creep up to her cheeks at how vulgar the wet sounds that were coming from her were and all Raiden and Johnny did was simply touch her.

Raiden spread his fingers which separated her lips and Kenshi watched as she clenched around nothing. Not being able to hold back anymore, Kenshi licked a stripe from her entrance all the way to her clit. The pressure and texture of Kenshi’s tongue made Adelaide throw her head back and her chest rose fully as she gasped.

“Pretty thing, all fucked out and we’ve barely begun.” Johnny teased. Kung Lao hummed in agreement, remembering the words she spoke to him about a week ago. Her legs were spread wide enough for both Kenshi and Lao to fit so as Kenshi moved back to readjust himself, Kung Lao took up the mantle and also tasted her. He reveled in her moans and whimpers as he sucked on her clit. Raiden joined in on the teasing, “You know, you should look at them when they please you. I haven’t heard a single ‘thank you’, yet.” He moved his hand from spreading her open to trace all over her body, pinching and rolling her nipples between his fingers.

Johnny co-signed, “Yeah, would be a shame to tell them to stop.” as he reached up from her waist to wrap a sturdy hand around her neck, forcing her to watch her defilement. He emphasized ‘stop’ and looked at Kung Lao to make sure he got the message who immediately detached his mouth from her. Not being able to taste directly from the source, Kenshi grabbed Lao’s chin and made out with him, groaning at the taste.

“No! Please! I-I’ve been good. I’ll remember my manners. Please don’t stop.” Adelaide rambled exasperated, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes glazed over as she watched Kenshi and Lao.

“I can’t say no to that.” Kenshi spoke up, a string of spit still connecting him to Lao.

Raiden sucked her tongue and made out with her as approval and appeasement. He folded like a lawn chair every time she begged. He continued his ministrations on her chest. Johnny kissed her neck and shoulder, simultaneously nipping and licking over them.

Both wanting to taste her more, Kenshi and Kung Lao dove back in. Kenshi focused on her clit, tracing slow circles over it. Lao stiffened his tongue and prodded her entrance, flicking his tongue to find a hot spot.

Adelaide mewled at the dual pleasure. “Thank you, thank you, thank you…”

“Mhm,” was all Raiden said in response before pulling her back in to the kiss.

This continued for another minute or two before Adelaide was squealing and wriggling uncontrollably.

“I’m gonna make a messsss.” She announced, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

“Aht aht. If you wanna cum, you’re gonna look at them and thank them, yeah?” Johnny said. In response, the men between her legs made their movements faster and added more pressure.

“Yes, sir. Oh God. Ken~. Lao~. Please. Please.” Adelaide opened her eyes to catch Kenshi and Lao looking right at her, groaning as she called their names. Adelaide gasped as without warning, her orgasm washed over her. She couldn’t even warn them or produce any sound at the intensity as it wracked her body. Raiden and Johnny stopped what they were doing to watch as Adelaide squirted.

“Shit…” Raiden bit his lip.

Kenshi caught the brunt of it, but allowed some to spill past his lips where Kung Lao caught it.

When it was over, Adelaide still twitched in aftershocks, but whispered a subtle “thank you”.

Kenshi and Kung Lao got up from their spots and made their way to their other partners on the couch. Kenshi climbed into Raiden’s lap, making sure to not crush Adelaide, and allowed the remaining liquid from her orgasm to drip into his mouth as they passionately kissed. Raiden groaned at the taste. Meanwhile, Johnny essentially attacked Kung Lao, pushing him back onto the ground and climbing on top of him. He pinned his wrists and assertively got a taste of his own.

After a few moments to regain her consciousness, Adelaide whimpered “Why am I the only one naked right now?”

The men around her chuckled before beginning to remove their clothes for her sake. Adelaide bit her own lip as Kenshi’s tattoos made themselves known again. Her eyes crossed over to Lao whose broad chest was now on display and Raiden whose lighting powers made themselves known, etching lighting streaks over his shoulders. Johnny’s v-like was so cut and delicious that Adelaide could spend all day tracing it.

She rose on shaky legs and approached Kenshi, who looked at her curiously as he began undoing the buttons on his pants. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling him in for a kiss, tasting herself on his tongue. Kenshi pulled her closer by her waist before sitting down, pulling her on top of him. Immediately, Adelaide felt the intense bulge against her still soaking core. It’s as if Kenshi could read her mind, pulling his boxers down enough to reward her with a stiff cock.

She turned to face away from him before lifting herself over his member. With how wet she was, he was able to slip in easily, but it had been a minute since Adelaide had been involved in any of their activities so she went slow as the stretch nearly sent her over the edge. Once she finally sat at the base, she was ready to begin lifting her hips until her back met Kenshi’s chest. He threaded his arms under her knees then latched onto her shoulders, her thighs touching her chest. Leaning back a bit, he began thrusting up into her.

Adelaide’s eyes rolled back as she came around him. Having just begun, Kenshi was relentless in his attack, making her ride out her orgasm.

Ahead of them, Kenshi and Adelaide watched as Johnny sat against the couch with Kung Lao slobbering over his dick, saying the most raunchy things to rile him up further. He had an arch in his back as behind him, Raiden was delivering some pretty hard thrusts. Lao’s eyes only rolled back when Raiden called him a good boy for taking him so well. Of course, Johnny had broken out his second phone to record the act.

“Ken~ too much.” Adelaide whimpered as tears began to run down her cheeks.

“You can take it. Don’t you want to make the others feel good too?” He grit through his teeth.

“I’m gonna make a mess again.~” Adelaide struggled to take even breaths as it felt like Kenshi was punching it out of her.

“Fuck yeah. Gonna squirt all over me again, huh? I make you feel that good?”

“Yesss.” She squeaked as the squelching sound came back signaling another squirting orgasm.

At the same time, they heard Raiden giving Kung Lao his approval before he groaned, giving in to the overwhelming pleasure.

Good thing they have hard wood floors.

Kenshi thrust a couple more times before letting out a deep guttural moan himself, finishing inside of her.

Adelaide would’ve thought it was all over until she was lifted off Kenshi and turned around to face him. It was Johnny who had manhandled her back onto Kenshi’s dick.

“Shit, Johnny.” Kenshi put an arm over his eyes in slight overstimulation.

“Suck it up, baby. Once Raiden and I get ours, we can get back to our regularly scheduled programming.”

Adelaide gripped Kenshi’s shoulder in anticipation. Johnny had a firm hand in between her shoulder blades to keep her down, chest-to-chest with Kenshi.

“Hold her for me, why don’t you?” Johnny requested as he tapped his own dick on Adelaide’s ass. Kenshi wrapped his arms around her as Johnny lined himself up with her entrance. Immediately, Adelaide’s eyes went wide.

“Johnny, it’s not going to fit!”

*WHACK*

A red handprint began to form on her right ass cheek.

“I’m sorry what was that? I don’t know who this ‘Johnny’ fellow is.”

“S-sir,” she began with a whimper, “I—“ but the words died in her throat.

“That’s what I thought.” Slowly, he began to push in. Adelaide could only whine in Kenshi’s ear at being stretched open even more. But with her being so wet, it was no issue, Jonny’s fit snuggly inside her alongside Kenshi.

“Now that wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

His answer came from Adelaide rocking her hips.

“Atta girl.” He growled, beginning to thrust to meet her. Kenshi shoved his face into Adelaide’s neck to silence his ragged breaths at the tight fit. Not only was Adelaide squeezing them hard, but he had the added friction of Johnny too.

Well, that was until Raiden appeared in his vision.

“You didn’t think you were getting away free, did you?” Raiden didn’t even give him time to answer, unhinging his jaw and sliding his cock down Kenshi’s throat. For better leverage to meet Johnny’s thrust, Adelaide propped herself up some. Now eye-level with Raiden’s hips, she plastered messy kisses around his v-line.

Raiden, although appreciative of the gesture, gripped her hair and turned her face towards another waiting cock: Kung Lao.

Salty from his previous orgasm, Adelaide took him down to the hilt. Lao, still sensitive, whined at how sloppy she was being, but made no effort to remove her. Rather, with a hand on the back of her head, he kept her really close to the base of his dick, pulling her back occasionally for air.

Meanwhile, Kenshi found his rhythm again. So as Johnny thrusted forward, he pulled back. And when Johnny pulled back, he thrusted forward. Adelaide nearly choked on Lao as the pattern gave her no time to recuperate. Over and over again, they hit a part inside her that made her head spin.

“Oh, you feel that Ken,” Johnny said between thrusts knowing he’d get no response seeing as his mouth was busy. “I think she’s gonna cum again. That’s a new record, no?”

“Fuck, you talk too much.” Raiden groaned before pulling Johnny in for a kiss.

“Oh sh—,” Lao was the first to go when Adelaide cupped his balls. He pushed her head until her nose was touching his happy trail making her take every last drop. He’d just have to hope that Johnny or Raiden didn’t notice he didn’t ask first.

It didn’t really matter all that much as Raiden stilled next. Breaking his kiss with Johnny, he began cursing, some English, some Chinese, as Kenshi’s throat also milked him unexpectedly, As he pulled out, there was an obscene amount of spit.

Once she was relinquished from Lao’s grasp, Adelaide tried to pull away, knowing that her next orgasm would be catastrophic. Johnny pulled her flush against his chest. One of his hands found purchase around her neck. The other reached down to encourage her orgasm by rubbing circles on her clit. “Take it like a good girl. No running.”

Now with his hands and mouth free, Kenshi sat up, immediately attaching his mouth to her nipple while his hands roamed her body. They still maintained their thrust pattern.

Adelaide was officially fucked out. There were no thoughts behind her eyes as she barreled toward her orgasm. She tried to formulate the words to announce it, but nothing but babbles came out. Johnny hummed in response. He was pressed against her ear and began whispering the raunchiest things in order to finally push her over the edge.

“Go ahead and cum, baby. Give us every last drop. Fucking hell,” Adelaide was gone. Her orgasm rocking through her entire body while she leaked around both Kenshi and Johnny. Kenshi followed behind, gripping her hips so hard he left crescent-shaped nail marks. All he could do was groan into her chest as the waves kept coming. Johnny kept thrusting and whispering as he arrived to his own orgasm, helping everyone ride it out.

“That’s right. Fuck you’re so good.” Johnny slowed his thrusts to a stop to catch his breath.

When Johnny released Adelaide from his constricted grip, she fell forward onto Kenshi who all but gladly fell back onto the couch. Johnny moved in silence, removing himself from behind Adelaide. As Kenshi began to soften, he pulled out as well. Johnny couldn’t help himself from taking a photo for later. Her thighs were wet from her own orgasms while a stream of cum began flowing from her entrance.

“I’ll grab towels.” Raiden had put his shorts back on before walking to the linen closet.

Johnny only nodded before collecting Adelaide from Kenshi. He laid her on top of him instead, rubbing her back and running his fingers through her hair as she made her way back to consciousness. He planted kisses on her forehead and whispered how good she was.

Kenshi was in a better state, only briefly being overstimulated. He rolled over to check on Adelaide, placing a hand on her lower back.

“You okay?”

“‘M more than okay.” She said contentedly.

“Stay still.” Raiden’s voice came from behind. Adelaide hissed a bit when she felt the wet cloth between her legs, but relaxed at the warm temperature. When he finished, he kissed her back.

“Sore?” Kung Lao returned also with some spare clothes.

“Feels nice.” She whispered. Raiden had been kind enough to clean Johnny and Kenshi as well before Kung Lao threw them the extra clothes.

“No pants.” Adelaide declared.

“Of course.” Kung Lao smiled as he helped her shimmy on one of his shirts. He then took the dirty pile and lowkey used one of Johnny’s shirts to clean up the mess they made of the wood floors.

“We still have some food left.” Johnny said.

“Please and thank you.” Kung Lao, after dropping the clothes in the hamper, was already on his way to the kitchen.

“Oh, now he knows his manners.” Raiden rolled his eyes, but followed him.

“You stay here and we’ll bring you what you want.” Johnny adjusted the sweatpants he was given.

“Any requests?” Kenshi peaked his head from the refrigerator.

“Orange chicken.” Feeling more like her normal self, Adelaide stretched, but made no move to stand.

In a few moments, they all returned to the couch with their food.

“Any suggestions seeing as the last movie watched us?” Raiden was now in control of the remote.

“Put on ‘The Lion King’, we’ll feel less inclined to temptation.” Adelaide smiled as she leaned against Lao with her feet in Kenshi’s lap.

“We watched that like 5 ti—“ Johnny tried to interrupt from his position between Raiden’s legs.

“NANTS INGONYAMA—“

[formlessvoidbeast]

Question: How do you feel that you have explained enough when writing? When your words are flowing like water from your pen, and the rush is so fast at times you feel like before you stop to ink those details in, the direction, that careful context that brings your readers along for the ride, you end up being swept away onto the next part in your fervour.

And you revise it, yeah, course you do, but how can you tell when you have sufficiently written the right bridges and smoothed out the crinkles in your writing form?

Please, share.

Ok, so, I've been thinking about how to answer this. I think maybe the answer is that I'm not that kind of writer?

The moments when I am being swept along to the next big thing are vanishingly rare. I need to get this scene right before I can go write that scene. This is not a strength. It has taken me years to get comfortable leaving myself something like [some transition] at the end of a scene to come back to it later and moving on to the next bit I can write rather than getting completely stuck.

scrolling back up to revise now: I think also part of not getting swept along to the next bit is knowing that I can always get to that next bit. It's not going anywhere. I'll get there when I get there and the scene will have had time to mature in my head in the meanwhile. But then, I am less at mercy of the whims of hyperfocus than many a writer who is diagnoseable with ADHD or the like. I am not. I don't have to get it done Right Now Immediately or it'll never get done, you know?

I am also not that analytical of a writer. I don't really think logically about if I've written the right bridges and smoothed out the crinkles? It's all vibes up in here. It's right when it feels right. If it feels sparse and incomplete, I add more. Sometimes it feels overstuffed and the pacing is off, and I have to delete some (that one is much harder. I am very proud of the fact that I am now able to take the axe to some of my words sometimes. It is not my strength, but something I'm working on).

Getting a feel for that kind of thing comes with practice. I know a decade ago I didn't think in satisfying narrative arcs when coming up with characters? I was spitballing with a friend fleshing out their OC the other day and found myself going 'ok, if the beginning of their arc is realizing that these people are depending on them and they need to step up, then the satisfying conclusion should be realizing that they can depend on these people in turn'. It's something I might have done instinctively earlier in my writing? But now I have the experience and tools to think about more intentionally.

I am also not that analytical of a writer in the fact that I just write functional words. I greatly admire authors who can think deeply about individual word choices through the entirety of a work, picking them like a poet so every sentence is perfect. They're out there building the literary equivalent of towering aqueducts, stone by stone and word by word. That's not me. I'm just standing in the word fields digging a trench one small shovelful at a time, and eventually I've dug a ditch that the water pretty much flows through to get where I wanted it to go, and that's good enough.

The story is never going to be the story it was in my head. In my head, a story is all unspecified vibes, powerful images, and the occasional good snippet of prose. The story in my head doesn't have to have grammar and punctuation. It's never going to be what it was in my head, but if I can get the main emotions across that's good enough for me. And again, I can't tell you how to know when you have gotten the emotions across. That's something you have to figure out yourself with time and practice (and also by the reactions of the people who read your story. it's hard to do in a vacuum.)

Thank you for this ask! It has been interesting to think about my writing process this morning. But I'm also very sorry I don't have a better answer for you. It's all done by feel over here.

[writingofdungeonbat]

@mytardisisparked said this was open to anyone who wanted to sooooo here I am for Yap Time

1. Why do you write fanfic?

I usually say that my favorite stores and characters are the ones with 'space.' Characters with missing chunks of their backstory or arcs, places for me to run wild. My favorite Star Wars characters are Qui-Gon, Shmi, Hux, and Eli Vanto- characters that I feel like I can really chew on.

Also, it's just fun! I REALLY like when I write something that, when I send it to my friends, results in an 'OW WHAT THE FUCK.' That's like crack.

2. Which of your posted stories do you think about the most, even though the story is “finished”?

Oh gosh, probably my codywan big bang In Our Bedroom After The War! It's not a 'longfic' by most standards, but it was my longest fic, and I think it really started me down the path for Casually Cruel, my magnum opus Thranto omegaverse.

3. If you could give yourself fic advice from when you first started writing fic, what would that advice be?

This is a hobby, it doesn't have to be perfect. Good enough is wonderful. Also- stop trying to make yourself write transitions that you like. Just start the next scene lmao.

4. What’s your relationship to fic stats?

I wish desperately I could be an author who throws stuff into the void and never think about it again, but hooooooly shit I am a stats goblin. I've noticed trends and patterns, and keep track of the rankings of my fics for each year.

All this to say, I write for myself and my friends, but I post for community.

5. Is there a pairing or scenario or friendship you miss writing? If so, why? If not, why not?

I want to write more about Luke and trans man Mara Jade! They're so fun to write because they are the definition of 'sunshine and snarling protector' and they are so sweet! Mostly I struggle with them because of the lack of response I usually get when I post fics where they're the main focus. I have a few in the works, though!

6. What motivates you to write?

You know the verse from Breathe-

'2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me Threatening the life it belongs to And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd 'Cause these words are my diary screaming out loud And I know that you'll use them however you want to' ?

That's why I write. I feel like stories are bursting at the seams of me and if I don't let them out I'll die. One of my friends jokes that something will strike me and then stories just fall out.

7. Why do you write for the fandom(s) that you write for?

The Autism Creature, mostly. I write according to my special interests, but I also LOVE how active the Star Wars fandom is, after coming from Assassin's Creed Syndicate. I keep drifting closer to writing for Helluva Boss, but the Part of Me That Cringes won't stop ahh.

8. If you’re stuck writing a WIP, what do you do?

Walk away from it for a day or so, then make myself a cocktail, get in my comfy PJs, and see what happens. I also use my friends as rubber ducks!

9. What do you wish people knew about comments?

You will NEVER bother me. I know you're thinking 'oh, except me. I'm annoying.' NO NO NO! I have gotten comments that I think about YEARS later, comments that have made me laugh out loud, and, for a lot of fics, comments that kept me writing the fic/premise in question. If I don't see a positive response, I'm more likely to either not write that thing again, or keep it in my private files (seriously, I have War and Peace levels of writing on my harddrive and google docs and notes app).

So please, if you see something, and want more of it, let us know!!

10. Maybe there’s a question you wish had been on here. What’s that question (and answer)?

When's the next part of Casually Cruel and Balance in All Things coming?

.....soon?? Ish?? The next chapter of Casually Cruel is giving me hell because there's a lot of small things going on that I need to make cohesive. Balance in All Things will be longer, because the Brain Goblins decided that we needed a subplot about Palpatine trying to start a holy war and I have no idea what's going to happen with that.

I don't know who's been tagged before soooo @dirtbag-linecook-kyloren and anyone who wants to!

(also feed my ask box she's very hungry)

[linkablewritingadvice]

Where do I get ideas? How can I figure out what happens next, what my character should do, etc.?

Many people write because they have a story in their head that they just want to express. If there is anything in your head that already exists - an image, a snippet of dialogue, a scene, a character description - start with that, and go from there.

If you want to write a story but genuinely can’t think of one that you want to write, try getting bored. Don’t listen to podcasts when you drive or work. Turn the TV off. Ride public transit, go for long walks, watch the leaves on a tree sway. Think about “what if…” scenarios that are interesting to you. Fantasize about things you think would be fun, interesting, sexy, frightening, etc. 

If you are partway through a story but are stuck on a certain point, try skipping that part. You can just put in brackets [THEY DO NEXT THING?] and go to the next part that you have thought of and want to write. You may find later that you didn’t need to worry so much about this bit! I had a writing professor that often said “if it’s boring to write, it’ll be boring to write.” Your stuck-ness might be telling you that this next part doesn’t really need to be written, and you can just do a time skip or brief narration to move past it.

Maybe you’re just burned out on this particular project. Get some space from it and come at it from a different direction. Re-read or watch any other media that you were into when you first started the project or got the idea. Daydream about what might happen next. Make a moodboard or playlist about your story and find ways to get re-inspired. Or, switch to a different project and let this one simmer in the back of your mind for a bit.

If you need more active ways to get un-stuck, try going back a few story beats before the point where you got stuck. The key might be there. Is there something you could turn into a clue, a plot point, or foreshadowing? Is there something that leads to the stuck point that needs to be changed? Make a list of things that definitely don’t happen next. Go back to the basics: what’s at stake? What do the characters want? What’s preventing them from getting that?

If it’s an issue of research, figure out what information you’re missing. Maybe you can’t work out a way for the characters to escape a burning ship without injury, or you need an explanation for how something happened. Use the research tools here. And remember that it’s fiction, and you’re in charge, so you can twist or change things to make it work.

Maybe it’s an issue of anxiety. Maybe you’re overthinking it, or have gotten too focused on one minor detail. Try writing differently - from a new character’s POV, or about an event that took place before your story’s timeline, or as a news article reporting on the events of your story.

Try checking out prompt lists or “what happens next” generators. Find a random photo and decide to include that object or image. Open a dictionary to a random page and commit to using one of those words in your next sentence.

If you have a beta reader who you trust, who understands your vision and your characters, you could ask them to help you brainstorm what might happen next. But be careful about indiscriminately asking people to help you write your story, because you could get overwhelmed or paralyzed by too many options, or you might get caught up chasing something that doesn’t work for your story. Sometimes, even just ruling out other people’s ideas that you don’t like is a way to jumpstart things.

12 techniques for getting un-stuck

Getting un-stuck

How to get un-stuck when writing

Picture prompts to inspire writing from the NYTimes

Picture writing prompts

Six writing prompts to figure out what happens next

Use a random generator to beat writer's block

[ramblingroommate]

9-1-1 season 1 ep. 3 “Next of Kin”

Why do I care so much about these characters I’ve known for a total of 15 seconds? The dad is overcompensating sure, but he’s trying so hard to make this birthday party special for his son after a divorce (or maybe the mom died?) and him having another son with a new woman (who he’s been an asshole to because he doesn’t want his son to think he loves them more than him). And something is about to go wrong because that’s the show but I hope no one dies and they all resolve their conflicts and say how much they love each other.

I get attached really easily okay?

….?

I’m sorry what? Chimney is complaining about never getting to do any of the fun stuff? Chimney? Mr. I’m-scared-of-everything? THAT Chimney?

I’m lost. Haven’t we spent the first two episodes establishing how Chimney is scared of everything? He was scared of the snake, literally ran away from the dogs and Hen even made fun of him saying something along the lines of “when was the last time you jumped over something or ran into a fire?”

Here, I even looked for it again. Hen literally says he hasn’t ran into a burning building in such a long time they can’t even remember when that was...

And now, from one episode to the next, he gets annoyed because he never gets to do any of the fun stuff?

Maybe I shouldn’t be so stuck on this but it was one of the two main traits they clearly outlined for him so I’m having some trouble understanding how I could have gotten it wrong. Or maybe it’s done on purpose? I’ll keep watching...

And we’re back! It did feel weird starting with a different case but the father and son thing distracted me long enough lol

Also you can see that Athena is a cop and is used to not freaking out in stressful situations because she makes sure her son is safe and not freaking out and calling Michael, all this while being scared for her daughter.

Poor Athena, she must feel so guilty and responsible even tho it’s not her fault. I have to say that the actress has been killing these scenes, she sells the pain and fear so well. Also the remaining in control through the fear! She’s scared but she needs to hold herself together for her daughter. I think the actress’ (Angela Bassett I believe?) job was even harder because it’s just episode three and we don’t really know these characters yet. We’ve seen May maybe two (three?) times so far, we’re not attached to her yet, so our pain comes entirely from her performance. And what a job she’s doing

I think I’ve said it before but I love little touches of realism that make shows more believable (she had to rush out so she didn’t take her phone). It’s nothing important but my mind always gets stuck on those little details (in a positive way).

Also Michael is here! I wonder how they’ll handle the situation (and each other).

Do you really think now is the time for this, Michael? Talking about blame right now is not going to solve anything, you should concentrate on May.

Mmmmh this is interesting. I have to admit, I was wondering this same thing after last episode. It definitely came out of nowhere but that could be because we’re just beginning to get to know the characters - or maybe there IS something else going on. Maybe it’s not one big thing that happened but a bunch of smaller things that together became too much. It could be school, friends, boyfriend, self esteem PLUS the whole Michael thing (maybe it got out and she started to get bullied for it?).

Poor guys. This is a pretty realistic conversation, after all there IS a time in a kid’s life when they are unable to express their needs and wants and it’s their parents job to understand what they need and provide it for them. The transition from “you’re my whole word and I depend on you for everything” to “I’m older now and not only will I not tell you what I’m going through but I will actively keep some things from you” can be really hard to accept.

Oh… oh no.

This scene is breaking my fucking heart for Athena 💔

Michael is not hurting her on purpose (he didn’t know what was going on), but Athena needs her family right now and Michael’s boyfriend being there just reminds her how broken their situation is.

So it has nothing to do with Michael at all! I thought it may be a mix of that and something else but nope. I’m glad… or as glad as I can be about such a situation but still.

Also, I know Athena is going to go mental on that girl because hearing May talking about it made MY blood boil.

I fucking hate bullies

Oof this is relentless, emotional punch after emotional punch (╥.╥)

I mean I don't blame the social worker and it's good that these protocols exist but it makes it so hard on them in this situation.

Oh wow, I love this scene

First of all the actress is absolutely killing it, I actually teared up a bit. The hurt in her voice, the fierceness, her eyes, everything.

Second, the writing is really on point too. We saw Athena's tough side in the first episodes and now her vulnerability. But THIS specific scene and dialogue merges the two so well. She is distraught but focused, angry but caring ("I may want to slap you with my left hand, but my right hand is holding you and the kids tight). Such good characterization.

And now Chimney...

I'm keeping my eyes on you sir (¬_¬)

I'm sorry Chimney got rejected but you should talk with your partner about how you both feel about marriage BEFORE proposing... also how long have they been together? I was under the impression it was pretty recent (like less than a year)

Bobby... I agree with you but also that was probably the worst thing you could have told him in that moment. Show some empathy man

Okay... I'm a bit conflicted about this. The lead up to Bobby and Chimney's argument felt a bit contrived to me BUT I'm actually enjoying the confrontation.

Also there is definitely something wrong with Bobby's family, I wonder what it is...

YOU WERE FUCKING AFRAID OF EVERYTHING UNTIL LAST EPISODE WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MAN

Also I side with Bobby on this one if it wasn't clear enough.

He is going pretty fast and keeps getting distracted... is he going to get in an accident?

Well FUCK

Also there was no one in the car while filming lol

Wait really? They're doing a Phineas Gage? It's so weird seeing a case based on a real story I actually know about.

I wonder if Chimney will have long lasting effects or if they'll just hand wave it away (Phineas Gage's injury "only" affected his personality and behavior because the bar destroyed his frontal lobe, the angle of Chimney's metal bar is completely different).

part 2

[skittles-writes]

Superpower au plot bunny (5) {status: in progress}

Start | Previous

Jack sighed again and closed his eyes, "I wish they were willing to learn, then maybe they would have discovered a child with pyrokinesis, among other things, is not dangerous....."

Hannah was confused "What's that?"

Jack didn't answer so Mark did. "The ability to create and control fire."

"Ohh, I think I'd be scared of myself if I could do that."

Mark chuckled softly and Jack shifted attempting to wrap an arm around him.. Mark in turn, wrapped one arm around his shoulders and the other arm under his legs, scooping a Jack up as he stood. Mark turned around to face the bed and Hannah hoped up off the bed. Jack mumbled something as Mark gently laid him down. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. It just takes a bit of practice, and a lot of confidence.”

“I still wouldn’t want that ability.”

****

“So are you going to create the scene in here?” Dark asked

“No,” Wren scoffed “I’ll do it somewhere else since there really isn’t much in here to have fallen on you.”

“I’m sure these pallets aren’t exactly light. And considering that some of them have fallen over, it could be plausible that one could have fallen on an unfortunate soul.”

Wren scoffed again looking at the scattered cardboard, “Oh sure, being buried in cardboard.” He threw his hands up dramatically “What a terrible fate!” He exclaimed sarcastically.

Dark sighed, “Fine. I won’t offer suggestions since you don’t seem to take them seriously.”

“Well if your suggestions weren’t so asinine, I might take them more seriously.”

“I find it a bit insulting that you consider me moronic, but I could have guessed that from earlier since you want me to play a fool.” Dark replied displeased

“Again, you left the planning to me so deal with it.” Wren reminded

“I do have one good question though.”

“What?”

“How do you know Jack won’t just come with him when you lure him to my ‘rescue’?” Dark asked

“Don’t you worry about that. I’ll make sure Mark comes alone. You just worry about putting on a good performance. Wren answered.

“Very well. I’ll be sure to do that.” Dark sneered.

“Now to find a suitable location.” Wren turned to leave the warehouse. “Come along.” He motioned for Dark to follow.

Wren led Dark through the debris strewn streets looking for the perfect spot for their ruse. Finally, Wren found one he liked. “Here. This will be good.” He turned to Dark, “Now, lay down and I’ll put a few pieces on you and then bring Mark here.”

“Hold on just a minute,” Dark objected “how do I know there’s nothing sharp or dangerous in there?” He asked eyeing the pile of twisted metal and splintered wood. Wren shrugged. Dark groaned, then created a bit of darkness and used it to clear a space for himself. He laid down in the hole he’d created and put some of the wood fragments along with a couple of the less twisted pieces of metal on top of him before dissipating the darkness. “There. Now go get Mark, and don’t take too long. I’m not laying here all day!”

“Fine. I suppose that’ll work.” Wren sighed “I’ll be back shortly.” He transformed into a small child with torn clothes and a dirty face.

“You look like you just crawled out of a hole in the ground.” Dark commented

“Good,” Wren said in his now tiny, squeaky voice. “That’s the idea. I was able to squeeze out and now I’m getting someone to help you.”

“I just hope it works.”

“It will. Just wait and see.”

“What else can I do here.” Dark observed. Wren turned and started walking off. “Do you even know where you’re going?” Dark asked, watching

“Yeah.” Wren shot back.

Dark smirked, “Are you sure? Because the building you’ll likely find them in is that direction.” He finished, indicating the opposite direction Wren had started going.

“I got turned around is all.” Wren commented flippantly, then set off in the direction Dark had indicated.

Wren found the building finally, after a bit of searching due to Dark’s vague directions. He walked in and quickly found Mark sitting on the side of a bed that Jack was laying on apparently asleep and there was a girl with them, but he didn’t care who she was or why she was there. Time to enact the plan. He ran up to Mark and pulled on his arm “Come with me, I need your help!” He tried to sound impatient.

Mark turned to the small boy that had his small fingers wrapped around his arm with surprising strength. “Just a moment. Can you tell me what’s wrong first?”

“He’s stuck! I need your help, I’m too small!” He replied

“Who?”

“This guy! Come on, I’ll show you!” Wren pulled on Mark’s arm again.

“Alright,” Mark sighed and stood up “show me where he is.”

Hannah was concerned, she didn’t have a good feeling about this boy. He looked younger then her but spoke as if he was older. And why did he come straight for Mark? There were several other adults he could have asked. “Mark…” she started concerned “you said you’d stay here with Jack.”

Mark turned back to Hannah. “I did say that, but I’m not going to ignore someone that needs help.”

“Can’t someone else help him? There are several other adults around.”

“This person could be injured and need me to heal them.” Mark countered. Hannah was still skeptical. “This shouldn’t take too long, I’ll be right back, ok?” He tried to reassure her.

“Alright.” She conceded

Wren quickly made a face at Hannah then tugged on Mark’s arm impatiently, “Can we go yet?!”

Mark turned back to to the boy and answered, “Yes, lead the way.”

“Good!” He took off running and Mark followed.

Hannah watch them leave still unsure of the boy’s actual intentions.

Mark followed the boy as he ran down the streets. The boy nimbly ducked under a fallen pole which Mark had to climb over. “Hey wait a second!” He called as the boy disappeared around a corner. Finally clearing the obstacle, Mark went around the corner and sighed. The boy was gone. “Hey! Where’d you go? I can’t see you any more!” Mark called out as he started walking down the street looking for the boy, or a least he thought it was a street. It was hard to tell as this area had taken heavy damage from the storm. Most everything here was in ruins or completely destroyed.

“Can anyone hear me!? Please, I need help!” Mark heard someone shout

“I hear you!” Mark called back “Where are are you?”

“Over here! I need your help! I can’t get out!” The voice called. Mark followed the sound of the man’s shouts to a little further down the street and around a crumbled wall.

"Please help me! I can't move!" A man with black hair covering half his face called out reaching for Mark. He was under a pile of wood and metal with only his head and shoulders exposed

Mark made his way closer to the trapped man "I'm coming, it's going be be alright."

"Oh, I'm so glad you heard me! I've been yelling for hours and no one has come. I was starting to feel ignored and beginning to think no one cared!" He pleaded.

Wren snickered from where he hid a few feet away.

"Are you hurt?" Mark asked and pulled one of larger pieces of metal off of him.

Wren smirked and with a snap, Dark would feel a pang of pain in his right leg.

"I don’t-Ahguh!" Dark hissed. "You...fuck, my leg." Dark shot Wren a quick glare.

"Once I get you free, I'll have a look at your leg, alright?" He said moving a piece of wood away.

"Yes, that'd be great," Dark was annoyed that Wren had decided to add this into the plan with out telling him.

"There. Do you think you can get up or do you need my help?" Mark asked after moving the last piece that was on top of him.

"I might need your help," Dark knew he was wasn't injured but the pain he felt in his leg was making him appreciate how good Wren's illusions were.

Mark helped the man stand then activated his healing aura....and was confused, he didn't seem to have any injures to heal. "I just tried to heal you, but you don't seem to be injured..."

"It's not him you should worry about, it's me." Wren said coming up behind Mark.

"What?" Mark turned to face the voice and was met with Wren hitting him hard. He groaned, and fell to the ground knocked out.

Dark watched Mark for a few seconds before turning his dark gaze to Wren. "You little bastard," he hissed at the the redhead, "me feigning an injury was not part of the plan!"

Wren shrugged, "I didn't think it'd be very believable for you to be unscathed after being trapped under all that twisted metal and splintered wood.”

"You still could have at least told me before hand." Dark scoffed

"This way was better. At least your reaction was authentic."

"That's because I actually thought I was injured for a few seconds!" Dark growled

Wren kneeled next to Mark "I don't think our plan is going to work," Wren began "I overlooked the fact that his hair was dyed." He held up a lock of Mark's pink hair.

“Did you also overlook the fact that my voice is deeper than his?” Dark asked crossing his arms

Wren looked up at Dark, “Oh, don’t worry about that. I was planning on masking your voice anyway.” Then he stood facing Dark, "Hmmm...Maybe if you have your hair like his..." Wren reached out to move Dark's hair out of his face, but Dark grabbed his wrist before he could.

"Don't. Touch. My. Hair." Dark snarled pulling Wren's hand away from his face twisting it painfully in the process.

Wren winced, "Jeez, touchy..." Dark released his hold on Wren. "What are you hiding under there, hmm?"

Dark fiddled with his shirt cuff. "Nothing you need to know about."

Wren smirked "It can't be that bad, just show me." He reached out again.

Dark batted his hand away and darkness surrounded him. "Touch me again and I will drown you in darkness!"

"And just how would that work?"

Dark glared at Wren "You'll find out if you touch me again."

"That might be interesting," Wren spread his arms wide. Then stepped to the side, but Dark wouldn't see that. He'd see Wren cheekily reaching for him yet again. He was curious to what Dark meant, but didn't want to take the actual risk, so as before, he'd created an illusion to see what happened.

"I warned you. Do not test my patience." Dark threatened.

Wren wondered if Dark knew this was an illusion. "Alright, fine," He conceded. The illusion pulled his hand back and Wren stepped back into place. "I suppose my curiosity will have to wait."

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know." Dark mentioned as the darkness around him shrank away.

"Ah, but I am not a cat." Wren grinned.

"You can become one," Dark pointed out. "Back to the matter at hand, we need to do something with him before he wakes up." He motioned towards Mark.

“Hide him in that warehouse, he’ll be out of the way there. Tie him up so he can’t leave. Problem solved.” Wren said.

Dark nodded, “It seems the simple answer is sometimes the best.”

****

Jack stirred, slowly becoming aware he wasn’t leaning against Mark anymore. He slowly opened his eyes and found he was laying in the bed he’d been siting on earlier but Mark was nowhere to be seen. Hannah was nearby however, and his movement must’ve caught her attention as she came back over.

“Are you alright?” she asked

“I’m fine, but where’s Mark? I thought he’d be here with me.” Jack asked sitting up

“He left a while ago after a small boy came in saying he needed him to come with him because he need help because this guy was stuck. I thought it was a bit weird that he wanted Mark to help, but Mark said it was fine and he’d be right back.” Hannah explained

“How long ago was this?” Jack asked

“Ummm…..an hour maybe? I’m not sure, but I thought he’d be back by now.”

“Yeah, that does sound a bit off. Did he say where they were going?”

Hannah shook her head “No he didn’t. After Mark agreed to help him, the boy ran out the door and Mark followed. ”

“I’m going to go look for him. I don’t think that boy had good intentions.” Jack stood up and stretched

“I’ll come with you!” Hannah exclaimed

“No, I need you to stay here.” Jack stated.

“But, I wanna help you. Like you helped me.”

Jack kneeled down “You need to stay here. I can protect myself if needed. It’d be a lot harder to protect you as well.”

Hannah looked down “I understand.”

“Good.” Jack thought for a moment before speaking again, “Wanna see something cool before I go?”

“Like what?”

“A fire rose.” Jack smiled

“Oooh, what’s that?”

“Watch.” Jack concentrated I can do this. Don’t worry about it! It’s just a simple flower. He thought to try to build his confidence. “Ready?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

I. Can. Do. This! Jack snapped his fingers sending sparks into the air, then opened his hand and the sparks ignited into a small flame in his palm. He smiled. That’s step one done. Now for step two…. He started to shape the flame with his other hand, pulling it up forming the stem, then he split two tendrils off from the stem to form a couple of leaves, and finally, he spread out the top to form the petals. Then held it up. “Here it is!”

“Oooh, that is really pretty!” She watched with fascination.

Jack’s smile widened, he’d done it, actually done it! He was feeling genuine confidence now, not forced like when he’d started. “But like any rose, it won’t last forever.” The “petals” fell as embers and the stem followed soon after.

“That is really cool.” She paused “But I’m glad I can’t do that. It’s kinda scary at the same time. Aren’t you worried about burning yourself?” Hannah asked

Jack smile faded and he looked down. “That’s the thing. My pyrokinesis requires me to be confident in my ability to not do that.”

“Huh? I don’t understand…”

“I have to be confident in order to control fire. I can’t worry about burning myself. I have to believe I can control it in order to do so. Does that explain it any better?”

“I think so…?” Hannah answered “I’m just glad I don’t have to worry about it.”

Jack chuckled “Alright.” He stood up. “I should go look for Mark now. I’m pretty sure something went wrong somewhere.”

“Ok. I’ll tell him you went to look for him if he comes back here.”

[miraculouscontent]

Marinette was officially done with Hawk Moth interfering in her life. She could take him interrupting school, or her time out with friends (which had become increasingly awkward as of late anyway), or even her moments of being bogged down with projects.

But interrupting her one-on-one time with Luka? First their movie date and now their moment of getting ice cream together? Absolutely not.

As far as she was concerned, this meant war. If Hawk Moth wanted to shove himself into her life like a nosy busybody who couldn’t go five seconds without trying to take away her means of happiness, then fine.

Two could play at that game, and she was feeling petty enough to make the next move. She’d had to mull over the subject for a while to figure anything out, not to stop him for good exactly, but at least put an annoying dent in his plans, much like he always did with her.

She had an idea by evening, and got to put it into action right after school. She was saying good-bye to a few of her friends, and had hopped onto the back of Luka’s bike afterwards, her hands carefully on his waist while he rode off along the sidewalk.

A flicker of black and purple caught her eye, and instead of the usual dread or panic, she grinned to herself.

“Luka! Stop!”

He stiffened, but obeyed, putting full force on the brakes and screeching the bike to a sudden halt.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in concern.

Hurriedly getting off the bike, she took off her helmet and handed it to him. “I’m sorry, will you wait here for a few minutes? I promise I’ll be right back!”

Knowing she had to be quick, she didn’t wait for him to reply. She placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning in to place a long, meaningful kiss on his cheek.

If he had prepared a reply, the kiss stopped it, and she ran off to the nearest hiding place while he stared blankly ahead at nothing.

After ducking into an alley and taking a quick look around to ensure it was safe, Marinette opened her purse to let out Tikki, as well with the other kwami necessary for her plans: Kaalki.

“Let’s do this!”

— — — — —

Soon after Pegabug had entered the scene, giving chase to the akuma, Chat Noir wasn’t far behind. Part of her questioned how he’d gotten there so soon, but she squashed the thought just as quickly as it’d come so as to not dwell on the potential identity questions.

“Love the new look, m’lady. What’s the occasion?” he asked in his usual flirtatious tone. “Or did you dress up just for me?”

“Not now, Chat,” she replied shortly, adjusting her sunglasses as she neared the butterfly in question. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Of course! Anything.”

“When I give the command, grab the akuma.”

“I—” He blanked. “Grab it?”

“I’ll explain later,” she assured. Squinting at the butterfly, which seemed to be on a straight path, she felt the moment hit like the epiphany of her Lucky Charm. “Now!”

Slightly panicked, but not asking anything more, Chat Noir sped forward. He dropped to all fours to pick up speed, then leapt for the butterfly. In a swift motion, he trapped the akuma between his hands, and Pegabug reeled her hand back as she felt the charge of her power.

“Voyage!”

The portal launched from her hands, manifesting right in front of Chat Noir. He went through and she followed behind him.

On the side of the portal, she landed politely on her feet while he crashed onto the floor, though he managed to keep the akuma contained in his hands.

A startled Wang Cheng stood up from his chair, looking between the two in surprise, but he calmed himself soon after. “It is time?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, walking over and helping Chat up due to his inability to use his hands.

He shook himself of the impact, then glanced at Wang, Pegabug, and finally the night sky out the window. “M’lady, if he means time to explain why you catapulted us to China, then I’m all ears.” His fake cat ears twitched in emphasis.

“Not exactly, but we can do that too,” she assured. Closing her eyes, she whispered a quick, “Kaalki, divide,” to allow the horse part of her transformation to drop. Pulling out her yoyo to grab a treat, she offered it to Kaalki to let her recharge before addressing the issue properly.

“Chat, you remember Wang,” she stated, walking alongside Wang as they traversed the rooms of the house. Hearing Chat’s footsteps behind her, she continued, “We saved him after he was akumatized into Kung Food.”

“Yeah, I remember,” Chat confirmed, still just as puzzled as before.

“Well, he’s the only one I know who’s out of the country.” She grinned slyly. “And out of Hawk Moth’s radius.”

Chat tilted his head. “Radius?”

Ladybug waited to answer until she saw the little habitat that had been set up, exactly as she’d asked for. Wang opened it for her and stepped aside, then gestured to it, which gave Chat enough of a hint to approach and outstretch his arms so they were inside the mini enclosure.

He hesitated, but released the akuma and recoiled quick enough for Ladybug to snap the habitat shut, thus sealing the butterfly inside.

“The butterfly miraculous has limits,” she explained, pointing to the trapped akuma, “and this is one of them. Hawk Moth can’t sense or do anything with this akuma from this distance, and he’s only allowed one at a time.”

“Meaning...?”

“Meaning that he can’t make another until this one breathes its last breath.” She tossed a grateful smile Wang’s way. “So please take good care of it, sir.”

Wang bowed his head in respect. Chat, meanwhile, was gaping.

“Wait, so that means—?”

“It might not be long,” she admitted, “because we don’t know how old this butterfly is, but—” She raised a finger as she made her point. “—as long as it lives and kept in that habitat, he can’t akumatize anyone.”

With a confident walk, she made her way back to the room they’d originally come from.

Chat, still in a state of shock, followed after and kept pace with her. “What about sentimonsters?”

Ladybug shrugged. “Mayura can still send them if she wants, but it’ll go just as badly.”

“Why?”

“For one, sentimonsters follow the orders of the one with the object, and no akuma means that Hawk Moth doesn’t have any control. For two, if I can teleport the feather away before Mayura can de-power it herself, then she’s stuck with no sentimonster for even longer than the akuma. Feathers take a few months to wear out, and I think they know that. Once they realize the risks, I don’t think we’ll be seeing any sentimonsters all by themselves.”

Stopping at the spot where she’d made the portal originally, she tossed a smile Kaalki’s way and outstretched her hands accordingly, calling upon her transformation once again with, “Tikki, Kaalki, unify!”

Chat didn’t even flinch at the flash of light, staring at the floor instead as he scratched his head. “But—uh—” He paused, needing a moment to come up with more questions. “what if Mayura makes her own sentimonster again?”

“Then I’m sending it to the moon,” she answered nonchalantly. “If they want to waste my time like this, then I’m not messing around anymore. Either they come fight me themselves or I’m keeping every akuma and feather I can here, where they can’t do anything with them.”

He opened his mouth, perhaps to throw out another argument, but she’s stumped him. His lips pursed as he seemed deep in thought, which evolved into a pout as he asked, “So, I guess we won’t be spending as much time together?”

“What?” Pegabug raised a brow, thrown off by that being his concern.

“A-ah—” He seemed to catch himself, waving his hands in defense. “Nothing, m’lady! You’re a genius, as always, and we still have patrols!”

“...Thanks,” she said neutrally, her mind on anything but him even as he tried to flirt.

After all, there was someone waiting for her back in Paris.

— — — — —

“Luka!”

Marinette beamed in both gratefulness and relief as she saw Luka still in the same spot as before, and even in the same position as well. She ran up to him, grabbing his shoulder again with one hand while she took her helmet back with the other.

She kissed his cheek again, a little more lightly than before but with just as much affection. The contact seemed to bring him back to life, his smile returning to his face as he settled his hands back on the bike’s handles.

“Did everything work out alright?” he asked.

“Mhm. I was just—” She paused, a lie almost reflexively coming out of her mouth before she settled on the closest thing to the truth she could, deciding that he deserved as much. “—taking care of something. Hopefully it works out.”

“Knowing you, I bet it will,” he assured with a fond look.

She beamed at him and put her helmet back on, settling herself behind him on his bike so her hands could rest on his waist again. She heard the ‘clink’ of the kickstand as Luka nudged it up with his heel, and then they were off again.

Happy thoughts of Hawk Moth screaming in his lair as he discovered her plan slowly transitioned into blissful imaginings of all the uninterrupted dates she could go on now. Out of sight, out of mind, just as Hawk Moth deserved to be.

[wolfjackle]

Ohhh 1. Parent trap please??? 👀👀👀

So I love this one! It's, unfortunately, on the back burner, but I hope to get back to it eventually. Life is just insane right now and I have zero free time. :(

So! Good Omens Human AU. Aziraphale and Crowley were childhood friends in a fundamentalist religious cult. Crowley is ftm, but didn't realize until later in life. Before he transitioned, they got married and had twin boys: Adam and Warlock.

Well, Crowley chafes under the prescribed life "she" is leading and leaves, divorcing Aziraphale in the process. Takes Warlock along.

Flash forward 11 years, two boys at a summer camp in Scotland start a rivalry. The boys are adamant that they cannot go home, so drastic measures are taken to get them to become friends. While rooming together in a small cabin, Warlock sees a photo of his dad (Crowley) in his wedding dress that Adam has. Adam reads the inscription in a book Warlock has that was written by his dad (Aziraphale). They decide to switch places and get their dads back together. Cue shenanigans, heart break, discussions of love and loss, and self forgiveness.

Most of this is hand written in various notebooks, but I do have one section typed that I am proud of. It's when Crowley realizes he has Adam instead of Warlock. I haven't done much editing, so apologies if it's a bit rough around the edges. (Potential trigger warning for non-explicit references to a trans man being pregnant and giving birth, but it's just kinda something he went through. He doesn't have any dysphoria or negative emotions about it in this scene.) Missing background, Crowley is a lawyer who has only graduated school in the last couple years and is taking lead on his first big case.

Excerpt below the cut

Crowley had his tablet out as he ate breakfast and the screen reader read off his emails. Work hadn’t slowed down at all since Warlock had come home. Each new development raised more questions and sent him down two new rabbit holes. At least Warlock wasn’t complaining about having to spend time at the office like he usually did. Just one of the many strange things since he’d come back from camp.

He looked over at Warlock’s bed and sighed. He’d rushed out without making it. Again. What had gotten into that boy? He paused the screen reader in the middle of another demanding email from Beez. Going over to the bed, he set the pillows on the floor and pulled back the sheets. Something black and soft fell to the floor. Curious, Crowley picked it up. It was an old, well-worn stuffed snake. “What the…?” he asked himself. Warlock didn’t have anything like this.

He turned it around and stared at its yellow eyes. His breath caught. He remembered this. They’d been shopping for the boys when he was pregnant. Aziraphale had seen this snake and waved it in his face going on about how its eyes matched Crowley’s. He’d grumbled, but tossed it in the basket anyway. He looked at the bottom of the tail, and sure enough, in red thread was an embroidered “A.”

“Adam,” he breathed. His knees gave out and he sat down hard on the bed. He’d stuck himself at least three times sewing the small initial. Keeping grip on the snake he buried his face in his hands. How long had Adam been here?

But he knew. Camp. They both must have been there. It explained so much; Warlock, no Adam, had been so different after coming back. His breath shook as he tried to take deep, steady breaths. He couldn’t afford to panic right now. Adam was just next door with Marjorie. He could go and get him and figure out what had happened.

The sharp sound of his ring tone broke through his spiraling thoughts and he stumbled over to the kitchen table where his phone sat next to his cold toast. “What?” he demanded.

A pause, then Newt’s voice came through, “I was going to ask when you were getting in. Found something interesting. But…are you okay?”

Crowley ran his hand over his face. “Fuck. Work. I don’t think I can make it in today.”

“Beez is going to be pissed if you don’t.”

Crowley cursed again. “I know! But I’m in the middle of a family emergency.” He couldn’t quite keep the hysteria out of his voice.

“Is Warlock okay?” Newt asked quickly, concern obvious.

“I don’t know! Apparently I haven’t seen him in a month! I don’t know where Warlock is!”

“What are you talking about? You brought him to the office yesterday.”

Crowley didn’t know whether the noise he made was a laugh or a sob. “No, apparently I brought Adam to the office yesterday.”

“Who the hell is Adam?”

“My other son! They must have switched places. They are both going to be grounded until they’re 18 for this.”

“You have another son?”

“Yes! Warlock and Adam are twins! I had custody of Warlock and their father of Adam! Keep up, Newt!”

“Ah, right. Because I should know what’s going on here. You have two sons? Since when?”

“Eleven years ago when I gave birth to them!”

“I’ll make your excuses to Beez. But things are crazy here; we just got another box of documents and, well, you’ll want to see this.”

“Right. Yes. I know. Fucking hell. God damn it. Those boys will be the death of me. I just… Give me a few hours. I can’t think right now. It’s Adam. And I need to talk to Warlock, make sure he’s all right. Fuck.”

“Good luck. And tell Adam I’m looking forward to meeting him properly.”

Crowley didn’t even know what to say to that and just hung up. Right. Time to face his son. His other son.

[hxlyhead-harpies]

You’re Being Mean (J.P.)

Requested: No

Summary: (Y/n) has always been second to her cousin Lily and James watches (Y/n) get ready to go to the yule ball with someone else

Pairing: James Potter x Evans!Reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: Angst

Inspired by this scene from little women

a/n: i don’t know if the marauder had a yule ball but let’s pretend!!

At Hogwarts, the last name Evans meant something. It meant good grades and a strongwilled personality. It meant a shining prefect badge and a mastery of charms. It meant beauty and a rugged air of sophistication. Lily Evans walked through the castle each day with her head held high and her beautiful flowing locks tied back in a messy plait. She was surrounded by friends who genuinely loved her and was followed by an endless degree of suitors. And despite sharing her last name, none of this applied to you, but the weight of everything that you weren’t still crashed upon your shoulders.

Lily Evans was your older cousin, her father being your father’s brother. It was incredibly rare that two people from the same muggle bloodline would be witches, but it wasn’t impossible. You arrived at Hogwarts the year after Lily, clinging to her hand as you approached the Gryffindor common room. While you, a gangly eleven year old, were shaking in your boots, Lily suavely led you into the common room and introduced you to her friends.

You tried your best to make a smooth transition into school, but it proved difficult when professors would learn your last name. Lily had raised their expectations impossibly high, so as you struggled to cast spells and mix potions, your professors felt incredibly let down by you. You just couldn’t live up to her.

As the years wore on your school performance remained average while she excelled, earning you snide remarks from your teachers and classmates. You were never viewed as your own person, only as an extension of Lily. You were always second to her in everything.

And while all of this bothered you, there was only one person whose opinion truly stung. You could brush off Slughorn’s comments about your performance in his class and you could ignore your housemate’s comparisons, but you couldn’t stomach the way that James Potter looked at your cousin.

He looked at Lily as if she had molded the moon and placed it in the sky and as if she had lit the fire that ignited the sun. He followed her around like a lost puppy while you sat on the sidelines and watched as she rejected him over and over again. You ached for him to look at you like but he never did. He only ever looked at you as a friend.

You and James had been friends for years. He had originally befriended you in an attempt to get closer to Lily but he quickly found himself taking a liking to your personality. The friendship stuck and while he continued to fall deeper in love with your cousin, you fell deeper in love with him.

Everything about him enamored you; his deep brown eyes and his wicked but kind smile. The way he would throw an arm over your shoulder as you walked to the Great Hall and how he looked in his quidditch robes. Everything about him made it easy to fall in love. But unlike your cousin, you seemed to be unlovable.

You were clumsy and awkward, never quite feeling comfortable in your own skin. You never knew the proper thing to say and never quite learned the correct way to act in any given social situation. You were funny, but it was often unintentional with people laughing at you and not with you. James could never love someone like that. You thought that no one could. That was why you were so surprised when Frank Longbottom asked you to the Yule Ball.

Frank was a year above you and tall and gangly. He wasn’t the type of boy that you’d usually notice, not that you noticed any boys beside James, but he was nice. He had asked you nervously in the common room, his hands wringing together. It was endearing and no one else had asked you, so you accepted. You had wanted James to ask you of course, but he didn’t. You assumed that had asked Lily and that she had rejected him since the ball was looming so near and the boy remained dateless.

You stood in front of your mirror, applying a light amount of soft pink blush to your cheeks. Your hair was pinned back in waves and your makeup was subtle and glowy. You felt more beautiful than you had ever before. James laid on your bed, his head hanging off of the side. He was already dressed in his dress robes and his hair was slightly neater than usual. He had gotten bored waiting for the ball to start so he had barged into your room to annoy you while you got ready. The room was empty, your roommates opting to get ready with other friends in other rooms.

James was humming to himself as he watched you get ready. Something odd stirred in his chest as he watched you examine yourself in the mirror. He had felt this stirring a few times over the past months but he had chosen to ignore it.

“I’m going to go change into my dress, I’ll be right back,” you announced, grabbing the hanger that your dress was on and marching towards the bathroom.

“Can I watch?” James called from the bed with a smirk on his face. You grabbed one of your silver heels from the floor and chucked it at him.

“Only in your dreams, Potter,” you retorted, a light blush dancing across your cheeks.

You stole into the bathroom and took off your pajamas; a pair of your father’s plaid pants and one of James’s jumpers. You slipped on the dress. It was a beautiful sky blue with iridescent sparkles lining the tulle fabric. It had a shapely and well-constructed bodice with a sweetheart neckline. There were two thin straps that ended in delicate bows at your shoulders and it flared out at your waist. The skirt ended just above your ankles. It was breathtaking. You reached to the back, attempting to zip it up yourself. You realized quickly that you needed help.

You held up the bodice as you walked back into your room.

“James I need help,” you whined. James laughed as he pushed himself off of the bed and made his way towards you. His breath caught in his throat when he caught sight of your bare back. You swept your hair out of the way and suppressed a shiver when his finger ghosted your skin as he grasped the zipper. You could feel his breath on your neck and you were afraid he could hear how loud your heart was beating. His finger paused when the zipper reached the top. He leaned closer towards you, his face practically in your hair.

“Don’t go with him,” he breathed. You tensed.

“What?” you whispered. Half of you wished for him to say the words that you had always wanted to hear and half of you dreaded whatever would come out of his mouth next.

“You heard me, don’t go with him,” he said softly. You spun around to face him, your noses almost touching. You scanned his face hoping to find some sort of explanation in his eyes. He was just looking at you with an odd expression, his lips parted and his eyes blown behind his glasses. Your eyebrows furrowed.

“Why?” You held your breath as you awaited his answer. He shook his head slightly.

“You know why,” he said, his eyes darting down to your lips. You took a step back, your legs bumping into the bed behind you.

“No,” you said, your head beginning to shake back and forth. “No, no.” James Reached his hand towards your cheek.

“Yes,” he murmured. You swatted his hand away.

“No James, you’re being mean,” you said. You felt tears stinging behind your eyes and you felt as if bile was rising in your throat.

“What, no-”

“Stop it!” you said forcefully, forcing James to freeze.

“I have been second to Lily my entire life, in everything. In school, in friendships, in my family. Everything,” you said, a frown deepening on your face. “I will not be who you settle for just because you cannot have her,” you spoke. James reached for you again, his brow furrowing.

“(Y/n)...” he whispered. You pulled away.

“No. I won’t do it, I can’t,” you said, pushing past him. You scrambled to grab your shoes, praying that your tears would stay at bay.

“(Y/n) just wait a second,” James cried.

“No James! I can’t do this. Not when I’ve spent my entire life loving you!” you exclaimed. The statement hung in the air as you both stood staring at each other, your chests heaving. James rubbed a hand down his face but didn’t make a move to say anything. You looked away, blinking away tears, and took a deep breath. You sighed before turning and storming out of the room. James didn’t follow you.

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

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[chibivesicle]

Golden Kamuy - Kikuta deserved better - 273-276

As I catch up on things, I’m gonna hit the highlights that really stuck with me.  Ogata is able to escape from Vasily using the tactics he observed from the showdown in Barato with Hijikata cutting through random row houses.  He’s seriously gotten into Vasily’s head as he hesitated to snipe aggressively after killing the wrong guy with Ogata’s cloak.

The only worthwhile thing from this continued and seriously a no longer interesting plot point, is getting to see Ogata wiggle under a fence like a cat.

So, I approve of this at least.  My own cat scores this as an 8/10 in cat wiggling.  Minus 2 points for not enough emotion from Ogata’s face.

Thankfully, Asirpa was able to escape with Sofia after Tsukishima gunned down Ariko.  It seemed to me that Koito froze/hesitated during that situation.  Tsukishima had no problem brutally shooting Ariko at point blank while Koito literally just hung back and watched. 

Asirpa is in a state of extreme shock. She just interrogated by Tsurumi to give up the code, watched Ariko be shot and now sees Boutarou’s corpse in the bottle-mobile.  Our girl needs years of therapy - she’s reaching the same level as our male cast members at this rate.

At least she breaks down in tears as Sugimoto tries to console her.  The artwork for this part of the page is excellent, it really does capture the melting of her mind and how she’s realizing how deadly the gold is.

It ties directly back to her argument with Kikuta before all this shit went down.  I’m always giving Sugimoto crap for being a moron, but it seems that he did make the right action by reaching out to allow her to hug his arm.  There is that soft look as he gazes down at her and just lets her be emotional.  It is clear that his presence is a comfort to her as she takes her time before returning to a more lucid mental state.  This is shown by how she opens her eyes and looks up before declaring that they need to meet up with Hijikata since she’s figured out how to crack the code.

Meanwhile, Kikuta rushed Ariko to a clinic to save his life.  Being the father figure/older brother he is, he tells him that it isn’t his time to die; he never made that makiri yet! And to my relief, Ariko wakes up!  Noda didn’t go for the lazy writing of killing of the minor Ainu character, something I was afraid of.

If his father saved him, it means his makiri was where he was shot in the chest under his uniform.  There is a lovely transition about a makiri in a fictional museum that was made by him, implying that he returned home and did make the makiri and likely resolved some of his identity issues, though it was still likely a tough life for him.  Ariko apologies for not being able to work as a spy for Central and really it isn’t like he’d be able to do so anyways.  But he did verbally point out he’s now politically on the side of someone like Asirpa to fight for their culture and right to exist in spite of colonial powers. The middle panel of Kikuta bidding him farewell just gives me the feels.  It is so clear that Kikuta knows he’s toast.  He saw Tsukishima shoot Ariko and Tsukishima likely watched him as he tried to save the man.

The fact that he said a casual line about going to an onsen.  Ugh, death flag for sure right there.  It seems Ariko knows that as he looks forlorn.  Kikuta is that sort of suave man who is going to look cool even though he’s doomed; he’s that awesome.

The action returns to Tsurumi at the church having solved the code.  With Tsukishima gone off to try to kill Ariko, Koito has remained behind.  All of a sudden Koito reverts to his extreme Satsuma accent when addressing Tsurumi in the absence of Tsukishima.  I think he didn’t even realize it at first, just like how after they escaped the fight with Boutarou, Koito spoke normally to Tsurumi without realizing it.

It is clear it took him a moment to realize he was speaking ‘Koito’ as Tsurumi is unable to respond to him and he then panics.  Koito is more than willing to chase after Tsukishima and support him, but Tsurumi instead recalls him.

At first he consoles himself that everything is okay. 

He is trying very hard to convince himself that everything that they witnessed through the keyhole was all an act to get the key!  Yes, it isn’t that Tsurumi doesn’t have some sort of awesome goal and this isn’t about how the death of his wife and daughter left him unhinged!

But the other random members of the 27th then comment on how strongly Nikaido reeks of beer . . . and Koito then thinks about how he and Tsukishima were hiding in the room at the church when Tsurumi ‘checked’ that he was alone.  And then it hits him - they were also played as a part of the ‘Tsurumi theatre’.  Unlike Tsukishima who has whole-heartily given himself over to Tsurumi, it is clear that Koito can’t.

That monologue sounded too good to be true.  He weakly says Tsukishima’s name into the rain as he then thinks ‘No . . .’  The rain is really fitting in this scene, I think it really is a stand in for Koito’s own disappointment and tears in this entire crazy quest for the gold.  Is he worried about his ‘older’ brother figure?  Himself?  Both of them?

He continues to try to rationalize the performance that Tsurumi gave them - even if Tsurumi lied to them, it wasn’t all a lie.  Oh Koito.  I want to give you a hug and pull you away as your little bon-bon-ness has won me over.  Most of that speech wasn’t for Koito, it was for Tsukishima.  Speaking about helping Japan is what Koito would like to hear but we can tell he doubts that as well.  Hence, his waffling.

But then he realizes that as Tsukishima has given so much - all of Tsurumi’s words, even if they were ‘sweet lies’ as he he referred to them on Karafuto, it was just perfect for Tsukishima.  However, Koito has broken the spell that Tsurumi held over him.  The final page of the chapter of Koito looking at the illuminated Tsurumi and shutting the door on him.  It is the exact opposite of when Tsurumi rescued Koito from the kidnappers when in his youth. I now find myself wondering how this relates to the tiger curse.  It is clear that the curse for Tsukishima will not end well.  After he shot Ariko, his eyes regained their sparkle!  Not good, not good at all!  However, have I misinterpreted it for Koito that by becoming disillusioned with Tsurumi he will be cursed to be miserable through him gaining independence from his hero worship of Tsurumi?  The idea that ignorance is bliss, and now Koito is well in the know.  The fact that when he and Tsukishima were sort of on the same page was when he could speak to Tsurumi but now that he’s on a different path from Tsukishima he’s tripped up again.

Chapter 274 finally allows Asirpa to determine the fake skins after what she witnessed with Boutarou in the brewery and thinking about Ainu garments that she figured out that Edogai likely went above and beyond with his fakes.  Thanks money counterfeiting guy from the fake Ainu village for the inspiration.  It is a lot of pages that tie together other plot points nicely but really doesn’t do anything for me as a reader personally.

The most important point is that as Sugimoto falls asleep while Asirpa and Hijikata work with the skins is that we get another flashback - one that links him to Kikuta!

and even more importantly - Hanazawa Yuusaku!  Chapter 275 starts out with an homage to the classic movie ‘Singing in the Rain’.  As soon as I saw Sugimoto spinning on a lamp post, it was obvious.  Yes, small town boy in the big city - causing trouble.  He gets in some sort of brawl with random guys from the army and is ‘rescued’ by Kikuta, who immediately realizes that he’s hungry and decides to treat him to some lunch.

It shows that Sugimoto has a short fuse and is an impulsive youngster.  Really, he is lucky that he didn’t do more stupid shit to get him in trouble.  We can also clearly see that Kikuta is a member of the 1st Division, the Tokyo based one that Sugimoto eventually enlists with.

Kikuta decides that he wants Sugimoto to impersonate Hanazawa Yuusaku and to go on a marriage interview for him.  This is because Hanazawa Hiro, the now identified wife of Hanazawa, is pulling the strings in the background to prevent Yuusaku from becoming a flag bearer.

This then makes us wonder why these two parents have such contrasting expectations for their only son.  It makes me think back to my theory that Yuusaku was a pretty poor solider and lacked any skill or potential.  Long ago, Tsurumi told Nikaido that Ogata is the ‘true heir’ of Hanazawa inheriting his military and [some] leadership skills as he stood on the watch tower in Barato ordering the random gangsters how to fight effectively.  Yuusaku is a disappointment for Hanazawa - he can only save face by having his son become such a symbolic part of the army.

I laughed at the next page where Kikuta confirms that Hiro is colluding with the young heiress to steal Yuusaku’s virginity and thus preventing him from becoming a flag bearer.  I love the posture of the terrified Yuusaku!

However, Hiro’s plan has been found out by Hanazawa and he consulted with the leader of the 1st Division to assist him with resolving this unpatriotic and embarrassing issue.  Recall that Ogata was born as a result of Hanazawa being posted to Tokyo - this implies that he likely became good friends with the leader of the 1st Division during this time.

To prevent anyone from identifying Sugimoto, he’s the perfect substitute for Yuusaku and changes into Kikuta’s uniform.  He’s one of those guys who just has that look.  Sugimoto immediately thinks that since he’s been treated well by Kikuta, joining the military might be a good way to find security - in food.  However, we get a link of the cap to Kikuta and what appears to be his dying younger brother.

Kikuta looks so sad, like there is something unfortunate with Sugimoto’s statement of food.  We don’t get to see his expression, indicating he’s likely hiding his emotions from Sugimoto and instead tells Sugimoto he’s going to have to train him in food etiquette.

He’s presented with some Western cuisine, something that may blow his cover and something that Kikuta didn’t expect as he watches from a tree outside.  But again, due to his extreme luck, he’s able to use nervousness as an excuse and it gives him time to state his family his super traditional so they wouldn’t have eaten food like this.  When he’s removed the cap, Kaneko Kaeko is smitten with his handsome face. He can use his excuse as a way to have an out for not knowing how to eat that tasty ebi fry (why to I hear ‘ebi fry’ in Nyanko-sensei’s voice?).

As she explains the fancy places she’s dined at, Sugimoto thinks about how he was living off of cat food.  Cue another reason why he just hates on Ogata, since he was stealing food from Ogata’s people! 

The rest of the dinner goes well, and Kikuta checks in with him.  Meanwhile, our wealthy heiress is completely smitten with him!

As Sugimoto mulls over the idea of a somewhat arranged marriage as a negative he spills the beans about Toraji and Umeko.  And Kikuta isn’t having any of his bullshit.  I love how Kikuta points out how selfish and downright stupid Sugimoto is being in all of this.  Kikuta gives Sugimoto good advice - which he’s clearly still never followed.

He makes it clear that he’s got to give up on that hometown and move on.  Which will be completely ignored as Toraji will end up in the 1st Division with Sugimoto in the trenches.  I’m now wondering how Toraji and Sugimoto reconnected.  Hrrrmmmmm?  Is this something that Sugimoto encouraged and that’s why he has all of these unresolved emotions about Toraji’s death in the war?

The chapter reveals to us that Tsukishima’s love ended up marrying the cousin of Kaeko, making Tsukishima’s acceptance of her ‘death’ even more heartbreaking as he thought that Tsurumi had lied to him about her fate.  [weeps bitterly]. 

As Kikuta and Sugimoto discuss what appears to be Yuusaku’s lack of a free will, he’s told not to meddle in others concerns.  What does Sugimoto do? The man just can’t keep to himself and he goes and finds Yuusaku to confront him.  He wants to know if Yuusaku wants to be a flag bearer even though it is a death sentence.  How does that conversation go? Just how we’d expect with all of the information we know about Yuusaku.

I love how he’s like it isn’t to meet my father’s expectations!  It is because understand my father’s convictions and fight for my country.  Okay, you keep telling yourself that Yuusaku, but it still sounds like you are doing this for your father, you know tomay-to, tomah-to.  Sugimoto mulls over what Yuusaku would choose if given the choice.  I just sigh as we know enough about Yuusaku’s backstory that the man only does what his father says - with great conviction. All of our Ogata flashbacks have made this so clear, Yuusaku is a doomed man from the moment he entered the army.  Maybe even a doomed man from his birth even.  Perhaps, he’s acutely aware of this, but based on how freakkin’ awkward he’s with Ogata and his older brother actions, I continue to think he’s not the brightest bulb in the pack and can only be used as a patriotic pawn.

Yuusaku then becomes suspicious of Sugimoto’s line of inquiry and realizes that he’s got Kikuta’s cap.

Not sure how to respond, he runs away and we learn that Kikuta’s younger brother died of illness during the first Sino-Japanese war.   That same war that killed Koito’s older brother and that Tsurumi and Tsukishima fought in as well. With the statement of illness, I know what most likely killed Kikuta’s younger brother - malnutrition - specifically beri beri.  As the Japanese military rapidly modernized using European models, they ran into an issue with many soldiers and sailors dying of some sort of mysterious illness and it wasn’t something that impacted the Westerners at all.  Most of this has to do with the ability to eat white rice which was much more processed.  It made it more expensive, but was nutritionally bad for men who came from lower incomes or poverty.  Remember how stoked Asirpa was when she ate white rice all the way back at the herring fishery?  If anyone has read “House of Five Leaves” by Natsume Ono, you’d know the protagonist is a poor ronin and he falls ill due to beri beri.  The solution was to return to the countryside/hometown to eat a more diverse diet.  For a more detailed explanation of how bad this was for the Japanese military check out the video by Linfamy on youtube here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzIBpFDRr5g

The video even highlights the fierce (and counterproductive) competition between the Army and Navy which has already been well defined through Koito’s backstory. The chapter ends with Sugimoto dropping the cap and the polite man who picks it up for him is Tsurumi with Ogata, Usami and Tsukishima in Tokyo. The plot thickens . . . somehow Sugimoto got mixed up in the business of the 27th and apparently Tokyo isn’t a vast city that you can get lost in and everyone knows everyone.  Like how I was on flight to Saskatoon and the man next to me started up a conversation how he was from Burlington and went to Guelph and my friend who I was going to visit was also from Burlington and went to Guelph it is a small world kinda moment and in agriculture.  I digress though.  Things are starting to pull back together but I’m still not 100% on with this plot direction/story arc.

[ginanosakka]

I Hate it Here

Masterlist

We Were Kids | Next

Moving you into Katsuki’s apartment across town took mere minutes, but everyday you spent there felt like years that you’d never get back. Everything felt too big and nostalgic, and the only thing grounding you to keep you from a panic attack, was Ryu being himself despite being pulled from school and transitioning to home school. He was just happy to be around his father all the time, immediately bombarding him with questions about his day the moment that he stepped through the door.

It wasn’t news that Katsuki wasn’t fond of comforting people, and the thought of him begging for forgiveness was laughable — but that brick wall you put up the moment you stepped through his threshold for the second time was driving him insane. When he was around, you were somewhere else in the house on the phone, or on the laptop you purchased and had shipped to his home as soon as possible. On the rare occasion he did see you for more than a few seconds, you looked drained of life. . and scared.

You were tough even when you two were young — the constant picking at you being quirkless might have made you think he thought otherwise, and he wondered if that contributed to your hardened shell now — but there was the rare occasion when something would break through your tough skin.

And it was always your father that did it.

Katsuki practiced his jabs that he tried out in training with Kirishima on the air, trying to make sure every moment was precise to recreate the amount of damage he dealt everytime. You had tagged along after phoning him and asking what he was doing, receiving the usual ‘I’m training and don’t give a shit if you come or not’ that you always took as a very hostile ‘yes’.

Usually, you’d make small noises of approval as he trained, and after yelling about you messing up his concentration but only getting a tongue stuck out at him in response, he had grown use to your annoying presence. Which is why he stole glances at you today when you were completely silent, and he found himself curious about why you didn’t even look at him as he trained. Bakugou was more aware of your every moment than you’d ever know, and he wanted it to stay that way, so he continued to only steal glances instead of confronting you.

“My dad didn’t tell me happy birthday.” There it was. The moment you’d break the silence and spill your guts to him with no coaxing needed from him.

That’s what drove him crazy about you; how you adapted to his pride and made being there for you so easy.

“He had Jun give me my necklace and money when I woke up, and I asked her if he made any plans to see me today. . She said he’s a busy man and I need to grow up. . Am I asking for too much?”

You looked up at him with every ounce of insecurity on full display, the kind of look he hated seeing on your face more than he hated seeing you in those stupid get-ups your mom bought you. Even he had said happy birthday to you, granted it was though text and there was no gift with it, but at least he had the decency to listen when you said that all you wanted was to hear two simple words from the people you cared about. It pissed Katsuki off even more that he knew you told your dad that’s all you wanted, and it didn’t take a genius to know that he didn’t do it on purpose. Now Katsuki had to be the one to pick up your broken pieces.

“Idiot, it’s not your fault that your old man is trash.” He grunted, turning away from you to stare at nothing so he didn’t have to see that stupid sparkle in your eyes when he said something nice.

That damn sparkle made his heart squeeze.

He was relieved to hear your soft laughter, “I guess you’re right. He’s better at bribing people than caring for them.”

If only he could tell you how true those words were.

“Shit.” Katsuki mumbled under his breathe, the realization of what was happening hitting him like a brick.

That day he went to your office, he hadn’t been there just to get a look at what you had accomplished, and the reason he got so riled up by your secretary was more than just being told he couldn’t see you. He had gotten a tip from Tokoyami that morning about a yakuza organization that was deeply involved in many missing people cases, and also suspects for the assasination of small business companies that were expected to outgrow large corporations.

That organization had your picture on the wall, along with pictures of those who were missing, and ones who had not gone missing but were on police watch due to the likelihood of them being taken next. Katsuki chalked it up to you being seen with him when he was a target for many villains due to his success in taking down and capturing villains with ease, and he let the most obvious point go over his head. He had just immediately wen to go see you to calm his nerves, not even second guessing his own answer that tied this back to the one man he had his own hit on.

The organization that had you targeted, acted under powerful businessmen in Japan. .

Your father was one of those powerful businessmen.

‘It all comes full fucking circle,’ Katsuki thought angrily as he picked up his office phone, knowing that he had to get his least favorite heroes on the case.

“I’m not asking you to take sides, I’m asking you to tell me the truth!” You hissed into the phone, and you could feel every ounce of your patience draining from your body and your tone.

It had been three days. Three days since you moved in with the father of your child, three days of feeling anxious and livid, and three days of trying to get in contact with your mother. For once, you could say that the least of your worries was Katsuki, and now it happened to be the life of your child again. You weren’t stupid — the moment Katsuki mentioned your safety specifically being threatened you knew who had put the hit out on you, and he wanted you to know.

It was your father’s way of warning you that if you even thought of exposing that you were his daughter that ‘went missing’,or tell them what he had done, you and Ryu will never know peace again. The knowledge that you were in his sights again and he still was just as ruthless as ever couldn’t even fully register in your brain, but you knew you had to do something. This was your baby’s life that was in danger again, and this time he isn’t living inside of you so you could have him with you at all times. You didn’t even know how to have this conversation with Katsuki when he didn’t even have the decency to tell you there was someone after your son while he sat in school. In fact, you were doing your best to avoid his presence so you didn’t cause a scene and scare Ryu half to death.

And your mother had the fucking ability to help you, and she decided this was the time to wave the white flag to involving herself in you and your father’s war.

“This isn’t something that I can tell you and your father not disown me too for, Y/N! Do you really expect me to risk my life too?” Your mother responded, and your grip on the phone tightened so much that you weren’t sure how much longer you’d have before it shattered.

“Yes! I expect you to risk your life for me, mom! I expect you to be a mother for just one damn moment in your life to save your grandson! If you can’t tell me what he knows and what you’ve told him, this will not only get ugly for him, but for you too!” You threatened with full intention of making it a reality.

“I can-“ as she spoke you heard a male voice in the background that made your heart sink to the bottom of your stomach before the phone went dead.

You paced the floor with a hand over your mouth to keep from screaming with Ryu napping in the other room, but this situation could only be fully resolved with risks being taken. The company you put blood sweat and tears into — you had long since realized you never wanted to start an entire company, but it was the best thing you knew how to do to make money to give your son the life he deserved — was going to have to be put in jeopardy. Your life, and more importantly your son’s life, would be in immediate danger once you decide to wage this war.

It’s father against daughter, and loser loses everything.

“You were really going to go through this again alone? You really piss me off sometimes.”

You whirled around to the door of the guest bedroom you were in to see not only Katsuki, but Eiji also standing there. It didn’t shock you in the slightest how pissed Katsuki looked, but Kirishima’s deathly stare had you frozen in place. Even though you knew in the back of your mind that their anger was towards your father, you couldn’t help but feel weak when two very famous pro heroes had their murderous gazes on full display for you.

“You don’t have to worry,” Kirishima said and flashed you a hardened arm. “No one is going to touch you or Ryu on my watch.”

Katsuki grunted, “I’ll kill anyone that tries.”

(A\N: So who’s ready to see full on angst, romance, and a badass reader? Cause I am ^_^! Also the amount of love and insight you guys give me on this story is insane and I still can’t than you enough 🥺 I hope you enjoy! <3

Taglist (Closed) <3 : @fandomgirllover @cloudsgathering @that-bipolar-renegade-romantic @jazzylove @that-chick212 @bonbonthedragon @misssugarless @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @bakugous-bakahoe @pinkykookie17 @animexholic @arielting @samkysnks @simpforeveryone @damnirina @deneuves @tsumuuumiyaaaa @vintage-teddyxo @regalmigraine @samvmgh @iamagalaxy @officialtrashbusiness @xwackk @videogameboiwhowins @marajillana @ellasdilemma @plutoneu @saucey-kneecapzz42020 @thestarsanctuary @dewdropwifu @star-light-imagines @kritiiiii @bakugosbottombitch @the2ndl @candybabey @simply-not-the-same @sam-i-am-1025 @mes-bisous @eternallyvenus @peppytine @chaelysian @definitely-yours @oikawarc @suneaterofthebig3 @m0na-l0ver @nkb0048 @losertsukki i @notyourfavorlte @caramelsquares @hikaru-mikazuki

[uzumaki-rebellion]

“Black Boys Bloom Thorns First: [Volume 3, Chp. 5]

"Smells good and feels nice Warm to touch and mostly good to mention Like sunny days it's warm and light Now it's time to release the tension…"

Omar – "Best By Far"

"Salud!"

Erik clinked his wineglass with the Korean woman next to him then glanced down at the delicious meal that sat before him. The beef bourguignon had diced carrots, pearl onions, mushrooms, and bacon. It sat on a sliced toasted and buttered baguette right next to roasted red potatoes and sauteed broccolini dusted with red pepper flakes and a grated French Gruyère cheese topping. He sliced into the tender beef and took his first bite. He immediately tasted the thyme, bay leaves, sage, and sea salt. His mouth watered and he closed his eyes while chewing. The savory flavors made him think of the meals his father prepared with his mother. Food was family to him, and exquisite meals humbled him. What could Disa not do?

Erik sipped the glass of water next to his plate to cleanse his pallet before he tucked into the broccolini and potatoes. Around him, he heard the loud clanks of silverware going to work and the moans of satisfied dinner guests.

"Exceptional dinner tonight, a toast to Disa!"

Hollis held up his wineglass and all the others followed suit. There were twelve people around the enormous mahogany dining table. Disa sat in the middle of the table with Hollis on the end seat and Yamilet on the other end. There was so much food and wine and the guests took their time with the meal with great conversation. Erik felt uncomfortable being seated next to Alexis. Her man flanked her other side, and she kept bumping her warm thigh against Erik's.

The rapid-fire conversations made Erik feel in his element. He stayed quiet as he felt people out around the table. Disa drew him out when she asked him about the transition to MIT from the Naval Academy, and the others listened respectfully as he gave a short comparison. She brought up his studies with bioacoustics and the others chatted him up before they moved on to other topics with Disa's lead. She picked up on his discomfort at being the center of attention a little longer than he wanted and she saved him.

He ate, drank, listened, and kept his eye on Disa when she commanded the table. Yamilet went to the kitchen and brought back another bottle of wine, and the table grew loose with laughter and loud talking. The woman next to him asked him for a platter of toasted bread and thanked him in Korean. He responded back in Korean and that started an easy conversation.

"You speak, Korean?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"That's like, three—"

"I speak five languages," he said scooping more stew onto his plate.

"Five?" Disa asked.

His eyes went to hers.

"English, Spanish, Korean, French, Portuguese," he said.

Disa's lips quirked.

"A polyglot. I should teach you Arabic," she said.

Erik didn't respond because he felt the heated glare from Hollis. The conversation came back on him on how he learned so many languages fluently. He mentioned his mother, Aunts, and his Korean childhood friend Walter. He left out his Wakandan heritage. He could still speak his father's mother tongue, but without his Baba around, he lost a lot of words as time went on. There weren't very many Wakandan language books available in print or online.

"Everyone ready for dessert?" Disa asked.

Nods went all about and Disa stood with Yamilet. Erik jumped up and followed them.

"We got this, Erik," Disa said.

"I want to help. I was the extra unplanned guest. I should at least assist a little bit."

She handed him a tray of apple crumbles. Yamilet carried another tray and Disa picked up a silver sauce boat filled with warm caramel sauce.

The guests clapped hands and oohed and ahhed when they saw the sweet treat and Erik walked around the table until all of his dessert bowls were taken. He followed Yamilet back into the kitchen to return the trays and washed his hands at the sink. He gave a hearty exhale that he had gotten through the meal without incident. Alexis's boyfriend was not a talker and spent most of his time stuffing his face and keeping a low profile.

Erik returned to his seat and ate his treat without joining any more talks. When people were almost done, Disa left the room. They all heard music being switched in the living room from soft jazz to more upbeat instrumentals. She returned with a beaming smile.

"Espresso and whiskey in the living room. Give me a moment to hook up the hookahs and we can all migrate," she said.

Erik followed the routine of the others as they cleared their own plates and returned things to the kitchen where Hollis and Yamilet stacked dishes in a dishwasher and the sink. Folks cut up once they began smoking from three hookah pipes and vibing to the music. Those who wanted espresso and a hard liquor helped themselves in the kitchen and the real conversations began to take place. The room grew smokey, loud, and fun. Erik stuck close to a bookshelf and watched others as he cradled an espresso. Alexis bounced up in his face. The liquor had her tilted.

"Small world," she said touching on his arm.

"Yo, Alexis, just chill, a'ight. Your man is right over there."

"It's cool. We're cool."

"I don't like being in situations like this, so let's just stay away from each other," he said walking away from her.

The last thing he needed was a scene in Disa's house. He saw Yamilet grab onto Disa's arm and another woman's and the three of them slipped out of the living room. They giggled, and it made Erik curious. He followed them into a hallway that led to a master bedroom.

Disa and the women sat on a gigantic bed. She lit up a joint and puffed on it before passing it to her friends. She tossed back her hair and noticed Erik in the doorway.

"I was looking for the bathroom," he said.

"Oh, it's the next room over… you smoke?" she asked handing the joint to him when it came back to her.

He stepped into the room and took the weed from her fingers and toked. He blew the smoke out and her eyes looked tight to him. She was faded from the wine. The weed just hemmed her up.

"You are one entertaining young man," her white female friend said eying him up and down.

Svetlana was a tall, lithe Ukrainian woman with a strong accent.

"Yeah," he said pulling in the strong smoke into his lungs and letting the weed twist him up.

Disa tapped the space next to her and Erik sat down. She smelled like sandalwood and cloves. Her fingernails were polished in rose gold color and her off-shoulder top revealed moisturized skin that needed his lips on them. She was barefoot now and her toenails matched her fingernail polish. All she had to do was ask and he would rub her feet or suck her toes. He was so gone over her that it was hard to look her in her face. Could she tell that he was smitten? Nah, more than smitten.

When Erik was a boy, he sat at a dinner table with his parents and asked his Baba how he knew that his mother was the one. His father made his mother cry. The words stuck with Erik. Baba's dark perfect skin flared nose, and supple lips gazed at his mother with such a piercing stare.

"She was fierce, JaJa. So fierce. When I looked at her, I couldn't see anyone else. That's the honest truth, Son. It wasn't just the way your mother looked. It was how she made me feel. Strong. Powerful. Happy. Special. Curious and open to new ideas...just so many things that made me feel alive and whole. No other woman has ever made me feel like that. When she was away from me, I was miserable...I didn't feel like myself without her. When she was by my side, I knew I could conquer the world. That's how I knew she was the one for me. That's how I knew. And I love her more every day each time I look at you, JaJa. I hope you can be so lucky one day."

N'Jobu's voice echoed into the void and Erik closed his eyes and inhaled the weed smoke. His body grew relaxed and his mind floated. When he opened his eyes and looked at Disa, he recognized his Baba's truth. Erik knew. Disa was the one. He knew her mind for over nine months listening to her talk on the radio. Her physical appearance was a gift, but her mind was where it was at. She made him feel…open. To ideas. To people. To his studies.

"Erik?"

Disa handed him the last of the weed. He polished it off, and she took it from his fingers to throw it away.

Yamilet and Svetlana left the room to get more wine, and Erik stayed on the bed.

They were alone.

"I'm glad you stayed," she said.

"Food was bomb as fuck. Conversation good too."

"Told you. You are cordially invited to the next one. I'm thinking of making a rack of lamb."

"I'll be here."

She raised her hand and rubbed his arm.

"You are a gifted young man. Use what you can while you're at MIT."

Her hand stayed on him, and her eyes were shiny and beautiful. Erik leaned in and kissed her. She drew back sharply and held her hand up.

"Hold on now, I'm not part of that equation," she giggled.

Erik couldn't get a fix on her signals. The weed and wine probably had her mixed up like him.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's all good, Erik."

She touched her bottom lip with a polished fingernail, then glanced at his lips.

"Soft," she whispered tracing a finger over his mouth.

Disa pressed her lips over his and he felt his scalp tingle. He reached for her waist and pulled her against him, her soft breasts feeling perfect against him. She moaned into his mouth when he slipped his tongue into hers. His hand snaked past her waist and squeezed her backside. Disa pulled his hand away.

"Okay, you got it out of your system," she said with a soft giggle.

"Wait… what?"

"C'mon, let's get back to the others before Hollis comes looking for me."

Disa stood and waited for him to leave with her. Erik stood, but he grabbed a hold of her hand.

"I'm not out of your league," he said.

"Erik, your crush is really sweet. I enjoy your company and would like for us to be friends."

"Just friends?"

"Friends… oh, don't pout."

She pinched his arm when he screwed his face up.

"You give a taste of heaven and deny me access? You a cold woman, Disa."

She chuckled.

"I'm high, and will probably forget I kissed you in a few hours."

"I won't forget."

She walked away and he trailed behind her back into the mix. No one even noticed their absence they were so caught up in a topic. Alexis's mouth was twisted up, and it matched the grim visage of her boyfriend who was listening to Yamilet hold the floor.

"… we all know it's true. Even Disa will tell you," Yamilet said waving for Disa to sit next to her on a loveseat.

Some guests sipped liquor and only three of them smoked the hookah, their eyes glazed over and mouths puckered around pipes. Hollis stood near a bookcase nursing some cognac next to an Arab engineer that had known Disa from their undergrad days. His name was Samir, and he once dated Disa before she ran off with Hollis. Samir nodded to Disa, and she grabbed a hookah pipe and partook. Yamilet waved her hand around.

"For years Black women have been brought up to adore Black men. We fight for their survival, march for them, speak their praises and all I'm saying is that it's not reciprocated. They run around talking about being Black Kangz, but they shit on us all the time. No other race of men do this to their women, and I'm done catering to losers—"

"Losers?" Kwame said with bass in his voice.

"Losers. Am I right Disa? Out of all the men in this country, Black men have had four hundred years to prove their worth, and all they do is simp. You build nothing, you support nothing but your own agenda, and you trash the very women who have been your doormats for too long. Divest ladies. They are not the prize."

Erik felt the blowback and the other Black men in the room grumbled and protested.

"Yeah whatever," Yamilet said dismissing every one of them.

"Then who is the prize?" Hollis asked.

"Black women," Disa said.

Alexis and the other Black women snapped their fingers. Disa removed the pipe from her lips and wiped a strand of hair from her face.

"The sooner Black women accept that they are the only prize in this world, the better off we'll be."

"Prizes my ass," Kwame said.

Alexis slapped his arm.

"Black women should be happy any man wants to be with them. All that foul attitude and neck rolling, acting all masculine—"

"Hold up, hold up… neck rolling and acting masculine?" Alexis said.

"See, neck already bobbing and weaving!" Kwame said making the other men laugh as he pointed to Alexis.

"Let's unpack that," Disa said leaning forward. There was a glint in her eye and her lips grew tight.

"Black women assert their humanity, their opinions, their intelligence, and it's viewed as masculine?"

"You're emotional too. Can't have a conversation without Black women getting loud—"

"Like you are right now? I'm talking calm and your voice has gone up three octaves since I challenged your words," Disa said.

Kwame rolled his eyes at her. Erik stepped closer to the man. He was ready to smack the taste out of Kwame's mouth.

"Black men do belittle their women every chance they get," Samir added.

"I don't believe Black men have a monopoly on being sexist," Hollis interjected.

"The rise of bashing culture online comes for Black women more," Svetlana said, "I can speak the same topics online with Black women, as I have done, and I get less attacked than my Black women friends. I'm a white woman telling you this. Sexism is terrible to all women, but it is ferocious for Disa, Yamilet, all the Black women in this room."

"Black men are punks," Disa said puffing and blowing a stream of smoke toward Kwame.

"You must be one of those 'Men are Trash', women," Kwame said.

"Men are the scum of the earth. I really don't like them at all. But alas, I suffer from an affliction called 'I like dick' so I have to pick and choose wisely."

Erik burst out laughing with a few others.

"Black men built the pyramids, raised kingdoms, ruled in Africa…"

"Here we go. I swear. Why do Black men always want to bring up being Kings? There ain't no royalty over here. We were regular folks who got stolen, traded, and exported. Some Kings more than likely sold their own people, so please don't cape for slave traders and race traitors. Royalty…," she snorted.

Erik grinned. If only she knew who she had in her house. A real-life African Prince. If only she knew he came from a people who turned their backs on the entire African continent.

"Black man, where is your army? Where are your institutions? Corporations? Industries? Where is your backbone? I gave up on Black men being anything other than conquered weaklings when that little boy got shot by cops and nothing happened. Black women rang the alarm—"

"As always," Alexis added.

"—and that cop is not in jail. And more hashtags cropped up. Again, where is your army Black Kangz? They slaughtered a child in the street and you did nothing. They shot a woman in her bed. You did nothing."

Where was their Black army? Erik thought. Posted up in luxury, high tech, and protection in Wakanda.

"We built our own universities, we started the Civil Rights Movement…," Kwame's voice was higher-pitched and angry-sounding.

"Why are you yelling?" Erik asked.

Kwame's chest puffed out. Disa blew out more smoke and glared at Kwame.

"Powerful men do not let their women and children march in the streets against white supremacy and the police. They take care of their women and children. Protect them at home while they go out and face the enemy. The people who built those universities long ago, who stood up for Civil Rights? Black men and Black women together. But guess what? They don't make those types of Black men anymore. The Black women are still here who do that type of fighting with little kids! Little kids fighting your grown man battles, but what do you Black men do today? Nothing. You act buck online hidden behind dusty avatars waiting to become the next hashtag because you're scared to fight. You have all the smoke for Black women every day of the week, will kill your own at the drop of a hat over some bullshit, but don't have any backbone for systemic racism and anti-Blackness? No energy for that? You don't deserve Black women. Any Black man still getting pussy from Black women should feel blessed and lucky. The world doesn't deserve Black women. At all."

Disa sat back and the air in the room was electric. Yamilet smirked and folded her arms, and the other Black women rested in their own secret thoughts.

"You hate us that much?" Hollis asked.

His eyes looked spooked. Clearly, he never knew this about Disa.

"I don't hate you, I'm just tired of you. All of you. I love us as a people, but I recognize who the weak link is."

"Damn," Samir said.

"That's harsh, Disa," Svetlana said.

"No, it's not, and it's not your business," Disa snapped.

Svetlana's husband jumped in.

"Hold up, it is her business. She's married to me and we'll have Black children one day."

"Oh please, Matthew, you've never dated a Black woman in your life and we know your self-hating ass don't want any of your children to look like you! Svetlana was your get out of Blackness pass," Yamilet barked.

"Time for a musical interlude," Hollis said trying to cut the tension by changing the music.

"What the hell, Yamilet?" Matthew said.

Svetlana stood up with her cheeks reddening.

"That's not true. Matthew is a proud Black man—"

"Who doesn't want Black children and spends more time traveling to Ukraine and embracing your culture while negating his own. Black kids? Where? Connected to Blackness in Donestk? Girl, stop. Please," Disa said.

"Matthew?" Svetlana said.

"Your husband has made numerous comments in your absence about hoping his kids have your hair and your color. He wants them to have your green eyes and features. Tell her Matthew," Yamilet pushed.

"I want healthy children with my wife. I don't care what they look like. Honey, what I meant was that if our kids looked like me, then they would have a harder life and I don't want them to suffer."

"Being Black is just suffering?" Erik asked.

All eyes turned to him.

"It's… difficult," Matthew said reaching for his wife's hand.

Svetlana looked shell-shocked.

"Then build a world where it won't be difficult. We're more than our pain, bruh, but sometimes a few of us have to die to make this country better. If not, we're just passive sheep waiting to go to the slaughterhouse. Just another hashtag on deck like Disa said," Erik pressed.

"They won't fight or build up anything, because they're scared—"

"That's not true, Disa. I'm doing what I can to make sure my children have all the advantages I didn't have," Matthew said.

"And skin color is one of those things," Erik said.

"He's right," Yamilet said.

"You should be the last to talk, Yamilet. You're light-skinned and benefit from it," Matthew said.

"Yeah, I'm light, with two Black on Black parents, but I have full African features and hair that can't go through a fine-toothed comb. Any privileges I have, I understand why, and I use them to benefit my people. You can see my Blackness the minute you see my face or hear me talk. But I would never see it as a blessing to get away from my tribe, man. That's all you."

"I love my wife," Matthew said.

"You love whiteness more," another Black woman said.

The room grew quiet. Disa played with her fingers and rested the hookah pipe on her lap.

"Matthew, we know you love Svetlana. You've just been conditioned to be anti-Black. We all were."

"Disa, come on now. You've dated non-Black men—"

"And you've never dated a Black woman ever. That's a problem for me."

"If that's the man's preference then leave him alone," Kwame said.

"That's not a preference," Disa said.

"You women are tripping up in here," Kwame said.

Alexis stepped away from him and Disa stood up.

"The fact that Erik, who isn't even a legal adult yet, can see what needs to be done, then I don't know what you grown negroes are going to do. You sacrifice nothing anymore. You gave up."

"Um, Disa..."

Karen, a cute TA in the Science department stared down at her cell phone. She looked up wide-eyed.

"Turn on your TV," Karen said.

Disa turned down the music and tapped the TV controller for the flat-screen embedded in the wall across from the couch.

"There!" Karen said.

On the screen, a female newscaster with a trepid face filled the room.

"… right now, the Pentagon has stated that the U.S. Navy is sending the battleship U.S.S. Steiner to the area. If you're just joining us, breaking news. They have reported that two coast guard ships were attacked off the coast of Florida. We're not sure if the vessel that attacked them is a submarine… hold on, we're getting some live footage from our affiliate station in Miami…"

"Wow!" Hollis blurted when they all saw the TV screen fill up with images of a submersible that skimmed just under the surface of the dark ocean with bright yellowish lights that glowed. A military helicopter hovered above it. The submersible breached the surface slick and curved like the back of an orca, but metallic and bigger.

"Holy shit," Hollis gasped.

Disa reached out and grabbed Erik's arm as a powerful bright green laser beam struck the helicopter. The entire aircraft glowed neon green for a second and exploded mid-air. The cameraman shooting the footage cursed on live TV and the picture grew jumpy before cutting back to the newscaster who now had a pallid face. Seconds later, the news studio image was replaced with an emergency broadcast static picture.

"Are we under fucking attack?" Yamilet yelped.

Disa flipped through more channels and more emergency broadcast pictures were up. Everyone went to their cell phones, except for Disa.

"That submarine, that wasn't… what was that?" she asked.

Erik escorted her to a loveseat, and he took the TV controls from her and flipped to more stations. He found a cable news network that discussed the attack and replayed the destroyed helicopter while warning viewers of disturbing images.

"Who could it be?" Svetlana asked, "the Russians?"

"The Saudis?" Kwame suggested.

"The machine looked weird. Like a… like a… whale," Hollis said.

Erik's professor moved in and sat next to Disa.

"It didn't take much for that thing to wipe out that helicopter. Will a destroyer be able to take it?" Yamilet asked.

Frightened eyes watched the TV.

Erik sat on a side chair next to Disa's loveseat. Flashes of his past rushed him and he latched on to a memory that had been one of the happiest times of his life although it was a dangerous time too. Police in Brazil tried to kill and jail his mother in Sao Paulo. But his Baba called on Wakandan rebels to fly a ship that rescued them from the top of an apartment building's roof during a daring escape in the middle of the night. A Wakandan battle cruiser that could turn invisible and take out an American city like it was nothing floated down from a midnight sky. His family spent a glorious week onboard hiding out over the Atlantic Ocean, and under it, when a similar threat came for them. The Atlanteans.

That was an Atlantean warcraft. Erik was sure of that.

He remembered the talk onboard the battle cruiser about the Atlanteans flexing against the Wakandans. He remembered the red alert and the escape from the battlecruiser in a smaller craft that his Baba piloted to get them back home. Now it seemed, the Atlanteans were ready to come for the Americans.

Erik's future was coming for him hard and on live television.

Disa reached for his hand and not Hollis's. He squeezed it tight.

"It'll be alright," he whispered to her.

She squeezed his hand back.

Chapter 6 HERE.

###

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