#I have been Informed that technically this is a filler and I could just jump straight to the demon part

[moosemonstrous]

Ghost Rider Pacific Rim AU - personal space

Turns out, staying in drift with multiple tons of a highly sophisticated robot for hours at a time gives you a bad case of sea legs.

“Oi, watch out!” One of the techs catches Robbie before he hits the cockpit floor. He’s graduated from control room to the inside of the Conn-Pod, which mostly means there is a lot less space for all the people upgrading the hardware and drawing out plans for removing the other pilot console. “I think you had enough for one shift.”

What, already? “I can–“ But he can’t, because they removed his helmet and he might be sick just from trying to look at someone without seeing the whole hangar at the same time. “Ugh.”

The tech laughs and waves over colleagues to help her unscrew Robbie from the makeshift rigging. In a real fight, he’d have been thrown across the pod on the first hit, but it works well enough to let him move The Charger around the bay. It takes three people with power drills to extract him, and two to effectively carry him out of the cockpit, where Cho and Stark have their monitoring station set up on the walkway.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” Stark demands when the techs deposit Robbie on the crate Cho is currently using as a bed. “I didn’t see a seizure, what’s–“

“He’s exhausted, boss,” the tech points at Robbie, who’s too focused on keeping his head from rolling off his neck to defend himself. As soon as he’s down, two nurses descend to check his eyes and to attach a mini-EEG to his temples. More people have touched him in the last twenty four hours than possibly his entire life up to this point, and if he wasn’t so nauseous he’d be feeling some kind of way about it. “Besides, look at the countdown. Canelo says we need at least six hours to get the wiring sorted. Might as well follow Cho’s example.”

“Right,” Robbie can’t see what Stark is doing, but judging by the deep sigh he doesn’t have it in him to argue, either. “Right, good shout. Yeah, let’s— When did he conk out?”

“An hour ago,” one of the nurses says in a way that promises to cut off Stark’s caffeine access.

“I thought it got quiet. Hey, Reyes, how’re you feeling? Nothing new popped? Brain all good?”

Robbie cracks open his bad eye to look at him over the nurse’s shoulder. He didn’t realise he’d closed them. “Fine. I think.”

“Thinking is a good indicator!” Stark exclaims, throwing his hands up. The enthusiasm makes him look ten years younger. “Go get some chow. Pam, make sure he doesn’t collapse in a hallway somewhere, Jen would eat one of my important organs.”

“I’m fine, I’m just—” Robbie presses his feet into the metal surface of the walkway. His knees feel detached, but less like they won’t hold if he tries to stand. “Just need a minute.”

“You need to sleep,” the nurse – Pam – waggles a finger on his face. “We’ve set up the old Horizon Bravo quarters—”

“No,” he protests. It’s half five. He can just make it, if his legs cooperate. “No, I need to go get my brother. He starts school at seven.” An exchange of significant glances occurs over his head. “I’ll be back after drop off. I’ll grab some food on the way.“

Lisa very kindly offered to help Gabe get ready in the morning when Robbie was told to come back to the hangar for the fifth shift to continue testing. He doesn’t mind leaving his brother to sleep on his own – he could never really afford to – but something about having a virtual stranger take over on such a short notice doesn’t sit right with him.

“Amadeus said you sorted it out,” Stark says, like he suspects he’s being had. It takes Robbie a moment to figure out he’s referring to Cho.

“In case I can’t make it back.” Robbie refuses to back down under his stare. “I can. So I will.”

“…Sure, whatever.” Stark makes eyebrows at Pam the Nurse before turning around to address everyone around: “Alright people, countdown is on fifteen hours! Pilot’s going to catch a snooze, everyone else get on the Conn-Pod while it’s free!”

“Did you not sleep at all?” Gabe yawns while Robbie collects a change of clothes. Parading through the support side in the undersuit made him feel half-naked and he’s not keen on repeating the experience. “Robbie, you have to sleep.”

“I know, buddy.” He’s also not keen on letting Lisa and Pam wait outside for too long. Lisa showed up despite Robbie texting her it was alright, ‘just in case’. “It’s just because the countdown is low, okay? Things will even out soon.”

After the next demon. Jesus, what is his life. If Gabe catches the implication, he doesn’t comment on it, so Robbie gets on with peeling the undersuit off. It’s much harder to do after sweating in it for eight hours and belatedly he realises that’s why you should’ve used that baby powder.

“What’s that?”

When he turns to look over his shoulder, Gabe’s pointing at his back, brows drawn together in concern. Does it show? Does what show? He feels along his shoulder blades as far as he can bend his arm, but other than sweat, nothing is there.

“What’s what?”

“It’s red. Like squiggles, but straight.”

“Where?”

He crouches down to let Gabe draw lines down his spine with his fingers. He still can’t feel anything out of order. “Picture,” Gabe makes a grabby hand for Robbie’s phone.

There are indeed lines of red blotches along his spine. Just skin irritation; something deep in Robbie’s chest releases in relief. Nothing to worry about. Probably just pressure from the spinal clamp. Yeah, those things dig in after a while.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he ruffles Gabe’s hair to his loud displeasure. “The drivesuit left some marks, that’s all.”

“Robbie, are you really going to fight the demon?”

Robbie knows every single expression Gabe has ever made better than his own face. He can tell whether his brother is happy or not, whether he needs space or coaxing, whether everything around him is too much or not enough – the one thing in life he thinks he’s definitely an expert in. But he’s never seen him look like this before. Like he’s afraid to be excited.

“No, I’m just–“ he searches for the right word. “The jaeger isn’t ready, and I’ve not had enough training. I’ll just be protecting the base.” Unless you grow some balls between now and go time. “I’m not doing anything risky, alright? It will probably be really boring.”

Are you kidding? You get to pilot the best-looking jaeger in the line-up and you expect it to be boring? God, he hopes it will be boring. There is a non-zero chance the demon won’t go for Hong Kong at all, and The Charger won’t even come off the suspension rack. He doesn’t want his first job to end up in a disaster because he has no goddamn clue what he’s doing. I know what I’m doing. That’s more than enough.

“I bet it will be really cool,” Gabe smiles encouragingly. Robbie blinks away the alien sense of puffed-up confidence he definitely hasn’t earned. “Lisa said we might go into a bunker. We’ve never been in a bunker before.”

Not that Gabe remembers, at least. “I can still take you to school, you know.”

“You,” Gabe puts his palm against his chest, “need to,” and powers his wheelchair to push Robbie towards the bunk bed: “sleep!”

Despite his insistence, Robbie doesn’t let him just leave. Pam is still waiting outside the door when he unlocks the ramp down to the corridor level. Her and Lisa must have made fast friends, because they abruptly stop talking as soon as they see Robbie. He has no reason to suspect they were talking about him, but two women going quiet and smiling like that never spelled anything good in my life before. Did he put his t-shirt on backwards or something?

“Morning! Are you ready to go?” Lisa grins at Gabe, who squeezes Robbie’s hand before letting go to roll his chair down to her side.

“I have time, I could–“ he starts, but Pam smacks him in the chest with a plastic bag. It smells faintly like bread. The look on her face dares him to finish the sentence.

“We can make it to CC on our own, right Gabe?” Lisa has a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. She and Pam exchange a conspiratorial glance, and Robbie barely gets a hug goodbye before his brother rides away without him.

Pam has enough mercy to let him stand in the doorway for a couple more minutes. “It’s half six,” she observes eventually like she’s commenting on the weather. “Eat the food, all of it. The outfitters expected you to have gained more weight by now.”

When Robbie peeks into the bag, it contains at least two doughnuts. “There’s a pager in there, too. If you aren’t asleep by eight, ping it, someone will come give you downers.”

“Downers?”

She gives him a pitying look. “You need at least five hours. You did well up there, but if you end up out in the ocean, you could be drifting for a very long time. Eat, sleep, and don’t show your face up in the dome until the third shift, no matter what R&D say. Got it?”

Robbie grits his teeth. “Eat, sleep, come back for third shift,” he mutters. “Got it.”

Pam smirks. “Another sunny one.” She pushes him again until he’s fully inside the bunk room and shuts the door behind her. Bitch.

He really needs to rest. Next thing he knows, he’ll be squaring up to Dr Montesi.

...Next time he wakes up, it will be to really pilot a jaeger. Out of the Shatterdome, with a demon due within hours.

Cheer up, kid. What's the worst that could happen?

[joontier]

Subliminal in Scrubs | V2; report xiii

pairings: dr. jeon jungkook x female reader

chapter rating: NC-17 | genre: humor, workplace relationships

warnings: swearing 

word count: 1.8k

g/n: decided on a bit of a filler for this one as a sort of prelude to future scenes 👀👀 ((likewise manifesting my plan to post another chapter this week))

[taglist]:  @nottodayjjk @ditttiii @zeharilisharaban @btsbunny07 @turquoiseandplaidinautumn @aamxxrii @codeinebelle @btsmakesmehappy @stargukkie @moonchild1​

Subliminal in Scrubs (the records) |  navi. | m.list

Jungkook locks his apartment door behind him, jiggling the doorknob afterwards for ‘double security’ as one would usually call it. He grabs his backpack from the floor and places one of the straps on his shoulders and heads on his way. As he passes by two of his neighbors who live in the same floor, he nods at them, adding a brief hum in greeting. 

“Hey man!” One of the men, Jikwang (as what Jungkook believes this man’s name was), calls out just before Jungkook reaches the elevator. “There was this hot girl asking about you last night.” 

Jungkook raises a brow. He hadn’t really met anyone recently, besides that one cute law student who was looking for a new tenant - and eventually turned out to be your neighbor this whole time. She was cute and all, but she didn’t seem like the type that was ‘hot’ to these types of people. 

Jungkook racks his brain for anything, trying to remember the very few number of his one night stands.Surely,none of them would have gotten pregnant with protection on….surely? On top of that, he hadn’t really disclosed his address to a lot of people too, so there was no way someone would be looking for him, all the more a “hot” woman,as these two would claim. 

“Did she say what her name was?” 

The one beside Jikwang shakes his head, adjusting his beanie. He’d seen this dude a couple of times hanging around, but he never actually got his name.  “Nah bro, I don’t think you’re the commitment type of dude…” he comments, dark eyes looking at Jungkook from his head down to his toe. Who was this guy anyways and who was he to judge whether Jungkook was the type to enter a committed relationship or not? 

“She just...looked rich, rich. She had a driver... who helped her come down from a nice Benz.” 

Jungkook feels his heart drop to the ground. No way in hell. 

“I think her name was Hee something...Junghwa? I dunno man, I’m not good with names. But it sounds similar to that…” 

“Was it Junghee?” 

“Yeah I think that’s it…” bonnet-dude replies, tapping a finger against his chin as he approaches Jungkook. “You think maybe you can set me up? With you know…” 

Jikwang knocks the back of bonnet-man’s head. “I got dibs first, shithead. “If she’s not already yours though,” he adds, delivering a wink aimed at Jungkook. “Her friends will do.” 

Jungkook squints his eyes at the duo. “No. She’s my sister. And she doesn’t have any friends.” A chill courses through his spine as he replies, wondering how she managed to find out where he lived, and why would she even reach out? Why now, when she had so many years to do so? 

Beanie guy simply laughs at him - if it was even considered laughing, when he was practically splitting his sides with laughter - like the thought of having a sister was hilarious to him. “You’re real funny, man. There is no...way...in hell… that that lady was your sister.” 

Ah yes, this man is a health vice personified. Jungkook notes the discoloration of his teeth, the god-awful odor coming from his mouth, and they both reek of alcohol and drugs combined. From a safe distance, Jungkook watches their amusement over the subject that is his sister, thinking about why he even indulged these two in the first place. For all he knows, they might have been shitting on him the whole time. 

“Sorry man. I mean...she’s rich and hot… and you?” Jikwang shrugs his shoulders. 

‘And he?’ What about him? 

What the hell was that supposed to mean? 

Jungkook clicks his tongue silently, clearly taking full offense with Jikwang’s statement. Did they just imply he didn’t look rich and hot too? Well, compared to them though, they’ll obviously have way longer to go. 

Jungkook blinks before equally returning their level of disbelief. “For real, bro?” These men diss him, won’t believe he has a sister whose aura dwarfs his by a million percent, and now they want him to set up a date with her? He shakes his head. Only crooks like these would say insane shit like this. 

If only this wasn’t the cheapest and most convenient apartment he could find to accommodate his daily hustle, Jungkook would have moved out of this crap excuse of an apartment building a long time ago. 

“Keep dreaming man.” 

“Hey, this is what I get for selling you my bike for a good price?” Jikwang eyes Jungkook, taunting him. 

“I owe you nothing. I paid for it ages ago.” Jungkook turns on his heel, leaving the two in the crusty ass corridor of their apartment building. He needs to get a new place. Quickly. 

With a sigh, he pulls on his down jacket, keeping himself warm as he walks to the garage. 

‘King Auto’ 

There’s a certain warmth that envelops Jungkook whenever he sees the garage, a place he’d rather call home than his terrible apartment building. It sits right at the corner of two busy streets, just six blocks away from his apartment. 

Funnily enough, it wasn’t him who first found out about the garage but the other way around. Well, technically, the owner did. Lee Dongmin, owner and manager of ‘King Auto’ repairs and restores almost all types of cars and bikes alike, occasionally servicing high-end cars on lucky days. 

Dongmin would usually see Jungkook pass by the garage in the morning on his way to the university or his part-time job.Well, being located at a busy street in the city of Seoul, there would normally be a lot of passersby but Dongmin knew these people either worked or lived around the area; Jungkook, however, always lingered when he walks past the garage. 

It had come to Dongmin’s knowledge a few months later that Jungkook purposefully used a longer route on his way, walking two extra blocks just so that he could pass by the garage. Dongmin hadn’t initially done anything about it, as he thought Jungkook simply took interest in cars - especially when the shop had its fair share of servicing cars from the western market. 

There was this particular day though one summer, that their paths would finally cross. Jungkook’s bike, the same bike he bought from sketchy Jikwang, broke down. Coincidentally just in front of King Auto too. Funnily enough, no one in the garage was familiar with fixing up bikes, but Jungkook simply asked if he could borrow a few tools and he’d fix his bike himself. 

Ultimately, Jungkook became part of the King Auto family. He’d spend his spare time in the garage when he’s not busy with his part-time jobs and on occasion, Jungkook gets to keep a tiny commission whenever he helps out with the repairs. 

Jungkook goes through the front door greeting the new receptionist, Clark, a good morning before heading straight to the garage. Jungkook spots a familiar shade of blue peeking through the scissor lifts, just by the end row. He practically dashes to the car in excitement, too thrilled to greet his favorite car he had worked on previously. 

“My baby!” The boy exclaims as he rests his chin on the Porsche Panamera’s roof. “Kook! Get your hands off that! I just had it cleaned!” gruffs Mansik from the other side of the car, flinging his towel at Jungkook who mumbles a sorry but continues to cradle the car, a little more gently this time. 

“If you continue doing that, you know a towel isn’t the only thing Mansik is going to throw at you.” Lee Dongmin’s voice is low, careful that the man he’s referring to won’t hear his words. “I’m glad he hasn’t resorted to tools yet...just a couple of smelly socks and a t-shirt that smells like it hasn’t been washed for months... “ 

“Fuckers.” True to Jungkook’s foreboding, Mansik does throw a sock ball from out of nowhere, one which barely misses Jungkook’s face. Dongmin simply shakes his head at his workers, who he has considered family at this point, Jungkook included. “I’m just glad none of that fell into my first coffee of the day.” Dongmin observes, drawing himself father from the Porsche and any flying objects later on. 

“By the way, the owner is actually here to pick up the car. I may or may not have mentioned your infatuation with it.” 

Jungkook almost instantly jumps to his feet, searching for the owner inside the garage, but disappointingly ending up with all the familiar faces at the garage. “Chill, kid. He just grabbed some coffee down the street,” Dongmin mentions as he takes a sip of his own. “Ah, speaking of the devil,” the latter states, nodding his head towards someone behind Jungkook. 

“Seokjin-sunbaenim?” 

“Oh hey! Wasn’t expecting to see you here...Jungkook, right?” 

“Yes sir!” Jungkook’s pupils shake, animatedly looking back and forth between the garage owner and his upper-level resident. “So...you’re the one who owns this Porsche?” Seokjin raises his cup, adding a small nod in Jungkook’s direction. He internalizes his excitement, before confessing his love for Seokjin’s Panamera. 

“And so, Dongmin here mentioned. Also said you were the one who fixed her up. Thanks man!” 

Dongmin looks at the two of them, eyebrows creased in the middle. “You two know each other?” 

“Seokjin-sunbaenim is a senior of mine at Woocheon.” Seemingly shellshocked at the new piece of information, Dongmin turns to Seokjin, “You’re a doctor?” The owner of the Porsche rolls his eyes fondly, “Yes, Dongmin. We can have lives outside the hospital too, you know.” 

“Anyways, ‘Mera’s ready to go yeah?” 

“Of course. Kook fixed it up just fine.” 

“Alright. Got a shift today man? Need a ride to the hospital?” 

Jungkook is tempted to give in, but merely fixing Seokjin’s car is enough honor for him and he can’t take advantage of his generosity. “No thank you, sunbae. I’ve already got a ride to work today.” Jungkook points to his bike on the other side of the garage. 

Seokjin tuts his disbelief. “You’re kidding me right? In this weather?” The older doctor points outside, then rubs his palm against his down coat. “No way in hell, kid. Get in the car.” 

“Really?” Jungkook mumbles, dimple on display as his lips form a thin line. Seokjin makes a hum of approval as he takes off his jacket while Jungkook dashes back to where he’d left his backpack. “He’s a good kid, Jungkook. Can be a bit of a delinquent sometimes, but he’s good. Take care of him, yeah?” 

“Huh,” Seokjin smirks, “this handsome face got nothing he can’t handle.” Dongmin rolls his eyes this time, “Seriously doubt we’re the same age honestly.” 

Jungkook returns to where the Porsche is parked, and Seokjin gets a spur-of-the-moment idea. The surgical resident throws his keys to Jungkook before settling inside the passenger seat. Jungkook, surprised as ever, simply stands there in surprise. “Well?” Seokjin asks, ducking towards the dashboard so he could take a look at Jungkook, “We’re gonna be late!” 

© joontier 2021

[lokis-army-77]

If You Please

Chapter twelve

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 2588

This is technically a reader insert but without the (y/n) and all that. She also has no name mentioned so feel free to imagine as you please.

Follow the reader through the events of the Captain America movies and experience her love for Bucky Barnes.

Warnings: none

Note: Normally I am the type of person to be date accurate when writing things and if you are too, I'm sorry. I messed up on the dates, so the battle of New York happens like a month after it should. This is also a short chapter because it's a filler and I'm trying to just get to the Winter Soldier but have everything make sense.

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Masterlist

A few days later I had received a small archivist job in the WWII department of the Smithsonian. Thankfully the made-up resume and a few fake SHIELD recommendations came in handy. I would officially start the following week after a few background checks were cleared. In my free time until then, I unpacked all the boxes in my apartment. It started to feel more homely and warm when all of my things filled up the space. When I didn’t feel like unpacking anything, I started taking long walks to the VFW building. I hadn’t joined in on any of the meetings yet, I just stood by the doorway and watched, listening to the stories people told.

One day that week as I stood back in the hallway after the meeting had ended, a man came up to me. He was a little taller than I was and had the brightest smile I had ever seen. I had watched him in the meetings before, he was usually the one hosting them, giving advice to all who needed it.

“I’ve seen you standing out here for the past three days, why don’t you come have a seat next time? It would be more comfortable than standing out here for an hour.” He said as he leaned his back against the wall right next to me.

“I have thought about it, but I tend to get here after you have started. I don’t want to interrupt anything by just barging in.” I said over my shoulder at him.

“You won't interrupt anything, just come on in next time, we’d be happy to have a new face around,” He pushed himself off the wall and walked down the hall.

After that, I ended up joining the meetings and even spoke a few times. I learned that the man who came up to me that day was Sam Wilson, pararescue, who had served two tours in Afghanistan. From the first day he came up and talked to me to now, we quickly became friends.

The days had turned into weeks and I was finally able to live relatively by my own means. The Smithsonian was great, in the archives, no one was really around and I could spend a whole day without any interruptions, which allowed me to just concentrate on what I was doing. After closing, I normally walked to meet Sam, who was usually way too excited to see me, even though we saw each other almost every day without fail.

“You’re late today.” I jumped, startled out of my thoughts at the sound of someone talking to me. I looked up, spying Sam standing next to one of the small trees outside the VFW building.

“What do you mean late?”

“I mean you usually get here at three-thirty. It's four right now.” He said looking down at his watch.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t realize. I've just been lost in my thoughts lately.” I sighed.

“I know we’ve only been friends for what? A month? But I already know when something is bothering you, What is it?”

“Nothing really, just my brother. Since moving here he's called at least twice a week to check up but it’s been radio silence for the past two weeks, he doesn't even answer when I try calling him. I'm just a little worried that something bad is going on, considering his job.”

“Well, maybe he’s just really busy at the moment, or he's somewhere he can't call you. You know how it is being out on those military missions.”

“I know, it’s just the last time we were apart on a mission,” I trailed off and looked up at Sam, he raised his eyebrows, quietly waiting for the end of the sentence. “Someone close to us passed. It’s still fresh in my mind like it happened yesterday. I was there that day and I was too far away to even know what had happened, now my brother and I aren’t even in the same vicinity as each other, there is no telling what could happen and it makes me nervous.”

He gave me a small apologetic smile and patted my shoulder before leading me from the tree where we stood to where his car was parked. “What do you say we hang out at mine and just watch some tv? Get your mind off things? Or we can talk about it, either way, it’s better than dealing with it alone.” I nodded my head and grabbed onto the car door handle as he unlocked it.

Walking through the front door after him I took a quick look around. It was cozy, way more decorated than I thought it would be for a man in his early thirties living alone.

“Make yourself at home. Do you want anything to drink?” He asked neck-deep in the fridge.

“Okay, I’ll just have some water,” I called out as I made my way further into the living room. The couch was backed up to the wall a few feet away from the dining room table. I sat down on it and scooted as close as I could to its right arm. A few moments later Sam came over with two glasses of water and a bag of chips. He handed me my drink before crashing down into his own seat. “Thank you,” I said before taking a long sip.

He nodded as he said “No problem.” Before he got himself really comfortable he searched around for the TV remote. As he pressed the ‘on’ button the TV came to life. “What in the world is that?” He sounded concerned so I quickly looked at the screen.

“Breaking: Attack on New York City. This afternoon at 2:15 several unidentified aircraft descended onto Earth's surface. Strange beings, some are calling aliens, Accompanied these ships and are causing havoc in Manhattan. Eyewitnesses have stated that they have seen Iron Man, and what seemed to be Captain America, leading a team of three others fighting back against the invaders. The battle seems to be over but updates are still coming in, let's take a look at some footage of the downtown destruction.” My eyes went wide and my heart stopped as I listened to what the reporter was saying. I kept my eyes glued to the screen as it changed to show a destroyed street. As the camera panned around I spotted Steve fighting against two of the creatures, before the clip quickly changed to show one of the large ships crashing into the New York skyline.

“Oh God Steve, what did you get into?” I murmured to myself.

“You say that like you know him personally.”

“Uhh.” I just gave him a wide-eyed look of surprise. “I do, he’s my brother.”

“Now really isn’t the time to be joking about things,” He gave me a pointed look.

“I swear I’m not joking, he really is my brother. I can explain later, I need to try and get a hold of him.” I pulled out the small flip phone from my pocket and dialed the number for Steve's cell phone, it rang and rang but no answer. I hung up quickly and dialed the number Fury gave me at the beginning of the month. After two rings he answered.

“I assume you are looking for Captain Rogers.”

“Where is he? Is he okay?” I tried to keep the worried tone from coming through in my voice.

“He’s fine. He is in the middle of a debriefing. I’ll tell him you called.”

“Okay, thank you.” As soon as the words left my mouth he gave a quick hum and then hung up. I looked over at Sam whose eyes hadn't left me at all. “Everything is fine, he's in a debrief so that means that whatever happened in New York is definitely over.”

“That’s good to hear, hopefully, those things don’t try to come back again.” He shook like a shiver ran down his spine. “Now please explain how Captain America, a man from the 1940s, is your brother.”

“I can hear the skepticism in your voice.”

He held his hands up in defense, “Hey, I'm not the one saying I'm the sister to a 90 something-year-old man.”

“Look, it’s a long story that I would rather not get into now but the short version is that I was born in 1921, Steve is my older brother, we both ended up taking the super-soldier serum and fought against HYDRA in the second world war. We ended up crashing a plane into some Ice in the Atlantic ocean and were found and unfrozen last October.” “If you are really Captain America’s sister, then why are you never mentioned in anything?” I looked at him and shook my head.

“Well for starters it was the forties and I was a woman fighting on the front lines. Credit is never given where it is due. But there is also the fact that I was a part of the SSR, which was very secretive, after I died.” I put my fingers up in air quotes, “They should have erased most, if not all the files on me, per protocol. The only reason Steve is well known is because of his time going cross country selling war bonds.” I paused for a second before quickly adding, “I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll find me in the history books somewhere.”

Sam just sat there not really saying anything. This was the first time I think he had ever been quiet for more than five seconds. I let out a deep sigh and stood, grabbing my bag from the floor. “Thanks for having me over, but I think I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stood and walked me to the door.

“Don’t be late. I’ll see you.” Sam waved me off and I headed down the street.

About half a year later while sorting through some archive files, I came across Peggy Carter. I felt a pang in my heart as I stared at the photo of her standing next to Howard Stark. Other than Steve and Bucky, those two were my closest friends. I fell down a rabbit hole after that, finding any information on the two that I could find. They had both helped found SHIELD in 1965, they had both gotten married and had children of their own. Peggy's children had stayed out of the public eye, but in true Stark fashion, Howard’s son evidently took over the family business and was living the high life. I pulled out a newspaper from the stack I had on the table in front of me and was shocked at what I saw. The title read ‘Howard and Maria Stark Die in Car Accident’, I knew Howard most likely wasn’t alive anymore but seeing the photographs of the wrecked car in the newspaper cast a somber mood through the room.

I laid the paper down on the table and ruffled through more of the papers before determining that we had no information on if Peggy was alive or not. That sent me into a frenzy of looking through phone books to try and find her and calling every retirement home in DC that I could. The only lead I had to go off of was a small interview from a newspaper, talking to Peggy about the seventieth anniversary of V-E Day, stated that she was living in Washington, DC.

After eight failed calls, finally, on the ninth, I had finally found a home which had a Peggy Carter as a residence in room 204. I rushed to pack up my things and left my office early. I ran down the back hallways as fast as I could without drawing too much attention. When I made it out of the building I ran full speed to the road to hail a cab.

Amazingly the traffic was almost nonexistent and I made it to the retirement home in only ten minutes. I fumbled out of the cab and I raced through the front doors of the building. I must have startled the women at the front desk because as soon as I rounded the corner to the staircase, they were yelling after me. I took the steps three at a time in my haste to get to the second floor. I stopped running when I was outside of room 204. I couldn’t see anything clearly through the frosted window so I knocked hesitantly and slowly opened the door and stepped in.

There in the middle of the room, against the wall was a single bed. A woman laid there quietly with her eyes closed. The closer I came to her the more familiar she looked. I let out a relieved gush of breath. There she was, older now, but still the Peggy I once knew. I nervously grabbed one of the chairs in the corner of the room and brought it over to her bedside so I could sit. Gently I gave her a small tap on the hand before just holding it in mine. She stirred but her eyes never opened.

All of a sudden one of the nurses from downstairs came into the room, with an angry and shocked expression.

“Ma’am, You can't be in here. If you want to see a patient, you have to sign in.” I ignored her, my eyes trained on Peggy's face. The commotion of the woman barging into the room had made her open her eyes and look around. I just watched as she scanned the room, first to the door on the left, to the wall in front of her, past me sitting on her right, then to the window behind me.” Her brows raised and she lifted her hands to her eyes to rub. The shock on her face was evident as she turned her head to stare directly at me.

“Hey Carter, long time no see huh?” I gave her the biggest smile that I could.

“Is it really you?” She reached her hand out to mine and grabbed hold.

“It is, it’s really me.”

“Ma’am, I mean it, you can't be here.” The nurse tried again, this time Peggy shot her a glare.

“Ms. I’ll have you know this is one of my best friends and she can be in here if she wants to. Now leave us alone.” The young nurse nodded her head and rushed out, even in old age she could still put on that commanding tone that struck fear in every man. She slowly turned back to me, almost like if she looked back for me, I would be gone. “How? How are you here?”

“It’s a long story Peg, are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Look where I am, I have nothing but time.” She laughed out and I let out my own small laugh as I shook my head.

In addition to what I had been doing, like hanging out with Sam, after that first visit, I made it a priority to see Peggy once or twice every two weeks, depending on how she was doing. Dementia had put a lot of stress on her, and seeing me after almost seventy-five years and looking relatively the same as I had when frozen took out a giant toll on her.

And that's how the next 10 months went until Steve eventually moved into an apartment directly under me.

Tag List: @ginger-swag-rapunzel @underc0vercryptid-reads @geek-and-proud @intothesoul @leyannrae @starkleila

[sardonic-courtney]

Crowley x Reader. We Met Before. Part 6/7.

Summary: You end up living with Bobby after your parents die. You go to church and meet Priest Crowley and you end up getting along (if you know what i mean). A few years later when Bobby passes you move the the bunker with Sam and Dean and end up meeting Crowley again.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5  Part 7

Warings: Mentions of death, Maybe spelling and language.

Around  1500 words.

A little note before we start, I know technically the bunker isn’t around this time but I’m not following storylines, hence the random case.

Life moves with a Daemon in the basement.

A great way to say goodbye...

Over the next few months, you had expected a call or text, but nothing. To be fair you didn’t exactly try to reach out to him either. Church felt emptier, as did your free time. So, you just spent it building up a great book collection, training, and further bonding with Bobby. Life had turned back to normal. Other than Sam and Dean had became more distant dealing with angels, daemons, heaven, and hell. Which you guess is the usual just busier. You even went on your first few hunts. During one involving a wendigo you lost your phone, only to find it beyond repair. Which cut ties completely with Crowley.

**Four Year Time Jump**

Now 22 years old, you are a full-time hunter still living with Bobby, when you’re not staying in shabby motels.

Your days are filled with hunting, reading, and watching bad movies. And for some reason every Sunday you still found yourself in your spot at church. You told yourself it was still because you wanted to feel closer to your mum, but deep down you knew you were hoping for the chance he would walk back through those doors. But when he didn’t you pushed the sinking feeling away, it was ridiculous to still miss the man you had hardly known. Although when you think about it you did know him, maybe not for long, but you knew more about him then you did about the other close people in your life.

You had been on a few dates with random guys since then, but none of them really stuck, and to be honest you weren’t exactly looking for them to. Everything was going well, which with the life you live was bound to end soon. Which it did.

The shot...

The coma...

The death...

His death...

Bobby was gone.

To say it hit hard was an understatement. You weren’t even there when the shot fired. You visited him as soon as you heard but couldn’t shake the feeling you let him down in some way. Sam and Dean tried to explain what happened, but you didn’t fully understand, or didn’t want to. You mourned alongside Sam and Dean. Ending up moving into the bunker with them, where you resumed going on little hunts with them, but mainly staying back as designated researcher. The bunker was a lot homelier than the random motels, and although your combat was good, it wasn’t what it needed to be with what they were dealing with.

Over the next year you met Castiel when he was “Back to himself” as Dean put it. You two quickly becoming friends, when you got used to his quirks. Everything once again was back to a new normal, well as normal as it could have been. You did stop going to church, no longer seeing the point of finding a new one nearer. You grow closer to the boys, finding new things out about them both.

You and Dean’s relationship is a weird one. He is exactly as you would imagine an older brother to be. But is also annoyingly stubborn, always teasing, and argumentative. But that’s what you love about him. Especially when he would give in and let you take Baby to the shops.

Sam is more like a twin, even though he��s 6 years older than you. You still stayed up late when you could talk about whatever. He is the more freely sensitive one. He is however just as stubborn and caring, especially when it comes to your lack of interest in dating. It was strange but he wants to see you happy with someone. Even though he knows in this life it’s hard, he still wants you to try. Which you don’t see the point. No, it’s not because you can’t picture going on dates and talking to anyone other than that beautiful accent, or because you can’t see yourself kissing any other lips. It’s just because you didn’t see the point, because (Y/N) (L/N) was not the sort of person to be hung up on a guy and his forgotten promise.

Right now, you are sitting in the kitchen with Sam, in silence. You are reading a book you found on a random shelf, and Sam is typing away on his laptop. The past 3 weeks the bunker has been filled with a tense mix of emotions. Hunters had seemed to become the hunted, being killed in many forms some were ripped apart other drained of blood some still full of blood a couple had their eyes ripped out, some even as mundane as being stabbed. But no matter the method, they were all linked by one small mark on the left thumb. A delicate R.

The case was confusing to say the least, and all leads you guys had found turned out to be dead ends. Which is why after a week and a half of no progress, Sam and Dean had decided to call on a certain demon for help…and by call you meant forcefully summon against the king of hells wishes. But no matter how hard they tried they couldn’t get anything out of him.

Not that you really knew who ‘him’ was. All you knew was that even from the basement he managed to cause tension between the brothers. You weren’t allowed down there. That was your rule. Which you begrudgingly followed. Not without your arguments, which you kept up. You love the boys, but it seemed they were getting nowhere with their interrogating, and you being the best at getting information out of the three of you, it seemed like the obvious choice. If the two weren’t so adamant at keeping you away from the whole thing. Being deemed too impressionable or something regarding your safety.

To be honest all you knew was that he was an annoying dick, that Dean was considering killing, and he had the answers to your problems. You didn’t even get to know what Dean and Sam were doing down there to try get information. Which was what Dean was doing now…. or what he was doing before he comes into the kitchen, breaking the silence.

Dean let out a sigh. “I swear he finds joy in pissing me of”.

“That would be the King of hell for you Dean”. Sam says not bothering to look up from his screen.

“Why did we even bother?” Dean slugs into a seat at the table across from you.

“Because we have no other leads.” Sam said seeming bored, but you knew it was him trying to mask his annoyance.

“But it’s been 9 days and he still hasn’t acknowledged the attacks; the cocky bastard keeps rolling his eyes at me. I swear if he makes one more remark, I will stab his eyes out.” Dean looks at Sam, which Sam senses and looks up meeting his brother’s eyes. “Sammy, I don’t know what else to try”.

But before Sam could add anything on you joined in. This being your perfect opportunity to get information and meet this alleged king of hell. “Me! I’m still an option”.

Dean rolled his eyes falling back in his seat, moving his gaze to you. Sam following suit.

“No chance munchkin, as said before we are not taking the chance.” Dean repeated.

“But I don’t understand, why not”. You frowned.

“Because” Sam started this time. “He doesn’t know you exist, and it’s safer that way. He could use you as a weakness to get to us, he could hurt you. It’s just not worth it.”

“But hunters dying is?” you asked, managing to get them speechless. Which they remained. “Common guys. I’m good at getting out information, and like Dean said, what other choices have you got?”

Both the brothers looked at each other and then back at you, still remaining silent.

So, you pulled out your best attempt at puppy dog eyes, “Please, I’ll be safe I promise.”

Dean let out a defeated and gruff “Fine”.

“But we are keeping an eye on you” Sam added trying not to chuckle at how Dean had finally given in. He wouldn’t admit it, but your logic did seem like the best option in his eyes to.

“Deal” you said smiling. The three of you got up, ready to descend downwards to the captive, who hopefully had answers.

For some reason you were excited and nervous. You imagined all the ways you could get information, getting into his head and muddling it out. Sure, he was a daemon, but you had swindled information out of a few before, how different could this one be? But no matter what crossed your mind, you would never have known what had been locked up right under your feet for the past 9 days.

(Pointless note, this was sort of a filler bit for some time to pass. i kind of struggled with mixing past and present tense, but hopefully it’s not too confusing).

[logical-little-lies]

We Have to Hide Again- Agere!AU (part 41)

A/N: Y’ALL EMILE AND REMY ARE FINALLY HERE- there’s not any little sides in this one (besides a mention of little remus), because this chapter is meant to advance the story. This is the start of the end, really, but I can definitely stretch it out depending on how I order the plotlines and how many filler plots I can stuff in between every. 

also spoiler warning for the most recent asides episode, because I used stuff introduced in that episode as a way to make this plot so much simpler then it originally was gonna be. 

please let me know if you liked the chapter (sorry that it’s kinda short)!

--

"ROMAN! I can't even-"

"I know!"

Virgil and Roman were completely enthusiastic after the day they had. They really hoped that things would go well with Nico, and both of them were pretty excited about this.

"Will you two stop screaming for two seconds? You sound like teenage girls," Janus laughed, giving them a look from his spot on the couch.

Virgil's head snapped over to Janus, giving him a playful glare.

"Let them have their fun, I don't think they've been this happy since..." Logan trailed off, thinking for a moment, "Since we started talking to you two again."

Virgil and Roman went back to talking, moving out of the living room and into the hallway. They were probably going off to Virgil's room to hang out for a while.

"Speaking of Remus, where is he?" Janus questioned, looking at Logan.

"Pretty sure he regressed, he was happy because his brother was happy and that triggered his headspace. Patton's taking care of him." Logan explained.

It had been just a week or so since Remus first regressed. He insisted on avoiding conversation about it when he came out of the headspace, but reassured from the others made sure that he knew he was safe to regress. It was weird, not having gross thoughts for a bit and just letting go. But it was nice. He got to depend on others and just play.

It was relieving.

"Let's go play with him! This is his second time regressing, and we need to get to know little him more!" Janus encouraged, standing up and stretching a bit. Logan agreed, jumping up and following him.

Initially after that day at the mall, everyone was pretty happy. Virgil and Roman spent some time together as a couple, gushing about how Thomas might finally have someone, just like they had each other. Patton, Logan, and Janus kept Remus busy as they teased and played with him.

And Emile and Remy realized that they were going to have to start working with the core sides again.

Of course, none of the core sides had come to this realization yet, but Emile's shared job of empathy and emotions with Patton connected into Thomas's romance life. And if Emile was going to be around the core sides more, then so was Remy.

Remy insisted that he stuck by Emile most of the time. He was sensitive, and he needed to be there to protect him if he needed it. Maybe that protectiveness was because he was his boyfriend. Maybe it was because he was also his caregiver. Maybe it was both.

Who knows?

--

Everyone had been sitting in the living room when they heard a knock sound at the door. Patton was the first to speak.

"Isn't everyone here?" he looked around the room. He glanced over the faces of Virgil, Roman, and Logan next to him. Then, he looked at Remus (who was now big), and Janus.

"It has to be Emile or Remy!" Logan pointed out.

"But why are they her-" Roman's words were interrupted by more knocking.

"Just a second!" Patton called out. Virgil jumped up, running out of the living room and disappearing into the hallway that led to their bedrooms.

"Start hiding the little stuff, quick!" he directed, just moments later when he came back, a box in his hands. Everyone seemed to come to a realization, getting up and helping him.

"I'll keep them at the door as long as I can," Patton told them, before getting off of the couch and going to the door. He heard the sounds of everyone running around behind him as he opened the door. As predicted, the two neutral sides stood on their porch step. They never showed their faces anymore, so it was shocking that they were here.

Once, a while ago, Remy and Emile worked with them all the time. They weren't core sides because their jobs were either shared with other sides, or it didn't directly tie into Thomas's personality, but they helped when they could.

Then, Virgil started working with them, and the two of them backed away and started working from a distance. They stayed in their little cottage in the Vineyard Village and did their best to work by themselves. Back then, Virgil was different, more gloomy. Neither of the neutral sides enjoyed being around him, and they just decided to leave. And once Virgil started changing, they felt like it was to late to drop back in.

Of course they felt bad for judging Virgil so harshly, but the decision had already been made and they couldn't take it back now.

Though, both Emile and Logan knew that logically, they'd have to come back eventually. So here they were, deciding that now was the time to come back.

"Hey!" Emile greeted.

"Hey..." Patton smiled awkwardly, glancing behind him for a moment. "What are you two doing here?" he questioned.

Remy's head perked up when he heard a crash behind Patton, and a shout that sounded like Remus's voice calling out "i'm okay!". "What's going on in there?" he chuckled, trying to peek over Patton's shoulder.

"Why don't," Patton paused, standing on his toes so that he blocked Remy's view of the inside of the house. "Why don't you answer my question first?"

"Oh..um, remember the romance committee? Me, you, and Roman are in charge of Thomas's romance life. And since he's finally met someone he likes, I figured it would be fairly soon that I'd have to work with you guys again." Emile explained. Patton looked to Remy for his reasoning to be there.

Patton was really just trying to stall, and this was the only way he knew to keep the conversation going.  

"I'm here for him. But also, there's the Dream Team. Roman's supposed to help me create Thomas's dreams and stuff? And you're supposed to help walk me through Thomas's emotions so I can let them influence the dreams he has?"

"Oh, okay." Patton nodded. He really didn't know what else to say. In any other case, he would've let them in by now.

"Our jobs really depend on information from you guys," Emile elaborated, seemingly confused and why he hadn't been let inside yet. "Working apart has been basically impossible. It's about time that we came back and started holding meetings again, yeah?"

Patton nodded again, "I suppose so."

"Can we come in?" Remy questioned, still confused. Patton looked behind him, getting a thumbs up from Logan and nodding as he looked back to the other two.

"Yeah, welcome back." he stepped away from the door, allowing them to walk in.

"This place has changed a bit," Emile commented, smiling as he looked around. "It's nice, I like it."

Emile and Remy took seats in the only empty parts of the couch. The core sides living room was technically made to fit all of them at once, because they were all supposed to work together. But that hasn't happened in a while. "Hello Janus, Remus." Emile awkwardly greeted.

"Hello." Janus had his arms crossed.

"So...let's get down to business, right?" Logan was the first to speak, redirecting to situation from the tension between the neutral sides and the dark sides, to the discussion they had to hold.

"To defeat the huns!" Emile and Roman quoted Mulan at the same time, breaking out into laughter.

They did kinda miss this.

--

"So..the neutral sides don't hate me, which is cool..." Virgil pondered, taking a bite of his food. The neutral and dark sides had headed back home, and the core sides were having family dinner.

"What's on your mind, love?" Roman questioned. He had noticed his nervousness, and how disappointed he had been when he had to store away all his little stuff so that Emile and Remy didn't see it.

"Well..if you guys are going to start working with them again, that means they're gonna be here a lot, right?" He asked, seemingly nervous to hear the response.

Logan sighed, "Yeah, you got it right."

"That means that we're gonna have to start hiding all the regression stuff again. Just when I was getting used to the idea of being open about it!" Virgil groaned, seemingly annoyed.

Since they told Janus and Remus, they had stopped trying to hide the littlespace dynamic within their family. Coloring pages were on the fridge, sippy cups and bottles sat in the cabinet, certain toys were stored in the living room. Looking around, you could tell that a child, or someone on the same mental level as one, regularly stayed there.

And now that they finally got to that level of comfort, treating their regression like an every day normal thing, they were put in a situation where they had to hide it once again.

"I know, sweetheart. It sucks. But, we can always figure out ways to bring it up! If we tell them, then we'll know for sure that everyone knows!" Patton pointed out.

"You know how hard it was for me to even tell my brother? I didn't, really. He just caught me in littlespace and I had to explain myself. We haven't seen them in forever, and Vee barely knows them...we're gonna have to start hiding everything again. At least for now." Roman wasn't happy about this either, but he didn't know if they could do anything about it.  

"Well, they most likely won't be snooping in bedrooms without permission, so when they're here, we'll just have to take our personal agere stuff and store it in our rooms. It won't be that hard." Logan tried to sound hopeful, but it didn't come out great.

"We'll figure it out. It's just a few meetings a week," Patton assured.

"Yeah, we'll figure it out. For now, let's enjoy Patton's food, yeah?"

For now, they weren't going to worry about it. But this change was going to be rather stressful on them. Yeah, Emile and Remy were nice sides, but they had no idea how they'd react to something like this. So until they got a better idea on how they could react, they'd have to go back to hiding and being secretive.

And this change was only part of it, there was still more to come.

One last big change before this story comes to a close, but we still have a bit to go before we get there.  

Let's just keep telling this story and see what happens to the sides.

To Thomas.

--

A/N: another spooky ominious ending? oooh. 

Some people have been pointing out that I’ve been hinting to some big change, so here it is! Kinda...there’s still more to come. This little plotline of everyone trying to hide the agere thing from Remy and Emile will be the focus for a little while, and then right as it starts to get resolved....BOOM! Another change. 

Hope you’re ready.

-Apple

[feeling-uncomfy]

This one is both an apology and a filler because A. I decided would be Shouji-centric because I've fallen into the trap that is "adopting every fictional child that could potentially have a tragic backstory" and B. I still feel super bad about that Mafia fic BUT I'm on 25,000 words and I've decided health isnt important so I'm gonna finish it.

And fuck it- there will probs be two or three chapters cause I'm lazy so- here!

Summary is– Sensory overloads for someone with heightened senses is rough, especially when you end up held captive by some of the loudest villains ever.

Dad-Dabi gives me serotonin– no I will not explain any further

TW: cussing

Let's go!!

Shouji woke up at the slightest hint of dawn, which wasn't unusual, aside from the fact that it hurt his eyes to the point he had to turn away from the curtains. Shouji groaned as the smallest of noises had him reaching to cover his ears.

It was one of those days.

Sensory overloads weren't uncommon in Shouji's life– but the headaches and the over-stimulation that came with it *killed* him every time without fail. Using one of his extra hands, he tried to shut the curtain, only to find it was completely closed over. He sighed and wondered if there were any painkillers in the bathrooms...

Getting up was hard most mornings anyway, but today Shouji found himself begging for more sleep. He dragged himself out of bed and reached for the noise-canceling headphones he kept on his desk. Any bit of relief helped. He slipped them on and sighed as the sounds stopped. Walking slowly out, Shouji made his way to the bathroom.

Even if he couldn't hear anything, his footsteps were quiet as he kept his head low. After searching and confirming there wasn't any pain relief he could get at the dorms, Shouji sat in the couch and decided he could bear the pain. He didn't want to complain– a little headache wasn't the end of the world.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there for, but eventually he felt the pain was bearable enough to take the headphones off. The common area was never loud in the mornings so he should be—

"Out of the way fuckin' nerd!" Bakugo was yelling, and Kirishima laughed loudly. The sounds had Shouji scrambling for his headphones again. His head felt like it had split open, and those two weren't even the loudest people. Shouji wasn't going to last the day, he knew there was no hope.

He figured he could survive by hiding, not like anyone would particularly notice his absence. He was ready to get up and leave when someone slapped his shoulder, and the sensation had him doubling over in pain. "Shouji! We've been calling you for like ten minutes! What's up?" It was Kirishima.

Shouji tried not to show how much that slap hurt and shrugged. "Couldn't sleep." he lied‐ well technically he couldn't. Kirishima nodded and sat uncomfortably close and pulled out his phone. "You seen the news? It was awesome!" Shouji had a bright screen shoved in his face and it hurt. Too bright– way too bright.

Shouji couldn't focus on anything on the screen. It was just white– with sone blurry black lines that wouldn't stay still. Kirishima pulled it back and ranted about it. Shouji loved his classmate, he really did‐ but he was so loud. Shouji could feel the headache building and he knew he wasn't going to be able to keep the conversation going.

"Shouji?" Someone snapped their fingers and Shouji jumped up, immediately wincing afterwards. Aziawa looked down at him. "Are you alright? You've spaced out" Shouji tried to pay attention and nodded slowly. "M'fine, just tired" he knew better than to lie, but found himself doing it anyway.

Aziawa didn't push, thankfully. "Gang Orca wants you and Jirou at his agency by twelve pm today." Shouji nodded externally but died internally. He wanted to sleep, please let him sleep–

Aziawa sighed. "It's almost eleven. Get going." Shouji resisted the urge to curl up and hide. Instead he nodded and stood up on unsteady feet. "Yes sir." Shouji walked away and got ready to leave.

Twenty minutes later, he and Jirou were making there way to the city on a train. Shouji found himself wishing he didn't leave his headphones behind. Every noise had him scrunching up and subtlety covering his ears or closing his eyes tightly to block it all out. Jirou noticed and waited till they got off to ask if he was okay. Shouji simply shrugged her off and gave some random excuse.

They arrived and Gang Orca greeted them formally, his voice was oddly louder than usual. Shouji blamed it on the heightened senses. They were thrown straight into patrol, and it was quiet, and Shouji thanked whatever god was out there for it.

Jirou sighed as they walked down a road. "We should head back– neither of us know this area well and—" there was a loud explosion and Shouji and Jirou were sent flying. Shouji shook his head as the world span and his ears rang. His eyes wouldn't focus in anything and his head felt like it was full of cotton.

Jirou was saying something into an earpiece, but it sounded like static. Shouji looked over to see blue fire.

Wait–

Shouji shook his head again as the League of Villains walked out from the ashes, Shigaraki leading them. Dabi stood on his right side looking bored. Twice and Toga were messing around on his left. Mr. Compress was standing on some random piece of rubble being dramatic. Shouji winced at the sound of a van screeching to a stop behind him and turned.

Spinner was sitting in the front seat and was yelling. Jirou whispered something to him, but Shouji couldn't hear properly. His head was spinning. He glanced between them and realised that they were boxed in. He couldn't move, he swayed almost uselessly. "Shouji– stay with me, Mr. Orca is on his way–" Jirou said and steadied him. Shouji nodded and stood straighter.

Shigaraki was speaking, and pointing at the two of them. Shouji couldn't hear properly so didnt react. Jirou on the other hand seemed angry and stood in front of him. "Wha–?" Shouji wasnt sure what had caused the reaction. Jirou didnt respond and stayed firmly in front of him. Spinner yelled from behind him and Shouji felt familiar hands on his shoulders.

"You can relax, it's me, stay back okay?" Gang Orca was there. Shouji didn't know what else to do but nod and let Jirou drag him back. He felt like passing out– he hated this. He hated how useless he was being, he should be better than this—

Jirou yelled loudly as blue fire was sent their way. On instinct, Shouji shoved Jirou out of the way and was enveloped in flame. If his didn't know pain before, the feeling was redefined as his head hit the ground. It felt like his brain was about to explode. Everything hurt.

There was more yelling- more bright lights– Shouji couldn't keep up anymore. He felt himself being picked up as he faded out. He looked around at the fighting and it all blurred together. Who was who? Where was Jirou? Gang Orca? The League? He was picked up fully and the person started running. Shouji felt his consciousness slipping away, and found his eyes closing.

He was layed against something– no it was breathing– it was a person. Who though? They felt like a heater and Shouji couldn't help but relax because of it. A hand ran through his hair and he let himself drift off as the sounds and chaos faded to nothing.

Gang Orca growled as the van drove off. Jirou was picking herself up from the ground and looked around. Gang Orca turned to see Endeavor and Hawks arriving. "Saw the blue flames– what's happening?" Hawks asked, though his attention was somewhere else. Endeavor looked at where the van once was and sighed. Gang Orca explained what happened briefly.

"My interns can give a better explanation." Hawks tilted his head. "Interns? There's only one kid though?" Gang Orca turned quickly. "... where did–?" He ran forward and picked Jirou up. Looking around again, he saw no sign of Shouji. Jirou got out of his grip and looked around as well. "... they said– they said they were gonna–" Jirou swore.

Hawks turned behind him as Tokoyami showed up. "The others are on the way." He informed Endeavor, standing straight. Hawks laughed and ruffled his interns feathers. "My kid's faster than all of yours!" Hawks laughed as Endeavor glared. Tokoyami flushed at the praise.

Gang Orca walked over. "Not the time! The League–" Endeavor looked over as Jirou paced and Gang Orca explain what had happened. Hawks seemed to get a little more serious. "They targeted your interns specifically?" Tokoyami looked inbetween the pros. Gang Orca sighed. "No- according to Jirou they wanted a member of class 1A, but Shouji and Jirou were just unlucky."

Endeavor nodded as Bakugo, Midoryia and Todoroki showed up panting. Hawks raised a brow and commented something along the lines of "My kid wasn't tried at all" and Endeavor glared at Hawks as Tokoyami was smacked by Bakugo.

Gang Orca sighed loudly. He looked at Jirou and motioned for a sidekick to take her back to the agency. She went reluctantly and Gang Orca walked towards the tire marks. He wondered vaguely what was going to happen to his intern...

Shouji woke up to a massive blast of pain in his head and his everywhere. He winced and curled up tighter. He wanted to sleep and never wake up. The door opened and someone sat beside him. "...Kid?" Shouji didn't recognise the voice– weird, wasn't he at the agency?

"Kid. You need to get up." A hand went through his hair and he opened his eyes and saw a blurred blob sitting over him. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Blue eyes. Black hair, purple face? Shouji squinted despite how much it hurt. Dabi– the villain, sat over him. Shouji jumped and winced harshly as another wave of pain flood through him.

The hand was back, gently pulling him so he was sitting up and leaning against the arsonist as he was handed a glass of water. "Painkillers– we would sedate you but... dont know how you feel about needles so‐" Dabi explained and kept a hold on Shouji.

Shouji took the pills easily and found himself relaxing against the person he was told to fear. He didn't understand why they were being considerate– wasnt he a captive? Dabi was about to say something when there was a sudden burst of noise as two more blobs broke in.

Shouji found himself swarmed with questions and pokes. Toga was squealing about Izuku and Uraraka while Twice was pulling at Shouji's mask. Shouji found himself completely overwhelmed and pulled back from them. They just yelled louder and moved closer.

Too loud– way too loud. He couldn't think straight and his head hurt. Dabi got the hint and moved so Shouji was hidden behind him and glared at Toga and Twice. They didn't seem to get the message and taked louder. Dabi snapped a little. "Get out both of you– you're too loud you morons"

Twice had two voices yelling now and Toga flipped him off and moved around him to talk to Shouji. The teen responded by hiding his face in Dabi's back. Dabi flicked Toga's forehead and she stuck her tongue out. An idea popped into her head. "Wait here!" She ran off and Twice was stuck between apologising and asking more questions.

Toga came back in with her phone and was holding it to her face and talking. "Are you streaming?! Toga you know you're not allowed—" Toga grinned and pointed the camera at the three of them. "And here's our guest! He doesn't like us right now– any words?" She has the camera in Shouji's face.

Shouji responds with a shrug and mumbles something. Dabi sighs and shoves the camera away and is effectively distracted. Twice takes the opportunity to scoop Shouji up and takes off running. Toga cheers and takes off. Dabi curses loudly and chases them.

Hawks and Gang Orca are watching as Shouji is literally carried one handed by Twice through a large building. Toga is in front of them sprinting. Dabi is yelling and catching up. They're all screaming. Shigaraki is shown briefly before he's shoved into Spinner as Toga yells.

Mr. Compress is there– both concerned and laughing until he's also picked up and carried one handed. Dabi knocks into Twice and they're all sent flying down the stairs. Gang Orca winces as they all tumble down. The phone is dropped and someone screams loudly. Toga picks up the phone and it's pointed to Shouji hanging off the staircase.

Twice is the only thing keeping him from falling– Shouji's grip is weak and he's panicking. Dabi is holding his other arm and they're pulling. Mr. Compress is laying lifeless at the bottom of the stairs– if it weren't for the phone picking up on his laughter Hawks would've presumed he was dead.

Toga is speaking. "So– the kid might be dead but I think it was fun!" Dabi yells in response. "If he is dead you'll join him, dont think I wont–" he pulls Shouji over and yanks him away from Twice. Gang Orca watches as Toga laughs loudly and Dabi limps away with the kid while Twice has joined Compress on the floor. The stream ends and the two pro-hero's are left wondering what the fuck happened.

Dabi brings himself and Shouji to his room and sighs. Shouji gripped Dabi's shirt. He was confused and kind of afraid– but at the same time...

He hasn't laughed like that in forever– he hadn't had fun like that in forever. Sure he was terrified– but he found himself enjoying it a lot more than he thought he would. The thrill of being chased around and just... being carefree. It had become so foreign to him.

"Kid? You okay there?" Dabi had noticed the sudden change. Shouji looked up and shrugged, his head felt like it was gonna explode and his legs wouldn't stop shaking. He felt like he couldn't stay up, and his eyes drooped. Dabi noticed. "Go to sleep kid. I'll be here if you need anything."

Normally– Shouji wouldn't trust it. But he found himself completely at ease and nodded. Dabi put him down on the bed and Shouji curled up, drifting off almost immediately. Dabi watched him drift off and is surprised to find a small smile on his face. He sighed and pet the kids head gently.

Dabi wasn't sure when he noticed it, but at one point Shouji had started shaking. Dabi simply put it off as the kid being cold and warmed him up. Eventually the tremors became worse and Dabi suspected it was something else...

Dabi had moved so he was closer and very gently picked Shouji up. The response was instantaneous, Shouji's eyes snapped open and he jolted away. Dabi noted that the kid obviously wasn't all there yet, and reached out slowly.

Very gently, Dabi pat Shouji's head, and even with the naturally heated up palms, Dabi could feel the temperature. He sighed and watched as Shouji woke up fully, and slumped useless against his hand. For such a tall kid, he was oddly... small.

Dabi tilted his head and could practically see the gears turning in the kids head. He was clearly out of it. Shouji felt like his whole world was turning upside down– he was going to puke—

Dabi had to hop back as Shouji dived for the nearest bin, toilet– anything. He ends up vomiting into a bin and his whole body spasms and shakes. Dabi is there, trying not to puke himself and rubs his back. Shouji heaved and tried not to puke again- it was awful- his senses were going insane.

He was going to pass out- it was too much- he couldn't keep up with it all—

"Kid?! Kid- don't you dare–" Dabi had to catch Shouji when he went limp again. Dabi turned him over to see Shouji's eyes shut and his breathing was shallow. Dabi tried not to let his panic show and simply layed him down again. Shouji was mumbling nonsense, and Dabi only caught the word "sorry".

Dabi sighed and heated his palm up again, maybe heating him up would help? He went back to gently petting Shouji and watched as the kid relaxed and moved closer to him. Dabi wanted to he angry, but he couldn't. Not when Shouji hugged him like a lifeline, it reminded him too much of himself when he went to his brother.

Is this what Natsuo had felt like? Cause Dabi hated. it.

He isn't sure how much time pasts when he hears it. Toga and Twice– again. This time with... Shigaraki? And Spinner- they're all screaming. Dabi sighs, he just wants a little peace and quiet so this fucking kid could sleep. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently it was.

Uhh so yeah- hope you didn't hate this- I'm a little rusty so m'tryna get better!

Until next time :)

[p-and-p-admin]

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Lariope and welcome to Behind the Quill, it is a pleasure to talk with you.

Many of our group’s members requested you as an interview subject, but amongst more than a dozen stories in the HP universe you are probably best known for Killing Time, Second Life, and Advanced Contemporary Potion Making.

Okay, let’s jump right in. What's the story behind your pen name?  

So, there's a really common plant in my area called Monkey Grass. Most people use it as landscaping filler. I thought it was pretty and asked someone who had some what it was called. She told me that it's technical name is Liriope, which I heard as Lariope. This was around the time that book 6 was released, and it struck me as a very witchy name, particularly as JKR likes flower names. Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most? Wow. Probably Neville. I'm certainly not as brainy or as confident as Hermione, not as out-there as Luna, not as athletic as Ginny. I'm less angsty than Harry and less apt to charge off in my own direction. And I am certainly not as thoughtless as Ron, not as strict as McGonagall, not as dark as Snape. And if you've read Second Life, you know my feelings about Dumbledore! But I was someone who took some time to come into my own. Often bumbling or nervous, but when my back is to the wall, brave and honorable. So I'm going with Neville. Do you have a favourite genre to read? (not in fic, just in general) 

I love fiction, but honestly, other than Harry Potter, I don't read fantasy! I tend to like "domestic" fiction, as in Anne Tyler, and literary fiction. I also really love Stephen King, oddly enough. Do you have a favourite "classic" novel? 

By classic do you mean like, the literary canon, or just not fanfiction? My top five favorite novels are, in no particular order, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, It by Stephen King, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, The Temple of Gold by William Goldman, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I'm not big into the classics, which is weird for an English major to say. At what age did you start writing? 

I've been writing all my life. The first time I saw Stand by Me at 11 years old, I rewrote it with a new ending because I could not bear the death of Chris Chambers. I think I've always been interested in working with other people's texts. How did you get into writing fanfiction? 

I loved Harry Potter so intensely. I came to it as an adult at a particularly lonely time in my life. When book 6 was released I read it all in one gulp, and then felt kind of despondent when it was over. I thought of the good old rule of the internet, that if it exists, there is porn of it, so I went looking for what I called "Potterotica," figuring that it would give me an opportunity to read more about the characters I loved. I didn't yet have a concept of fanfiction, let alone fanfiction that wasn't erotica! As I read, I had the persistent feeling that I hadn't yet found exactly the story I was looking for. I kept feeling that I would do this or that differently. Then after the release of book 7, I was tormented by the fate of Snape. I really felt I needed to save him. That I couldn't relax until he'd had some love in his life before his death. I didn't have the sense yet that I could change his fate, only that I needed him to have happiness and love before he died.  I have a Master's Degree in fiction writing, so I decided to just give it a try. My first story was terrible!!! It was called If Memory Serves and was archived only on the Restricted Section. But it definitely forced me to reawaken some skills, and whetted my appetite. What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works? 

Hm. I'm not sure how to answer this question. I know that one of the things that I respond most strongly to in fic is a feeling of inevitability--that regardless of how or when, these characters had unfinished business with each other. I hate to use the word destined... but that feeling that there were many points in canon where something minor could have changed which would have changed everything and brought two characters together--and that that could have happened at any point, in any number of ways. I like very much when canon is reimagined or reinterpreted to make that relationship deeper--like reimagining the scene where Snape insults Hermione's teeth to have a totally different meaning in the context of their relationship. I think I am remembering Somigliana's The Traveller being particularly gratifying in that way. Obviously I play with canon a lot in my own work. I like for fanfiction to feel "real" as in, possible in a canonical context. What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter? 

Almost none! I've been fannish all my life, but Harry Potter was the first experience I ever had of "fandoms," that is to say, community built around a narrative. I usually just freaked out over things in private. After HP, I tried very hard to get into the Sherlock fandom, because I had a dear friend from the SS/HG community who was into it, but in the end, I could just never become invested in quite the way I had with Harry Potter. Subsequently, I had children, so I mostly support their fannishness now. If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon? 

I wish Snape could live. I really do. He had a lot left to learn and a lot left to give to the world beyond the sacrifice of his own life to the cause. There are certain things I have ultimately accepted as head canon, as far as pieces of fanon are concerned. Honestly, they are so ingrained that I'm having trouble thinking of any! Sometimes when I watch the movies with my kids, I think, but wait, what about?... oh yeah, I forgot that wasn't canon. Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet? 

I need dead silence to compose, because I hear the words in my head as I write and I can't be distracted from them. But I often pick pieces of music that I listen to obsessively in my downtime when I'm writing a story, that I think of as sort of like theme songs. Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova was one for Second Life. Table for Glasses by Jimmy Eat World still calls up Dark Santiago for me. What are your favourite fanfictions of all time? 

Oooh. Ok. So I read a lot of Drarry, and I pretty much love everything that Sara's Girl has ever written. Somigliana's work--the Traveller was amazing. All the Best and Brightest Creatures by Wordstrings (Sherlock). I also really loved greywash's Sherlock fic. There was an SSHG that has been long since removed that was called Dear January--I still think of it.  I loved all the epics of my particular time in the SSHG fandom. Mia Madwyn, Subversa, Loten. Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process? 

Definitely a plotter. I kept pages and pages of working notes and planning points as I was writing Second Life. I always began a chapter with a working document of where I thought the chapter was going, as well as a reread of that portion of canon.  Points of discovery along the way still happened all the time--I'd be in the midst of something I had planned when all of a sudden I'd see some point of connection I hadn't even thought of, and something would open up bigger than I had thought it would be. I remember in particular the end of the Bathilda Bagshot chapter of Second Life, when Snape is running toward James and Lily's house and feeling like time is doubling back on itself--I didn't see that parallel until I was in it.  I think you always have to have room to surprise yourself, even in the thick of your planning. That sense of discovery affects the reader's journey through your work. What is your writing genre of choice? 

Haha, fanfiction is my writing genre of choice. No, I wrote short stories when I was pursuing my degree in fiction, which is kind of hilarious now, as I became sort of known for my long-windedness. Why say 100 words when 10,000 would do? I grew to love the novel during my time in fanfiction. It would be hard to imagine turning back to a shorter form now. But who knows. I always tell myself that once the children are grown I will get back to writing. I was beginning a sort of cross between fantasy and domestic fiction when I had children and I still think the idea has legs. Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why? 

Oh, different ones for different reasons. I think Dark Santiago is the most structurally tight and sound thing I've ever done. Second Life is like a miracle that it even happened, that I was able to control such a behemoth and bring it home. I was terrified the whole way. And weirdly, there's a drabble series that is called The Sins of Severus Snape that I am still really proud of. I think of those like linked poems. A real exercise in being concise for someone who likes to sprawl all over the page. Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it?  

I think I've pretty much covered those questions in all my ramblings. I knew the general structure, I was happily surprised along the way, and I learned to write novels from writing fanfiction, Second Life in particular. How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write? 

There's not a lot of personal parts of the story to me in Second Life. I mean, every character is drawn from me, in a way, just because they come into being informed with my way of looking at and understanding the world and other people. But there isn't a lot in there that echoes my experience. Advanced Contemporary Potion Making was personal, and I think you can feel that in the story. It takes the biggest step away from canon. It wasn't hard to write, but it was hard to live. And now, as I look back, I have a different perspective on my life and on the story itself than I did at the time that I wrote it. What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing? 

Oh man, Stephen King is all over my writing. I don't think I've ever written a sex scene that didn't have a grain of that scene in the sewers of It inside it. Not because of the child thing--I know that skeeves people out about that scene--but because in it, Beverly discovers the power of sex--sex as a force, a life-giving force, something with teeth. I think that idea shows up a lot in Second Life. I like fiction in which you are very much inside the character's heads, and I think that's apparent in my writing. I think I got that initially from Stephen King, who leaps around inside his different character's heads sometimes in the same paragraph! I also think the theme of unending loyalty, the power of friendship, the triumph of good over evil--those are very Kingian themes that I recognized in Potter and then carried into my own writing. Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction? 

Yes. That wasn't always the case. During the time that I was active in the fandom, I was a young elementary school teacher, and I dreaded anyone finding out that I wrote sex scenes with children's book characters. I was very private about my fanfic then, and even a few of my closest real life people did not know. My parents still do not know. My children are teenagers now and into fanfiction in their own right; they know I wrote it, but they don't know my ship or my pen name. My husband has read most of Second Life. I recently started a new job, and during one of those "get to know you" games, I was asked to share something that other people wouldn't guess about me. I said that I had once been a fanfiction writer. How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"? 

Mmm. I wrote the stories I wanted to read. Do you know what I mean? I wrote things because that's how I wanted to see them, how I wished they were, and I wrote to my own preferences. But writing in real time, for people who were actually reading and responding--that was crucial to the process. My biggest fear during the writing of Second Life was that I wouldn't finish it, or that I would lose control of it and it would become crap. "Breaking the story," I used to say, and I was terrified of breaking the story. But the fact that there were people experiencing it with me and waiting for it, reacting to it, and giving insightful feedback--that helped keep me very focused and motivated. I never wrote something because I thought it would be appealing to others, but I was so gratified that what I wrote did appeal to others. How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media? 

I had a LiveJournal and although I was not a frequent poster, I read my friends list every day during that time. I read what everyone else was reading and talked about the stories and themes that everyone else was talking about. I made a number very close friends during that time--other authors, people who were reading my stories and commenting. We talked on the phone frequently, and I had a team of beta readers. I went to conventions. I participated in the ss/hg exchange. A lot of those people were my audience, were reading my stories. And many of them became my good friends. I had a policy to answer all reviews when I was writing Second Life, and I did that until I was unable to do it anymore. When I had multiple stories it got much harder. That community changed a lot toward the end of my time in it. People were leaving LiveJournal, and Tumblr was on the rise, which felt like a much bigger pond. AO3 was replacing the smaller archives on which I had really grown as a writer. And once the movies were over and there was no more "fresh canon," people started to drift away. I do think that I might have lasted longer if that tight knit community had stayed in place. It played a big role in my commitment to my work and continued enthusiasm. As a side note, one of the friends I made in the SS/HG community is still my best friend. She is the "aunt" to my children, and we still talk on the phone weekly and visit at least yearly. What is the best advice you've received about writing? 

If you want to write, then write. Make a routine. Write a certain number of words a day. Read them out loud to yourself. You'll hear your own bad habits and improve them.

What do you do when you hit writer's block? 

If I'm already in a project, I will force myself to write a certain number of words per day. I will hold a scene that I'm longing to write out in front of myself like a carrot. Like, if you write this transition part that feels yucky and like you are stuck in it, then you can write the big reunion scene that you know is coming. If I'm not in a project... well, then I don't get through it. I just don't start a new project.  If I need to write a story, as I did during graduate school or during the ss/hg exchange--I would do this thing one of my professors suggested--pick three headlines, words or ideas that have interested you over time and force them into the same story. Dark Santiago was that way. I had the prompt of fortune telling. I added an idea about the way magic works for muggleborns and the ocean town where I was living. Voila: Dark Santiago.   Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing? 

I'm sure it has in ways I can't even see. I remember once talking to a friend on the phone about Second Life as I was writing it, and she pointed out that the fact that I'm a Quaker was informing the story--like my own perspective on war and the horrors of violence were bleeding into the the kind of philosophy of Second Life. Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser? 

I don't. I wish I did! I often miss my time in fandom, the spirit of creativity and community, all those ideas just bubbling out in every direction. Any words of encouragement to other writers? 

I don't believe that the end goal of fanfiction is to become a published writer, just as I don't think every guitarist has to have the goal of selling out a stadium, or every golfer has to want to compete in the Masters. I think you can love a thing without making it your livelihood. You become a "real" author the minute someone else reads a story that you wrote. Many of you reading this right now are people who made me an author. It is, as Stephen King once wrote, a kind of telepathy. I thought of something once, in 2008, in the southeast of the US, and you can read it right now wherever you are, and experience the thoughts and feelings I was dreaming up then. It's a wonderful gift, writing. And working among people who are dedicated to improving their craft and talking about stories and ideas--that is just the very best ground for making something that makes YOU proud. Thanks so much for giving us your time.  

Thank you! I am really honored to be asked

[sunnykeysmash]

The Structure of S14: a theory on how the season’s arc is structured, and on the ending

Here we go, finally, the post that drove me to make tumblr in the first place.

This is a direct follow-up to the other two posts I just did, so if you haven’t done so already, you need to read all the info/proof I have provided in them, in order to understand why I say what I’m gonna say.

You can do so right here.

As I said, every single episode in S14 serves a specific purpose in the arc/structure we’re witnessing, and none of them are fillers, NONE of them.

First, this is how I think the rest of the season is gonna go, based on the proof.

Assuming all the proof is correct, Charlie now knows that Mac Knows about Dennis' attraction to him/guys. So, cue the episode where we see his point of view, we get to see how he perceives them, which informs our experience on the next episode. The Gang Solves Global Warming. 

Following Escapes’ symbolism, after Mops, during Global Warming, he’s gonna pass the Key to Frank, aka he’s gonna tell him about what he knows, possibly in frustration post some event in Global Warming, because he’s been forced to witness their oblivious mutual pining without any new development.

In comes “A Woman’s Right To Chop”, a Dennis and Frank pair up episode. Pretty weird, those happen VERY rarely. But there’s a reason for why it happens now. So, Frank confronts Dennis in Chop about what he knows. Dennis denies it, and wants to prove to Frank that he's wrong. This becomes his new character motivation that will drive him all the way until the finale. What I think he’ll do to desperately try to prove to Frank that he’s wrong is, just like in TGGR with Dee’s planned role as diversion, Dennis bangs a chick. It just so happens that Jackie Denardo starts in S14, and we don’t yet know in which episode, so I can’t confidently say whether she’ll star in Chop or Jumper (we can’t fully determine when he will bang her, but I’m confident he’ll bang HER, or come close to), either way, that’s the reason she stars in S14. She represents the culmination of Dennis’ forced attraction to girls that actually never occurs. Getting over her means embracing his true feelings.

So, he bangs her. Just like Frank and Charlie post sleeping with the girls, Dennis feels that “it doesn't quite feel right”, and he misses Mac, but he doesn't pay it any mind yet. Continuing with this, it is unclear whether Mac will learn about it in Jumper or Big Mo, all we know is that Mac doesn’t seem angry in the Big Mo clips, so my guess is the latter, as the build up would come to a halt as Mac finally confronts Dennis about his feelings and he, in order to deny, reveals he banged her and staged the Big Mo thing so that Mac will get off of him for good. This argument would then drive Mac to decide to actually give Big Mo a chance, which is when Dennis’ jealousy would truly make him snap out of the denial.

This can technically also be supported by the dialogue in TGGR, which goes as follows:

“I know that what you had with [x] (Dennis) was special, and I know that I (Big Mo) can never replace him, but that’s dead and buried now, and you gotta move on. And I know that it’s crazy because we just met, but I feel like if you just give us a chance, we could tell a lovestory for the ages.”

So this brings us to the key question. How does it end? The synopsis for Jumper was kind enough to give us a crucial hint, which, when paired with the “Jump” symbolism (”Why do blind people hate skydiving?”), and the theme of CHANGE that I discussed, can pretty much give us a fairly accurate guess in my opinion.

“Could he? Would he? Should we?” Let’s dissect this.

- Could he? Could dennis have what it takes to get over his facade of heterosexuality and admit his love and need for mac (and men) to himself? To even accept and realize what he feels? Possibly. He's afraid of change, but he's also tired, and sleeping with Jackie would prompt him to realize that something is very wrong.

 - Would he? Is he willing do it? to let down his defenses and do it in the open? Say it to him? He's not known for saying things openly, except in desperate times. See Tends Bar. He can't let himself lose Mac.

 - Should we? Should we get together? The very existence of this question implies that the answer of the previous ones are affirmative. So, could he? Yes. Would he? Yes. Should we? For Dennis, yes. He has admitted it to Mac at this point, he feels vulnerable but ready, and hopes that Mac agrees. Mac knows better now, he knows Dennis is desperate, and he's not sure if Dennis just wants to keep his position of power. He needs proof. Commitment. He knows Dennis has never been one for committing, but Mac can't hand him his heart if he's unsure whether it'll get shattered. He needs to know that it'll be safe. Mac is romantic, Mac commits. He needs to know Dennis can do it too. He sees this as just another plan he'd make to keep him, for now. What happens next can be two different things. Either the ONE YEAR is what we have to wait to know what Mac answers. Or it’s what he asks of him as proof of commitment. Wait one year. “If you feel the same way by then, I'll know you meant it, and I'll be ready to give us a try.” Mac loves Dennis, but he also knows him, and he knows himself, that he could never handle his heart being played with. And that he doesn't want to ruin what they have by jumping into things. You see, Dennis is the man that needs to jump, in this arc. He’s the leading man. Mac doesn't have to. Mac is his parachute. And after what just happened, he needs to be able to trust Dennis, just as Dennis needed in Chokes.

So, TGGR has two endings, as I previously discussed. A good one, and a bad one. Supposedly, this is to keep the ending unclear, but knowing what we know, the story we are following is the Charlie and Frank one. Which tells me that, ultimately, it all ends in a YES. They do end up together, even if we get a dubious cliffhanger, on the other side of it is a YES.

That said, since we can safely assume that Big Mo will parallel Jumper, we can also assume that it really doesn’t matter whether the Jumper jumps or not, and actually, the mere application of this algorithm TO the Jumper further confirms my claims, let me explain why. Let me apply it.

First of all, let’s make an assumption that I think we can all agree on. Whenever the gang intervenes, they make things worse. 

Now:

- Could he? die/jump? He could jump, he probably wouldn't die thought. The McPoyle guy didn't. 

- Would he? jump? ...How would the gang know or be able to guess the answer to this question, without interacting with the jumper?

- Should we? Intervene? If they answer yes, he'll jump. If they answer no, he might not. But here’s the catch.

The "should we" question is a question asked to TWO people, hence the "we", so it has two answers. Depending on the person.

And it ultimately doesn't matter which one the jumper will reflect. It’ll probably be a red herring anyway. They likely won’t intervene at all, thus the jumper won’t jump. 

"should we (intervene/get together)? yes" Dennis jumps. It reflects his answer. "should we (intervene/get together)? no(t yet)" Mac doesn't jump. It reflects his.

Obviously we can’t 100% assume that Mac will say no (but he needs to, in order to justify the one year thing), however the theme of change might hit him as well. We know he’s impulsive, the doesn’t think things through. Him waiting would be his change. Not only that, but Dennis getting a no(t yet) would be the most appropriate ending for his arc of taking Mac for granted, AND it would reverse their dynamic, possibly. Plus, karma, which usually gets implemented in stories/arcs, especially so in a series as self aware as IASIP.

Having said ALL of this, I can finally get to the structure itself.

As I said, every episode has a role, and so far that has been the case. So I’m gonna try to compile them, as I think fits, one by one.

I present to you, “The Structure”:

TGGR: Establishing the arc. The meta episode to set the ground rules, to give us the map of what's gonna happen, so that no one is surprised. It tells the audience to pay attention to what they’re about to experience, and not take details for granted. Thundergun: Establishing the conflict. A look at Den's past attractions and his reaction to them in the present. It tells us where he is currently. It tells us the inherent conflict of his real feelings that he has always had vs his resistance to change (symbolized by thundergun itself changing, skillfully enough). Dee Day: Transitional. It solidifies the conflict regarding the relationship itself, not just Dennis’ personal one. It tries to unite the past with the future, but fails because the needs of the arc haven’t been met yet. So it sets up Chokes. Chokes: The first turning point. Mac and Dennis are able to work out their core hang-ups, and realize they are still perfect for each other. First part of the relationship conflict resolution. First acceptance of change: Mac learns to make his own decisions and not follow what Dennis wants. Texts: The second turning point. Mac and Dennis work out their communication problems. Also advancement of the situation of Dennis’ conflict. Mac and Charlie become aware of Den's feelings. This is the second part of the relationship conflict resolution, not yet the ending of it as Dennis’ conflict hasn’t been resolved, thus the relationship conflict can’t yet either. Mops: The aftermath. Now that Charlie is involved, we take a look at his point of view of Mac and Dennis, now that he knows. The conflict between Charlie and Mac+Dennis will likely be established here, as it will start to give the character his motivation for what’s to come all the way to the finale. Either that or it’s breathing room, but I stand by my case that no episode is a filler in this season. Global Warming: Advancement of the conflict of the dynamic between Charlie and Mac+Dennis, and advancement of Dennis’ personal conflict. Charlie, now knowing, is fed up at things not going forward for Mac+Dennis, he was happy at Mac figuring it out, hoping it would lead them to speed things up and stop bothering him with their complex rituals, but they haven’t. He’s annoyed with Mac and Dennis about this whole thing. This is the character motivation that drives him to tell Frank what he knows, possibly in frustration after something that happens in GW. Remember how in The Gang Escapes, Charlie passes the key to Frank, and it’s him who opens the lock. Chop: Confronting the issue, running away from it. This is the start of Dennis’ spiraling because of his conflict, that will lead him to the events of the finale. Frank is paired with Dennis, something truly rare. It's on purpose. He confronts Dennis about his feelings. Dennis denies. Gains a new motivation going forward and into the finale: proving that his denial is actually accurate. Jumper: With his new motivation setting in motion the events that will lead to the finale, he bangs a chick. Trying to prove it further, he thinks of a plan to get Mac off of him for good, thinking that's why people keep believing that he’s gay. Big Mo: Obviously, the finale. The final turning point. Acceptance of change. Resolution of Dennis’ personal conflict. End of the conflict of the dynamic between Charlie and Mac+Dennis, as all the other conflicts have been resolved, so he too is content.

As change is finally accepted, we reach a Point B in the finale, different from the Point A at which we started. Change is effective on Dennis, which now accepts himself fully, and feels ready. Change is effective on Mac, which makes him make his own decisions no matter what Dennis wants, and thus doesn’t jump into the relationship yet.

One year from the finale, season 15. We have a new beginning. It’s unclear whether the year of waiting is supposed to be for the audience or in-universe, so it’s unclear whether in s15 we’ll deal with a reversed dynamic of Dennis yearning and Mac refusing, or if the year passes off screen as we wait, which would imply the promise that S15 starts with canon MacDennis.

Either way, this is my dissection of the season so far, and obviously I might be very wrong, and if I am please don’t kill me, but this is how I think things are going, and how I think things will go.

Feel free to ask me about anything that is unclear, as english isn’t my first language so I might’ve explained something a little roughly. I do look forward to knowing the fandom’s reception to my thoughts, if anyone is brave enough to read all the way through here. And hey, if you did, thank you so so much! I hope you enjoyed it.

[cyoza]

adrenaline; part four

Hello guys,

I've been suffering with a bit of writer's block which I'm sure is down to all the reading and lectures I've had to complete at uni but i am back on the grind (somewhat) so here we go!

It's kinda of a filler chapter to sort of moving it along for continuity but i felt it was important to have because I didn't want to be jumping all over the place. And I initially wanted this to be one chapter but it turned out to be way too long altogether (in my eyes for how uneventful it is) so I've just got some fact checking to do and I should be uploading another chapter tomorrow (hopefully) to move it along.

So that's it! Sorry for the long note but I thought some clarification would be good!

As always, show some love if you love. Thank you!

part one 

part two 

part three 

part five 

part six 

*******************************************************************************************

‘Tell us again, what happened?’

Jason gave Kory an exasperated sigh. He leaned back on the sofa in the living room and crossed his arms behind his head, looking every bit as tired as everyone felt. It had been about a week since the ordeal with Deathstroke. It seemed the event had triggered him back into hiding meaning that things had settled down on that front, at least for now. However, the same thing couldn’t be said for things back at the tower thanks to the new addition to the, as Dick had called it, ‘family.’

‘Like I said already, about a billion times. I was out for a walk and minding my own business. Next thing I know, I hear this lady screaming. So I go to check it out and some asshole is mugging her. Being Robin and all, I couldn’t not help her so I went to do just that. But then outta nowhere, mugger guy flies across the alley and Superboy here is standing in his place. He fights the guy and gets her purse back so problem solved and none of it is my business anymore. I go to walk away but then there’s gunshots and Superboy falls down so I call you guys and you know the story from there.’

Contrary to Jason’s words, this was only his third time relaying the tale, each time with a different group of people but hopefully this was last as everyone was present for the recounting. ‘Superboy’ as he’d so eloquently named him due to the dark Superman logo t-shirt he was wearing, lay in the infirmary with two bullet wounds and an infection none of them could identify. They were at a loss and it seemed like their patient was only getting worse which wasn’t at all helping the levels of tension in the tower. Everyone was growing more frustrated with not only the situation but with each other by the minute.

‘I don’t understand, we couldn’t even get a needle to pierce his skin so we could get his IV into him- how did he get shot?’ Dick mused, running a rough hand through his hair.

‘I don’t know man, I’m just telling you what I heard.’ Jason’s laidback position on the sofa stiffened, his eyes flashing like he was suddenly on guard. It was of no surprise to anyone that he was still on edge over what happened to him, being more reserved than ever and frequently disappearing for hours at a time to walk alone in the city. So it was almost predictable that something was going to happen with him. But, no one could have predicted that it was going to be this.

‘I know and I’m not trying to dispute what you’re saying. It just doesn’t make any sense.’ He exhaled a sharp breath, folding his arms.

The sudden high pitched screech of the security breach alarm reverberated around the room, capturing everyone’s attention. Dick reacted, first running to the intercom screen located at the front door to see a woman and what appeared to be a dog. Her body language didn’t seem dangerous but instead anxious, constantly moving her mousy hair back and shifting from one foot to the other.

‘Who are you? State your business.’ Dick spoke calmly but strongly; no matter how little of a threat she seemed, the protection of the team was paramount.

‘My name is Eve, I was brought here by my dog. I think you have my son Conner here. Please, let me in. I need to know if he’s okay.’

******************************************************************************************************

Conner Kent’s history was as big of a mindfuck as Kory’s. Yet everyone had adopted him with open arms anyway, another alien addition to the team - why not? And this was only made possible through Kory who had again saved another life. Unsurprisingly, she brushed it away as if it were nothing seeming to just add it to the tally of people alive thanks to her.

Still, Dick often wondered where they would all be without her. Definitely worse off than they were now.

In the few weeks since she had healed him, Kory and Conner had bonded in the ambiguity of their identity. Kory had told him on various occasions of how Conner reminded her of herself - being new to his powers, confused about his identity, unsure about his place on earth. But Dick had a feeling it went deeper than he knew, that they connected on a level that he was unaware of and he was lying if he said it didn’t fill him with a sick sense of insidious jealousy.

So there he sat in his office, thinking of that rather than the tactics of a possible Slade attack. He thought of all the times that he’d sought her out only to find her with Conner and have her brush him off to hang out with him. It was utterly ridiculous but he reminded him of everything Dick wished he was; he was soft and stable despite hardship, he didn’t have a shadow of darkness that clinging to him but instead existed on pure light - just like Kory.

It wouldn’t be so crazy to suggest that they would make a perfect fit.

He felt a particular spark of vexation when he remembered one specific evening where Kory had insisted they take the night off and had taken them to the sports bar on the corner of their street. He remembered how close Conner and her been together as he held her bag when she’d leaned over to take her shot. The striking red of her dress slipping away to show the alluring mahogany of her skin underneath, her hip pressing against his leg. He thought he was going to explode with anger and clock Conner right in the face but he held himself back on account of knowing how redundant that would be and the shitstorm he knew would cause after as a result. So he could do nothing but stew in his own futile anger until further notice.

‘Hey, how’s it going in here? How are the plans going?’

Kory sauntered into the room without knocking and settled herself on the edge of his desk, effectively obstructing his access to the keyboard of his computer. She flashed him a small smile as he looked up at her and he felt all the aggravation dissipate from his body, revelling in her proximity.

‘They’re going. I just hit a uh, mental snag.’ He admitted, not technically lying.

‘Well then, I guess, this might be a good a time as ever to do this then.’

‘Do what?’ Dick felt his heartbeat leap into a rapid pace, his mind conjuring multiple possibilities of what she could possibly say next; all of them awful.

‘Dick, look, uh listen, I have to go back to Tamaran.’

His blank expression had Kory’s heart sinking to her stomach. She hadn’t necessarily meant to catch him off guard but with the hurried pace of his blinking, she knew without a doubt that she had. She’d hoped with how absent she had been the past few weeks that he would notice her distance and either assume that was something was wrong and bring it up or at the very least be prepared for her to bring up a difficult conversation. But it didn’t seem as though either was happening.

‘Kory. what the fuck are you talking about? We need you here!’

‘You guys don’t need me, Dick, now that Connor’s here at least. It would be beneficial to have me but you don’t need me here.’ She let out and sad sigh and continued. ‘I have ordered some light therapy lamps with solar panels as the source. I researched them and they’re very good for something called Seasonal Affective Disorder but I figured they would help with Connor’s healing, on account of the solar energy. We’ve already tested it to know it’ll work so there’s nothing to worry about on that front.’

‘Oh Of course, super fantastic Conner, of course we can count on him to save the day! Come on, Kory! He’s just a kid!’ He scoffed.

‘What are you talking about? He’s not just a kid! Not to mention he has a multitude of powers and Slade doesn’t know about him. If anything he is your best bet at defeating him, especially with the way you’ve been training him these past couple of weeks.’

The more she spoke, the more Dick’s mouth flapped open and closed, clearly wanting to comment but knowing where to begin processing the information. The gradual scarlet highlight of his cheeks and ears let her know that this was going to be way harder than expected. So she continued speaking, hoping to get him breathing again and prevent whatever infarction was going to happen from his lack thereof.

‘Look, it would only be a maximum of a couple of weeks seeing as it doesn’t take very long to get to Tamaran from Earth, now my ship’s repaired. I’ll just go home and clear this whole situation up. Which shouldn’t be hard considering... I...am...royalty.’ Kory spoke the last word as if she didn’t at all want to, a hint of resentment coating it.

If she thought Dick’s reaction before was alarming, it had nothing on the spread of alabaster across his face at that moment .

‘Y-Wh-? Royalty? W-what you mean?’ He spluttered.

‘What else can you take from that? It is exactly what is says on the tin. I am Princess Koriand’r, next in line to the throne of Tamaran. So I need to go back and make sure that part of my past doesn’t come back to haunt us. Especially when we’re already in such a difficult position.’ Kory followed on but her reassurance seemed worthless because Dick looked on the verge keeling over.

‘Kory, I don’t like this. Please, please don’t do this. Please don’t leave me now. Don’t leave us now.’ He pleaded, leaning forward in his chair to grasp her thighs, desperation seeping through every cell of his being.

But Kory just clasped his head in her hands, pressing her lips to his quickly but gently before stroking her thumb across his jawline, a look of resolve on her face.

A look that said there was no changing her mind and he knew it.

Yet, there was a feeling of deep uneasiness in his stomach that if she left now, she wouldn’t come back to him. With his history, it was difficult to trust his gut instinct but this time, it felt so very real. The feeling of discomfort came with something deeper, not necessarily bad but definitely scarier. On some level he knew what it was and that he had felt it before a long time ago but he wasn’t prepared to address now, precisely when he could be losing her.

‘I’m sorry Dick.’ She whispered. ‘I have to do this. There are over 7 billion people on this planet and they could possibly die because of my actions -or lack there of- I can’t let that happen. I’m leaving in the morning and I’d really like it if you would say goodbye but I’d understand if you didn't.’

She let him go abruptly and stood towering over him, looking every bit the Princess she was. She gave him one last longing gaze before turning and Dick could do nothing but watch as she walked away from him, feeling his heart break a little more with every click of her heel.

As if she was stepping on his heart with each stride, cracking it further each time.

[ibitchytimemachine]

VBO Mini Bang Round-Up

I know that I had mini reviews of the art for the @vegebulocracy Big Bang this past winter, but there are SO MANY stories and pieces of artwork for the mini that I just can’t (minus one). What I will say is that the talent and artwork that was presented in this event was just amazing, and I am not sure I could pick a favorite nearly as easily as I did for the Big Bang! One thing that did bother me with SEVERAL of the stories, it the fact that they are broken into multiple parts. Not so much that they are broken up, but the fact that they are broken up in a way that doesn’t have a satisfying close to one part of the story. If you are gonna write for an event like this I think it is SUPER important to bring your story to some sort of conclusion, even if you don’t finish the story, just so people feel satisfied at the end. That is really one of my biggest criticisms of several of the works here. So with that out of the way,  lets jump into the stories! There are probably spoilers below, so beware! (I’ll try to keep them light)

Dive

@rockykelboa

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 13,448

This is a fun little one shot written as though you are watching a movie. I really got a tarantino-esque feel reading this story. The dialogue had that irreverent dark humor feel to it. Nothing was sacred and everything a joke. I really love the way characters interact with each other. The smutty sex scene is steamy and goddamn Bulma is bad…. Also something about the thought of Raditz listening in on them does things to me. I love the twist, and she sets it up so nicely in the story. If you are not thinking about the end game, you probably won’t even see it coming, but little things Bulma does and says throughout the story really set up the twist ending nicely. I feel like the delivery is a bit forced and feels a little out of place. But overall the story is very well written and I am honestly not sure I can give any reasons for anyone to not read it.

Blinded

@scarletraven1001

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 14,765

What happens when blind dates go wrong, and then oh-so right? And then maybe wrong again? This story is funny, sweet, and over all a wild ride. I have said it probably a million times, but I will say it again, I love how she incorporates nods to canon into her fics. And there are so many “easter eggs” in this story. I like how it doesn’t take itself seriously. It’s a dry humor but completely not dark. And Damn does this fic feel like the slowest burn ever. The whole first four chapters happen in one night but never have I needed them to get to the point more than reading this story. She builds the tension in the date night really nicely. Then you get the raging of the end of chapter 4. I know when I read it all I wanted to do was slam my fists against the keyboard. Another A+ story definitely worth your time reading.

Life at the Edge of a Blade

@bearstarseraphffxi

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 20,459

Reading this was like reading the weirdest filler episode ever. The plot is odd but shockingly believable in the DragonBall Verse. I mean if they had episodes dedicated to baseball between universes, I am sure they would get Vegeta figure skating in direct competition with Yamcha. Bear’s characterizations were done quite well. I really can’t think of a character that the author didn’t peg. There were some funny moments too, I remember at least once laughing out loud. There is some fluff between V/B but no romance really. It is a very dry piece, and a lot of the writing feels very technical, but if you like really canon characterizations and if you are interested in reading a piece that could really be a several episode filler for the three year gap, you may enjoy this one.

Within

Blacksheep115

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 11,020

Gosh, what an interesting story! In general I am in love with the interesting ideas blacksheep has in her stories. This is a story that could very well fit in the canon, it occurs during the three year gap and it really doesn’t follow a story about them as a couple, although there are some QUITE STEAMY moments in it (but no sex).Speaking of...I love the idea of Vegeta using his sexual energy against Bulma. You read so many fics of Bulma going after Vegeta and really amping up the sex appeal to get him to do things, but the idea of him pouring water all over himself ‘cause he knows she is watching him and later pinning her and using her attraction for him against her… just A+ and so in character for him. I don’t wanna give away the twist ending cause GODDAMN it is so good and unexpected… and just wow.. You really gotta read it.

#badman

@1vulgarwoman

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 17,319

So I love everything I have ever read from 1vulgarwoman, she writes such fun pieces and I came into this one with images of Heavy Lifting and Fundamentals of Chemistry in mind. I loved the way the plot and the romantic subplot were equally interesting. The world was rich and vibrant, humor was on point. The handling of character relationships and interactions in this fic were done fantastically well. And then the smut scenes. I think anyone who has ever read any of her fics know that when it’s time for the smut, you need to prepare yo’ body cause its about to get real. She does not disappoint, with a STEAMY sexting/Facetime scene and then the last half of the last chapter is just splooshworthy. I will say that talking only about the smut really downplays the greatness of the rest of this fic though, and I would 1,000 percent recc this to anyone.

Z-Men

Super_Saiyanerd

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 8,290

I have some pretty big issues with this piece. As my faithful readers are probably aware, I really have a hard time with crossovers, because so often it is two things I love mashed together, and the spark that makes the things great is lost. That is one of the problems with this piece. It didn’t feel like either a Dragon Ball AU or an X-Men AU. But the biggest issue I have with this piece is scope and flow. This author is trying to tackle too much in the time and word limit provided. We are working on a love story between Vegeta and Bulma, but also the whole of the Dark Phoenix saga. It’s just too broad and because of that the flow is off. There are huge time jumps that don’t make sense, and while I get that we are seeing little vignettes of the story, it is confusing. I would have liked to nix the Phoenix storyline and go with OC X-Men, that are based off of the traits of the Dragon Ball characters. Bulma would make a great Beast for example. But then explore the characters relationships through a much simpler plot than anything Phoenix related.

War Thunder

@jonahwhalesw1

Rating: Explicit

Word Count:24,994

So this is a WWII all human AU. There are some really nice things going on set up for the plot, however it just never kicks in. We are 25,000 words into the story and most of the writing has been about sexual tension between Bulma and Vegeta. Now don’t get me wrong, I like a build up of sexual tension, it really makes the pay off of when they finally kiss or fuck or whatever they are gonna do so much better. I wish that maybe BSV had slowed down the romantic plot of this fic a bit and interspersed more of the other parts of the plot. Or maybe written some interactions that built up their attraction in a nonsexual way. It feels very Porn without Plot to me right now, and it is because the romantic plot is so in your face. I really want to know more about what the war is doing to the community. What kinds of changes in our history does having the Colds on planet and fighting with Nazis? Is there gonna be an extermination of Saiyans? I feel like with some of those war time plot bunnies thrown into the mix the story would feel more vibrant and alive, cause right now it is PWP, but also without porn at this point in the story. It was a fun read, it just left me wanting more.

Elusion

@piccoloisgreen

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 19,550

So, I fucking loved this story. It shared shocking similarities to some of the ideas and themes in my story, which I loved reading about. I love the Bulma in captivity trope apparently. I really dont want to give too much away, but I love the beginning of the fic, this idea that they are instantly attracted to each other and there is no real dancing around the subject and they are just diving right into it is nice. I am not sure if it is because of the word count restrictions, or time limit or what, but I felt like the jump from the escape to the first death was a shocking break. I would have liked to see more of what was happening during those lost years. I appreciate the surprise of the killer, and their abilities, and I feel like it wrapped up nicely, but the beginning of the last chapter felt so rushed and leaves me wanting more information about thought processes and feelings. Overall, a fantastic fic, and worth your time to read.

Healing

@starrcrossrose

Rating: Mature

Word Count:

So when I first read this fic I was amazed at how well Starcross emoted. So many of the paragraphs just felt like being right inside Vegeta’s head as he was descending in this spiral of self loathing. The formatting choices were a nice touch, to show how he is quarreling within himself. I like the idea also of Bulma NOT being so happy go lucky and needing this kind of comfort. She is for all intents and purposes in canon alone so much. Yamcha comes around sure, but her friends are really never around. So she is alone a lot and life gets sad when you are alone. I think she caught this feeling and nuance really well. I really enjoy this story, it follows the timeline of canon pretty well, so if you aren’t super into AUs this is a good choice for you. It is pretty angsty, and with a title like Healing, you probably think it will have a happy ending, but if you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.

A Mermaid’s Tale

DBZVB1991

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 15,740

This is a Book One situation here. And the entirety of this submission is just setting up the intrigue of the story. I had mentioned in the Big Bang that it makes me nervous when I see crossovers between two things I love because so often it is just a mish mash of the flavors of two worlds that don’t go together. I do think that DBZVB1991 worked hard on worldbuilding a believable crossover world between the two. It is way more Dragon Ball than Little Mermaid and I am OK with that honestly.  For most of the fic they follow The Little Mermaid storyline  pretty closely. There are one or two plot bunnies that are different than TLM, but mostly it follows the plot pretty closely. I like where I think it may be going, but really it is so hard to review this properly because the story just hasn’t even really started yet. This is a story that is worth a read, but feels unsatisfying mostly because of how unfinished it is at the moment.

Beatae Memoriae

@ambrosiaswhispers

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 15, 724

This is absolutely an amazing fic. The story follows Vegeta through losing his memory, and it just freaking brings the feels. Tashana really knows how to craft an emotionally charged story, and she brings bits of the canon back in a very organic way that doesn’t drag the piece down. There is a squidgeta cameo in the piece, so if you are into my wiggly boi, you are in luck! The pacing of this story is on point, she nails both sweet family man Vegeta AND feral angry Vegeta perfectly. I wanted more of the interactions of Gohan and Goten with Bra, but dammit I am so glad she didn’t give it to me, cause I feel like it would have damaged the pacing. This story was crafted so beautifully, and it is one that gives you this little insight into their lives and leaves you wanting more - but doesn’t drag on so you get tired of reading. Fantastically done, you really should go read it cause it is amazing.

Captive

@janxangel

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 24,979

SO one thing that I noticed while reading this fic is how BAD ASS the women are in the story. Like good grief, Chi Chi and Launch were just KILLER (Bulma too, but we are used to seeing her be cool)I like that this is a story with no romantic plotline. Like they are working together not because they wanna bone, but because it is the most strategic thing to do. And Janx writes strategy really well. I felt like the fight scenes drug on a little long, and I would have liked them to be shorter and interlaced with more emotion, instead of blow by blow. Plus I think with the word limitations they could have gotten more bang for their buck with some better wrap up. I wish that things had turned out a little differently, the events on Namek were so similar to canon, and I wonder what could have happened differently than canon with this AU. Overall a fun and easy read, if not a little dry - definitely something that I would recommend to someone who is not interested in a romantic plotline.

Revel (In Our Time)

@jadefyre

Rating: Explicit

Word Count:19,979

Ok so this has a full story arc and whoa buddy is it a doozy. Its intriguing, cause there is this wonderful mishmash of all these fantastic post-apocalyptic cyber-punky worlds and it just works really really well together. From the Big Brother aspect of 1984 to the Ghost in the Machine philosophy that spawned so much, it captures that feel of the grey maddening world. I loved and hated the first chapter, cause I thought the whole story would be written this way (which would make a really cool story BTW, just really hard to follow cause you have to really pay attention). I love the world, I love the plot and intrigue and how DARK it is, I love the mini romance, but I REALLY love the twist. I mean you kinda see it coming, but hope it doesn’t happen, but it is perfect cause it closes the story well, and then leaves you NEEDING the next part of the series. Really fantastic job, yall should read this one definitely.

Legends

LeonaHart

Rating:mature

Word Count: 6,172

When the outlines were dropped this was one that i was dying to read. I am super intrigued by this idea of the Saiyan creation myth. I am curious how the Vegeta destruction God and Bulma creation Goddess could come around later as some sort of destined lovers trope. I really liked the nods to cannon (omg buu being the God of Destructions bubblegum is awesome) i wish it was finished, so i have a hard time really commenting much more on it, but i definitely hope it gets finished cause it has such an interesting premise. I also have to say that while I like the story, the writing feels very proper and antiquated. Now it may very well be that this is a style choice because of the story, but I struggled with it a little. 

The Dark Prince

EmbarrassedButKinky (I tried to @superbandanna but Tumblr sucks)

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 18,241

The very first chapter of Dark Prince had me so nostalgic for Obsidian. The demon pact to save the company(world), the ability for Bulma to be taken care of “magically”. Then it splintered into this interesting mix of like… underworld mafia hitmen meets Death Note. I think that EBK is on point with all her references, something she does really well in her fics. I know a lot of people really liked this fic, but it just fell flat for me. Don’t get me wrong, it had some wonderful moments, and wonderfully smutty! It just felt so rushed. It was too insta-love for me, and I wished the development of the Ray betrayal scene, subsequent rescue and the aftermath all could have been developed and drawn out more. I liked this story, but coming from the writer of Stages of a Claim (my absolute favorite of hers, fight me) I just expected this to be a little more developed and polished.

Aspara, Queen of Sadala

@lisac1965-blog

Rating: Mature

Word Count:15,922

I liked this one. It is based off the book of Esther and I wish she would have adapted the story a little more to fit the characters better. Bulma seemed out of character a bit and I imagine her relying more on her own brains and technology to bring people through rough times than a God. I do think this book of the Bible works well as a VegeBul adaptation though, and except for a few things I really think lisa did a good job with it. The flow was mostly really good, I feel like she was battling word count, or maybe time limits cause some things felt so rushed. While I understand she is remaining faithful to the source, I wish some more creative liberties were taken. For example, I would either omit the Zarbon/Dodoria plot line and focus on Ray being the big baddie, he seems to just come out of nowhere as the bad guy and I wish there had been more foreshadowing of him being a douche than just “There are a lot of Saiyans who want to exterminate humans” The story however was very fun to read. Descriptors were vivid and made the world feel more real. The relationship felt forced, but honest - true, cause hell it was forced. The Epilogue of sorts was nice cause you got to see how their relationship developed and grew. Overall a quick, simple read that was fun!

Sanguinary

@ibitchytimemachine

Rating:Explicit

Word Count: 21,309

So this is my piece for the Mini Bang, and since I am biased, I will just tell you a little about the piece. It was inspired by RPG’s like Dungeons and Dragons (and you nerds out there may catch some of the DnD easter eggs I put in there) and epic fantasy. My main thought was, what if Bulma and Vegeta’s roles were completely reversed? So we tell the story of their lives with the idea that Bulma was in the PTO for years, while Vegeta has been living peacefully on his home planet. Not everything is OK on Vegeta-sei though, so trouble is brewing. As with a role reversal story, this is told through the eyes of the opposite person, AKA Vegeta. This is the first part in a trilogy that I have named Surgere et Cadere, and the next installment will be called Imperium. This first part follows us through the story of Vegeta and Bulma’s meeting, and the consequences of her being on Vegeta-sei. I really hope you enjoy my submission!

So I know that I had a top three for the Big Bang, but there are SO MANY fics for the Mini, I am gonna do a top five!! It was really hard to pick these, cause there are some really fantastic stories for this event!! In no particular order, the pieces that I think are the best 5 are:  Beatae Memoriae, by @ambrosiaswhispers, Elusion by @piccoloisgreen,  Revel (In Our Time) by @jadefyre, #badman by @1vulgarwoman and Sanguinary by ME ;P! 

[cutie1365]

A Kid From Queens Part 4

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Info: CA: Civil War Era. Tony Stark enlists his daughter to find the web slinging spider in Queens.

Word count: 1781

Warnings: I don’t think there are any. Let me know if I need to add something.

A/N: Oof it’s been a while I know... but here we are! Hope you liked it! Comments mean so much to me so please let me know what you think! I’ve got another part coming soon also! This chapter is kinda filler I know but I promise some angst coming soon!

Part 3 | Series Masterlist | Masterlist 

“Come on Pete, hop in,” You said, exiting your garage and sliding into an Audi convertible. He cautiously opened the door and sat beside you as you revved it up.  

“Do you want AUX?” You asked, slipping on some expensive sunglasses and setting up the navigation on the touch screen in front of you.

“W-what?” Peter asked, he either misheard you or was so nervous he didn’t realize you had started talking, much less that you were addressing him.

“Do you want to play music?” You asked again with a laugh.

“Oh, yeah sure, uh. What do you like?” He asked, pulling out his phone. When the bluetooth signal came up on your display you tapped the icon that said ‘Peter Parker’s iPhone’ and waited for the device to pair.

“I’m not picky.” You informed him.

“Ok, I kinda have an obscure music taste.” He said nervously, clearly wanting to please you and not embarrass himself in the process.

“I kinda get an 80s indie vibe from you.” You teased with a smile.

“Ha I don’t- I don’t know about that.” He let out a nervous laugh.

“Hm, well I’m sure you don’t want to listen to dad’s AC DC he’s got programed in every car so go for it.” You reassured him as you backed out of the car and onto the road.

“Wait... I love this song!” You smiled to him as soon as you recognized it.

“Really?” Peter asked surprised but excited, he clearly was a fan of this song too, he chose it after all.

“Yeah! I remember the first time I heard it. It was summer so I was in the city and not off at school, and I was in one of those rowboats in Central Park with my friend Tom. God that seemed so long ago.” You smiled at the memory. Peter stared at you as you spoke, half in aw, half curious as to who this ‘Tom’ fellow was.

“I’ve never been there.” He admitted.

“To Central Park or the boathouse?” You asked.

“The boathouse, but I’ve never really spent that much time in the park either.” He spoke casually. You noticed he didn’t stutter or waver his voice nervously as he normally did. He must have been getting more and more comfortable around you, at least enough to be himself.

“What? How?” You teased.

“I don’t know. I guess I always kinda just stayed in Queens. I haven’t really explored Manhattan.” He said.

“Oh my god! Peter Parker I’m taking you, that’s decided. I’ll give you a grand upper east side tour, Central Park and all. I need to scout the area for an apartment anyway.” You spoke freely, too freely it seemed.

“What why?” He asked immediately as the words left your mouth.

“Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. I know you won’t tell anyone, but we’re selling the tower in a few months and moving full time upstate. So I’ll get an apartment near 5th.” You began to explain as the last song ended. “Ok ok, I see your Wham! and I raise you: Toto. F.R.I.D.A.Y? You know what to do.”

“Playing Africa by Toto, Ms. Stark.” F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s robotic accent spoke from the speakers of the car. Peter laughed as the iconic song began to blare, fully aware of it’s meme-like status.

“I swear I was going to play that next.” He laughed before returning to your prior subject, “Wait why aren’t you moving upstate?”

“Well I’m not an avenger am I?” You teased.

“I’ll be back and forth though. I’ll run our philanthropy from here and meet with investors and shareholders, then I’ll work in the lab when I’m up there. I just can’t let go of the city that easily.” You answered truthfully.

“Yeah, I get that. I can’t picture being anywhere else.” He agreed.

“Well what about college?” You asked.

“What about it?” He returned.

“Peter, you’re brilliant. Don’t you want to go to Harvard or MIT or something?” You offered, shifting the car into autopilot and turning to face him.

“I don’t know, I mean, I don’t know if I could get in.” He answered truthfully.

“We’ve got pull at MIT. Dad and I both graduated from there, if you don’t get in, which you would, one phone call from me and you’d be set.” You attempted to calm his fears.

“Wait... you’re like 19 how have you already graduated?” He asked, taken aback.

“Oh, uh, well I take after dad I guess. I graduated with my PhD from MIT, then got another from Columbia last year. And I’m 18 by the way. But that’s boring, you could read about it in any magazine, tell me about you.” You asked, attempting to be humble.

“Um well, I don’t know, no ones ever really asked me that before.” He said, looking down to his hands.

“Really? Ok well friends?” You asked him, steering him along.

“Ned. He’s my best friend, and kinda my only friend. That sounds lame hearing it out loud.” He said, getting nervous again, you would have to reassure him.

“Not really considering my best friend growing up was J.A.R.V.I.S., so you’re in good company.” You laughed.

“Jarvis?” Peter asked confused.

“He was my dad’s AI, now he’s part of Vision’s interface. F.R.I.D.A.Y.s kinda taken over his mantle. Ok so Ned, tell me about him.” You smiled, wanting to know more about Peter’s life.

“Uh he really likes Star Wars, like really likes Star Wars.” He laughed.

“I’ve never seen it.” You said.

“What? How?” He asked, taken aback.

“Wait, well, I guess technically I’ve seen The Last Jedi because I went to the premiere with John Boyega. But I haven’t seen any of the other stuff so it didn’t make much sense to me. So what does Spidey do when he’s not being Spidey?” You asked, changing the subject.

“John Boyega? That’s so cool. He’s so cool!” Peter said, excitedly.

“Yeah he is, he’s a friend. Next time he’s in town I’ll let you know.” You laughed, “But you’re avoiding my question Spidey.”

“I don’t know. I like taking things apart I guess, putting them back together. Old DVD players, TVs, computers, whatever I can find out on the streets.” He answered, ignoring the way his stomach did flips every time you called him Spidey.

“So what I’m hearing is that I’ll have to give you a tour of the lab some time. I have free reign when dad’s out working.” You offered.

“That would be amazing. Wow so you’re like just like Mr. Stark then, building things and stuff.” Peter said.

“I’m just a girl with a couple of tools, sometimes I make something that works.” You smiled, once again being humble. You turned to your right peering out as you crossed over the Queensboro bridge onto Queens Boulevard, “Ah the place where it all began.”

“I still can’t believe you jumped off a bridge just to put a tracker on me.” Peter shook his head.

“Hey a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. Let me have my avengers moment, it’s the closest I’ll ever get.” You sighed, placing your hands back on the wheel, turning off autopilot as you got into more and more traffic.

“You don’t have your own Iron Man suit? An Iron Woman suit?” He asked, half teasing, half serious.

“Ha! You think my father would ever let that happen? He barely lets me date, I don’t think I could convince him to let me fight crime or aliens or whatever. I’m more of a behind the scenes gal anyway, I’m more useful behind a computer than in the field. I don’t know if New York needs anymore heros.” You spoke.

“What do you mean?” He asked you.

“Well you know, Queens has you, Hells Kitchen has the Daredevil, Harlem has Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, there’s enough enhanced beings out there, I don’t think a rich unenhanced kid with a few college degrees would be much help.” You said.

“I think you don’t give yourself enough credit.” Peter said.

“I think I give myself just the right amount of credit. I know my limits. Well it looks like we’ve made it to your place Spidey.” You spoke, pulling up in front of his apartment building.

“May would kill me if I didn’t invite you up for dinner.” Peter said confidently, looking at his watch.

“That sounds really great Pete but is there any way I could get a raincheck? It’s just that I’ve slept about 2 hours in the last few days and I just want to get back to the compound take a shower, take a nap, and be there for Rhodey when he wakes up.” You smiled, even though dinner with the Parkers sounded quaint and somehow homey.

“Yeah, yeah of course, I didn’t even think about that, sorry.” He said, running his fingers through his loose curls.

“No it’s ok, its ok. But thanks for the offer, and thanks for being a great road trip buddie. These last few weeks have been kinda rough for me, so it was really nice to just let loose and have some fun.” You smiled, even though you were exhausted.

“Yeah it was actually really fun.” Peter laughed, thinking back on the last two hours.

“Have a nice night Pete, good luck explaining that shiner to your Aunt May.” You smiled and unlocked the car door.

“Well that part I’m used to.” He laughed, now standing in the doorway, about to close the door.

“Uh Pete? Forgetting something?” You spoke before he closed the door completely.

“Uh,” He looks around nervously, were you expecting a hug goodbye or something? He didn’t know so he began to move towards you and you laughed.

“The case silly, but I’ll take a hug if you’re offering.” You spoke, Peter laughed and quickly hugged you before realizing what you said.

“Wait? I get to keep the suit?” He asked slowly, in disbelief.

“Yeah it’s a little big on me. I made this for you Pete, it’s designed especially for you and your powers of course you get to keep it. Friends don’t let friends swing around Queens in sweats. Now get out of here before May gets even more worried.” You smiled.

“Oh my god, thank you, thank you!” He quickly hugs you again without even thinking about it, “Oh sorry I’ll just, yeah, bye Y/N.”

He jumped out of the car holding the silver case, a goofy grin on his face as you waved and pulled away.

Part 5

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PETER PARKER

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[stylessemantics]

Back to the fainting idea. What if she doesn't know she's pregnant yet or knew and hadn't told him?

OH ASDLUFHASDLIFHALSKDFHASLKDJFHALKSDJHFLAKSJDHFKALSDJF

I FUCKING JUMPED IN MY ROOM I KID YOU NOTTT!!!!!!

OH MY GOD

THAT’D TECHNICALLY BE BAD RIGHT? RIGHT?! LIKE…

THEY DON’T WANT BABIES NOW, RIGHT?

SURE HARRY COULD SEE HIMSELF LOVING HER FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE AND MAYBE HE WAS IN OVER HIS HEAD BUT HE THOUGHT THE FEELING WAS MUTUAL, THEY HAD BRIEFLY MENTIONED THE WORD “FUTURE” – right after the word “our” and followed by the word “together” at the end –  IN PASSING CONVERSATIONS, IT WAS CASUAL, LIKE IT WAS NORMAL AND THE OBVIOUS PATH, AND IT FELT RIGHT, RIGHT?

YES… OTHERWISE HE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN CARRYING AROUND A DIAMOND RING FOR THE PAST THREE WEEKS.

I DIGRESS! 

But this? A baby? Lord. That’s unexpected and unplanned. 

ok *cracks knuckles* here we go.

She had eaten all her meals, it wasn’t like that one time she had skipped both breakfast and lunch and was clearly starving. No. She did throw up the day before, but that day? She was perfectly fine that morning, in fact she’d gone out for a run with him, shocker! She was great at work and even in a fucking good mood, chipper as can be as she went about her business like any other day. Nausea who? That was a thing of the past.

And then the day started to slow down. Like… waaaay down. 

Harry and her had arrived early at the arena and she had watched him warm up and the seats fill up. It wasn’t a super important fight, Harry had qualified, the opponent wasn’t particularly challenging, in fact Harry would consider his opponent a friend off the ring, but both fighters had a loyal crowd which meant that even in filler matches like this one, there would be a decent amount of people all around, some placing bets, others just glad to have found a Friday evening activity. 

And of course it doesn’t happen before the match starts, or even after it’s over. No. 

It’s right in the middle. Had she rehearsed it, it still wouldn’t have been so perfectly timed. At first she was a little woozy, couldn’t stay standing to cheer on her boyfriend so she takes a seat, and she’s thinking maybe she’s going to be sick again because there’s something in her tummy that feels weird and she can tell she’s about to faint, the walls are shaking and she can’t hear proper, there’s spots in her vision. It’s with all the strength she has left that she reaches over and taps Liam’s shoulder, he almost never comes to Friday matches, always having something from work to keep him busy, but today he was there and she’s glad because it’s a familiar face that’s close enough to see her fizzling out. She blacks out for just a moment, it’s brief, she knows because she’s semi-conscious and she can tell she’s still in the crowd, so not enough time for her to be moved somewhere else has passed, but enough time for Harry to be jumping over the ropes and forfeiting the useless fight. God he’s qualified already and this match literally matters zero percent, both fighters could have been just play fighting for all they cared, in fact even the opponent cared so little that he’d walked over to see what all the ruckus was about along with Harry. 

He’s scooping you up in his arms in a nano second, gloves still secured on his fists, mouthguard tossed to the side and curls falling over his eyes. “Love, what’s wrong, babe, y/n answer me please” but no words come out, she’s still so out of it, not sure what’s going on and still dizzy as she’s hoisted up and placed on a stretcher, Harry wants his girl checked out by a doctor and he wants it now. 

It takes them mere minutes to reach the closest hospital and then she’s thankfully looked over as soon as they walk in, the emergency room miraculously not hectic. Harry keeps pushing nurses away when they try to reason with him to get his own wounds cleaned, and if he got asked what was wrong about 3 times before he screamed at a young intern that he’s just a fucking boxer and his girlfriend fainted out of the fucking blue, had he known what was wrong he wouldn’t need medical assistance, and Liam had calmed him down just in time when his girlfriend finally became lucid again. 

He’d asked, as slowly and calmly as his nerves could let him, had she eaten? did she feel okay? was she sick before or in some major way that she hadn’t told him about before? he wanted to know, he needed to know, it would allow him some control over the situation and his anxiety wouldn’t be through the roof along with his heart rate. All she could do was stammer, it was too much information for her to handle, and the doctor walking in took the weight of answering off her shoulders. 

The doctor was nice. Young, with blushy cheeks and a peaceful aura, and she asked questions a lot more calmly than Harry, or at least to her it felt that way. All the answers pointed in one plain direction, and y/n’s cheeks grew hotter and hotter by the second, realising where it was going. The doctor glanced between the girl and her boyfriend, his bruises and their intertwined ringless hands, and she doubted.“Hmmm. Ok miss uh...” y/n could sense the doctor didn’t know if the news were going to be news for the both of them or just to the man, and she doubted whether she should say it out loud. She had seen many fights break out over the obvious reason, many couples dissolve in front of her very eyes, and the papers didn’t lie, a nurse had come in with results a few seconds ago, and it was printed there clear as day. “I think I... I know” Y/n murmured shyly, Harry looking frantically between the two women in front of him in clear confusion. “I’ll leave you alone” And then the doctor was gone.“Love, what’s going–” Harry was freaking out, all his strength focused on remaining stoic, not wanting to freak his girlfriend out too. Too late, she was nervous and fidgety.“I’m pregnant” she blurted out interrupting him, avoiding his gaze at all costs.“What?” his hand drops hers and it makes everything suddenly collapse. God this was bad, this was so bad.“I-i, i mean I think I a-am”“You think?” she didn’t know if Harry was mad or just confused or what, there was something on his face she couldn’t decipher, but not knowing didn’t calm her in the least.“I had a suspicion! I mean, m-my period, I missed it a-and i know sometimes s-stress can cause it, and you know! You know how work was last month! y-yeah? and, and, I-I dont know, I didn’t know w-what to do, I wasn’t s-sure so I never said anything a-and then, and then, and then”

Harry has to stop her rambling somehow, and the best way he can think of is by kissing her crazily. It’s sloppy but it’s everything she needed. “You’re pregnant?” he asks, and she can now read the excitement and joy on his face, it’s clear as day“You’re not mad?”“Mad?!” Harry’s pulling back, staring at her like she’s grown a second and third head. How could he be mad? How could he be angry that she had been so confused, not knowing she was giving him everything he’d ever want and more. If anything he’s angry at himself, guilty that he’d made her feel as if she couldn’t tell him this before. He’s angry he didn’t notice somehow before today. “I’m fucking over the moon, I’m- Fuck, I’m the happiest man on earth” and the tears in his eyes are a testament to that. He’s kissing her over and over and over, mumbling between pecks “God y/n I love you, you’re it for me you know? I fucking love you beyond words”

The doctor walks in and finds them all teary and cuddly, and she breathes a sigh of relief knowing she can talk them through everything without any drama exploding in the room. Harry’s chuckling between sobs when he hears the official news and the doctor breaks down what comes next for them. 

Them. It’s not just him and her now. It’s him and her and their baby, and Harry has never felt so much adrenaline, happiness and excitement all at the same time. 

Liam’s the first to know when they walk out and Harry can’t even say the words properly between his tears, he doesn’t even let Liam hug them congratulations comfortable because he refuses to let go of his girl. His baby momma.

He insists on going back to the arena to collect his things, and when they get there it’s fairly empty, just a couple of stragglers and some of Harry’s friends in the locker room, but he doesn’t stop there for long, the news don’t even get delivered when he pulls his girl with him somewhere more private. He steps into the ring and makes her follow, her confuse brow calls to him, immediately he presses his lips to the center of her forehead. “Okay, this is probably not how you wanted this, shit it’s not how i pictured it etiher but... God I love you. I’m fucking in love with you. The kind that movies can’t even show. I just... I wasn’t lying when I said you’re it for me, you’re everything and more. And maybe the timing’s off or maybe it’s perfect, but I’m glad I’ve been holding on to this for three fucking weeks because maybe this is how it was meant to happen.” He’s going off topic, he had a speech planned out, for fuck’s sake he had three fucking weeks so of course he had something planned out, there’s little notes in his drawers with words crossed off and squiggles and arrows because he wanted it to be perfect, but in the middle of his rambling he sighs, realising that this was perfect. “Okay okay, I’m... God I’m stupid.” They both giggle, hers cut short when Harry starts to drop on one knee. “I guess what I’m rambling about is... It would make me, truly, the happiest man alive if you’d give me the honour of letting me be your husband, or something like that I don’t know what I’m fucking saying, love just... Just marry me, please... Let’s... Let’s be a family”

Long story short, the crying at the emergency room wasn’t the only crying of the night, and all the friends he left confused in the locker room cheer along after catching the big question from behind the walls and her cheery “yes” as the couple kisses in the middle of the ring. Harry laughs, pulling away, grabbing her hand with the shiny ring on it and putting it up in the air“AND WE’RE PREGNANT!” he says, dropping the other big news and causing another uproar from his friends.

“Three weeks, eh?” she’s whispering to him as they lay in bed that night. Harry blushes and covers his face with the blankets. It’s an adorable sight she’ll never get tired of. It’s one she’ll be seeing for the rest of her life.“I’m stupid” he mumbles.“You are. I would have said yes months ago”“Good to know” he grins at her, pulling her close. “Now, did the doctor say no sex, or?” and she can’t stop the laughter that emerges, it comes from the heart, and from the living being slowly growing inside her, there’s warmth on her tummy from Harry’s hand, he’s refused to stop touching the spot that will soon pop out, enamoured with the thought.“I think that starts after like, month four or something”“Great, that’s plenty of time then” and he’s rolling them around to place her on top of his body, sensually kissing around her neck, hands never leaving her belly through the night, not even afterwards when they both fall asleep embracing each other.

ALSO I KNOW YOU DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS BUT IMAGINE HOW THEIR PRE-MATCH INTERACTIONS WOULD GO AFTER THE PREGNANCY KICKS UP. HARRY’S NEW RITUAL INVOLVES KISSING BOTH HIS GIRL AND HIS BABY (THE TUMMY) BEFORE GOING TO THE RING, AND SHE’S EXTRA INSISTENT ON HIM WATCHING OUT AND NOT LETTING DIRECT HITS TO HIS HEAD AND ITS ALMOST LIKE HE’S GOING TO WAR EVERY TIME BUT SHE ALWAYS MAKES HIM PROMISE TO COME BACK TO THEM AND HE’S GIDDY AND IN LOVE KISSING HER AND PROMISING TO BE CAREFUL, AND BEFORE SHE ALWAYS USED TO SAY “go there and win this... for us” AS IN FOR THE TWO OF THEM BECAUSE HE WAS ALWAYS SAYING HE’D WIN FOR HER WHEN HE WAS FLIRTING WITH HER BEFORE THEY STARTED DATING AND THEN AFTER IT TURNED INTO WINING FOR THEM, FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE HIS WINS ARE HERS TOO, BUT NOW THE US INVOLVES A THIRD PERSON AND THE FIRST TIME SHE SAYS IT AFTER THE PREGNANCY NEWS HARRY’S ALMOST A PUDDLE OF LOVE ON THE FLOOR BECAUSE WOW HE HAS TO WIN FOR HIS FAMILY I’M SOBBING INTO MY DINNER RIGHT NOW.

[ryik-the-writer]

A03

Previous Chapters

Chapter 1: Pan meets a Wendy

Chapter 2: Scars (Felix’s Story)

Chapter 3: Day One

Chapter 4: Revenge and Fireflies

Chapter 5: Brighter than Stars

Chapter 6: filler: The Tigress

Chapter 7: Operation Spotless!

Chapter 8: Operation Spotless: Reporters Down

Chapter 9: A Dance with the Devil

Chapter 10: filler: Felix and the Pancake

Chapter 11: The Girl with Blue Eyes pt. 1

Chapter 12: The Girl with Blue Eyes pt. 2

Chapter 13: The Girl with Blue Eyes pt. 3

Chapter 14. Recovery

Chapter 14.2 Recovery some more

Chapter 15: Trapped

Chapter 16: Fairydust pt. 1

-,-,-,-,-,-

Pros of going home for the summer: free food (when someone goes bloody food shopping), free wifi (when someone plays the bloody bill) and my cats (no problems here they’re perfect).

Cons of going home for the summer: You lovely people get a chapter I finished at 4:30 in the morning because I can’t sleep with all these damn people going in and out of the living room I sleep in :) This is really just an idea I was tinkering (pun intended) with when I first began writing this story, so I thought now would be the time to incorporate it into the fic.

P.S. I’m sure some of you have heard of the wildfires in Greece. If you’d like to help, please try sending money and supplies to the Greece Red Cross.

-,-,-,-      

The sound of muffled yelling greeted her as she reached Tink’s floor. Her defensive instincts broke through her tiredness and she readied for a fight. As she turned the corner she was surprised to see Felix standing outside the door, pacing in small circles and chewing on one of his thumbnails.

Wendy’s heart ceased its pounding when she saw that he wasn’t in fight-mode like her, but her spine remained straight as she edged closer. They exchanged worried glances, the yelling behind Tink’s door becoming more audible.

“We’ve been through this a thousand times, just leave me alone!”

“How dare you raise your voice at me!”

Wendy tensed at the sound unfamiliar and gritty female voice. Tink Le’Belle was beloved around town, even by Granny who was the closest thing to a rival she had. Who could she possible have as an enemy?

“I will raise my voice at whoever I want to! I’m twenty-three years old and you will not ever tell me what to do again!”

Wendy glanced at Felix, hoping he could relay an explanation to the commotion, but he looked too nervous to answer questions.

“You’re living in sin with that boy!”

“Not this crap again!”

“Oh God.” Felix moaned.

“Should we…intervene?” Wendy inquired as the two women continued to yell at each other.

“Absolutely not.” Felix sighed. “My presence just makes things worst. Not to mention the last time I got in the middle of them I had one of my worst seizures to date.”

“Who…” Before she could finish her question, the door burst open and a woman in a blue convent outfit stormed out of Tink’s apartment, causing both Wendy and Felix to jump out of her path. She spared a look Wendy’s way, but she paused to full-on glare at Felix, as if everything that the loud conversation that had occurred in Tink’s apartment was somehow his fault.

Felix matched her glare, his sharp jaw clenching in an unforgiving line. He’d always looked so fragile to Wendy, pale and lanky. However, compared to the woman in blue, who’s eyes were as hard as diamonds and spine as straight as a telephone pole, he seemed unabatingly powerful.

With a loud huff the woman stalked down the hallway to the stairs, leaving behind a confused Wendy and a seething Felix, who burst into Tink’s apartment as soon as the woman was out of sight.

Wendy paused to listen to Felix’s muffled apologies, her heart clenching when she heard a muffled feminine sob.

“She’s always doing this.” Tink cried quietly.

“We can still get a restraining order.” Felix returned soothingly. “She can make sure she never comes near you again.”

Wendy swallowed, feeling powerless, and for whatever reason, guilty. She was surrounded by so many mysteries and thus knew of no way to help anyone, especially the young woman who had been nothing but kind to her from day one. As she looked on at the comforting domestic scene in Tink’s living room, she wondered if she could help at all. Felix seemed to be giving her all the relief she needed because he whispered something into her ear and she giggled softly, the tears on her cheeks drying into the lines of her smile.

Wendy managed a small smile, but her heart remained heavy and her curiosity peaked.

Tink finally noticed her presence and sat up, wiping her eyes and smiling brightly.

“Hey,” she greeted. “How was your day?”

Oh god he’s dead!

You and Jekyll?

This is my business, my life! Stay the hell out of it you nosy pest!”

He’s my brother!

“Fine.” Wendy lied, holding her breath when she caught a phantom whiff of corpse and woods. “Is…everything okay here?”

Tink rolled her eyes. “Just some crap from my past I can’t seem to get away from.”

Wendy nodded. She could certainly understand that.

Tink stood, rubbing her hands together as she fell back into her usual mode.

“You want to order in? Or I’ve got a frozen pizza in the freezer…”

“Actually,” Wendy began, the subject she had wanted to bring up between her and Pan’s rescue from the evil turkey and the car ride pushing back into her attention. “I was thinking I’d use the rest of the night…to gather my things.”

“Oh…” Tink’s smile fell some, and Felix gave her an odd look.

“Yeah,” Wendy said, clenching and unclenching her hands. “I…had an experience today that helped me realize that I will be okay on my own. I think the bad karma’s left.”

Tink nodded, her smile sad but understanding.

“I hate to throw this on you now…” Wendy apologized.

“No! Not at all. This is a weekly occurrence.” Tink laughed, though the sound was strained.

A moment of silence followed, not tense but still unwelcomed. Wendy couldn’t understand why the lack of sound made her feel so nervous.

“I’ll pull the car around.” Felix suggested, bringing in just enough sound to ease the anxiety creeping through Wendy’s mind. When the door closed behind him, Tink stood and offered to help Wendy pack.

It took little to no time to gather Wendy’s toiletries (Wendy was ever the immaculate houseguest), however it took her and Tink a moment to find her clothes. The girls were about the same size and borrowed each other’s clothing, which only now had become an issue.

“I can just come back for anything I leave.” Wendy assured as Tink ruffled through her closet.

“No, it’s that lace shirt, the one you made yourself? I’ll never give it back if you leave it here.”

Wendy nodded. The shirt was one she made back during her fabrication phase that had somehow survived despite the frail fabric.

Wendy turned and began going through her drawers. Her hands scaled through a cluster of t-shirts until her fingertips grazed something cold. She held her breath, praying that she didn’t pull out something totally nonsensical like a gun or a sex toy. A quick peak assured her that it was neither of those things and she pulled the object out with a sigh of relief.

It took her a moment to understand what she was looking at. It was old and heavy, obviously some kind of silver that needed a good polish, with cloudy jewels running down the middle. It looked like an old cross, the ancient kind one would see in historic cemeteries, only this one was broken towards the bottom, as if it had been sawed in half.

“Please be careful with that!” Tink cried when she finally noticed Wendy. She took the object from Wendy’s hand, holding it close to her chest. “It’s really old.”

“I can see that.” Wendy said. “What is it?”

Tink placed the object on her dresser, running a finger down its cold metallic surface.

“It’s part of a cross my parents left behind when they gave me up.”

Wendy watched her friend, the information she just released hitting her immediately. Was there anyone in this town who didn’t have a horrible family secret?

The way Tink had said it however wasn’t necessarily sad, but accepting of the situation. Still, it made Wendy wonder what kind of parents could give up someone like Tink.

“I’m…sorry.” Wendy said, unsure of what else she could say. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, it’s fine.” Tink assured. “It’s just…today brought up some bad memories.”

“That women…” Wendy led.

Tink rolled her eyes. “The head nun from the convent. Mother Superior. More like Mother pain in my ass!”

Wendy calmed a growing smirk. “Is she technically your mother, or…”

“Surrogate, but just barely.” Tink sat down on the end of her bed and Wendy took it as an invitation to join her. It was time for another story, it would seem.

“I was left on the doorstep of the nunnery shortly after I was born. According to my file I had some of my umbilical cord still attached.”

Wendy gasped. “Oh my.”

“The nuns took me in, raised me, and Mother Superior was there to monitor every waking second of my life.”

A dark thought entered Wendy’s mind and she hesitated only for a moment before voicing it.

“She didn’t…do anything to you, did she?” To her surprise, Tink snorted in response.

“Geez Wendy Darling, get your head out of the Twilight Zone. You’ve been spending too much time around Pan.”

“Tell me about it.” Wendy muttered. “But back to you, why was she here earlier?”

“The same reason she always stops by: she’s trying to get me to join the convent permanently.”

Wendy blinked, trying to envision Tink in the same stuffy outfit Mother Superior had been wearing instead of her ripped jeans and green tank top. It just didn’t seem plausible.

“At eighteen, any of the children who live at the convent get to choose to convert or go out on their own.” Tink explained. “I chose to leave, and she’s been trying to pull me back ever since.”

“Why didn’t you want to stay? Free rent, three meals a day. It might be a set routine but you’d never be without a home.”

“That place was never a home.” Tink said. “It was a building I lived in. Sure, there were good people in there, and I was never cold or hungry, but Mother Superior made it so constraining. I could never have friends or wear what I wanted. I couldn’t even watch TV or listen to music! I’m the only person in town who didn’t know who Lana del Rae was!”

Wendy chuckled but straightened up quickly. “You decided to leave and make your own decisions. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Well it…wasn’t just wanting to get out of the convent.” Tink said with a small smile. “It was the people I met, Lily Tirgress, Pan…and Felix.”

“Ah.” Wendy smiled. “You fell in love.”

“Well, not at first.” Tink scoffed, leading both girls to laugh.

“Well, details.” Wendy insisted.

“Let’s see…I was home-schooled up until eighth grade. I wanted to live during my last years of school, so I begged Mother Superior to let me enroll, suggested a “religious” presence might influence the other students.”

“Clever.” Wendy commented.

“Believe it or not, it was Pan’s suggestion, but that’s a different story. Anyway, I was enrolled into Storybrooke High and smoking cigarettes in the girls’ locker room by the third day.”

Wendy laughed. Her high school experience involved her eating lunch in the library and becoming a legend after she nearly set the home economics room on fire when one of the sewing machines started smoking.

“By the time graduation came around, I was ready to permanently transition into the real world. Felix and I even discussed getting a place together before…” Tink paused, a painful glint flashing in her deep green eyes.

“What happened?” Wendy pressed carefully.

“Felix had his accident.” Tink relayed, the words sounding heavy on her tongue. “His parents were killed and he spent a few months healing. It put a damper on our plans.”

Wendy thought about the scar that ran over Felix’s face. She had figured he had sustained it from an accident, but hadn’t realized the severity of it’s origins.

“Mother Superi-ass said it was God’s punishment.” Tink said, her voice hard as diamonds. “I was out of the convent in an hour.”

Wendy thought of something to say. She and her girlfriends back home never had conversations this deep.

“Things…seem better now.” She tested.

“They are.” Tink agreed, her spirit’s lifting. “I have a good job, a good boyfriend, and most days good friends when Pan isn’t being an ass. I have a good life.”

Wendy noted just a twinge of hesitation when she said the last bit, but her smile was convincing enough that she didn’t press for more. Then again, why would she press for more? This was Tink’s business, and details on her life should be given, not inquired upon.

Still, Wendy’s natural curiosity was peaked, and she needed to leave before she asked anything Tink wasn’t ready to share.

“You can keep the shirt.” Wendy declared. “Consider it a thank you for…everything.”

Tink blushed and nudged Wendy with her hip.

“Deal.”

-,-,-,-,-

“Wendy?”

Something was touching her hair.

“Wendy!”

Something was pulling it.

The intern journalist just up from her desk, her mind going into an instant panic before her blurry surroundings became clearer.

Pan was standing at her desk, hands shoved in his pockets, revealing his innocence.

“God your hair looks awful.”

Wendy sighed, her brain hardly awake to deal with his insults.

“Then I suggest you never cut yours this length. What do you want?”

“The janitor said you’ve been here since 4. Did Tink kick you out?”

Wendy shook her head as her heartbeat returned to its normal pace.

Upon her return to her apartment last night, she was met with instant regret with her brave decision to move back to her place. Every noise made her heart skip a beat and every shadow looked like it was coming towards her. She had kept all her lights on and had headed to the paper as soon as one of the janitors had come to unlock the doors at 4 a.m. She had meant to keep herself busy, but the second she had sat at her desk she crashed.

“I um…wanted to get started on the Jekyll story.”

“Already wrote it. Come with me to the printers, give it a look.” He stormed off before she could reply, giving her the chance to notice that his limp was nearly nonexistent now, though she could still see the ghosts of several scars he had accumulated in the last few weeks.

She followed him cautiously, recalling their last encounter. His coldness, and then his confusing revelation about Gold. Why had he done that, and what had he thought it would accomplish revealing to her?

What would it change between them?

She was barely in the room before Pan shoved a sheet of paper in her hands.

BODY OF FORMER MORTICIAN FOUND IN CAR

“Former mortician?” Wendy scoffed, her skin crawling. “That’s much too nice for what he was.”

Pan shrugged before busying himself with something. “Glass wouldn’t let me use “Ex-sociopath dead, good riddance”.”

Wendy hid a smile and read through the article, checking off the details in her head. It was cut and dry, omitting the details about how her and Pan were held captive in the car by a turkey. Coroner details provided that Jekyll had been killed the night he had held Wendy and Pan captive and that no fingerprints or other evidence had been found.

“Oh no.” Wendy gasped when she got to the third paragraph.

“…with Jekyll’s body being found on his property, Booth will be held for questioning...”

“Sheriff Graham doesn’t really believe he had anything to do with it does he?” Wendy inquired out loud.

“Would he be in an interrogation if he didn’t?” Pan snarked.

Wendy glared at him and laid the story down. “And you’re not concerned? You two were…” Wendy stopped herself. Assuming that anyone was anything to Pan was dangerous, and really just an argument-starter.

“We were what?” Pan smirked, his eyes filled with a dangerous darkness.

Drop it.

“Something.” Wendy breathed, the word flowing out so easily despite how hard she had tried to contain it.

The silence that followed her declaration was heavy, and shifted the possibility of peace for the two of them away.

Pan’s glare was strong, but he gave no comeback, no insult or jab to her person. Because for once (as far as he was concerned at least) she was indeed correct. But not about August.

She had used that same word when she described Jekyll. Something.

He was something with everyone in his life, even to those he deemed dearer to him then most (but they would never know it).

They weren’t lovers, or friends, and they sure as hell weren’t family. Those words were too personal.  They were just something.

But you’re not just something, Wendy.

“If he’s innocent, Graham will snuff it out and he’ll be free.”

Wendy shook her head, the idea that he was still pretending he didn’t care astonishing her. She’d seen his vulnerable side enough times already.

Why is he still cutting me out?

“Whatever.” Wendy sighed, shoving the story back to him. “I have something else I wanted to talk to you about anyway.”

Pan paused, his stomach curling with anticipation. It had to be about Gold. Why the hell had he told her about him!

“Well?” Pan introduced, leaning against the desk casually while his heart drummed in his chest.

Wendy worried her lip, the subject she was about to approach having followed her home and distracted her from the darker parts of her mind.

“What do you know about Tink’s parents?”

Pan blinked, the question catching him completely off guard. When the hell had Tink told her about that? And how had he not known that she had told her? He realized he hadn’t spent a lot of time around them lately but…

“Why…do you want to know that?” Pan inquired quickly.

“So you do know something?”

“Perhaps, but answer my question first.”

Wendy frowned, calling his bluff. “You know bullocks.”

“Any knowledge I have is some that you do. That’s…” he smirked. “something.”

“Wanker.” Wendy growled. But he had a point. He had roots in Storybrooke and knew where each one led.

“Fine.” Wendy surrendered. “The…head nun came to Tink’s apartment last night. She was really upset and then she brought up how she was abandoned at the convent. I thought maybe someone had to see something that night. Sheriff Graham wasn’t even an officer then so…you’re my only option. You…have a way of finding buried things.”

“True.” Pan agreed cockily. “But you might not want to go digging for this skeleton, little bird.”

“And just why not?”

“Because it’s too personal.” Pan answered, his tone changing to genuine concern. “Not to mention if Tink wanted to know about her parents, she would have gone digging for the information when she turned 18. She didn’t want to know then, and nothing’s changed.”

“You don’t know that.” Wendy retorted. “You didn’t see her face. Maybe there’s something else, information she wasn’t given. Something I can find for her.”

Pan’s eyes lowered, and Wendy could only imagine what he was thinking.

“You mentioned yesterday that you and Glass came across records, in the library?”

“Yes.” Wendy nodded. “He mentioned that it was the town’s storage unit.”

“Start there. The nuns keep crap there as well. Then check the newspaper archives.”

Wendy nodded, smiling gratefully before turning to run out of the print room. “Thank you. Let Glass know I’m taking the day off.”

“I’m not your fucking secretary!” he yelled after her, feeling surprisingly unfulfilled when she didn’t respond.

The silence that followed her departure seeped into his mind, echoing, drumming his senses.

Oh no…

Not the quiet.

Pan grabbed as stack and printing paper and hurled it at the window. He breathed in relief when the clattering sound filled the room.

He quickly turned on the printer to fill the void, his mind racing as fast as the papers on the belt.

Wendy hadn’t asked about Belle, or about their fight yesterday. She hadn’t even wanted to continue talking about Jekyll or August or the rest of the filth they encountered on their latest adventure. Didn’t she want to know?

Didn’t she still care?

Why is she cutting me out?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Now that she was standing outside of the library where nine days ago she almost met a ghastly end, Wendy wondered if finding out Tink’s past was worth the panic attack she felt coming on.

Police tape and a fresh lock closed off the door she and Glass had gone through during their research session. They had tried to solve the mystery of Belle’s disappearance on their own, but all they had accomplished was another trip to the hospital.

Jekyll and Pinnock were dead, and the police force had raided their underground prison for more danger. There was nothing to be afraid of, yet she was still terrified. Maybe she should have asked Pan to come along. His company was better than the crippling silence that usually followed her around.

She turned on her cellphone flashlight, her hand shaking as she used the light to find a different entry. She wasn’t even sure what to look for, or even if she would find anything at all. This town had so many secrets under its charming facade. Jekyll’s was literally buried underground. She could only imagine where Tink’s would lead her to.

Without much searching Wendy managed to find a window. Heavy from year of untreated rust, it took some effort to open and crawl through it, resulting in Wendy scrambling for a grip on the wall when her foot got caught in the window. With an annoyed huff, she snatched her foot forward, freeing her but causing her to fall face-first into the dusty library floor.

“Ow.” she groaned as she pulled herself up, rubbing her chin from the impact. Otherwise unscathed, she picked herself up and shown her phone light around the room. She was surrounded by mountains of boxes, all covered in layers of dust and unmarked.

“Great.” Wendy huffed. “This is going to take a while.”

Four hours later, Wendy’s hands were caked black and her nose was pink from sneezing so much. But, miracles of miracles, she had finally found a box of files from the year Tink was born.

She had the files spread out by month, squinting through the contents for anything to do with a found baby. She was relying solely on the light peeking through the boarded windows, her phone battery having gotten too low to support the flashlight any longer.

Finally, she found a file labeled “Convent infant: 1991” and Wendy hissed in self-congrats. She flipped the file open, her eyes instantly falling on a photo of an infant labeled “Margatink La’Belle”. Wendy smiled at the picture of her friend, the idea that she was once small and helpless instead of the confident woman she was now.

She carefully through the details of the file, all of which was cut and dry and containing the same details Tink had described: a nun had heard her crying and found her on the steps of the convent. The nuns called the police but with the convent not having cameras at the time, the person (or people) who dropped Tink off remained unfound.

Wendy sighed when the information ended, leaving her in a dead end. Closing the file, she headed to the archives in the back, hoping any story that was published on the incident would have more information.

Her head was throbbing by the time she found articles from October 1991. There was mostly small-town drabbles, such as construction at the diner and new playground equipment. Wendy wondered briefly when exactly Storybrooke became as hectic as it had when she arrived.

A picture of a bundled baby caught Wendy’s attention, and the headline caused her heart to pound with excitement.

NEWBORN BABY ABANDONED AT CONVENT

“Newborn…” Wendy mused, reading ahead.

Sister Corrine Blue, 17, discovered the abandoned infant shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday night. A doctor’s analysis showed that the baby was just over a week old and still had an umbilical cord stomp in her belly button.

“Poor Tink.” Wendy sighed.

The baby was abandoned with a wicker basket, flannel shirt, and a broken metal cross. The other half of the cross has yet to be located.

“We’re very grateful that the child is healthy, and the Sisters of Saint Meissa will do everything to make her comfortable until social services decide on a plan of action.” Blue said.

Wendy read through the article again, look carefully for other details that she may have missed the first time. The only addition information she found was a small article stating that the convent had been allowed to adopt her. It would seem that Tink’s story ended there, but Wendy knew that it was the event leading up to her adoption into the convent that was most important.

After snapping photos of the pictures in the articles, she pulled out her notebook and began making a list of possible interviewees. Mother Superior was already at the top, being that she had taken responsibility for Tink’s upbringing. If she found Tink, then she might have seen something else. Then, of course, was Sheriff Graham. He may not have been sheriff then, but he could still tell her who his predecessor was. And finally, the author of the article, Sydney Glass.

As Wendy ready through the list, another name came to mind. It was a long shot, but any information anyone could provide would help.

Especially if that particular person owned the town and knew every corner of its happenings.

Mr. Gold.

-,-,-,-

Part two is almost done, but damn if this chapter wasn’t 8000+ words and bordering on 23 pages! It would have taken me months to edit!

[emilyelizabethfowl]

Step By Step, Together

This is my response to @merrymissmeow beautiful challenger piece!

Both pieces were made for the @uravitybang organized by the incredible @clairelutra!

Available on AO3

Length: 1481 words; Pairing: Uraraka Ochaco/Midoriya Izuku/Bakugou Katsuki; Other characters: All Might;

They decided on standard wedding march for their walk up to the altar, and a simple dance for the opening of the reception.

Its simpleness did nothing to change the fact that they were attempting to rehearse it for a full week now.

“Deku!” Uraraka giggled, “Stop stepping on my toes!”

Attempting being the key word.

“Sorry!” Deku blushed in response, taking a small step back, which resulted in nothing but him tripping and falling down.

Instead of jumping right back on his feet, like he did the last seven times it happened (counting only the instances that happened during the past hour), he decided to remain laying down instead.

A loud groan escaped him as his head thumped repeatedly on the ground.

“I don’t think it even qualifies as two left feet at this point.” He moaned miserably from his horizontal position.

Kacchan tsked in response, but said nothing as he slowly sipped his drink. All Might snored softly, his head lolling to the side as his gangly body swayed slowly on the seat next to the door.

Both Uraraka and Deku promptly ignored both pieces of the non-constructive criticism.

“I don’t understand,” Ochaco sighed, walking up to the table with snacks and refreshments. “I dance well with Kacchan, you dance well with Kacchan, why can’t we dance well together?”

She sat down next to Kacchan, whose only answer to her question was a shrug. Deku was talking enough for all of them, muttering under his breath.

It was quite impressive, considering everything he said could be boiled down to “I have no idea”.

“Actually, I think I may have an idea.” Kacchan announced after a while, his face mixed between slight surprise, heavy dose of realization and a bunch of “I can’t believe I haven’t thought about it before!” as a filler. “Dance with me, Round Face!”

He quite literally launched himself upwards, one hand outstretched towards Uraraka. She might have not had any idea what was going on, but she sure as hell wasn’t about to let an opportunity to dance with Kacchan slide.

Their dance routine wasn’t anything elaborate - just the most common wedding dance ever, the only difference being that they danced it thrice, every time in different combination.

With all the excitement of their pro-hero lives, both the good one and the bad one, they didn’t really feel up to anything but the most mundane wedding in the existence.

After all, every extravagant bit heightened the possibility of a villain attack. Their real names might have been hidden from public (as much as they could be after taking up “Deku”, “Kacchan” and “Uravity” as their hero names) but the press was very intent on thorough coverage, however hard they may try to prevent it.

Everything out of ordinary was a risk and possible weak-point just waiting to be exploited by some over-eager villains, hot for revenge or just a simple attack.

Heroes weren’t really popular in the underground, much less the most powerful and influential trio of the entire century.

With a breathless giggle Uraraka turned for the last time and finished the dance with a shallow bow, mirrored by Kacchan.

The boy immediately turned to Izuku.

“C’mon nerd, now you dance with me.”

Not waiting for a response, he grabbed Deku’s hand and yanked him upwards, pulling him close, while Ochaco reset the music.

Izuku giggled nervously, even though his body relaxed into the embrace.

The moves were familiar by now. Rehearsing the same routine time and time again made every one of their steps fluent and confident.

Twirl after twirl the dance slowly came to an end with the last turn and giggling Izuku. Ochaco was right beside them, a couple of drinks at hand.

Her dress might’ve been short, but it was still absolutely alluring at every given moment, the material sparkling as if it was soaked in glitter. During the twirls, no one could take her eyes off her.

The light reflected off the dress and shot beams on the walls and ceiling, just like the sun reflected off the water surface of a pond in the summertime, mesmerizing everyone with its graceful movements.

While Izuku’s and Katsuki’s attires weren’t as exquisite, being standard suits, just without the jackets, they were still elegant. The color coordinated vests, dark green and pale orange respectively, only added to the magnificent effect.

“Can you see what’s wrong, now?” Kacchan asked after soothing his parched throat.

Two identical looks of utter confusion answered him.

“I think I can see the problem,” All Might called out from his post near the door.

Kacchan glanced over his arm.

“Figured you would wake up to mentor us.”

Toshinori fixed the lapels of his suit anxiously. For once the piece was actually fitting him, instead of hanging off of his frame like an over-bright attempt on a scarecrow.

The fitting attire did nothing to alleviate the anxiety evoked by Kacchan’s scathing remarks.

“You do?” Izuku perked up, staring at All Might with his usual stars-filled gaze.

“What’s the matter, then?” Ochaco asked, “I can’t see anything wrong!”

The two of them managed to restore Toshinori’s confidence, prompting him to turn on his Mentor Voice.

“That’s because there isn’t anything wrong!” He boomed jovially. “It’s just a matter of… Well, versatility!”

This time there were three blank stares.

“If I hadn’t known what the problem was already,” Kacchan was the first to break the silence,”I wouldn’t have fucking understood what you just say. Hell, I still don’t!”

“May I get that rephrased, please?” Midoriya added timidly, while Uraraka nodded in agreement.

All Might wrenched his hands anxiously.

“It’s just,” he started, “When the both of you dance with Young Bakugo, he automatically leads. So when you dance with each other, you both try to relinquish the lead…”

A loud “oh” in stereo reverberated through the room.

Midoriya exchanged glances with Uraraka, after which they both looked at Bakugo.

With a coordinated nod they settled on a decision.

“Occhan’s going to lead.” Izuku announced for the sake of All Might, who was the only one unable to understand their sophisticated one-look communication system.

They settled in the starting position once more, now perfectly aware of their role in the dance. With a slight shake of her head, Ochaco gathered herself and grasped Izuku’s hand. Kacchan motioned at Toshinori to start up the music again.

This time, their routine was flawless.

“Let’s finish the walk-up to the altar details, then!” All Might announced with an excited clap of his hands as the music died.

“Finish it?” Ochaco asked confused, still clutching Izuku’s hand. “But didn’t we already settle it?”

“We decided we’ll all walk up from different directions,” Deku confirmed, getting his notebook out of thin air. “What else is there to discuss?”

“I mean, we haven’t settled who comes from where,” Kacchan said, handing drinks to both of his betrothed. “There’s like, six possibilities.”

Deku immediately produced a pen and started scribbling on a free page.

“Chill,” Bakugo plucked the pen out of his hand. “We might as well draw the straws, for all it’s worth.”

“That’s,” Uraraka started, “Actually a pretty good idea. But do we have any straws?”

“No… But we do have salty sticks!” Midoriya added excitedly.

All Might grabbed three sticks from the cup, breaking two of them in random places and aligned them in his fist.

“Shortest means left, longest means right. Ladies first!” He said, offering his fist to Uraraka.

She giggled, plucking a random stick out of his hand.

Toshinori offered the sticks to Midoriya, and Bakugo got the last one.

“Ha! Whole one!” He called.

“I think I got the shortest one,” Deku informed with a grin.

Uraraka compared their pieces.

“Yeah, I have the middle one!”

Toshinori clapped his hands together, shaking off the residue salt.

“Let us rehearse it, then!” He said, moving to the front of the room. The triad dutifully scattered in three directions.

Uraraka, as the one closest to the recorder, started the music, enjoying finally being able to hear a different tune.

They solemnly walked up to All Might, enjoying the faux-ceremony.

At the second the music stopped, they gathered in front of Toshinori, wide grins breaking out on their faces.

“Technically, we could elope like this,” Izuku mused.

“Deku!” Ochaco swatted his arm lightly. “Not after all the effort we put into planning the wedding!”

“I’m not doing the fitting again!” Bakugo declared angrily, a shower or sparks escaping his fists.

“Oh, we wouldn’t put you through this again!” Midoriya assured him. “We love you way too much for that!”

“Well, I fucking love both of you too,” Kacchan had a frown on his face, but everyone could tell he was keeping it in place by sheer power of spite only.

“And I love the two of you as well,” Uraraka finished, hugging them both.

[leifandthorn]

Webcomic Buffers And You, for #WeHeartComics

I keep turning up new webcomic-related Twitter discussions. This one was an (irregular?) offering from WeHeartComics, a product of the SpiderForest collective. (Think “Hiveworks for artists who aren’t into bees.”)

Last Friday was a chat about buffers. Which was a striking thing to jump into, because I’d just been listening to the ComicLab episode where the hosts go “ahh, regular updates are so 10 years ago! Just update whenever you draw something. Readers will be into it.”

And that works great if you’re Kate Beaton (of Hark! A Vagrant) or Sarah Andersen (of Sarah’s Scribbles), where your whole thing is random self-contained standalone bits. (It also helps if they’re Really Good standalones.) But, listen, it’s all wrong for a comic with any kind of continuity. If you slack on the updates there, readers will forget where they are in the story, and end up losing interest.

I don’t know if if strict update times are necessary in the social-media age. Nobody knows when Webcomic Woes is going to update, and it doesn’t matter, because as long as you stay on top of your Patreon/Deviantart/Tumblr feed, it’ll be served up to you.

But for those story-based comics, you’ve got to keep a regular update rate (e.g. “twice a week”). So you may as well keep the posting dates and times consistent too. Keeps your life simple, makes it easier to track your to-do list.

And with that, on to the questions…

Q1. Do you try to keep a buffer of comic pages? Why or why not? #WeHeartComics pic.twitter.com/aYgkNRoD9W

— WeHeartComics (@WeHeartComics) April 6, 2018

For Leif & Thorn, yes. I like titling strips in the format of “This Storyline 1/24” (a tic picked up from Bruno The Bandit)…and that only works if my buffer reaches the end of This Storyline.

The current arc is getting broken up into sub-acts — starting with “The Show Must Grow On: Overture” — mostly because I’m not far enough to have the numbers otherwise. Did the same thing splitting off the 14-strip An Incredibly Platonic Shopping Day, even though it leads straight (hah) into the next storyline, because Summer Sunshine clocked in at a full 84 strips. I could manage to be 84 strips ahead, but not 98.

As of this writing, I’ve drawn 18 strips into The Show Must Grow On: Act I. Which is…not bad, but there’s gonna need to be a crackdown of work this weekend. And the next one. And probably the next.

For But I’m A Cat Person — eheh, it used to have a buffer. Now I’m almost always working one page ahead. Talked a lot about the effects of that in an earlier WebcomicChat about pacing.

And then there’s Webcomic Woes, which is bufferless by nature. It gets made on a “whenever I have an idea” basis, and I don’t have more than one relevant idea per day.

A1 YES!

I'm working on getting a buffer of at least 52 pages because I have a crazy day job and I want enough buffer for a year of weekly updates.#WeHeartComics

— TeJay is Drawing (@TeJay_the_Mad) April 6, 2018

This here is a heroic effort. I’ve never had a full-page buffer that long.

(Technically, I’m 50-ish updates ahead with Leif & Thorn right now — but since it’s a daily strip, that only comes out to a month and a half’s worth of lead time.)

Q1 #WeHeartComics I prefer to always work on solid ground so right now I have a hefty buffer of 800 pages. (even more if I include book 2)

— 🐀Kristen🐉Kiomall-Evans🐒 (@BatichiKristen) April 6, 2018

…and here we have the winner of this thread.

Q2. What drawbacks or advantages does your current buffer (or lack of) give you?#WeHeartComics pic.twitter.com/wmju0giUTm

— WeHeartComics (@WeHeartComics) April 6, 2018

Low buffer gives you a quick turnaround on “whoops, readers didn’t understand that reference, I’ll have a character explain it on the next page.” High buffer gives you security in case you fall out of a tree and have to put your drawing arm in a cast for three months.

A2: The advantage is if something happens, I won't have to miss an update. Since I post on Webtoons, this kicks me down in rankings, which potentially loses me subs/PVs. Drawbacks, are that I can't make any changes to the story arc or I'll have to redo portions #WeHeartComics

— Lisa ⭐️ リサ (@asilris) April 6, 2018

…and then there’s algorithms. Or, on a site like mine, the Webcomic plugin is configured to send cranky emails if the buffer runs low.

Although I find that having a large buffer, so you can redo something while it’s in the buffer, is much easier than redoing it after it’s posted! If you realize on page 10 that you need a Chekhov’s gun that should’ve been on the wall on page 1, you really want page 1 to be unposted. I’ve resorted to post-posting edits, but only in the case of serious continuity errors.

(If you’re really bored some afternoon, go through the BICP archives page-by-page and see how many errors you can spot compared to the originals — which are all preserved on the SmackJeeves mirror.)

Q3. Life sometimes eats away at buffers. What techniques do you use to get around that?#WeHeartComics pic.twitter.com/qKtmCWYUDA

— WeHeartComics (@WeHeartComics) April 6, 2018

With Leif & Thorn: hasn’t been a problem. (Knock wood.)

With BICP: uh, mostly posting stuff late with apologies. The comic was originally 3 pages a week, and I couldn’t keep that up full-time, so I took it down to 2 (it goes back up sometimes for special events, like the second Christmas special), and that helped.

I do a week or two of filler between chapters, and I’ve given myself a couple longer hiatuses…but do not have the discipline to use them for buffering, heh. I just use them to recharge before jumping back into the “whoops, gotta draw tomorrow’s page now” rollercoaster.

Waaaay back in the day (2003!), And Shine Heaven Now had 6-strips-a-week updates. When my Dell died and the buffer ran out, I drew a week of filler at the library in MSPaint rather than go updateless.

In retrospect, under the circumstances, I’m sure readers would’ve forgiven a mini-hiatus! But for some reason it honestly didn’t occur to me as an option.

Q4. Do you have advice to those wanting to create buffers?#WeHeartComics pic.twitter.com/S1v4ndaZVI

— WeHeartComics (@WeHeartComics) April 6, 2018

Work up a big one before your comic actually launches. I had several months of Leif & Thorn drawn before I started posting, and the buffer has been healthy ever since.

After that, just pace yourself. Figure out what your workflow is, and adapt your schedule to work with it! Some authors like writing out a script beforehand, others like working it out as they draw. Some artists need strict and well-planned schedules, others (*cough*) get revved up by looming deadlines. In the immortal words of Jan Valentine: whatever works is cool.

Q5. If a buffer can’t be made, what advice would you give others seeking to reduce the stress of regular updates?#WeHeartComics pic.twitter.com/5ipyS6qiOh

— WeHeartComics (@WeHeartComics) April 6, 2018

…I mean, if your comic is suited to irregular updates, you can always just do that.

If not, you’re allowed to take breaks. Just give your readers accurate information about your plans, and then stick to them. Don’t be the person whose site still says “after this short hiatus, My Awesome Comic will return in May 2017!” when it’s April 2018.

If you can’t do irregular updates, and you can’t make a buffer, and it’s too stressful to keep up regular updates, and you can’t even get back from hiatus…then maybe this isn’t the comic you should be doing, and it’s time to gracefully bow out. (More on that next post.)

(Original post.)

[rpchive]

Seventy Second Encounter-- The White Room

this is technically “filler” if you wanted to skip it, but where’s the fun in that?

When the IT finally comes to a stop, only Demo and Firefly join the trio in the console room. Firefly: I'm guessing if you can't read the card, you can't get in, right? Demo: Ugh, that annoys me so much. I couldn't totally read it, so I'd probably get stuck in a door or something... Collin: Or maybe you'd see the door, but you'd just walk into it like it was a wall. Nydins: Regardless, I think only the four of us will be able to go in. Collin: I'm betting Fawkes is not happy about that, huh? Demo: I don't think any of us are happy about this. Firefly: Well, I can stay behind at least. That way if something bad happens, at least one of us can still come to help? Collin: Not a bad idea, given that we're going into unknown territory here. What do you guys think? alienrabitt: Sounds good to me. Just as long as we can get your attention somehow. Demo: Take the goggles; it's...somehow the only form of long distance communication anyone has with the IT. Collin: We really need to work on that, sheesh. Nydins: Maybe XL could do something? Though maybe she only has medical experience...I don't know; we'll figure something out at some other time; right now, we have something that works for the situation. We're going in a small group, after all. Collin: Yeah, that's true. You guys ready? Heading out of the IT; Tori; Nydins; and Collin find themselves in the lobby of a solid white building. Heading up to the desk, Tori hands the card to a secretary that doesn't even bother to look up from her book as she wheels her chair around; grabs a keycard from a drawer; and slides it across the desk to Tori, gesturing to a hallway on the right side of the room that had not been there before getting the keycard. Collin: Wh- When did...? alienrabitt: This is gonna be...interesting. Going into the hall, it makes an L-shape to the left, showing a long stretch of rooms that only have visible doors. One, however, has a long, glass window to the right of the door. This room is about halfway down the long hall. Collin starts walking down the hall toward the window. "So, where are we supposed to be going exactly? That receptionist wasn't exactly informative." alienrabitt: Uhh, the key says...34-B?

for those that don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of RP trivia, this was the designation Thallion’s crew gave Collin on their ship

Collin: Oh, well that'd work. Let's see... Collin starts looking for door labels as he continues onward. The trio finds room 34-B; the only room with a currently visible window. As Tori puts in the keycard, there is a low buzz from somewhere before a rather tired, feminine voice calls out "one at a time; please." Collin: I'm... sorry? What do you mean? Nydins: I think she wants two of us to stay out here... Collin: Oh, I guess they want Tori then. He did get the card, after all. Nervously, Tori enters the room alone, and the door clicks behind him. From below the window, he can be heard talking to someone else. "Who are you?" A deeper voice answers; smooth and confident sounding: "We haven't met before; but I already know who you are. Guess I've been the only one asking questions." Collin: What is that supposed to mean? Nydins: I have no idea...but uh...does this guy look like he has a face to you? I'm looking, but it's like it's...smudgy? Or something... Collin: Uh, here, let me take a look. Collin moves closer to the window and looks inside. Collin can see that this person is wearing a black coat with a few smaller, lime green buttons on it. The collar has been buttoned closed as well, however the face of the person is entirely obscured by some sort of blurry, black cloud. Collin: Weird, I can't see their face either. I wonder what's- hm? Oh, sure, give it a try.

Collin's right eye turns purple after a moment, and he peers back through the window. He can now see that Tori isn't even in the room with another person at all, but rather what is actually some sort of tall, black box with an indention near the top for a screen. Above the screen, the box returns to its shape to allow room for a label with the title "Polybius." On the screen itself are two acid green eyes that stare back immediately. Collin's eye turns back to normal and he stumbles back from the window.   "What the hell?"

surprise; I didn’t actually write this one! everyone actually played their own characters :3c

Nydins: Wh-what?? What's wrong? Collin: That's not a person, that's... I don't know what it is, a tall box with a screen on it? It had "Polybius" written on the top of it. Nydins: ...What?? That can't be right; there's no way we let that thing out...

The conversation between the pair in the room continues as well.

alienrabitt: "How do you know me?" Polybius: "Did you think the doors you opened only opened one way? Maybe you only tried calling out for one of us; but perhaps you of all people should know that there has never been only one of us." alienrabitt: "What are you going on about...?" Polybius: "The other you; the one that asked all of those concerning questions; did you think they were alone? Did you assume they were a singular being? You should know that's incorrect." Collin: What do you mean "that thing"? Do you know what this is? Nydins: Polybius was dismissed as an urban legend by most of humanity; but there were rumors going around that it had been intentionally created by the government. All rumors have at least a little bit of truth to them...it was made for...unsavory purposes, but it was discovered and locked up pretty quickly after all the reports of seizures; suicides; and memory issues started rolling in from one town, with a single arcade being the only connection between all the victims... Collin: And Tori's inside there alone with that thing?! Nydins: It...invited him. But yes...but how does it know him? And more importantly, how did it get here alone?

alienrabitt: "So...did they tell you about us?" Polybius: "Oh, they never had to say a word. Nobody did. As soon as I heard there was a way out, I took my chance immediately. Needless to say, I feel like I made a very good decision." alienrabitt: "I don't understand...what did you do? Why did you come here?" Polybius: "I came here because I wanted a way out, and you gave it to me. I suppose I came here specifically to thank you in person. If it weren't for you, I'd still be trapped in that awful, dark tower with all of those bumbling idiots; but thanks to you, none of them can be my problem ever again." Collin: I feel like this conversation is going over my head... Did you guys help this thing before we met or something? Nydins: We never helped it; it was locked away in Area 51 so it couldn't hurt anybody anymore; I just assumed it shut down or broke down due to old age, but now it's...here? Collin: It's talking like Tori directly helped it though... Nydins: ...It mentioned another Tori; maybe it's talking about the one that followed you back from the Alfheim? Collin: Hmm... Maybe so? Or maybe a Tori that's different from that one, even? Sheesh, as if there weren't enough variations of him in our own timeline... "You aren't answering me; what did you /do/?! You were trapped somewhere; but why? Why were you trapped, maybe even bound to...another me, I guess?" Polybius: "The whys are irrelevant; I needed to leave for a multitude of reasons. Or are you concerned that I may have done something terrible to get where I am now?" alienrabitt: "That's exactly what I'm asking." Polybius: "I only ever did what I had to do. When people got in my way; when people threatened me, or those around me that had done no wrong, I could never bring myself to overlook their actions. Every time I've been locked away, I've always managed to find or make my own way out. That was simply another one of those situations. They would not allow me out on their own; with them around to the degree they were, I had absolutely no chance of escaping; however, after your ever so curious escapades, your counterpart was too horribly exhausted to resist me. The rest was simply natural; like toppling dominos." alienrabitt: "...You...did you...?" Polybius: "Oh, no, they're very much alive. Well, as alive as anyone in such a state could possibly be considered, I suppose." Tori immediately gets out of their chair and backs away.

this was actually based off a dream(?) we had at some point

Collin immediately starts trying to mess with the door mechanism to get it to open. "We've got to get him out of there now." The lock stays fast, and the handle refuses to budge. The audio from the inside of the room cuts out as the window fades away to match the walls, and Nydins immediately pulls out her hammer. Nydins: NO MORE HANDLES; MOVE!! Collin quickly jumps to the side to clear the way. Nydins swings hard, denting the door on the first swing and shattering the lock and handle into chunks upon impact, removing her hammer in a shower of sparks and shrapnel. Absolutely furious, Nydins kicks the door in as she enters the room. "POLYBIUS!!"

The cabinet shifts its gaze to Nydins, incapable of moving on its own. "Miss Darbos; it has been far too long."

Across from the arcade cabinet and the table and chairs, Tori is lying on the floor, hunched over their amulet as they breathe heavily. Collin runs toward him and practically slides down to his level, placing one hand on his shoulder while reaching for the amulet with the other to check its state. "You're okay, I'm here. Let me help you, please..." alienrabitt: N-no; no, no, no, this...please, don't... Nydins: What the hell did you do to him?! Polybius: He was clearly bothered by the state the others were in; I simply made things a bit easier. Nothing to be concerned about; he's absolutely still alright. I wouldn't kill anyone that has been so kind to me; you of all people should know... Still trying to get a look at the amulet, Collin shoots a glance at the arcade cabinet. "You call this alright? What. Did you do?"

Polybius: Oh Collin; why are you always so concerned about matters that don't involve you whatsoever? You cannot help him; this isn't even a problem as much at is returning something that was once lost. I suppose the concept of 'pay it forward' might be a bit lost on your group, though. alienrabitt: ...Do you ever...shut the hell up? God; all this time...and you're still just as annoying.... Collin: Tori, what did he do? I can't help if I don't know what to fix! Slowly, Tori pushes himself in a seated position, though the markings on his face and the colors of his eyes make him instantly recognizable as the opposite Tori. "I'm...fine. I just don't think I should be here."

Polybius: But it's all you ever wanted, isn't it? To come home? 2ri: It's not home if it belongs to somebody else!! I can't just take somebody's life over!! Polybius: Oh, who said you were replacing him? Certainly I wouldn't leave you to your lonesome; and you've never been the bad guy, have you? Collin: Wh-What the hell is that supposed to mean? 2ri: ...Did you move all of us?! Polybius: Oh, no, no; that would be too much effort. Only the few that were really in anyone's way; you understand, don't you? The role you fill, it's over. Your job is done; you are unwanted. This is strictly catch and release; you're just going to have to figure out what to do from here on your own. 2ri: W-wait, you can't leave us here; there won't be anybody left who-- you know who we are, you can't just-- Polybius' screen cuts off, and the machine itself simply fades away. 2ri: P-Polybius!! POLYBIUS!!

Nydins: He ran away? But to where...? 2ri: Ugh...he just went back home; there's nothing I can do about that and he knew it... Collin: But... what about Tori? How do I...? 2ri: Uh...he's still here, he's just...not out? Look, this is...um. Well, I don't wanna make it sound like a problem, it's not. There's just the three of us here anyway; so in comparison, it's actually not that bad, I guess? Collin:  I... don't understand. What do you mean "the three of us"? 2ri: Man, uh....oh, duh; we're a Hermes now; lemme just...

He creates two mockup dolls with small, glass balls in their hands containing light similar to that of Tori's light-based form and places both of them on either side of himself. Instantly, both of them shift to reveal Tori and...some sort of bipedal, blue and white cat with elongated ears and two tails. alienrabitt: What the hell just happened?! 2ri: Polybius kicked us out of our house and now we're stuck with you. ???: Oh, that's not so bad! I mean, it's bad, but compared to all the other stuff we were going through, this is gonna be like, a birthday party! Well, I guess my birthday was coming up... 2ri: Yeah, happy fucking birthday, Felix; all your family and friends are stuck with a killer arcade cabinet that's gonna take over our life and probably hurt everyone you ever cared about. alienrabitt: Hey, please don't fight...it's not his fault, right? 2ri: Oh no, all of this is his fault; just look at his stupid, smug little cat face; he's gonna jump out of his shitty fur with all that excitement; he couldn't ask for a better opportunity. Collin: What the hell is going on here... Felix: Oh my god, we're here though!! Man, I can't wait for Demo to punch me in my stupid face in person. 2ri: Great, we can take turns! Wanna answer his question? Felix: Why do I have to do it; he's your boyfriend! alienrabitt: Uh, no, wrong me. Felix: Does it really matter which one of you it really is now? You're both the same person, it's just that his tone is a little more serious and he talks a little lower. 2ri: Can you please just focus for 5 seconds?! Felix: I guess!! Um, okay; so, wow, this is really embarrassing, uh-- 2ri: This is it, this is who I was bodyguarding. I fucked up, obviously; got caught; we were experimented on; now we're here. Collin: O-okay... Experimented on how? 2ri: He caught the both of us and did something fucky with us so he could get out; I don't really remember 'cause I wasn't really conscious for it.

“something fucky;” do you always have such a way with words?

Felix: Yeah, I lost about a week or two; fronted to cry for like, maybe two days, and now I'm here. I have no idea what's going on; is /this/ that weird white room I saw you in a while back? 2ri: YOU KNEW HE HAD ME AND YOU DIDN'T SEND ANYBODY TO HELP?! Felix: I thought it was just a dream!! How was I supposed to know you were trying to call for help?! alienrabitt: Wait, he did all that stuff here?? Felix: Yes and no, this room's basically some kind of 'bridge.' 2ri: You just...let this happen, I still can't get over that... Collin: Let's... not focus on that for now. What're we supposed to do now? We need to get you two back to where you came from, right? Felix: I mean, yeah, but you can't really go to a concept. I'm guessing it's gonna take some weird magic stuff or something to get back home. I just hope that creep stays away from the kids... 2ri: He's a fucking video game cabinet; the kids are gonna go first!! Felix: Well, actually we went first! This other Tori rapidly starts looking like they're inches away from just snapping this cat's neck. Collin puts his hands to his temples. "Ugh, I'm gonna get a headache..." Nydins: This all seems very urgent, but if you came from a concept, you...probably won't be going home any time soon. Felix: Well, concept is the wrong word; we came from uh...a problem, I guess? A lot of problems; really big ones; all happening back to back. All these really big problems really screwed up one person, so we all showed up to try and help! But obviously not all of us wound up being helpful... 2ri: Yeah, look at this asshole; he got me kicked out. Nydins: So...you were part of a person? Felix: Yeah! But now we're part of a different person that has the same name as the person we used to be a part of. alienrabitt: Hey, I never asked for you two to be here. 2ri: I'm really sorry about all this... Collin: You said this place was like a bridge, right? Maybe there's some other way to get you back where Polybius went to? 2ri: It's a bridge, yeah, but it's only a bridge when both sides are here. Right now it's half a bridge; if we can't get someone else from where we're from here, we can't use this place to go home. Collin: Shit... Then what do we do now? Felix: Uhh, I guess you're stuck with us? Until you can find out how to get someone else here. Collin: Get someone from a place that we have no way to get to or contact to this weird white interdimensional space. Sounds easy enough... 2ri: Look, there's bound to be a way to get them here...somehow. I don't know how, but maybe we can figure it out? I mean really, knowing them, we'll be out of here in no time once they realize both of us are missing... Collin: Maybe there's something in one of the other rooms here that could help? Although I'm not really sure what the others could hold if this one contained...that.

oh no, the rooms don’t always just have...random stuff; it’s uh. it’s a meeting place of sorts; kinda like an exclusive club-y thing?

well, this version is. the real location is just wherever Polybius “lives”

Felix: Uh, actually, I think I know who could get us home, but...we'd have to get her attention first, and I can't do that.

2ri: What? She can't-- oh, oh no; absolutely not!! Felix: I mean, you wanna go home, right~? 2ri: I am not doing that!! Collin: Doing what? 2ri: Uhh, we just need to...god, this is embarrassing! I'm not gonna do that...I can't. alienrabitt: Look, whatever it is, it can't be that bad, right? Felix: I don't know, how many Collins are around here? 2ri: DON'T TELL THEM ABOUT IT!!! I'M NOT GONNA DO IT, SO DON'T TELL THEM WHAT I HAVE TO DO FOR HER!! Collin: I can't help but feel a little concerned about whatever you two are talking about... Felix: Hey, don't worry about it; these balls you made are gonna burn out pretty soon anyway, so I guess you're gonna be alone for a little while after all. Might as well find a room with a door that can still close; she might be shameless, but she has standards, you know. alienrabitt: Wh-what?! What the hell are you talking about doing?! Felix: Who said it was one of us; all three of us are guys! With that, the balls the dolls were holding burn out, and Nydins and Collin are left alone with 2ri again. Collin: So... what was that cat expecting me to do, exactly? 2ri: Uh...well; we need to get home; and of all the people left at home, I think only one of them could really have the power to get here by herself; but uh...man... Nydins: How bad could it be? 2ri: You uh...could you go back to the lobby and uh...wait? Nydins: ...For what? 2ri: Please don't make me say this out loud... Collin: Would you mind humoring him? I'm not sure what's going on, but I think this situation is complicated enough already. Still confused, Nydins does as she's asked and leaves for the lobby while 2ri tries to get into a room with a functional door. Collin: So, you gonna tell me what's going on here? 2ri: We have to get the attention of uh...a friend, I guess; but she has...very specific tastes... Collin: What's that supposed to mean? As 2ri finds a door that opens, both of them find the room to already be occupied by a woman on the other side, who's currently propping her feet up on the table and leaning back against the wall, though she quickly stands up upon seeing company. Two massive, elaborate metal wings float behind her, and a pointed halo floats between two curved, red-orange horns that stretch out of long, orange hair pulled up into an equally long ponytail. Blue skin is visible beneath a brown school uniform as her golden eyes look the pair over. "Well, well! Took you long enough! Jeez, you really keep a lady waiting, huh?"

as if I was gonna write that kind of thing

Collin: Uh... Hi? Who're you? ???: Well, I'm Hera; and you look like Collin, but you also somehow look...worse. What in the world happened to you? Collin: That's a pretty long list... an explosion and evil magic, for the two most obvious things I guess. Hera: Well, I guess bad luck is universal! Ürarara; you really make a mess everywhere you go, huh Felix? 2ri: Hey, don't call me out...! Ugh, don't do that... Hera: Well, you both messed up here too right? It hasn't even been an hour, and somehow you've already managed to hurt somebody totally unrelated; it's like your a magnet for fuck ups! Hmmm, but there's cute girls here, right? Maybe you had the right idea coming here; did you do it on purpose~? Trying to set me up like this; I'm flattered, but I think we're a little committed, don't you~? 2ri: God, can you maybe not try to make this about you?? Hera: Why shouldn't I have some fun before I leave? You're the type of guy who doesn't even bring a swimsuit to the beach, huh? Collin: Look, I'm not really sure what you're trying to... accomplish here, but I'm just trying to get everyone back to where they need to be. This Tori was saying you could help with that; is it true? Hera: I guess so, yeah; it'd be like taking a chain of paper dolls out of a hat or something; and since it hasn't been all that long, it should be easy! Collin: I'm... not sure what that means, but okay, good! So what do you need? Taking Tori by the hands, Hera squeezes them tightly and leans in to whisper something rather angrily through a forced smile before she turns her gaze to Collin, giving a genuine smile. “I can just take them home! Don't worry about it!"

Wrapping her spiky tail around Tori's waist, Hera's wings slowly join together behind herself, and within a brilliant flash of light, she vanishes...

...But the markings and eye color remain. 2ri: HERA YOU USELESS LESBIAN!!

she got so distracted by girls she grabbed the wrong guy

also Hera isn’t really a lesbian? but I guess 2ri doesn’t know that

Collin: ... What just happened? 2ri: She couldn't tell me and the other Tori apart and took the wrong one!! Ughhhh...!! Collin: What?! What the hell do we do now? Putting their face in their hands, 2ri loudly groans. "Nobody else could get us home!!"

Collin: So... he's gone, then...

Putting his arms down, 2ri immediately starts to give a nervous response: "W-well maybe not!! She's an idiot, but there's no way she wouldn't notice the difference once he pointed it out, right?? I mean, he would say something for sure, wouldn't he? E-especially since...uh...there's nobody like you there?"

Collin: Can they even get back, though? I don't get how this place works at all! 2ri: It's a bridge! So as long as someone's in one of these rooms, someone can find them! So as long as someone they know is here, they can come back! Collin: So we have to find someone else, then... 2ri: Er, well, no, they have to find us. We can't just look around all these doors; nobody else has been in a place like this before... Collin: And how do we make them do that, exactly? Just start yelling until someone shows up? 2ri: No, it's not like that; as long as somebody knows we're here, they can find us. Collin: So we just have to wait until someone figures out that they have the wrong Tori and come here? 2ri: Pretty much! I can't get their attention without doing something seriously drastic... Collin: Drastic? 2ri: Ugh, Hera is...very interested in uh...well...I guess just that brief conversation made it obvious... Collin: I... sorta got that? She sounded like she was more interested in the girls though. She just sorta said I looked messed up and then took off with my boyfriend. 2ri: Ugh, yeah; I guess she was just surprised that you looked so different? Everything about you is totally different from the you they know... Collin: I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that. Not everyone has a prosthetic leg and runic markings spreading across their body, after all. Still, didn't exactly do much for my image, sheesh... 2ri: I don't think she meant it like that; you just kinda look beat up, y'know? Collin: I didn't think it was that bad... 2ri: I mean, the jumpsuit probably doesn't help much, even if it's kinda different. Collin: What's wrong with- ugh, nevermind, this hole's only going to get deeper if I keep digging. With a similar flash of light, Hera returns to the room alone. "Oh gods; I totally got you two mixed up!! Sorry; you two look exactly the same!"

2ri: No we don't; I have these weird...scars, I guess? And they're missing an arm!! Hera: I was looking at your outfits, idiot! You're dressed exactly the same! Your shirt doesn't have that ugly squiggle on it here. 2ri: ...Wait, it doesn't now? Why the hell...? Hera: Who cares! Anyway, this time I'm taking the right one home!

Grabbing his hands, Hera vanishes a second time and Tori goes back to looking normal. Collin: Oh thank God, you're actually back.

alienrabitt: ...Yeah, I am. Collin: You okay? That was... a lot to take in. alienrabitt: ...I mean, I have a little bit of a headache; but I think I'll be okay. It's still a lot to take in for me, honestly... Collin: Hera did take the cat too, right...? alienrabitt: ...Yeah, it's just me. Collin approaches him and pulls him into a tight hug. "Good, I'm glad you're okay." Tori hesitates for a moment before hugging Collin as tightly as possible, tearing up, but not yet crying. Collin: ... Are you really okay, Tori? alienrabitt: I just...I didn't know if I was gonna come back...and when I was stuck with those two, I saw all this stuff that happened to them; and... Collin: It's okay, they'll be alright. I mean, we're doing okay and we've been through some stuff too, right? His Collin...his Collin was...oh god, Daedalus was still...it was so bad...everybody got hurt so bad... Collin gently rubs the back of his head and rests his cheek on the top of it, unsure of what to say. alienrabitt: ...W-we should go...Nydins is still waiting... Collin: Oh shoot, right... We'll talk about it later, okay? alienrabitt: ...Right. Collin kisses the top of Tori's head before taking his hand and leaving the room with him. Nydins gets out of a chair she had pulled behind the desk to read the book the secretary was reading over her shoulder.

"There you two are! I was starting to get worried! One chapter later and I probably would've gone looking!" Collin: Yeah, sorry about that. We found someone else to help us, but they sorta messed it up a bit the first time. Tori's okay now though. Nydins: Well, I'm glad! We should probably leave, though; I'm sure this place hasn't been sitting well with you. Collin: Yeah, Tori's a little burnt out from the whole experience, I think... Nydins: I was talking about you; not him. Collin: Oh, I... I'm fine, really. Nydins: Even with all these white walls? We've been here a while... Collin: It doesn't quite feel the same, even if it does put me a little on edge. Keep me in here for a month and we might start having problems, but I'll live for now. Nydins: That's fair. I was just a little worried about that.

She starts heading back for the IT. Collin moves to put an arm around Tori's shoulder and follows after her. Returning to the console room, Demo is still waiting for everybody. Demo: So, how was it? Collin: I wouldn't recommend it, frankly. alienrabitt: It was...definitely otherworldly; I'll leave it at that. Demo: Not a fun time, huh? Hopefully the next place we wind up at is a little less...whatever happened.

so as weird as this was; it’s still canon, it’s just probably more filler-y than anything; I doubt we’ll ever have anybody blatantly show up as themselves again besides maybe 2ri

I have a few ideas about what we could do next, but I can’t give any deets yet!