#It has been going...interestingly while wearing my backups

[sysig]

Plateau, crescendo

[jaybug-jabbers]

Pokemon Gold/Silver Beta Pokemon: The April 2020 Leak

Look, 2020 was a rough year. So maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that the April 2020 Gold/Silver source code leak flew almost entirely under my radar. If you Google about it, you’re find it’s very rare for news outlets to cover it. This is probably because many folks are hesitant to cover leaks. Also, the US was warming up to a truly awful pandemic around that point, not to mention other civil unrest, so it’s no surprise some people were a tad distracted. 

But the fact is, another leak turned up in April of last year, following a recent trend of huge Nintendo leaks. And this one was a doozy. I’ve only truly realized its full extent in the past few days. As such, I’d like to do a post that covers some of the new information. In particular, I’m focusing on beta pokemon that were cut or heavily reworked.

Now, back in 2018, the Spaceworld ‘97 Pokemon Gold/Silver Demo was leaked online. I made a post about some of my favorites. So, from this leak, we already knew of a while slew of beta pokemon. However, as it turns out, there were still more new faces to find-- and a lot of them! I list 45 new beta pokemon here, in fact!

In the April 2020 leak, several sprite sets were found as internal files, each at different phases of game production. The sprite sets were dated May 6, 1998, June 13, 1999, June 21, 1999, and September 17, 1999. The August 17, 1999 Spaceworld ‘99 Demo build was also found, so we have information on that as well.

Essentially, if you want to see this information at The Cutting Room Floor, then head to this page for the sprites discovered as internal backups/sprite banks. Head to this page for the Spaceworld ‘99 demo information page. And, if you need a refresher for the older leak, you can go to this page for the Spaceworld ‘97 demo build.

For this post, we will focus on the May 6, ‘98 set of sprites, which contain the vast majority of new faces. So, without further ado, onward to the pokemon!

(#300) Kokopelli Pokemon/Celebi

(May 6, ‘98)       (Spaceworld ‘99 Demo)

This first pair of sprites looks very much like Kokopelli, a fertility deity of some Native American cultures. This deity can be seen in ancient Native American petroglyphs, as a humpbacked flute player with feathers on the head. Surprisingly, we find that Celebi in the Spaceworld ‘99 Demo seems to be an updated version of this design, making Celebi’s design origins much different than expected. However, its fertility diety inspiration is still somewhat apparant in the modern Celebi, as a creature that causes plant life to flourish.

(#301) Eel Pokemon

While the sprite files did not reveal a name or other data, this eel’s sprites were numbered right beside the Gurotesu (Grotess) and Ikari (Anchorage) sprites, suggesting it once was the start of their evolution chain. 

(#304) Fire Fox Pokemon

This little fellow is a fox that seems to have a fiery tail. It’s possible this fire fox was inspired by kitsune (just as Vulpix/Ninetails were) and that it was later redesigned as Fennekin. 

(#305 - 308) Snow Bunny Evolution Line

These four pokemon seem to belong to the same evolutionary line. The second one seems to based on the Yuki Usagi, a ‘Snow Bunny.’ In Japan, these cute little critters are made in the snow (using leaves for the ears). They also sometimes make these Yuki Usagi as little marshmallow or mochi treats. So this pokemon line could be inspired by either of these. Considering the leaves and the snow, I would guess these would have been Grass/Ice. 

(#309) Elephant Pokemon

You might wonder if this chonky boy-- looking tough with horns on his head and back-- was an early version of Donphan, but Donphan and Phanpy were present in the Spaceworld ‘97 demo. Indeed, this elephant and Phanpy/Donphan both exist in the same set of sprites from May ‘98, so it was simply a case of two types of elephants. This pokemon also calls to mind a glimpse of a cut beta pokemon we saw from Generation 1 (from ‘Satoshi Tajiri: The Man Who Made Pokémon’):

Same fierce eyes, at any rate! Alas, these both never saw the light of day. However, it’s possible this elephant was reworked into Piloswine, which is not in the May ‘98 collection but does appear in the June 13 ‘99 collection (although Swinub is absent). While Piloswine and Swinub are more akin to wild boars, there is also some relation to mammoths (an inspiration more heavily leaned on with Mammoswine in later games). Then again, there’s another pokemon you’ll see a little further down this list that might have inspired Piloswine instead.

(#311) Natu/Xatu Mid-Evolution

What is clearly a mid-evolution (its file number sits between the two). Has a peacock-like tail. Honestly, I think this works really good as a mid-evolution, and I don’t know why it was cut. I want to name it “Watu.”

(#313) Drunk Kiwi Pokemon

This one is just hilarious to look at. It appears to probably be a kiwi-bird? A very crazy-eyed, loopy one. I can see why this one was cut. The goofy, simple design kind of looks like a knockoff cartoon character for children. 

(#314) Scorpion Pokemon

A pretty badass-looking scorpion, although a rather basic design. I dig the funky head, though. It seems like it has a single, beady eye and is rather menacing. This pokemon may have been later reworked into Gligar, a pokemon that first appears after this sprite set, in the June 13 ‘99 group:

Admittedly this is rather different from the Gligar we know, but it is an early design.

Or, who knows-- maybe this little fellah was later reworked into Skorupi. (If so, it’s a shame, as I don’t dig the weird accordian-like design of its limbs and its evolution.)

(#315) Quail Pokemon

A pudgey little quail pokemon. Doesn’t seem related to the kiwi pokemon. It’s a very cute little thing, and has lots of potential to evolve into something interesting, but it seems they scrapped it pretty quickly.

(#316) Music Note Bird Pokemon

Although these sprites are numbered right after the quail, and they are both birds, the designs are very different, so they seem unrelated. It seems the beta pokemon were simply blessed with a lot of birds. This little bird is in the shape of a clef, giving this bird a musical theme. It seems very likely it was later reworked into Chatot, a bird with a music-note shaped head and metronome tail.

(#319) Boar Pokemon

A cute, grumpy little boar with antlers. Probably what eventually led to Piloswine found in the June 13 ‘99 group. A bit of a shame, in my mind, as I kind of prefer this design.

(#325) Spikey Dog Pokemon

The curious thing is that this dog looks very similar to “Pudi,” a pokemon we saw in the Spaceworld ‘97 demo, which was intended to be a pre-evolution of Growlithe. But Pudi is also in this same collection of sprites!

Perhaps they were toying with the idea of re-designing Pudi (and had already scrapped a bunch of baby pokemon) and just hadn’t bothered to remove the old Pudi yet. It’s hard to say. Ultimately, these both were scrapped, but at least we still have Subbull/Granbull.

(#331) Yūrei Ghost Pokemon

This little ghost has two things that are common in Japanese folklore: the hitaikakushi (the white cloth headband it wears) and the two little balls of fire called hitodama. It is unknown why this ghost pokemon was scrapped, but perhaps they thought the little fellow wouldn’t translate well overseas? 

(#344) Viking Ship Pokemon

Look at this beauty! A pokemon based off some sort of Viking ship. I absolutely adore this one. It’s creative and charming. I hope to see it in the future.

(#349) Wooly Dog Pokemon

This canine-like creature is fluffy as all out. Honestly I think it’s a tad odd, with how tangled and disheveled its fur looks. I can’t help but compare it to the early desings of the three Legendary Beasts, since they also are very canine-like:

These three designs are present in this same May 6, 98′ sprite collection as the representations of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Were they possibly playing with a different design idea for the Legendary Beasts? Perhaps Suicune. The Wooly Dog is just such an imposing sprite, that I can’t help but wonder. All pure speculation, of course. 

(#350) Rabbit Pokemon

This rabbit has a rather intense look about him, and it makes me curious what the ideas were behind it. TCRF suggests it’s a possible pikachu clone.

(#351) Snake Pokemon

This cute little worm or snake seems to be wearing a feather headdress, suggesting its design may also be Native American inspired, like the Natu line. On the other hand, this could be inspired by Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent deity in Aztec culture. I would have loved to see this little guy’s evolutions.

(#352) Scarecrow Bird

A bird with a hat that kind of looks like a scarecrow. Honestly, it’s a super-cute idea.

(#353) Gargoyle Pokemon

This crouching beastie sort of looks like a gargoyle with a long, sharp tail. I can’t quite tell if those bits on the side are little wings or just a part of its legs. It would be interesting to see this creature standing in a different position-- I feel like that would give us a better understanding of what it looks like. Interestingly, there are striking similarities with Aerodactyl:

I wonder why they are so similar?

(#354 - 356) Manbō Evolution Family

The first of these three fishies was someone we already met in the Spaceworld ‘97 demo-- it was named ‘Manbō 1.′ In the demo, it evolved into  Ikari (Anchorage) and then Gurotesu (Grotess). It seems it’s now been split off from those and given a new evolution family here. While I find that neat, and I quite like the expressions on these fish, they are admittedly a little bland. 

(#360) Flying Squirrel(?) Pokemon

TCRF guesses this is a flying squirrel, and it seems to be wearing a sheathed sword. Not sure about the headgear it’s sporting. Is that a ninja star? 

(#364) Early Cyndaquil

So, this May 6, ‘98 collection is really exciting. The original Gold/Silver fire starter line we saw in Spaceworld ‘97 (Honooguma’s line) is still present in this collection (as is the water-type ‘Cruz’ line and Chikorita’s line). So, what we have here seems to be an early Cyndaquil before they decided to turn it into a fire type and make it the fire starter! In fact, those spikes might even be icicles (like Alolan Sandslash), for all we know. If so, Cyndaquil’s typing pulled a 180.

(#377) Early Furret?

Possibly an early Furret. Looks pretty awkward, not gonna lie; I’m glad it was probably refined into modern Furret, with more body definition between the head and tail.

(#378) Stork Pokemon

It’s a stork, based on the myth of where babies come from. A cute idea, although its curly ‘hair’ looks a little funny to me. 

(#380) Squid Pokemon

A squid with drills for its mantle and arms. Since that’s kinda Beedrill’s thing, I’m glad they scrapped the idea. The backsprite lacks drills so it’s probably from a different design stage. 

(#382 - 383) Early Burmy/Pineco

Burmy/Wormadam/Mothim is based off the bagworm. Bagworms are grubs that use silk and lots of bits of leaves, bark and other objects to create a camouflaged cocoon. When they turn into adults, some species of female bagworms just look like their larval stage, while the males turn into winged moths. That is why Burmy/Wormadam/Mothim have their unique evolution situation. Clearly, these two beta pokemon are playing around with the bagworm idea. They probably went on to inspire both Pineco (another pokemon based on bagworms!) and the Burmy line in gen 4.

(#386) Koala Pokemon

It’s so cool to see they were thinking about a koala pokemon this early. We would not finally get one until gen 7′s Komala.

(#387) Tanuki Pokemon

A Tanuki that is carrying campfire kindling on his back, but the kindling has caught fire. Apparently based on the Kachi-Kachi Yama folktale, which is a surprisingly violent story, but I suppose folktales often are. Who knows why it was cut, but Sentret is the closest thing we have to a tanuki pokemon for now.

(#392) Megaphone(?) Bird Pokemon

Yet another bird pokemon! There sure were a lot of beta birds. This one appears to have a megaphone-shaped beak. Or, possibly, its head is shaped like a gas mask (the strange eyes seem  to support this idea). Honestly I really dig the look of this one.

(#397) Frog Pokemon

It’s tough to tell but it has a small horn on its head. It has a long tongue and is probably shouting “ribbithhhhhh!” It’s cute, but a little plain.

(#400) Tiny Hippo Pokemon

Look at this little weirdo. I think it’s a tiny hippo? With a mohawk and a big grin and wild eyes. It doesn’t really seem to have a head, its mouth/eyes/ears are just stuck directly to a body. Looks pretty awkward, probably needed some polish. No idea what they were going for with it, but it’s interesting.

(#401) Skeleton Pokemon

A very spooky, bipedal, living skeleton beast. It has a long snout and sharp teeth, almost like a crocodile or a dinosaur-like creature. Its head and shoulders have bony spikes and the front of its snout has markings that seem to be a nasal cavity. Very detailed. It also reminds me of Missingno, as some Missingno used the fossil skeletons as their front sprites. I would have loved to have this pokemon, and it’s a real shame they didn’t use it.

(#402) Rodent Pokemon

A mouse or bunny with gigantic, spotted ears and no arms. Those are some serious ears; it almost looks like it could fly with them. 

(#403) Fly Pokemon

A bug-type!! It has a huge, creepy face, curly antenna and wings strangely really close to its head. I love it?? But it’s a bug, so of course I do.

(#404) Plant Pokemon

The Snow Bunny was likely part grass-type, but other than that, this is our first grass beta! It has one eye, a spikey head, and almost foot-like roots. I love how grumpy it looks. There’s a possibility it was a pre-evolution for Sunflora, before they had created the idea of Sunkern (which is not present in this collection).

(#405) Ant Pokemon

Another bug!! This one looks a lot like a winged ant. (Those do exist-- usually a temporary thing for mating flights) It’s possibly related to the fly pokemon above, sporting very similar wings. However, it doesn’t really seem like an evolution.

(#406) Dinosaur Pokemon

A little dinosaur-like pokemon, looking up at you. It’s unclear if that’s a tough, bony skull, or if it’s maybe a hat. The clubbed tail makes me wonder if it’s related to #415 below, but it’s probably unlikely. However, it is pretty likely that this later became Cranidos.

(#407) Early Cherrim

This clearly was a design that was picked up later, in gen 4, to create Cherubi/Cherrim’s sunshine form. I am glad the design was improved, because the lips on this one scare me.

(#412) Early Dunsparce

Dunsparce looking quite different. No wings, no drill tail, with a much more typical snake-like face. 

(#415) Dinosaur Pokemon

It looks like an aquatic version of an Ankylosaurus or something similar. It’s possible it’s related to the Viking Ship pokemon (as a pre-evo), but there’s no way to know. I quite like it, though.

(#416) Flying Fish Pokemon

This magnificent beast, this miracle of creation, is surely my favorite beta pokemon of all time. Revel in its glory. You may not like it, but this is the ideal pokemon body. What a perfect way to round off our collection of betas.

[seokmins]

Don’t - JJK

ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝟙 of Physical

"Just be careful,” Yoongi cautioned. “Don’t get caught in something you don’t want to end up in.”

“Yoongi!” Jimin exclaimed. “Our baby is growing up! He’s developing feelings - !”

【ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡⁱˢᵗ || ᴮᵀˢ ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡⁱˢᵗ || ᴹᵃⁱⁿ ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡⁱˢᵗ】

💞 🄿🄰🄸🅁🄸🄽🄶: Jeon Jungkook x Reader  📚 🄶🄴🄽🅁🄴: Fluff, Angst (?) 🌟 🅁🄰🅃🄸🄽🄶: T 💬ⓌⒸ: 3k ⚠️ 🅆🄰🅁🄽🄸🄽🄶🅂: Swear words? Suggestiveness? Gosh idk.

💫 (っ  ◔◡◔)っɛƖ۷'ʂ ŋơɬɛʂ 💕:

I think this switches POV a few times, hope it’s not confusing 😅 I think [Y/N] is an interestingly shallow character hmmm 😆. I don’t really know names for dance moves bear with me. This is gonna lead to a series whee 🤭

“1... 2... 3. 1... 2... Oof!” A muffled curse and a hard thump sounded inside the supposed to be empty dance practice room. Jungkook frowned, it wasn’t uncommon to pass by someone as they left if they stayed a little longer through the half-hour time-slot between booking appointments. But to still hear angry counts and crashes fifteen minutes after his reserved time did not make him particularly thrilled. He hesitantly peeked his head in, the creak of the door drowned out by the on and off music now blasting as a girl once again counted out her steps.

[Y/N] came tumbling down, tripping over her two feet. Again. Sweat coated her entire body as she glared at her glistening forehead in the full-length mirror. She had tried numerous times over the past week to nail that footwork, but today was particularly rough. One more time her mind screamed even as her body ached.

“Is that the new choreo?” A gentle voice asked as she paused to reset the music back, causing her to yelp in shock. She broke out in a cold sweat as if she wasn’t already drenched enough. Primal fear coursed through her as she recognized just who was standing at the door, fit in his oversized hoodie, white baseball cap, and combat boots. Yes, Jeon flipping Jungkook in all his big-shot glory. She gulped.

“Hello.” [Y/N] bowed formally, cursing herself for looking like a bedraggled, wet rat. Of course, most people don’t look too swell during dance practice (unless they were BTS) and of course, it wasn’t as if she had never been in the same room, breathing the same air as Jungkook. After all, she shared the stage with him and the rest of the esteemed members. “Yes, I’ve been trying to perfect the footwork for next week. I’ve been practicing for... Oh my gosh - !”

Jungkook chuckled. It looked as if this was the first time she’d actually looked at the clock and he couldn’t help wonder just how long had she been here - and how long she planned to stay. “Ya know, this is the reason why there are bookings. Not just so everyone can get some practice in, but also so you don’t overwork yourself.” He hummed casually (in his angelic voice) and strode over to hand her a water bottle from his vast supply hidden in his duffel bag.

“I...Thank you.” [Y/N] murmured, grateful and shocked by his kind gesture. She’d save this water bottle forever. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cut into your practice, I totally lost track of time.” Hastily gulping some water, she made to gather her items and skedaddle out of there, but Jungkook cleared his throat, halting her.

“Hey, stay a while. You need to cool down and I need to warm up.” A chance to one-on-one cool down solely with the Jeon Jungkook. An opportunity of a lifetime. “You’re... [Y/N] right?”

[Y/N] blinked. He knew her name. “Y-yes. I’m, uh, Lee Minho’s little sister. Um, you prolly don’t remember him, he’s -”

“- a member of Stray Kids.” Jungkook interrupted, glancing a little sardonically at her as he stretched one arm over the other. “Yes, I recall, he was on the Wings tour?” [Y/N] blinked. “I can see the talent flows in the family then.”

“Uh, wow. Thanks. I’m not so sure about that. I’ve taken forever to learn these moves. Even though I helped come up with these moves, I can’t execute them perfectly yet.”

“Wait, you came up with these?”

“Oh, uh yeah - yes. I... talked with one of the choreographers and they loved my idea. I have to perfect it just right so I can be ready by the deadline or it’ll be disastrous for the comeback.” 

“That’s really impressive. Thank you. We appreciate your talent.” He said, smiling his signature bunny-tooth smile. [Y/N] blushed, even more so when she realized she had been wearing a sports bra. Having finally ‘cooled’ down, she grabbed her loose shirt and threw it back on. It didn’t help that she could feel Jungkook’s gaze on her, making her burn.

“It’s nothing, really. Um, it was nice talking to you. Really. I gotta go now. Sorry again for disturbing you.”

“No, it’s really not a problem at all.” He soothed. “Hey, maybe next time you book an appointment, let me know. Maybe we could chat more.” Jungkook waved his phone around, displaying the digital booking website for the dance practice room. “Huh, message me on KakaoTalk?” He offered.

“Oh, uh, ok. Uh yes definitely.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry. That was a little presumptuous of me.” Warm redness rapidly spread up his neck to his cheeks. For the first time during their interaction, [Y/N] smiled at him.

“No, not at all.”

“Hoseok, you know that one girl who came up with the idea for our new choreo?” As casually as he could, the maknae questioned his hyung.

“Yeah, not very well, but she’s super talented from what I hear the dance team say. She leads a lot of the practices for the rest of the backup dancers to help them learn, almost like a professional teacher and choreographer.”

“Wow, I had no idea,” Jungkook admitted. [Y/N] hadn’t told him about that during their weekly meetings. Granted she didn’t talk much about herself in general.

“Well, it’s not that uncommon. While we try to get to know all of our staff, it’s impossible to get very close because of how often they rotate in and out.” Namjoon reassured him although the two other members of the maknae line grinned knowingly at their fellow member.

“I think Jungkookie here has a little crush on [Y/N]-ie.” Jimin teased as Taehyung voiced his agreement. Jungkook felt the red hot flush make its way up to his cheeks again. It seemed to be happening more and more these days.

“No, you’re wrong. I-... how do you even know her name?” He stuttered out.

“I may or may not have looked at your phone,” Jimin smirked. “As if we haven’t noticed you’ve been sneaking around doing a lot of dance practice when we haven’t even been told the final choreo.”

“I have to keep in shape, it’s better to get a taste of some part of it so it’s easier to learn the final version.”

“Uh-huh. That was actually a good excuse.” Seokjin laughed. “But you can’t fool us. You learn the choreography practically instantaneously... and you’ve never done that before for other comebacks.”

"Just be careful,” Yoongi cautioned. “Don’t get caught in something you don’t want to end up in.”

“Yoongi!” Jimin exclaimed. “Our baby is growing up! He’s developing feelings - !”

“I’m just saying.” He shrugged.

“I’m not doing anything bad. I’m just making a new friend, besides ARMY is my one and only love.” Jungkook sulked. “Stop making a big deal out of nothing.”

His leader rubbed a hand on the maknae’s slumped shoulders. “We just want you aware of the implications. Even if you’re ‘just friends’ as you said, rumors will fly if you’re close with anyone. We just don’t want a scandal. Especially not before the comeback.”

“I know. I promise nothing will happen.”

“Hey, I heard that there’s a fun dance practice that the backup dancers run` every week and she’s leading this week’s.” Hoseok, always the amicable sunshine brightened the atmosphere. “Why don’t we all go check it out?”

“Yay!” Taehyung cheered. “We can see who Kookie’s so fascinated on!”

“Stop! She’s just a friend!” The group laughed as he pouted.

♫ Adrenaline keeps on rushing in Love the simulation we're dreaming in   Don't you agree? Don't you agree? ♫

A step. A twirl. A side-step. Arms waving. A clap. Joy filled [Y/N]’s entire being - adrenaline high as she twirled along to the beat. Dua Lipa’s husky voice boomed through the packed room, stuffy from the people’s energies as they danced. The dancer grinned wide as she stood in the front of the mirror moving her heart out alongside her peers. Each one of them had practiced the random choreo she had thought up and today they were putting it all together.

♫ Hold on just a little tighter Come on Hold on, tell me if you're ready Come on Baby, keep on dancing Let's get physical ♫

She blinked. Even as fast as she moved, the choreo was rather simple in general - muscle memory at the least. Which is why she didn’t stumble when locking direct eye contact with a pair of brown doe eyes paired with a bunny smile. What... what was he doing here, let alone them?

Yes. All seven members squeezed themselves in the back area of the practice room. While it wasn’t too uncommon for Hoseok to pop in on his way home after a practice, throw some pointers, and leave with a bright smile, seeing the star group of Big Hit threw the whole room in for a loop. However, they were professional dancers. They kept dancing - albeit a little on edge, slightly losing their previous unlimited pep during the first half of the song.

“So... [Y/N]-ie is the beauty at the front?” Jimin asked both as loudly and quietly as he could with the loud music. He nudged Jungkook out of his deep catching-her-eye with the girl moving smoothly across the room, in lead and in control. Jungkook had never truly seen her in her natural element, seemingly always so tense.

“Uh, yeah.”

“I can see why Kookie’s so fixated on her.” Taehyung acknowledged, all seven boys focusing on her also, although she didn’t notice having lost Jungkook’s stare and instead concentrating on her moves. But she could feel his presence as intense as if it was just the two of them alone.

♫ Let's get physical Physical Let's get physical Come on, phy-phy-phy-physical ♫ 

Cheers erupted as the last notes of the song faded, all rushing to give their input on each other’s moves and the choreo - and the choreographer herself. Even Hoseok went to join the masses, caught up in the excitement. Jungkook contemplated if he should join Hoseok or the others as they snuck out the door, offering praise to those they passed so as not to seem standoffish. Unsure, he chose to awkwardly linger by the door as everyone slowly filtered out. Hoseok winked at his maknae as he passed, raising his eyebrows quickly towards [Y/N]’s direction. She as well seemed to be keeping herself busy after her colleagues said goodbye almost sensing Jungkook’s hesitation to leave.

“Hey. What brought you here?”

“Hobi mentioned something about a weekly dance practice.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Wow, it was great seeing you dance.” Normally their meetups consisted of a few conversations while [Y/N] cooled down and Jungkook warmed up - quite similar to their first meeting. However, last week he encouraged her to stay and watch as he danced, yet still, knew very basic information about her and wondered if maybe he was being bothersome. Perhaps she was just entertaining him, too nice or even scared of what he might do lest she say she didn’t want to hang out with him.

“Thank you.” 

“I really liked that song, it had a great beat.”

“That was the English version. Did you know Hwasa was featured in another version?”

“No way, she’s a great vocalist.”

“She really is.” [Y/N] hummed. “Here, I can play it for you.” She turned to her phone and pulled up the song.

♫ Although we eye each other You know I’ve read your feeling Don’t you agree? Don’t you agree? ♫

“How’s the choreo for the comeback coming?”

“It’s almost there. I should have it nailed by this week.”

“I can’t wait to see the finalized result.”

Sneak peeks while [Y/N] finished up her final minutes before he announced his presence lent Jungkook a good idea of what their final concept would be. To say he was excited was an understatement. She had true talent and an insightful eye.

♫ You try to hide your feelings You don’t have time just wasting time Don’t you agree? Don’t you agree? ♫

Jungkook swallowed. Internally, he wondered if he was gonna start screaming as he listened to Hwasa’s silkiness as she voiced the lyrics. [Y/N] smiled, motioning to him. “C’mon, do you want to dance?”

♫ Who needs to go to sleep, when I’ve got you next to me? ♫ 

Pass up an opportunity to dance her? As if. With a shy grin, he accepted the challenge. This might be the first time she’d become so carefree with him and he wasn’t about to lose.

♫ Night is passing There’s no point in hiding it So come on, come on, come on Let’s get physical ♫

Regardless of the girl dancing side-by-side to him, both trying to mimic each other’s moves so they were in sync, Jungkook enjoyed dancing. He even enjoyed dancing with other people, such as his hyungs and fellow Kpop groups. But maybe he enjoyed this just a little more.

♫ Close the door of this room Just us together in this space So come on, come on, come on Let’s get physical ♫ 

If only it was just that making his heart pound. Jungkook had been around girls before. While he shied away most times, not a single one of those interactions had made him feel like this. [Y/N] put him at ease even before he officially met her. Even dancing didn’t make him feel like this. Blood and adrenaline pumped through his veins and he turned to look right into [Y/N]’s eyes. Both dancers held each other’s gaze that asked the same question - “What are you feeling right now?” The raven-haired man licked his lips nervously, stalling his movements.

“I -. Do you...?” Gosh, he felt ridiculous. But there was no denying the undercurrent, despite their hesitation, that ran between the two.

“Do I...?”

“Do you, uh, find me attractive?” Jungkook almost regretted the words as soon as they came out.

“Gosh, Jungkook. What kind of question is that?” [Y/N] laughed as he blushed profusely. “If you don’t believe the hundred thousands of ARMYs that sing your praises, I don’t know what can convince you if not that.”

He mumbled something she couldn’t catch.

“Hm?”

Brown doe eyes met hers, shyly. “You telling me what you think.”

[Y/N]’s eyes widened as she gulped. “Well. I - just proved there’s no way you’re not attractive.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He turned away from her, thinking about leaving but she cleared her throat.

“Of course I find you attractive. I mean, you’re Jeon Jungkook, Golden Maknae of BTS. I mean... it’s almost intimidating and unfair how good looking you are. And you’re nice, talented, and sweet.” Gasping more than she would be from dancing, [Y/N] shakily met him eye to eye.

♫ All night, I'll riot with you I know you got my back and you know I got you So come on, come on, come on Let's get physical Lights out, follow the noise Baby, keep on dancing like you ain't got a choice  ♫

With an unknown surge of confidence blazing through him, Jungkook latched his lips onto hers. Nerves flooded him, yet were soothed as she eagerly met his tender, yet fervent kisses. Grinning lazily as they separated for breath, he led her out of the dance practice room and they stumbled through the empty halls of the Big Hit studios to outside. The moon lit their path as [Y/N] led him to a hotel, flashing her card at the receptionist as Jungkook kissed her neck. He remained attached to her as she swiped her card into the hotel room and before he knew it they tumbled together into the crisp sheets of a bed.

“Is this what you want?” [Y/N] asked, cupping Jungkook’s cheeks as he hovered above her. 

“Yes.” Jungkook breathed, ecstasy lacing his whisper. “Is this what you want.”

She answered him with a kiss.

♫ So come on, come on, come on Let's get physical ♫ 

Jungkook groaned as he awoke to not the sun shining through his windows, but the sound of his phone vibrating. Again and again. Blinking blearily, he grabbed it and answered the call.

“Hello?” He grumbled - voice raw, body sore, and not fully awake. 

“Jungkook.” Came the stern voice of Namjoon over the phone. “Where are you?”

“I’m -” The maknae shook himself awake, glancing around, panic filling him. The silence rang awfully loud through the small hotel bedroom. Except for Namjoon’s voice calling him back to attention.

“Jungkook?”

He cleared his throat. “I’m in a hotel. I passed out.”

Namjoon was silent. “I suggest you check your messages. I’ll see you back at the dorm. Try not to get caught again.”

In the quiet of her dorm, [Y/N]’s face was illuminated by the light of her phone screen as she hastily dialed a number. Not even two rings in, the person answered.

“’ Sup, Ugly?” A familiar snide, male voice greeted.

“Is that how you answer your phone now?” She huffed.

He let out a sleepy laugh. “Only how a certain someone looks when she calls me at this hour.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

A pause. [Y/N] knew there was no point beating around the bush and got straight to the point. “I want to take you up on that offer you extended to me.”

That got his attention. It’d been several years since they last talked about the subject and what it entailed - never touching upon it again after the argument that broke out. That was the only reason he knew what she was referring to. If he wasn’t awake before, he was now.   “... Are you sure? I thought -”

“Yes. I thought there were no questions asked.”

The man on the other line hesitated. “What happened?”

“Didn’t I just say?”

“But -”

“Look,” [Y/N] interrupted. “Forget it, I-”

“No, no, no. I’m sorry. Come over. But promise we’ll talk. In person, okay?”

“In person.” She agreed. “Thank you.”

“See you soon, then?”

“Yeah. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Breaking!  Dispatch has reported that Jeon Jungkook of BTS was seen entering a hotel with an unknown woman late last night. Big Hit has yet to comment on the situation.

💫 (っ ◔◡◔)っɛƖ۷'ʂ ŋơɬɛʂ 💕:

Physical - by Dua Lipa / Physical by Dua Lipa ft. Hwasa & Lyric videos ➡️ links will be given under the series’ masterlist. 

Hehehe another song might be added too 😉

I finished writing this at 2 am. It’s rough. I know this moved fast but O well. If anyone reads this, let me know if they want tagged in Part 2!

ezralia-writes June 2020: ♫ Physical: Don’t - Part 1 © 

[meneatyoghurt]

Ok so I’m nothing if not super good at being cynical. And since I don’t care either way about whether Alex and Kyle are friends (cool if they are, cool if they’re not - really not bothered, I want Alex to have friends but I’m not that invested in Kyle being one of them), here’s my glass-half-empty/definitely not wearing kylex glasses interpretation of their “friendship”. I’m not saying I necessarily think all of this, but I think maybe Alex might (at least some of it). I’m playing devil’s advocate. Alex’s advocate, if you will. I’m going to do it scene by scene, so it’s going to get long. BUCKLE UP.

TLDR: They’re not friends, and I completely understand why Alex doesn’t think they’re friends. Kyle is much more open to being friendly and has made attempts to be a support for Alex. But I think they’re getting there, and have the potential to be friends. For now, they’re just working together.

So their first interaction at the cabin, they’re pretty frosty with each other at first. Alex is just irritated by Kyle, and Kyle is suspicious/judgy about the fact that his dad left Alex the cabin. When Kyle starts reminiscing about “the good old days” it’s with a fondness of someone remembering their boyhood - for Alex it’s a reminder of how his dad treated him. Kyle remember this fun jape where they snuck back into the house, Alex remembers it as “kiddie torture”.

Kyle kind of wants to make it clear he’s not the guy he was in high school. But he isn’t really taking complete ownership of his behaviour, he says “I don’t know why I was like that”, and it’s Alex who has to make him confront the fact that it was because he was gay. Despite the fact that later, we very clearly see Kyle in the flashbacks being openly homophobic. It’s Alex who brings up the bullying in the first place - he’s not going to let Kyle get away with reminiscing about them being besties without reminding him that it didn’t last, and it’s Kyle’s fault.

Kyle says sorry, but Alex cuts him off, so we don’t really know what else he might have said. Alex isn’t so much forgiving him as just wanting to forget it all. He’s been through much worse, and he doesn’t have the energy to care about getting bullied in high school. He doesn’t say it’s fine or forgotten, his “Don’t, please” is saying that an apology would be pointless, he doesn’t want to hear it. And he’d prefer if Kyle left as soon as possible.

(A side note that I am not in any way suggesting here that we are meant to think badly of Kyle or think he’s a bad dude - we can see he has grown and is a good man, and it’s nice seeing his love for his dad.)

And yeah, ok, the mystery solving in the bunker is a fun dynamic, but it’s like frenemies, with emphasis on the enemies. I think Kyle appreciates that Alex sees his dad as a good man, and he’s kind of disarmed/shocked by Alex revealing that his own dad abused him. He’s nice enough to apologise for “dragging” Alex into his dad stuff, and Alex extends a branch of kindness by reaffirming that Jim was a good guy (at the same time defending the father figure he himself had in Jim).

Let me talk about “You’re the bravest person I know” BECAUSE I HAVE ISSUES WITH IT. Look, I know people love this line. Because they agree with it, and they want to see that someone (and Kyle specifically) recognises Alex’s bravery out loud, and not in an empty “thank you for your service” way. But to my ears, that’s just what it sounds like. Kyle doesn’t know Alex, not now. We can trust his word on what his dad thinks, probably, and it’s nice that after Alex reassures Kyle that Jim is a good man, Kyle kind of does the same thing back to him, recognising that not only was Jim good but he would have thought highly of Alex too. But he doesn’t really understand.

When Alex says his dad was a monster, Kyle’s first thought is that Alex means because Jesse “sent you to war”, despite the fact that Alex has just revealed his dad was abusive - although he seems to get it after Alex expands. I’m not sure Alex exactly appreciates Kyle’s “you’re the bravest person I know” - he sort of almost smiles but then he just looks at Kyle, pretty unreadable, could be anywhere from “thanks” to “are you done yet?” And when Kyle leaves, he finally lets out a big sigh, letting go of all the tension. It hasn’t exactly been a pleasurable interaction, it’s been pretty stressful, and he’s relieved that he’s on his own again.

One last thing about this - Alex goes back to check the bunker again once Kyle is gone. He doesn’t trust him to be there when he checks the sun symbol thingy, despite the fact that it’s his dad’s cabin. Obviously we can’t really expect him to trust Kyle at this point, but it’s worth noting.

NEXT: in the bunker with Jenna (three episodes between these scenes and the last ones)

At some point, they have apparently talked to each other about aliens (Alex finds out that Kyle knows in the previous episode).They are again hardly friendly here. They snark at each other, and Alex basically gets in touch with Kyle because he wants information from the hospital. They are not hanging out socially. But Kyle is perceptive enough to know that Alex has a thing for (although maybe not with) Michael. How? Who knows. Memories from high school? Seen them around together?

Anyway, Alex is pissed by what he feels is Kyle judging him and defensive about why he shut down Project Shepherd, despite Kyle backtracking and saying he respects his choices. Alex doesn’t really want to be involved in all of this, especially as he’s at the end of his enlistment period (he’s absolutely contemplating leaving the air force, and you can’t convince me otherwise). At this point, he does recognise that he and Kyle are in the same boat, that Kyle didn’t ask for this either. And Kyle is taken aback but of course he doesn’t get the chance to say anything because his phone buzzes.

Kyle acknowledges that Alex doesn’t like him (or thinks he doesn’t), but he extends an offer of getting a beer together as a way to decompress from everything. So yes, Kyle is ready to offer his friendship or at least his kindness, but it doesn’t mean Alex is ready or willing to accept it. He does, however, admit to Kyle that he’s struggling with the fact that the pod squad were listed as threats. Kyle offers him advice and recognises that he cares for Michael, and Alex even follows his advice. So he’s willing to listen to Kyle, maybe starting to trust him, but they are not friends.

NEXT: Back in the bunker

They share information with each other - the letters and the piece of spaceship. Alex is less frosty here, but I think it’s largely because they’re talking about Jim. He laughs at Kyle’s boyhood nickname, but he also suggests to Kyle that his dad might have just wanted to tell him he loves him. Because we know that even if Alex isn’t super friendly towards Kyle, he’s a good guy and he thought Jim was a good guy too.

NEXT: A jolly adventure to Caulfield

In fact, Alex trusts Kyle enough that he invites him to Caulfied. Maybe as assistance, backup or just a buffer between him and Michael, or maybe because he feels Kyle deserves to be involved. He reaffirms that he doesn’t care about how Kyle treated him in high school anymore; there are shadowy conspiracies to worry about. Their Stars Wars/Star Trek moment is fun in an odd couple kind of way but, like their other little moments making fun of each other, doesn’t make them exactly friendly.

Afterwards, they have a sort of parallel of in the bunker when Kyle is doubting if the aliens are good, and Alex insists that Michael is a good person. And Alex is willing to open up about his experiences of war so he can school him on trusting your government and whatnot. More evidence that Alex is willing to maybe trust and confide in Kyle - but maybe only because Kyle happens to be there and he knows about aliens. Who else is he going to talk to? But they’re still not friends.

SEASON 2: FUNERAL BOOGALOO

At the funeral, it’s again all business. They sit together and stand with each other, but it’s more because they’re both on the outside (feels kind of weird for them to be there tbh?) They’re not exactly talking about how Alex feels with his dad in a coma. He’s more distracted by Michael, and I wouldn’t exactly call it a friendly chat.

MORGUE

More freaky alien business as usual. It’s all about Project Shepherd and being a helping hand for Alex. And Kyle is pretty taken aback by Alex being a bit fighty, maybe showing he doesn’t actually know him very well. They are working well together, as they have been doing since the end of season one, but that doesn’t make them friends. (Interestingly, Flint calls Kyle Alex’s friend though! Could certainly be another reason he doesn’t want to call Kyle his friend.)

HOSPITAL PART 2

They don’t actually talk to each other in this scene, although I do think their shared hatred of Jesse connects them. They present something of a united front. But Alex’s “shut up dad” is as much irritation as it is defending Kyle in any way.

HOSPITAL PART 3

Apparently they only see each other at the hospital now. Anyway, the moment at the end of 2x05 was sweet, and I think it shows they have the potential to become friends - but it’s been a long time since Kyle suggested getting a beer together. Alex has got to a point where he’s able to make that gesture of sharing his flask with Kyle, but it’s going to be a while before he’s ready to call him a friend.

I don’t know if I missed any scenes or any where they mention each other. But yeah, I don’t think they’re friends yet - at least, Alex isn’t ready to accept that they might be. They’re sort of like colleagues. Work friends, but the work is freaky alien stuff.

[racefortheironthrone]

Thoughts on Powers of X #5

Didn’t quite catch up to Hickman, but I’m still going to get this done!

Can It Be Done?

Let me say off the bat that I think this is definitely the weakest of the HoX/PoX issues I’ve covered to date, although I still think there’s some useful stuff to be mined from here.

Starting with Xavier’s meeting with Forge: Hickman said in an interview that Forge being in his 90s X-uniform was an error, which suggests that this scene is supposed to depict Forge in his popped collar/short-shorts look before he joins the X-Men, which would make sense what with the meeting happening at his Dallas holographic house. (Although Xavier being in his X-movies wheelchair confuses the timeline some.)

Moving on from that, the bulk of their conversation revolves around the logistics of a fifth-generation Cerebro unit - which given that the specs we get later are for the seventh generation, makes me wonder what happened to the sixth.

Xavier claims that the first iteration was “solely my design” but that versions two through four were “Henry McCoy’s doing.” Is he hiding Moira’s involvement here?

We learn that the shift in primary function from location to copying didn’t happen until the fifth generation, which should give us a rough cutoff of how far back resurrections can go.

Forge identifies three key issues: storage, power, (namely, that they would need “an unlimited power source and unlimited storage”) and redundancy. More on this when we get to the infographic.

Xavier wanting five-fold redundancy is another example of five being a recurring number in HoXPox.

The solution to Forge’s issues turns out to be a combination of mutant technology and Shi’ar technology (notably antimatter engines and logic crystals...more on that in a bit), which Xavier seems quite smug about. Presumably this is due to his relationship with Lilandra - a lot of X-tech from the early 90s used “Shi’ar” as their technobabble of choice - but, given what we learned about Shi’ar in Moira’s Ninth Life using mutants as imperial subalterns, I wonder what their broader political interest is.

On a more general note, Xavier is being really manipulative throughout this discussion, but he barely needs to be, because Forge is always going to go for the technical challenge of pulling this off than the broader ethical questions of whether they should.

Cerebro Infographic:

Here, we learn that the current version of Cerebro is Version 7.0 - so at least two major updates beyond what Xavier and Forge were discussing.

The two main differences seem to be that, A. the new system is portable (hence why Xavier is always wearing it in HoX), and B. it no longer relies on Shi’ar power in favor of a Krakoan No-Space vent. This suggests a concerted effort to ground the new Krakoan culture on mutant technology without relying on outside sources (even allied ones).

Speaking of my earlier thinking about Krakoan biomachinery and cultural heroes, Forge will probably go down in the mutant history books for starting the Krakoan scientific revolution and directing it down firmly biological rather than mechanical lines. 

A sign of how sci-fi this all could get is that he’s accomplished the astonishing feat of harnessing a “Krakoan No-[Space] Vent” to provide “an unlimited power source for mutants living on the island,” even before the revolution begins. At the same time, if my hunch about where the power is coming from is correct, it might not be the best idea to use literal hellfire to fuel the engines of your new society.

One sign that Krakoa isn’t at technological autarky yet is that they’re still reliant on “Shi’ar logic diamonds” as the “primary choice for data storage.” This raises two interesting questions: first, who has possession of the digitized Sinister database? And second, is this the technology that Doctor Gregor seems to have gotten her hands on in X-Men #1?

As with The Five, this infographic sets up story hooks by establishing points of vulnerability: the system requires a weekly three-hour backup and a yearly hard backup “during which the process cannot be interrupted and Xavier cannot be disturbed.” This creates opportunities for things to go haywire while Xavier is looking the other way.

There’s a bit more on the issue of downloading the wrong mind into the wrong body, although here there’s more of a suggestion that it would usually be fatal...unless you have a mutation that would allow you to survive. Dunno what kind you’d need tho.

We also learn that skilled telepaths can replace their own minds with previous versions (presumably outside of the resurrection process)...and that Xavier’s done it twice. When he did that is an interesting question, because there have been a couple instances in which Xavier has had to switch bodies, which may have prompted his downloading.

Finally, we learn that the backup locations are really spread out: one’s on Krakoa Pacific, one’s on Krakoa Atlantic, one’s on Octopusheim, one’s on the Mind, and one’s with Moira in No-Space. So definitely trying to spread this system out so that it can’t be easily destroyed.

For the Children:

Finally for the best part of the issue, Emma’s recruitment scene. As befits Emma’s personal idiom, the meeting takes place at the Louvre, as Emma contemplates the Winged Victory of Samothrace. An omen of victory or of the glory of a lost civilization? 

Charles’ three-piece-suit and Cerebro is suprisingly dapper. 

Speaking of Hickman and character voice, Emma Frost is clearly a character that Hickman just gets on a bone-deep level, and despite all the claims that HoXPoX is all exposition and no character work, this scene really is a tour de force for the woman that Emma Frost has become since New X-Men.

Notably, Emma Frost is here to ask some of the big meta-questions in her usual acid-tongued way: is the Krakoan project “heroic” or “reckless” or “both”?

We can see from the jump that Charles is interested in “the Hellfire Corporation” as “an international prime mover;” he wants Emma as the lynchpin of his economic/geopolitical blackmail system.

In order to get Emma - who’s still pissed about what happened with Genosha, as she has every right to be - to sign on the dotted line, Xavier needs Magneto to make the argument that only he can make about this being the opportunity to “make right all the things that went wrong” by using the resurrection system to reverse the genocide.

This is where I start to wonder about Sinister and timeline issues - Magneto talks about getting mutant populations from 198 to 100,000 to 2 million in the space of a year as being “woefully behind” schedule, which makes me think that Xavier and Magneto were primarily concerned with getting their system not only active but in mass production before ORCHIS or anyone else could stop them.

Emma asks the meta-question, “what’s going to make it different this time?” And we don’t really get an answer - beyond showing us the sweeping vistas of Krakoa, we don’t really learn what Emma saw that convinced her this could work, although we do get the more important character beat that explains that Emma gets on board “one more time, then, for the children.” At her core, Emma Frost is a teacher who will fight for the next generation of mutants.

At the same time, it’s not like she doesn’t like money...so the new Hellfire Trading Company will handle the international distribution of Krakoan wonder drugs with a fifty year monopoly giving them a quite lucrative world-wide market all to themselves. I will have a lot more to say about mutant economic policy in the future, let me assure you. 

Interestingly, Xavier considers the “real matter at hand” to be getting the Hellfire Corporation representation on the Quiet Council (most likely out of an enlightened self-interest basis that you don’t really want that kind of mutant socio-economic power on the outside of the tent pissing in when they could instead be given a stake in Krakoa. It’s all very Hamiltonian.

I love the reaction shot when Emma learns that they want to bring Sebastian Shaw back from the dead to “run the black-book operations into countries who reject our sovereignty.” My guess is that Xavier and Magneto look at it as Shaw being a disposable and deniable asset who they could easily throw to the wolves if they get caught drug/mutant-smuggling. We had no idea, rogue actor, will face Krakoan justice, etc.

Finally, we get some good setup for the upcoming Marauders #1: Emma wants a third seat for Kitty Pryde (no matter what the actual title is), whose job it will be to “get the drugs in, get the mutants out.” Speaking of geopolitics...it surely didn’t escape people’s attention how many of the non-friendly nations had coastlines?

Quiet Council of Krakoa:

I don’t really want to spend any time discussing the Quiet Council here, because we get the reveal in the next issue. This is one of the few times where the whole delayed reveal through redacted infographic thing just did not work. 

Hhowever, we do get a sense of future political conflict with “there is some debate as to whether this council will continue in perpetuity or if some other system of government will replace it.”

Xavier Reaches Out:

This is a bit more interesting: here we see the other speech that Xavier gave, the one that went out to mutants rather than humans. (Somewhat annoyed that we don’t have a clearer timeline on this.) As we might expect, Xavier leans heavily on the unity message: “now is the time to put aside all differences and realize we are one people.”

And we see the “invitation” being extended to any number of groups that Xavier has had issues with in the past: Exodus and the Acolytes, Mister Sinister (who’s killed off the other SInisters and walked off with the database...I guess because Xavier’s message set off the psychic “reminder”), Omega Red (who we haven’t seen much of), and Gorgon (only slightly more).

But the meat of this is Namor, who’s the only one actually having a conversation with Xavier. Namor comes off very Nietzschean, implictly describing himself as one of “those beyond” good and evil, and arguing that anti-mutant bigotry ultimately stems from ressentiment. 

At the same time, Namor’s reason for rejecting Xavier’s offer raises the question of whether Moira fully “broke” Xavier of his original philosophy. 

In the Year One Thousand...

Ah yes, X^3. In retrospect, a lot of this could have been more compressed, if that wouldn’t undermine the six-part structure.

Here we really get into the ambiguity of ascension: in order to “ascend,” homo novissima have to divorce their minds from their flesh - only their minds will be saved, while all that lives will be destroyed in fire and lightning. It’s very Gnostic, if you think about it.

Nimrod really goes into Exposition Mode to lay out what Hickman is getting at:

emphasizing how all of these scales end up suggesting an endless ladder of “self-improving, self-replicating machines" - it’s turtles all the way up and all the way down.

Kirbons is a nice touch.

I’ll get into Titan theory come the infographic, but I’ll reiterate that these intelligences don’t seem to be acting very intelligently: “we reached beyond ourselves to to build a world-mind and attract a...protector...instead we attracted a predator.” Predation and consumption sounds way more Jack London nature-red-in-tooth-and-claw.

Types of Societies Infographic:

Titans being “isolationist” is a bad sign, until you realize the alternative.

When Hickman talks about a “Type O” on the Kardashev Scale, I think he’s referring to a “Type Omega-minus” (a civilization that can control “the basic structure of space and time”), since a Type Zero civilization isn’t nearly advanced enough to fit this group.

Strongholds aren’t isolationist but “warring factions seeking to actively destroy or absorb other Strongholds in order to achieve Dominion status...expansion and conquest are the altar at which Strongholds worship.” Two rungs higher than the Phalanx, and we’re still talking about imperialism...

Only with the Dominion are we told (not shown) a civilization that’s truly godlike. The fact that they feel threatened by the Phoenix is definitely going to come back; Hickman loved playing around with Galactus on his FF run, so I can’t imagine he wouldn’t want to take a swing at the purple guy’s opposite number.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 177: Construction Site Clash

Previously on BnHA: Deku confronted Gentle outside of a tea shop. Gentle sprang into action and revealed his quirk: elasticity. Basically he’s Monkey D. Luffy but instead of making himself stretchy and bouncy, he can do it to anything he touches, including the ground and even the damn air. Deku charged at him and promptly got flung waaaay back, but Gentle and La Brava realized how strong he is (and La Brava recognized him from his batshit insane fight against Todoroki in the sports festival where he broke all off his fingers just to prove a fucking point) and tried to run, not wanting to go toe to toe with him. Probably a good call, because after getting bounced into the air, Deku -- thinking about Eri and Jirou and everyone else who’s been looking forward to the cultural festival -- unleashed his new long-range Delaware Smash: Air Force attack. Then he grabbed Gentle by the collar and flung him into a fucking building. Damn, Deku.

Today on BnHA: Deku has a weird conversation with Gentle while the latter dangles from a construction beam. Gentle tries to reason with Deku and explain how his plan is somehow going to be a win-win situation for everyone. Deku calls bullshit and then lies and says the authorities are on their way, so Gentle cheerfully leaps back into action and starts using his quirk to springboard all over the place Gran Torino style so that Deku can’t get in a clean shot. He then tries to drop a giant steel beam onto a hapless old man, forcing Deku to jump in and save him. While he’s occupied, Gentle and La Brava take the opportunity to flee. We get an update on the time -- it’s now 8:45 a.m., t-minus 15 minutes to the start of the festival -- and then we cut back to Deku, who gets real mad and lifts the beam with only one fucking hand while aiming another air gun attack at Gentle with the other. La Brava is all “oh shit this kid doesn’t give up” and says that she’ll have to use her quirk.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 202 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

you guys. it’s February 3rd 2019 and I’ve just watched the worst, most mind-numbingly boring Superbowl in history. wtf was that. BnHA please help me wash the bad taste out of my mouth please and thank you

lmao oh my god

do you guys remember that scene from Avengers where Bruce Banner wakes up in an abandoned building and Harry Dean Stanton thoughtfully gives him some pants. for some reason this reminded me of that. “well then, son, you’ve got a condition”

now La Brava’s running over from a nearby roof and she’s all “DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT POPS”

she says they’re just shooting a film, and she’s asking him to let the neighbors know as well

well this is the most transparent lie of all time

(ETA: or is it just transparent enough to work!)

and even she’s thinking that it’s probably not going to buy them much time and that their plans have basically been foiled and they have to retreat

and now we’re cutting to inside of the building

on the one hand, it’s a cool setting and conveniently empty so that no one will get hurt! but on the other hand, this looks like the perfect place for someone to land the wrong way on a rebar and get accidentally impaled. please no one get impaled. we had enough impalings in the last arc

Deku’s thinking grateful thoughts about Mei and flashing back to when she gave him the details about his new gloves

yeah I’m just going to post this, not even gonna try and sum it up

(ETA: might wanna think about using a different font in the future if you want to avoid any confusion when typing out the word “flick”, Jaimini)

she sure knows a lot about his OFA capabilities, huh? thankfully she’s the type who gets so caught up in whatever she’s currently focused on that she would never in a million years note the many, many similarities between Deku’s quirk and All Might’s

also, interestingly, Deku is thinking a “thank you” to Mina as well!

because he apparently incorporated her “special dance training” into his attack?? omg what. “dance-off, bro. you and me”

Gentle is such a wacky fellow he might actually do it too

oh my lord

see what I mean

also hush, Deku. it’s called “flair” okay?

now Gentle is grinning like a loon and saying that he’ll execute his plan no matter what. “this is my resolve”

your resolve is stupid, Gentle. there, I said it. I love you but you lost this one pal. stop trying to attack a bunch of teenagers who are just trying to have a fun and wholesome time at school

Deku’s yelling at him. “you’re no gentleman!”

wow, harsh Deku

now he’s asking what Gentle is planning

meanwhile La Brava is hopping the fence and entering the construction site, and this overly trusting man from earlier has been completely fooled

lol she should just make something up. “uh...” [okay, just be cool, La Brava. just pick something reasonable] “...Animal Planet.” [nailed it]

now she’s sprinting over to where Deku and Gentle are and getting ready to film again

lol

so Deku is telling him that the school is on high security alert and the alarms will sound even before he can get in and he’ll definitely be caught, and on top of that the festival will be called off

this motherfucker is genuinely trying to negotiate with him lmao

Deku’s all “THAT’S EVEN WORSE” and Gentle is all “lol yeah I guess” omg

and now he (Gentle) is all “well, so that’s my plan, now if you don’t mind I’d like to get back at it”

oh snap

well at least he’s a better liar than La Brava

uh oh, Gentle is activating his quirk again it looks like

he’s springboarding off the floor and shouting “BEGONE, STUDENT OF U.A.”

outstanding use of the word “begone”, Gentle my good man

anyway, so he’s bouncing around and Deku is watching and trying to predict his movements

and Gentle is getting ready to springboard again

that probably isn’t good for the building

-- oh for fuck’s...

so all that time training with Gran Torino was for nothing?

wtf, now what??

did he just get hit? what’s going on

Gentle is saying “if you can use an air bullet, allow me to counter with an air barrier”

wait, what? so is the idea to reflect Deku’s attack back on him?

oh wait. or did Deku just walk into an elastic patch of air and get bounced back? is that what it is?

La Brave is telling Gentle that they need to retreat, and yeah they really should

but instead, Gentle is removing a bolt from one of the beams

did he do that with his bare (well, gloved, but you know what I mean) hands?? just like that? either this construction is shoddy as hell, or else this is the single most unrealistic thing I’ve ever seen in this manga about kids with superpowers and bird heads and astronomical high school entrance exam budgets

anyway, now he’s bouncing on the beam and it’s vibrating

he says he can’t consciously deactivate his quirk

interesting. also potentially pretty dangerous and certainly inconvenient

but objects turn back to normal given a little time

and that’s what’s happening with this beam oh snap

well but I mean, as soon as you manhandled that screw loose -- did he use his quirk for that? is that why it was so easy? -- it was pretty clear what you intended to do

and by the way, dropping a steel beam onto a 16-year-old is pretty damn metal for someone who’s supposedly a gentleman villain

oh shit wait

damn, dropping it onto an unsuspecting old man who’s not even a fighter is even more metal

but thankfully Deku is Deku

nice, Deku

now he’s getting all outraged and “DID YOU JUST TRY TO DROP IT ON THAT INNOCENT OLD MAN”

oh, Gentle

c’mon, Gentle. c’mon. you tried to kill a dude. just admit it. that was not nice

(ETA: is La Brava still filming all this?? did the cops eventually get this footage? Gentle’s gonna be put away for attempted fucking murder. sorry dude)

now the old dude is finally running away, and meanwhile Gentle seemingly intends to just leave Deku here...?

ffff now he’s making the crane bendy??

and he’s telling Deku he’s sure someone will find him. lol what the hell is he going to do

Deku’s thinking to himself that they’re going to infiltrate the festival at this rate, and he has to act

omg yay we’re cutting back to 1-A!

lmaooooo Kaminari really didn’t end up sleeping a wink, huh. he was so hyped up

BAKUGOU, PUT ON YOUR T-SHIRT!! WE MADE IT JUST FOR THE OCCASION!!

I wish I could read what they say underneath the A? Toko’s shirt seems to start with “BN” (if they say bnha I s2g), but Momo’s shirt looks different. maybe an error though

(ETA: so as we eventually learn, they say “A Band”, and the delightful story behind this exceptionally creative name is the topic of today’s omake!)

the dancing team is also getting dressed, and they’ve got their own special costumes which are cute but I’m not gonna post the panel because Mineta is ruining it. how come no one ever drops a steel beam on him

Shouto is wearing one of the class A t-shirts, so I guess the staging team is rocking those too

anyway he’s asking where Deku went, and Aoyama says he went to buy rope

and now Shouto’s “is my boyfriend in danger” senses are tingling

this is a reasonable concern because as we all know, if you leave Deku alone for more than five minutes he will inevitably run into a villain. in hindsight they never should have let him leave

meanwhile Aoyama is already thinking about backup plans, oh damn

fully serious, if you combined Aoyama’s ingenuity with Mina’s they’d make a pretty unstoppable team. these kids are creative as fuck

ohhh, Gentle was just using the crane to launch himself and La Brava into the air towards U.A.

damn, dude doesn’t even care that Deku supposedly put out the alert. he says that if they make it in even with U.A. on the lookout for them, his name will become even more recognized

what are you trying to accomplish though, dude, in all seriousness? do you know what’s going to happen if U.A. suffers another break-in after all of the security measures they supposedly put in place, and after they insisted on holding the cultural festival despite police objections? they’ll be fucking shut down is what. this will be the third villain incident in less than six months. people are not going to be happy about that. best case, they’ll be allowed to stay open but with a ton of restrictions in place. basically you’ll make it harder than ever for them to do their job, when right now the world needs them more than ever. they’re raising the next generation of heroes here, and this is a post-All Might world. so maybe just cut them some slack, jesus christ

and now we’re cutting back to Deku, straining under the beam

come on Deku, you got this. powerlift this bitch

LOL OHHHHH SHIT

WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST PUT IT DOWN YOU NIMROD LMAO. “LOOK AT ME, I’M DEKU, ALL MIGHT’S SUCCESSOR! I CAN LIFT STEEL BEAMS WITH ONE HAND AND FIRE AIR CANNONS AT VILLAINS WITH THE OTHER”

oh damn. and it seems we’re finally going to get to see La Brava’s quirk! about fucking time. bring it

BONUS: what should we name the band?

“Electric Spark Kids”, Kaminari? really?? you really do just blurt out whatever the fuck pops into your head huh. (actually tbh this is my favorite name out of all of them)

Tokoyami has a fucking obsession with banquets. I really want to know how he ended up latching onto this out of all the “___ of darkness” things he could have possibly chosen. fwiw I did find out there is a song called Banquet in the Darkness which I haven’t actually listened to because the album art alone is frankly terrifying to me and I somewhat regret having looked this up

there is also a band called Ore, though I assume it’s intended to be the English definition of the word rather than Bakugou’s intended meaning. but it just goes to show you that it’s impossible to be original anymore no matter what you do

and then Momo is just... it’s a band... representing class A... band... A... band... A Band? and Jirou is just like OMG THAT’S THE GREATEST IDEA EVER despite the fact that it clearly is the most half-assed idea anyone has ever come up with. she just loves Momo that much. and is also desperate to stop the boys from coming up with any more suggestions lmao

by the way I just want to say that all of the kids are absolutely adorable in this sketch and it’s easily one of my favorite omakes for that reason alone. so stinking cute omg

[waywarddaughterwrites]

Burnished

A/N: So, here’s the smaller one-shot I mentioned earlier today. I’ve had this thought for a while and I’ve contemplated turning it into a longer fic. We will see if that comes to anything. For now, here we go! I hope you guys enjoy it. Let me know if you’d actually be interested in a longer story! It harkens waaaay back to season 8, but ultimately it takes place in the present.

Read Me on AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16289354

Everything Tag List:

@kissofthebadwolf @eurusholmmes @ourloveisforthelovely @pensysto

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

You’d never hunted a hellhound before. Sam and Dean had called you in for backup. Apparently they’d tracked one to your town. They wouldn’t tell you why they were hunting a creature of the damned, but the way they spoke about it and the determined yet somber set to their jaws when you met up with them in person said a lot. You’d hunted with them a time or two, mainly when they were in your neck of the woods, as they were now. Hunting with the brothers was both thrilling and completely exhausting. They attracted trouble like magnets and the simplest hunts were often anything but in-and-out. Things were rarely what they seemed with them and complications seemed to snowball. They were reliable, though, and incredibly skilled at their profession. The three of you had grown close over the years. They’d offered for you to come live in the bunker with them in Kansas, but you preferred your small apartment and hunting solo.

The hellhound hunt was unlike anything you’d imagined or expected it to be. Ignoring your protests they’d taken your glasses straight off of your face and—of all things—set fire to them. As Dean held them in the flames, Sam explained to you the correlation between holy fire and the ability to see ethereal creatures that were invisible to the naked human eye. You watched them burnish two pairs of glasses for themselves as well.

Sam was the one to kill the beast. It had almost come to blows between the brothers about who would be the one to do the deed. You didn’t understand why it was such an important decision, but you’d learned over the years not to question too much into what the Winchester brothers were caught up in, lest you get dragged into their world of nightmares and apocalypses. You enjoyed being a simple hunter. Werewolves and Vampires and Ghosts were your bread and butter. You would leave all of the outlandish, overwhelming demons and angels drama to the two brothers you were working with.

Speaking of, you’d gotten a hell of a shock not long after the hunt when you’d run into the boys again a year later and they’d had their angelic third wheel tagging along. Past the occasional fae flitting by, you’d forgotten over time about the special nature of your glasses and when they’d showed up on your doorstep with a man with gigantic, ash-colored wings protruding from his shoulder blades you’d nearly had a heart attack. Castiel had turned out to be a loyal friend and enjoyable to be around. You quite liked the angel.

You bought a new pair of glasses, though.

A pair of glasses that apparently had grown legs and wandered off somewhere. You were turning your apartment inside-out trying to find the glasses you’d managed to successfully lose. The boys would be here soon and you couldn’t afford not to see properly. Where the hell were they? While digging through the drawer in your nightstand, you happened across the case holding the old pair you’d replaced. It had been a few years since the hellhound hunt. Does holy fire wear off? Probably not.

bzzz

Looking at your phone, you read:

Dean W.: ETA in 30. U ready?

You glanced at the case in your hands before typing out a message back to him.

Just about. Any angels with u?

Dean’s reply was almost instant. Sam must be the one driving.

Dean W.: 2 actually. Y?

You sighed, resigning yourself to your fate.

Can’t find my good glasses. Only got the burnished ones from the hellhound thing a few years ago. Just wanna know what to prepare for.

You pocketed your phone before shoving the last couple of items in your duffle. You used the last few minutes before their arrival to put your apartment back into some semblance of order, hoping desperately that the act would somehow turn up the glasses you’d missed while tearing the room apart. No such luck, and soon the boys were knocking on your front door. You sucked in a breath, preparing yourself for a weekend with not one but two angels. Castiel’s wings were a beautiful thing to behold once you’d gotten used to their presence, but that was years ago and you knew you’d have to adjust to seeing them again. Not to mention the new angel’s wings you’d be subjected to.

You followed Sam out of your building and toward the familiar Impala sitting in the lot. Dean and his two companions started to exit the car to greet you as you approached. You ran straight to Dean and threw your arms around him the same as you’d just done to Sam. Those two had found a special place in your heart over the years. You heard two more car doors open and you steeled yourself before turning around to greet Castiel and the other angel, whom Sam had informed you was named Gabriel.

The sight before you knocked the breath out of your lungs. Castiel had explained all of those years ago why seeing his wings affected you so much: they weren’t meant for human sight beyond special circumstances. They could be a bit overwhelming. Angels on earth kept their wings tucked into a separate plane of existence, invisible and intangible to humanity. His wings had an almost holographic quality to them. You could see them with your glasses, but if you reached out to brush the feathers, your fingers went right through them. You supposed it made sense. Being invisible wasn’t much help if they were still bumping into things and getting in the way on this plane. They were as beautiful as you remembered and you let out a shakey breath as you took them in. Dean must have forewarned him of your predicament, because your friend was giving you an apologetic smile as he watched you. When you’d gotten your breathing under control, he held his arms out to you. You grinned at him and hugged him tightly. There was a comforting quality about the trench coat-clad man that you’d missed. Your eyes kept darting back to his wings over his shoulder. You didn’t know how Dean did it, seeing them every day.

“You get used to it” he had said the first time you’d seen them. He told you of the first time he’d seen them, in the barn with the lights going haywire as Castiel made his grand-dramatic entrance into the man’s life. “They’ve never been intimidating to me. They’re grandiose but they’re an extension of Cas and they’re more comforting than awe-inspiring or threatening, I guess.” You supposed it made sense. It wouldn’t do much good for an angel’s soul-mate to be constantly terrified of them.

You felt a hand on your shoulder. You started to turn, but the owner held you in place with surprising strength. A voice you didn’t recognize, but sounded like warm honey, started speaking. You could tell the other angel was feeling awkward with the situation.

“Uh, So. Before you turn around, I should warn you. Cassie here is a regular old angel, so his wings are kinda normal.” Gabriel ignored his younger brother’s indignant huff at his words. You saw his feathers ruffle as if to prove they’re anything but average. Gabriel continued on, “I’m actually an archangel. So, uh...my wings...aren’t. Normal, that is. They’re a bit...more?” You couldn’t turn around but you could practically see him scratching the back of his neck in discomfort. “I just...I...don’t be scared of me, please. I don’t think a human has ever seen my wings before.”

You nodded your assent and you felt the grip on your shoulder release. You took in a breath and slowly turned to see the other man, taller than you but shorter than Castiel, golden hair and eyes like sunshine through whiskey. You were right about his hand on his neck, and he regarded you cautiously, waiting for your reaction. You let your eyes drift upward to his—

“Holy shit.”

Six. There were six. And they were massive. He was trying to tuck them into himself, obviously shy. It didn’t do much to decrease their presence, though. They looked like spun gold. They glittered as though made of metal and the sun reflecting off of each feather gave them the illusion of emitting light themselves. The closer you looked, you saw hints of amber and tawny and a couple of colors you didn’t have words for. They were...warm. Each wing had to be at least ten feet long and six feet tall. They radiated heat. You knew you were gaping like a fish and you concentrated to bring yourself back into focus. You realized with embarrassment that you’d started unconsciously reaching your hand upward toward them, as if to touch them. Gabriel was watching your face and your hand cautiously, obviously relieved that you weren’t running screaming for the hills. Interestingly, you weren’t frightened of his wings at all, even with them being so much more than Castiel’s.

You brought your eyes down to meet his. His eyebrows raised in silent question and you beamed at him. You saw some of the tension lift from his shoulders as you smiled.

“Gabriel, your wings are incredible. I apologize for causing you discomfort, but I am truly honored to be able to see them, because...wow,” you finished rather lamely. Gabriel blushed and grinned at your praise. You couldn’t stop the thought of how endearing the blush made him look, more like a schoolboy than an almighty, ancient being.

“Well let me borrow those glasses I wanna see these ‘incredible’ wings!” Dean blurted out to your left, reaching toward you.

“Dean, don’t!” Sam protested.

“Dean-o you might want to rethink that—“

“Aw, come on, I see Castiel’s all the time, I can handle your wings.” Dean stopped beside you, hand held out expectantly. You looked toward Gabriel. It was his decision. Gabriel rolled his eyes in exasperation before nodding at you. He winked and it made your heart stutter a bit. Wings or not, he was an attractive man and charming to boot.

Sighing, you took off your glasses and handed them to Dean, who was grinning triumphantly. You watched him put on the glasses and suddenly the color ran out of his face as he blanched.

“Dean? Dean, breathe!” Castiel reprimanded his mate, reaching forward and putting his hands on his shoulders. Dean took in a shuddering breath and struggled to regain his composure, reaching up with a shaking hand and pulling the glasses off of his face.

“Y-yeah. Those are...real nice, Gabriel. Nice-good. Good wings.”

You were perplexed as you watched Dean. He started to hand the glasses back to you, but Sam’s hand intercepted them. He looked questioningly at Gabriel, obviously seeking permission to sate his own curiosity. You heard him sigh dramatically.

“Oh, go ahead Samsquatch.” He mumbled something about monkeys at a zoo before Sam put on the glasses, too. To his credit, having not seen angel wings at all before, he held his composure rather well. He was seeing not only Gabriel’s, but Castiel’s wings for the first time and you could see the muscle twitching in his now-pale face as he clenched his jaw, attempting to take them both in. Like his brother, he seemed to have stopped breathing for a moment.

“Wow,” He squeaked out in a much-too-high voice. “You both...yeah. Wings. Nice.”

What on earth? Sure, your first time seeing wings ever had been overwhelming, but it was like they both were having trouble even looking at Gabriel’s wings. You couldn’t stop admiring them, yourself. They were mammoth, but easily the most gorgeous things you’d ever seen. You glanced at Gabriel’s face. His arm had found the back of his neck again, but he looked more amused than uncomfortable. You noticed he kept sneaking glances at you and when he caught your eye he winked again and rolled his eyes in the direction of the boys. You noticed he wasn’t bothering to try and pull his wings inward anymore, either. He had them stretching out above him as if showing them off. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he’d done that just to mess with the boys. Your eyes swept from one end of his wingspan to the other end before landing back on his face. You met his eyes, which were transfixed on you, an unreadable expression on his face. His mouth had dropped open slightly and his eyes seemed to be burning into you, their look was so intense. You cinched your brow at him, confused at this sudden change in him. You felt a hand tap your shoulder and you turned away to take what Sam was offering out to you.

Your glasses.

Oh My Chuck.

Your head snapped back to the angel in front of you as you slowly put your glasses back on, his intense expression coming into clearer focus.

You suddenly became aware of the silence as your three other companions watched you and Gabriel.

“Uh...everything okay?” Dean asked, concerned at the silent exchange happening between you and the archangel. You floundered for a moment, your mouth opening and closing, trying to find words, but you were having trouble making sound. You and Gabriel hadn’t broken eye contact and the corner of Gabriel’s mouth twitched upward as he responded for you.

“Boys...things just got a lot more interesting.”

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @outtoshatter!

A/N: My giftee’s requests were fluff, action, adventure, AUs, magic, and 5+1. What I offered were: single parents, daemons / familiars, tattoos, and military (which kinda became a police force, I don’t know). I only got 5 in here, there’s no +1, and I already cut out parts, but in the end, I still went waaaaaaaaay over the max words.

To my giftee, I hope you like it. I tried to smush together as much tropes as I could. *huggles*

Summary:  Derek is a police officer, just recently moved to Beacon Hills, and possibly nursing a crush on the really hot, really powerful doctor with the twin sons.

Read on AO3

*****

Wild and Free

ONE.

“Beacon Hills is a hell of a lot smaller than NYC, but we’re not any less busy here. We’ve got the best arrest rate this side of the county and the best officers, i.e. me.” Erica grinned proudly, hands on her hips. “You’re lucky I’m showing you the ropes, newbie wolfie.”

Derek raised an amused eyebrow. Erica was young, passionate, and enthusiast ic… modest, too.

Isaac snorted, Boyd rolled his eyes, while Jordan chuckled.

“How can you be the best officer, Erica?” Isaac shot back. “We’re all new here.”

“I’ll be the best then,” Erica said confidently.

“And Erica, don’t call Captain Hale a newbie,” Jordan said. “He’s going to be Captain of your unit, and he’s new to town, but he’s not new to the job.”

Erica scoffed. “Same thing.”

Derek cleared his throat. “I’m not really worried about becoming bored, Erica. And I know better than to underestimate the crime rate in any town, big or small… or underestimate its capable officers.”

“Good to hear, Captain Newbie.” Erica patted him on the arm. “Now, let’s go!” She marched off, with Boyd following silently and Isaac continuing to harp on her.

“She’s not lacking in enthusiasm at least.” Jordan grinned as they followed at a more sedate pace. “I don’t even have to play tour guide anymore.”

Derek looked up at the sign: Beacon Hills Interspecies Memorial Hospital.

“You need to familiarize yourself with how the town works,” Erica said. “I know FAITH New York has a network of spies, but at good ole Beacon, a big part of our network is the hospital.” She dragged Derek in, unabashed in her excitement and strong even without using her werewolf strength.

Isaac grinned at Derek. “Fun fact: the hospital was built around a grove of Nemeton trees, one of the largest groves in the country.”

Derek followed along obediently. He liked Erica. Her exuberance was helping him put a lid on his nervousness. Isaac’s snark was amusing too. Add in Boyd’s silent demeanor, and Derek was feeling pretty good so far about his new unit.

FAITH was an interspecies organization established to monitor and police magical activity. Derek had worked for FAITH New York since he graduated police academy more than a decade ago and having to start over especially when he was already over thirty wasn’t easy.

“Welcome to Beacon Hills Memorial!” Erica motioned grandly towards the lobby.

Derek looked around, feeling the zing of magic in the air. He could see just what Isaac meant. An immense Nemeton was the centerpiece of the lobby reaching high up into the ceiling, which had strategic holes for the branches and leaves. Some of the low hanging branches were strung through with lights and signs, while a few select ones had dryads, avians, and a few fairies perched on them, talking to the attendants and medical staff below them or waiting for their appointments. The floor was a mix of tiles and forest floor, with pathways marked alongside some of the thick protruding tree roots.

Jordan waved a hand. “Like Erica said, it’s important we maintain a good relationship with the people here. We have a medical team back at HQ, but the experts here give us a lot of insights on our cases–”

“–not to mention how often we have to patch you all up after a hard day’s work.”

“Stiles!” Isaac and Erica exclaimed. Erica bodily threw herself on top of someone. Interestingly, the man didn’t even buckle under her force or weight. Boyd simply raised a hand in greeting.

“Hey, wolfies, what’s kicking?” He was dark-haired, brown-eyed, covered in moles, and had an upturned nose and a wide grin, decked out in a band t-shirt, black jeans, and obnoxious purple sneakers, topped off with a doctor’s coat.

“Your patients still are, you genius.” Erica grinned, hugging him around the waist.

Jordan motioned to the man. “Captain Derek Hale, this is Doctor Stiles Stilinski, Chief of Interspecies Medicine and Head Medical Liaison for FAITH–”

“And vice versa. It’s too long to say it all again,” Isaac said. “And note, it’s Doctor ‘redacted’ Stiles Stilinski.”

Derek raised an eyebrow. Stiles looked to be around twenty-seven, maybe eight? For someone that young to be Chief of IM and a FAITH Liaison was really impressive.

“Redacted?” he asked instead. Stiles laughed.

“Because no one knows his first name, and he’s supposed to be all mysterious and a genius, even though everybody knows he’s a dork,” Erica said.

“It’s hard to pronounce, that’s all.” Stiles gave Derek a warm smile. “And Captain Hale, eh? I’ve heard about you.”

“I assume from Sheriff Stilinski. You must be his son, then.”

Sheriff Stilinski had been kind and welcoming to Derek. He was human, but exuded a certain aura that made Derek’s wolf stand to attention. Even Erica and Isaac kept themselves in check around him.

Stiles checked his watch. “Sorry I can’t give you the tour now, but I’m actually on my way to a consultation for a family of dwarves. Jordan will do a bang-up job anyway. I just came by to greet you because I sensed you guys were coming.”

Stiles glanced at Derek and Derek felt his wolf perk in attention.

Oh.

Apparently, Sheriff Stilinski’s son wasn’t human like his father.

“And of course, I have gifts for the new officers.” Stiles grinned and pulled out a few chocolate bars from his pocket.

Erica squealed and grabbed hers, placing a large kiss on the doctor’s cheek. Isaac grabbed the rest and handed them out. Boyd simply nodded in thanks.

“Thanks, Stiles,” Jordan said.

Derek took the one Isaac handed to him. “Um, thank you.”

Stiles grinned. “See you around, Captain. Hope the town treats you well.”

Derek reached forward to shake Stiles’ hand and was surprised when he felt a little jolt. Stiles didn’t react. He waved before turning the corner.

Derek’s wolf was still tilting its head in interest.

“That’s Stiles.” Erica already had one end of the treat unwrapped. “He’s a genius and I’m not saying that just because he’s my chocolate enabler.”

“We were all kind-of classmates back in high school,” Isaac explained. “But he only went there a few times a week to get credits. He was already taking classes at the college by then.”

Jordan nodded. “Stiles is pretty playful, but he’s an expert in his field. There’s a reason he’s Chief of IM and a FAITH Liaison.”

“I’ll keep an eye out then,” Derek said.

“Now, come on. I’ll introduce you to Mrs. McCall and all the other nurses,” Jordan said.

TWO.

“You okay, Captain?”

Derek looked up, one eye still swollen shut and forehead stinging. He wasn’t sure he wiped all the blood off, but by the look on the Sheriff’s face, he probably hadn’t.

“I’m good.” He grinned through a split lip. “Didn’t expect a duel to be my introduction to major county crimes though.”

John smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Yeah, well, if you’re still standing and you can still laugh about it, then you’ll be able to face everything else.” He looked a bit worse for wear himself. His left sleeve had blood on it and he was limping.

Nobody really got off scot-free after this mess. Derek had been doing paperwork when the call for backup came, and he was pretty thankful Erica, Isaac, and Boyd had already timed out and didn’t have to deal with this. Derek had experience under his belt. Those three were good, but still too new to get involved in a high-stakes duel.

“Dad!”

“Stiles.” John’s shoulder sagged immediately in relief.

Stiles approached, face serious and steps purposeful. He was wearing his doctor’s coat and purple sneakers. There was a heavy aura in the air around him, contained energy that made Derek’s wolf, tired though it was, twitch.

“I’m good and lucky, son. Nothing serious,” John said when Stiles lunged at him in a hug and checked him down for any serious injuries. After another squeeze, Stiles turned to Derek.

“Hey, Captain,” He paused. “Uh-oh, that doesn’t look good. Kira!”

Derek turned his head, lone eye sighting a petite woman in a similar white coat toting a large medical bag, and behind her was… was that an honest-to-god deer?

He was probably hallucinating.

Stiles knelt in front of him, staring at Derek’s other eye and the cut on his forehead.

“May I?” He waited until Derek grunted a yes. He pressed the tips of his fingers to Derek’s temple and a warm tingle went through him. “K, give me an anti-D and a red leaf.”

“Got it, boss-man,” Kira said, handing over a thumb-sized blue vial and a red leaf. The deer was taller than her and leaned its head on the top of hers, watching Derek with brown eyes.

Stiles stuck the leaf on Derek’s forehead and handed the vial over. “Drink this. It’s an antidote. It’ll stop the swelling and the bleeding.”

The vial was so small, but it felt like cold water flowed down Derek’s throat. He immediately felt pressure in his head ease.

“Thanks,” he sighed in relief.

“We need the leaf to soak up some,” Stiles said, smiling. “Give me five minutes then I can get to that.” He turned to John. He straightened, posture more formal than earlier.

“Sheriff Stilinski.”

John nodded, lip twitching. “Chief Stilinski, thanks for coming. I’ll keep it short.” He waved a hand at the warehouse, the lot of officers, and the suspects held behind a ring of mountain ash. “We got a tipoff a few days ago about a shipment of oxyhexfaro coming into town. We finally got a lead and a warrant to search the place, turns out we walked in on a suppliers’ auction.”

“Lucky and unlucky.” Stiles bit his lip, looking around.

“You’re telling me,” John said. “The initial ops team suffered the brunt of the duel. They managed to call backup before the whole mess escalated. We rounded up most of them, save for two that got away, the head of the operation and his right hand.”

“Aww. Damn,” Stiles muttered.

“We’ve got three officers seriously injured, but your first responders already took them to the hospital. Forensics is here, so aside from staying out of their way, you’re free to check on everyone.”

“Copy, thank you. We’ll coordinate with Danny. We’ll set up a debriefing after.” Stiles nodded. He clasped John’s forearm tight, one last show of affection, before returning to his professional demeanor. “Kira, get a 3-heat pack for the Sheriff’s hip, make him drink a bluebell to avoid infections, and wrap up anything bleeding, especially the arachne’s claws on his back – don’t think I didn’t see that, Sheriff.”

Kira nodded, pulling out a white heat pack. Derek watched in fascination as her fingers sparked and the pack slowly turned green. His wolf awoke and through red eyes, Derek could see the outline of a kitsune behind her form.

“Foxfire,” Kira suddenly said, smiling at him. “I’m a lightning kitsune. Wish we’d met under better conditions, Captain Hale. Welcome to Beacon Hills.” She immediately led the Sheriff to one side.

Derek nodded dazedly.

“Ok, let’s get you checked out, Captain.” Stiles turned back to him. Behind the doctor, the deer Derek had been hallucinating was still looking at him. “You got hit by a pretty nasty he–”

“Deer.”

Stiles paused. “Huh?”

It was probably better to admit it to the doctor. “I’m hallucinating.”

Stiles looked confused. “Hallucinating? That’s not a side effect of–” He noticed Derek’s gaze behind him. “Oh, you mean, that deer?” His face turned bashful. “Sorry, Cap. It’s been a while since I’ve met new people who don’t know her. Sira is a familiar.”

In response, the deer, doe actually, Sira, let out a snort.

Derek was a little stunned. He felt a bit guilty peeking at Stiles’ police file, but Erica had confirmed his suspicion that Stiles wasn’t human. Apparently he was a spark – a spark powerful enough to sense other people’s presence from miles away… and powerful enough to have a familiar.

Familiars were formed by those who had the ability to bind their magic into a corporeal form. They are sentient, though their full range of capabilities and intelligence depended largely on just how powerful their caster was. They served as companions and partners, but powerful casters also created familiars because they had too much magic to contain in their bodies alone.

While Derek was busy parsing that thought out, Stiles was getting to work. He pulled two more vials and replaced the red leaf on his forehead. He placed the other one in a bag.

“The red leaf is a reader, shows us what black magic hit you and keeps a record for both the hospital and FAITH. You got hit with a progressive curse. The first vial was a stabilizing agent, makes sure your system is working fine and stops blood loss, and these two will stop it from spreading and help you purge it. We’ll have to monitor you for either a spike in adrenaline or a fever. Don’t worry though. Everything I’m giving you is werewolf-friendly.”

Stiles spoke slowly, professional but warm and calming. Derek actually felt comforted as he drank down the medicine.

“Got it. Thank you, Chief.”

“Just Stiles is fine.” He grinned. “The rest are easy enough for your werewolf to heal. I’ll have someone load you into the ambulance, okay? And while you wait, Sira will keep you company, Derek.” He winked, making Derek chuckle.

He squeezed Derek’s shoulder and walked off to attend to the other officers. As he said, Sira walked up to Derek. The doe regarded Derek with a steely gaze before settling down close to him, folding her legs delicately under her.

It was bad manners to touch a familiar without permission, so Derek settled for a nod.

“Thank you.”

THREE.

Erica made a face at the body on the examination table. “Oh, god. The smell is nauseating.”

Boyd sighed. “It’s a troll, Erica. That’s kind of a given.”

Erica stuck her tongue out at him. “Boyd, you can be such a bi–”

“Cut the chatter,” Derek interrupted them before the squabbling could begin. “It won’t kill you all to be a bit more professional.”

Erica stuck her tongue out at Boyd, only to make a face when she realized the smell was putrid enough to taste.

“How come you aren’t gagging at the smell, Captain?” Danny, their FAITH forensics expert, asked from the other side of the troll.

“I’ve dealt with trolls back in New York,” Derek said. “You never get used to it, but once you smell it a dozen times, it doesn’t hit you as hard.”

Trolls were definitely quite a sight… and smell. Their skin was a coarse grey, thick as an animal’s hide, and they were tall, with long arms, and large yet agile feet. They have sharp eyes and ears, but close to no sense of smell, which was why they often lived in the oddest places. This one was about seven feet tall, with a hooked nose, and green splotches across his skin.

Isaac turned to Stiles. “And how come you aren’t… why am I even asking you? You probably have a not-smell spell.”

Stiles chuckled, snapping on a pair of gloves. “I don’t. I need to smell it as part of my examination. And hard to believe, but I’ve smelt worse.” From the corner of the room, Sira let out a whinny as if in agreement.

“No, you haven’t.” Erica moved behind Boyd despite their earlier tiff. “Because that is just awful. I’m going to throw up.”

“You’re such a baby,” Stiles said. “You’re lucky I always bring some candy.”

Some of them – Erica and Isaac – perked up. “Candy?”

“Not that kind of candy, though this is actually lemon-flavored.” Stiles motioned to Sira, who had the medical bag strapped to her back. “It’s a candy that dulls the senses for fifteen minutes. The lemon one dulls your sense of smell. It’s all-species friendly, so don’t worry about allergies.”

Isaac and Erica each took one… two. Derek pretended not to see. He and Boyd passed on.

Danny took one too. “This troll’s been stinking up the lab far too long.”

Stiles clapped his hands. “So Danny-boy, give us the lowdown on our unfortunate friend here.”

Danny handed him a file. “Found dead at the basement of a local brewery by the fae owner. Nobody even knew he was living there. We found traces of some kind of booster, but mixed in with everything he’d been taking, including the brew samples, we needed to do a lot of testing on his internal chemistry. Results don’t come in until Tuesday, but we thought you might have a clue what it could be. Save us some time.”

“Sorry to call you on your day off,” Derek added.

Stiles shrugged. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’m used to it. My days off are never really days off.” He clapped his hands. “Ok then. Let’s see this. We’ll need a–” He paused and looked towards the door. Sira let out a huff.

Derek was immediately on alert, but when he turned around, someone was peeking through the round window on the door.

Stiles waved a hand. Derek smelled the ozone of magic before the partition curtain suddenly slid sideways on its own covering the body, just in time before someone pushed the door open.

In came a… stag.

After a beat, Derek realized it was another familiar mostly because he already knew Sira and the stag’s immense antlers couldn’t have possibly fit through the door or through the hallway if they weren’t magical. Sira let out a bellow, to which the stag responded.

Sitting on the stag’s back were two little boys, probably three or four years old. They were both dark, curly-haired, chubby-cheeked, and completely identical down to their and shirts, pants, and purple sneakers, save for the fact one had blue eyes and the other had brown eyes and dimples.

“Enzo! Levi! Hello, babies!” Erica squealed and ran to them.

“We’re not babies!” the brown-eyed boy whined, but accepted cheek kisses and nuzzles. The blue-eyed boy only poked Erica on the cheek and giggled.

“Hey, I didn’t know the kits were here,” Danny said, waving a hand. “Hey, boys.”

“Hi, Uncle Danny!” again, the brown eyed boy replied. Apparently his twin was the quieter one. “Hi, Uncle ‘Zac! Hi, Uncle Boyd! Hi…” he paused at Derek. “…erm, Mister.”

“That’s Captain Derek,” Stiles said. “You remember the new officer I mentioned?”

Both boys nodded and waved at Derek shyly. Derek waved back.

“Now.” Stiles had his arms crossed over his chest. “Boys, what did I say?”

The brown-eyed boy’s face scrunched up. “But it smelled.”

“That wasn’t my question,” Stiles said. “And instead of getting away from the smell, you decided to go see what it was?”

Both boys grinned widely.

Stiles sighed, but fondness radiated clearly. “Back to the waiting room, please. Sio, I expected you to be the mature one.”

The stag actually looked offended. He huffed.

“Go back please, or else we’re not going to the aquarium.”

“Can I come with them?” Erica immediately asked.

“To the aquarium or to the waiting room?” Stiles teased.

“Erica this is part of your training,” Derek sighed.

Erica whined. “But it smells. I don’t think the candy is working.”

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. At this rate, they were never going to finish this examination. “Fine. Go on then. But I expect you to be the one to get the results of the lab tests next week and do the report on that.”

“Fiiiine.” Erica waved a hand. She beamed at the boys. “Come on, kittens. Let’s go play and leave your Dada to his spellwork.”

“We’re not kittens, Auntie Erica,” was the last thing they heard before twins, stag, and woman left.

“You do know Erica’s going to bully Isaac to do that for her,” Boyd said.

Isaac protested. “Hey! I’m not going to do it for her!”

Derek ignored them and turned to Stiles, realization coming to him. “They’re your kids?”

It wasn’t as if Derek was actively thinking of asking Stiles out, but they’d seen each other a handful of times around town and in the field… and Derek… well, he had been interested. Stiles was interesting, funny, and incredibly intelligent. He was charismatic, charming, mysterious, and fun. And Derek never saw a ring or heard of a boyfriend or smelled a significant other.

But apparently, Stiles was off limits.

Stiles grinned, proud. “Yep, those two brats are mine.” He glanced at Derek. “Adopted, though.”

…maybe not so off limits then?

“We were on our way to the aquarium, but then you called me so…” Stiles trailed off.

There was a pause and Derek studiously ignored Danny’s smirk, Isaac’s intent gaze, or the fact that Boyd actually looked curious instead of his usual passiveness.

“Anyway, going back… Danny boy, let’s get back to this.” Stiles shook off the awkwardness. “I’d still wait for the results to be sure, but sure you want my opinion on this?”

Danny nodded. “Yes, please. Because we all know your best guess is more often than not an accurate one.”

Stiles nodded and got to work.

Derek watched him, thoughts whirling. He liked children and he had a good opinion of Stiles so far and it seemed, maybe, possibly, Stiles also thought well of him. It seemed Derek just had to adjust his plans a little.

FOUR.

“Living in the big city is fine and it took a while for me to make the decision,” Derek said, watching over the playground. “But my wolf and I have always preferred living somewhere quiet and smaller.”

“Why Beacon Hills, though?” Stiles asked, legs and purple sneakers bobbing up and down as he jiggled his leg. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you picked this place out of everywhere else,” he blushed lightly, which Derek adored, “But I’m surprised you found this off the map.”

“My family went on a road trip once and passed this place,” Derek said. “I always remembered it, and when I was thinking of where to go, this place came to mind. Guess I was drawn here.”

“Beacon Hills has a pretty good energy,” Stiles said. “And we’re pretty all-species friendly, so I’m glad you decided to stay here.” He scratched his nose, awkward and endearing all at the same time. At times like these, Derek saw the man underneath, not just the powerful and intelligent spark.

“So your family,” Stiles mused. “That’s your parents, two sets of grandparents, your six siblings, plus all your parents’ siblings and their families, and all your cousins and so on and so forth. That’s a lot.”

“Hence me moving away,” Derek said, chuckling.

There was a loud shout and they both turned to the playground immediately. It was fine though. Enzo was screeching as Sio chased him around. In comparison, Levi was in the sandbox making a sandcastle as Sira dozed on the grass nearby.

“My immediate family is smaller in comparison,” Stiles said. “Just me, my Dad, and those two kits.”

Stiles had opened up over the past few weeks they’d been seeing each other. Levi and Enzo were found by a fae scout team close to their borders when they were only a month old. The twins were left in a fruit crate with a letter that explained that the babies were ‘payment’ for some life debt the parents owed.

Derek had seen red at that, even his wolf had growled angrily.

The Fae Queen informed FAITH of the matter and an investigation was immediately launched. However the faes could not relinquish the children easily. They would never trade the life of innocent newborns for another, but they took life debts seriously. The parents’ offering, morbid as it was, had already evoked a magical barter. Unless another payment was provided equal to what was owed, not even the Queen could stop the magic from taking the twins’ lives. They had six months.

As a show of faith, the Queen allowed a Fae Friend – a non-fae with ties to the fae people– to guard the twins in the meantime. She chose Stiles, because if the man wasn’t already impressive enough, Stiles happened to be good friends with the Fae Queen – something that definitely boggled Derek’s mind, because how? – Stiles was also approved by FAITH – a doctor, affiliated with the police, lived at a secure neighborhood, and powerful enough to protect the children.

It became even more of a mess when, at three months old, the twins’ orientation manifested.

They weren’t just kids, but kits – twin kitsunes, a rare combination, which was probably why those horrible people taught they would be ‘suitable payment.’

The life debt, realizing how valuable they were, shortened the window to three months.

Stiles said that FAITH, the faes, and him had never found the parents – which Derek knew was a bold-faced lie, even though Stiles’ heartbeat and scent never once wavered – but they managed to find a way to pay the life debt with time to spare.

By the time the twins were five months old, Stiles had applied to be their legal guardian. Two months and an accelerated process later, Stiles had children – Dylan Levi and Tyler Enzo Stilinski.

“Enzo, get down from there!” Stiles called. Enzo was standing on tiptoes on Sio’s back, an arm threaded through the stag’s antlers and the other reaching for a succulent-looking, low-hanging fruit.

“Excuse me,” Stiles said to Derek, and walked off towards his mischievous son.

Derek watched Stiles help Enzo reach the fruit, mounting Sio’s back, and then lifting the toddler up to the tree. Derek stood up and decided to head over to the other Stilinski twin.

“Hello, Levi,” Derek said to the quieter, shyer twin. “Your sand castle looks lovely. May I join you?”

Levi looked up at him through curly locks. He looked unsure and Derek hesitated. He knew he tended to look rough and unfriendly, but he gave the boy a small smile. Levi looked at Sira, who let out a snort. He then turned to Derek and slowly nodded, even handing Derek a toy shovel as he sat down.

They worked side-by-side silently, adding towers to make Levi’s castle bigger. For a child, he had quite good engineering skills. Derek felt Stiles look their way and smelled the sweet dew of fondness. He kept his head down, embarrassed yet pleased.

Enzo’s voice rang out. “How come Levi’s playin’ with Cap’n Hale? I wan’ play too!”

Levi turned to his twin and made a motion with his hands. Enzo let out a whoop and wiggled until Stiles let him down. Enzo started crawling around on hands and knees, looking for whatever it was Levi signed at him.

Derek watched them curiously, but kept on working on the sand castle. He wasn’t quite sure if Levi was mute, but it was obvious that he preferred talking with his hands and face. It wasn’t ASL, because Derek knew that, so he wasn’t quite sure how the twins communicated, though they seemed to understand each other perfectly well, so did Stiles.

Stiles plopped down beside Levi and pressed a kiss atop his curly head. Levi beamed at his Da and waved his hand.

Stiles nodded at whatever that was. “Of course, kid.”

Suddenly, there was a howl and then a loud, distressed cry.

Derek whipped around, a growl of his own already forming.

There was a werewolf stalking out from the tree line.

And he was bloody.

He was stumbling fast on unsteady steps, dripping blood from head to toe, headed right for Enzo seated on the grass. The stranger howled again, making Enzo cry.

“Enzo!” Stiles stumbled to his feet. “Sio, get Enzo!”

Derek was instantly in motion, rushing towards the approaching stranger. Thankfully, Sio was fast, easily approaching the frozen and wide-eyed kit and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt before retreating to safety. Derek cast a passing glance at the kit dangling from the stag’s snout and ran straight for the other werewolf. He pressed the emergency button on the walkie-talkie he kept with him at all times.

“Stiles, go and get help!”

Derek recognized the man, light hair, broad shouldered, and a cleft chin. This was one of the two men that got away during the oxyhexfaro bust months ago – Carson, the righthand man. His business had collapsed following the bust and he had been on the run since. All nearby counties had been on alert, but FAITH certainly didn’t expect him to come back here to Beacon Hills where he had the most chances of being captured.

Derek faced Carson. The wolf seemed to be bleeding from multiple cuts all over his body, one eye was swollen shut, and he didn’t even have all his claws in his hands and feet. His eyes looked crazed and a fine tremor was running through his entire body. A sniff of the air gave Derek the scent of slowly burning flesh, as well as the sharp, underlying stench of drugs.

Derek wasn’t sure which end the wolf was tilting towards; if the wolf had hurt himself in his… Withdrawal? Overdose?

“Carson, my name is Captain Derek Hale of FAITH,” Derek spoke slowly, raising his arms, no claws out, nonthreatening. “Do you require assistance?”

Carson growled and dropped on all fours. Derek hesitated. As far as their information went, Carson couldn’t do a full-alpha shift, but considering the man was drugged, he was unpredictable.

Carson didn’t attack though. He switched between whining and growling, shaking his head from side to side.

“Carson, can you talk? Can you understand me?” Derek tried to get through to him. “If you can understand me, I need you to look at me right now.”

Carson trembled. After a minute, he raised his head at Derek. He looked at Derek with a red eye full of… fear.

“…help …me …”

“Okay, okay.” Derek stepped forward. “Carson, I can–”

The next thing Derek knew, Carson was barreling straight for him.

Instinct took over and Derek let out his wolf’s half-shift. He stepped back just in time to avoid Carson’s claws, but before he could blink, the wolf managed to get a swipe at Derek’s shoulder. Derek roared and swung his arm, managing to graze the man’s face. Carson jumped back, hissing and spitting.

Derek rolled his shoulder. It was a shallow cut, but damn the man was fast and he seemed far stronger than their information on him suggested. If Derek had to guess, the drugs were taking effect.

Before Derek could figure out how to stop him, Carson’s movements suddenly stopped.

Derek looked up and Stiles was there. He had his arms out, a rope of violet magic around one arm leading right for Carson, wrapped around the werewolf’s jaws, around his arms, waist, and legs to hold him back. Stiles tugged and Carson stepped back, roaring but unable to move. Stiles held out his free hand, palm out, and when his fingers curled into a fist, Carson dropped into a ball, the ropes of magic wrapping around him like a cocoon.

Derek stumbled back, taking a deep breath. He glanced at Stiles, who looked back worriedly, looking Derek over for injuries. Derek was relieved this hadn’t led to a full-fledged fight.

“What happened to him?”

“As of now, I’m not sure.” Stiles slowly edged towards the bound wolf. “Possible overdose, but we still don’t know why he’s bleed–”

Stiles paused and Derek let out a shout when Stiles suddenly cried out, falling to his knees, a rope of deep green magic appearing around his neck. Before Derek could help him, Derek felt the sizzle of magic so strong it made his wolf howl.

He remembered now. Two escaped that police bust, Carson and the other one was… Merle, the leader, a warlock.

Derek turned. Merle was behind them. He had long, dark hair and a hooked nose. Similar to Carson, he was almost as bloody, but the difference was that Merle didn’t smell as strongly of drugs and the blood Merle was covered with wasn’t his, but Carson’s.

Merle had his arms out towards Stiles, the tattoos on his arms flashing a deep green. “Give me back my wolf, spark,” he hissed, eyes flashing and hair standing on end. “It’s mine.”

“You used drugs and blood magic on him!” Stiles growled in anger, but the green magic held fast. “He’s a person, you sicko!”

Merle scoffed and made to reply, until his eyes landed on Derek.

“I know you… Captain Hale of FAITH…” he said, voice grating and tilting his head to the side. His face broke into a wide, maniacal grin. “I think… maybe… you’d make a better subject.”

He swung a hand and next thing Derek knew, a similar rope of green was wrapped around his neck. He cried out. He now knew how Stiles felt, because it seemed like he had on a collar of nails.

Merle glanced at Carson who remained crumpled on the ground, eyes glazed, and wheezing with every breath.

“I don’t need that useless thing anymore.” Merle’s eyes flashed, and Stiles screamed as Carson’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell, unmoving.

Stiles stood up, the magic around his neck and Derek’s splintering like glass. He swung a fist in the air, sending something like sharp violet lightning shooting off. Merle was caught in the arm and he screeched something unholy. Stiles swung his other fist, but Merle countered, sending green spikes flying at Stiles. The next thing he and Derek knew, Sio had appeared, acting as a barrier. Merle’s magic shattered as it hit the stag’s skin, not even leaving a mark.

“Sio!” Derek looked back. Sira was standing far away but still in sight, and he could easily pick out two tiny kits on the doe’s back.

Stiles’ face paled in fear. “Sira! Get back!”

Merle followed their line of sight, but before he could see the kits, Derek growled and ran right for him. The warlock noticed him, but before he could attack, Sio seized the opportunity and also charged, antlers pointed right at the man. Stiles waved his arms, trapping Merle’s arms against his sides, making the warlock scream bloody murder.

Derek punched him right on the chest and Sio swung his great head, antlers clipping Merle’s side and sending him sailing to the trees. Merle was crafty though and the man spun a rope, lassoing Derek’s arm and pulling him along. He cackled loudly and sunk green claws into Derek’s arm. Derek was jarred even more by the impact they made against a tree.

“Derek!”

Stiles was suddenly there, physically wresting Merle off of Derek. Before Derek could help, Merle sunk the claws of his other hand into Stiles’ left side.

“Stiles!”

Sio roared and charged.

Derek was an Alpha too, but while it wasn’t a secret, not many people knew he could do a full-alpha wolf shift. Guess now was the time. Derek left his wolf out completely and felt the shift envelop him, skin covered by fur, limbs cracking and lengthening, face morphing.

Between an Alpha wolf, and an angry, overprotective stag, the warlock didn’t stand a chance.

FIVE.

So apparently, Sio and Sira weren’t Stiles’ familiars.

Derek wrapped an arm around Stiles’ shoulders as they leaned back on the porch swing. It had been a few days since the attack and the frenzy had finally died down. Stiles felt it was time to let Derek in on the family secret.

“Remember when you asked me about the deer? And I said Sira was a familiar. I never said she was mine.” Stiles chuckled, leaning against Derek’s chest. “I’m not that powerful, to be honest. My spark’s not bad, but I consider my brains my real superpower.”

He tangled the fingers of one hand with one of Derek’s, playing with them idly. “I don’t know who’s whose. After I adopted the kits, the familiars just appeared and one of them started following me around, probably as protection or to watch over me. People started talking, said my spark must’ve evolved or something when I became a Dad, just rumors and stuff like that. My Dad and I thought it was better than to reveal just how much potential the kits had.”

“Not to mention it’s a good boost for someone’s reputation,” Derek teased, poking Stiles at his ticklish side and sending the doctor flailing about like a fish.

Derek laughed. Stiles pouted, but accepted Derek’s soft kiss. It stretched on for a time, close-mouthed, warm, and sweet in a way Derek had never been with another person. He felt the curve of Stiles’ grin against his and pressed one more chaste kiss before pulling back. Stiles smiled at him, eyes bright and face flushed and Derek had never felt more at peace and in love.

“Everybody decent out there?”

“Dad, you’re embarrassing me,” Stiles whined.

“You do enough of that yourself, dear,” Derek said. Stiles turned to him with a harrumph and lunged, trying to tickle Derek.

John stepped out, only to sigh. “Oh, stop it, you two. We’re back from the store.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But, er… We picked up something along the way.”

Stiles groaned. “Daaad, did you get the kits the sweet cereal again?” He tugged at Derek’s hand and tangled their fingers easily as they followed John inside. “You know Melissa told us we need to cut… down… Oh my god!”

Gathered in the living room were two, trouble-making kitsunes and what was supposed to be two, but now were three deers. Levi and Enzo were hiding behind Sio and Sira, their stubby kitsune tails fanning out and twitching like they knew they were in trouble. A third deer was curled up beside them. At a glance, Derek saw she was shorter and slimmer than the other two.

“Kits! You made another familiar?” Stiles gaped. “Wha– How– You–”

John sat down on his chair, sighing. “She knocked on the car window, almost gave me a heart attack and almost tilted the pickup over with three darn deers squeezed in at the back.”

Stiles kept gaping at his sons while Derek just grinned.

“Think of how in awe everyone will be that apparently you have three–”

Stiles covered his mouth with a palm and glared lightly at him.

“Sona.”

Derek froze and he felt Stiles did too. John looked intrigued. Derek turned to Levi. Levi was looking right at him, not at his father or grandfather.

Stiles kept digging a pointy elbow at Derek’s side. Derek pinched his hip before crouching down in front of the kit.

“Is that her name, Levi?”

Levi nodded. Despite his silence, his voice wasn’t grating or rough from disuse, but his was softer and quieter than Enzo’s exuberant tone.

“Sona, hello.” Derek waved a hand at the deer, who nodded her head with a soft cry. “Now, you and Enzo and your Da can have one of each.”

Levi and Enzo giggled, sounds so sweet that Derek immediately committed them to memory.

“Sona is ours!” Enzo said.

“So Sio is yours,” Levi added.

Derek felt like the breath was taken out of his lungs. “W-What do you mean?”

Stiles fell to his knees beside Derek. He made a motion with his hands, to which Levi replied with some hand-waving of his own before pointing a finger around.

“Sira for Dada. Sona for me, Zo and Grampa. And Sio for Derek.” He paused, suddenly looking at Derek nervously. “…Right?”

And Derek knew what that meant, the gravity of the question a child was asking – if Derek was here to stay, if he was going to accept this incredibly generous and personal gift, if he cared about them all enough to stay forever…

The other two Stilinskis waited on Derek with bated breath.

Derek reached out and Levi trustfully lifted his arms for Derek to pick him up and cuddle him on his lap.

“That would be perfect.”

Levi smiled, so did Enzo who immediately scrambled up to squeeze himself onto Derek’s lap too. Derek fell back, but Stiles was there, arms wrapping around all three of them and pressing a kiss to Derek’s mouth. His eyes were bright and his smile was almost bursting.

“Well, then. Welcome to the family, Captain.” John grinned, pleased.

Derek pressed a kiss to the kits’ heads and one on Stiles’ cheek.

A spark, twins, and three deers – moving here was the best decision he had ever made in his life.

[kiokubu]

MIIKA

Maybe try to take some aspects from his Persona 5 version because that seemed to really work well (if it can still work even without his backstory with Kazu, that remains to be seen) 

His talent doesn’t feel like it should be centered around service 

Need to find a balance between just how antagonistic he’s supposed to be versus slight sympathy but either way he needs to have his whiny bitch sides of his personality pushed back behind the scenes

There’s no way he hasn’t killed people,ever 

He’d probably be a killer, but maybe if he stops being such a whiny bitch with a deathwish, he’ll value his life enough to not. 

Maybe it didn’t need to be explicitly stated, but as per Finnish tradition, he is heavily against small talk. 

SKULL

Is hyposensitive to touch, leading to her to crave touch (and having a hard time keeping her hands off objects). She is often not aware of being touched or bumped unless it’s more forceful. 

When she was younger, would chew on things like pens and erasers a lot. She was also prone to wanting to rough play on the playground, not always very conscious of what others around her wanting, leading to her tackling and wrestling other kids and not really being cognizant of the fact that they felt attacked, not like they were playing. This did not help her socially.  

Really likes those squishy toys and has a lot of them laying around in her room/stuffed into her backpack. 

A lot of foods taste the same to her, unless if they are extreme in taste. This is why she likes extremely sugary foods and struggles with bland food, which tastes gross to her. 

Tends to run more than walk, runs up stairs taking two steps at a time, etc. 

She idealises strong protagonists who can be sassy but stoic and also who are heroic. She really wants a group of friends (or “comrades” or “companions”) who she could trust to fight with in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Wearing skimpy clothing is a part of this setup, too. She isn’t against other females but quietly prefers more male friends because she enjoys being a cute girl who likes these kind of games most girls aren’t into, and being the only girl in a group like that. It shouldn’t be exaggerated, but as a result of that, she may be a little lowkey bitchy towards any females who would get near her friend-group, viewing them as threats. 

Possibly grew up in South Florida as opposed to Virginia Beach, such as around the Miami area (or she could have lived in both at different points). 

Her murder plan would possibly be a little similar to Maizono’s, luring a guy who might be attracted to her somewhere isolated. I don’t know exactly how she’d kill them, but I like the idea that their corpse would be found in a pool, after having been in there for a few hours. Despite appearing like an idiot, it’d be nice if her case was actually pretty tricky to solve. During the trial, she would potentially try to throw the blame onto someone else, claiming something something video games. Once singled out as the culprit, she would start to get a lot more agitated, insisting over and over that it’s impossible that she did it. Towards the end after being cornered, she would start getting crying sprites and more or less be trying to justify her murder, even if only to herself, angrily claiming that that guy (the victim) didn’t actually care about her anyway, so who cares, he was probably just hoping she’d be gullible enough to show him her tits and have no idea what he actually wanted (worded less clunky), that he just thought she was some annoying weird freak like everyone else. She’d say that EVERYONE there just wants to get out of this place, even if she tries to say it’s a fun game, she just wants out, she wants out, she wants to go home, she wants to sleep in her own bed, she wants to see her father again (on that note, would be pretty susceptible to motive videos too). More out of a moment of panic than her actual feelings, she would claim that she wishes they all died, because she knows they all see her as the joke character anyway (paraphased), and basically starts projecting her years of memories of bullying on them. It’d be nice if someone said something nice to her before she died that could help calm her down a bit for her execution, tbh. 

Her background suffering socially should really be fleshed out and made more relevant, especially since years of severe bullying would change your character, so just a quick tour of things that happened to her: had her vita smashed, her ds stolen, she was asked out by a guy as a joke and laughed at by a group of people, generally mocked daily, experienced racist jokes and remarks, generally treated like she didn’t exist and excluded/deliberately ignored, and one time someone made a fake social media account with her name (and the icon being an unflattering picture they took without her noticing) and wrote embarrassing things under it and followed a bunch of people in the school so it would get around. (interestingly, she would definitely hold a grudge over these things and hate her bullies rather than forgive them, but would be sympathetic towards a pedophile who kidnapped her... stockholm syndrome-prone or something else?) 

Maybe this further explains her extreme loyalty to anyone who’s nice to her, even if they’re a serial killer (she may also have less empathy for non-comrades due to her past, further explaining why she’s so chill with it) 

Also likes visual stims, has those little clear wands filled with water and glitter and will play with them a lot whenever she isn’t gaming (she almost always has something in her hand) 

Maybe idolises Samantha Maxis from zombies (background lore, some little girl who was killed and now controls the zombies and something revenge) 

DAISUKE

He still might have some kind of yakuza ties I just don’t know how 

He possibly does a kind of martial art as a personal hobby? 

He’d possibly kill, he wouldn’t be motivated by anything on the outside though, so that kind of thing wouldn’t work. He’d be motivated by getting out just so he isn’t, you know, trapped in a killing game only. But he might not be willing to kill out of logic-- it’s not like they know the world is ended, so couldn’t they get in serious trouble with the law? And how can they know the mastermind will actually keep their word and let them go? So basically his skepticism would be what would keep him from going along with things. 

ICE HOCKEY

He’d be difficult to date because he’s bad with vulnerable feelings, and despises emotional weakness because it’s nothing something he’s ever really personally felt. So he’d basically suck at comforting a girl, being more likely to tell her it shouldn’t bother her and she should just get over it, with him genuinely thinking he’s handling the situation flawlessly. Because he’s extremely driven and has never really been prone to those negative feelings, he really just doesn’t get it, and that’s why he’d probably work best dating a fellow elite athlete, because he really wouldn’t have patience for a girl who doesn’t have his energy and drive. 

If Fuyumi wasn’t in the game, he would have possibly been driven to commit a murder because he’d be very disturbed by the possibility of falling behind as an ice hockey player and would not be able to tolerate just standing around and doing nothing. But since Fuyumi is in the game, he couldn’t have actually done that-- and once she dies, it shows that even without memories of them getting closer, he still valued her memory more than that. 

That said, he’s still really driven to get the fuck out of there, and back to the ice rink. So, he’d probably be a character more motivated to find a way out rather than just sitting around and accepting the situation. 

He has headphones and the only thing that plays through them is very energetic metal and rock. Loudly.

Likes tonkatsu a lot, and shogayaki. He doesn’t like weak bitch vegetable dishes because he needs MEAT to make him strong on the ice. Well it’s not that he’s literally like that, but it’s true he doesn’t really find vegetable-based dishes to really give him the energy he needs. 

Spellings for Shinya could be  心矢 (heart, arrow), 新哉 (new, start),  ��弥 (move on, progress) or  伸弥 (extend, progress) 

One time maybe he did get tips from Makeup Artist. They got along unexpectedly well, considering. 

TSURU

Dissociates fairly often and will just draw a complete work of art in an hour while completely on a different plane of reality. You can get his attention it might just take a little bit. 

He was basically suicidal since like, 4 and would try to bang his head against walls and stuff and also wrap cords/wires around his neck and this continued on for a lot of his early childhood then it calmed down, but it was kind of concerning for a bit

In addition to being denied food there could have been some physical abuse at times, so he would get some bruises and if anyone asked he’d brush it off and claim he’s clumsy but if you pay attention he is really not clumsy at all 

Like I said, he’s probably borderline but he’s not aware of this and if anyone ever suggested the possibility he would not take it very well or even consider it because he doesn’t have any problems at all 

He probably didn’t betray Kaii over a single thing randomly, he probably slowly started to feel like Kaii was going to betray him over the course of weeks or months so it wasn’t quite “oh no they saw my sketchbook” 

Is remarkably very high functioning for being borderline, has one major difference against a main stereotype though, which is that he’s possibly aroace (not confirmed though, but either way, is grey-aroace or whatever), so he doesn’t have the whole “in a new relationship constantly that always ends dramatically and painfully” thing going on, but it is worth mentioning that he stockpiles friends like you’d stockpile supplies for the zombie apocalypse. Like he has a lot of backups, rather than talking to a single person too much. It’s kind of like trying to max out a strategy game. Anyway, rather than necessarily embodying the kind of “yandere girl(boy)friend” image that bpd usually gets in media, there’s more of a focus on a weak sense of identity, emotional outbursts, rage than comes and goes at times at random (often followed by emptiness), self-harm and suicide ideation. Also paranoia and at times potentially a weaker grasp over reality (since Maison’s probably not going to have this as much anymore anyway).

(Actually maybe that’s why he’s so resistant to going blind-- or one major reason-- because if he’s basing his entire identity around what he is as an artist, if he loses access to that then literally everything is empty from what he can see to what he feels. So that’s probably too much that couldn’t be brought back from. Similar situation with losing a limb, or at least, arms I guess)

RURI

Sensory issues mostly relate to sound and touch. She’s picky about bedding, unable to tolerate old and bumpy bedding, needing to to be a very particular fabric. Also doesn’t do well with new, stiff clothing, and is also very particular about fabrics here. She doesn’t always dress very well for the weather because she’s more concerned about these details than temperature. 

Hates having dirty hands-- isn’t terrified of germs, just really can’t stand the feeling. Is picky about hand wash because if it leaves her hands feeling dry, the feeling is distressing. 

It isn’t a constant, but has a habit of walking on her toes. 

Isn’t really a fast walker, gets overwhelmed and ends up taking breaks from walking like sitting on a bench for a bit frequently. 

Is sensitive to noise, and when combined with a lot of walking/going out/light/heat/stimulation in general, ends up with a severe headache towards the end of the day. 

Her favourite food is ginger snaps, and she has a particular brand she buys, with nothing else working. She has a few other foods (including more nutritious ones, fortunately) that she likes, but generally only likes a small number of the same exact foods and isn’t good about eating anything else. 

She possibly commissioned Savannah to make her a robotic version of a pet animal from her world (the Snowickle one). It now follows her around and, at a first glance, is very lifelike, until you hold it, or realise that she never buys food for it and that it sometimes needs its batteries recharged. 

If I had to write a situation where she was a killer, it would be self-defense gone genuinely wrong, as there’s no chance she would be willing to kill someone, or to risk being a culprit and getting executed. If she did accidentally kill someone under these circumstances, she would freak out very quickly after the fact and try her best to hide the corpse somewhere that would take longer to find. Although she wouldn’t want everyone else to die, she wouldn’t exactly volunteer up her life immediately either. Through the trial, she would act as she normally does, but be lying about details (such as claiming to have already forgotten who died and purposely suggesting things that suggests she forgot obvious details of the case). Her undoing would at least partially involve driving this too excess, acting excessively useless and clueless compared to normal. Once suspected as the culprit, she’d try to deny it, claiming that she couldn’t move a body, or have the strength to even injure someone else, etc, but would eventually admit to it (relatively) calmly for the situation, accepting her fate. She would try to take her execution with an expressionless face, telling herself to the then that perhaps her death on earth will be the portal back to her homeland. 

She almost withdrew out of school before going to Hope’s Peak because as her mother told her, there was “no point in her getting a high school education” anyway, and quietly this really bothered/hurt her, but at the time just trusted that it was probably true and that it shouldn’t bother her because of that. 

ATTORNEY 

Is a female now!

Possibly nationalities: Slovene, British, Japanese, Romanian, French 

Might take some traits from Assassin-- not the assassin part but like... whatever else 

Probably needs a more compelling backstory or something... something else to stand out 

MAKEUP ARTIST