#Wait ok sorry I was double checking my memory of some things on the history of square dancing and the US

[athenasdragon]

I knowwwww they have square dancing in Ferelden.

From Wikipedia: “Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances including English country dances, which were first documented in 17th-century England, and 18th-century French quadrilles and cotillions; square dancing travelled to North America with the European settlers and developed significantly there.”

Ferelden is loosely inspired by England, but its landscape, crops, and some aspects of its culture—particularly in agrarian regions—read very North American. With occupation by Orlais still recent (and Orlais inspired by 18th century France), I think one could absolutely assume that Orlesian quadrilles were adapted for folk dance contexts. We already know Ferelden has folk dances from Alistair’s allusion to the remigold in the first game.

[mightbewriting]

So I came to W&H and B&E in an odd way. I'm a long time Dramione fic reader who like many of us doubled down on in 2020 to find comfort in a bananas year. I kept seeing W&H on everyone's rec list, but for whatever reason kept putting it off. Then I heard about the prequel and decided to wait for that to be finished, read it, then do W&H. But once it was finished, I saw you recommended W&H first so I was like okay I'll do that. I struggle with impulse control but am trying to do better so when I saw the audiobook for W&H I was like perfect, I'll listen rather than read that way I won't gobble it up in a day. Ha well that did not work, I listened to the first 3 chapters (at that time those were the only chapters they had recorded) then instantly ran not walked to A03, reread said chapters, then continued on. At Chapter 4 of W&H, I thought hmm maybe I'll read them simultaneously. I continued that way maybe through Chapter 13 of B&E and Chapter 7ish then fully committed to W&H first. I cannot imagine reading these fics in real time because reading them in full, back to back was the most intense glutenous binge and it's taken over my life in the best way. I have been living in your fictional universe for the past two weeks. I started a list of all the parallels and callbacks and eventually had to call it because they are innumerable. I'm awed. In literal awe. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Your writing - the individual words of your vast vocabulary, the way you string said words together into hilarious, heart breaking, heart stopping, beautiful, and visceral feelings is astounding. It's hard to explain but even good writers (and/or an intriguing plot) sometimes do not create an overall immersive feeling. But the feelings your words evoke are all encompassing and truly universe building. Like it's not just the wording or the plot or the charters but all of it together come to make something even greater than the sum of their parts. Your writing, your universe of W&H, S&S, and B&E live in my mind and heart and in an embarrassing amount of screenshots of passages on my phone and in voice memos to myself as I don't have anyone irl to fan girl with. When I think of your words and the world you built, I'm reminded of a Taylor Swift lyric: "it cut deep to know you, right to the bone". That is how I'd describe your writing's effect on me, but in the best way.

Your brain's capacity to plot, plan, and flawlessly deliver W&H THEN B&E? Idk how you kept all the threads and plot points and moments and timelines in check. My head aches just thinking about how you wrote these stand-alone but also inextricable works of art. Like how does one's brain function in such a level? And it's especially telling in B&E because we knew where we were going but I still gasped, screamed, squealed, giggled, had to put my phone down, clutched it to my heart, fist pumped, stopped half way through just for a minute to breath and take it all in, and overall looked and acted as an utter idiot during each and every chapter because while I knew where we were going I also had no idea! I'm just floored you managed to keep us at the edge of our seats with a prequel? Who does that? You do!

The texts in the final chapter of W&H devastated me, literal chills. I think about that daily. It's exactly what H and we needed. Just like a reminder of what they went through. It reminded me of Chapter 41 of B&E. Like a summary of where they had been and where they are now.

The other thing that rattled in my brain is the motifs of choice and time, life kind of boils down to those two things huh? But choice especially. It's funny because choice is so prominent but at the same time how W&H and B&E give off soulmate vibes even though this is not a soulmate fic (also are the rumors true...?!) because despite time turners, breakups, and lost memories, they always come back together. But more on choice: it's just as Draco says - in a million scenarios he'll always choose her and he feels lucky she chose him just once. But of course with W&H, she does it twice. And she does it in both timelines of B&E, and of course that's the problem when Draco realizes he has not done the same hence heartbreak 1.0. And just god - he wants her to have a choice with the potion, a choice with her memories, and stops the timey wimey madness by realizing he's taking her choice (and in a way H started it by taking away his choice and leaving the first time). And then those parts about how he chose her, she chose him, but they could not chose each other. This motif, these callbacks. I'm flabbergasted. It's just hitting me now that you extend the choice to us as readers - we get to choose whether H get her memories back or not.

Theo in all your Wait and Hope universe, but especially S&S broke me. Blaise asking who is taking care of Theo when he's taking care of everyone else? Theo's literal and figurative demons? Yikes. Those were unpleasant looks in the mirror for me. I'm glad Theo has his Blaise. Where's mine haha? Also just shout to your underrated Blaise. The fact that he might be my favorite of the Slytherians in your stories says a lot since he doesn't say a lot haha. But he packs such a punch in all your works.

Okay, after singing your well deserved praises and fan girling and marveling at your works (god this is so long, I'm so sorry!), at long last my ask. I still cannot get this out of my head: what did Theo mean in Chapter 1 of B&E when he suggests to Draco “I know that. Maybe you could—tell her some of—” some of what? I zeroed in on this as soon as I read it and it's been rattling in my brain ever since.

um. hi? holy shit. i dont know how to process this. i am resisting the impulse to cringe away from the level of praise happening here because i really need to learn how to take a compliment but oh my god? i am not...this is just...wowzers. you are very literally too kind to me. i have melted into a puddle of feelings in my reading chair here. 

so, first things first: thank you. these are some of the nicest things i’ve ever heard about my writing and i can guarantee i will come back to this ask when I'm feeling like i suck and need a motivation boost. i can’t deny...it feels really nice to know that at least one person out there caught and appreciated some of the insane attention to detail i forced upon myself lol. so thank you. truly, thank you so much for saying such amazingly kind things that have short circuited my brain!

and im sure my friends at @etl-echo-audiobooks will be over the moon to know that their recording work was such a hit! your trajectory reading these stories is so fun and hilarious and probably the most unique reading experience i’ve heard so far xD

also, please be advised that your analysis on choice in these stories is probably going to live in my head rent free for the rest of my life. i feel seen, you know? you just...picked up what i was putting down and it feels really nice to know that it worked for you! 

and ok. your question. that little dash of ambiguity i was planning on leaving open ended. but let it be known i can be plied with compliments. i can’t just *not* give you something in return for such a lovely and kind and thoughtful dose of joy you had absolutely no obligation to give me today. 

so, in my mind, after draco’s house arrest ended and before he went abroad for his mastery, he and theo had an extensive (most likely drunken. also blaise was probably there too) night of reflection where they kind of just looked back at their childhoods and the war and the history of blood purity and just sort of went: “what the fuck?” i imagine draco probably confided in theo that when he went abroad, he planned to just try and pretend like none of it mattered, to see if that was really true. and draco probably kept him updated via owl (even though draco did not write enough and theo had feelings about that) so that by the time draco returned and we have theo asking that sort of trailing question, the implication at the end is “what if you told granger some of your realizations about it all?” so...not all that exciting? but there you have it!

in conclusion: thank you! you are too kind! i appreciate your thoughtful commentary SO much! i’m so happy you enjoyed these stories. and i hope the explanation of what theo was going to say wasn’t too underwhelming.

[eunsthings]

Museums

Part 2 l Again?

Genre: fluff🥰, slow burn i guess

(Reader is a veterinary student on more or less her final year of vet school who has a part time job in editing and is kinda smol and socially awkward)

Pairing: Tsukishima x fem!reader (post timeskip)

Word count: 2.2k

Here’s Part 1  II Series masterlist II Part 3

You have been offered a big project and now the odds are really testing you... 

[friend] = a friend’s name

The content of the sent email—along with other details—stated that if you were willing, to email them back and go to the Sendai City Museum whenever you were free this week. Sitting on your bottom bunk-bed, checking your schedule, you see that you were available on the 7th of September; a Friday afternoon. You email them and confirm that you were going.

A few days had passed and it was now Friday. You were having lunch with [friend]—a close friend of yours—in a café outside your campus. After your lunch, you were going to head to the museum.

“You know, you should have just texted me.”

“What?” [friend] stops and looks up at you, pausing from eating, an innocent expression plastered on her face.

“You where the reason my phone almost got destroyed,” you deadpanned.

Your friend stares with a blank face… then bursts out laughing. “I’m so sorry—” she says, almost choking on food from laughing, “I—hahaha!” still snickering trying to speak in between gulps of air, “Oh, man. I really am sorry; it’s just that… what kind of luck do you have? A nosebleed because of a phone call?” It went on like this for some time.

“Oh by the way, are you going on the school trip?” your friend asks.

“When was that again?” you face her.

“Uhhhhh, the last week of September I think…”

“Oh, yeah, right. I don’t really know… going on a trip with people I barely know for a whole week is kind of draining,”you softly replied; pondering.

“But like—oh no! It’s almost time for your meet-up,” [friend] tells you; cutting her sentence short, both of you got lost in the euphoria of chatting with one another.

“Oh yeah, no, I have to go, I’m so sorry. Byeee~” you reply in a jumble standing up and bringing your bag with you.

“Wait,” your friend stands up with you, “I’m going with you,” She left no space for refusal as she picks up the scarf you almost left and hands it to you.

“Wow, ok,” you thought to yourself as you see the museum building in front of you. It was a very nice modern-looking building.

 With your friend beside you, you enter its doors.

Inside, it had many things on display–mostly about the history of Sendai and samurais as well as a certain “Date” family. Both of you try looking for the office and almost ended up lost before you were able to look for a person to ask; it was weirdly devoid of people.

Reaching the office, an assistant, you had guessed, told you to make yourself comfortable while waiting. You did as you were told. Both you and [friend] were seated in a big open space with displays all around. This area was frequently passed by tourists, you can tell by the layout of the space.

Your friend was looking at displays around the huge space and you were scrolling through your phone when a man appeared around a corner.

You barely glance up when you look back down to your phone. “Wait a second,” you look back up again, bewilderment rising. He was holding a pen and notebook in his hands, “Oh no,” by now, memories of your “faceplant incident” had surfaced. You were silently staring as he passed–the blond man who handed you a handkerchief. “What in the world!? Was he here to take notes for research or something?” he turned to the side almost disappearing around another corner when you made eye contact.

He momentarily paused, fixing his glasses ; probably confused—“He had glasses on… did he have glasses last time?”—when another voice sounded from the end of the hall he was in. Someone probably called him. He then broke eye contact and vanished behind a wall.

You were still dumbfounded, staring at the wall in front of you trying to process what just happened. “What are the odds of that huh?” you had chuckled at yourself. “Who was that?” your friend had come down to sit beside you.

“Ugh. Remember when I told you about how my phone almost broke?”

“Yeah, you faceplanted on the sidewalk.”

“That guy was there to witness it and kinda helped me,” [friend] burst out laughing again after your statement.

“What are the odds of that happening!” she now had tears in her eyes from laughing, “Is it embarrassing? HAHAHA. It’s ok… it’s ok,” by now she was smacking her leg and doubling over.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, stop laughing at me~” you were shaking her trying to make her stop. You can’t handle any more shame.

“Ok, ok. But he was just probably here for his studies you know, so that’s over now, at least you didn’t have to talk to him.”

“Yeah, ‘at least.’”

The assistant had come back for you, telling you to follow them to the office. Your friend had only offered a thumbs-up as you left her in the hall.

You enter what you guess to be an office. A middle-aged man sat behind a desk in the room and gestured for you to take a seat; a chair in front of his table. He introduced himself as a Mister Yasuhiro, the director for the museum. He discussed the reason for calling you; they’d have a big charity event to be held in the museum on the first week of October; so that leaves about a month of preparation time. They needed animators to make the motion picture to be played in a loop all around the exhibits---for overall effect. He smiles warmly at you.

“Y/N, I know you’re a very talented artist,” he stated, “We’d really like to have you on-board for this project although I know you have school. You have top marks so I don’t think that it will be a problem considering you’ve been doing this for a long time now,” he was right, you never really had a problem in school, just times when you have off weeks or think you failed but still keep pulling though up top, “Although of course you’ll have one other animator with you to help share the load,” Yasuhiro continues.

You were thinking and something seems off to you, “Um—Sir, I’m really thankful for the opportunity you’ve given me but… why me? There are better professional animators out there… which, compared to me—” he cuts you off, “You see, we are also tasked to showcase the talents of young individuals and why not apply that to everything else?” You couldn’t reply anything else but a soft “oh”.

“We’d love to have you but I’d really have to ask if you’d be okay taking on this project on short notice,” Yasuhiro makes you consider the offer. “If you’re really fine having me help, then I’d be very much more than willing to,” a soft sort of calm determination escapes you—this was a very big chance after all. The middle-aged man lit up in joy and thanked you.

 He seemed friendlier in contrast to others with the same position as he; much more now when he was clapping softly. You had noticed he was a cheerful man.

After you accepted their job, he discusses to you about the amount they’ll be paying you; and man were you happy you took the offer. Yasuhiro then proceeded to talk about what you’ll be doing in a general sense, “Oh and don’t worry about the content, you’ll have someone as a partner from the museum to help you with it.”

“That would really be great! Thank you!” You replied.

The director then proceeded to call his assistant, “Could you bring him in now?” Your brain glitches a bit, “him”? "A boy!? Nah, it’s just probably someone he’s got business with,” a short internal monologue played in your head.

You hear the door squeak open behind you and then come to a close. You were still facing the director, “This fellow will be helping you with the content of your animation, he’s currently an intern here,” you slowly turn around trying to face the alleged intern hoping to see a new face. Instead, you were met with a tall, blond and uninterested-faced person; glasses in front of his golden-brown irises. “Your partner for the project, Tsukishima Kei,” Yasuhiro announces from his desk.

Looking down for the first time since he entered, the guy named “Tsukishima” only blinked in response to what seems to be his own  shock and confusion.

Unable to meet his gaze, you turn back around to face the director just gawking at him with slightly squinted eyes and a stupid expression displayed; unable to form words. “What are the odds?”

Mister Yasuhiro—having been facing you—asked, “Is something the matter?” he trailed off awkwardly.

“No,” you replied in unison.

 “Oh?” the director was now joined in both your confusion.

 “It’s fine, we just happened to bump into each other a while back. We’re just surprised,” Kei explained in his drawly voice as if nothing happened.

 “Oh! Well that’s good then. You’re already acquainted so that’s step one done,” the director clapped his hands together in joy. “So that’s that. Kei will be showing you around the museum later. He’ll coordinate your schedules and disclose to you everything else that I missed,” the director smirked and sat up from his chair, “You can meet with the other duo the next time you come here. Good luck to you both.”

 You found yourself in a hall outside of the office. A tall man beside you. Silence heavy in the air.

“So…” the beanpole spoke, “What’s your name?” both of you facing the same end of the hallway.

“I—uh. L/N F/N. Nice to meet you,” a straightforward reply, still refusing to look at each other.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too… for the third time.” The awkwardness was killing you.

“Yeahhh—about the first time… I never got to thank you for helping me…” you soften to a whisper, “and your handkerchief is ruined—I’ll just replace it.”

“Tch. There’s no need for that,” he looks at the bunch of paper in his hands, “Anyway~” he starts walking, “I have to show you around the museum.”

 You follow behind him and later he stops abruptly. You are now in the big hall you were waiting in earlier. He hands you a sheet of paper, “Here’s the initial schedule. We’ll alter that to accommodate your own next time. Hold on to it for now,” He then looks around the room, “Weren’t you accompanied by someone else?” Realization dawns on you, yes, you were accompanied by F/N. Where is she now? You check your phone.

“Ah. She had forgotten to submit a term paper,” Tsukishima’s only response was a shrug and a slight pout, “Well then, let’s proceed.”

Touring around the city museum took a long while, your amazingly weak ankles decided to act up but in the end, you finished going around the displays in the building. He showed you where they were planning to put the main event as well as where all the side gimmicks would be. Accounting it all, it would kind of be an immersive event wherein wherever you go in the museum, you’d be greeted by animations and displays. 

Both of you finished your tour at the main entrance balcony outside; it was already late in the afternoon. He paused beside you and turned to face you. You look to your side and see him fumbling around his pockets.

“Uh— w-what are you doing?” you asked meekly.

He raised his head to the ceiling and let out an exasperated sigh, “I was supposed to give you your museum pass. But I forgot that the ones meant for you and the other guy haven’t been modified yet—don’t ask.”

“Well that’s fine I guess, I can always just ask permission.”

“No, that makes a lot of hassle for everyone,” he interjects too quickly for your liking, but then he follows softly, “plus not everyone is always present here to let you in… that and the varying schedules clash.”

You felt thankful for his kinder follow-up, “Oh. So what now?”

“About the schedule, I think we need to exchange contacts.” And so you both did.

You gave him your phone number as well as your messenger account (in case). He then entered his phone number in your phone.

“Huh, I guess your phone’s okay now,” he handed it back.

“Really!? He had to bring it up,” you half-scream internally.

“And about the pass…” he placed everything he was holding in one hand and removed the ID dangling from his neck, “here,” he was holding it out to you.

You held your hands up, “But that- that’s yours—”he didn’t let you finish your sentence, “I can’t have you coming and going without a pass, so here, I won’t always be here to babysit you” he slipped it on your head, “Your pass later on will look somewhat like that. Don’t worry, I have an extra one at home, just don’t lose that. We’ll trade later.” Your face began to heat up, “What the heck!!”

"Until next time then Y/N."

He walked back to the doors but before he entered, he held the handle and looked back at you, “Expect me to contact you sometime between tomorrow and the next day, try not to ignore it,” with that, he goes inside leaving you in front of the stairs in the late afternoon glow. 

Part 1 II Series masterlist II Part 3

Notes:

We use messenger because why not... (It’s actually because in my country we use messenger a lot and so yeah...)

I wish you enjoyed (0.0)

[klbwriting]

The Sparrow and The Rogue - Part 2

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy

Pairing: Ben Hargreeves/female!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of abuse, once again fighting

Summary: The Umbrella siblings learn about what’s been going on in this timeline, One lives a day in his life, and has a pretty fun date trying to kill his wannabe girlfriend

              Even though the Umbrella siblings were promised an explanation that evening they never got one.  At least most of them didn’t.  There was a debrief to the small group of powered adults by Lila and Eight and then Diego and Lila disappeared somewhere while the rest of the group had dinner with what they discovered were a team called the ‘Rogues’ and they were kidnapped from directly under Reginald’s nose.  Most of them had chosen names while a couple stayed with their numbers, liking the way they sounded.  Eleven was very happy now that they kept their named now that Stranger Things was popular and they had the same powers as the character in the show.  They were giving rooms in the hideout, having to double up with the Rogues already there.  It was a surprise to no one that Diego was just fine sharing with Lila and Allison was almost a little nervous to share with Eight not knowing what her power was.

              “You look happy,” she said, trying to break the ice with the girl who was texting and had a smile on her face.  Eight looked over as if she forgot Allison was there and blushed, putting the phone under her pillow quick.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

              “Its no big deal, just don’t tell Lila about it ok?” she said. Allison nodded with a smile.  “She would be very annoyed if she found out I was texting with someone inside the Sparrows.”

              “Ben?” Allison asked, sitting up now, full ready to have some girl time.  Eight considered this, then finally sat up herself.  She never got to talk to anyone about One and how confusing things were between them.  

              “Ya, he’s One here, he was your brother?” she asked. Allison nodded.

              “Ya, he was killed on a mission when we were teenagers. Klaus could still see him, he communes with the dead, but the rest of us weren’t so lucky,” she said.  

              “What was he like in your time?”  Allison considered how to answer.

              “We weren’t super close, he was always close with Vanya and Diego, he was so kind to everyone, especially the ones dad was hardest on.  I remember one time I was walking by Diego’s room while he was practicing his speech and Ben was in there, they had to have been 7 maybe, and he was just sitting there listening and encouraging him.  Diego was crying after a bit of not being able to get a word out and Ben just took his hand and said ‘don’t think about dad, just think about talking to me, you know you can take your time with me’.  That’s who Ben was, just the best,” she said, getting a little teary thinking about her lost brother.  Eight smiled and moved to sit next to Allison, a comforting arm going around her shoulders.

              “That version is still here.  I have seen moments of that person in One, that kindness,” she said. “My first memory is with One, when I think we were 4, its really simple, I had fallen and scraped up my knee during a morning run and dad was livid at me, even at 4 I was always too big and slow for him to tolerate so he made me do extra laps and One was there with me the whole time, ran every single one next to me even though he was faster and could have been done, he stayed with me.”  

              “That sounds like Ben,” Allison agreed.  “I hope maybe we can get past this, I don’t know what dad is planning but I’m so tired of running around and being chased, just so tired.”  Eight nodded.

              “Get some sleep, no one will wake you up tomorrow so you can get a good rest,” she said, moving back to her bed and laying down. Allison followed suit and she closed her eyes, drifting off to a music box playing now in the room.  She hadn’t noticed one being around before but Eight must have had next to her somewhere.  Once she was sleeping Eight lifted a hand and the music box across the room stopped playing, letting her fall asleep also.  

 -------------------------

             Number One was going through the motions today. He had woken up early as usual and went to the kitchen to help mom make breakfast.  He knew she couldn’t really appreciate it like a person, but he thought she enjoyed spending time with him anyway.  He could feel his father’s present before he saw him, entering the kitchen and giving him a disproving look, still angry about dinner no doubt.

              “Good morning Number One, feeling a little less rebellious today?” he said, sitting at the breakfast table and looking through a morning paper.  One glared at the eggs he was plating and set the plate down in front of Reginald a little harder than he meant.  “Ah, I see you are still in a mood.  Very well, you will be in charge of leading drills this morning, now eat your eggs.” One didn’t say anything but internally he groaned, drills made everyone hate him for days.  He ate in silence with the rest of his siblings before standing and telling them to get up and get to the yard.  They shot him death glares before doing as asked, knowing the punishment was worse than the drills.

              Two hours later and his siblings were off again, probably meeting in one of their rooms to talk about how much they hated him and his kiss ass ways.  One however, had more work to do, heading out to do his first patrol of the day.  He had no idea why dad sent him to do patrols instead of waiting for something to happen, especially now that the Umbrella siblings had shown up.  First the patrols were for them, then they became patrols for general crime, but now that the word of the Horror had spread no one would dare commit a crime in the city limits unless they wanted to die a horrible death over 30$ in some purse.

              This time out in the city gave him a chance to release some stress that he needed.  He found a park nearby and soon was casually swinging watching the kids around him and reminding himself of why he dealt with everything.  Without the Sparrow Academy the apocalypse would have happened two days ago.  They had saved history, keeping the timeline on track after something called ‘The Commission’ went belly up in the 60s due to some kind of explosion.  Where they had left off Reginald had picked it up, first on his own, and then when the 43 were born, with the 15 he had been able to get his hands on.  They had been whittled down to 6 humans and a box that told them where to go and got them in and out.  Ben may have hated his father but he would protect these people, always.  

              One patrolled until lunch, stopping at the kitchen table to eat alone before going to his room and checking his messages on his secret phone.  Before he could open it he had to hide it under his pillow as his door was shoved open and Number Two walked in.  Two stood silent for a second, seemingly realizing that he had caught One doing something he shouldn’t.

              “You alright One?” he asked suspiciously.  One stood up, facing off against his sibling, mustering up his bravado.

              “Ya, what do you want number Two?” he emphasized the word two just to irritate them.  They growled, glaring.

              “Dad wanted to have us trade patrols tonight, I’ll take 9th to 15th, you take the old trainyards,” Two said.  “Starting now, I’m supposed to watch you leave.” One gritted his teeth, anger seething through him.  

              “Let me get ready, I need to get my shoes,” he said. Two just stood in the doorway watching as One went back to his bed, sitting down and tying his shoes extra slow, hoping something would happen to make Two glance away.  Someone must have heard his silent plea because something clunked in the hall making Two look around for a fight.  One grabbed the phone and shoved it in his pocket before standing up.  “Alright, you want to walk me to the front door too?”  Two glared and let him pass by, closing his door behind him.

              After he was outside and a couple blocks away he texted Eight, letting her know of the change of plans, before heading down to the trainyards, thinking about maybe doing some sprints while he waited for her.

 -----------------------

              The Umbrella siblings sat in the main room of the hideout with Lila and Eight, Lila explaining what had happened to the Commission and what the Sparrow Academy had been up to.  They knew that after the Commission was taken down those in the ‘Resistance’ had taken up control of the timeline under rule of Lila and the kids she had collected from over time, starting with Eight.  

              “We developed the traveling technology by stealing what Reginald had already figured out.  The briefcases were big and too easy to lose, too much of a hassle, so instead Reginald created watches capable of the travel,” she explained.

              “How did he figure that out?  I watched the Commission try for decades to create that kind of technology,” Five cut in.  Lila glared at him, still not exactly happy that he was alive after killing her parents, no matter who had ordered the hit.

              “I don’t know, took a few tests to figure out how to use the watches, but now we can track where the Sparrows go and then fix whatever they mess up in history, keep the timeline on track,” Lila explained. Confusion rippled through the room.

              “What do you mean you fix the Sparrows messes?” Luther asked, sitting forward, the chair creaking loudly.  He made a face and waited for someone to say something just so he could hit them.  

              “The Sparrows travel around on orders from dad to ‘fix’ history, ya know, kill Steve Jobs before the iPhone, assassinate Abe Lincoln when he’s running for president, take out Thomas Jefferson, although that last one I really hated to fix,” Eight said.  “Such a brilliant mind, such a shit fucking person.”  She stood up and went to stand by the open door, Lila looking over at her.

              “What’s wrong with you?” Lila asked.  

              “I’m warm, there’s a draft over here,” Eight explained, leaning on the wall, hand in her jacket pocket.  

              “Why don’t you just take off the jacket?” Klaus asked, getting elbowed by Allison.  “What?”

              “I like this jacket,” was her answer before she looked out the doorway.  Lila rolled her eyes and returned to the original conversation.

              “So after we fix their messes, they make more messes.  We’re not sure what exactly Reggie is trying to do but either way, we know we have to make sure history happens as expected.  Except for the apocalypse, none of us could really muster the desire to stop fixing that,” she said.

              “So now we’re in no mans land?” Vayna asked, getting a little nervous about bringing about another end of the world scenario. Lila nodded.

              “Honestly, only Five has lived past the apocalypse and now that it didn’t happen I don’t know what the game plan from here is, I just know what happens in actual history to keep that on track, what those changes bring in the future is a crap shoot,” she said.  “Isn’t that right Eight?  Eight?”  She turned to see the doorway empty, no trace of Eight left in the hide out anymore. Allison sat in her seat and smiled softly, having an inkling where she was going, hoping that maybe she could turn Ben back to their side.  

 ----------------------

              Eight had gotten One’s message and headed towards the trainyards.  She passed by Number Four along the way and realized quick that One was being followed. She acted like she was patrolling, hoping to not have to fight Four but knowing it was a possibility.  Four however, let her pass, clearly just being around to watch their brother and what he was doing.  Once at the trainyards Eight dipped through old train cars, running up and down tracks until she saw One.  She approached him slowly.

              “You have a friend around,” she said.  One’s eyes flashed the area and he caught a quick glance of crimson ducking behind a car nearby.  “So I guess this is another fight to the death?”

              “Guess so,” he said with a smirk.  Eight smiled back sweetly.  “No powers?”

              “No powers, pinky promise,” she said before diving towards him, fist raised.  

              One easily blocked the shot, moving around to fire back with his own fist.  Eight easily dodged and punched his stomach, pulling the hit so it didn’t actually hurt. One doubled over anyways, spearing her around the waist and taking her to ground, just out of view of Four.

              “So, ready to play dead?” he asked, holding her shoulders down as she laid under him, watching him closely before nodding.  He smiled down at her before standing up and walking around the car, hands raised above his head as in victory.  He knew once Four saw this they would call out to him.

              “Hey Number One!” Four called as expected, walking over the tracks.  One hurried to meet them, not wanting them to actually see that Eight was alive.  “You finally got the bitch!”

              “Yup, finally caught her by surprise, she said no powers like an idiot,” he said, chuckling darkly.  Four nodded and laughed.  “Well I’m going to finish my patrol and head home, but ya know, gotta get rid of the body first.”  Four nodded.

              “Need help?” they asked.  One shook his head.

              “Nah, I got it, just going to shove her under the traincar, no one will find her and if they do animals will do the job first,” he said.  Four nodded, turning and walking away without another word.  Four was easiest to trick and One was glad dad hadn’t sent Two or Six after him.

              Once he was sure Four was gone he headed back to the traincar to find Eight sitting against the wheel, having been listening. He took a seat next to her, close enough that their shoulders were touching, hand gently finding its way over to hers on her leg.  He linked their fingers and sighed.

              “Well, that’ll lighten things up for a bit, dad will think you’re dead for awhile,” he said, looking at her.  She nodded and looked at him.

              “You know we can’t do this forever, one day we have to either tell all the truth or run away,” she said.  “We could go to the 90’s, relive our childhood but ya know as adults.  I’ll be old enough to buy myself Backstreet Boys tickets.”  One laughed and shook his head.

              “Someday, but I can’t leave this behind, I mean we’re fixing history, making sure everything keeps on track,” he said. Eight sighed and rolled her eyes. “I know, you guys think we mess it up, but we don’t, we help, we save people, you guys are the ones who come around messing it up again.”  

              “We honestly don’t know who is fixing what,” she said.  “I just wish I knew what dad was planning for, why he’s doing all this.”  

              “He’ll tell me when I’m ready,” One said indignantly, trying to justify why he was so readily going along with Reginald.  

              “I hope he does, I’m curious which side I’m on,” Eight said.  She looked at him.  “Enough talk, I don’t think we really came here to talk.”  One nodded, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers, kissing her until he ran out of air, then taking a breath, and going right back in.

[ironwoman18]

The Worst Third Date Ever part 19

Chapter 19: Confessions x Dates x Decisions

The next day, the doctor informed Spencer that he can leave that afternoon because his MRI was clean and he was more like himself.

Max went to his apartment to get him some clothes and to leave her suitcase in there. Then she drove back and find him with her dad and sisters.

"So maybe we can watch the movie when you get better" said Dom

"Which movie dad?" Max asked as she walked in.

"Psycho. Spencer wanted to watch it... again and I'm sure Eloise will love it" his youngest daughter rolled her eyes laughing.

"Sure dad, we will see" they all laughed "well I guess you have to leave now, Spencer will leave this place in an hour right?"

"Yeah. I will stay with him all his medical leave"

"Ok, take care Spencer and take it easy" he nodded then the Brenner family hugged him then Max and left the room.

"I brought you some clothes. So while I sign up some papers and the doctor gives me the instructions we have to follow during this month, you change and I will come back to go to my car"

"Ok" he smiled and stood up holding her hand then she left him.

At the nurse station the doctor made her sign the papers of his discharge and said to her "ok Ms Brenner. He can't do heavy exercises or lifting heavy things, he can't drive during this week, he can't watch movies with light effects like The Incredibles 2, he will need a healthy diet and do some mental exercise, maybe two hours so he doesn't get exhausted. He can't drink coffee only green tea or chamomile but no coffee, at least for this month and no alcohol" she nodded looking at the list the doctor gave her "I talked to Doctor Hank Thompson to check him in two weeks. He's a neurologist and after he said his brain is out of danger, we can let him do more things"

"Ok perfect. The alcohol will be easy because he doesn't drink it but coffee will be a challenge"

"You can do it. I trust you" Max laughed gently and nodded.

"Thank you doctor. Can I call if I have a question?"

"Of course and take care of yourself and him" Max nodded and went back to his room.

When she arrived he was sitting on the couch and looking at her "are we ready?"

Max nodded "yes let's go handsome. I have to get some stuffs at the store and guess what? You are coming with me" he laughed and stands up then held her hand and both walked to the door as she explained everything the doctor said.

"Yeah I imagined they would say I can't drink coffee. I stopped it when I was having migraines a few years ago but when I got better I started to drink it again" he smiled at her.

"Good" they arrived to her car and she opened the passenger door for him then went to the driver side and got in.

"It was weird" she laughed at that.

"Yeah, normally it was you, my sweet gentleman, who opened the door for me" she held his hand gently and kissed it "but don't worry, in a week you will be able to drive again and be my gentleman again"

He smiled and held her face with his free hand and kissed her, then she started the car and got out of the hospital parking lot.

She drove to a market close to his apartment and parked there. Then they bought some food the doctor recommended and, of course, Spencer gave her facts about each of them and how they will help him.

Then she paid and they left and some minutes later they were in his apartment, she forced him to lay down while she put the food in the fridge and the meat in the freezer.

She later walked in and saw him sleeping, she smiled and decided to cook dinner. So Max walked back to the kitchen and started to make a soup, salad and meatballs.

She was focused in and she did not listened to him walk in "hey Max"

She jumped scared "Spencer... you scared me, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling good and I'm sorry if I scared you. You were so focus that you didn't listen me walk in" he sat down looking at her as she cook "what are you cooking?"

She explained the menu and he just nodded and smiled at her "Spencer, what do you plan to do after this medical leave?"

He looked at her then down biting his lip "well I'm still thinking. Because in my unconsciousness I... I have one of those... um... you know close death experience" she lifted her eyebrow "I know it sounds weird but I had it and I saw Maeve, a woman I was in love but she died in front of me the first time we saw each other" he could read her expression of confusion "she had been stalking by someone. At the moment we thought it was a man but them we discovered it was a woman who was upset because she didn't accept her PhD thesis"

"Just because of that?"

"Yes, because her thesis was about a personal theme so she won't accept a no because it means her believes would crumble"

"Wow... you have a deal with all kind of freaks in this world"

He laughed and nods "oh if I told you... I think you would lose hope in humanity" she laughed softly "ok back to the main idea... she asked in this hallucination I was doing what I love"

"And what do you love exactly?"

"Well I love studying, teaching, books, make the difference, make connections, hope, I love you" she blushed softly "so I think I'm doing some of them but I feel like the BAU is a double-edged sword because I make the difference but at the same time it kills part of me... metaphorically speaking"

"Well not so metaphorically..."

"True" he smiled looking down "the thing is that I have three options. The first is leave the BAU, the second is stay as a consultant source which means I don't need to be with the team to help them, and the third one is stay as a field agent"

"Ok... I like the second" she said getting out of the oven the meatballs and placed them in the tomatoes sauce "but is it what you want?"

"I think that option is the safest for me and for our relationship, because this job also taught me that couples normally never last with such schedules"

"You know I will support you whichever you decided to do Spence" she walked to him and sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck "I love you and, for me, you are a hero for what you did, do and will do" she kisses him.

He hugged her "thank you for this, and I will make the right choice"

"The right choice is the one you feel happy and you feel comfortable with"

"You are so intelligent" he smiled and she blushed.

"I will finish these food so we can eat then we can cuddle, maybe watch a movie" he nodded then she stood up and went to the stove to finished the food"

Some minutes later they both eat what she cooked. Spencer then helped her to wash the dishes and both went to his bedroom, changed their clothes and laid there together.

They hugged and she rubbed softly his hair until he fell asleep then she did.

They spent that week playing board games, doing light walks around where he lives and watching movies in streaming.

When Spencer was allowed to drive again, he invited Max on a date. He took her to Williamsburg, they spent the day there watching the museums and going on tours around there.

It was a historical place and they have fun watching some historical representation before they headed to a restaurant.

The restaurant had Virginia typical dishes and the decorations were typical of the 18th century.

They ate their dinner there and then he drove back to DC.

"Did you have fun?" He asked as he drove.

"Yeah, I loved all the esthetic of that place, it's all on point of that period of time. Even the painting they picked to decorate it"

"Yeah and with the old English accent and words. Very accurate" he smiled.

"We are history nerds, aren't we?" She laughed and he followed her.

"Yes I think we are" the rest of the ride back home was in silence. When they reach DC he took the way to the park where they met.

"Um... where are you going?" She asked a little lost because his house was the other way.

"I'm heading somewhere else before we go back home"

She lifted her eyebrow but did not say anything else. He drove some more and parked his car at the park where they met.

"Want to walk around?" She looked around and nodded. He got out the car and walked to her door and opens it, he held her hand and they walked to the park.

They walked in silence, not an awkward but comfortable, they got the the food truck Spencer found her after leaving the hospital.

"Do you want a coffee?" She looked up at him lifting an eyebrow "I won't drink one, I will order hot chocolate or tea" she laughed and nodded so he walked there, ordered and pay then wait for them.

He walked back to her and handed her cup "so why are we here Spencer?" He looked at her innocently "oh don't give me that look. I can tell something is up"

"Why do you think something is happening?"

"Just tell me"

He sighed and drank some more of his chocolate "ok Max" he looked at her "I love you and I wanted to brought you here because this place is full of good memories and that's what makes people happy... and did you know that sm..."

"Spence... I love when you ramble and give me useful facts but... go straight to the point"

"Ok" he took a deep breath and moved his hand to her hair, to places a lock of hair behind her ear. He did an extra move of his wrist and when he moved his hand away there was the ring Diana gave him, Max looked at it and covered her mouth with her hand "remember what I told you that day in my kitchen a week ago?" She nodded with some tears "well I made the decision to do one of the things that I love... I love you and I don't want to lose time, especially after what happened to me a week and 4 days ago so..." he held her hand and looked in her eyes "Maxine Brenner, will you marry me?"

There was a silence, a long one for a nervous Spencer, he was holding his breath and then she nodded "yes, I will Spencer" he smiled and put the ring on her finger then they kissed.

OOooOOooOO

I would like to thank Bohogal1998 for the idea of Williamsburg. I had to do some research and summon my inner Spencer Reid to throw some facts to you.

I hope you liked it and that you find this cute and sweet. The magic trick to propose was something I had in my mind for a while and I hope I did it alright.

I would like some options of universities in Washington or Virginia because I will stick with the canon about part time consulting and teaching, also because I love Reid teacher.

Read you soon.

[fireintheforest]

Cycle

tw: manipulation, implied abuse

“I don’t understand what is your need to be so cozy with that Bosmer.” Ondacano said flatly, with that last word full of contempt. Saufinril paused when the wave of dread washed over him, eyeing Ondacano via the mirror, then resumed taking off the leather strip.

“What do you mean?” Saufinril asked, turning to his boyfriend.

“You know exactly what I mean. You letting him touch you all over in public, it’s disgusting, not to mention you’re embarrassing me by doing it.”

“It was just a hug.”

“Saufinril no, it lasted longer than any other normal hugs. Is that what you call it?” Ondacano stood up, “Do you have feelings for him or something?”

“What? No! It’s Rialas, he’s just like that, and the culture is like that, and Rialas is married to Lillandril anyways.”

“Oh, so it’s ok.” He said in a sarcastic cheer

“Love, I didn’t say that.”

“No, no. I get it.” Ondacano’s green eyes were glaring at Saufinril’s, “It’s in their culture to be overly sexual, it’s ok, so if I sleep with one of them then it’s ok too! They’re overly sexual anyways!”

“No-”

“No? Oh, so it’s ok for you but not me.”

“That’s not what I-”

“Do you realize your double standard? The one you have going on?”

“It’s not that! I’m not sleeping with Rialas.” Saufinril approached Ondacano.

“You let him eyefuck you in front of me, you let him act that way in front of your boyfriend and then you want to say it’s nothing, and part of the culture? Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Love-”

“Do you by any chance enjoy humiliating me like this? Does it get you off? Do you, what, enjoy it in some sort of sick way?”

“No!”

“Do you want to be with Rialas over me?”

“Love, no.”

“Do you not understand that I don’t like you being with something  that acts like that? He knows you have a boyfriend and he still talks like that, moves like that, I don’t like it. I know you have a history of sleeping with half of Tamriel and it’s evident that you like being everyone’s public mer, but in a committed relationship, this is not normal and this is not ok.”

“I know that!” Saufinril cupped Ondacano’s face with his hands, looking at him straight in the eye, “Love, you’re my only one. I’m not cheating on you, I have nothing going on with Rialas, it was-”

“Just a hug.” Ondacano said in a mocking tone, then changed it to a snapping one, “Yeah, it’s not important to you, but it is to me. This relationship? It’s important to me, and apparently only to me because you don’t care at all. But fine, I get it. I’m not important, I’m disposable, I’m some background character for you to play and toss aside when it’s convenient.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes it evidently is!”

“No it isn’t! Just because you’re jealous-”

“I’m jealous?” Ondacano snarled, grabbing Saufinril’s wrists and lowered his hands away from his face, “So you can go flirt with whatever breathing being you find and when I call you out on your bullshit, I’m jealous??”

“Ondacano, that hurts.” The grip had gotten harder.

“Do you realize how manipulative you are? How much trash you make me go through for you? How you treat me??” Ondacano was now giving a brief, harsh shake every time he made a question. Saufinril stepped back, moved his hands down and back in a strong move and broke the grasp.

“Stop!”

“I don’t need this from you. I don’t need a boyfriend that doesn’t give a shit about me and-”

“Ondacano, I do care. I do give a shit. I don’t know what you want me to say, do you want me to avoid Rialas at all costs?”

“Uh, yes?? That would be appreciated. If you can control yourself for once, I’d love that, because that dog clearly won’t.”

Saufinril lowered his gaze. “He’s been in my life for a long time.” The inn room got eerily quiet until Ondacano started to head to the door. “Where are you going?”

“Far away from you. You disgust me.” Ondacano hissed, “You have absolutely no moral, no wonder your family prefers not to associate with you.”

“No no, Ondacano, wait. I’ll-I’ll do it, ok? I can lower- I can stay away. I can tell him not to touch me. He’ll listen.” Ondacano turned back to Saufinril, “He will. Just, please just stay.”

Ondacano eyed Saufinril, then sighed and walked back to him, still keeping distance. “Why do you do this?” he asked, softer, even hurt, “Why do you make me act like this? You dangle the prize in front of my eyes, make it difficult,” Saufinril lowered his head, “you make me snap, and then you agree and it was some easy compromise? Does it entertain you to see me like this?”

“No, no it’s not that.”

“Don’t you get that I love you? I just want the best for you.” Ondacano wrapped his arms around Saufinril, setting  a kiss on his temple as Saufinril hugged him back, “You make me go like this. I care about you too much and I just snap.”

“I’m sorry.”

It had been 36 years since that specific argument. Right now, Saufinril was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at Ondacano sleeping on the other side. His own hair was disheveled, he’d only slept three hours, and the nail dents and cuts Ondacano left in his wrists had faded away but not the memory they’d brought out. How funny, he remembered the gist of that fight but so many details had been forgotten until tonight. Having flooded back on his head, he realized it was too much for him to deal with, and too much for him to have to stand up to for 64 years. He was tired of always second-guessing himself in his home, of running mental lists and checking what he had done correctly in order to enjoy peace and quiet with his partner, he was tired of Ondacano’s humor when he did something incorrect, he was tired of giving Lillandril so many explanations when they both knew the truth, of avoiding Rialas, of not being happy…

Saufinril carefully stood up and got dressed, tying his hair back. One of the few things he’d convinced Ondacano to step back from. How come he never detected them until they left some sort of mark on him? He tightened the leather strip. He had to be one of the stupidest mer on Tamriel. He should’ve left him back then, in that very same fight. He grabbed the closest parchment he found and started to write. Straight to the point.

This isn’t working for me anymore. I can’t do this, last night was my final straw. Good luck in life – S

He folded it and placed it on his pillow, then grabbed his bag and started to pack his things. The important things like clothes, money, books, emotional mementos, eyeliner, even some of Ondacano’s gifts (damn sentimentality) got in the bag. Other gifts and the white ribbon he’d given Saufinril just last week stayed behind. Once he was sure he had everything he needed, he moved with caution to the front of the house. The door closed behind him and for a second, he had to stop and take a deep breath. He couldn’t believe he could be stupid enough to realize he’d picked them wrong again, packed up to leave him and yet he was right now feeling guilty and sad over this. Maybe he’s just not strong enough to be on his own or smart enough to pick them better. He rested his back on the door, biting his lower lip hard to keep from crying. He didn’t deserve to cry. He had plenty of chances to walk away in 64 years and he was only now doing it. Saufinril took another deep breath, wiped his eyes and went  to prepare Ondacano’s horse. Around 20 minutes later, Saufinril rode out in a gallop, headed south.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Caramel Skin Under A Vanilla Sky prt 2

Lance plagued his dreams, his name on Keith's lips as he woke momentarily disoriented before realising just why he'd woken. Clumsily stumbling off his thin cot, he yawned widely as he moved to the cockpit deal with the ringing noise emanating from the area. Dropping down heavily into the pilot's seat, he pulled up the call that had been chiming for his attention "Keith?" Using a hand to wipe at his eyes, he had no idea why his mother was interrupting his sleep "Hey, mum. What's going on?" "I hadn't heard from you and was just checking in" "I was sleeping. It's a long flight" "You left 8 vargas ago, I thought you would have checked in once you were close" 8 vargas? It felt like he'd only just closed his eyes "Yeah. Sorry. Everything's ok here..." Dragging the call to one side, he opened up the ship's navigation "... and we're still about a varga out" "Good. As long as you're ok" "I'm fine. You don't need to worry so much" "We have an operative missing from the same coordinates we've sent you to, I think I have a right to worry" Rolling his eyes at his mother, Lance came back to the front of his mind. Tapping on the navigation screen he pulled up Erathus on the screen, the planet only a hop skip and a jump away from the Ghazex quadrant... maybe he could... "Keith?" "I'm here. I'm just looking at the planets surrounding those quadrants. Erathus seems to be the closest with the biggest trading centre" "There were no signs that Guile made it to Erathus" "There were no signs of him making it anywhere" Keith regretted the words the moment they slipped from his mouth "I mean, I'm just thinking here, but it does seem to be the main trade hub for its quadrant" "It's also highly populated with those less than desirable. I doubt he would have landed there, not unless it was a dire emergency" Erathus was that bad? Then what the hell was Lance doing there? It didn't sound like the kind of place he should be "What if they seller moved the meeting place?" Now he was simply manipulating facts to suit his curiosity. Lance obviously didn't wish to see him, so why was he deviating from his original mission and slightly praying that his mother would agree that he should in fact head to Erathus? "He would have notified us" "Not if he wanted to keep a low profile... You said the rebel camps had received no word from him..." "Keith..." "Look. I'm approaching the coordinates. I'll scan for any traces of his signature, but it could potentially be a lead. You mentioned this quadrant had seen a lot of activity, is it possible a new faction has arisen?" "From the intel we have, it is possible. A number of ships have been attacked or simply gone missing..." "Is there a salvage moon near here?" "On Thatus. It's two quadrants over. With Erathus being marketed as a tourist planet, the main source of income comes from the tourists making it there alive and in one piece" It sounded like a fucked up rich playground. The perfect place for less than legal things. So again, why the quiznak was Lance there? "Keith, something is obviously on your mind. What is it?" Biting the inside of his cheek uncharacteristically, he knew there was no escaping his mother's prying "I called Hunk earlier. Lance's family on Earth are worried about him" "You're thinking about Lance?" His mother knew something had transpired between the two of them, but not the details. She seemed to like Lance well enough, but they had barely interacted before she decided to return to the Blades rather than to Earth "Hunk said Lance is on Erathus" "Oh..." "Yeah" "Keith..." "I know. The mission comes first, but he..." "He's your friend" "Yeah. Don't worry, the mission comes first" "I trust you'll get it done. I also trust you'll make use of all the resources available to you" Wait. What? "Mum..." "Erathus is a tough place to make a life. It's not suited to long term living and draws in all kind of transients. If you think he can help, or if he can shed light on what's been happening in the area... We don't currently have any operatives in the area who can provide fresh intel on Erathus, so you'll be going in blind" Kolivan must not have been in the room. He'd damn near have a heart attack if he heard Krolia giving Keith permission to deviate on his original mission plan "I... I don't even know if he'll speak to me. He didn't even tell me he was in space. I thought he was still back on Earth spreading Allura's message" His mother's face softened "I can't tell you what to do. I trust you'll complete your mission, but I also know how much you miss your old team. If your scans come up with nothing, then... Lance may be able to help. I'll leave it your discretion" "Kolivan's going to be pissed" "Leave him to me" Feeling a smile tug on his lips, it was interrupted by another yawn. Shaking himself in attempt to wake up, he pushed the smile to his lips "I always do" "Be safe" "You too, mum" Signing off the conversation meant having to get ready for action. Showering and dressing left him feeling somewhat human as he pulled his hair back into his usual ponytail. Did he really want to see Lance? That was a no brainier. He missed fighting along side him. The constant attempts to one up each other, and knowing Lance had his back completely. But would Lance even see him. Placing a hand on Kosmo's head, he ruffled his fur affectionately "What am I supposed to do? Maybe I should have brought Axca along after all? But if Lance is working on finding himself again, then should I really be interrupting him out of nowhere?" Kosmo looked at him like he was an idiot. His wolf forced to sit through many a long night of self angsting over how things had played out "Ok. We'll scan the area, check in with the rebels, then hit up Thatus. Then... He didn't want to take my call, but he can't turn me away if I show up... right?" His wolf definitely thought him an idiot. He was acting enough of an idiot for to be justified... "I'm the freakin' Black Paladin of Voltron. It's just Lance. Why am I making such a big deal about this? I'm just checking to make sure he's alright. That's all..." Kosmo huffed, not convinced. Done with his wolf, he turned his attention back to his mission. Guile needed to come before his laughable love life. * Thatus was a complete bust. The junk moon negative for any residual radiation signature left by Guile's ship. None of the rebel camps had any new information for him, nor did several smaller planets he stopped by during his investigation, though they had also been affected by whatever was happening in the sector of space. Calling this through to his mother, he was given the lecture of watching his back on Erathus, and to notify her if anything at all should happen, which she felt likely it would given his status as the Black Paladin and his human appearance. Forced to leave his ship at the docking station, setting foot on Erathus was a trip and a half. It was just like the images of Earth from before the Third World War. The architecture right out of one of the Garrisons boring history books, while the vehicles were even modelled to match the era with a touch of space in the fact that they all hovered. Making his way into the city past the station, Kosmo started pulling against his hold, his wolf clearly excited by all the noise and colour, but none of it was close to what he'd seen in those few snippets of phone call with Lance. Wracking his memory, he could vaguely remember catching what seemed to be the letters "GE", which meant nothing. After spending so long in space, having English brandied everywhere was like a slap in the face. Even time seemed to be measured by Earth standards. Keeping his hand firmly on Kosmo, he pulled up how communicator's browser, trying to think of how to search for what he wanted before realising he was making things far more complicated than he needed. He was looking for a club on Erathus that ended with "GE". The device taking a fraction of moment before loading the results. Swapping to image view, he had more success. The thousands of results dropping down to more manageable number. Only a few ticks later, he was looking at the same "GE" he was sure he'd seen glowing in the background. "The Guilded Cage". Listed as a club, it fitted the bill, and wasn't as far from the station as he'd expected. Bringing up the directions, he steeled himself as he started moving with the ever steady flow of tourists. Reaching the club, Keith had had to avoid more people than he'd like to have. While each store was set up individually, it didn't mean that they didn't have all sorts of employees out the front trying to peddle business, or stopping him for an autograph. Unfortunately wearing his Blade hood would have only served to draw more attention to himself, leaving him to grin and bear it all. Lance would have howled with laughter had he been there to witness Keith's failure with his people skills, and now he'd come this far, his hand shook as he pushed on the golden door handle and entered the club. Being early in the morning, he'd thought trade would have died down as patrons nursed their hangovers from the night before. Instead he was submerged into the thick of the club where the music was deadened by a shimmering forcefield that allowed the ongoing lightshow above the dance floor to cast its glow over what seemed to be some kind of entrance. With no real idea were to move next, he walked over to what he took to be the reception, manned by a rather annoyed looking alien who sat before a wall of keys. The description only listed the club as a club, yet the keys led him to believe that the place may also double as a hotel. If it was a hotel, it would explain why Lance had opted to stay here rather than finding himself an apartment or such... though, if he was working, shouldn't his employer have provided accomodation? "Can I help you?" Clearing his throat, Keith really hoped he could "I hope so. I'm looking for a friend" Sighing, the alien lowered his dataslate "Does this friend have a name? Or am I supposed to guess" "His name's La..." No. One of the people he was with called him "Leandro", not "Lance" "His name's Leandro" Picking the dataslate back up, the alien lent back in his chair "Leandro isn't taking customers at the moment" Customers?! Why would Lance be taking customers? "I'm not a customer, I'm his friend" "Look, if I let everyone in claiming to be his friend, it'd never end" Anger prickled under Keith's skin, the man clearly implying more than Keith was comfortable with "Just what are you trying to say?" "That he's a popular guy. Real heartbreaker" "I'm his friend from Earth. I just want to talk to him" "In that case give him a call. Until then, why don't do you what every other broken heart does and drink your sorrows" This couldn't be right. Lance wasn't that kind of guy. He was a ridiculous flirt, but faithful to a fault. Biting down an annoyed growl, he looked towards the bar doors. When the alien failed to say anything else, he figured he might as well check the club out in hopes of finding Lance inside, however slim the chance. Kosmo wasn't a fan of the music, and Keith wasn't a fan of the scene. Suspended in cages just above the dance floor, dancers of all races bared almost everything they had. Ordering the first drink off the list, Keith skulked his way over to the corner of the room, spying a staircase that seemed to lead to an upper level. The only problem was the two huge bouncers at the foot of it... and the fact he didn't know if Lance was actually up there. Having come this far, the logical thing to do would be to call Lance, but the thought of being rejected again cut a little too close to home "Can you get me up there?" Looking to the stairs, Keith wasn't quite ready when his wolf decided to teleport right off the bat. The second level of the club was like stepping into another world with its plush red carpeting and black walls. The doors almost hidden along the hall and by the lack of light "Ok... let's see if Pidge's hacking program works here" Moving into the shadows with Kosmo, Keith pulled up the program, letting it run its course as it sought out the clubs security system. He had intended to run the program downstairs while blending in, but Kosmo's enthusiasm at seeing Lance again had ruined the mission before it'd even begun. Softly urging the loading green bar to hurry up, there was a soft ding as it completed and his device was filled with the clubs information. Nothing beat Pidge. Even on the otherside of the universe she was still just as formidable as if she'd been by his side. He totally owed her big time for this. Scrolling through the excess of information, he found a room booked under the letters "Lea" which had to be Lance. Room 727... looking for a number on the closest door, he realised it was bare. His small victory not quite as victorious as he'd hoped, leaving him to rely on Kosmo again "Can you track Lance down? No teleporting you big doof" Kosmo led him to the very end of the hall before sitting in front of another annoyingly plain door. Raising his hand to knock, panic once again struck. They hadn't left things on the greatest of terms. Phone calls were one thing, but it was nothing like speaking face to face... and god his sad pining arse wanted to. Whether responding to his presence outside the door, or a sensor he couldn't see, Lance's door slid open silently. Maybe there was no need for security with the two bouncers looking like they could easily snap a mere human in two without breaking a sweat "Lance?" Cautiously entering the space, he knew he had the right room when he sighted the photo of Allura on the rooms small kitchenette counter. The whole place had a pay as you go kind of vibe, yet still held traces that this wasn't that kind of space for Lance "Lance? Are you here?" Receiving no answer, Keith wasn't sure what to do next. If Lance was working, it could be vargas before he returned... "Lance, its Keith..." With a whoosh, a door opened to the left of him, Keith nearly jumping out of his skin as Lance walked out what appeared to be a bathroom and promptly froze mid ruffle of his wet hair "Keith?!" Almost shrieking his name, it was nice to know he wasn't the only one shocked "Hey, man" "Wha... how... wha... How did you get here?" Spluttering, Lance was just as handsome as he remembered him... then it hit him... his friends marks were absent from his face. The marks that Keith hadn't been able to look at intially now gone, leaving behind Lance's beautiful face "I was in the area and thought I'd drop by" "But... what... why? How did you even know where to find me?" This wasn't quite the reunion he'd planned in his head, even though he hadn't actually planned out what he'd say or do. Lance seemed annoyed by his presence "I called you the other night, and happened to see this place in the background" Facepalming, Lance groaned "That's right. Look, I'm sorry I hung up on you. You called in the middle of work. I'm actually on my way to my job..." Was Lance politely trying to throw him out? After all he'd gone through to find him "I actually need your help. I'm looking for someone, and thought you might know them. I mean, you have been here for the last 5 phoebs" His tone held far too much accusation to be comfortable. Lance looking pretty damned uncomfortable as he draped his towel over his shoulders "Keith..." "A Blade member has gone missing. He was supposed to meet with an arms dealer so we could trace the source, but he failed to check in" "Man, I'd really like to help you, but work..." Was Lance hurt? The light in his eyes seemed to have dimmed "Can you just take a quick look?" Closing his eyes, the Cuban took a deep breath before exhaling as he opened them "Keith, I'm sorry you came all this way, but I really need to get to work. Why don't you send me the files and I'll take a look for you" "Or you could look now" Walking further into the space, Lance walked right past him and over to what seemed to be a walk in robe, the wall sliding away with another soft hiss "I can't" "Lance" "Keith" "Drop the bullshit. What are you doing here? Here in space? And why didn't you tell me you were here? Your family's been calling Veronica nonstop. Hunk says not to worry, then I find you in a what? A strip club? Where you're not taking clients? What's going on? This isn't like you" Turning on him, Lance glared "Isn't like me? What do you even know?" "I know..." "What?! We haven't spoken in months. Phoebs! Now you show up asking for a favour. No. I have to get to work" "Lance" "Don't even bother Keith. I'm sorry your friend is missing, and I hope you find him. But you need to leave" Where was all this coming from? The Lance he knew would talk it out before leaping to anger. Snatching a jacket out his walk in robe, Lance went about getting ready in front of him "Lance, I came here because I missed my friend" "Right. Sure you did" "You didn't even tell me you'd left Earth! I would have..." "You would have what? Dropped everything to come visit me?" "I thought you were with your family on Earth. You made it pretty clear you intended to stay there" Giving a dry laugh, Lance picked his communicator up and moved towards the door "Lance..." "Earth... Earth isn't home anymore. It's not the same planet we left. When we left, no one knew about all the races out there. And now... it's changed too much. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy all those people are safe, but Earth isn't the same. Besides. The Holt's have already started training the next generation of Paladins. They're even working on their own versions of the Lions. Coran and Romelle are happy on Altea. Hunk is always travelling across the universe with Shay. Shiro's retired to find his happy ever with Curtis. You're running Daibazol with your mum, and Kolivan... All I had left was Earth, but it's not home anymore. I don't recognise the streets. The beaches. The people. Nothing can ever be like it was before. In the castle, all I had were my dreams of going home... and now I have nothing. So thanks for stopping by, but you need to go" Grabbing him by the sleeve, Lance forced him over to the door, opening it than pushing him forcibly into the hall. Whether by accident or not, his friend's communicator slipped from Lance's hand as he withdrew his grip "I haven't seen your friend. Go home Keith. I know what I'm doing" Kosmo teleported out just as the door was closing, the pair of them left standing in the hall shocked at what had transpired. This wasn't the Lance he knew... but did he even really know him anymore?

[myotishia]

Time hopping part two

Fandom: Torchwood. Trigger warnings: None I don't think but tell me if I've missed anything. Characters: Owen Harper (Past and present), Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Elise Carter (oc) Rating: Teen and up Tropes: We’re fixing things right over here.

Blurb: After being swept into Owens plan Elise is going to have to face her own actions and the effect they have on others. Not only that but she’s been given an important duty, to keep Toshiko Sato distracted.

After another time jump that almost ended with Elise losing what was left in her stomach the pair headed to a hotel. Owen, to the receptionist at least, looked like a normal patron. He flashed a credit card and the receptionist nodded as if this happened all the time. Elise followed the woman in an expensive looking suit to a room that was larger than Elise’s own flat. Owen finally broke the silence as he waved off the receptionist.

“You look exhausted. You should get some sleep.”

The brown eyed woman sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off her boots. “What was that about?”

“Torchwood. Sometimes after something went down we all just couldn’t face going home so we have a tab here. Thought you might need it.”

“Yea… I mean I’m practically homeless right now.”

“You can order room service if you want.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “I haven’t eaten in at least twenty four hours but now I can’t even think about food… I’m going to take a shower.”

“Will you be ok on your own?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I’m going to check on the aftermath. I need to relax for a while anyway.” He held up his hand as it dispersed into the air like salt in water.

“I’ll be here.”

She watched him dissolve completely before heading into the bathroom, turning on the shower and attempting to patch clean her jeans, mud from the field dried into the knees. She hung them on the radiator to dry and stepped into the shower appreciating the warmth. The day hit her like a bus. She sank to the floor and sobbed, overwhelmed. It was as if she really had jumped into the bay, drowning in the darkness, pulled under by death himself. She traced the scar on the back of her hand with her fingertips. She wasn’t alone anymore. For the first time in years she wasn’t completely alone. The warmth seemed to finally permeate her core and she pulled herself up, washing away the day and the thoughts that weighed her down. Finally she stepped out and bundled herself up in the fluffy white towels and a very plush dressing gown.

After a short trip as the crow flies Owen drifted watching two familiar figures below.

Gwen leant next to her workmate on the bars dividing them from the bay water.

“Are you ok? You’ve been quiet… I mean quieter than usual.” She asked.

Ianto continued to look out across the water, “I lost someone a few nights ago.”

“Oh god Ianto I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you say? I’m sure Jack would’ve given you some time off.”

“I’d rather work to be honest.”

“Who were they?”

“Someone I loved… She’d been gone for a long time in a way. I just hoped…” He paused, words lost on the wind.

“Oh sweetheart.” She pulled him into a hug that he didn’t fight.

Elise had closed her eyes for only a moment when she found herself in darkness, far from the sounds of the hotel tv. Drifting. Weightless. Far off, huge footsteps echoed, the vibrations hitting her in the chest. She tried to feel which direction it was coming from but it seemed to come from everywhere. A final loud bang pierced the air and a sharp pain bloomed in her chest followed by a falling sensation.

Owen looked up as Elise jolted awake with a loud gasp, as if she’d just resurfaced from a deep pool.

“Woah Elise, it’s ok.”

“Hurts.” She gasped, a hand over her heart.

The doctor took a swift step forwards, watching her carefully. “Take a deep breath. Can you tell me what hurts?”

“I…” She took a few deep breaths. “It’s gone… Bad dream, I think.”

“Are you sure?”

The cocoon of towels and blankets nodded. The worry in Owen settled but a sharp phantom pain shot through his own heart. A pain he thought he’d long forgotten. A pain he wanted to forget.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you… I hate to be a pain but will my debit card work in this time?”

“No. It won’t have been created yet. What do you need?”

“Just a change of clothes and a few other things if you plan on making me run or anything.”

“I think Torchwood can owe you that much but you’ll have to emerge from your blanket fort.”

“No deal.” She pouted, pulling the dressing gown tightly around her as she got up and headed into the bathroom. Her jeans were dry and they hadn’t stained thankfully. As soon as she got something else to wear she’d throw everything away. She didn’t want to look at them.

One new coat, two new sets of underwear, one new pair of jeans, two new shirts and a set of hairbands later Elise was ready to go.

“Is this next job a little nicer?” she asked.

“Depends how it goes. Hopefully you can just keep Tosh distracted while I keep track of someone.”

“How would I keep her distracted?”

“Easy. Tell her you know about Torchwood.”

“And when she asks how?”

“Improvise”

“I’m not good at lying.”

“Then don’t. You are from the future, just show her your phone or something.”

“My phone’s old.”

Owen stared at her for a moment before the pin finally dropped. She pulled the phone from her pocket and compared it to the ‘new’ models in a nearby shop window.

“How did people deal with having less than a terabyte of storage at least. Even this old piece of junk has three.”

“Exactly. You can use the money I gave you just don’t get drunk. I don’t want to have to wait for you to sober up. Just keep her away from the blond at the bar.”

“I need to send a message. Will you be ok on your own?”

“I’m not a bloody child!”

“Says the woman who was found in a blanket fort.”

“Just go.”

Gwen leant back in her chair. “Just admit it, you left me the note.”

“I was with you, when would I have had time? I’ve checked the cameras.”

“You mean the ones that conveniently glitched out?”

“There was a sudden wave of electromagnetic interfearence.  They didn’t glitch.” Tosh interjected. She was sick and tired of this conversation. It had been going on for over a week and it sounded like Owens usual nonsense.

“See? Right from the expert. Wasn’t me.” Owen threw a ball of paper into the bin that sat across the room.

“Then who was it?” Gwen continued, as stubborn as ever.

“Fuck if I know. I’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“Like what?”

“I got a new body this morning.”

“Shouldn’t you be working on it then?”

“It’s just bones. Not as if whatever did it is still walking around.”

“Maybe.”

Owen paused before standing. “Ok, if you’re so smart you can tell me what happened.”

“What?”

“I’m serious. Come on.”

Gwen shook her head but followed anyway.

Tosh moved to grab her coffee but it had long gone cold. It was just the last part of a very frustrating day that had given her a stress headache. She couldn’t concentrate. Pulling her bag onto her shoulder she headed out. If Owen was going to act like Gwens best friend then maybe she’d find someone who actually wanted her around. That or at least get a drink.

Elise sat down next to the woman Owen had pointed out to her and smiled.

“Hi.”

Tosh jumped as if she’d been pulled from a daydream. “Oh sorry. Hi.”

“I’m Elise. You’re Toshiko, right?”

“How do you know that?”

“I know about Torchwood. How’s Ianto holding up by the way... Don’t worry, I don’t mean you any harm.”

Tosh had gone quite pale but she kept her composure. “Slow down. How do you know about Torchwood?”

Elise took a sip of her drink. “An agent stopped me from doing something I’d regret. He was drifting through time and long story short I ended up travelling with him.”

“Do you have any proof?”

The brown haired woman placed her mobile phone on the bar. “Go ahead. If you have a look at the news sites they should have a short history saved. I can’t connect to the internet here but maybe you can.”

Tosh turned the unfamiliar phone over in her hands, checking the ports and any brand naming. Nothing she recognised. Even opening it up didn’t show her anything she’d seen before, at least not in such a compact form. The sim card and memory cards had names she’d never heard of printed on them. She wanted to double check but at that moment she realised that, in her frustration, she’d left her own mobile on her desk. Next she switched the device on and hit a roadblock. It needed to be unlocked.

“Sorry. One second.” Elise said, taking the phone back and holding it up. “Retinal scanner. A bit much I know.”

Once it was unlocked Toshiko immediately hit the web browser and it did bring up well known news sites but all the dates were for over twenty five years in the future.

“Can I keep this?” She asked.

“The speaker doesn’t work very well. I had to resolder a few of the connections more than once but go ahead. It’s not as if I have anyone I can call. Even in my time the only one to answer would be my roomba.”

“You still have those?”

“Yea. I got mine from a friend who worked at my local scrap yard. It was old but it still worked. Just needed a bit of care and attention.” Elise smiled softly at the memory. “I reprogrammed him because he was oversensitive. He’d make his little warning beep whenever he hit the doorframe or got stuck under my bed. I gave him a little AI that could tell where he was. It went a bit far when I walked in on him humping the base of a lamp.”

Tosh nearly choked on her drink as she laughed.

“I’m serious. I think he just hadn’t worked out that it wasn’t a ramp with an obstacle. Of course I gave them my blessing. At least he could get a date.”

“Do… Do you want to get something to eat?”

“I’m starving. You lead the way. I doubt any of the places I went to are here yet.”

Owen, his future self at least, had enjoyed watching the creature known as Mary get exactly what she deserved. Eons of looking back had amplified his bitterness, remembering how heartbroken Tosh had been. The feeling of broken trust around the hub. It had been the same with Ianto, doubting every interaction. They deserved a win before the next case that would fall to them. Of all the monsters and eldritch abominations they’d faced somehow humans were the worst. There was no one thing he could do to change the events to come, like a perfect storm it would blow through, unstoppable. He just had to do his best to limit the damage of the aftermath. He knew the notes he’d left for both Gwen and himself wouldn’t be enough to stop his past self being an idiot. He just hoped the anonymous message he’d sent to Rhys would be. “Gwen’s been given a sensitive project at work but she doesn’t want to go to counselling. When she gets back I've set up a date for you both to try and help her decompress from the whole thing. Below I’ve included all of your reservation details. Everything has been paid for. She may not be able to talk about her work but maybe a night to forget about it all will help.” It was a risk to leave evidence of his existence and he was sure it would end with them investigating his activities but it had to be done. Owen had to fix his mistakes, for his own sake if no one else's.

“-And he’s spending all of his time arguing about notes like a schoolchild.” Tosh continued over a spoonful of sorbet.

“Sounds a bit desperate if you ask me. Didn’t you say she had a boyfriend?”

“Exactly. Who does that?!”

“It’s not worth stressing out over. I mean you’re smart, beautiful, you’ll find someone worth your time.”

She blushed lightly at the compliment. “Not in this job.”

“And you have people who love you. That’s worth way more than a few dates.”

“Didn’t you have anyone?”

Elise paused and took another bite of her cheesecake. “Not really. I haven’t spoken to my parents in years. Not that I’d want to. All they ever did is put me down and use me. I fell out of contact with my school friends long ago and my workmates just aren’t into the same kinds of things I am. They go out drinking and I’d rather go home and build something. Nearest thing I had to a friendship was the guy at the junkyard and I didn’t even know his last name. The night before I met… The agent… I came home to my flat and it’d been ransacked. Everything was gone… Sorry. I brought the mood down.”

“No. It’s ok.” She leant down to her bag and pulled out the phone. “You should keep this.”

“Are you sure? I’ve got nobody to call.”

“Yes you have.” She let Elise unlock it and started typing her number in. “Now you can call me.”

“I hope I can… Tell you what. I’ll give you all of my details and we’ll see if we can keep in contact even when I’ve time jumped again.”

“That sounds good. Thank you for tonight. I think I needed this.”

“Me too. Just remember, even if I don’t answer right away I’m still out there somewhere and after whatever Jobs we need to do get done I think I want to come back. We can go out for dinner again or something.”

“I’d like that.”

They were interrupted by a waiter stopping at their table. “I’m sorry to bother you miss. There’s a gentleman outside looking for you.”

Elise’s heart sank slightly. “Ok. Thanks could you tell him I’ll be out in a minute?”

“Of course miss.”

Elise grabbed a napkin. “Do you have a pen?”

Tosh grabbed one out of her bag and handed it to the woman as she stood.

“This is my number, my email address and my backup email. I’ll see you again Tosh. I promise.” She handed over the napkin with the money for their meal before turning and heading out with a smile on her face.

Owen was waiting just outside but out of sight of the windows. “I said distract her not take her on a date.”

“It wasn’t a date.”

“You were giving her the fuck me eyes the whole time.”

“I was not! Were you watching us the whole time?!”

“Not the whole time. Anyway, we have work to do. Time’s already been shifting so I’m having to compensate. Originally this nights events were set to begin in another three weeks. They’re all going to be called out to the brecon beacons so we have time to sneak into the hub and fix a few things. I can introduce you to Janet.”

“Who?”

“The hubs resident weevil.”

“I’ve seen bugs before.”

“Janet isn’t a bug. You’ll see when we get there. Ready for a time jump?”

“I’ve just eaten.”

“Lucky you.”

“If I throw up I’m going to aim for you.”

“I’m a doctor. We’re trained to dodge vomit.”

“You’re such a dick.” She punched him gently in the arm.

Owen was caught off guard by it actually connecting but found himself smiling. It had been so long since he had any real human contact.

After a jump and a short walk Owen switched on the lights in the hub. They didn’t have to sneak like the last time they had visited so Elise took a moment to walk around. She looked over the desks and anything that had been left out  stopping at a large jar containing what looked like a severed human hand inside.

“Owen… What the fuck.” She said, pointing at the floating limb.

“Yea, we need to take that with us too.”

“I say again, what the fuck?!”

“It belongs to Torchwoods most wanted. Known only as The Doctor. He’s a time traveller and Jack is more than a little bit obsessed with him. The bigger the problem the more likely it is to be connected to captain Jack fucking Harkness.”

“Right.”

“I’ll deal with it. Come over here.”

Elise made her way over to where Owen was standing, looking up. She followed his gaze to see something moving far above them hidden by a balcony.

“Myfanwy!” He called.

The thing moved over to the edge before revealing itself as a large pteranodon.  It flew in a spiral before landing clumsily, chirping and snapping its beak.

“That’s a dinosaur.” Elise gasped as if it weren’t obvious.

“A pteranodon. She’s the hub pet.”

“Can I touch her?”

“If she lets you. She won’t hurt you but she gets bitchy if she hasn’t been fed recently.”

She reached out a tentative hand towards the creatures beak. It tilted its head and sniffed her before nudging her hand gently, or as gently as a large creature can.

“Easy girl. It’s ok. Good girl.” cood Elise as she pet Myfanwy's beak.  

“When you’re done we can go down to the cells so you can meet Janet.”

“Isn’t Janet as friendly and this big soft bird?”

“Depends what you mean by friendly. It’s a weevils nature to bite whatever they see. They leave nasty bites too.” Owen tugged at the neck of his shirt, showing a large set of scars etched into the skin of his shoulder.

“Christ!” She walked away from Myfanwy who launched herself into the air and back to her nest. “Is that what… killed you?”

“No. I spent a while in hospital after it. Luckily Jack dragged me out of there and stopped me bleeding out. I should have died then.”

“What did ... um…”

“Kill me? An arsehole with a gun. Shot me in the chest. Fucking cops didn’t search him.”

“At least it was quick.”

“Not as quick as you’d think. Come on, I’ll show you the cells.”

Owen was quiet in the lift down to the cell block, staring at the wall.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“I know. Just forget it.” He walked through the door the second he could and towards a cell that was lit up. Each had a clear glass wall and a metal security door at the other end of the room. An odd sound rose from the cell that Owen stood in front of. It was a whimpering or crying but it wasn’t human. It was similar to whale song but rougher.

“This is Janet.” He said. “She’s afraid of me now. As soon as I came back from the dead she started reacting like this to me. Usually she growls and tries to charge at whoever goes past.”

Looking into the cell Elise finally saw what was making the noise. A humanoid figure dressed in a blue jumpsuit cowered in the far corner. It had dark eyes and wrinkled skin, its lips pulled back in a snarl that showed pointed, shark like, teeth as soon as it saw the woman.

“What is it?” She asked, transfixed on the figure.

“She’s a weevil. They fall through the rift and gather in the sewers. Sometimes they come out at night to hunt anything that moves. They don’t need to, they can eat pretty much anything but they seem to almost enjoy it. From what I could tell Janet was… Is old. Kicked out of her group and left alone. We tried to send her back to the sewers but we found her on the doorstep the next morning.”

“She sounds lonely.”

The viewing area once again filled with weevil whale song.

“Come on. We have more we need to do before we go.”

Elise followed silently, her mind trying to process what she’d seen. Owen snapped her out of her daydream by waving a hand in front of her face. She realised she was sitting down and had completely missed how she’d gotten there.

“Sorry. I’m saying that a lot today.” She said, rubbing her eyes.

“Too much if you ask me. Have you ever been in a fight?”

“What? No.”

“Ever fired a gun before?”

“Of course not!”

“Shit. I’ll have to teach you that too. Right, first we need to grab a couple of things from the archive and then I need to walk you through disposing of one of the bodies we have in cold storage.”

“I didn’t follow anything you just said but ok.”

“We haven’t got time to let things settle, just try and keep up.”

[flauntpage]

DGB Grab Gag: Retconning the Knights, Touching Trophies, and Good Ol' Kerry Fraser

Three Stars of Comedy

The third star: The Golden Knights are feeling it – Laugh it up now, guys. Let's see how glib you are when you go through some rough times. You know, eventually. Probably some time in 2023 or so.

The second star: Ryan Miller's three-year-old son – This kid goes right for the jugular. I respect that.

The first star: This photo – I don't say this lightly, but this might be my favorite NHL photo of all time. Sorry, Bobby Orr, you had a good run. But this one captures the yin and the yang of what the league is all about: the overwhelming excitement of a game-winning goal, and the eye-rolling annoyance of basically everything else. It's perfect.

Debating the Issues

Editor's note: Due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict, this week's regularly scheduled debate is not available. In its place, please enjoy this rerun from June 2017.

This week’s debate: The expansion draft was held last night, and the Vegas Golden Knights finally have a roster. And wow, are they ever super-good! But was it wrong for the NHL to make it so easy for the Knights to become the Stanley Cup favorites right out of the gate?

In favor: I think it was. Sure, we all want to see new teams succeed, and nobody wants to go back to the days when the Senators or Capitals were terrible for years before they could build anything resembling a competitive team. But with last night's draft, the pendulum seems to have swung way too far to the other side. Because man, as everyone agrees, the Golden Knights are stacked.

Opposed: Well I… wait, sorry, what's happening here?

In favor: I mean, sure, it would be nice if the Knights could be in the playoff race in year one. We'd all have been on board with that. But instead, the league gift-wrapped the Knights with a championship roster from day one. I mean, talk about making it way too easy.

Opposed: They… they did?

In favor: Oh for sure. Imagine being one of the other teams in the Pacific, or even the Western Conference. You've been building up a team for years, hoping to contend someday. And then suddenly, you know you have no chance next year, because the league went and rigged the expansion draft to give the Golden Knights all the good players!

Opposed: [squinting at roster] I don't see any good players.

In favor: Look closer, because as fans around the league are unanimously declaring right now and certainly not with hindsight, the Knights are loaded. What team wouldn't want to start with established superstars like David Perron, Erik Haula, and Alex Tuch?

Opposed: I mean, those players are fine, I guess. But none of them are remotely considered stars.

In favor: And then there's Jonathan Marchessault, who's virtually guaranteed to score somewhere in the range of 74 to 76 points.

Opposed: He was good last year, but he's had one career season of more than 20 points.

In favor: And then there's William Karlsson. I mean, how could the league just hand these guys a 40-goal scorer?

Opposed: I… I don't actually know who William Karlsson is. What team did they get him from?

In favor: And then there's the goaltending.

Opposed: OK, yes, that's the one position we can agree on. Marc-Andre Fleury should be fine. He lost his job to a rookie in Pittsburgh, but he could absolutely give the Knights a solid option for a few years. As long as he stays healthy.

In favor: No, even if he gets hurt early and they have to use like five different goalies, they'll be totally fine.

Opposed: I don't understand anything you are saying right now.

In favor: And besides, Fleury will be healthy in time for the playoffs, at which point he'll turn into vintage Ken Dryden and lead the Knights to a Cup. Everyone is predicting this right now, in June of 2017.

Opposed: But Fleury has a reputation for being terrible in the playoffs.

In favor: And if having the best roster in the league isn't bad enough, the Knights also have the league's best coach (who was left at the curb by the Panthers) and the best GM (who made the Martin Erat trade). They're unbeatable! Everyone can see this!

Opposed: [looking around] what alternate reality is this?

In favor: The one where the expansion draft is rigged and everyone knows the league made it too easy on the Golden Knights. Duh.

Opposed: Yeah but, that's not what's happening. Everyone thinks the Knights drafted a terrible team. Literally every single person agrees on this point.

In favor: Well, everyone is wrong. And also, everyone is going to forget all about that by the time the Knights are about to win a Cup. Within about 11 months, we're all going to be complaining that the expansion draft was rigged and this was all inevitable.

Opposed: How do you know all this?

In favor: Uh, call it a hunch.

Opposed: Man. A Stanley Cup run? I'm just not seeing it. It seems impossible right now.

In favor: Trust me, it all works out.

Opposed: Wow. I guess this Shipachyov kid must turn out to be unstoppable.

In favor: Yeah, about that…

The final verdict: We hope you enjoyed this rerun from June 2017. The regularly scheduled debate feature will return soon.

Obscure Former Player of the Week

The Capitals actually won a Game 7 this week, and they did it on the strength of a Braden Holtby shutout. It's fair to say that that's a reversal of the typical pattern when it comes to this team. And the only thing more painful than watching the Capitals lose a Game 7 is watching the Capitals lose the equivalent of two Game 7s on one night. So this week, let's bestow obscure player honors to Bob Mason.

Mason was an undrafted goaltender out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth who signed with the Capitals shortly after playing for Team USA at the 1984 Olympics. He made his NHL debut in a handful of games that year, and spent most of the next two years in the minors while serving as an occasional backup in Washington.

That changed in 1986-87, when Mason spent the entire year in the NHL splitting the crease duties with Pete Peeters. The Caps made the playoffs and took a 3-1 series lead against the Islanders in the opening round, so you can probably guess where this is going. The Isles extended the series to a seventh game, and Mason got the start. It would end up being one of the most memorable game sevens in NHL history: The Easter Epic, a quadruple overtime thriller that ended on Pat LaFontaine's winner.

Mason's stunned reaction was one of the greatest Sad Goalie Slumps ever, and is burned into the memory of most Caps fans to this day.

Mason was picked as the third goalie for Team USA in that summer's World Cup; by then he'd signed with the Blackhawks as a free agent. He spent a year in Chicago before being dealt to Quebec and then back to Washington, and he finished his NHL career with a half-dozen appearances for the Canucks in 1991. He bounced around the AHL and IHL for a few more years before retiring, having played 145 NHL games.

Mason went on to a career in coaching, and has been the goaltending coach for the Minnesota Wild since 2002.

Outrage of the Week

The issue: Both the Capitals and Golden Knights capped off their conference final wins by touching the trophies. The outrage: You never touch the trophy! Is it justified: We can all agree this stupid tradition can end now, right?

It was cool for a while, with a neat sort of "We only have one goal" vibe to it. Then it morphed into a superstition, which was fine. But then, like everything else in hockey that's vaguely fun, it was almost immediately beaten into the ground. Playoff beards were cool too, until they became mandatory and 19-year-old kids who'd never shaved in their lives were suddenly being brow-beaten about it if they didn't show up looking like a stunt double for ZZ Top. When "Don't touch the trophy" went from suggestion to commandment, any fun drained out of it. Once the NHL marketing department starts promoting something, you know it's run its course.

But now that both teams have done it, one of two things will happen. One, they'll catch some rare strain of influenza from the trophy and the Final will be cancelled. Or two, we can all stop pretending this is a thing.

Here's hoping we over-correct by steering in the other direction, and it becomes a competition to see who can come up with the most creative way to engage with the conference final trophy. Skate it around. Dance with it. Paint a little face on it, wrap a jersey around it and make it sit on the bench during the final. Give it a name and everything. "This is Campbell, he's our backup goalie tonight."

Just touch it. Or don't, if that's your thing. But let's all stop pretending the whole thing is endlessly fascinating.

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

We've spent some time over the course of the year reliving the 1992-93 season, i.e. the best NHL season ever. That was 25 years ago, and it can be fun to check the calendar and see what was happening, or about to happen, during that frantic season a quarter-century ago.

Which means right about now would be when we'd get to … sigh … look, can we talk?

Maple Leaf fans, I know you're expecting it. But we don't have to do this. Just because you hit yourself in the face with a hammer 25 years ago doesn't mean you have to relive it every year for the rest of your life. Remember a few weeks ago when we did the Wendel Clark/Curtis Joseph clip? Remember how happy we all were? Back when Curtis Joseph's head exploded? Good times. We can stay that way. There's no reason to go any further.

Yeah, you're right. We really don't have a choice. Fine. Roll the clip.

So it's May 27, 1993, and no I didn't have to look that date up, thank you very much. The date has been ingrained in the heads of Maple Leafs fans ever since. Literally, in some cases—some of us got tattoos. Don't judge until you've been there.

Here's the situation. The Maple Leafs are in L.A. to face the Kings in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final. Toronto leads the series 3-2, meaning a win sends them to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1967. Waiting for them there: the Montreal Canadiens. It's destiny. It's going to happen.

But first, the Kings, who apparently missed the memo about the inevitable Leafs/Habs showdown. They've given Toronto a tough game and held a 4-2 lead late in the third. But Wendel Clark tied it up with the goalie out, completing a hat trick and quite possibly the best individual game by a Maple Leaf in the modern era, so now we're in overtime. Can you guess what's about to happen?

If you said "the worst thing ever," then you win.

The Kings are on the powerplay because Glenn Anderson took the Target logo literally, and they're set up in the Leafs zone. But Wayne Gretzky's shot is blocked, and while going for the rebound he clips Doug Gilmour under the chin, drawing blood. That's an automatic five-and-a-game back in 1993. But will they call it?

Seriously, will they? I've watched this clip roughly ten thousand times and I keep waiting for the ending to change.

Gilmour goes right to referee Kerry Fraser, who confers with his linesman. Meanwhile, Harry Neale knows exactly what's up. "Wouldn't this be something if Wayne Gretzky was thrown out for a high-stick." Indeed, Harry. Wouldn't it, though.

I know the whole "Kerry Fraser has great hair" thing was beaten into the ground over the years, but good lord, he really did have great hair. Look at it. He's been skating hard for three hours at this point, and it's immaculate. Meanwhile, I get my hair cut and step outside into a slight breeze and I immediately look like Neil Hamburger. Life isn't fair.

So Fraser talks with his linesmen, who don't seem to have much to say. It goes without saying that Fraser took a ton of heat over what comes next, and to some extent the buck stops with him. But as Don Cherry pointed out two nights later, his linesmen could have bailed him out here. Any of the three could have made the call; none did. But Fraser has been hearing about it for 25 years, and most Leafs fans couldn't even tell you who the linesmen were. Did we mention the part about life not being fair?

Gretzky's guilty face here is the best. He's every little kid who ever wet his bed and really hopes mom and dad somehow don't notice.

We get a decent replay, which makes it clear that this is indeed a penalty. To this day you still hear people try to make the "It was on the follow-through" argument. Those people are liars who deserve to be in jail.

Now comes the weirdest part of the clip, especially if you're a fan that's heard about this play but never actually seen it. Neale is breaking down the replay, and just casually slips in a "They're not going to give him a penalty by the look of it," and the game just continues.

Really, that's it. Nobody's all that shocked. Pat Burns doesn't throw a fit. Gilmour barely complains. Neale and Bob Cole kind of shrug. And the game continues. That's the weird thing about this play in hindsight—at the time it happened, it wasn't actually that big a deal. Even after Gretzky scores the winner a few seconds later, the missed call was considered one part of the story. Compared to what happens when a call gets missed today, the immediate reaction was pretty mild.

I'm not sure why that is. Part of me thinks it's because before Twitter, we were actually able to process things without immediately racing towards the hottest possible take. Or maybe it's because this was a West Coast game, and it was after midnight in Toronto and we were all too tired to get worked up. Or maybe everyone just kind of assumed the Leafs were winning Game 7 at home. Whatever it was, the missed call didn't really ascend to legendary status until after the Kings won the series.

Epilogue: The Kings lost to the Canadiens, ironically with help from another controversial Fraser moment. The Leafs have yet to get this close to the Stanley Cup Final again. Fraser admits that he missed the call, but has had to deal with criticism, conspiracy theories, and random idiots ever since. And Maple Leafs fans got over it, and certainly didn't drone on and on about it for decades.

Also, I still get angry every time I see a Target logo, but that's probably just me.

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you'd like to see included in this column? Email Sean at nhlgrabbag@gmail.com .

DGB Grab Gag: Retconning the Knights, Touching Trophies, and Good Ol' Kerry Fraser published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/