#and how if it’s true then they’re abandoning the show and leaving everyone halfway

[toa-kirhan]

First time watching ToH S2E10 (Yesterday’s Lie). Thoughts below:

Detailed thoughts:

Oh my god, this episode was too much. It’s only halfway through the season and they drop that on us? I swear, by the time we get to the series finale, this show will have figured out how to make me cry for real. They’re definitely getting close.

First up: Vee, sweet, precious Vee. Everything about her life up until this point has been so tragic. Vee was raised in captivity as a test subject along w/ her fellow Basilisks, experimented on by the EC, and forced to drain the magic from other living beings.

When Vee finally escaped w/ the others, she managed to find the perfect opportunity to make a new life for herself: by taking the place of someone from the Human Realm who just left for the Demon Realm. There, Vee finally got to experience true love and compassion for the first time in her life by experiencing the love that Camila has for her daughter, Luz.

After months of settling into her new life, becoming the person that Camila thought she wanted her daughter to be, Luz finally reappeared. Luz was Vee’s past coming back to haunt her, a reminder to Vee that the love she’s felt, the new life she that found for herself, was borrowed. Soon, she’d have to run again to find somewhere else, someone else, to be.

In that way, Vee makes for an interesting mirror to Luz as they’re ultimately both looking for the same thing: they both want to find a place where they’re accepted by others and feel like they belong, and they both run away to achieve that. While Luz didn’t feel like she can be herself at home, leaving for the Demon Realm, Vee never had have a home and escapes for the Human Realm.

Although Vee only brings it up for a moment, that difference b/w the two is a source of envy and resentment for Vee towards Luz. Vee’s feelings are completely understandable: it’s difficult seeing others leave behind, or at least, fail to appreciate, a life that you could only wish for.

The validity of Vee’s feelings doesn’t invalidate Luz’s either. Luz has every right to want something more from her life, while not wanting to completely abandon who she was or the people that knew her either. I’ve said it before, but what Luz really wants isn’t to become a witch or go on fantastic adventures, even though she wants that too, but to be accepted by her mother for who she is in her entirety, eccentricities and all.

Moving onto Camila, while the previous episodes have shown her living happily together w/ Vee, it’s clear that Camila wasn’t totally satisfied w/ how her daughter seemed to change from her time at camp. Camila wanted Luz to act more ‘normally’ out of concern for her daughter that her eccentricities would prevent her from being successful at making friends and adjusting to the real world.

Vee, tries her best to be the person that Camila wanted her daughter to be, but seeing Luz seemingly abandon her past and suppress creativity is difficult for her mother, who still clings on to the Luz that she used to know. When the real Luz contacts her, she’s delighted by her explanation of what’s going on, convinced that her daughter is finally expressing part of herself again.

Once Camila learns the truth, she, and everyone else from Luz to Vee, is swept up in the whirlwind of emotions. Camila sees a frightened child in front of her in Vee and is able to reach out and still show her that same love she has over the past couple of months, protecting her from danger, and sheltering her in her home. It’s only when she has the opportunity to speak to her daughter that her composure falls apart.

Learning the truth about Luz and where she’s been, while a dream for Luz, has been a nightmare for Camila. Her daughter, her only daughter, is trapped in another world w/ no way for them to contact or return to each other, is a parent’s worst nightmare.

Even worse is learning that Luz chose to the Demon Realm: the anger of learning that her daughter disobeyed her and ran away from home, and the profound sadness and regret of what that really means, that her actions pushed her daughter away from her to the point that the only way she could imagine being herself was to leave her.

With the portal closed again, although Camila still has Vee w/ her, she doesn’t have Luz. Every time Camila sees Vee, she’ll only be able to think about her daughter and whether or not she’ll ever be able to see her again and whether or not it is her fault. The mirror is shattered, and w/ it, so too is its enchanting illusion. Now all that’s left is the horrible truth.

To end things on a slightly lighter note, the contents of the museum curator’s study (Jacob according to the credits) tells us a lot more about Philip and his backstory. Based on what we know, Philip Wittebane was apparently a British colonist from the 1600s around the time of the Connecticut Witch Trials which his disappearance likely caused.

The biggest reveal is that Philip apparently had a brother, as according to Jacob, two brothers were lured from the colony into the Demon Realm, possibly Belos. Curiously, we haven’t heard anything about Philip’s brother. Although nothing from the previous episodes suggests that there wasn’t another human living w/ Philip in the Demon Realms, his pointed absence suggests his importance.

A small note on Belos since I’ve brought him up, but it seems like the Titan’s Blood that is left in the key won’t be enough for Belos’ purposes. While the amount stored in the key seemed to be enough to regularly use the original portal door (possibly due to it being contained in the key), the small amount that Amity had on her glove could only open Luz’s portal door for a few hours.

If Belos can find a use for those few hours he can spend in the Human Realm, I’m curious to see what it’ll be. Either way, it seems Belos and Luz will have to look for more Titan Blood (strange that the (presumed) Titan Heart above Belos’ throne doesn’t produce any.)

General thoughts:

We’re back at Luz’s house? Will this just be another teaser or will the plot revolve around what’s going on in the Human Realm?

They’re throwing out all of Luz’s stuff!

Is Luz’s mom starting to have regrets about sending her to camp?

Mirror Luz is placing down rabbit traps? Or is someone else?

Mirror Luz is looking forward to living a new life? No ill intent outside of impersonating her?

OH! IT’S AN ACTUAL MIRROR LUZ! I WAS JUST USING AN EXPRESSION!

I can’t believe they’ve managed to jury-rig a new portal door. Just have to see if it works.

It transformed into an actual portal door! It looks a bit bent out of shape tho.

HUG! ^^

This is... uh... this is different from the original portal.

So Luz managed to trap herself in the mirror realm? Oh, she can summon reflections for her to see through?

There’s no glyphs in the in-between realm?

Is there something keeping them from hearing her? Oh, she can be heard! OH THE OTHER LUZ IS A DEMON!

So doppelganger Luz (not actually Mirror Luz) is on the run and hid in the Human Realm? I assume she’s hiding from Belos.

SHE’S A SELKIE?

“I’m Number Fiv- I mean, I’m Vee.” So Vee is part of a series of experiments.

I didn’t expect Luz and Vee to get along so quickly, but it makes sense given Luz’s (and Vee’s) personality.

So Luz and Vee are going to be working together for now?

Luz is from Gravesfield, Connecticut.

THERE’S A SECURITY CAMERA? Vee :c

Marylin, Edalyn, Gwendolyn... it seems Eda’s picked up on her family’s naming convention too.

Vee can smell magic?

So Vee happened to meet the type of friends that would help Luz endure camp in her place?

This episode is such a change of pace! No side plots, no other characters, just Luz and Vee roaming around her hometown.

Vee ;_;

A BASILISK! IT’S BEEN SO LONG SINCE THAT PLOT THREAD WAS FIRST BROUGHT UP I FORGOT ABOUT THEM! BELOS IS USING BASILISKS!

Belos wants to find out how Basilisks drain magic, presumably so he can drain the magic from everyone for the Day of Unity, or so that he can better manage his curse.

OH WITCH TRIALS! THE 1600s! THE CONNECTICUT WITCH TRIALS! Did Philip come back to the Human Realm and ended up causing them?

The curator’s been investigating Magic, Eda, and the Demon Realms? Was he going to give Vee used up cards?

HE SET UP THE SECURITY CAMERAS!

“And finally... get my account verified.” This episode has aged beautifully.

OH! WE’RE HAVING THAT CONFRONTATION NOW.

SHE STILL KEPT HER STUFF! ;_;

Oh no, Camila’s in for a rude awakening. It’s going to be tough to watch.

TWO BROTHERS?! PHILIP AND WHO?! PHILIP AND WHO!?

CAMILA TRUSTS HER- SHE LOVES HER! MY HEART! SHE’S SO SWEET! ;_;

GET THE SANDAL, PUNK!

OH! THE RAIN!

OH SHE’S CRYING! OH NO! NOT THE EMOTIONS! WHY IS THE SHOW BEING SO CRUEL? ;_;7

[teawaffles]

The Adventures of John: Chapter 4, Part 1

Setting off from Piccadilly Circus, Laura walked through Trafalgar Square, then headed down the Strand and Fleet Street. Without looking left nor right, she kept moving eastward across London.

Laura seemed to have been deeply affected by something; as they tailed her from behind, Sherlock let out a small laugh.

“Ha, she is really is a kid after all. Heading straight to her destination like a fool after sensing the slightest bit of danger. And not even considering the risk of being followed like this.”

John, who was walking beside him, spoke up.

“The way you’re talking, it sounds like you know where she’s going.”

“Of course. The address Wiggins said earlier — something’s hidden there. The stray dog sneaking into the building was just an outright lie, yet she turned pale upon hearing it.”

Though John understood what had happened earlier, Sherlock’s words completely eluded his grasp.

“What on earth do you mean, Sherlock?”

At his partner's baffled expression, the detective cracked an exuberant grin. Then, while keeping up the pace, he began to explain in a low voice.

“Well then, let’s start pulling back the curtain. In order to smoke out this shadowy ring of thieves, I used Wiggins and his friends to lay a trap.”

“The Irregulars?”

“Yeah. I asked them to search the slums; but at the same time, I also instructed them to spread a certain piece of information — that the stolen goods from the arrested thieves were being kept at our apartment. As such, there was a chance the other thieves would pay us a visit to retrieve the items.”

John thought back to the jewellery sitting on the sideboard. That had looked pointless at first, but in fact, there’d been a good reason why they were there.

“To be honest, it was a gamble — even I thought there was only a fifty-fifty chance it’d work, but it was a resounding success.”

Sherlock looked at the figure of the girl up ahead, and John was incredulous. At that moment, the pair had just walked past the facade of St Paul’s Cathedral.

“You’re talking about Laura? You mean, that child is one of those thieves from the slums?”

“Don’t underestimate her just because she’s a child. However, judging from how nervous she’s been, I’d say she isn’t one of the thieves exactly; I get the feeling that she’s been forced to follow their orders.”

Hearing that, John thought back to the scene at the cafe.

When he asked Laura if she’d been hiding anything, she had frantically denied it. Placing that reaction in the perspective that she had actually been trying to hide how she was abetting the thieves, it did make sense.

However, John was starting to get confused by all the unexpected revelations, and he fired back doubts of his own.

“Sherlock: to start with, how did you know Laura’s from the underclass? From her appearance, one would think she’s from the middle class.”

“Oi oi, isn’t that obvious? Her fingers were strangely brownish, weren't they? That trait’s often seen in merchants who shell walnuts and sell them on the street.”

“……I see.”

Hearing the detective’s precise analysis, John nodded in admiration. He had first noticed that peculiarity of Laura’s at the cafe, but Sherlock had spotted it right at their first meeting, and seen through her guise straight away.

“Let’s say you’re right. But then, why did Laura disguise herself like that?”

“It’s simple: the thieves knew that I was fairly certain they hailed from the slums, so they wanted her to hide her status just in case. It’s not clear whether she bought those clothes herself, or the thieves stole them — but anyway, that disguise didn’t fool me,” he quipped. “And you should also know that the details — her cuffs, thumbs, nails, and shoelaces — were extremely important and provided a wealth of clues.”

“But even if she is from the underclass, isn’t it at least true that she came by to ask us to search for her dog?”

“That’s a natural question, but I’ll tell you later why that was a lie.”

Putting aside the truth behind her request for the time being, Sherlock continued to explain his reasoning.

“Getting back to the topic: right when I dangled the bait, that kid showed up. But at that point in time, she hadn’t come to take the stolen items by force. Together with Miss Hudson, we were three adults against a child — the difference in physical strength was obvious. As such, our opponents definitely had another plan up their sleeve.”

“A plan…… Do you mean the search for the dog?”

“Precisely. In all likelihood, it carried three meanings.”

Sherlock raised three fingers.

“First: a simple reconnaissance.”

Hearing that, John agreed right away.

“They had to confirm if it was really you looking after the stolen items, rather than the Yard; so Laura visited us on the pretext of making a request.”

“Correct. It looks like you’re starting to get it. Then, reason two: under the guise of having us search for her dog, she wanted to make us both leave the flat.”

“……Ah.”

John finally understood what Sherlock had meant earlier — and he shuddered.

“If we’d left the apartment with her, then only Miss Hudson — a lady — would’ve remained behind……”

“The thieves were probably banking on that opportunity to break into the flat. Although we’d still only be three people even if we stayed behind, it’d be smoother if there were only one woman in the house. Hence, their ruse to have us ‘search for her dog’ was genius. It’s a reasonable request, coming from a child; moreover, it’s not something on a level where you’d go to the police, so it only feels natural for her to approach a detective about it.”

“These thieves sure have a horrible way of thinking, huh……. But as I said before, these are all premised on the assumption that Laura’s request was a lie: they’re still just hypotheses.”

“And as I said, I have definite proof that it’s a lie,” Sherlock replied. “But I’ll tell you about it later……. In the end, the thieves weren’t able to achieve the two goals I mentioned. And that’s because I anticipated their motives, and turned down the request. As insurance in the event of this scenario, Laura’s visit also carried a third meaning…… Sorry to break it off halfway, but we’re almost there.”

Just as Sherlock was about to reveal the final answer, it seemed Laura was nearing her destination.

She had arrived at a set of disused, run-down warehouses along the bank of the Thames, near the Tower of London. [1] The girl looked all around her carefully, then headed deep into the silent industrial district.

Then, she stopped before an abandoned warehouse, and stood there in a daze. Apparently, some kind of excessive shock had made her mind go blank. And upon seeing it, John — who had yet to know the full picture — was also shaken.

Before the girl’s eyes, in the open space before the warehouse—— stood dozens of people, their dirty clothes lending them the appearances of vagrants. Among the group were several hooded figures, whose faces couldn’t be clearly distinguished.

Upon seeing Laura, the vagrants all moved toward her in unison. Sensing the gaze of the crowd on her, she shrank and took a step back.

“……U-Um, why is everyone here? I thought we weren’t supposed to gather here in large numbers, since the bobbies would get suspicious……”

John was presently concealed somewhere behind the girl. From the way she had spoken, it was apparent that the crowd of people was familiar to her. Furthermore, at the very least, she had done something that would draw the attention of the Yard.

At Laura’s question, a middle-aged man stepped forward from the group. And upon seeing his eyes, John felt a glimmer of recognition.

“That’s what I wanted to ask you. What the hell was that?”

The man’s tone was one of formidable menace, and Laura shrank further and further away.

“W-What’re you talking about……?”

At that vague reply, the man tutted in frustration.

“……Then I’ll explain it to you. In the evening, I came all the way here to hide the cash we recovered from that softhearted chap.”

The man stared at the warehouse behind him, as if glaring at it, then returned his gaze to Laura.

“Then when I went into town, I heard some brats saying that there were stray dogs making mischief near these warehouses. I got curious and came back. But for some reason, the others also gathered here one after another. And when I asked them, they all gave me the same story about dogs or burglars or something showing up nearby.”

“Stray dogs……”

With a start, Laura spun around. Then Sherlock stepped out of the shadows with a dignified air, and revealed himself before the crowd. John still didn’t fully understand what was going on; but for now, he placed his belongings on the ground, and went to stand beside Sherlock.

“Dr Watson, and Mr Holmes? ……Did you both follow me here?”

Her own mistake finally dawned upon her, and she paled. But in contrast, Sherlock smiled like a child whose mischief had succeeded.

“It’s about time you realised. It seems your horizons are rather narrow: you should pay more attention to what’s behind you next time.”

At his suggestion, all Laura could do was to groan inaudibly. Then, the man who’d been speaking to her spat out a curse.

“This brat, getting completely tricked like that — what useless scum.”

Sherlock’s tone became derisive.

“Oi oi, a good adult shouldn’t talk like that to a kid, y’know. Still, you got the gist of my trick, right? I got the Irregulars to follow some of the vagrants in the parks, and that’s how I identified this place. As for the remaining people I’d investigated, who seemed to be your accomplices — one by one, I made them overhear rumours that all established the idea that this place was under threat. Then, as planned: everyone got antsy and gathered here in one friendly bunch.”

Trembling, Laura asked him a question.

“That boy Wiggins from earlier: was that your doing, Mr Holmes……?”

“Exactly. But as for the rest of these guys, I didn’t think it’d succeed this brilliantly. You all got way too panicked at the smallest sense of danger. But I’ll give you credit for hiding the loot in such an old warehouse; it’s no wonder we couldn’t find them, even after searching the slums down to its corners.”

Sherlock gazed at the warehouse in admiration. Speechless, Laura just stood there, rooted to the spot, and the man gnashed his teeth in frustration.

Standing beside Sherlock, John listened to their conversation while watching the man with the sharp gaze closely. A doubt arose in his mind, and he observed the rest of the crowd standing petrified before the warehouse — when he gasped in surprise.

Among the group, was the old walnut-seller from Regent’s Park.

The other people he’d bought items from, and given money to in order to obtain more information about Laura’s dog — John also recognised their faces in the crowd.

As he stood dazed, Sherlock patted him on the shoulder and revealed the truth.

“Now you know the third meaning from before. In other words, it was as though they were trying to recover their stolen goods — they used sightings of the dog as bait, and worked together to cheat you of your money. It’s a sly trick; and considering the odds of success, just getting it to work the first two or three times would already be a big achievement. But since you’re more of a softy than they anticipated, it seems you gave them nearly every penny you had.”

“…………”

As he recalled, every time he had decided on their next destination, Laura had confirmed it in an excessively loud voice. He himself hadn’t noticed; but in all likelihood, Laura’s accomplices had been in the vicinity, and that’d been a way of communicating their next location so the group could get there ahead of time. The cash the man mentioned at the start probably referred to the large sum that had disappeared from John’s wallet.

At long last, John understood the whole picture. But more than indignation at having been tricked, to have completely fallen for that: he felt ashamed at his own idiocy.

The man before them was now cornered. Even so, he regained his composure and spoke.

“Hold on, Mr Detective. It seems you think we’ve committed theft, but that’s all a misunderstanding.”

Opposite Laura, who was standing with her head drooped, the man launched into an eloquent speech.

“It’s true that we’re all working together. But as for our relation to this place, it’s just a meeting spot in the event of an emergency. Even if you were to search that warehouse and find stolen goods inside, that would just be a coincidence. It’s all just a series of misfortunes: in the end, you have no proof that we’re the thieves.”

He emphasised that it was all a fluke, though his assertion was a little forced in terms of logic. In itself, there was no issue with the group assembling before this abandoned warehouse. Of course, the amount they’d cheated from John had all been freely given by his own hand — as long as he didn’t ask for his money back, it wasn’t as if a crime had been committed.

However, just as Sherlock had declared right before they’d arrived here, he had the ammunition to shoot down that clumsy argument. Languidly, he approached the girl; and without hesitation, he reached into her pocket.

“——Then, what’s this?”

Footnotes:

[1] This seems to be the St Katharine Docks, which are located right beside the Tower of London. They had their heyday in the early 19th century, and so were probably in decline by this point. (A London history blog)

Translator’s notes

Laura’s path across London

Here’s a rough map of her nearly six-kilometre journey:

A: Piccadilly Circus

B: Trafalgar Square

C: The Strand (a street)

D: Fleet Street

E: St Paul’s Cathedral

F: Tower of London

G: St Katharine Docks

[morganaspendragonss]

holly's august extravaganza day 29: can you beat back the night?

for @girlwhowasntthere - i know you said i didn't have to write this one but i really wanted to, and i hope i did your prompt some justice! thanks @221bsunsettowers for the beta!

@badthingshappenbingo prompt: be careful what you wish for

ao3 | 1.3k | hurt jaskier, protective geralt, vague references to murder and implied torture

He misses the bard. Geralt won’t admit it, not even to Roach, but he misses him. After months—years—of Jaskier’s constant chatter and the sound of his lute, the silence, once valued above all else, is too much. He fills it by talking to Roach, and tries to ignore the way he sometimes waits for a reply, for a brief moment, forgetting.

It’s been months since the dragon, since Geralt lost both Yennefer and Jaskier in one fell swoop. He’s cursed himself many times over for the words he said—to both of them—and cursed himself more for the mistakes he made to get in this position in the first place.

This is the lot of Witchers, to be alone. He accepted that many years ago, longer than he cares to recall.

So why, then, does he still listen for Jaskier’s voice in every tavern he passes? Why, then, does he look for lilac eyes and a flash of magic around every corner?

Of course, the silence that surrounds him isn’t true silence. It’s the sound of birds in the sky, it’s the raucous laughter of drunks in the villages, it’s the scuff of his boots against dirt roads. Background noise, yet still it grates on him.

Worse, though, are the songs. They’re everywhere, known by the entire world, so it seems, and Geralt can’t go anywhere without being confronted by one. After all that time, he learned to recognise Jaskier’s style even if the words were not sung by him, and it is torture to hear them now and not have Jaskier grinning smugly at him from across the table.

Geralt had hated that expression. It seems impossible that he misses it now—but then, once upon a time, it had seemed impossible that he could ever enjoy the bard’s company.

How wrong he was.

How wrong he had been.

The town he finds himself in nearly a year after the incident is subdued, which isn’t so unusual anymore. Geralt has heard all about the growing threats from Nilfgaard, though he tries to keep himself out of these matters. He has his job, and politics mean little and less in comparison.

The hunt had been simple, over in mere moments, but still, Geralt is in need of food and a drink, so he steers Roach to the closest tavern. It’s the most lively looking thing in the village; smoke pours from the chimney, a yellow light spills onto the flagstones outside, and quiet music accompanied by louder cheers reach Geralt’s ears.

He curses under his breath; there’s no chance he’ll be able to pass as just another traveller here. But his options are few, so Geralt clenches his jaw and shoves the door open, pushing past village folk to get to the bar.

“An ale,” he grunts, ignoring the bartender’s wide-eyed gaze as it flicks from his sword to his hair to the pendant hanging around his neck. “And whatever shit you’re serving tonight; I don’t care as long as it’s edible.”

Even then, Geralt would probably still eat it—good food is a rarity on the road, and edible is usually the best he gets. The bartender doesn’t say anything in reply; he just nods, still with that idiotic look on his face, and scurries away, presumably to let everyone else in the tavern know that the fucking White Wolf is here.

He sighs and stomps to a table in the corner, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, even if it is slightly redundant by now. But, at this point, Geralt will take what he can get, and even a semblance of anonymity is better than none.

The food takes its time arriving, and Geralt is on his third flagon of ale before it finally shows up, accompanied by several apologies from the server. He ignores her in favour of his drink, then tosses more coin than the slop she’s placed in front of him is worth in her direction, in the hope that it gets her to leave him alone quicker.

It works, thank fuck. With luck, that’ll be the last time anyone in here bothers him, and he can leave before someone gets ideas and decides to approach him.

There’s a commotion at the front then the music suddenly gets louder, and Geralt drops his spoon back into his bowl with an annoyed growl. He’s halfway to standing, food be damned, when his ears catch the lyrics and, fuck.

It’s that fucking song, and Geralt is willing to bet everything he owns that they’re playing it because of him. Well, he’ll show them just how much he appreciates it.

Toss a coin to your Witcher,

If he had a crown for every time he hears that, he’d have more money than he’s ever seen in his life.

O, Valley of Plenty,

There’s something… Geralt frowns and stops in his tracks, something nagging at the back of his mind.

O, Valley of Plenty,

That voice…

He turns to the stage, elbowing through the crowd until he comes face to face with—

“Fuck.”

It’s Jaskier.

*

Geralt hadn’t planned on murdering anyone tonight, but one look at Jaskier’s battered face and sunken expression has him seriously reconsidering. The thought of turning around and leaving does briefly cross his mind, but Jaskier was his friend, once, and the sight of him now bears little resemblance to the man who had travelled with him those months ago.

It pulls oddly at Geralt’s heart, but he chooses to focus on the rage welling in his mind; rage that the loud, brash Jaskier he’d known had been reduced to this despondent, lifeless shell of a man.

The music screeches to an unpleasant halt as he steps up onto the makeshift stage, fiercely glaring at all those around him. Jaskier won’t look at him, which Geralt might understand, if it weren’t so violently against who the bard usually is.

“Who do you work for?” he growls lowly. When there’s no response, he makes a show of placing his hand on the sword at his hip, shifting his stance threateningly. He doesn’t raise his voice when he next speaks, but the other musicians flinch anyway. “Who?”

One of the musicians opens his mouth, but the voice that comes out is not his own, but Jaskier’s. “You should be more careful, Geralt.”

Geralt whips around, frowning at Jaskier. He’s staring down at his lute, plucking idly at the strings, his gaze seeming a million miles away. If Geralt hadn’t heard it with his own ears, he wouldn’t believe he’d spoken. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Words are powerful; I thought I’d taught you that.”

Jaskier still isn’t making sense, and Geralt wonders—not for the first time—if he’s lost his mind. He doesn’t have to wonder for long, however, as Jaskier’s next words throw everything into a horrific light.

“You should be careful what you wish for.”

And Geralt remembers the djinn, the three scars that still line his wrist, the cruel words he spat at Jaskier that day on the mountain.

“If life could give me one blessing, it would be to take you off my hands!”

Not a wish, not exactly, but close enough. Geralt isn’t fool enough to believe it the work of some djinn or another—he’s more inclined to label it a mere coincidence—but he feels the guilt regardless.

He may as well have wished it, after all; he had abandoned Jaskier on that mountain, miles from any town or village, with who knows what type of creatures and monsters around. Jaskier, alone with naught but his lute, would have stood little chance against anyone who wished him harm.

And the worst monsters, Geralt knows, are people.

“I will fix this,” he promises, then strides out of the tavern, intent on his task.

It takes less than a few hours for him to track down the man who took Jaskier, and mere seconds to dispatch him.

Geralt takes Jaskier from that town that same night, and he swears to them both they he’ll never let someone harm him again.

[thr-333]

Mismatch- Part 23

Bio dad Bruce Wayne month 2020

.............. (:

First< Previous > Next

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“How long were we gone?” Marion asks her, as they run through the halls back to class.

“Ahhhh,” The Akuma hadn’t been that hard but it still took time, “forty-three minutes,”

“It’s not that bad,” Marion shrugs, slipping as they turn the corner.

“Not that good either,”

“Now what would make you say that?”

“Marinette! Marion!” Lila’s shrinking greets them the second they open the classroom door, “Why would you leave me to do all the work?”

“Oh I see,” Marion whispers to her, she gives an ‘I told you so’ look.

“They had already completed more work in the three minutes they were here than you have in the past forty,” Damian sneers, Marinette watches with amusement as Lila visibly forces down the snarl.

“It’s meant to be a group project,” Lila’s lip quivers as they reluctantly take a seat at the table.

“Is that why you’ve spent the whole time talking to others and stealing their ideas?” Damian raises a brow, and hot damn if only she could film this.

“I wasn't stealing them, they wanted to help me out since my group abandoned me” Lila turns ‘innocent’ eyes to the tables near them, “Right guys?”

“I never said you could use our ideas,” One of the Gotham students looks upset as she talks.

“Plus you didn’t actually talk about the project only yourself,”  The other says, focusing on the worksheet in front of them.

“You could have at least tried to join another group,” Damian points out, gaming back Lila’s attention as she tries to defend herself, something about not wanting to upset the twins.

“Do you guys not like Lila?” Mylene, who was put with the students asks.

“Not really,” The second one shrugs, looking up from his worksheet for Mylene, “all she does is talk about herself and try to guilt you into feeling sorry for her,”

“Huh, I guess” Mylene shrugs, Marinette doubted they could break her out of Lila’s web, “Well Lila has a lot of achievement even with her disabilities,”

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Mylene looks shocked at the first Gotham students' tone.

“Mm, you get kind of good at reading people growing up in Gotham,” The other says, leaning back in his seat, “I would avoid her when walking down the street,”

Marinette looks away from their conversation, not wanting to see that look on Mylene’s face any longer. Instead, she focuses back on Damian and Lila still locked in a heated argument.

“Someone looks like their about to murder Lila,”  

“Oh sorry, I’ll reel it in,” Marion says deadpan, not looking up from his paper.

“Not you, him,” Marinette nudges him, making him look towards the pair.

“Oh,” Marinette can only sigh as a grin splits his face, “You want me to handle it?”

“Are you going to diffuse the situation or focus the blood lust on yourself?” Marinette asks instead.

“Hahaha, don’t be ridiculous,” Marion’s grin widens as he bounces over to the pair, leaning against Damian’s head, “Hey Dami,”

“Cheng-Dupain,” Damian tries to glare at him, giving Lila the chance to escape, naturally going crying to Rose and Alya, “Why do you insist on clinging to me?”

“Ummm, cause it annoys you why else?” Marion leans over to get in his face, not shrinking away from the scowl.

“Dupain-Cheng can you explain his behavior?” Damian turns to her, even under the weight of Marion.

“No, but he backs off if you hit him hard enough,” Marinette slides into the chair across from him, curiously his group members nowhere to be seen.

“Nette how could you!” Marion places a hand on his heart, “I am insulted you would think so little of my dedication,”

“So I cannot remove him by force?” Damian asks despondently.

“No, he’s like a leech-”

“Hey!”

“-He’ll fall off when he wants to,” Marinette shrugs, fiddling with her backpack.

“Everyone is so mean to me Dami!” Marion collapses against him, although he doesn't sag under the weight, “Don’t you feel sorry for me?”

“I do not,” Damian tuts, focusing on his book, “Do not call me Dami,”

“I’ll stop calling you Dami when you call me what I want,”

“And what would that be?” Damian asks with disinterest.

“Big brother,” Marinette gives him a warning look, just getting a wink in return.

“Absolutely not,” Damian snaps, trying again to push him off, not that Marion will budge, “We aren't even related, Dupain-Cheng tell him-”

“Big sister, call me big sister,” The look of utter betrayal on his face was completely worth it.

“I thought you had more sense than to feed into this rumor,”

Won't be a rumor for long

“Think of it as reverse psychology then,” Marinette shrugs instead, that news would come later today.

“That is unlikely to work,”

“What if we called you little brother then?” Marion leans back over into his line of sight.

“ No ,”

“No fun,” Marion shakes his head.

“No fun at all,” Marinette agrees.

“Cheng-Dupain you are an idiot,”

“Is that so?” Marion grins, getting up but not before ruffling Damian’s hair.

They watch as he practically skips to the front of the room handing a stack of papers over to the teacher with a flourish. They read over it with a frown that slowly melts into approval. Even if they can’t hear they can tell Marion is being congratulated, confirmed by him walking back seconds later with a smug grin. While the rest of the class rushes to finish off the project.

“What now little brother?”

“Impressive,” Damian's tone doesn't betray any sense of being impressed, “Of course I finished it in the first fifteen minutes of class,”

“Dami, I haven't even been here for fifteen minutes!” Marion cries out, taking a seat at the table instead.

“Tt” Damian reluctantly admits, “... that is true,”

“Are you conceding defeat?”

“ No ,”

“I think that's a yes,” Marion nods wisely under Damian’s glare, pointing to Marinette, “Nette write this down,”

“I hereby officially declare Marion the winner of the first challenge issued,” Marinette recites, doing her best loopy handwriting in her sketchbook, “As such he has the ability to bring this up every time Damian calls him an idiot, this will be valid for three years,”

“I never issued a challenge,” Damian’s face twists up, still looking betrayed that Marinette would go along with Marion’s game, but it looked like Damian needed some fun in his life anyway.

“Is that really how you want to spend your objection?” She asks instead, rolling up the paper and handing it to Marion.

“... Three years is excessive,” Damian corrects, just as the bell rings.

“Ops too late, bells going!” Marion jumps up before he can protest further, “Alright let’s go!”

With that Marion starts pushing Damian out of the classroom. They get halfway out of the building before Damian breaks off to grab something before leaving. The twins loiter around in the empty halls while Damian takes his sweet time.

“Uh-oh, Satan's envy approaching,” Marinette doesn't need to look down the hall to know Lila is headed their way.

“Hi Lila, can we help you?” She asks politely, but not polite enough to look at her as she does.

“Just because these stupid Gotham kids don’t believe me don’t think anything has changed,” Lila finally release all the spite that had built up over class into her tone. At this point, Marinette was willing to bet they were a form of stress relief for her.

“Are they stupid?” Marion considers, leaning against the wall, “They don’t believe you, I would guess that's the bare minimum of intelligence,”

“Everything will go back to normal at the end of the week!” Lila shrieks, “Well leave Gotham, I’ll make up some lie about you and everyone will hate you again!”

“Lila, what makes you think we care anymore?” Marion drawls, honestly they had much bigger things to worry about today than Lila, “It’s been so long I have no desire to be their friend again,”

“Then I’ll have to step it up!” Lila smiles nastily, Marinette catches Damian at the end of the hall phone out and has to keep the smile off her face, “Everyone will hate you so much they’ll really bully you and make your lives miserable! Do all the things I say you do to me!”

“Like push you down the stairs?” Marinette raises a brow, subtly nudging Marion to look at Damian.

“Yes,” Lila crosses her arms, looking smug.

“And destroy your property?” Marion catches on, even braving a little wave to the camera.

“Yes,” Lila scowls like they’re stupid for not understanding.

“Spread nasty rumors about you?”

“Yes!” She snaps at Marinette.

“Every time you’ve ever lied that we were mean to you?”

“Yes!”

“Great,” Marinette claps her hands, looking over to Damian. “You got all that?”

“I did indeed,” Lila pales as he comes up behind her, “I suggest you keep to yourself and not influence my decision on what to do with this footage more so,”

“I- you can’t- wait!”

“Get out of my sight,” Damian scowls, it being a lot more effective on her than Marion as Lila scuttles away.

“Dami have I told you that I love you?” Marion grins, giving Damian a side hug.

“Don’t be melodramatic,” Damian tries to push him off but Marion just latches on tighter.

“I loooovvvvveeeeee you soooooooo much,”

“That's it I’m no longer sending this footage to your class,”

“Dami nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,”

Marion somehow, somehow manages to keep it up until they reach the car. Alfred promptly forces Marion to drink a glass of water much to Damian's relief. Since Marion had ruined his voice with his little stunt there wasn't anyone to fill the silence. Marinette kept trying to distract herself, looking out the window and fidgeting with her clothes, they were in for quite the show, which would be great if they weren’t the main attraction.

Marinette can see Damian keep glancing over at her. She can see how he goes to say something several times before stopping himself. It breaks her heart to see him become more downcast the longer they ignore him. She looks to Marion for support, but he just taps his fingers to an erratic beat. He meets her eye just grimacing, she nods relieving the pressure from him. The atmosphere in the car grows stifling on the too-long journey to Wayne Manor. Marion practically leaps out of the car before the car even rolls to a stop.

Marinette follows Damian out of the car, watching as he walks more stiffly to the manor. She follows without the easy silence they usually have. They are guided to a room where everyone was waiting, technically family or not Bruce had given them a brief of every last one, and had likely done the same for them.

“What's going on?” Is Jason's immediate question, Selina slips into the room behind them.

“Is this about the rumor?” Tim asks, papers in one hand coffee in the other.

“Yes!” Marion points at him, nervous energy coming through his erratic movements, “And no,”

“It's really less of a rumor and more a very lucky guess,” Or unlucky depending on how this goes , Marinette adds privately.

“…. What?” Dick asks confused, everyone else either in thought or with dawning realization/horror.

Bruce slides a sheet of paper forward, on it a genetics test she isn't going to ask how he got a hold of.

“WHAT!” is chorused across the room, making Marinette flinch at the noise.

“Welcome to the family,” Dick pulls the two into a group hug, and is this what Damian feels like when Marion hangs off of him? The big brother hug?

“Wait... but who…” Tim trails off, looking far too tired for this conversation.

“Selina,” Bruce looks uncomfortable with all eyes snapping to them.

“Of course,” Jason mutters with a surprising amount of venom, knuckles white.

“This is unacceptable!” Is Damian’s outcry hands slamming onto the DNA test, she can feel Marion flinch beside her.

“How long have you known?” Dick turns hurt puppy dog eyes to Bruce, the hurt behind it making even Marinette’s stomach churn.

“What about-” Jason cuts himself off, glancing at the twins mysteriously.

“Excuse me” The twins jump at Alfred’s voice talking quietly to them, they get released by Dick who goes to Damian, getting brushed off, “But it may be best to give them all some time to process,”

They nod, slipping out of the room with the butler, leaving behind a mess of yelling as the door closes. They stand outside in silence for a moment before Marion breaches it.

“Well… that went well,”

“Ah Patrol the perfect place to ignore feelings and take them out on other people,” Marion stretches, looking over Gotham city. Marinette shakes her head at his antics, focusing instead on the fight in the alley below.

“Seems like we’re not the only ones,” She watches as Robin tears through the goons one by one, alone with violence she hasn't seen from him yet. Marion looks down as well, being the first willing to get in between the angry Robin and his angst.

“Hey there little bird,” Songbird drops down into the alley, Robin doesn't even spare the two a glance, “Let's try not to give the doctors a harder time than usual kay? I mean it’s Monday no one wants to deal with that,”

“It’s Tuesday,” Robin smashes another face in as if the date was the main complaint about what he was doing.

“Right, regardless, what's up?” Sparrow moves forward to take down the last thug in a much… nicer way.

“Nothing,” They both match him with equal stares of disbelief until he caves, “... my position is being challenged,”

“For Robin?” Songbird asks, something in Robin’s posture gives him away, “I know we joked about the name but we weren’t-”

“Not you,” He snaps, grappling hook taking him out the alley.

“Civilian life then?” Sparrow guesses, following him onto the rooftops, “We know a thing or two about that,”

Robin ignores them speeding up to run across Gotham. They let him for a while going to a spot that had a great view of the city. Marionette nods at Songbird when Robin lands on a gargoyle.

“I don’t know who they are, so I can’t speak for them,” Songbird lands in front, cutting off the best exit for Robin to jump to the next building, ignoring his look of irritation, “But I know you’re amazing and skilled enough not to be replaced,”

“Doesn't matter, that's just the way things go,” Sparrow lands behind them, crossing her arms as Robin seems to debate with himself, “Besides... it’s not just regarding skill,”

“Did you talk to them about it?” She asks, he pivots around to look at her, or rather glare, “Do you even know they want to take your place?”

“... No,”

“Alright then, just consider that maybe they’re not trying to hurt you,” Songbird rests a hand on his shoulder, which he surprisingly allows. He guides Robin to sit down as they do, looking over the city from atop the gargoyle.

“... This is how all the other Robins have been replaced,” He says after a time.

“And what? After that they all went ‘oh well guess it’s time to live a quiet life’,” Songbird’s comment lessens Robins frown, it might even be able to be classified as a smile for him.

“No, of course not,”

“Then there's no need to worry,” Songbird shrugs, kicking his legs no fear for the street far below him. “If you do get replaced, and I don’t think you will,” Sparrow adds quickly, “I have no doubt you will become something even greater,”

“... I’m meant to become Batman, it’s my birthright, and now it’s being challenged,” Robin reveals likely fatal information in the wrong hands, she prided herself in the trust that he thought they were the right hands.

“Again, talk to them about it,” Marinette suggests, rubbing a small circle into his shoulder.

“... They don’t even know?” To that Songbird bursts with laughter, offense crossing Robin's face.

“They don’t know then why are you panicking?” He laughs, lessening the tension in the air, “You’re worried they’re going to claim a title they don’t even know about,”

“....” Robin goes silent after that and they let him mull it over for some time. Marinette can tell Marion is judging when it’s best to pull him out of his spiraling thoughts.

“Heard you beat Sparrow on the swings,” He says randomly, looking out over the city, “Bet I could top you,”

“Yeah right,” Robin scoffs, relaxing a bit as he is broken from his thoughts.

“Well you see I have a secret,” Songbird conspires in a soft tone, despite literally no one being around to hear.

“And what would that be?” Robin sounds condescending, but she picks up the hint of keenness underneath it all.

“Singing,” His grin gives Robin pause.

“First of all that's a horrible strategy, putting energy towards singing instead of swinging,” Robin decides after a minute, “Second you’re horrible at secrets,”

I’ll have you know I’m an excellent secret keeper,” Songbird stands, ruffling Robins hair despite the look of indignation he gives,  “So rest assured this conversation stays between us,”

“... All of Gotham is going to know by the end of the night aren't they?” Robin gives Sparrow a flat look, she smiles.

“Yep,”

“HEy!”

--------------

Taglist:

@technicallyburninggarden @fusser90  @misslenamooney @superbwhispersconnoisseur @biodad-bruce-month @nalu-ismyjam @the-one-woman-army @rosesandsailboats @blackmagicforever @zeneralla @ivymala07 @tired-butterfly @Ranger-gothamite @A-star-with-a-human-name @enchanted-nerd @trippingovermyfeet

[kewltie]

i,,, had a thought what if izuku thought he couldn't give kasumi the best kind of future for her so when she had just turned two, izuku met up Katsuki's parents at their house and asked them to take care of her and quietly disappeared so katsuki ends up being a new up and coming hero with a baby girl on the side.

kasumi is raised in the Bakugou household and is love fiercely and spoiled atrociously her grandparents, daddy, and his friends. she got everything a girl can ask for but in the back of her head there's a fuzzy memory of green eyed man and his gentle low voice when he called out her name.  she loves daddy above all even when he's being very annoying and overbearing because Kasumi is Daddy's precious princess and very very much like him as everyone says but when she looks in the mirror she sees blond hair, a perfect face and smile that resembles daddy but her eyes are the color of someone's else. Someone who is long gone from her memories, but they live in each breath she take. Live in the green hue of her eyes.

she doesnt know this person name but she know who he is. her other parent, the one who had abandoned her. she thinks he's a coward and weak for giving her up. she hates him so she wants to find him one day and yell at him and tell him that he's horrible HOW COULD HE LEAVE HER?? DIDNT HE LOVE HER?!

Izuku had carried kasumi in his body for ten months and he had her in his arms, giggling and crying, for only 2yrs but he loves her with all he has. when he had handed Kasumi to mitsuki it felt like he was giving away a part of himself because she is his, his most precious treasure. he broke down crying afterward, like he had just ripped out his heart and given it away but he knows katsuki and his family would give her a better future and a happier life than he could ever do. this is for her, he told himself, but it doesnt stop the agonizing pain he felt. the pain never truly stopped even though he had moved halfway across the country so he doesnt give in to the urge to race back and beg the Bakugou to give Kasumi back to him. he can only watch her grow up in the public eyes as the little princess of the new no. 1 hero, ground zero, like a bystander in her life.

kasumi grew up as the darling of the hero community because she was an enigma to the world. A BABY SUDDENLY appearing out of nowhere and to the HOTTEST upcoming hero?? and he had her while he was in high school?! and WHERE WAS THE OTHER PARENT?! a hero single parenting at his age is absurd. it got the nation scandalized and fixated on katsuki and his baby since day one so kasumi heavily grew up under the spotlight and in the public eye. it didn't help that she was terrifyingly clever, beautiful, blunt, and a natural hellraiser just by being bakugou katsuki's daughter.

the public adore her and she kinda mostly tolerate them back because it can't be help that she's so cute and smart that ppl want to pay attention to her (that bakugou’ss arrogance and confident coming out) lol. every move she make and say is always on the news, she doesnt mind it. really. sometimes when she lets herself think about it, she wonder if HE is watching her on TV somewhere in the world. does he see how much she had grown up now? does he love the dress she's wearing? is he proud of her? is he regretting HOW HE COULD LEAVE SUCH A PERFECT CHILD BEHIND? maybe all her achievements (the best in her class, athletics awards, ballet dancing and extracurricular activities she'd picked up and bested everyone else at) is her way of drawing attention to herself, maybe if she's SHOW EVERYONE SHE'S TRULY THE BEST,,, he'll come back to see her one day. the thing is kasumi is perfectly happy with her life. daddy is the best thing EVER and she loves him so, so much because that she never feels like she's a burden or lacking of anything but even his love isn't enough to fill that empty void in her, the 2yrs that she’d spent with that person.

all the while izuku tunes to the TV everyday in hope of getting a glimpse of her somehow, cut magazines and news clippings of her, and keeps track of her life through pieces of reporting because even if he isn't in her life, he wants to know what's going on in it and if she's happy at all. he'd built an entire shrine devoted to kasumi in his bedroom. there are pictures and news/magazine clippings of her on his walls. any mentions of her from katsuki or others, he'll watch the vid over and over again till his eyes are tired and he can repeat it word for word.  

for several years he had watch her from afar, but on her seven birthday, five years since he'd let her go, he was so WEAK with longing that he bought a plane ticket just to see her. EVEN IF IT'S ONLY A GLIMPSE OF HER WILL DO, TO BREATH THE SAME AIR AND HE'LL LEAVE AGAIN. that's all he wanted. izuku in disguise had lurked around the bakugou's household with hundreds of fans and reporters because it's the birthday of the ground zero's most precious PRINCESS and everybody wants a piece of her. izuku should have been in there with kasumi and the bakugous celebrating  her birthday instead of lurking outside like a creep but maybe that's true in another world. not now though.

in this world, he's just some weirdo stalker who obsessed with bakugou kasumi and her daddy as he waits outside to maybe see a glimpse of her at all. then he heard it, kasumi's boisterous giggles as she loudly proclaims she will magnanimously grace her fans with her presence.

"daddy, these people are obviously here for me," she scoffs, talking to an annoyed katsuki as they stroll out to the front yard. "I'll just say hi then i'll come back. stop worrying. you'll get even more grey hair and what will i do if you become uglier?" SHE'S SO BLUNT AND MEAN and izuku wanna cry because that's HIS BABY

he actually didn't even get to see her in person AT ALL because he ran the fuck away as soon as her heard her footsteps coming outside the bakugou's enormous home because he couldn't endure it. he knows if his eyes fall upon her person even once HE'LL BREAK DOWN AND never let her go again!

he can tell kasumi is lively, healthy, and clearly HAPPY with her life because katsuki had done right by her. izuku knew it was the right choice to leave kasumi to him and to hear that evidence so CLEARLY it was a relief and heartbreaking because it means that he was also right that he couldn't give her this. izuku quietly disappeared back to his life, never stop watching kasumi closely and once kasumi turned nine he decided it been long enough and she probably forgotten all about him and no longer caring about the disappointing parent who had abandoned her in a moment of weakness.

izuku moves closer to them. they're finally in the same city after seven years apart but it's not like kasumi nor katsuki knows that he is here at all. he tries to keep a low unassuming profile and promised to himself that he’ll never approach kasumi or katsuki at all. he manages to keep that promise for a year. then kasumi turns ten and HIJACKS katsuki's press conference to declares in front of hundred flashing cameras that, "my daddy is getting old and lonely and i cant be with him always so i'll be on the look out for good spouse for him :3c!" as katsuki roars in the background lol.

izuku was heartbroken in a diff kind of way compare to when he had given kasumi away because this is katsuki and kasumi, the two people he loves the most, finally moving on without him. katsuki will have a new mate and kasumi will have another parent that isn't HIM. he's happy but also very, very sad.

this is where like FATE OR SOME BULLSHIT because izuku managed to avoid the two of them for an entire year but ~things~ happens and he accidentally bumps into kasumi and KASUMI IS TOTALLY CHARMED by this strange quirkless nervous man who looks at her like she's his entire world. shes like ahh,,, maybe i should introduce him to daddy as a potential mate? not knowing that the man she feels an inexplicably drawn/attached to is actually her papa. bakudeku MEETING AGAIN AFTER 10 YEARS and yea, SHENANIGANS, MISUNDERSTANDING, SO MUCH DRAMA and also KASUMI lol

[lemondropsssss]

“Hello Geralt.” By some strange miracle his tone is even, his hands don’t shake, and Jaskier doubts even Geralt could suss out his anxiety.

“Jaskier.”

Geralt looks different. Ragged would not be an incorrect word for it. Geralt’s hair is greasy, the white streaked grey from lack of washing. He’s dressed all in black par the course, but his shirt has seen better days and his cloak looks like it’s coming apart at the seams. Geralt is without his armor, but his steel sword hangs on his belt and Jaskier knows he has at least three knives hidden somewhere beneath the mess. He looks older, and more exhausted than Jaskier has ever seen him.

What is most curious is his companion. He can’t be more than fourteen, but why would Geralt have a young boy with him? He wears a loose shirt and worn trousers, and a cap covers his head. He looks up at Jaskier from under a too-big cloak, and he’s struck by all too familiar emerald eyes. There is only one green-eyed fourteen-year-old who could possibly be following a Witcher. A Cintran princess thought lost to the world.

He meets Geralt’s gaze and they have a quick nonverbal conversation over her head, Geralt confirming his suspicions of her identity with a curt nod. The ease and familiarity of their communication digs like a knife into Jaskier’s gut.

“We were hoping you could...” Geralt pauses, and Cirilla wastes no time in digging an elbow into his side. “We were hoping you could help us.”

“Help you.” He repeats, just to make sure he heard correctly. Not at all because asking had made Geralt’s face contort in ways Jaskier hadn’t thought possible.

Geralt sounds off a grunt and a short nod, which he supposes he should have expected from the Witcher.

“What kind of help do-” Jaskier is cut off by a door banging open down the hall, and the loud sounds of students spilling into the walkways. Geralt curls a protective arm around Cirilla’s shoulders, tucking her against his side and out of sight of any passing students.  

“We shouldn’t talk here. The University is safe enough, but walls have ears, and you carry precious cargo.” He nods towards Cirilla. “Right then. Help. You need to go to Number 6 Cheeseman Street. Tell Beatrice that you’re friends of Julian. Here, take this,” He tugs the heavy silver signet ring off his middle finger and holds it out to Geralt, “So she knows I sent you.”

“Who’s Julia- Wait. You’re not coming with us?” Confusion is evident on Geralt’s face, and the knife in Jaskier’s gut just cuts deeper.

You’re doing it again says the cruel voice in his head, You’ll give and he’ll take until there’s nothing left of use to him. And then he’ll run off with his sorceress and his child while you wither and die like the weak pathetic mortal man you are.

“You came at the end of this class, Geralt, but I do have another one today. Funny, how schools work on a non-Witcher-centric timetable, isn’t it?” Geralt looks reasonably chastised, and Jaskier can’t help but feel a spark of vindication at that. “I have responsibilities here that I can’t just abandon. Go and wait for me. Bea will take care of you, and you’ll be safe there.”

Geralt watches Jaskier turn on his heel and walk back into his classroom with a feeling akin to longing in his gut. He hadn't realized how much he had been missing the bard until he was standing in front of him. He was struck with the sinking feeling that their friendship may not have survived the dragon mountains after all.

“Here,” He grunts, passing Ciri the signet ring. If he’s disturbed by this new, different Jaskier he doesn’t show it. He can't show it, not around Ciri. She needs him, and he would die before failing her. Geralt knew Jaskier might have still been upset after their disastrous parting, but the changes he saw in his old friend were not what he had expected. He wore somber clothes, had shorter silver swept hair, and no open smile; the man who had come out of that classroom didn’t seem much like the Jaskier he remembered.

They collect Roach at the front gates, and begin the trek towards Number 6 Cheeseman Street. Ciri is quiet as they walk, toying the ring between her fingers. It’s been a long year, and Geralt knows she’s more tired than he is. He leads her through busy city streets, keeping her tucked close between him and Roach, finally coming upon the quieter richer streets favored by nobles and the prissier academics. Of course Jaskier would know someone here.

They reach Number 6, and Geralt pauses and situates Ciri half behind him before he rings the bell. It’s another minute before the door is opened.

“Yes?” An older woman asks. She’s short and stout, her more-grey-than-brown hair pulled back into a neat bun. There’s a softness to her, a kindness around the eyes, even as she frowns warily at them. She doesn’t seem like the kind of woman Jaskier normally fell into bed with, but it’s entirely possible the bard’s tastes had changed.

“Are you Beatrice?”

“I am. Can I help you with something?”

Geralt motions to Ciri, who holds Jaskier’s signet ring out to the woman. “We’re friends of Julian’s,” Ciri says, and Geralt can see the older woman softening at the sight of both the ring and the child. She inspects the ring for a short moment, giving a long sigh and muttering something about bringing home strays before stepping aside to let them in.

Beatrice is a force of nature, and it isn’t long before Geralt and Ciri have both been bathed, scrubbed, changed into clean clothes, and settled at the kitchen table with bowls of hearty stew and fresh brown bread. Roach is taken two houses down to be stabled. Bea, as she insists they call her, assures him she’ll be well taken care of. Their bags are brought back to the house and settled in their connecting rooms.

This is all done in the span of an hour, and it’s all Geralt can do to just let it happen. The woman doesn’t seem any particular threat, though he has put an idle thought towards what happens when whatever lord of the house shows up. He knows Jaskier has friends in all sorts of places, but he doesn’t know of any noble who would be happy to find an unknown Witcher at his table.

They’re halfway through their second helping of stew when Geralt hears the front door open, and an even tread making its way toward the kitchen. A moment later, Jaskier appears in the doorway. He looks over them both with a sharp eye, and Geralt feels strangely vulnerable under his gaze.

“Here you are, dear,” Bea hands Ciri another large slice of bread for her soup, and then passes another to Geralt. “Get in here,” She orders, and Ciri’s gaze snaps up, just noticing another has joined them. “I’ll not be bringing you supper to your room later, you’ll eat here with your guests.” It’s not a negotiation. Jaskier grins, holding up his hands in a sign of peace.

“Yes ma’am.” He sinks into the chair at the head of the table, and Bea puts down his own bowl of stew and bread. “I should have warned you, Witcher, Bea does have a tendency to over feed her guests; you and your companion are bound to roll away from the table.” Jaskier winks at Ciri over his bowl, and the girl offers a small smile in return.

“I am sorry dear, in all the commotion we were never properly introduced.” Ciri stills, and her gaze shifts to Bea in the corner before flicking back to Geralt. “Bea,” Jaskier calls out when he realizes her worry, “Would you mind giving me and my guests the room?” The housekeeper huffs but leaves, with a stern warning to Jaskier about what will happen if he lets the bread burn. It’s only when Jaskier can no longer hear her footsteps that he turns back to Ciri. “I admire your caution, little one. An important skill to learn when one travels with a Witcher. I wish you no ill will, and I can promise that no harm will come to you in this house.”

Ciri looks back to Geralt for confirmation, and he gives her a short nod. Jaskier feels a mild pull of hurt at the familiarity of their silent conversation, and quickly tucks it away before either can notice.

“Ciri,” She says quietly, sitting up just a little straighter as she does. “You can call me Ciri. But we use Fiona around everyone else.”

“Then perhaps you should remain Fiona during your stay here. I trust Beatrice with my life, and she’ll probably spoil you rotten as long as you let her, but it will be safer if she doesn’t know your true identity. Information is powerful, little one, but no one can let spill a secret they don’t know. I am very happy to see you safe here, Ciri.” He says her true name softly, and when she smiles at him the sight practically melts his heart.

“Who owns this place?”  Geralt interrupts, earning himself a scowl from Jaskier. “Not another lord you’re cuckolding?”

“It’s a bit hard to cuckold oneself, dear, but I supposed I could give it the old college try.” He’s smiling and his tone is light, trying to mask any hurt at the dig.

“What, this is yours?” Ciri asks, looking around the expansive kitchen. “Bea said it belonged to Master Julian, but Geralt said your name was Jaskier.”

“Yes, well, it’s been over a year and she still refuses to drop the ‘master’ part. I did try and tell her it wasn’t necessary and then she got very offended and didn’t speak to me for three days.” Geralt is giving Jaskier his dopey-what-the-fuck-are-you-on-about look that once upon a time would’ve made his knees weak. Now it just makes him sad.

“Well then, let me introduce myself properly. Or, reintroduce, as the case may be.” He stands and bows low to Cirilla. “Professor Julian Alfred Pancratz, Viscount de Lettenhove, formerly known as the Bard Jaskier, at your eternal service.” When he adds an extra flourish Ciri giggles, and the sound tugs at his heart.

Geralt is watching him with a frown, and Jaskier meets it with a raised eyebrow himself.

“You never said you were a Viscount.”

“You never asked,” Jaskier points out, folding himself back into his seat, “I’ve told plenty of other people my name. Truly, twenty odd years and it never seemed strange to you that a woman would name her honest to gods son Buttercup ? It’s hardly my fault you weren’t paying enough attention.” Geralt opens his mouth to retort, so Jaskier shifts his attention back to Ciri. “It’s very good to have you here, little one. I came to sing to you a few times for your birthday, though you were quite young then, so I don’t expect you’d remember.”

“No, I remember you. A little, at least.” She pauses, tilting her head to think, “I remember grandmother didn’t like that grandfather had invited you.You brought me a carved wolf, but grandmother screeched and I wasn’t allowed to play with it. I didn’t know why. I liked your songs, especially the one about the lion cub.”

Jaskier laughs. “Yes, while Eist and I had a friendship of sorts, I can’t say your grandmother was overly fond of me. I think she worried I would tell you stories of a mighty Witcher who would one day come to claim you. Perhaps a wolf was a little too on the nose.” He grows somber, and reaches out to cover her small hand with his. “They were good people, your family. I am sorry they are gone.” He squeezes her hand, and gives the princess a reassuring smile that she returns, albeit shakily. “I admit I worried for you, when I heard of Cintra’s fate. It makes me very happy to see you safe here with Geralt.”

Jaskier can feel Geralt’s gaze on him, but he does not meet it. They finish their meal together, and Ciri warms to Jaskier quickly. He jokes and trades silly stories with her, Geralt grunting or adding short corrections to the ones about their adventures together. Soon enough Ciri is falling asleep in her stew. Jaskier sends her up to bed, bidding her goodnight and watching as she ascends the stairs to her room.

Geralt is still sitting at the kitchen table, watching Jaskier. His gaze is careful, his eyes follow Jaskier as the man collects two cups and a bottle of wine.

“I assume you still drink,” He says, setting a cup down for Geralt before sliding into a chair. He pours them both glasses before sitting back with a heavy sigh. “Go on, then. You’ve got that look in your eye. Does the mighty Witcher Geralt of Rivia have something to say?” It was much easier to keep his tone level with Cirilla there. Now he can’t keep the bitterness from his words, and they leave a bad taste in his mouth. He tries to wash it away with big gulps of wine, but it doesn’t help.

Geralt grunts instead of a real answer, and Jaskier huffs a laugh into his cup. He drains it, and pours himself another.

“You’re different.” It’s quiet, almost so quiet Jaskier can’t hear it over the crackling of the hearth but he does.

“Yes, well, that is normally expected of us humans. Change. Personal growth. That sort of thing.”

"Personal growth. Huh. I half expected you to offer to sing Ciri to sleep. Regale her with tales of the White Wolf."

Jaskier's answer is to huff a dark laugh into his cup and continue drinking with determination. At least he can be good at some things.

“Where’d you get the money for all this?” Geralt asks after a long silence. There’s a hint of accusation in his tone which Jaskier bristles at.

“Fishing, technically. And taxes, I guess, you’d really have to ask my sister.” At Geralt’s confused look he sighs deeply before explaining. “I’m a Viscount of a coastal estate, Geralt. I make money by having other people fish and then taxing them for it. Is this really the first thing you ask me? Eighteen months and all you have is a question about my business practices?”

Geralt doesn't answer, and that only helps to fuel the anger growing in his belly. The wine isn’t exactly helping, but he isn’t going to stop drinking it. They sit in silence, Jaskier drinking and Geralt watching him. After what feels like an eternity, Jaskier heaves a sigh and stands.

“Right, well, if you’re not going to say anything I’m going to bed.”

“Jaskier, wait.” He almost doesn’t. He almost leaves, but that voice. It haunts his fucking dreams, and he can’t say no to it. But he doesn’t turn around.

“It’s Julian, now, actually.”

“Julian, then.” The voice is closer now, and Jaskier had forgotten how quietly his Witcher could move. A hand tugs at his shoulder, turning him back around to face Geralt. His face is doing something Jaskier had never seen before, and on anyone else he’d say it was regret. “I wanted to...” He trails off, and Jaskier tugs his arm out of Geralt’s grip.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Damnit, bard. You don’t make this easy,” The man growls out, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “I am sorry. About what happened on the dragon mountain. About what I said. I was angry, and you were there. I didn’t mean it.” It’s more of an apology than Jaskier had thought Geralt would be capable of, but it does nothing to repair the gaping chasm between them.

He still needs things from you, the insidious voice in his head whispers, Once you give him what he wants he’ll leave you. Haven’t you learned anything? He doesn’t care about you. You’re a burden to him. You don’t make this easy. How pathetic.

Jaskier offers Geralt a tight smile, taking a small step back. “The mountain is in the past. What happened there doesn’t matter anymore. You don’t need to worry, I understand what this is now. I’ll help you, and as soon as you’ve both rested and resupplied you’ll be on your way.” He says it with some amount of finality, as if that would make it any easier to get out.

Jaskier will help Geralt, because there really isn’t any version of reality in which he wouldn’t. But he knows now not to make their arrangement out to be anything more than that; an exchange of goods and services. He owes Geralt more than his own life is worth, and helping him and his Child Surprise now is simply a way to pay back that debt. As long as he remembers the status quo he should come out the other side unscathed.

“I bid you goodnight, Witcher.” Jaskier’s voice is steady when he speaks, thank all the gods for small mercies, and he’s almost halfway up the steps before Geralt’s reply reaches him.

“Goodnight, Julian.”

.

@itsthedemonsboi @naominami ya’ll asked to be tagged

here is part one, part two, and the full story on ao3

[dlwritings]

Supernatural Minds | Sam Winchester

general masterlist found here

pairing - Sam x BAU!reader word count - 6,006 (*John Mulaney voice* Holy shit, right?) warnings - language, themes from Supernatural and Criminal Minds

(A/N) - I don’t know wtf happened in my brain but apparently I needed a Supernatural x Criminal Minds crossover

summary - Jody Mills calls her friend at the BAU to help crack a serial killer case. Sam and Dean think it’s impossible to profile a werewolf. So who’s right about the bad guy? The FBI or the hunters?

(Y/N) was sitting on her bed in her pajamas, watching a movie and inhaling popcorn when suddenly, her phone rang. She paused her movie and checked the caller ID, smiling when the name Jody Mills flashed across the screen. “Well hey there, sheriff,” she said. “It’s been too long.”

“I wish I was calling for pleasantries,” Jody said.

“Ah I knew you were just using me for my federal perks,” she teased. “What’s up?”

“My chief of police already sent files to your office,” she said. “We’ve got something pretty messed up over here.”

(Y/N) sat up a little straighter. “What kind of messed up are we talking?”

Jody sighed. “Remember the first case of yours you ever told me about?”

She scoffed. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

“The man who used his son to kill women,” she said. “And he’d-”

“Cut out their hearts,” (Y/N) finished, shuddering. “Yeah. I remember.”

Jody sighed again. “It’s sounding a lot like that.” (Y/N) sighed in response and rubbed her forehead with her hand.

“Thanks for the heads up,” she said. “I’m sure JJ’ll brief us tomorrow. So I guess I’ll be seeing you soon.”

“I wish it was under better circumstances,” Jody said.

“Tell you what,” (Y/N) said, “after we solve the case, you can cook me some dinner.”

Jody laughed. “Deal.”

The next day, as (Y/N) expected, JJ called everyone into the conference room to give a rundown of the case Jody had sent. “Sioux Falls, South Dakota,” she said, handing everyone a copy of the file. “They’ve had four murders in the past four weeks. They’ve all been women in their 30s, single.”

“Any connection between the victims?” Morgan asked.

“All classic blonde haired beauties,” JJ said. “They were all last seen entering their homes, but no one noticed them leave. No forced entry into any home indicates they left with the unsub voluntarily.”

“How are we sure it’s the same killer?” Prentiss asked.

“They’ve all been dumped in the exact same spot,” JJ said. “An abandoned salvage yard.”

“Anything else?” Morgan asked.

“Yeah,” JJ said, switching the screen to photos of the bodies. “There’s this too.”

“What is-”

“Every victim was missing their heart,” JJ said, cutting Morgan off.

Everyone sighed, and (Y/N) dropped the file on the table and put her head in her hands. “Alright,” Hotch said. “Wheels up in 30.”

On the plane, (Y/N) sat next to Morgan as she continued looking over the case file. “You’re from Sioux Falls, right?” he asked her.

“Yeah,” she said. “The sheriff who asked for our help’s an old friend. I haven’t been back in a while though.”

“You looking forward to it?” Morgan asked.

“What, to investigating a violent crime scene?” she quipped.

Morgan chuckled. “You know what I mean.”

She shrugged. “Not exactly a lot of happy memories there.” Morgan nodded and dropped the subject.

“Alright, let’s brief,” JJ said. “What have we got?”

“The unsub’s able to coerce the victims into leaving their homes with no force,” (Y/N) said.

“There are no signs that sexual assault takes place before he cuts their hearts out and dumps them at the salvage yard,” Morgan added.

“The precision with which he cuts the hearts out implies he’s some sort of doctor,” Reid said.

“Are we looking at a psychotic break?” Prentiss asked.

“Maybe,” Reid said. “The hearts most likely mean something. They’re his trophies, but he’s trying to make a statement.”

“A brokenhearted man?” (Y/N) offered.

Morgan scoffed. “With a seriously messed up way of coping.”

They landed in South Dakota and made their way to the crime scene. As soon as they arrived, (Y/N) spotted Jody. She excused herself from the rest of the group and jogged over to her. Jody welcomed her with open arms. “It’s been too long,” (Y/N) said.

“You’re telling me,” Jody said. “I hardly recognize you.”

“Shut up,” she laughed. “It hasn’t been that long.”

Jody chuckled and looked over (Y/N)’s shoulder just as the rest of the team joined them. “Jody, these are my colleagues-” She motioned to everyone respectively. “-SSAs Hotchner, Morgan, Prentiss, Jareau, Gideon, and Dr. Reid.” Jody shook everyone’s hands.

“Thank you all for coming out,” she said. “We don’t get a lot of serial killers in this area, so we’re feeling a little in over our heads.” JJ went to speak with the chief of police while Jody showed the rest of them the bodies.

“This is Bobby Singer’s place, right?” (Y/N) asked.

“Was,” Jody said. “Bobby died about, oh, eight years ago now.”

“Who found the bodies?” Gideon asked.

“A local teen boy,” she said. “This place has become a pretty popular smoking site for teens after Bobby left it.”

“What else can you tell us?” Morgan asked.

“Laine-” Jody pointed to the body closest to (Y/N). “-was the first victim. Alyssa went missing the following week, then Rachel, and finally, Tara.” Jody sighed. “None of them older than 35. All real nice girls. They’ve lived in the town their whole lives.”

“Were you able to discern when the bodies were dropped?” Reid asked. “Like what time or what day?”

“The boy who found the bodies is a good boy,” she said. “Charlie Miller. He and his friends come out here to smoke so their parents don’t bust ‘em. Still, like I said, he’s a good boy. He said they were here Thursday night, left around 1:00 in the morning. Charlie realized he left his wallet, so he came back the next morning. He got here about 7:30 on his way to school. That was when he found the body.”

“So this guy’s dumping them in the dead of night,” (Y/N) said.

“Did Charlie and his friends not notice the other bodies every other time they’ve been here?” Morgan asked.

“That’s one of the strange things,” Jody said. “All the other bodies were covered by a tarp. This one wasn’t.”

“So he’s getting sloppy?” Prentiss said. “Maybe he was in a hurry?"

“This kind of unsub doesn’t get sloppy,” Gideon said. “Something scared him. He had to run.”

“You think he almost got caught?” Jody asked.

“I’m thinking we need to talk to Charlie again,” Gideon said. “He might’ve seen more than he let on.”

-

Sam and Dean arrived at the scene, ready to flash their badges. They passed the yellow tape and saw Jody. Sam called her name, and everyone Jody was with turned to look in their direction. “Feds?” Dean asked his brother.

“Real feds,” Sam emphasized.

“What the hell’s going on here?” Dean mumbled. Jody met the boys halfway, leading them away from the group of suits. She greeted them with hugs.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” she asked.

“Claire called,” Dean said. “Heard you got a werewolf.”

Jody sighed. “I told her, it’s not a werewolf.”

“She said the victims are all missing hearts,” Sam said.

“But they weren’t ripped out,” Jody said.

“What are you talking about?” Dean asked. Jody huffed and rolled her eyes.

“You see those people over there?” she said. “That’s the real FBI. So who are you guys pretending to be today?” Dean mumbled something Jody didn’t catch. “Don’t mumble,” Jody scolded somewhat playfully.

Dean sighed. “Agents Stark and Banner.”

Jody shook her head in disbelief. “These guys are with the BAU.”

“BAU?” Sam repeated.

“Behavior Analysis Unit,” Jody said. “Their entire job is to profile people. They’ll be able to smell the fake FBI on you.”

“Then who do you want us to be?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know,” Jody said. “I’ll just call you some experts.”

They all walked over to the feds, and Jody introduced them, not bothering with fake names. The boys both crouched down beside the most recent body and examined the wounds. Jody kept the BAU busy. “Maybe she’s right,” Sam said. “Maybe it’s not our thing.”

“Come on, man,” Dean said. “Missing hearts? This is classic werewolf.”

“I’ve never seen a werewolf take the time to carve out the heart,” Sam argued.

“Explain the cattle mutilations,” Dean said. “Those were all missing hearts too.” Sam sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked over at Jody and the BAU. He noticed one of the agents staring in their direction. “What are you thinking?” Dean asked, snapping Sam out of his thoughts. Sam looked at his brother and sighed.

“You’re not gonna like it,” Sam said. Dean just raised his eyebrows. “Hearing what the BAU is thinking would be helpful.”

“You want to work with actual feds?” Dean asked. “They’ve got sticks so far up their asses, they’ll never let us in.”

“If Jody says-”

“Doesn’t matter what Jody says,” Dean said. “If we even utter the word werewolf-”

“Maybe we don’t have to say it,” Sam said. “We can still listen to their profile and figure the rest out on our own.” Dean sighed, looked at Sam for another moment, then looked back over at Jody and called her over. She held up a finger to the people in the BAU and walked back over to the boys. “Is there any way you can convince them to let us in on this?” Sam asked her.

“Suddenly you boys want to hunt serial killers?” Jody asked with raised eyebrows.

“Sam’s always been a sick fan of true crime,” Dean said to which Sam rolled his eyes.

“Dean still thinks it’s a werewolf,” Sam said, “and if he’s right, your agents aren’t going to have a clue what to do once they find him.” Jody looked at both boys before letting out another sigh.

“If this gets me fired,” she said, “it’s on both of your asses.”

When Jody walked back over to the BAU with both of the boys, (Y/N) looked at them carefully. Brothers. The one Jody introduced as Dean was older. The eye contact Sam made with the rest of the team implied his people skills were better than his brother’s. Their hands -visibly rough- meant they frequented hand-to-hand combat, which was somewhat uncommon for agents of any kind. Neither of them had holsters with a gun, so (Y/N) assumed they kept them in the back of their pants, if they were armed at all. Every agent she knew kept it in a holster when they were on the job. To her, and she was sure the rest of the team, these boys didn’t have any federal qualifications. So why the hell was Jody vouching for them? And what kind of experts were they?

While Jody was talking with the men, the team had been talking and creating a profile. “Jody, tell your chief we’re ready to give a profile,” (Y/N) told her. “We’ll regroup at the station.”

Once at the station, the BAU got the attention of the police officers. “Your unsub is a white male in his 30s,” Hotch said.

“He’s handsome,” Prentiss said, “and probably charming.”

“The women go with him willingly,” (Y/N) said. “There are no defense wounds on any of the victims.”

“All of the women were found with midazolam in their system,” Reid said. “That along with the precision of the cuts on the chest indicate he works in some sort of hospital. He has the skills and access to tools and medication.”

“The use of midazolam means his victims are awake while he’s removing their hearts,” Morgan said. “Midazolam is a sedative. It’s used to keep them drowsy, but still awake.”

“There’s no sexual component to these crimes,” Gideon said, “which means it’s more likely he’s trying to make a point. It might just be the sickest way this guy knows to make it.”

“We think he’s suffering from some form of borderline personality disorder,” Reid said. “So he thinks all relationships revolve around him. Looking at him, you wouldn’t notice anything odd about him.”

“Like we said,” Prentiss added, “charming. Only those who know him well would see any of the symptoms: intense bouts of drinking, anger, depression.”

“Sounds like you,” Sam muttered to Dean. Dean elbowed him in the ribs as Jody slapped the back of his head.

“Focus,” Jody said. Hotch dismissed everyone, and (Y/N) kept eyeing Jody and the Winchesters. Winchester. Something about the name wasn’t sitting right with (Y/N). She separated from the rest of the group and found herself calling Penelope.

“She who seeks the Queen of All Knowledge,” Garcia said, “speak and be recognized.”

“Can you keep a secret?” (Y/N) asked.

“Uh, not happily,” she said.

“I need you to look up some names for me,” (Y/N) said.

“And why is that a secret?” she asked.

“It’s not exactly part of the case,” she answered. “I just need you to jog my memory.”

“Alright,” she said. “Who are they?”

“Sam and Dean Winchester.”

“On it,” Garcia said. (Y/N) could hear her clicking away, and before she knew it, she spoke. “Brothers. Um, both died in 2012. Extensive criminal record. They were on our most wanted list when they were alive. Credit card fraud, breaking and entering, grave desecration, arson, grand theft auto, murder, kidnapping, assaulting an officer, and impersonation. Seems like they were bad news.”

“Right,” (Y/N) said with a nod. “Thanks. You’re the best, babe.”

“I know.”

The night came, and (Y/N) decided to leave the hotel the team was staying at to go pay Jody a visit. When she got there, she saw the lights on. She walked up to the door and lightly gripped her gun that was in her holster. She knocked on the door and waited for someone to come. As soon as the door opened and Sam answered, she pulled out her gun and held it up to him. Sam immediately put his hands up. “Step back,” she said. Sam did, and (Y/N) let herself into the house, keeping her gun aimed at Sam. “Jody!” she called.

Jody and Dean both came into the hallway then, and Jody’s eyes grew wide. “Okay, okay,” Jody said, slowly walking towards (Y/N). “Relax. Tell me what’s going on.”

“What’s going on,” she quipped, “is that this is Sam and Dean Winchester, and they died almost eight years ago. So what the hell are they doing in your house?”

“(Y/N), put your gun down,” Jody said. “I can explain everything.” She let her eyes flicker over to Jody before looking back at the giant of a man in front of her. Then she sighed and put her gun back in her holster. Sam put his hands down. “Can I get you a drink?” Jody said to her.

“I’m good,” she said.

“She’s gonna need a drink,” Dean said. She glared at him, but Jody must’ve agreed because she came back into the room and handed (Y/N) the beer.

“Okay,” (Y/N) said after taking a long drink of the beer. “What the hell’s happening?” Jody and Sam sighed, but Dean seemed unaffected.

“Your killer’s a werewolf.”

“Dean,” Sam scolded.

“What?” Dean said. “What better way is there to say it?”

(Y/N) just laughed. “You’re shitting me, right?” She looked at Jody. “Right?”

“Ten years ago, I would’ve said the same thing,” Jody said. “But then my son came back from the dead and killed my husband.”

“Came back from the dead?” (Y/N) repeated.

“Full on zombie action,” Dean said. (Y/N) drank another large gulp of her beer.

“Every monster you’ve ever heard of,” Sam said slowly, “what you were told as a kid? It’s all true. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts, demons, they’re all real.”

“And you think,” (Y/N) said, “that this guy cutting hearts out is a werewolf.”

“We’re not entirely sure,” Sam said. “Werewolves eat hearts, but they don’t usually cut them out so meticulously.”

“Then why do you think it’s a werewolf?” she asked. “I’ve seen killers cut out hearts before, and they weren’t werewolves.”

“There have also been several cattle mutilations in the area,” Sam said. “All found missing their hearts.”

“So?”

“Werewolves can survive on animal hearts,” Dean said. “But they don’t prefer it.”

“So you think a werewolf suddenly lost his taste for cow hearts?” (Y/N) asked. “Caved to his true nature?”

“Could be,” Sam said.

“That still doesn’t explain the precision of the wounds,” she said, standing up from the couch now. She thought better when she paced. “You’re saying werewolves rip hearts out, right?” The boys and Jody nodded. “Then why does this werewolf exhibit so much restraint?”

Everyone was quiet for a moment as (Y/N) muttered softly to herself, thinking through the situation. “You believe us,” Sam observed. She stopped and turned to look at him. They were all studying her, and she sighed and sat back on the couch.

“My parents were murdered when I was 18,” she said. “You remember that, Jody?”

“Yeah,” Jody nodded. “I don’t remember the specifics, but-”

“They had small holes just under their ear,” (Y/N) continued, “and their brains-” She hesitated, drank some beer, and sighed. “Their brains had been sucked dry.” The boys looked at each other while (Y/N) continued to stare into space. “I spent my entire college career and now adult life studying people. Profiling killers and rapists and arsonists and pedophiles and-” She shook her head and finally looked up at the others. “-I have never once come across a person who had the ability to drain the brain out of another human. If you’re telling me monsters exist, then maybe I can make sense of what killed my parents.” Everyone was quiet, and Sam moved from his chair to sit next to her on the couch.

He cleared his throat. “It’s called a wraith.” She looked up at him, feeling tears in her eyes. “It’s, um, it’s a kind of monster that feeds on the liquid of the brain. They have spikes on their wrists that they inject in the victim to, to drain them.” She covered her mouth with her hand, and Sam hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder.

“Oh my god,” she breathed out. “Are you serious?”

“I’m sorry,” Sam said. Her breath shook as she tried not to cry.

“Holy shit,” she whispered, putting her head in her hands. “Shit.” Sam hesitantly moved his hand from her shoulder to her back and rubbed it gently. “Shit, this is crazy. This is insane. I can’t-” She tried to catch her breath. She was an agent. She could handle this.

She sat up and looked at everyone. “How do you kill a werewolf?” she asked.

“Okay, we don’t even know for sure that it is a werewolf,” Sam said.

“But if it is,” she said.

“Silver bullet,” Dean said.

“Where do you get a silver bullet?” she said.

“We’ve got a bit of an arsonal,” Dean said. She raised her eyebrows.

“So, is this just what you guys do?” she asked. “You just kill monsters?”

“Pretty much,” Sam said.

“It’s a thankless business,” Dean said, to which Sam rolled his eyes. (Y/N)’s phone rang suddenly, and she jumped and picked it up.

“You got something?” she asked Morgan as soon as she answered.

“Hotch and Reid reinterviewed the kid, Charlie,” Morgan said. “He said he actually saw the unsub dumping the body. He thinks the guy might’ve seen him.”

“So that’s what spooked him into running,” she deducted.

“There’s more,” he said. “We got two more victims.”

“Two?” she repeated, standing up from the couch again.

“Yeah,” he said. “Where are you?”

“With Sherif Mills,” she answered.

“Well, bring her too,” Morgan said. “You’ll want to see this.”

“Where are you?” she asked.

“Where Skunk Creek meets 469th,” he said.

“Be right there.”

(Y/N) hung up the phone with Morgan and looked at Jody, Sam, and Dean. “They found more bodies,” she said.

“Plural?” Jody said.

“That’s what he said,” she said. “Let’s go.” Sam and Dean stood up as well, and (Y/N) held her hand up to stop them. “I’m surprised none of the others have recognized you yet,” she said. “You were on the most wanted list for years. If they’ve caught on by now, you’ll be arrested on sight.”

“So what, you want us to stay here?” Dean asked.

“I don’t want you to,” she said, “I’m telling you to.”

“Listen,” Dean said, taking a step closer to her. She didn’t back down. “I know you think you know everything about killers, but profiling isn’t going to help when your killer is a werewolf.”

“I’m saving you from federal prison,” she said back. “You should be thanking me.” Dean looked like he was going to say something again, but Sam stopped him.

“Thank you,” Sam said. “We’d still like to help however we can.”

“I can send you pictures of the scene,” she said. “Would you be able to tell me if there are any-” She hesitated. “-werewolf signs?” Sam cracked a smile. She took note of his dimples right away and felt her cheeks warm.

“Yeah,” he said. “We can spot werewolf signs.” (Y/N) hadn’t realized she was grinning like an idiot until Jody gently nudged her.

“Let’s go girl,” she said to her.

“Right,” (Y/N) said. “Okay. Let’s go.”

As soon as they both got in the car-

“Don’t say it, Jody,” (Y/N) said.

“No matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other,” she said, “your heart-eyes face has not changed.”

“Oh my god,” (Y/N) said, rolling her eyes as Jody pulled out of the driveway.

“I’m just saying,” she said, smiling. “Sam’s a good guy. A lot of baggage, a bit of a temper, but-”

“You’re sure good at selling him,” she said back.

Jody laughed. “He’s a good guy, (Y/N). You could do a lot worse.”

She sighed. “Let’s just focus on stopping this, this werewolf serial killer.”

The dump site looked completely different than the salvage yard. One victim was a female, heart cut out just like the first. The other-

“Male, 30s,” Morgan said. “It looks like the heart was literally-”

“-ripped out of the chest,” (Y/N) finished. Morgan looked at her as she crouched beside the body, using her gloved hand to move some of the fabric of the guy’s shirt. She gave Jody a look, silently telling her to distract the others. She caught on and moved them away from the bodies so (Y/N) could snap some pictures. She had gotten Sam’s phone number from Jody in the car, so she sent them to Sam with the message, This the kind of thing you’re looking for?

She rejoined the group just as they were discussing the case. “What changed?” Prentiss asked. “Why two victims? And why are they killed so differently?”

“He could be devolving,” Reid offered.

“No,” Gideon said. “There’s no way the same unsub did these two killings.”

“He found a partner,” Hotch said.

“You’re saying there’s two suspects now?” Jody asked.

“Look at this,” Gideon said, walking over to the bodies again. “These attacks, the method is completely different. The original unsub used the same method. He took his time. Carved carefully. He still has a point to make. The new unsub, they’re motivated by rage. They don’t have the same amount of patience.”

“But look,” (Y/N) said, grabbing the arm of the newly mutilated victim, “the man was still injected.”

“The first unsub is still in charge of collecting the victims,” Morgan said. “He drugs them and brings them to the second unsub. They kill together.”

(Y/N)’s phone rang, and she looked and saw it was Sam. She excused herself and stepped away from the group. “What’s up?” she said, answering the phone.

“You have two killers,” he said.

“Yeah,” she said. “We kind of just gathered that.”

“We think you were right with the first guy,” Sam said. “He wasn’t a werewolf. But he was collecting the hearts for the werewolf.”

“It would explain why there were cattle mutilations around town,” Dean added. (Y/N) realized she was on speaker. “The werewolf was getting hearts from cows, but the killer wanted to impress her, so he brought her human hearts.”

“The hearts aren’t trophies,” (Y/N) muttered, suddenly gaining clarity. “They were gifts.”

“Once the werewolf got a taste of human hearts, she couldn’t take cow anymore,” Sam said. “She wanted to join the hunt.”

“But the first unsub couldn’t stop the killing,” she added. “He’s gotten the taste for it. He’s hooked. So now they do it together.”

“We still don’t know who they are though,” Dean said.

“But we have enough,” she said. “Let me talk to my team. I’ll keep you posted.”

She walked back over to her team. “I think it’s a couple,” she said. “Recently divorced. The second unsub is his ex-wife. He got the hearts for her, and now she’s joining him in the hunts.”

“How is she ripping the hearts out?” Morgan asked.

“I’m not sure,” (Y/N) said, not being able to tell the full truth. She looked at Jody. “Can you think of any male physicians in town? Surgeons? Recently divorced, like, right before the killings started. Handsome, charming, but-”

“William,” Jody said. “William Barkley. He and his ex-wife just got divorced. Um, her name’s Bianca.”

“Do you have an address?” Gideon asked.

“Uh, not off the top of my head,” Jody said.

“On it,” Morgan said. He already had his phone pressed to his ear. “Garcia, I need an address for William Barkley in Sioux Falls.” He paused. “Thanks baby girl.” He looked at the rest of the group. “237 Duffron.”

Everyone got in their cars and sped off to the location. (Y/N) opted to ride with Jody. “We’re not equipped to fight a werewolf, Jody,” she said. “What are we doing?”

“Call Sam,” she said. “Give him the address. They can meet us there.”

“If my team recognizes-”

“The other option is we all get attacked by something they don’t understand,” she said. (Y/N) weighed the options quickly and picked up her phone, dialling Sam’s number. She spewed off the address.

“Don’t come in right away,” she said. “The werewolf might not even be there, and the last thing we need is two flannel wearing hillbillies to come in, guns blazing.”

“We’re not hillbillies,” Dean said.

“Do you always put your phone calls on speaker?” she asked.

Sam laughed. “We’ll meet you there.”

They sped off towards the house, and Morgan kicked the door open upon arrival. “William Barkley?” he called. “FBI!” They all made their way through the house, checking and clearing rooms. Suddenly, Prentiss shouted from the basement.

By the time (Y/N) got down there, they already had William in handcuffs. (Y/N) rushed over to help Prentiss release the two most recent victims. “You’re okay, you’re okay,” she said as one of the victims collapsed against her, shaking with sobs. “You’re safe. You’re okay.”

When they got the women into ambulances, (Y/N) jogged over to where they were putting William into a police car. “Where is Bianca?” she asked.

“I was just trying to show her,” he said, “show her I love her no matter what. No matter who she became.”

“Where, is, Bianca?” she pressed.

“I knew hunters were coming,” he said. “I knew they were onto her.”

“What the hell is he talking about?” Morgan asked.

“(Y/N), we have to bring him back to the station,” Hotch said.

“Hang on!” she snapped. “Did you tell her to run?” William nodded. “Where did she go?”

“If she was going to die,” he said, “I wanted her to see something beautiful. One last sunrise. One last happy memory.”

“I got it,” Jody said. “I know where she is.”

“Take (Y/N) with you,” Gideon commanded. (Y/N) and Jody ran back to the car, and (Y/N) called Sam. She put him on speaker so Jody could spew off Bianca’s location.

“Do not do anything until we get there,” Sam said. “Your bullets will do nothing against a werewolf.”

The boys drove fast, because the four arrived at the scene at the same time. “How do you know she’s here?” Dean asked as he and Sam stepped out of the Impala.

“William said something about a final sunrise,” she said. “This is the best spot in town to catch a good sunrise.”

“So you just ran with that?” Dean asked.

“I know my town,” Jody said. “Don’t start-”

“Sam!”

The younger Winchester spun around when (Y/N) called his name. His reflexes weren’t fast enough, and Bianca tackled him to the ground. (Y/N) knew she didn’t have the right kind of bullets to do any good, so she did the only thing she could think to do. She ran up to the pair and tackled Bianca off of Sam. On instinct, she tried to get Bianca on her stomach so she could cuff her, but Bianca was way stronger than she expected. She rolled them over so Bianca was on top, and she let out a growl that made (Y/N)’s stomach turn.

Pain seared through her shoulder and bicep when Bianca dug her claws into her skin. She let out a scream and squeezed her eyes shut. A shot rang out, and Bianca’s body fell off (Y/N). She winced and tried to catch her breath. One look down at her arm had her closing her eyes again. “Shit,” she whispered. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“Hey, hey,” Sam said, rushing over to her side. “You’re okay.”

“Did she bite me?” she asked. “Oh my god, can’t you turn into a werewolf from a bite? Oh my god. I don't want to-”

“No, no, hey, you’re good,” Sam said. It almost looked to (Y/N) like he wanted to laugh. “There’s no bite. It’s just a bad scratch. You’ll be okay.”

“Wow,” she breathed out. “This is the craziest day of my whole life.” She looked up at Sam, and he smiled and helped her sit up. “And you do this everyday?”

“We have some days off,” he said. She laughed, then winced at the pain. Jody and Dean jogged over to them. “Can you patch her up at your place?” Sam asked.

“No,” (Y/N) said. “You have to take me to a real hospital. My team’ll get suspicious if Jody does it.”

“What are you going to say?” Dean asked.

“That the unsub was crazy,” she said. “She had some claw-like weapon and that was what she used to rip the hearts out.”

“What happened to the weapon?” Sam asked hypothetically.

“I took it in as evidence,” Jody said. “The team doesn’t need to see it.”

“Glad we got our story straight,” (Y/N) said. “Can I go get stitches now?”

(Y/N) was in and out of surgery rather quickly. The team visited her in the hospital room, even though she knew she’d be released pretty quickly. “Guys, seriously,” she laughed, “I’m fine. Hell, I can meet you back at Quantico.”

“We’re not leaving you in South Dakota,” Morgan said. “We can stick around.”

“There’s not a lot to do in Sioux Falls,” she argued.

“Hey now,” Jody said, suddenly coming into the room, “if memory serves me, you found a lot of things to do when you grew up around here.”

“You knew (Y/N) when she was a kid?” Prentiss asked.

“Oh yeah,” Jody said with a smile.

“I have a lot of questions for you,” Morgan asked with a grin.

“You guys are the worst,” (Y/N) said. There was a soft knock at the frame of the door to (Y/N)’s hospital room, and everyone turned to look and found Sam and Dean. (Y/N)’s eyes grew wide.

If those idiots get busted-

“Hey,” Sam said. “Uh, I just, we just wanted to bring you these.” He handed her a bouquet of flowers, and she felt her cheeks turn warm as everyone looked at her.

“Thank you,” she said. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, uh, I know,” Sam said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just-”

There were a lot more people in the room than he expected there to be.

JJ cleared her throat. “(Y/N), we’ll be in the waiting room,” she said.

“Uh, no we won’t,” Morgan said. JJ rolled her eyes at him and grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the room along with the rest of the team. Jody and Dean must’ve followed, because (Y/N) and Sam were soon alone.

“You seriously didn’t have to bring the flowers,” she told him again.

“No, I know,” he said again. “I just know seeing monsters for the first time can be a lot to handle, not to mention getting attacked by one.”

“When did you see your first monster?” she asked him. He chuckled dryly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I guess I was six months old,” he said.

“Jesus,” she said. “Do you remember it?” He gave a sad smile.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget it,” he said.

“So you’ve been hunting your whole life?” she asked.

“Pretty much,” he said. “It’s kind of the family business.”

She nodded. “Do you like it?”

Sam scoffed. “It varies day to day.” He paused. “What about you? You like the BAU?”

She mimicked Sam’s scoff. “It varies day to day.”

“How about today?” he asked.

She smiled. “It’s not so bad.”

“Well, for the record,” he said, “if it ever gets old, you tackled a werewolf today. I think you could easily make it as a hunter.”

“Yeah?” she said. “Good to know.” Sam smiled again and cleared his throat.

“Alright,” he said. “Well, if you ever find yourself on a monster hunt again, give us a call.” He started to turn away, but (Y/N) said his name again.

“You know I read people for a living,” she said. Sam raised his eyebrows. “If you want to kiss me so bad, why don’t you just do it?” Sam’s face raised into a smirk, and he took one step back over to her. He leaned over and kissed her lips softly. She laid her hand on his cheek and smiled, kissing him back. When he pulled away, he hung his head with a slight laugh.

“You’re a pretty good profiler,” he said.

She smiled. “I know.”

(Y/N) bid farewell to Jody the next day, taking a rain check on dinner and promising to visit Sioux Falls again sooner rather than later. On the plane back to Quantico, everyone was pretty quiet, keeping to themselves. Suddenly, Gideon sat in front of (Y/N). “Flowers, huh?” he said. (Y/N) smiled, embarrassed, and looked at the bouquet Sam had given her that she decided to bring back with her. “You know,” he continued, “something about those boys wasn’t sitting right with me. I couldn’t shake the name. Winchester. Why did I know that name?”

Her heart fell to her stomach.

“Sir-”

“Then I realized,” he said, “it must just be those Winchester rifles.”

But (Y/N) was a profiler, and she could see through him. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and folding his hands.

“I don’t know what happened when you went off with Sheriff Mills,” he said, “but I do know you weren’t alone.” She swallowed nervously. “I also know you came back in one piece,” he continued. He hesitated, looked out the window, then looked at her again. “I also know that some files in the system have inexplicably vanished. So if anyone looks up Winchester, all they’ll find is some history on those rifles.”

Her lips parted slightly, comprehending what he said. “Thank you,” she whispered. Gideon gave her a fraction of a smile.

“For what?”

-

“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win” - Stephen King

----- ----- ----- -----

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[holyangemon]

Episode 22 - The Saddest Episode of Adventure? (Not Clickbait)

Oh boy is there so much to unpack in episode 22. This episode is a lot. If you’d like to witness someone scream about just how much of a lot episode 22 is, then welcome. I have some screaming to do. 

(this is literally just a recap of the entire episode and I’m pretty terrible at analysis so this probably makes no sense but hey, I have spirit)

I don’t even know where to start there’s just so much going on here. Okay, from the beginning. Taichi gets back to the digital world and finds Tokomon passed out from hunger with Takeru’s discarded digivice and crest. Obviously some shit went down, and Tokomon is nice enough to explain.

Through this, we find out that Taichi and Agumon have been missing for at least a month and a half, which is where Tokomon’s flash back explanation starts, and that the kids stayed in the desert looking for Taichi for this month and a half. We see the group arguing over what they should do next. Sora wants to keep looking, Yamato thinks it’s hopeless, Koushiro wants to find Gennai, Mimi wants to go home, and Joe doesn’t actually say what he wants. (In the next episode it’s revealed he went to look for food before being led astray by PicoDevimon, but in the context of this episode he just kind of goes). But anyway, important thing to point out here is:

the saddest images I’ve ever seen in my life. Takeru is sitting off by himself, which may make sense while they’re having big kid talk and he stays warm next to the fire, but he also sleeps by himself while the rest of them are all huddled together. Also to note is that Takeru and Yamato are on the complete opposite ends. Here we can see how disconnected Takeru is from the rest of the kids, including his brother. This’ll be important later, but let’s put a pin in it for now.

Here is where the group falls apart, with Sora heading off on her own first. She lets Tokomon know that her and Piyomon are off to look for Taichi, to try to keep Takeru from crying if she doesn’t tell him.

(A month and a half in this desert, by the way). Koushiro heads off first, followed by Joe, and finally Mimi, leaving the brothers and their Digimon as the only ones left together. Once it’s just them, they finally leave the desert. We also learn that during this time they haven’t encountered any new enemies. Takeru wants to go back into the desert and look for Taichi.

But as we already know, Yamato has given up. You can’t blame him either, how long are they expected to just wait in a desert? Of course, Takeru cries, and Yamato instantly apologizes, and says that Taichi and Agumon are probably doing fine somewhere.

I’m telling you, this is some heavy shit. Yamato agrees, and says they’ll see them again someday. If he really means that, or is just saying that to keep Takeru happy is another matter, and probably something Yamato is conflicted on himself. Regardless, they continue on, and come across an amusement park. Yamato thinks to himself that it looks safe, and they explore the deserted park. And here is where things take a turn.

We see Takeru holding back tears before saying that he’ll be okay, and will wait.

He asks Yamato to come back quickly, as Yamato has decided to go check things out in the infamous swan boat, planning to only be gone for two to three hours. Now, it’s easy to judge Yamato a bit for leaving Takeru alone in the first place, he could have taken Takeru with him, but Yamato needing some time alone to think things over without upsetting Takeru would make sense. I wouldn’t  judge him for that, can relate, but it’s unfortunate how it ultimately turns out. In any case, Takeru insists that Yamato come back quickly, and waves him off with a smile. Once Yamato is out of sight though . . . 

And my heart breaks again. This boy is too good at hiding his feelings when it’s something that deeply hurts him. But that’s a long rant for another day. For now, unfortunately, Yamato does not end up coming back. Takeru waits until nightfall, and refuses to eat, before eventually falling asleep on a bench next to the wharf Yamato set off from.

Please my heart can only shatter so many times. Takeru continues to wait on the wharf, wondering why his brother won’t come back. He said he was just going to take a look around. He said he’d be back soon! 

Takeru reaches his limit and breaks down. But unfortunately, it’s not over yet. A certain bat shaped Digimon decides that this small sweet boy isn’t broken enough yet. He approaches them, pretends to have good intentions, thanks them for being involved in defeating Etemon, and offers to go look for Yamato. No good intentions can be found in PicoDevimon, and he comes back to spout some dirty dirty lies.

“Yamato said that he doesn’t want to see your face anymore. He said that he really, really, really hates you. He doesn’t want to be your brother anymore.”

“Oh, Yamato also said this. He really hates you for being a crybaby.”

This is too much for Takeru, and he runs off in tears.

Tokomon of course tries to tell Takeru that Yamato would never say anything like that. But Takeru is in no state to listen right now.

I’m not even halfway through the episode oh god. Tokomon runs off to confront PicoDevimon about being a lying little bitch, but he of course denies it, since Tokomon has no proof. Tokomon is pissed, and hits PicoDevimon with his baby bubbles. Unfortunately, Takeru chooses this moment to arrive on the scene, and he’s an anti-fight boy.

PicoDevimon sees his chance to cause a rift between the two, and says not to blame Tokomon, he was jealous that him and Takeru had been getting along. Tokomon scoffs at this, causing Takeru to get mad at Tokomon’s attitude, and tells him to apologize to PicoDevimon. Tokomon refuses, they argue, and Tokomon claims that he’ll leave if Takeru keeps trying to force him to apologize. So, Takeru tells him to go ahead and leave.

Tokomon gives Takeru the chance to change his mind, but Takeru is hurt, extremely hurt, and is taking it out on Tokomon.

And this is where the flashback ends, and we’re back to Taichi. Taichi is worried about Yamato, he knows that Yamato would never willingly abandon his little brother, but finding Takeru comes first. Meanwhile, Takeru is spending a very depressing time in the amusement park with PicoDevimon. PicoDevimon is trying to get Takeru to forget about Tokomon using the rides, but it’s not working out for him.

Yeah, Takeru’s not in the mood for fun. PicoDevimon asks if Takeru is worried about Tokomon. At first, Takeru says who cares, but follows it up with wondering if Tokomon is okay by himself . . . . but he really doesn’t care about him at all. PicoDevimon sees through the tsundere act, knows he needs a new plan, and heads off to regroup, leaving Takeru alone.

He deals with this by sleeping (relatable), and this is where Taichi finds him. The first thing Takeru says to Taichi is “Taichi! You’re alive!” and it’s just really heartbreaking that these kids had to seriously consider the fact that Taichi could be dead. They don’t dwell on it much in the show, but it’s pretty dang dark.

A rare non-Yamato related hug from Takeru. Taichi apologizes for making Takeru worried. Takeru notices that Tokomon is back, and ruins the happy mood by asking Tokomon if he realizes he was wrong now. Tokomon angrily replies that he did nothing wrong, which is true. And the arguing starts again. 

They really are kids. Imagine Angemon having this argument. This time, Taichi is here to break it up and tells them this isn’t the time to fight since they should go look for Yamato and other others. But Takeru doesn’t want to. Everyone left him. First Sora.

Can you here those screams in the distance? That’s me. Takeru has taken PicoDevimon’s words about how Yamato, and has applied them to everyone else too. Why?

Because he had already had those types of thoughts himself. PicoDevimon was voicing his worst suspicions. Whether they did it intentionally or not, we can clearly see that there was some excluding of Takeru going on. We don’t get to see what happens during this month and a half, so unfortunately the why is unknown. Maybe because their conversations are more serious in general and they don’t want to deal with Takeru crying. If he was crying often, maybe some resentment/annoyance was growing. Or maybe Takeru himself was distancing himself. However it happened, negative feelings were brewing, and being a kid sensitive to separation, everyone leaving would enhance those negative thoughts. PicoDevimon’s lie has grown from Yamato hates me, to everyone hates me. And that makes my heart hurt.

Taichi tries to counter this by saying that there was no way Yamato could ever hate him (which is true, but mention the others too Taichi!). And here’s where Takeru says something veeery interesting.

(episode 3, directed at Taichi)

It’s like they say, kids are more perceptive that they’re given credit for. Takeru isn’t exactly wrong about this, but he goes a bit overboard, and connects it with Yamato being against searching for Taichi when Takeru wanted to, and then adds an extra reason for why Yamato hates him.

Taichi is not equipped to deal with this. Takeru’s thoughts are really spiraling at this point, all centered around how everyone hates him and why. Let’s not consider him potentially thinking that his dad and brother left because they hate him. It’s a good thing Yamato isn’t here to see this, because Takeru claims he wants to be Taichi’s little brother instead.

That’s an understatement, Taichi. Taichi is currently the only person Takeru has who he doesn’t think hates him, so of course he’s going to latch onto him. Taichi is essentially the fun friend and Yamato is the strict brother. It doesn’t help that since the brothers don’t get to spend a lot of time together, there’s some awkwardness in their relationship, mostly from Yamato. There’s some awkwardness from Yamato just in general. He completely adores Takeru, but isn’t always great at showing that in ways Takeru can understand.

We don’t get to see the in-between of this conversation, but Taichi is able to calm Takeru down and coax him into agreeing to at least hearing what Yamato has to say in person. Things are going well, but of course liar mc-lying bat shows back up with a bunch of memory erasing mushrooms. Like he hasn’t caused enough damage. PicoDevimon tries to start an argument with Tokomon, but Agumon interrupts to ask about Yamato. PicoDevimon doubles down on his claims, because he sucks, and Taichi asks to be taken to where Yamato is.

PicoDevimon agrees, but offers them some of his sketchy mushrooms to eat before they head off. He’s just the worst. Everyone is hungry, apparently hungry enough for some sketch mushrooms, but Agumon needs a convenient bathroom break where a mysterious voice that sounds a lot like Sora warns him that the mushrooms erase memories. So convenient!

Thank god Takeru tried to eat the mushroom whole without biting into it. Phew. When Agumon reveals with the mushrooms do, Takeru finally gets suspicious. (Why no one is suspicious about PicoDevimon from his name alone I’ll never know. Shouldn’t the whole Devimon part set off some alarm bells?)

Panicked and with his cover blown, PicoDevimon admits to everything being a lie.

It sure is buddy. Takeru apologizes to Tokomon right away for treating him so horribly, but of course Tokomon tells him not to worry about it and isn’t angry at all. It’s like Takeru said in episode 12, fighting between friends is okay, because you’ll make up soon. But fighting between adults . . . 

With the partners friends again, Taichi gives Takeru his digivice and crest back. Thanks to the reveal with PicoDevimon was lying, Takeru has restored some hope that maybe everyone doesn’t hate him after all.

This is enough for the Crest of Hope to regain its light (what a tease considering it won’t be properly activated for 30 more episodes). And here we see a first for Takeru. He actually wants to fight.

This is the same boy who initially wanted to try to talk it out with Devimon first, so this is a big shift for him. PicoDevimon 100% deserves it, but it’s sad to see how he’s losing his innocence. But it means the return of Patamon! Hurray! Making his battle debut, since this marks the first time Patamon is in a proper battle on his own (the Elecmon battle was half a fight that turned into tug of war).

. . . it could be better. Patamon really gets slammed all over the place. It’s surprisingly violent. But with Takeru cheering him on, Patamon is able to ultimately win (unfortunately PicoDevimon doesn’t die, we’re stuck with this asshole for awhile). 

Takeru once again apologizes for what’s happened, but Patamon is a pure precious bean so everything’s okay.

Takeru also says he needs to apologize to Yamato later too, though if Yamato knew the full details of what happened here he’d freak as much as I have. The episode ends with Taichi explaining that the distortions in the Digital World are affecting the real world, and that they’ll need everyone’s strengths to fix it before they can go home.

And with that weight on Takeru’s shoulders, the episode finally ends.

Phew, that’s a rough one. There are so many insights into Takeru’s character here, but I don’t want to get too much into all that until the rewatch is finished and I can look at the whole package. 

Does anyone else internally scream when they think about this episode? Or am I just losing my mind? Let me know.

[weaselbeaselpants]

All you need to know about my sucky rewrite

Since the actual show’s getting greenlit here’s my sooperoriginal ideas of my reboot/rewrite/reimagine thing called “Happy hotELL”

The cast of “Happy hoteLL” are renamed versions of the Hazbin cast:

Charly, Vee (she’s nick-named “Vaggy” by Engel) Engel, Niftie, Hux, Alastair, Lord Satan and Lilian, Flim-Flam and JibJab, Karen Killjoy, Sir Pantsless.

The main villains would be human!archangels based on Estus Pirkle and Kirk Cameron.

The main demons under Charly all embody a deadly sin in how they ended up in hell: Engel = Wrath (hated himself and other people), Niftie = Envy (tormented people at school in order to impress a boy), Hux = Lust (stalked/objectified various women in his life), Vee = Pride (too proud to admit she made bad choices), and Alastar = Gluttony (for reasons already discussed here).

Setting

The “afterworld”, the setting our characters inhabit, is separated into three sections: HEAVEN which is where the Archangels rule and were “good” souls go; HELL, which is the main setting of the show and where the archangels swoop down to purge of all the “bad” souls that end up there; and LIMBO, a primordial pocket-dimension with no direct portal to through the other two worlds. Limbo turns out to be the place the archangels, the true rulers of Heaven, are hiding. The mortal or ‘human’ world is between Heaven and Hell and is accessed by similar means to how it is in Helluva Boss. 

Angels and demons which were never human are referred to as ARCHANGELS/OVERLORDS and CHERUBS/IMPS. Ascended/damned souls are those of people who’ve ended up in either Heaven or Hell.

Heaven and Hell both have class systems. Imps and Overlords and Cherubs and Archangels are SUPPOSED to rule over all the human souls in their care. But Heaven’s archangels have gone missing - abandoned their posts for the peaceful content of limbo - leaving human angels to rise up and over time dictate how Heaven is to be run and who gets redeemed....this is as bad as you think it is, as the human!archangels care only for their “purity” over everyone else and keep people who should be allowed into heaven out just for not being to their standards - like Vee. The Overlords of Hell are unaware of this and have been unknowingly doing the human!angels’ business for hundreds of years. 

>The implication that this system for disposing of evil souls has failed is made well before the second season twist because damned human souls (Alastair) have become overlords and exist in Hell without being purged as an open secret, even to Charly’s parents. The only reason the true Overlords oppose any of the human!Overlords’ reign is because it disrupts their order in Hell, not out of any sense of justice.

There is NO monotheistic deity in this world; angels and demons used to live in “pantheons”, aka tribes, across the earth where they created life and the ecosystems there as well - thusly, they became gods to the people of these regions too. Satan and Lilian are from what would come to be the Abrahamic angels. In time, other mythologies’ underworld counterparts - and even some benevolent gods - would have the power diminish on earth and they’d have to live in Hell if they didn’t want to be wiped out by the crusades the Archangel’s influence over humans. Understandably, a lot of non-Abrahamic angels and demons are NOT fond of this appropriation/erasure of their culture and want their own realm’s back, even trying to run their own redemption operation/afterlife control in secret or in limbo. (Imagine Charly meeting a Vivziepoped versions of Hades and Persephone or Oxhead and Horseface telling her to fuck off and her just being like “I KNEW someone had the same idea! I JUST KNEW IT! <3<3<3″)

ALL mortal souls are supposed to be sent to hell but a great many of them are KEPT from heaven because of the human!archangels. 

A demon is redeemed by either setting right a wrong they did in life or sacrificing their happiness for another. This is what happens to Vee at the end of the first season, which leaves Charly without a manager through season 2.

Satan’s backstory is a parody of Paradise Lost as he was the most beautiful angel in his pantheon before the others kicked him out. In revenge he took Lilian, their “first woman”, for his wife and rallied up an army which apparently ended with one mass-extinction event on earth.

There’s a section of Hell where demons who represent different vices/drugs live. It’s referred as “Viceland” and is treated like a kitty theme park.

Demons (overlord, imp, or damned-souls) can all be summoned by mortals who know their way with unholy magic. They’re summoned at really inconvenient times and for really worthless deeds and this would be a great source of comedy for the show and an excuse to get characters to the mortal realm.

Story

The first episode/pilot/episodes/minimovie/whatever would be basically the same as the pilot but with a few tweaks:

It shows a person dying, going to Hell, becoming a demon, and being purged (which the audience not quite knowing what just happened to him) with Engel happily takes the dead demon’s things once the dust clears. Then Charly and Vee’s limo pulls up to him and ask him if he’s interested in a “new gig”. Que title and credits.

Charly initially opens the hotel with the promise that it will be a place for vice and booze but lets it slip that it’s a front for rehabilitation. Once Engel’s story is picked up on by the network, Vee and Charly’s assistants (Flimflam and JibJab) attack Karen and destroy the news station.

It’s Engel - not Vee - who recognizes Alastair as the threat that he is - later it’s revealed that Engel was present during Alastair’s initial takeover and that his radio frequencies damaged Engel’s eye. Vee doesn’t believe him until she sees Alastair’s absorbtion powers, which is when she allows him to stay employed by the hotel to help take Alastair down.

Alastair stresses the need for Charly to keep him working with her a secret, ESPECIALLY from her parents. He’s technically a criminal in hell and he convinces Charly that her parents will be impressed with her bad deed once the jig is up.

The rest of Season 1 would probably be Alastair setting up the hotel while the main cast of demons become more aquainted with each other and the different levels of Hell.The end of season 1 would feature Alastair double-crossing Charly and consuming the hotel in his likeness while it’s hosting a demon’s ball - in the hopes of getting enough souls to reignite his takeover. Vee, Engel, and Charly manage to escape the hotel and Charly overpowers and defeats Al by destroying his microphone - thus releasing all the souls he’s trapped, and then destroys his physical form.

Season 2 would start with a face reveal of Satan, Charly’s father, as he forces her to eat Alastair’s heart which will put him under her control. She does, but Alastair’s conscience manifests inside Charly’s head and mocks her ideas throughout the season. Also in the opening Vee would become and angel and ascends for Heaven, leaving Charly to manage the now very popular hotel alone until Engel rises up to become her #2.

Season 2 would be more explorative, with more stuff featuring the demon’s lives as humans, Charly’s role in Hell, and even Vee in Heaven. We’d learn more about the way Hell, Heaven and Limbo work as Charly manages to redeem a couple more damned souls. At the end of the season, the demons discover a dead cherub with a message from Vee begging Charly for help. Charly first attempts to pass through the hidden realm of Limbo to get to Heaven, but Hux runs off with their means to get there, so instead she vomits up Alastair, the only other demon who knows how to get to heaven, and he assists them on the condition that he be granted amnesty once they return to Hell. In the end, Charly and co. discover Heaven’s corrupted state and realize the Archangels are missing, Vee looses her wings but ascends into a fallenangel, and they all escape the bloodthirsty angels due to Lilian’s interference.

The Overlords of Hell prepare for a new war with Heaven and Charly’s parents send her to the mortal realm for her protection. In the mortal realm, Charly and the demons disguise themselves and their base of operation as a bed and breakfast. Charly has trouble reeling in the overexcited demons who are out of place in this new time while also keeping Alastair, who has stashed away with her, from trapping souls. 

Halfway through season 3 Engel and the other motel staff find out Alastair’s human identity, which he was desperate to hide, and bring his now elderly human daughter to him. This causes Alastair to freak out and consume the bed and breakfast. Once Charly brings him to, his physical takes on that of a baby deer but his psyche and abilities are completely nulled.

While this is going on Vee, Hux, and Charly’s parents have their own adventures in Limbo where they meet the Archangels who have no idea how corrupt Heaven has gotten in their absence. It’s only through Hux and Vee that the main group is finally all reuninted in Hell where the finale takes place :

Engel and Niftie ascend into fallenangels and alongside Vee lead a brigade against the angels who now want to wipe out all the demons; Charly guilt trips her parents and the Archangels into taking action and combining their power to dismantle the angel’s weapons; Alastair comes back and personally takes out the main human!archangel and himself by throwing them into the center of Hell; big stupid happy lesbian ending fartjoke.

end

Characters

Charly’s relationship dynamic to her parents is flipped: her father, Satan (he doesn’t like being called Lucifer) LOVES her. He shares a lot of her personality and at worst doesn’t take Charly seriously or cares about her ambitions. Lilian, Charly’s mother resents her daughter. Lilian was hoping her daughter would bring forth the apocalypse but Charly doesn’t want to do that. It’s implied Charly’s optimism and need to help people comes from her father’s days as an Archangel, and her mother especially hates the angels for casting her out, which leads to her resenting Charly.

This doesn’t stop Satan from being genuinely impressed with his daughter’s achievements and for Lilian to be be the panicked-parent when she learns that Charly has broken into Heaven at the end of season 2. 

The Royal Family is not actively malicious. They’re more like privileged jailers on the top of the Hell-foodchain. The most evil things about them are their apathy towards human atrocities (and their subjects pain, of course), their occasional bouts of sadism, and their genuine glee at the thought of destruction - namely the apocalypse, which Satan and Lilian speak fondly about like a married couple would their retirement plans.

After Charly shows her true form while taking out Alastair, the other Overlords and Imps (i.g. Karen and 666 News) start heaping praise on her out of fear that she’ll retaliate for all the mockery they made of her when she unveiled her plan. Charly is uncomfortable with this.

Engel is BAD at his pornstar/sexworker career. He tries to sell himself as a sass-master incubus but can’t achieve this status in the demon hierarchy because of his short fuse and violent nature.

Engel thinks he’s in hell because he’s gay and likes crossdressing. In reality it’s because he was a member of a crime family and a murderous gangster, named Anatole Slinkoff. The first people he killed were his father and brother as he was assisting a young-up-and-coming rival who would eventually become his boss.

Speaking of that boss, Anatole fell in love with him. On Anatole’s birthday he and the boss got drunk and he ended up confessing his feelings. The boss invited a sobered up Anatole back to his flat the following week and seemed to return his affections with a kiss...which was then followed by a fatal stabbing. Engel never got over the heartbreak/betrayal.

Engel starts off as a toxic enabling jackass who lives in denial and uses sex and drugs to cope with how unhappy he is with himself. In season 2 he becomes Charly’s #2 and builds a strong friendship with her. Also in season 2 Engel meets his father, brother, and mother who are also in hell for their crimes. His father and bro amazingly forgive him for killing them while Engel’s mother - a god-fearing woman who would beat Engel if she found him wears makeup or playing with dolls as a child - asks him for forgiveness, saying she’s the reason her family and he specifically ended up where he did. After Engel patches things up with them he tries to locate the souls of the people he killed and in the process finds out his old boss went to Heaven. At first Engel sets out to kill his boss and get revenge, but upon actually finding him living in fear in Limbo, he can’t bring himself to do so and instead chooses to just not forgive him.

Engel ascends/becomes a fallenangel in the final season when he meets an imp with a similar taste of humor and style. Rather than rush into a relationship as he’s done with every person he’s got with since he ended up in hell, Engel tells his new lover he wants to wait until he’s stable for a relationship, which triggers his transformation.

Molly doesn’t exist. Molly is instead the name of Engel’s feminine alterego and later the name Engel takes up as a fallenangel.

Vee, like Engel, also thinks she’s in hell for all the wrong reasons: She ran away from her controlling parents, thinking she could live on her own just fine. She could not. Instead she wound up turning to a life of crime and prostitution to support herself after a plethora of bad decisions and heartbreaks. When her parents sent word out all over the country, begging her to come back and that they were wrong, but she still refused. In the end one of her clients ended up strangling her. Her soul SHOULD have been one that went to Heaven but was barred off by the human!archangels for being a “thug”. Vee tried to get herself purged after her first few months in Hell, convinced that she deserved it, but Charly saved her and the blast instead only took out one of her eyes. Vee and her story are Charly’s main inspiration to open up the hotel.

Vee and Charly obviously have a romantic relationship from the start but Vee doesn’t see their love as anything serious. When Vee becomes an angel at the end of season 1/beginning of season 2, she rather cruelly leaves Charly without a second thought and discards their relationship is ‘passing sin’. It isn’t until she spends more time in Heaven, seeing the other angels’ being restricted (including her parents, who admit to actually being miserable in Heaven) and finding her rejection notice from the human!archangels that Vee realizes she does love Charly and that her redemption was always HER doing, not someone else’s.

Vee makes the unwise decision to confront the Archangels (whom she doesn’t know are actually human souls) about this treatment. They respond by locking Vee away and performing a “purification” on her which is like electroshock therapy. This sedates Vee into a mindless drone, much to the horror of the cherubs, angels, and eventually Charly and the gang.

Vee, in her purified state, doesn’t want to leave Heaven and go back to Hell. Charly, realizing the woman she loves is gone, tearfully tells her she won’t ask Vee to be anything she doesn’t want to be and that she loves her. This confession breaks through to the real Vee. Their happy reunion is cut short however by the human!archangels who rip off Vee’s wings, causing her and Charly to fall. It’s here though that Vee again ascends, this time into a fallenangel, and grows her own pair of wings and an angels’ weapon which she uses to kill Perkins, the head archangel and save the rest of the cast.

Throughout season 3, Vee and Charly’s parents turn the Happy Hotel into a refuge for human souls and imps while the angels and demons prepare for new spiritual warfare. Vee also tracks down Hux and multiple other “lost souls” in Limbo in her search for the Archangels.

Vee commands Hell’s army alongside Molly and Niftie in the show’s final climax and she gets a happy ending running a shanty motel in Limbo alongside Charly.

In life, Niftie was a teenager who tried to grow up too fast and gave up her hobbies and interests to impress her childhood friend (whom she was in love with). By following the lead of a more popular classmate, Niftie became a bully who ruled her school’s social status. Then she learned that her “teacher” had been in love with the same guy and he was returning her feelings - which drove Niftie into a rage and she tried killing the both of them on their senior prom night. She tried running them over with her car, putting the girl in the hospital, paralyzing the boy forever, and ruining her reputation at school (for saying she couldn’t drive when she did; not for the attempted murder). The boy she loved hated her, and the rest of the school bullied her until she gave in and took her own life in the bathroom.

The other demons are especially sympathetic towards Nifty. Charly finds it horrible that she end up in hell at such a young age. Hux is very protective of her. However, Niftie is more self-aware than she appears; she acts more childish than she actually is because she wishes she was still a kid, but does NOT like being treated like a literal child - especially by Charly and Engel. She only warms up to Charly when Hux abandons her and she’s forced to be an authority figure under Engel while the group stages things out in the mortal realm.

In the mortal realm, Niftie ends up coming across her old hishschool friend, now an old woman in a wheelchair, who believes it’s her fault everything ended the way it did. Niftie tells the lady not to feel guilty and instead apologizes to her - which ignites Niftie’s ascension into a fallenangel.

Hux was a moderately successful show magician. Heartbroken by being unable to woo a woman he loved with his success, he turned to drinking and took up relationships with women who worked under him  - all of these relationships were toxic and Hux would break their hearts and ruin their lives. When Hux arrived in Hell it was during a purge. He found his original sweetheart there but she, not him, was purged, cementing Hux’s views of redemption and justice...that there is NONE.

Hux is mostly apathetic and disbelieves along with everyone else in Charly’s plan UNTIL he finds out that one of the women he hurt escaped into Limbo. When the main cast tried to use their one passage to Limbo to get to Heaven in season 2, Hux takes the pass for himself.

In Season 3, Vee finds Hux enjoying his time in Limbo and calls him out for his selfishness. Hux introduces her to all the women he wronged, who DON’T forgive him, and also his new business in Limbo selling drinks that make people recall their past lives.

Together with Vee, Hux thinks up a plan to have the overcrowded souls of Hell and Heaven wait out the war in Limbo while simultaneously kicking out the Archangels so that they won’t notice the influx of souls in their realm.

Sir Pantsless is the show’s biggest buttmonkey and is constantly abused. He’s a tiny demon trying to ride off other Overlord’s success and who’s design is a wimpy, trying-to-hard version of Charly’s dad. In life, Sir Pantsless was a Victorian-era businessman who lived a long, happy life of abusing child-workers in factories and getting away with all his evil deeds. Charly’s dad even admits to keeping him out of the purge purposefully because he finds Pantsless’ pain amusing.

Themes and other stuff worth noting

If there’s a lesson I guess I’d try to push with the ending of this rewrite it would be, ironically, that neither Heaven nor Hell hold your true morality. It’s on you for making mistakes; it’s up to you to overcome them - you literally have to go through hell - to fix them! It also shouldn’t be up to Heaven and Hell how punishment/enlightenment works or why it’s worth anything.

This is NOT supposed to be an antireligion/antiChristian story. Not at ALL. It’s anti absolutism and anti religiousSUPREMACY story.  I know then that people will probably not want me basing this version of Heaven off Evangelicals, but like Viv, that’s the religion that closest for me to criticize. If I were Jewish or Hindu or Muslim I would so be about tearing their hypocrisies down....but I’m not. I know all about the injustices in those religions but I’m not comfortable tearing them a new one as a white Christian. My mother’s fam are recovering Christian Science-folk. Also, have you watched anything about Left Behind? It’s genuinely an eye opening experience when it comes to Americanized Christianity and even the lore of Hell and Demons in regards to the book of revelations.

Lotsa references to The Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost with the implication that these works are fan fiction to the demons of actual events with Dante never even making it out of Hell because he was too prideful. (Charly’s father has two faces in his wings/comb which are constantly chewing parts of Dante like chewing gum).

I know Viv says she’s hoping to get Weird Al to voice Lucifer. Personally I think a better unlikely but TOTALLY FITTING devil would be mah man Martyn Jacques of The Tiger Lillies. They even have a circus motif!

Engel probably claims his name is supposed to be misspelled on purpose. In reality, it’s cause he was drunk when submitting his resume to be an incubus and made a typo for his new name.

Vee’s human name is Marianna Posada. GET IIIIIT.

Alastair’s human name is Edward Hastings. Edward being the name of the American Murder Song which inspired my Alastair, while Hastings is the last name of the man who helped doomed the Donner Party.

[kinetic-elaboration]

November 18: 1x24 This Side of Paradise

Today’s ep: the first, but not the last, instance of Spock’s inner hippie coming out.

Also another ep where Spock is wrong, again. “Absolutely zero chance of survival,” he says, minutes before they find survivors.

I see Spock just volunteered himself for the landing party.

Kirk is such a romantic. “Ah, there’s nothing sadder than a dream that’s died...”

Omicron Ceti III... that reminds me of something... could it be Futuruma?

(It is Futurama.)

“He’s alive, Jim.”

Sulu asking the important questions: is it possible they’re not alive? I mean given some of the ship’s prior adventures, it’s a valid possibility.

Ah-ha, Spock’s old... “friend.” Another hussy he’s cheating on T’Pring with. I guess he’s into blondes.

Kirk is so suspicious. He knows a romantic interlude when he sees it.

This settlement would be very popular today. Simplicity. Gardening. Happiness.

“I wouldn’t know what was right or wrong with a farm if it were two feet away from me,” Sulu says, while sitting right next to the danger plant. I love Sulu. He has such an easy, good-natured humor about him that I really don’t think is appreciated enough.

Spock’s still a Vulcanian, I see.

So he knew Leila 6 years ago... Only six? What was he doing on Earth then?

“It is said he has no feelings to give.” People love to gossip about Spock.

Kirk giving Bones the disk like “Ta-da, friend, I have anticipated your needs!”

I want to know how Bones broke two ribs. Barroom brawl?

“I missed you.” / “Logically, you should be dead.” Wow, what a romantic.

I think it’s interesting that he related his lack of emotions to being a scientist, not a Vulcan. He did that in the Naked Time, too, drawing on his identity as an officer when the space disease made him feel weepy.

Even though Leila is also a scientist.

“We’re vegetarians.” Lol Spock will fit right in.

I find it interesting that Starfleet has the authority to evict these people from the planet.

“It gives life, peace, love”--that doesn’t sound suspicious at all. Is it a drug?

Spock getting hit in the face with the spores is HILARIOUS.

She’s so surprised that suddenly feeling emotions hurts him--duh, he’s not human, so it’s different for him!

So is this Spock’s “inner face”? Ready to declare his love all at once?

“Would you like to use a butterfly net on him, Jim?”

I can’t believe Jim was halfway through his sentence when he was suddenly like “Where’s Spock?”

Spock’s seen a dragon? I bet he liked that.

I really like this romantic theme music.

This is absolutely the attitude adolescent Spock took with Sarek. “I don’t think so Sir.”

“I thought you said you might like him if he mellowed a little.” First, I love when Kirk and McCoy do this like ‘you said this’ ‘no I didn’t...’ thing. And second, they talk about Spock in their off time! 

“The frequency is open but he doesn’t answer.” Leaving Jim on read I see.

Jim does not like this weird Spock, swinging from the tree limbs.

Lol Spock wants to “straighten out” Jim. That raging bisexual? Unlikely.

Spock is under arrest: the charges, silliness while on duty.

I love the creepy music they play over the plants. The music + the look of the plants is very invasion of the body snatchers. They just look alien.

Interesting that Jim is (partially?) immune.

I love when Bones gets really Southern. You can tell he really worked on toning down that accent, but this is his true self.

Oh no, Uhura took out communications, now it’s unfixable.

Plant on the bridge!!! So creepy.

Captain’s log: I’ve been bested by spores.

Spock is very interested in this “mint julep.” He knows what it is! It’s a drink! (He definitely had to ask.)

So the plants are, in fact, aliens. Traveling to space to reach this planet that they like very much.

“It’s a true Eden, Jim. There’s belonging... and love.” The two things Spock wants most!!

“I don’t know what I can offer against paradise.”

I can’t believe that after that long, sad soliloquy, Kirk gets hit in the face with spores lol. It’s just a funny visual!

Kirk’s little suitcase. Full of shirts. All the essentials.

And then... a random medal? I guess it’s there to show that even spored, Kirk still cares about his accomplishments and still has pride in them. Personality-wise, he just doesn’t seem as susceptible.

The getting-over-the-spores thing is a little...weak. Like I guess he just cares so much about the ship he can’t abandon it? The thought makes him angry and that kills the spores? A little weird.

And of course, he goes straight to Spock as the first person he wants to save, eve though that involves poking him to anger, which is risky. “Aroused, his great physical strength could kill.” Interesting choice of words lol.

“My mother was a teacher.” Spock doesn’t like mean references to his mom.

Also I guess this is the ep that canonically establishes Sarek as an ambassador.

Kirk has to work really hard and say a lot of very mean stuff to get Spock angry. (Unlike AOS Spock who just hears the words ‘your mom’ and is ready to throw hands.) (In his defense, she did just die.)

Also omg his parents are still alive! Stop talking about them as if they were dead!

“I don’t belong anymore.” Yes you do bb! On the Enterprise!

“Well if we’re both in the brig, who’s going to build the subsonic transmitter?” Impeccable logic. I feel like Spock set him up for that one on purpose.

“Enterprise” in McCoy’s thick Southern drawl.

I like that Spock changed back into his uniform first.

Jim is definitely jealous of Leila.

This Spock and Leila conversation... Really makes me curious to see Spock attempt a romantic relationship.

Saying “that man on the Bridge” is so much more dramatic than just saying “the Captain.” Like... so much more!!

“You couldn’t pronounce it” lol. I’m so glad this scene exists to make it clear that he has a last or family name and also that we will NEVER know it. I completely reject that dumbass fanon name, you know the one. It’s pronounceable! That means it’s wrong!

Hilarious that that’s the note they end on.

I guess Leila was over the spores there for a bit. But I still don’t really have a firm grasp on what her actual personality is. Everyone else’s seemed to change a lot while under the influence.

I feel like they kind of did start a 500 person brawl.

Glad Bones got his mint julep!

“Would you like to see how fast I can put you in the hospital?” I think you already put him in the burn unit!

I can’t believe he throws the mint julep away when the spores go away. Does he not actually like them?

This episode is very judgmental lol. Also, I know they’re humans, but it doesn’t seem in the spirit of the Prime Directive either.

What my mom calls Kirk’s Puritan work/strife values. True. He’s a Midwesterner but he’s a little Puritan too clearly. “Maybe we were meant to struggle” says the man who lives in a post-scarcity utopia.

I kind of feel like Spock DOES want to stroll to a lute.

And of course this whole “poetry” interlude is itself incredibly Dramatic.

“For the first time in my life, I was happy.” What?? No, stop being such a drama queen. Wasn’t seeing a dragon cool? Meeting Jim??

I don't know if I think the concept of just being happy and gardening to survive is so bad tbh. Like... I guess a part of me (the Puritan part?) does rebel at the idea of just being....blank and placid all the time, and never striving for anything. But like that was really the worst the spores did. There's no real explanation as to why it's bad, other than, well, it makes you not so ambitious. I'm very torn about the moral of the story.

Still overall, a very good ep. A good Spock ep--lots to think about re: his characterization, when I’m more awake. A very good Kirk ep, too.

Next is The Devil in the Dark. YET ANOTHER absolute classic. Season 1 really just keeps going at 100mph.

[missizzy]

Fic: All the Extras, Part 8 (Harry Potter)

(Read entire work on AO3)

The next week was punctuated by a lot of boredom and anxiety, reminding all three of them too much of the months they'd spent wandering around in the wilderness and experiencing the same feelings. Despite Harry's first thoughts about not wanting to hide, they tried to avoid any contact with the wizarding world, because it felt like too much to deal with. They took to wandering around the rest of Brisbane. They saw two more movies, a museum full of modern art, a cathedral, another thing Harry was fascinated to see for the first time, and the city's Chinatown.

The biggest improvement from their last experience of this, Harry thought, was that Ron and Hermione's relationship was now completely different from what it had been. If they hadn't stopped arguing completely, there was still none of the hostility between them that had previously filled the air both before Ron's departure and after his return. Instead, the state of things between them made both their moods a lot lighter than they would've been otherwise. If it also meant that, at times, they retreated to their hotel room together, and made clear he didn't want to come with them, Harry could live with that.

Harry didn't have another incident like he'd had, and by the end of the week, he was feeling calmer in general, especially since he was sleeping a little better. Except that sometimes when they were out, he'd suddenly become convinced there were people on the street, or elsewhere in the room, if they were indoors, staring at him or talking about him. He suspected much of it was his imagination, but it kept feeling real.

They'd had a good morning. After sleeping in, and Harry truly had slept, they'd had a hearty breakfast much like the ones they'd enjoyed at the Burrow at a diner they'd found near the hotel two days ago. They then had gone to look at an old house ironically named Newstead House, and then gone for a little walk in the adjoining park. Hermione had heard a story about a legendary wizarding duel that had happened in the park, but she was sure to say it probably wasn't a true one. Lunch had been at a seafood place where the chowder had been delicious.

It was early afternoon when they returned to the hotel. Their plans hadn't been too specific for the afternoon, but they were all three of them a little tired. The general thought in Harry's head involved them just relaxing in Ron and Hermione's hotel room, maybe with Harry and Ron playing chess, and Hermione getting a little reading done. She'd purchased a large book called The Wizarding Antipodes: A History, and was about a quarter of the way through it.

That was what was pretty much in the schedule even when they walked through the hotel entrance. And then, when they were about halfway through the lobby, they found themselves being advanced upon by a cross-looking Molly Weasley, with a concerned-looking Ginny following along in her wake. Harry opened his mouth, then looked at Ron. Ron shook his head, and Harry closed it again.

As she reached them, Hermione started, "Mrs. Weasley, did you have a-"

"What did your parents say to you, Hermione?" she cut her off. "Are they truly going to disown you for saving their lives and stay here on the other side of the world?"

"I don't think it's going that far," Hermione said hastily. "They are going to stay here in Brisbane, yes."

"Are they?" Mrs. Weasley did not sound placated. "Sounds like abandoning you to me. If they'd just moved to France or Ireland, that would be one thing, but when they're in a place so hard for you to get to and fro from, especially by Muggle means, and not talking to you much while you're here..."

"I'm hoping for that to get better next time I come here. It's unfortunate now, of course, but..."

Harry saw Ginny's dismayed reaction even before her mother yelled, "UNFORTUNATE?!" He tried not to jump, even as she continued on, "You can't let your parents do this to you, Hermione. Give me their address."

"No," Hermione shook her head, and Harry thought she drew herself up a little. He admired her bravery. "They've been through a very great shock, they're probably still adjusting to having all their memories back, and honestly, if you go over there and lecture them the way you're talking right now, you'll probably just make them more angry and everything worse!"

Mrs. Weasley looked stunned. So did her two children. Harry felt it himself. He doubted any of her children had talked to her that way until they'd been much older than Hermione, if even then. Nor had the two of them, the children she had taken in as somewhat her own.

But Hermione, unintimidated by any kind of authority when she thought them wrong, said, "I know you mean well, Mrs. Weasley, but I have to handle this myself."

"No, that you certainly don't need to do!" That seemed to get her even angrier. "That's what you've already been doing almost this whole past year, doing things you never should've had to do..."

"It was by prophecy, Mrs. Weasley," Harry interrupted. "I had to be the one to...to..." He didn't want to say the rest.

"I don't care!" she yelled, before he could. "I don't care what excuse you three had for running off on your own. Whatever you had to do, that was wrong of you. You should have told us what you needed to do, and we would have figured out a more sensible way to do it."

"But then you all would've been in more danger," Harry protested.

It was Ginny who responded to that. "Oh, so for our own safety, we didn't even get to know what was going on? Do you know how angry I got at all three of you over that? Who were you, to make that decision for all of us? And I thought you three at least understood how much I hated that everyone felt they got to make that decision for me." She probably either didn't notice or simply didn't care about the look on her mother's face, even as she continued, "You know, I think mum's right. If you'd told us what you three were trying to do? Who knows, we might have even gotten it done faster, and maybe even saved lives in the process. Maybe...maybe even Fred's!"

High as the likelihood was there would've just been more dead Weasleys that way, this was a possibility that couldn't be denied. "I'm sorry," Harry sighed. "I just..."

"Didn't think," said Ginny. "Sometimes I think that's the problem with all three of you. Mighty heroes, always thinking about saving the world, and how can we complain when you've gone and done so? But you've had your minds so focused on the big, important things, all the while presuming you know best about what to do about them, that you've never given a thought to just how many consequences the actions you take have."

"Hey!" Harry protested. "I haven't always thought I know best, I know I've made mistakes sometimes..."

"No," Ginny raised her voice as she cut him off. "This is not the moment when you interrupt the young witch, Harry."

Then, to his surprise, she whirled on Hermione, and said, "I think that's even what we're stuck in this situation in the first place. Did you think of any other alternatives for keeping your parents safe, Hermione? Do you really believe that no wizarding family anywhere would've taken them in? We kept Harry's less than nice relatives safe. And you know, it's not the first time I've wondered about some of the things you've done, sometimes years after the fact, and I'm not going to get into all of that right now, but..."

That was also surprising, Harry thought. Ginny rarely pulled her punches like that. It made him think maybe this was something where she feared their current company would side with Hermione.

Especially when she instead finished by turning back to Harry, and saying, "I've just spent twenty hours on an aeroplane trying to figure out where the two of us go next. And for too much of it, I had to wonder, will you even ask me anyway? I used to wonder why my brother argues so much with Hermione here, you know."

"Ginny..." Ron now started. A look from her, and he didn't go further than that.

"Used to blame it all on him. But you two, you glorious heroes...well, actually, I think you've rubbed off on Ron a bit there, anyway, but still, anyone who gets involved with either of you? Needs to be able to tell you what's what. And I just hope the two of you eventually prove able to listen every once in a while. Because if you don't, Harry, well." And she turned and stalked away.

The feeling was not unlike that of being knocked off his broom. Harry thought all four of them were feeling that way, the way Hermione was looking after her, appearing greatly concerned, Ron was not looking at anyone, and Mrs. Weasley was just staring awkwardly at him. This, Harry suspected, was probably not the best way for a boy and his girlfriend's mother to first deal with the fact that he was dating her.

The quarrelling being taken out of her hands for that last minute or so seemed to have softened her temper slightly, but while she spoke more calmly, she still insisted, "At the very least, Hermione, it won't do to just wander around Brisbane all day until your parents come to your senses, and you certainly can't leave the country without forming some sort of plan."

"We're going to see them again when we come back for the World Cup," Ron offered. "She and me'll even let them look at our teeth, the way Muggle dentists do."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" She actually looked slightly alarmed. "Letting Muggles have free range on your teeth?" Then she presumably realized how that sounded, and added, "Of course I'm sure they're very good at taking care of teeth in general, but, well...wizarding teeth are probably different."

"They looked at mine," Harry said. "They've been fine. Even got a small cavity filled the Muggle way, and it worked."

He even tried to pull his lips open to show her, but she shook her head with a, "Don't do that in the lobby of a place, Harry; I know you have some manners. We've caused quite a scene down her as it is, haven't we?"

"Do you want to come upstairs?" Harry asked. "Or maybe you could get your own room, if you want, and, er, if you're planning to stay very long." He still wasn't sure Mrs. Weasley wouldn't grab all three of them by their shirt collars and drag them straight back home at any moment.

She still looked like might be considering it. But meanwhile, Ron had been looking in the direction his sister had gone, and now said, "Um, Ginny's leaving. She, uh, was standing there sulking, but now she's going out the door."

"Oh no!" Mrs. Weasley hurried after her.

Harry was torn between following himself, and staying away from the mother-daughter fight he was pretty sure was about to happen. Ron made the decision for all three of them by calling after her, "We'll wait here."

The emotional toll of the last few minutes caught up with all three of them as they collapsed into three armchairs surrounding a table on the far side of the hotel lobby. Hermione especially looked exhausted, even leaning forward to prop herself up on the table by her elbows. Ron reached forward and put a hand on her arm.

Harry was left to ponder Ginny's words to him. They'd already established, of course, that maybe he'd been a little overprotective of her during this last war. But that had been during dire circumstances that ought to now be in their past. Now she had just made clear that if he wanted to stay with her, he might have to change more than that, and he wasn't even sure if he could get himself to do that.

But she'd spoken of wanting a say in their future. That was fair enough; he would have absolutely given her that anyway, whatever she thought. Did she have any specific plans or hopes right now? He hoped she was willing to talk enough to tell him about those sometime soon, if she did.

Though it might be a bit early for her anyway to be making plans if she wanted to start her entire post-O.W.L. education over. He thought she would, but he hadn't gotten the chance to ask anyone below seventh-year over it before he'd left Hogwarts.

He was still dwelling on how he was going to ask the question exactly, and what he would say depending on her answer, when she and her mother finally returned together, and despite the latter's smile, neither of them looking very happy. Harry wished he and Ginny were alone simply so he could ask her what had happened.

Mrs. Weasley spoke instead, "We've taken your advice, Harry, and gotten ourselves a room. On the second floor. I believe it would be best if we all took some time to rest, and then met for dinner, perhaps around five?"

"That does sound like a good idea," said Hermione. "The three of us can spend it together." Ron immediately nodded.

So they ended up doing what they would've done anyway that afternoon, except the entire time, Harry was thinking about Ginny, sitting around with her mother, and who knew what might be on her mind.

That Evening

Hermione wasn't the only one who had studied Brisbane and found places they could go to, at least to eat. That evening Ginny led them to a Japanese place, saying she wanted to try out sushi. They all of them ended up doing so (except Hermione had already tried it once; she said it was good), even though Harry felt he was ordering kind of blind doing so.

Figuring out just what to have distracted them until they'd finished ordering. As soon as the waiter had left, Mrs. Weasley said, "Having thought about it a little more, Hermione, I still think someone besides the three of you should talk to your parents, try to explain to them why doing what you did likely saved their lives. I think there's a good chance that an adult, talking carefully enough to them, could get them to understand."

After a moment of looking thoughtful, Hermione said, "You might be right. But I want to be the one to decide who and when and what they say. I know my parents. They're my parents."

"Well, you might have to let mum do it," said Ginny. "And before we leave. That really was a long flight, Hermione, and I don't think anyone's going to go to the kind of trouble setting up such a long-distance Portkey just for a task like this, or trying to figure out how to communicate Muggle-style from the other side of the world."

“I think Muggles are developing new ways to communicate wizards aren't keeping track of, but that is good point. Still, I just don't know if you'll be here long enough for them to cool down."

"We can take time," said Mrs. Weasley. "Even with the Quidditch World Cup not started yet, there's probably still plenty to see and do, and after coming all this way, I think the two of us would like that."

"Have you been anywhere interesting this week?" Ginny asked. "I mean, anywhere all three of you found interesting?"

Harry thought about it, as Ron and Hermione appeared to do the same. "I think the cathedral was interesting."

"Cathedral?" Mrs. Weasley asked, confused. "I thought they only built those in Europe."

"Oh, no, they're building one in Brisbane right now," said Hermione. "They've been working on it for nearly a hundred years," and she explained how they'd built it in three phases, and were currently in the middle of the third.

"A pity Arthur isn't here," commented Mrs. Weasley when Hermione was done. "He would love to see such a thing. We should get a camera and take some pictures for him. I don't even think it would have to be a magical one, especially since I don't suppose we'll be taking photos of anything that's supposed to move. Although I'm not sure how..."

"Don't worry," said Ginny. "I'm sure between the five of us, we can figure it out."

"Though if we're taking pictures now," said Ron, "I kind of want to go back to the park we went to this morning. I liked that place."

"That, too, then," said Hermione. Harry got the feeling then that they'd be revisiting most of the places they'd been to already. It would, after all, delay Mrs. Weasley's planned visit.

Briefly he entertained the notion that Ginny might try to stay behind with him on one of those excursions. But that, he told himself, should be up to her, and besides, there was a good chance her mother wouldn't allow it.

"We could probably go there first as well," Harry noted. "If we go before the cathedral opens."

They were still making plans when the sushi arrived. Harry wasn't sure, afterwards, whether he liked sushi or not. He liked most of the things it was made of, but the combining of them in that way was definitely new. Ginny seemed to really enjoy it, though, which left him thinking that maybe he could get used to it. Ron's and Mrs. Weasley's reactions were harder to tell.

When they'd exhausted the topic of Brisbane and all they'd seen in it, Hermione rather determinedly went right into the topic of Japan, which she wanted to visit some day, and everything she knew about its magical and Muggle societies both. Probably she was trying to ignore the very thoughtful way Mrs. Weasley was looking at her. Nobody pushed it, though. The only argument that happened over that meal was who got to pay the bill, with Mrs. Weasley ultimately winning.

It wasn't until they were nearly back at the hotel that Mrs. Weasley said, "I think I would also like to call Arthur and talk to him about this. If you could help me with that, Hermione?"

For a moment, Hermione looked like she wanted to protest. Then Ginny said, "If your parents ever decide to come home, it would be good for them to know some of dad's friends, Hermione."

"I suppose," said Hermione, but she didn’t look all that happy. Harry wasn't sure why. Mr. Weasley wasn't like his wife; he wouldn't go barging in on her parents because he thought he was right and they were wrong, not even if he somehow ended up in Australia here with them.

"Anyway," she continued, "calling someone on the other side of the world can get a little complicated sometimes. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to do it at the hotel, but we might not be able to do it from our rooms. We should go up to the desk and ask about it."

"Harry," said Ginny as they entered the lobby. "Could you come with me for just a minute or so?"

Ron cast them a suspicious look as Harry agreed, but didn't say anything. Silently the two of them walked past the table he had sat at with Ron and Hermione earlier that day, to the far end of the room. It did give Harry time to think about his words to her, which started with, "Let me just say one thing really quickly, Gin. Maybe I haven't been the best at this the past year, but from now on..."

"I get to say where we're going, at least once we're both done with school," said Ginny. "You can make suggestions, if you want, but I bet I've thought about it a lot more than you have. In fact, if you still want to be an Auror, I've got some ideas for how we can make everything work, though a lot of that probably won't be in our control anyway."

"That's fine," Harry told her, because it really was. After the past year of constantly having to figure out what to do next, feeling like the fate of the wizarding world might hang on his decisions, and not knowing what he was doing too much of the time, the thought of handing over all that to someone he could trust, at least for a little while, was very much a relief.

"Good." She smiled. "Also, I noticed you didn't talk about being in the wizarding section of this city much, and mum may not have asked why, but I want to know."

This was going to be very hard to tell her. It felt too much like an excuse when he said, "That explanation would take a lot longer than a couple of minutes."

She did not look pleased. "In that case," she said, "You're giving it to me tomorrow. We can meet right here at 6:30."

Harry knew better than to argue. "All right, then. I'll try to explain it as best I can." That was as much as easily came to him then. "Let's go back."

Ron didn't say anything when they returned. Harry was very grateful for that. They were all of them maybe a little too tired to talk anyway. Instead they just stood there until Hermione and Mrs. Weasley returned, looking a bit peaked up, but a bit more pleased. "Arthur and I have a few ideas," she said. "We'll talk further about it in the morning."

After that, they all went up to their own rooms pretty quickly. Harry had no idea if Mrs. Weasley had any knowledge of Ron and Hermione sharing a room without he himself in it, but he sure wasn't going to tell her if she didn't. He tried to sleep immediately, he really did. Once he'd gazed at the map enough, he finally managed it.

6:30 A.M.

The lobby wasn't as deserted as Harry would've liked. Besides them and the woman at the desk, there was only one group of people, but that consisted of eight men in very nice suits who were talking way too loudly for this early in the morning. He sat in the chair furthest away from them to wait for Ginny, and he was pretty sure he wasn't imagining the confused looks a couple of them were throwing him. He was in his clothes for the day, but he was pretty sure the jumper was one of Dudley's he'd ended keeping until he'd actually grown into it, and it did show it, and his hair was probably even messier than usual.

He'd figured that Ginny, at least, wouldn't show up in a state to complain about his. Sure enough, she was a t-shirt he knew she'd had since she was at least fourteen and a long skirt with a visible patch in it, hair brushed but loose. He had never seen her like this much, even when they'd first dated. But he kind of liked it.

She was a little stiff, though, as she sat down in the chair nearest to him, which was still a few feet away, and right now that felt like a lot further. Biting back a reaction to that, he asked, "How are you?"

For a moment she didn't respond, and he even wondered if she'd heard him; those blokes in the suits were still yammering away. Then she said, "I think you're the one who needs to answer that question honestly. Or at least give me that explanation we didn't have time for last night for why you've been keeping to Muggle Brisbane."

"All right. We only went into wizarding Brisbane early in our stay here, because of..." Harry looked anxiously at the men, reminding himself they probably weren't paying attention to them. "Well," he started. "First I ended up having Hermione's parents look at my teeth..." Going through the whole story seemed to confuse her at first, but Harry found it cleared his mind a little, to have to order and string all the events together enough to explain them. And by the time he was done, Ginny was nodding.

"I remember," she said, "when the whole thing with the diary happened...well, at first I pretty much felt okay. Mostly just relieved, because I'd been so scared, you know. Sometimes when I woke up in the morning, I had serious trouble reminding myself the whole thing was over, but it never lasted too long after I got up.

Except then I went home, and I don't know what it even was. Maybe it was that I had less to do, or maybe it was that that was where the whole thing started, or maybe it was even that home didn't seem as secure as Hogwarts-but I wasn't safe from it at Hogwarts either, so I don't know. The feeling of being scared when I woke up came back. I almost didn't get my homework done that summer, because there were weeks when I couldn't bring myself to touch a book. What I got to writing down, I took to rechecking after a few days, just to make sure it hadn't changed.

And then, there was this morning where Fred and George sneaked up on me...I don't even remember exactly what they did anymore. But mum and dad had to pull me off them. I gave Fred a black eye." Her voice cracked a little then, probably out of grief.

"It wasn't okay, of course, what I did, and what you did wasn't okay either. But..." She sighed. "I think it happens sometimes. And it did get better for me, eventually. Well, mostly."

"Wait a minute," said Harry, as one memory came vividly back to him. "That time you really didn't want to go to the library, even though we both had essays due the next morning..."

She nodded. "It was one of those days. They're very rare, now, but they do still happen. But I never attacked anyone again, after that morning with Fred and George. There were a few times where I actually managed to stop myself, but I think that did go away eventually."

Harry did now remember how, from the start, Ginny had always been aggressive during DA practices. He hadn't thought anything of it back then.

"You think I'm always going to be a little like this?" he asked her, suddenly feeling timid. Maybe she wouldn't want him again after all.

"Maybe," she said. "But maybe if we can keep ourselves from hurting anyone else, and we can be happy a lot of the time-because I have been, Harry, I can say that-then it's...well, not *not* all right."

Harry tried to stop himself, but it came out anyway: "So you mean, the two of us, together?"

Ginny nodded, very solemn. "I'd been thinking this already, but after hearing about this, I want the two of us to be there for each other. For this, and for everything else, too. I want to be there when you're feeling bad, and then I want to still be there when you're feeling better. I want to be there when you become an Auror-for real, not just honourary-and I'd like it if you were there when I hopefully make my professional debut as Chaser."

"Oh, I absolutely want to be there for that," said Harry, and he couldn't stop the smile. "And if you have more of those bad days, I want to be there to help with that, and when you can smile again I want to see that, and I hope I can make you more happy than sad."

"Agreed, then," said Ginny, and she reached out and took his hand. Neither moved to kiss the other, but they didn't really have to.

[the--highlanders]

Simultaneity

Two, Jamie, and Zoe land in 1732, which raises some uncomfortable questions for Jamie when he realises his father and brother are still alive.

on ao3.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sun was beating down on the back of Jamie’s neck, its warmth just harsh enough to tell him that he would regret not finding himself some shade later, but not quite enough to make him move. Digging his elbows into his thighs, he pressed his chin into his palms until his jaw ached and closed his eyes to ground himself in the slight discomfort of it. The grass around him was rustling and the sky was too bright for his eyes to focus properly and the rock he was sitting on was jagged and Zoe was sitting a stone’s throw from him making that terrible noise, and the whole business made him want to tear his hair out.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

He gritted his teeth. Ignore it. Zoe was only doing as the Doctor had asked, after all – and he was supposed to be helping her. His own chisel lay abandoned next to him, and the sight made the guilt in his stomach curl tighter until it threatened to strangle him

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Will ye stop that!” he exclaimed at last. “Or – or take it somewhere else, at least. Go bother him.” He nodded towards where the Doctor lay sprawled out beneath a tree, eyes closed and book pages-down on his chest. “He needs wakin’ up.”

Zoe tutted at him. “I’m trying to break open these rocks, not the ones over there.”

“Aye, an’ it’s drivin’ me crazy.”

She shrugged. “You can move, then. If you’re not going to help, you can at least leave me to it.”

The worst of it that she was right, of course. She usually was, in the end. “I’m trying tae think.”

“Well, I hope you’re thinking about something useful.” Pushing herself upright, Zoe wiped the dust from her hands onto her trousers. “We’re close enough to your time, can’t you see anything out of place?”

Jamie snorted. “Just ‘cause it’s seventeen thirty-two doesnae mean I know what every rock in Africa looks like.”

“Oh.” His derision had been more angry than playful, and it must have shown on his face, in the bite to his words. Zoe’s smile had faded away, and she ducked her head to smash her chisel against another rock. She hit its surface at an odd angle, and it skittered away across the dirt. “No, I suppose not. Silly of me.”

Sighing, Jamie reached over to pluck a stone from the pile before her, picking up his discarded chisel to tap at it half-heartedly. “’Spose we’ll be out of here quicker if I help ye.”

Zoe murmured a wordless reply, busying herself with a fresh stone. Her hair slipped from behind her ear, screening her face no matter how hard he tried to catch a glimpse of her expression. His guilt at having snapped at her had fixed itself firmly in his throat, digging its claws in deeper to the lump that had formed there. He opened his mouth to apologise – then looked up to catch Zoe’s eye and realised that she had been about to speak in the same moment. They froze, each watching the other carefully before breaking into awkward laughter.

Jamie rubbed his hand over his forehead, leaving a trail of dust sticking to the sweat there. “Och, I’m sorry. I didnae mean tae -”

“It’s fine,” Zoe said, a little too quickly, a little too brusquely. “I shouldn’t assume that the past is uniform.” The words came out jarring and resigned, as if someone else had put them in her mouth. Jamie glanced over to where the Doctor lay sleeping and wondered whether they were his. “But -” She fell silent, clenching her jaw to suppress the question.

“Go on, ask.” Jamie nudged his shoulder against hers, and she leant away from him, exaggerating the impact. “I’m no’ gonnae bite ye.”

The sharp look she gave him told him everything he needed to know about her doubt – and he could hardly blame her, what with his prickliness only moments ago. But just as he had expected, her curiosity got the better of her. “Isn’t it – well, nice? To be back in your own time? You always speak of it so – fondly.”

Jamie shrugged, sweeping his gaze over the tall grasses around them. A few trees broke the shimmering line of the horizon, one or two with the dark shadows of animals clustered under them. It was as alien a place as he had ever seen. “Doesnae really feel like my time.”

“Not at all?”

“If ye were dumped in your time, halfway across the world, would ye recognise it?”

“I expect so.” Zoe paused, wrinkling her nose as she thought. “It wouldn’t be that different, in my time.”

“Och, well. It is in mine.”

“But you’re out there, somewhere,” Zoe pressed on. “A – a different you, your past self. Living your life.”

There it was.

Sighing, Jamie let the rock and chisel in his hands fall to the earth in a cloud of reddish dust. They clanked together, filling the silence that stretched out between him and Zoe. The one thing he had been trying not to think of, and Zoe had gone and spoken it into existence. Worse still, she was looking at him as expectantly as if she had told him some interesting fact. “Aye, I’m out there.”

“Isn’t that interesting?” She was babbling on, as if she could not see the pain that Jamie was sure was written all over his face. “There’s two of you on this planet right now. You’ve lived through this moment before.”

“Aye, I have.”

At last, she paused to frown at him. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Like it’s a -” Jamie stared at her. “Of course it’s a bad thing. I’ve got tae sit here smashin’ rocks open, knowing what’s gonnae happen an’ not being able to change anything.”

Now it was Zoe’s turn to stare. “What do you mean, what’s going to happen?”

“Och, it doesnae matter.”

“Tell me.”

“Don’t want to.” The words forced themselves out from beneath his teeth, brittle and cold beneath the hot sun. They were half-true, at least, he supposed. His chest was all but bursting with the ache of knowing when and where they were, and the desperate need to tell someone – but not Zoe. Not Zoe, who was so logical, who tried so hard to hide her terror when she was forced to say something comforting. Who would take his hurt and feel it as her own without knowing how to dull the edges of it. Yet again, he glanced over at the Doctor, wishing he would wake up.

“I want to understand.” Zoe’s eyes were wide as a child’s, and he could see her as nothing else.

“Ye wouldn’t.”

“How do you know?”

Huffing out a soft growl of frustration, Jamie sat back on his heels to squint at the horizon. “What would you do if ye were in a time you’d already lived through? If ye could – if ye could see your family again, what would ye say?”

Zoe went very still at his words, her lips pursed in thought. She sat there for a long time, and all the while Jamie cursed himself for being goaded into speaking. At best she would laugh it off, and he would laugh too, and spend the rest of the afternoon with an odd sort of shame coiling in his stomach. At worst -

“I’d want to meet my parents.”

“Eh?” Forgetting his determination to avoid catching her eye, Jamie twisted around to face her.

He half-expected to find her smiling, to realise that it had been some sort of twisted joke, and was startled to see her looking as serious as he had ever seen her. “I’d want to ask whether -” She ran her hand over her cheek, and his heart clenched when he realised her eyes were bright with tears. Zoe crying was a new and frightening concept, one that he had hardly expected. “Whether they gave me away, or whether someone took me.”

“Zoe -” There was a terrible irony in the whole business, Jamie thought, that he had been so caught up in what she might say to him that he had not thought of what to say to her. He laid his hand on her shoulder gingerly, grasping her more tightly when she did not shake him off. “I’m sorry, I didnae know -”

“At least you know who’s out there. Where they are.” Zoe’s voice was shaking, but her tone was no less bitter fore it. “I don’t even know what they looked like. We might pass them in the street one day and I’d never know.”

“I’m sorry,” Jamie mumbled again. “I didnae mean tae...”

“Go on, then.” Zoe waved him away, curling her hands into fists to rub at her eyes. “It’s just dust,” she added half-heartedly, as if trying and failing to convince herself. “What would you say to your family?”

Another refusal almost forced its way out of Jamie’s mouth, but he held it in. Maybe, just maybe, he had been blaming Zoe for a reaction she would never have had. “I don’t know,” he said softly. “I don’t know what I’d tell them. It’s more like – the thought that they’re out there, an’ still alive.” He laughed without knowing why, wondering if he sounded a little hysterical. “I’m out there, somewhere. I’m eight. My wee brother’s four, an’ probably gettin’ under everyone’s feet.”

Reaching over, Zoe took his hand. “What happened?”

“My father an’ my brother -” Jamie drew in an unsteady breath. “They died. Not long before I met the Doctor. No’ together, either. The last time they saw each other they were fightin’, ‘cause -” He shook his head. “It’s hard tae explain. My brother picked a different side tae us. He left, an’ then a few months later we found out he was dead.” The corner of his mouth quirked into an empty, bitter smile. “Killed by a shot from someone on his own side. Shows how far it got him.” When at last he turned back to face Zoe, he found that she was staring at him, half in horror but half in confusion. “So ye see, it’s no’ a nice thought, tae be back to a time when he’s still alive. They’re both still alive. An’ in my time – after my time – my mother probably thinks I’m dead too. ‘Spose she thinks she lost all three of us.”

“Oh.” Zoe busied herself with a new rock, striking it open with more force than needed. The chisel sprung out of her hand, thudding down in the dust beside her. “I – I’m sorry I asked.”

“’s alright. I was tryin’ not tae think about it, but I wasnae doin’ a very good job.”

She was quiet for a long time, picking up the chisel and turning it end over end in her hands. He watched her, trying to read the twitching changes in her expression as she puzzled over whatever it was that had silenced her. “Is it terrible,” she said at last, “that I still envy you? Oh, I shouldn’t, but – at least you remember them. If you did get to see them again, you’d know.”

Jamie shrugged. “Aye, I think I see what ye mean. But – at least ye don’t remember losin’ your family. Sometimes I wish I could forget losin’ mine.”

“Mm.” Zoe swept her gaze pointedly over the ground around her, taking in the scraps of rock that littered the dirt and settled themselves over her clothes. “I think we’re done here.” She tilted her head, frowning at Jamie. “Except for the one you’re sitting on.”

“What, this one?” Scrambling backwards, Jamie landed on the ground with an oof of discomfort. He looked the stone up and down, taking in the strangely square edges, the too-regular patterns on its surface. “It does look a wee bit odd, now ye mention it.”

Zoe threw him a mock-stern look, clearly relieved to have changed the subject. “If you’ve spent all this time sitting on the rock we’re looking for...”

“Only one way to find out, isn’t there?” Raising his chisel, Jamie struck twice against the rock. Its surface cracked but did not shatter, so he struck it once more – twice – three times until it broke open, revealing its glittering insides. It might have been an agate at first glance, the gems conealed within deep purple and almost glowing beneath the light of the sun, but when he peered into it more closely he saw that they were formed into blocky shapes embossed with oddly straight lines.

Zoe was enraptured, her eyes firmly fixed on the inside of the rock. “Trust you to sit on it,” she said distantly, digging her hands into the dirt around it and tilting it up to examine it more closely. “When the Doctor described it – I didn’t think it would be so – so -”

“Beautiful?” Jamie suggested. She thought it over for a moment, then nodded, rolling it from side to side to watch it catch the light. “Come on, then.” Dragging himself to his feet, he brushed the dust from his kilt, taking Zoe’s elbow to pull her up and guide her over towards the Doctor. “We’d better tell him we found it.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Zoe linked her arm through his, clutching his elbow tight against her side. “Isn’t it a shame that we have to destroy it?”

“Aye, I s’pose so.” Jamie glanced over his shoulder to where it lay glittering. It did seem a shame to melt down such a pretty thing – but the Doctor had said it was dangerous, that it could tear the Earth apart in a moment. The thought made its shine take on a sinister gleam, and Jamie shuddered, turning hurriedly away from it. How strange it was, he thought, that such a beautiful thing could pose such a threat. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

[deathfrisbeeinthetardis]

I hope the 'prompt guy anon' has been feeding you right, but I am here to give you a small moment. One of the boys accidentally saying: 'i love you' but the other just not questioning it and replying straight forward: 'i love you too' and none of them mention it again, because it was a slip up but what if it wasn't? and they accidentally confessed???

They have! But by all means, everyone send me these smol moments that come to them, they make me so fucking soft and spew out ficlets and headcanons. The! Accidentalness! and casualness! of this entire interaction is sending me–

11 letters, oh they come so easy

With how long and how closely they’ve been working together, the two of them have said their fair share of strange things to each other, and even under the pressure of work and sleepless nights and the howling winds blowing through the places they’ve been, Shane’s been pretty good at keeping that brain to mouth filter in place. 

Well, there was that one time, but we don’t talk about that. 

The problem is that one time is changing some things. Small things really, but they stick out to Shane with neon signs. 

“Hey man, still up for movie night today?” Shane asks, and Ryan turns to him with tired eyes that light up slightly at the words. 

“Yeah definitely,” But there’s something in Ryan’s posture, making the affirmation that much less convincing. “I uh, can bring the popcorn.”

“Look I know we’ve been working non-stop this week, and you need your time to unwind, it’ll be fine-”

“No no,” Ryan rushes, grinning and looking almost shy when Shane stops, “I still want to, don’t worry big guy. I’ve still got a bet to win.”

“You’re that confident huh?” Shane leans back in his chair, the Buzzfeed office bustles around them, the sound of laptop keys smattering in the background. 

“You bet I am.” And the awkwardness is gone. 

“Oh I’m betting on me here, I don’t know if you understand how this competition works Ry.” Shane teases, getting a gentle punch in the shoulder. “Ow.” He speaks the sound, and gets another punch for his trouble. God Ryan’s frat roots really show sometimes. 

“Police this is abuse!” Shane mock cries, twisting away until the back of his chair is between them, peeking out the side at Ryan, who’s wheezing like a champ. 

“You’re insufferable.” Ryan chokes out between gasps of breath. 

“Oh shut up, you love it.” Shane quips back, and suddenly there’s that shift in the air between them again. Ryan’s looking at him, smile still hanging onto his lips but it’s frozen in place, he searches Shane’s face like’s looking for something. Maybe Shane knows what he’s looking for, but no, it’s definitely not that. 

No. Not from the Ryan S. Bergara, no sir. 

Shane clears his throat, and he feels Ryan’s gaze on him as he turns back to his laptop, “Let’s get this last bit done and maybe we can leave early, get some ‘za along the way?”

“Yeah sure.” 

Shane feels it every time Ryan looks over that afternoon. 

By the time they’ve settled on the couch, the sunset’s throwing a red-orange glow in through the small balcony and there are bowls of fresh popcorn around them, they’ve slipped back into their comfortable banter. 

There’s more than a few stray popcorn kernels on the floor, but Shane never claimed to be a good loser. Blows were exchanged, that’s all he’s going to say to the police and the investigation. Obi never fancies the popcorn anyway. 

“So,” Ryan plops his feet in Shane’s lap, leaning back to pull a bowl onto his stomach for maximum popcorn throwing accuracy and ammunition supply, leaving Shane to scramble to rescue his own bowl. They’re both grinning wide, “The Bergara recipe holds true huh?”

“Okay fine, you win this one.” Shane pouts, and Ryan lets out one of his bright open-mouthed laughs, and something in Shane’s chest tightens. 

“This one? You want a rematch?”

There are only a few lights on in the apartment, mood lights Sara had picked out when they had first moved in together. She’s out for the night, leaving Shane with a knowing look and a reminder to text her if anything happens, Shane doesn’t quite know why, but he had agreed. 

It’s just a normal movie night, but there had been traces of worry in her eyes. 

Shane feels like an extra in a movie, the plot entirely out of his control and he’s not getting the hints, and someone had just taken his script.

He takes a sip of his beer and watches Ryan put on one of the Hitchcock CDs from his collection, his fingers dancing across the remote, the muscles in his arms flexing slightly. 

Shane’s comfortable right here on the couch, with the lights down low and Ryan beside him, Obi occasionally brushing up against his legs. He’s had enough alcohol to feel the warm buzz at the back of his head, but the brain-to-mouth filter is still in place, definitely. He takes another sip from the cool bottle.

He wishes Sara could have stayed, but she had insisted on giving them space to ‘talk’, whatever that meant. 

Shane had told her of course, when that time had happened, and Sara had looked at him with a soft look that he couldn’t quite decipher, but her warm presence at his side that night had steered him away from the panic. 

It’s such a small thing compared to everything going on in the world. Just four little words said at around 4 am in the morning on the dusty floor of an abandoned ghostless building. Four syllables that carried a world of weight.

Just talk about it, Sara had said. And Shane will not, he refuses–

“Shane, you okay?” Ryan looks over with a small smile, and he’s got a hand trailing down to idly scratch at Obi’s ears, the little traitor purring like an engine. 

“Was I weird?” Shane blurts out. Out the window the filter goes. He wonders idly if doctors have a treatment for this particular issue. 

Yeah, it’s called prohibition, dipshit. His mind supplies. Shane has to admit its got a point. 

“I mean you are weird, generally, yeah.” Ryan offers, his smile dropping a bit, “Why?”

Here goes nothing, Shane thinks, oh he’s going to murder himself tomorrow, if he can remember any of it after the copious amount of hard liquor he’s definitely going to have to make use of later. 

“On the overnight shoot, when I said, you know,” Ryan’s eyes widen, and Shane can’t bring himself to finish, twisting his hands in his lap a little helplessly. Why is it so hard so say now? 

But Ryan understands, of course he does, so Shane fixes his eyes on the sofa cushion behind Ryan and braces himself. He can feel the hesitation in the room like a physical thing. 

“Did you mean it?” There’s a tremble in Ryan’s voice. 

“Yeah.” Shane breaths, “Yeah I did. Did you?”

Because Ryan had said it first. 

He’d said it gently into the darkness of the cold room, like he was telling it a secret. He’d said it facing Shane, the both of them tucked into their sleeping bags for the night, when he had thought Shane was already asleep. 

I love you. 

And Shane had said it back. 

I love you too. 

It had come so easily to him, halfway into his drift into the calm of sleep. When his brain had caught on to what he had done, and who he’d done it to, Shane was the one losing sleep that night. 

He had thought at first that it had just slipped out on instinct, he’s so used to saying to it Sara day in and day out, so used to saying it to the most important people in his life that it was just an accident, a very unfortunate accident that he did not have the right to cause, not when Ryan was on the line. 

But Shane’s spent a lot of time in the last few days thinking about it. He risks a glance at Ryan, the other man’s head is bowed, and he takes in a sharp breath and meets Shane’s gaze. 

It wasn’t an accident. 

“I meant it.” Ryan’s voice is clear, and his eyes have a kind of fire in them, almost accusing. “But you–Sara, does she know?”

Shane lets out a wry chuckle, “She’s the only one that has been keeping me sane this whole time.” he admits, and Ryan breathes out a sigh. 

“Oh thank-good, that’s good.” Ryan’s smiling at him again, and Shane’s not quite sure what to do for a while, but Ryan helps him out, “Can you, uh, say it again?”

It’s Shane’s turn to look down, his face heating up under Ryan’s gaze. He plays dumb, because he is just that stupid isn’t he, “What?” 

“You know what.” The playful tone’s back in Ryan’s voice, and he gives Shane’s stomach a nudge with a toe.

“I love you.” Shane half whispers, but he knows Ryan can read the words off his lips. He savors the syllables, fully awake this time, rolling them out. With everything they’ve been through, the bond and rapport they had build over the years of working as partners on the random spatter of Buzzfeed videos, then unsolved and now their very own fucking company, it seems like the next reasonable extension. “I love you.” He says again, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

It feels right. 

Ryan’s answering grin is as bright as the sun. 

“I love you too.”

Sara’s going to be so proud of them.

[swanqueeneverafter]

Sins of the Past Pt.3

Camelot. Past. Main Square. (A young Morgana watches on as Uther Pendragon addresses a crowd from the balcony while a convicted man is brought into the Square.) Uther: "Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins, is judged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery there is but one sentence I can pass. (Uther gives the signal and the man is beheaded, much to the horror of Morgana:) When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people’s help magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin." Storybrooke General Hospital. Present. (A small group has gathered outside the hospital room where Morgana is being examined. Having learned from Guinevere exactly who the woman is, only Hook seems to recognise the name.) Hook: "The daughter of Uther Pendragon? The architect behind the Great Purge of Camelot?" Emma: "Great purge?" Hook: (Nods:) "King Uther was notoriously against magic and sorcery of any kind. I remember hearing some of the stories during my piracy days. Uther made even the royal navy's methods of dealing with pirates seem civilised. (At Guinevere's stern look:) Of course, these were just rumours, I myself never stepped foot in Camelot as I knew it'd be the last place I'd find the Dark One." Guinevere: "Uther's reign ended a long time ago. It was a dark time filled with bloodshed. Not everyone agreed with the King's actions, least of all Morgana."

(Doctor Whale exits Morgana's room.) Guinevere: "Doctor, how is she?" Whale: "She needs rest, but she'll be fine." David: "There's nothing wrong with her?" Whale: "Well, certainly nothing physical." Snow White: "May we see her? Perhaps we can find out-" Whale: (Raising his hand:) "I'm sure all your questions can wait until morning." Snow White: "Oh, yes, of course." Guinevere: "I'll stay with her." Whale: (Nods:) "Call me when she wakes." Camelot. Past. King's Palace. Evening. (Morgana looks out the window from the top of the large staircase as Uther approaches.) Uther: “Morgana.” Morgana: “Yes?” Uther: “What is it? Why are you not joining us at the feast?” Morgana: “I just don’t think chopping someone’s head off is cause for celebration. That poor mother.” Uther: “It was simple justice for what he’d done.” Morgana: “To whom? He practiced some magic, he didn’t hurt anyone.” Uther: “You were not around twenty years ago, you have no idea what it was like.” Morgana: “How long are you going to keep punishing people for what happened then?” Uther: “Until they realise there is no room for magic in my kingdom! You will be with me when I formally greet our guests.” Morgana: “I told you! I want no part in these celebrations!” Uther: “I’m your father! I expect you to do as I ask. If you show me no respect at least do it privately. I will not be embarrassed by your lack of support in public.” Morgana: (As the King walks away:) “You know, the more brutal you are, the more enemies you will create!”  

Kingdom of Valencia. Present. Council Chamber. (King Richard and Queen Roberta stand ready to receive Lady Catrina as she enters.) King Richard: "Lady Catrina, is it really you?” Catrina: “I can hardly believe it myself.” King Richard: “We had tidings from the north that the House of Tregor had fallen to invaders.” Catrina: “All that you heard was true, My Lord, and worse.” King Richard: “Your father, the King?” Catrina: “Gone, Sire. The enemy attacked without warning. We were outnumbered five to one. He could not endure. I would never have survived had it not been for my faithful servant Jonas. But we did survive, and we have made it this far… (Catrina swoons and Gareth steps forward to catch her:) Oh! Thank you, kind sir. (To Richard:) Forgive me, My Lord. I fear my trials have taken a toll.” King Richard: “Your sufferings are beyond imagining, My Lady. It would be an honour to help you in any way we can.” Catrina: “A bed for the night would be most welcome.” King Richard: “And consider yourselves our esteemed guests. It’s the least we can do.” Catrina: “Thank you.” Catrina’s Guest Chambers. (Gareth shows Catrina and Jonas her guest quarters.) Gareth: “I’m sorry it’s not quite what you’re used to.” Catrina: “Forgive me, but I didn’t get your name.” Gareth: “Gareth.” Catrina: “Well, Gareth, considering we spend last night in a cave, this will do very nicely. Thank you.” Gareth: “Well, if you need anything, just ask.” Jonas: “My mistress and I could not be more grateful for the kindness you’ve shown us.” Gareth: “You’re welcome.” (Gareth leaves.) Catrina: (Immediately slouches and drops any pretense of nobility. Her voice scratchy and rough:) “Well I can’t sleep here. This whole place stinks of cleanliness.” Jonas: “Do not worry, Mistress. I will find you somewhere more suitable.” (Catrina takes a seat at the table. When she breathes onto the fruit bowl, she causes its contents to rot before her very eyes.)

Outside Storybrooke General Hospital. (Emma and Regina stand waiting outside discussing the events of the day.) Emma: "Did you ever have any dealings with Uther?" Regina: (Shakes her head:) "I think I remember Leopold used to visit Camelot quite a lot. Of course, the King never considered it necessary to take me along with him so I never met the man." Emma: "By the sounds of it, you wouldn't exactly have been welcome anyway." Regina: "Had I known how nice the castle was, I might've considered invading." Emma: "You think Uther would've been so easy to conquer?" Regina: "Oh please. Those toy soldiers? I could've killed them all with a wave of my hand." Emma: (Smiles:) "So, mom said she arranged a car to come pick us up for our date tonight." Regina: "Mm well the driver is late. I'm not sure I like the idea of your mother arranging dates for us." Emma: "Oh relax, it's just her way of getting her hands on Maria for the evening." Regina: "Even so..." Emma: "Well it's not like Zelena's any better." Regina: (Chuckles:) "That's true." Emma: "And, with Henry, Ella and Maria gone, we have the house to ourselves." Regina: (Eyes sparkling:) "Yes indeed. (The car arrives:) Finally." (Just as she's about to give the driver a piece of her mind, Regina's eyes widen when Henry steps out of the cab.) Henry: "Moms." Regina: "You're our driver?" Henry: "Seems that way." Emma: "What about Ella? We thought you'd be halfway to Wonderland by now." Henry: (Awkwardly:) "Yeah... well there was a slight change of plans. Can we talk about this in the car? I have like eight more customers booked after you." Emma: "Oh you can bet your butt we're going to talk about this. I wanna hear just what's more important than going with your fiancée to the dark side of Wonderland." (Henry sighs as his mothers take their seats inside the cab, knowing that this ride could be the longest few minutes of his life.) Kingdom of Valencia. Dining Chamber. Evening. (Richard, Roberta, Gareth and Catrina are having dinner.) Catrina: “Well, this is wonderful. Thank you.” King Richard: “It’s an honour. The House of Tregor have been allies of my family for as…well, as long as anyone can remember.” Catrina: “Our fathers spoke often, My Lord.” Queen Roberta: “I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to meet him.” Catrina: “I’m sorry too. For the House of Tregor is no more.” (Catrina pushes her plate away.) Gareth: (Speaking up:) “Well, no, My Lady, it lives on in you.” Catrina: “Oh you are kind. I only wish that were true.” Gareth: “It is, My Lady. Your courage, your modesty. And your beauty.” (At this, Richard and Roberta exchange knowing looks.) King Richard: (Fake yawn:) “I’m sorry, it’s been a long day. If you’ll excuse us?” Catrina: “Of course.” Queen Roberta: “It was a pleasure to meet you.” Catrina: “And you, my Queen.” (The King and Queen leave.) Gareth: “Can I get you anything else? You’ve hardly touched your food.” Catrina: “I’m sorry, I find I have little appetite ever since that day.” Gareth: “I wish I’d been there for you.” Catrina: “Oh, but you’re helping me now. (Placing her hand on his:) Your kindness, your companionship. (Staring longingly into his eyes, catches herself and makes to leave. Standing:) I must also bid you goodnight. It’s been a long day.” Gareth: “Of course. Goodnight, My Lady.” Catrina: (Taking his hand and kissing it:) “Goodnight, Gareth.” (Catrina leaves the room, an unseen smile upon her face.)

Wonderland. The Tulgey Woods. (Ella and Will stand at the entrance to Tulgey Woods.) Will: "Ella, I didn't exactly leave this place on good terms. Are you sure you want me as your guide?" Ella: "Would you prefer it if I had asked Alice to help me?" Will: "No. Look, I left this part of Wonderland behind me because I did a lot of bad things here. A lot of people wanna see me dead. They have their reasons, and to be honest, they're good reasons. I left this place for a future I'm quite keen to see through." Ella: "Just get me as far as the Mad Hatter's old place." Will: "That's why we're here? It's abandoned. The Hatter hasn't been in Wonderland for quite some time. And he ain't never coming back. He's found himself a nice little life back in a place where the dragonflies aren't actually dragons." Ella: "I know, but he's the closest link to my mother there is. (At Will's look:) It's a start at least! Now, the Hatter's place is on the other side of these woods. If there's even the slightest chance of finding a clue as to where my mother might've gone, I have to take it. Let's go." (Ella walks into the woods as Will reads the sign before him.)

TULGEY WOODS. Generously secured for passage and residence by her Majesty. THE RED QUEEN. By Her Excellency's Command.

Will: "Why do I get the feeling this sign won't be the only thing wrong with this place? Anastasia hasn’t been Queen for years now." (Sighing, Will follows Ella as they walk deeper into the woods.) Ella: "The Hatter told you that he modeled the dream version of Wonderland to be as close to the original as possible, right?" Will: "Yeah, to seamlessly blend everyone's dreams together during the tea parties." Ella: "So it stands to reason that when we reach his house, it should at least be familiar to you." Will: "I suppose so, yes. (Notices something nailed to a tree:) Oh, bloody hell." (Will walks over to the tree and Ella reads the poster over his shoulder.) Ella: "Wanted. With or without his head. The Knave of Hearts. What exactly did you do, Will?" Will: "Don't ask. (Tears down the poster:) Now, which way?" Ella: "Up. We'll never see anything under these tall trees. We need a different point of view." Will: "What do you mean?" Ella: "If I get high enough, I can see the Hatter's house." (Without another word, Ella turns and begins to climb the tree, much to Will's amazement.)

Kingdom of Valencia. Catrina's Guest Chambers. Night. (Lady Catrina enters her guest room and slumps down into her hunch once more.) Catrina: (Her voice hoarse and scratchy again:) "What’s that?" (She sits down by tray full of fruit.) Jonas: “Compliments of Sir Gareth.” Catrina: “Revolting. (Catrina rots the fruit by breathing on it and begins to eat:) Gareth’s so stupid, so blinded by pretty things. Already he falls for me. I can see it in his eyes. It’s only a matter of time before he is completely under my control.” Jonas: “Excellent.” (Chef Vincenzo knocks on the door and enters while Catrina quickly wipes her face of rotten fruit.) Catrina: "Jonas, you must take these back to the kitchens, it’s, er, it’s perfectly rotten.” Chef: “I–I’m sorry. I did not mean to intrude.” Catrina: “That’s, er, that’s quite alright. At least I wasn’t undressing.” Chef: (Blushes:) “Er, I came for the tray.” (Smiling nervously, Vincenzo takes the tray of rotten food and leaves the room as Catrina and Jonas glare after him.)

Storybrooke Heritage Park. Night. (Taking a leisurely stroll through the park, Regina and Emma walk arm in arm in high spirits.) Regina: (Laughing:) "I think Henry will definitely think twice about driving us anywhere from now on." Emma: "I don't know what he was thinking. How could he just let Ella go by herself?" Regina: "Oh it's worse than that, she's alone with Will." Emma: "You don't think he'll try anything do you?" Regina: "Of course not. Aside from Ella being her best friend, Tiana is not someone I would've liked to get on the wrong side of, even in my Evil Queen days." (They share a laugh and walk in silence for a few moments.) Emma: "I know he's working hard, but I just think Henry's concentrating on the wrong things. Relationships take just as much work, especially given how little time they're spending together recently and now will spend apart." Regina: "Mm, speaking of work... I have a little confession to make." Emma: "Ooh, go on..." Regina: "Well, retirement isn't the only thing I've had running through my mind lately. I've also been thinking about you and how wonderful you've been since Maria came into our lives." Emma: (Smirks:) "I think you mean extra wonderful, right?" Regina: "I'm serious. (They stop walking:) Watching you making trips to the grocery store at all hours, changing diapers and making meals-" Emma: "I told you I could cook." Regina: "It's made me so happy to see you really doing all the things you missed out on with Henry." (They kiss.) Emma: "Yeah, it's been pretty great. I never want to miss a moment of Maria growing up you know? Learning to walk, to talk, teaching her how to ride a bike - all of it. And I have you to thank for it." Regina: "Well hey, we're in this together right? But I mean it, watching you... all maternal... it's very attractive." Emma: (Smiling:) "Is that so?" Regina: "Oh god yes." Emma: (Chuckling:) "I always knew you had Mommy issues." Regina: "My biggest issue has been seeing you in my apron preparing Maria's food and being unable to ravish you where you stand." Emma: "Mm, well, I don't have the apron with me... but there's a perfectly good looking bench over there that we can get to at least second base on?" Regina: "We could.. if we were a pair of horny teenagers. I'm looking to run home." Emma: (Laughs:) "I think you mean you’re looking for a home run." Regina: "I mean take me home. (Pulling her close:) Right now." (As Regina lays a searingly hot kiss on her, Emma waves her hand and they disappear in a cloud of smoke.)

[vesuvianoak]

Delays — Love Like Yours Fest Day 4 — Julian Devorak x Ąžuolas Tobeluk

Title: Delays Author: Vesuvian Oak Fandom / Setting: The Arcana Characters / Pairings: Julian Devorak x Ąžuolas Tobeluk, references to Asra al-Nazar Word Count: 811 Rating: T+ Warnings / Notes: Written for @lovelikeyoursfest Day IV: Fiery Kind of Love Summary: Julian and Ąžuolas have a discussion about the latter going to the palace to find a cure for the Red Plague.

guess who's The Princess fuckin' Bride trash

Nights were their refuge. As much as it pained Julian and Ąžuolas both to turn away patients, especially with the state of the Plague being as bad as it was, the fact remained that they were still humans who needed rest and meals.

In the tiny flat above the South End clinic, Ąžuolas set two such meals on the dining room table before stretching widely and settling on the chair next to Julian, hip to hip.

At the sound and feeling of Ąžuolas serving dinner and settling beside him, Julian lifted his head from where he'd been sitting with his chin in his hand. "Thank you darling," he murmured, more than a little sleepily, before sliding a stack of papers toward Ąžuolas. "Some mail made it in today."

Ąžuolas accepted the stack and started thumbing through its contents. Official notices, messages from merchants and other clinics within the city (the few that hadn't shuttered under the sheer volume of patients, at any rate)…

At the bottom of the stack was an envelope with a letter half stuck out of it. Both were made from heavy, creamy paper, and the envlope's wax seal had already been broken. "Hey Ilya?" he asked, flipping the envelope over.

"Mmm."

"Ilya, kas tai?" Ąžuolas lightly shouldered Julian awake before showing him the envelope. "What's this?"

Julian pulled his head back to look at what was being shown to him. "Oh—invitation. From, uh… from the palace."

"For what, afternoon tea?" Ąžuolas asked, sliding the letter out of the envelope to read.

"No it's for doctors, shamans—you'll see everyone in there—" Julian waved a hand as if to express the magnitude of the letter. "They're looking for a cure."

"What do they think we've been doing?" Ąžuolas' eyes scanned the page. "Wait—didn't someone say the Count was just diagnosed?"

"That's correct," Julian confirmed.

"So they waited until that goat headed sonofabitch got caught in the crossfire to issue an official give a damn?" Ąžuolas asked in disbelief. "Keepin' it fuckin' classy." He thrust the letter back into the envelope before tossing it on the opposite side of the table.

Here, Julian poked at his food with his fork before giving up on eating completely. "I was, ahh… thinking about going," he admitted.

Ąžuolas paused, his fork halfway to his mouth, attention fully on Julian. "What?"

"I've been thinking about it all day—" he went on.

"About going?" Ąžuolas echoed, pushing his food away.

"Yes," Julian confirmed, pleased that Ąžuolas got his meaning right off. "Imagine what—"

Ąžuolas shook his head, emphatic. "That isn't an option."

Julian blinked slowly, processing the reply as if it was in a different language. "What?"

"How could you even consider it?!" Ąžuolas demanded.

"Ąžuolas, I've been in Lucio's service before," Julian reasoned, "and I saw this disease then. With that base knowledge and all the resources the palace has to offer?" He reached out and took Ąžuolas' hand in his. "This is an opportunity for—"

Ąžuolas jerked his hand back as if Julian's touch burned; when he jumped up, Julian was forced to follow suit before the bench on which they'd been sitting toppled over. "For what, to meet death with open arms?!" he snapped, throwing his hands up in the air. "Julian, if you've seen the plague before, then you of all people know how fast it can kill!"

"We see it here too!" Julian reminded, his patience wearing thin. "The plague could just as easily take me or you tomorrow—"

"Don't." A dark shadow passed over Ąžuolas' features. "Don't you fucking dare finish that thought, Julian Devorak."

Julian barrelled on as if he hadn't heard Ąžuolas' warning. "So if I die in search of a cure here or at the Palace, why does it matter so profoundly?"

"Because if you die I have no one!" Ąžuolas seized Julian by the lapels, almost shaking him to emphasize the point, his eyes bright behind his spectacles. "I gave up my family the day I discovered my magic, I haven't set foot in my childhood home in years, Asra abandoned me because of this fucking Plague—all I have is you! I can't…"

His hands trembled, and a few tears welled up in his eyes and slid down his cheeks. "Julian if I lose you too, I'll be lost for good."

"Darling—" Julian lifted his arms to wrap Ąžuolas in a loose, then tight embrace. "Darling… Ąžuolas…" He bent his head to press soft kisses to the top of his apprentice's head. "I would never leave you—"

Ąžuolas turned his head to bury his face in Julian's neck, tears hot against his cheeks. "But if you die—"

Julian gently tilted his face up to meet his before pressing a kiss to Ąžuolas' mouth. "Do you really think death can stop true love?" he asked softly. "All it can do is delay it for a while."

[myhauntedsalem]

Graveyard Shift Workers Share Their Eeriest Encounters with the Supernatural

When the sun goes down, things can get a little creepy. Graveyard shift workers from around the globe have been sharing their spookiest supernatural encounters whilst on the job. From hospitals where death and the recently departed stalk the corridors to security guards who soon discover they are not alone in the empty buildings they guard. After reading these true-life ghost stories you’re about to gain a whole new appreciation for all the brave men and women who work the night shift.

During the long midnight hours, the things that go bump in the night are not always just figments of an overactive imagination, as the following people learned the hard way.

1. They Play at Night

“My mother used to work at a subacute center as a night shift nurse. She said one of the ladies kept calling her and told her to shut the kids up because they’re running around and being loud preventing her from falling asleep. Of course, there were no kids.

My mom just went along with it a few times and after working there for 10+ years, she says there’s one wing in the building where the patients all see children running around and making noise keeping them up in the middle of the night every once in a while.”

2. Midnight Calls

“I’m a nurse that worked at a psychiatric hospital for five years. That place was haunted as shit. Police would call us in the middle of the night saying some little girl who identified herself as Satana was calling 911 from a certain extension in the hospital.

That extension? The arts and crafts room. Nobody goes there at night. Nobody. I assure you. Yet there’s obviously something there. And it calls 911 a lot.

Lots of other stories from that place but that’s the craziest, creepiest one.”

3. The Elevator

“A woman I work with tells this story of how she showed up to work early for her shift, around 4:30 a.m., things are pretty much dead quiet (no pun intended) She gets on the empty elevator, hits the button for the 9th floor, elevator goes up to the 11th floor, doors open, no one there, doors close, back down to the 9th floor, as she gets off sees an old woman standing behind her in the elevator.”

4. The Sleep Experiment

“Like most very old hospitals, at one time our hospital was run by nuns. One particular unit had been converted into a sleep study lab area for outpatients tests. One shift in the middle of the night I was watching the video monitor and five patients simultaneously began removing their monitoring equipment. I went into the first room to ask what was going on and the patient said that old nurse with the cap on told her the study was over and that she could leave.

All the patients reported the same story.”

5. Blue Mist

“Worked nightshift at a treatment center.

We had cameras around every corner, nothing was out of our vision.

Blue misty figure would walk the grounds every once in a while at night. I would go out there and there’d be nothing. But on camera, this motherfucker would just walk around all night. Nothing evil, bad, or anything, but this mother fucker would just walk around like he owned the god damn place.”

6. The Little Girl in the Nightgown

“I used to work nights in a domestic violence shelter. The shelter was originally a school. One night I heard a little girl laughing outside of the office. I got up and the girl turned around and ran down the hall. I really thought that she was one of the resident’s; from the back she looked just like her. Except she was wearing a strange layered nightgown. She ran past the room I assumed she was going to, into a living room space. I went in right behind and there was nobody in there.”

7. The Praying Nun

“My dad worked at a mental hospital that used to be connected to an abandoned nun’s home by underground passage. He says that one night he was walking down there when he saw a praying nun. He walked by her and said hello. She did not acknowledge him.

My dad does not believe in ghosts, but he says there was a nun down there that night.”

8. A Friendly Voice

“I work in a restaurant and all the bakery people who stay late talk about the ghost of a little girl but I didn’t know this when I started. It was the middle of the day but we were slow so I was doing prep work by myself in the kitchen. I was at the prep table, kinda zoning out, listening to the distant music when I feel someone right next to me. Like a sudden presence. Then I swear to god I heard, in a little girl’s voice, the most innocent ‘Hi Josh! (My name) How are you?’ I even felt her breath. It was so so real and vivid but when I turned around there was no one there.

I started telling people about it and found out lots of coworkers heard the same voice. From everyone’s stories she (the ghost girl) seems really nice but it still sent chills down my spine.”

9. Nights on the Psych Ward

“I work night shift in psych. I have heard talking when everyone is asleep, footsteps, knocks on doors where nobody should even be, bathroom lights going off as I walk by (both patients were asleep), as well as seeing shadows every now and again. We had a nurse who was doing checks and felt something tug on her shirt.”

10. The Elevator Doors

“I did night security in a very old grain exchange building that had been converted to mainly lawyers offices. A lot of the building was remodeled but the grain exchange floor and vaults had been preserved and at the end of one hallway behind the main lobby I was stationed in there was an elevator that was original to the building that nobody ever used.

I was sitting at the desk one night around 3am when I heard the ding from down the hall that meant someone had called the elevator. There wasn’t suppose to be anyone in the building except me so I switched to that camera feed and the elevator doors were wide open which is only suppose to happen if the call button has been pushed. I wait a few minutes being pretty freaked out but the doors stay open and I never see anybody. The doors are suppose to close on their own shortly and these ones are stuck open. I start to think that someone is in the building and holding the door open button from within where I can’t see on the feed so I have to walk down there to check it out.

As soon as I get near the end of the hallway where I have a clear view of the elevator the doors close. I just kind of stand there feeling really uneasy and decide to head back to the desk and leave a note for the maintenance crew. About 10 minutes after I get back to the desk it happens again. Ding and then the doors roll open. Except I had the feed up so I know that nobody was there to press the call button. I wait and again the doors stay open. So I walk back down there and as soon as I walk into view they close.

There’s still a chance someone is hiding inside pressing the buttons so I go and press the call button myself. And nothing happens. The elevator doesn’t move and the doors don’t open. I press it again and still nothing so not really wanting to deal with that I start walking back to the desk. Get to the end of the hallway and Ding the doors open. I just stood there not really knowing what to do but then I figure since I’m closer maybe I will make it this time so I take off running for the doors before they close and as soon as I get close they close. I don’t think it would be in anyway possible for someone pressing a button inside to be able to time that without me seeing them peeking out so I decide I am done and go back to the desk. Again the ding and the doors open and stay that way but I just ignore it and switch to a different feed.

All is well for about an hour when suddenly there is a loud crash and a rattle and another crash and a rattle again and again. I am absolutely terrified and have no idea what is happening. I start flipping through feeds and get to the one outside the elevator, the doors are slamming shut and opening and slamming shut again and again. It’s like it knows it has my attention again and then the doors slowly reopen and stay there again like it’s tempting me to try and get there before they close again. I do not do that and instead call our patrol officer who is out driving between locations so I have proof of this with someone else. He gets there within 5 min and the doors are still open so once I fill him in we head down together and sure enough as soon as we get close the doors close. He goes and presses the call button and nothing. He’s pretty freaked out too now but we decide to just stay there outside the doors because if it’s just a perfectly timed malfunction it will open again. We stand there for almost a half hour and they never open but he gets a call come in so has to take off. We get halfway back to the desk and hear the doors open behind us. He tells me to go to the desk and watch the feed while he walks down there. Once I’m in place I tell him to go and same thing as soon as he enters the frame the doors close. He starts kicking the doors and pressing the buttons but it doesn’t do any good. He has to leave so he wishes me luck and tells me to just stay away from it. I have about an hour left in my shift when the doors start doing the slamming and opening again. I just stood at the far end of the hallway listening but it didn’t stop.

Took off as soon as the shift ended and left a report for maintenance about the issue. Next shift I worked I showed up early before they had taken off but they said when they got there it was working fine and they didn’t notice anything wrong. That night was quiet and in the rest of the time I worked there only 1 more night did those doors open but I just ignored it and after awhile they closed again and that was that.”