#but im gonna have to go back to hiding it. for safety reasons mostly but also bc people either infantalise me or demonize for my symptoms -

[cronchyy2]

Made a spot oc based off of my google bg (which should be the very last thing on this post)

His villain name is Nebulos (which he made up on the spot) (lol lmao get it) (im so funny)

His main ability is making and using black holes not just to use them as "spots", but also use them as, well... real black holes. Like warping things and sucking stuff up and spitting them back out at full force.

BIG LOREDROP WARNING !!

Before he took this obscure form, he was an astronomer. An astronomer who was obsessed with studying this strange, un-named space cloud that was notorious for making things vanish once something gets close to it. He, along with a crew of astronauts, went to the cloud themselves to see why this was happening, but everyone but our main guy insisted they stay a good way's away from it for safety reasons. But he insisted on getting close enough to see what this space cloud was hiding, so he took a space suit and went out himself when everyone else was off sleeping or something.

Turns out there's a black hole just sitting in the middle of this space cloud. It's been there for a while and yet nobody has noticed it for some reason. "Amazing," our guy thinks. Revealing the secret of this cloud is most definitely gonna make him rich. However, it seems that he was too fascinated by the future to not pay attention to the present.

He was getting sucked in. Very slowly.

That thought in his mind wasn't the only thing that clicked either. The cord keeping him from drifting away broke from being pulled so hard by the force around the hole. He desperately tried to change his trajectory, but he knew it was over. He was going to get engulfed by a black hole, and nobody was going to know how he disappeared. That was his last thought before the consumption. He felt the time and space shift as the hole absorbed his body, contorting it beyond recognition.

And after he was taken, the hole vanished along with the cloud.

It doesn't take long for the astronauts on the vessel to notice that their boss, along with the cloud, straight-up vanished. But what can they do? You can't arrange a search party in outer space. So they go back to Earth, empty-handed.

Almost a year has passed and everyone close to our main guy knows that he is dead. His family, friends, and coworkers have moved on from this (mostly). However, one day, word breaks out about this strange "black hole" spotted somewhere outside of a city.

The first time a black hole spawns directly on Earth.

It has also been reported that just after it spawned, a strange humanoid/cosmic figure emerged from it.

Before he came up with a name himself, people would call him "The Cosmic Horror", "The Vortex", and other related names.

...Anyways here's the wallpaper, as well as my vision of the wallpaper.

[queenofthequillandink]

The Haunting of Wayne Manor, pt 2

part 1

I got bored at work and you know what that meansss. Continued under the cut.

Somehow, avoiding the Waynes was more nerve-wracking than trying to haunt them. Danny had thought, "Hey, big manor, lots of places to tuck myself to hide and rest." He'd forgotten just how many Waynes there were. Also, the butler (whose name Danny really needed to catch, this was starting to feel rude) made rounds every two hours on the dot, presumably to make sure none of the Waynes had gotten themselves killed doing any of the numerous stupid things Danny had seen them doing.

Seriously, he hadn't seen Dick OR Cassandra use the stairs like normal people. Tim walked into walls constantly. He once passed by the second oldest and the youngest in what definitely looked like a fight to the death over a bowl of something sweet-smelling served with pastries. Danny just kinda... backed out of the room for that one.

"This is fucking ridiculous," he murmured to himself, floating upwards into the attic. He was going to need somewhere to hide as a human soon. Or at least a lot more calories than he was currently getting in order to stay invisible long-term. Right now, he was scrounging stuff from the back of the pantry, where it seemed less likely the terrifying butler would notice it was missing. Unfortunately, that didn't leave him with a lot in the way of nutrition. So. Attic it was.

The attic was spotless, which was nice for a place to squat, but boded ill for Danny's privacy. But it's not like he had many other options, since there wasn't much of a basement besides an honest-to-Ancients wine cellar.

Ugh, rich people.

It didn't look much like the attic Danny was used to at home, which meant it probably looked like a normal attic. Instead of broken inventions, spare parts, and the entrance to the ops center, there were mostly a lot of boxes and some old or broken furniture. Well, maybe he could find something useful for making himself a little nest.

He moved all the way to the back of the big room, phasing through a bunch of boxes to find, to his delight, they were stacked in such a way that they created a tiny nook. Since he could get back there without disturbing the boxes, it would look like he wasn't even there at all!

Pleased, he started searching the rest of the room for nest materials.

A box labeled "bedroom" netted him an old, old quilt and some sheets with holes or tears. Into the box cave they went. There were no pillows, though, so he dug through a few unlabeled boxes and hoped for something soft.

A lot of it was clothing about thirty years out of date. Probably old stuff that no one bothered to donate. There was one box of photo albums that Danny could not let himself get distracted by. But also, he was totally gonna snoop later.

In the box of miscellaneous outdated kitchen appliances, Danny found a shotgun and ammunition. He very carefully put that back, making double sure the safety was on like Aunt Alicia taught him.

Weird box for that to be in, but old guns weren't the strangest thing to find in an attic.

The brand new pistols in a box of slightly water damaged books was much more worrying. When Danny found the brace of knives tucked behind a couple worn out dog beds, he paused.

Then he began to search the attic more thoroughly.

Two swords, a bunch of throwing stars, an actual antique gun, an old saber, five staffs (one might actually be an extra broom handle, he wasn't sure), a pair of brass knuckles, a bolo, a taser, a pile of knives, and a weighted baton later, Danny sat back on his heels.

This was a weird amount of weapons, right? What the fuck was up with the Waynes?

~*~

Flyboy: how many weapons is the normal amount to find in an attic

thats pharaoh bad luck to you: zero

Elvira's cousin: idk maybe a few old ones? im pretty sure we have like a cartoony elephant hunting gun in our attic bc my grandfather was the actual worst and bubbe outlived him for a reason

thats pharaoh bad luck to you: wait what

Elvira's cousin: i said what i said

Flyboy: ok ida lore drop aside this isnt normal right

Flyboy: atticweaponpile.jpg

Elvira's cousin: what the fuck

thats pharaoh bad luck to you: ??????? are they running an ARMORY????

thats pharaoh bad luck to you: wait holy fuck do u think the waynes r in the mob????

Elvira's cousin: .............i mean its not impossible

Flyboy: does the mob use swords????

thats pharaoh bad luck to you: idk man its gotham its as weird as veganism there

Elvira's cousin: I Know Where You Live

Flyboy: tuck we live in a town where ghost drills r a regular thing i dont think we can throw stones

thats pharaoh bad luck to you: i said what i said!

~*~

Danny put all the weapons back where he found them, trying desperately to think of a way out of the maybe-mob-house he was stuck in. Unfortunately, things being more dangerous than he'd expected didn't actually make it any easier to leave.

He did find the water stained cushions off some old patio furniture for his nest, though, so? Silver lining?

...

He was totally gonna double die here, wasn't he.

DPxDC Prompt where, for whatever reason, Danny enters Wayne Manor. Maybe for a gala, maybe while actually following a bat back to the cave. In any case-- how he enters the manor isn't quite as important as how he leaves it.

There are protections and wards around the Batcave and Wayne Manor, and, due to his halfa status, Danny can interact… strangely with these wards. There is one ward in particular that allows him to enter the premises with no issues, but, well-- He hasn't been able to leave now. And it's kind of a problem.

Danny has now been squatting in the manor for several days, trying to think up a plan.

[houseofwolvess]

okay after spending like, two weeks in isolation for covid, im realizing now that i unintentionally stopped masking my symptoms and now i gotta force myself to do that again

[everyothermouse]

A lil group portrait of the time au adventuring gang!! Them <333

Basically tol fucked up as a kid and is now on the run from the law, but realized that since his life was so crazy he could live off of telling stories of his wacky adventures. When he met Jay he wanted him to come with him, and when he found out jay couldn't come cus he was virtually a demon/god/magic magnet he decided he NEEDED to bring him to capitalize on how it'd make more cool stories. And yeah it worked so since then he's been collecting wackos to aaa go crazy aaaa go stupid (and also bcus safety I numbers or whateva, pop and pip are also criminals and pastel and jay are crimes against god <3) more about each individual under the cut!

Doin them from left to right :)

Pastel: died when she was messing around with some friends and got stuck under a big rock and left to starve. But because of a fluke in the underworld her God decided to resurrect her, a right usually only belonging to saints. Because of this she's now poorly pretending that she totally did something to deserve being revived (she tells a different story every time someone asks, she thinks it's funny) to avoid being persecuted for suspected witchcraft. She met Jay when they were both drunk and they had fun fucking around in the city, and she spilled the beans to him that she was revived for no reason. She regretted it, but jay didn't kill her because even though he's religious he knew what it felt like to be magically cursed and have everyone be pissed at u for it. Also she's really funny with jay so tol begged her to come with them to add more Comedy(tm) to his memoirs

Pop: a time traveller and angel who is trying to hide both of those facts but only really succeeding at hiding the time travel thing. When they were a kid they traveled to this time with his friends Lustre and Cherrybomb, but when they were attacked by the vicious royal guard they weren't able to escape without leaving Lustre behind. Cherrybomb super repressed that memory, and while pop recovered from some minor injuries they vowed to never time travel again. Yeah they only kept that up until they were like 15, but they still couldn't bring themself to go back to when they left Lustre. But now they're 26 (well technically they're like 33 but in their time their supposed to be 26) living with their boyfriend cherrybomb and have years of time travel experience under their belt, and they're ready to go back. Except they can't go back because they created a travel block for themself by accident because of how upsetting the event was, so instead they traveled as close as they could, about 10 years in the future of the time. Now they search for any form of closure, all they need to know is what happened to their friend, and they will do whatever it takes to find this out. But angels aren't super welcome in the past, especially not with uncut wings, so it's not exactly easy for them to navigate this time period. But after a while of their search they met two lovely children (well young adults), a demon and a "cursed" (nowadays they call em spiritually gifted) and felt so bad for how much the world seemed to be against them they decided they could travel with them, just for a bit, to protect them. They tried not to get attached. They failed. They're in it for the long run now aren't they TwT also as they explore this time and learn more about the gods, they start to realize that they might... be the God of longevity???? Or at least an older version of them became them? Time travel is fucked man

Btw Lustre plays a big role in this plot, her hyper futuristic knowledge, 'blessed' white eyes, and strange God gifted clothing would all lead to him rising to a much different role than fugitive rather quickly, but they're not who this post is about ;) also I'm gonna go bottom to top for the 3 in the middle let's go

Lune: just a little guy :) lune is a young rancher/gardener who worships the God of the wood, who kind of goes missing sometimes and is lowkey the least loyal God but shhhh he loves them. Lune and tol were childhood friends (along with their pal cleo) but on one of their little excursions tol took something very important to a very powerful king, and refused to give it back. As retribution the king destroyed their entire town, and cleo put all the blame on tol, tol and lune both knew lune had to take the side against tol in order to not have the town turn on him. So yeah he moved with the town to bring up a brand new farm, long awaiting the day when tol would come home and say that things were OK and they could settle back in town together, hopefully with cleo too. That didn't happen, but tol did come back and peer pressure lune into part time adventuring with him! So yeah generally lune just runs his lil farm and prays, but when tol comes to pick him up he gets a chance to go be free to act batshit crazy, just like when he was a kid 🥰

Pipes: DEmon! One time lune and tol had a little squabble so lune was like 'im gonna get a new best friend and ur gonna regret this' and tol was like 'yeah right, u live with a bunch of criminals right now no one's gonna wanna be ur bestie dumbass' so lune just walked into a cave at night and dragged out this little nonverbal demon because demons who live alone in caves don't have high standards for friends. Even tho it was just a ploy to make tol jealous lune went super hard on it and now pipes is actually friends with the gang lmaoo

Tol: like I said with lunes, stole something important from a king as a kid, monarch got pissed, blew up the town, town got pissed at tol for it, and since then he's been on the run because he's too stubborn to give back the damn thing (they could have just attacked HIM for it, but since la queen decided to fuck with his town, his family, tol thinks he doesn't deserve to have it back.) He had to run from town to town and got into a lot of danger in his attempts at finding places to hide, but he lacks fear and tended to fight stuff off. As a kid he found that he could get enough pity to be welcomed into towns if he told people he had to fight a monster to get there, so he told stories at every town and camp he went to of his hardships. But as he got older, those he stayed with beckoned him to keep talking, and more and more people said they had heard of his adventures. And that's when when it clicked, his shining ticket to true freedom wasn't a place, it was his stories. They gave him food, shelter, fun, memories, a life. So he made it his mission to never settle down, to make his life as crazy as possible and to talk about it as much as possible, and if he ever ran out of energy to adventure, he'd spend the rest of his dying days writing and writing his entire life story. He thought this was a life he'd live alone, but one day he sought refuge in jays little lonely house because he thought it was abonded, luckily though Jay had just been praying for a second chance at life and decided that considering the timing, tol must be that second chance. So yeah jay patched him up, found out on his monthly supply route he was harboring someone very wanted, and took care of tol even harder because he didn't know or care why he was wanted, he just knew that anyone who had a drawing of them as a child on a wanted poster definitely didn't deserve it. So yeah they're besties now.

AAA I wrote out a really long description for jay but tumblr glitched and I lost it :'O ble here's a shorter rewrite cus I'm not writing out that whole thing again >:P

Jay: brought up in a church village,, he was born with the curse, which allows him to tap into magical properties very easily, and be very easily controlled, manipulated, and possessed by them. This allowed him to be very connected with his god (the god of longevity) but also meant he was often treated as a security risk and a monster by the adults of his town since he could let in evil spirits so easily. He spent most of his time praying and he became obsessed with acting on compulsions (repeated prayer, overscrubbing, scratching himself, touching religious things until he felt like he touched them "right") because he believed they were messages from God and would prevent him from becoming evil (look he was a teenager and everyone told him he was a monster his whole life leave him be.) He gets possessed twice, mage as a rep of the town is like "either have ur cursed removed or leave town forever" (uncursing is only hypothetically possible, it's hella dangerous) and he's scared itd sever his connection to his god so he leaves and he's upset bcus his entire life plan was built around his church, so now he's livin alone on a hill and leaving like once a month, he stays up there and sews and prays mostly, he sort of works on himself and becomes vaguely mentally stable, so he prays for a second chance at life since he lost his original path and needs a sign where to go, and then boom tol shows up and the rest is history. Now he has his own little family and things are going great :) other than the still getting possessed like once a week but shhhh

Pip: in between the entrance to hell and the religious central of the continent is a little town that sides with neither. They mostly fuck around and find out, and in this town lives a monster researcher and her less formal wife, pip! Pip is just a silly goofy little guy livin life, and when the crazy bunch shows up she feels like he's finally found her people :3 and for the first time the group gains a member who's begging to join them as opposed to the other way around

Ya and together they all go on wacky lil adventures with demons and monsters and monarchs and what not.

Tldr pastel is a funny lil dead guy, pop is a time traveller and the Adult of the team, lunes a lil farmer man, pipes a hobo demon they picked up off the side of the road, tols a little criminal demon adventurer, jays a religious weirdo who tol dragged out of his hermit hut, and pips an insane little guy

[yellowocaballero]

Prequel to ‘The Crow’s Funeral’: How Agnes + Gerry met, then proceeded to set Jon on fire.

Exactly what it says on the tin. This exists because I was rereading TCF and went “hey did I ever figure out how Agnes and Gerry met”. I didn’t, so this is it. Rest under the cut. No specific warnings except for the fact that, shockingly enough, Jon had gone through a lot of character development prior to the start of TCF and was actually a complete asshole for a year or two. 

“Daisy? What are you looking for?”

Agnes’s expression stretched into terror. She mouthed ‘fuck!’, and slapped a hand over her mouth. She didn’t breathe, and her chest never rose and fell, but she abruptly started trembling.

For the first time, Gerry reached out to reassure her. But her body heat had abruptly tripled, and Gerry was forced to pull back. In the small, unventilated space, it quickly became overwhelmingly hot.

“Shut it off!” Gerry hissed, as quietly as he physically could. “They’ll feel it -”

“That is the most dangerous monster in the world,” Agnes whispered, and Gerry fell silent. “Don’t move.”

For the first time in a very long time, in an apocalyptic world built on terror and fear, Gerry felt afraid.

Agnes was back. 

Gerry didn’t know how she had found him. His hiding place was pretty well hidden, thank-you-very-much. Adults were always trying to barricade themselves in houses - stupid, when the nightshades could drift through shit - and kids were always trying to hide in closets or attics. But Gerry was the perfect mix of adult and child - or, as they’re known, teenagers - and he had way too much experience stripping houses down for the possessions of the recently deceased. 

So Gerry knew about crawl spaces. Like in the Magician’s Nephew, some older row houses had little secret tunnels between each house. You couldn’t quite get into each house normally, but there were always gaps and weak points and hatches. Even better, at the very top there was a hidden attic where the generator and power box lived. It was small, and there were definitely some gross animal corpses that Gerry could have sworn moved, but it was mostly safe. So much as anything was safe. 

But, somehow, Agnes had found him. Gerry didn’t know what she was doing exploring row houses for fun, but judging from the scent of smoke that’s been in the air lately he didn’t want to know. 

The sharp rapping echoed through the small attic, directly under the hatch with a huge heavy space heater dumped on it. Gerry had other means of entry, and Agnes thought that was the only door. Please! As if Gerry would live somewhere with only one escape exit. That was just asking to get stuck in a nightmare for a month. 

But, then again, maybe Agnes had never had to worry about that. 

“I brought food!” The high, clear voice called out - slightly muffled from the ceiling/floor, but unmistakable. “It’s Twinkies! Come down to eat it!”

“No way!” Gerry called down back. “I bet you put offal in it!”

“What does offal mean!”

“It’s, like, organs! Go away, lady!”

“I told you!” Agnes called back, weirdly delighted. “My name’s Agnes! I’m a Princess!”

“Princess of what, being lame!”

“Fuck you!”

“Fuck you, Princess Agnes!”

“Fuck me yourself!”

Ugh! She was so annoying! This was her fourth fucking time coming by here, and ever since she had realized that he was just a teenage boy she had been leaving food in front of the attic door. It was always weird food, too. Didn’t she know what humans ate?

Stupidly on cue, Gerry’s stomach rumbled. Ugh. 

“Go away,” Gerry called back, eager for her to just leave already so he could eat the shitty food she had undoubtedly left. “I don’t feel like getting turned into a candle today!”

For some reason, she didn’t reply to that. Gerry wondered if she was trying to fool him into thinking she was leaving, but joke’s on her - Gerry could hear footsteps all the way through the house. He waited with bated breath for a minute, two minutes, slowly growing confused why she wasn’t either yelling at him or leaving. 

He’d never tell her, but he kind of enjoyed fighting with her. 

Finally, she called out, with an emotion in her voice that he had never heard from her before, “Is that why you won’t come out? You think I’d turn you into a candle?”

Gerry was flabbergasted. “Yes?” he called back. “You turn everyone into candles.”

“...it’s not just because you don’t like me?”

Aw, man. Gerry abruptly felt a little bad for the flame monster cult leader lady. She couldn’t be any older than him. “You’re really nice,” Gerry called back, feeling like an idiot. “I just didn’t make it this far by not being careful! Thanks for the food, though!”

A longer silence this time. For some reason, Gerry felt a weird kind of anxious. Not the normal level of ‘aaah im gonna get eaten’ anxious. But something different. He couldn’t describe it. 

Finally, Agnes called back, “Do you want me to stop bothering you? I’m sorry if I’ve been harassing you. I’m not good at - at all of this.”

Gerry sat in his own silence, sitting cross-legged in front of the space heater on top of the hatch. His baggy jeans clung to his legs, slightly sweaty and definitely unwashed, and his raggedy thin black jacket was also a little sweaty. His hair was plastered to his head, limp and dirty. Wherever Agnes went, heat followed. 

People who made dumb decisions didn’t live very long. Gerry had lived for quite a while - well, he was fifteen, but he had made it all year without getting eaten, which was really quite impressive. 

And he had made it alone. When he woke up in this green and terrifying world, Mum hadn’t been there. He had looked for her for months. He had almost been ripped to shreds in Pinhole Books. She wasn’t in any of their usual London hideaways, either. Maybe she was outside of London, somewhere far away…

In all of Gerry’s books, he’d pack up his backpack and set out to look for Mum. He wouldn’t stop until he found her. Then he’d find out that she’d been embroiled in some plot to stop all of this, and he’d help her, and she’d hug him…

But it wasn’t a book. No matter how strange this new world was, fiction couldn’t begin to match. And Gerry didn’t really miss his Mum. Not really. He missed the fact that he was alone. He missed the fact that she was powerful and smart and talented, and definitely would have been able to protect the both of them. Gerry had to protect himself now, and he missed that safety more than he ever missed Mum. 

Gerry wondered if Agnes was lonely. How could she, with a whole cult?

It was a stupid decision. But Gerry had always trusted too easy, anyway. 

He stood up and pushed the space heater with a thick, screeching grinding sound that scraped uncomfortably along the wood. With a final heave, he pushed it off the hatch, and reluctantly bent down to lift the hatch and unfold the ladder. 

“If you turn me into a candle I’m giving you an allergy attack,” Gerry called down, and the girl known as Agnes Montague smiled up at him brilliantly. 

***

That wasn’t how Agnes and Gerry started. But it had been, maybe, how they got going. 

Agnes, Gerry found out very quickly, was a hot-tempered girl. Save the jokes. She was always dressed like a sixties hippie, and her long red hair was always somehow glistening and clean. She let Gerry touch it, very carefully, and - yep, even the hair was wax. What a weird person. 

After a bit of frantic introductions and suspicious squinting from both sides, Gerry and Agnes had eventually sat down cross-legged from each other as Gerry stuffed Twinkies in his mouth and she eyed them warily. She had eyed them with a bit of trepidation, but Gerry’s obvious joy at eating them must have made her curious. That was one thing Agnes was: curious. Almost to death. 

“You really live up here? And you’ve never gotten trapped by a nightmare?”

Gerry shrugged uncomfortably, sucking at his fingers. “Yep. I run around town a lot too, cuz I get bored otherwise. It’s easy to evade all of that shit if you know how.”

“Wow.” It was probably her being a fire person or whatever, but Agnes’ eyes seemed to sparkle a little bit. “My cult members barely even let me outside by myself, and I can set shit on fire. You’re really weird for a human.”

Gerry couldn’t help but puff out his chest a little, even if he would have preferred her to use any other word than ‘weird’. “That’s what happens when your Mum trains you since birth to be a demon hunter.” He faltered a little. “I’m not sure if she knew this would happen, but I wouldn’t put it past her.”

“Your mum knew?” Agnes gasped. “I thought nobody knew about the Entities before the apocalypse!”

“Your cult members must have known, right?” Gerry pointed out, and Agnes nodded in concession of the point. “Yeah, there were always a few of us. Not a lot, though. Tight-knit community, everyone knew each other. Hobbyists, you know. It sucked. Most of the people who got involved in the supernatural were jerks.” Actually, now that Gerry thought about it… “That crazy apocalypse prepper Salasea must be coming out like a bandit right now.”

Agnes nodded sagely, as if she knew who Salasea was. Maybe she did? Gerry had always gotten the impression that if all of the demon hunters knew each other, then maybe all of the demons did too. Eventually word about Mum had really started to get around. 

“You’re the first interesting human I’ve met,” Agnes said thoughtfully. “Most of them just - like, scream, you know? Or pretend I’m not there. Like if they don’t acknowledge me then I can’t hurt them. And, like, that’s the way it works for a lot of these things! But I’m a person too, you know?”

“You really aren’t.”

“I have feelings,” Agnes said firmly. “But maybe the reason why you’re still safe isn’t because you’re a super cool human hunter, Gerry.”

“It has to be a part of it,” Gerry said aggressively, eager to assert his masculinity and how cool he was.

“Of course,” Agnes allowed, making Gerry huff. “But I think it’s because you aren’t scared. You were wondering how I found you, right?” Gerry nodded slowly. He had been wondering how Agnes had caught on that he was living here. “It was because I felt a person - I can always feel body heat - but I didn’t taste any fear. I was setting some row houses on fire just to feel something, and you weren’t feeling anything either!” She set her expression firmly, almost bravely. “I think we’re the same.”

“A goth human teenager living in an attic and a flame princess of the fire cult?” Gerry asked skeptically. They couldn’t be less similar. Gerry lived each day in - well, as Agnes pointed out, not fear, but he was constantly just trying to survive. It was all he had ever known, but he knew that others didn’t live like that. He had known when he was a kid - that other kids were normal, were happy - and he knew it now. That a small handful of people in this world were having a blast, and that everyone else suffered. “We’re nothing alike.”

But Agnes faltered, just a bit, and Gerry just a little bit of that loneliness in her expression again. “You’re the only other kid who’s had a conversation with me.” She paused a beat. “Besides, like, Callum, but he’s a baby.”

Maybe, in a schoolyard or a town or a world, Gerry and Agnes weren’t so similar. Maybe they’d have nothing in common. But maybe, in this world that was both so isolated and so unified, they could be a little similar after all. 

“I’ll allow it,” Gerry said graciously. He wanted to shake her hand, but he deeply knew that it was a bad idea. Instead, he broke his Twinkie in half, and held out the other one to her. “Friends?”

Agnes eyed the Twinkie warily. “Do you become friends by asking to be friends with someone?”

“I dunno, I don’t have any friends.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

But she took the Twinkie. It was a start. 

****

Of course, Gerry and Agnes were far more alike than they had first thought. Mostly in the fact that their evil mothers had killed their fathers (which Gerry had the sneaking suspicion wasn’t a universal experience) and that the both of them were actually kind of literally protagonists of a YA book.

Well, Gerry had always been the protagonist of his own life. But he would write a story about Agnes too: about the spoiled princess who rejected her destiny. Who had a really cool previous life where she was all dramatic and sad and stuff, who died tragically only to be reborn as a magical teenage girl. Seriously, it was right out of a Sarah J Maas novel. 

  Maybe they latched onto each other too quickly, but it was the kind of latching on when you made friends with another kid at the orientation to summer camp and then religiously stuck to the kid once the actual camp started until you got another friend. Maybe. Gerry's never been to summer camp, how was he supposed to know. 

But Agnes was sharply quick, surprisingly kind, and fiercely protective. Gerry had never met somebody who cared as much as her. It was really weird. He supposed that people like her, the powerful and destructive, had the privilege to care. 

Agnes snuck over more and more often, and sometimes Gerry went to go visit her. Eventually they started roaming the streets together, loitering in businesses and committing general acts of tomfoolery. Gerry was an old hat at tomfoolery - he had only been vaguely supervised most of his life - but Agnes encroached every second of minor rule breaking with cautious glee. 

Not that there really were rules anymore. Even if you were the kind of juvenile delinquent that got adults yelling at you and caused minor or major property damage, it wasn’t as if the cops were going to come and take you away. Either you got away with it, or you were eaten for a while. This was very natural to Gerry, and after a little bit of convincing it came easily to Agnes too. Maybe they really were well-suited for each other after all. 

If Gerry’s Mum could see him now, she would call him ‘dreadful’ and ‘ill-mannered’ and ‘badly behaved’. But...she wasn’t there, so she could hardly complain. Served her right.

Months - maybe - later, Gerry and Agnes were hanging out in Gerry’s crawlspace again after a long day terrorizing demons and old men alike. They were splitting a blood orange - literally - and letting the sticky juice (juice?) run down their hands, laughing as Agnes imitated the look of shock on the old man’s face. Sitting down on the floor, flavor bursting sweet on his tongue, as Agnes teased him for dropping peels everywhere...Gerry was almost happy. 

Rookie mistake. 

Agnes sensed it first, stiffening slightly as her body pulsed slightly warmer. Gerry scooted a little further away from her carefully as she turned to look at the thin plaster wall, brow furrowing. 

“Is it a nightmare?” Gerry whispered. “Or a person?”

“Neither,” Agnes whispered back. “It’s…”

Then Gerry heard it too: the clack of nails on hardwood, and a sound so terrifying it made his gut tie itself into knots. It was a growl, bestial and wet. Something was snarling outside.

Gerry stopped breathing, sitting absolutely still. The sounds of sniffing and snarling were loud and distinct, and he couldn’t help but stare at the sticky, juicy, smelly orange in his hands. Agnes was also still, far more completely than Gerry ever could be, carefully listening. 

He wanted to whisper to Agnes, make a game plan, but the monster would hear them. Part of Gerry wanted to tremble in fear, but that wasn’t useful. He forced himself to calm down as best as he could while keeping his breaths minimal. Remember Dune. Fear was the mind killer. Fear is the little death. 

But then Agnes smiled at him faintly, making a gentle gesture with her hand. Agnes was a literal fire messiah. She could take almost any monster. Gerry had never seen her afraid of anything, just contemptuous or annoyed. Having her there with him was more reassuring than any book quote, and Gerry exhaled softly as he smiled back at her. Agnes was going to torch that monster, and it would be super cool, and they’d high five, and -

“Daisy? What are you looking for?”

Agnes’s expression stretched into terror. She mouthed ‘fuck!’, and slapped a hand over her mouth. She didn’t breathe, and her chest never rose and fell, but she abruptly started trembling.

For the first time, Gerry reached out to reassure her. But her body heat had abruptly tripled, and Gerry was forced to pull back. In the small, unventilated space, it quickly became overwhelmingly hot. 

“Shut it off!” Gerry hissed, as quietly as he physically could. “They’ll feel it -”

“That is the most dangerous monster in the world,” Agnes whispered, and Gerry fell silent. “Don’t move.”

For the first time in a very long time, in an apocalyptic world built on terror and fear, Gerry felt afraid. 

A faint yipping echoed through the space, almost like a dog. It could never be mistaken for a dog. 

“Well, yes, there’s people everywhere. Other places have more people, even. Why can’t we just go there?” Another bark, a low bass cut. “Oh, if it’s a Hunt, then it’s alright.”

The heat was growing oppressive, and Gerry frantically motioned for Agnes to cut it out. He was withholding his own ragged breathing, and abruptly Gerry felt as if he couldn’t breathe. It was just making him more scared, the sweat trickling down his neck -

There was another yip, so close it might as well be made in his ear. It clearly came from directly in front of him. 

Gerry couldn’t help it - he screamed, overwhelmed with fire and heat and fear and the wolf at their door. 

The wall exploded.

Dust and insulation burst outwards in a fine white cloud, and Gerry and Agnes were abruptly coughing intensely and the wall cracked, folded, and collapsed inwards. Gerry was showered with fragments of wood and plaster, stifling another scream, and screwed his eyes shut against the sudden influx of light. 

He cracked them open as quickly as he could, unwilling to meet whatever was in front of him with his eyes closed. Instantly, overwhelmingly, Gerry was brought face to snout with a giant wolf.

Gerry firmly believed that people weren’t meant to see apex predators up close. Nobody should be able to touch a bear, was Gerry’s opinion. What was an anaconda? Gerry was on the opposite side of the room. He wasn’t afraid, but he hadn’t made it to the ripe old age of fifteen without being highly cautious. 

It wasn’t right, staring this wolf in the face. Every inch of it stood out to him: the slobber, the snarl, the canines almost as long as his hand. It was silvery white, with a thick ruff and coat, and Gerry watched in awe as the wolf snarled and - 

And stopped snarling. It started looking at him curiously instead, bushy tail sweeping gently side to side. 

The immediate problem almost solved, Gerry was able to take in the figure behind the wolf. 

He was a guy. Unfairly tall, Black with curly hair drawn tight into a ponytail. Sharp features, undercut by unnaturally green eyes. He was in a suit that looked like he had put it on three months ago and had never changed. He was...wearing a trenchcoat? He was just a guy!

“A human!” The man - monster? Guy? Nightmare? Avatar? - cried. “Oh, good job, Daisy! You’re a fantastic investigator.” The wolf - Daisy was a stupid name for a wolf - barked lowly. “Yes, it is like an oven in here, isn’t it?”

Gerry opened his mouth, then closed it. He was still cowering on his ass, covered in dust and plaster. This guy was Agnes’ monster? Maybe she had mistaken him for someone else. “Who -”

“He’s even talking!” The man exclaimed, as if he was a dancing monkey. “They never talk to me voluntarily, you know.” Daisy barked again. “I think it’s cute! Kids are so repetitive, but this one smells great. Good job, Daisy.” 

Before Gerry could protest the man stepped forward and looked down at him, and a sick realization trickled through him. 

The man had nothing behind his eyes. Bright green, sick and churning, radioactive and poisonous. His expression was absent and vaguely curious, like a child watching an ant crawl through its anthill. Slowly, intensely, the man’s placid expression broke into a sharp and demented smile. 

It wasn’t the smile of a human staring at a tasty sandwich. It wasn’t even the smile of a monster drawing a human into a nightmare. It was the smile of a child holding the magnifying glass to the ant: triumphant, because now the child got to see what happens when an ant blackened to a crisp. Elated, because they were the child, and not the ant. Victorious, because they could only remember the distinction in the act of causing harm. 

“Statement of -”

“Leave him alone!”

The monster exploded into flames. 

Agnes leapt from her position in the crawlspace, slightly tucked away out of sight, and shoved at the wolf hard. The wolf yowled, her handprints blackening its fur, and it retreated snarling. 

It was not the first time Gerry had seen someone set on fire. It happened a lot, when you hung out with Agnes. But the man burned, in bright and beautiful red-hot flames, crackling and searing the skin and air and sky. His mouth was open in a silent scream. 

Something green shone from within the flames. 

Then the flames were gone. It was as if he had never been set on fire at all. At most he smelled vaguely of burning flesh, and his hair had broken free of its ponytail to settle in fuzzy waves. 

The monster looked mildly peeved. 

Agnes grabbed Gerry, leaving red-hot scorch marks on his hoodie, and yanked him behind her. Gerry was not embarrassed to say that he absolutely hid behind Agnes as she put herself between him and the monster and his wolf. The wolf who was now snarling deeply at them, and the slightly irritated monster who shook ash off his unharmed trench coat. 

“I don’t care if you called dibs on him,” the monster bitched. “You don’t get to stop me in the middle of a - oh, Agnes!” The monster’s expression brightened as he snapped his fingers. “Agnes Montague, right? Your cult introduced me to you at - what was it -”

“Annabelle’s annual party five months ago,” Agnes said flatly. Her wax hair was still burning at the ends, and although Gerry couldn’t see her expression he knew it had to be fierce. “Nice to see you again, Jon. Now stay away from him.” 

“If you called dibs then you shouldn’t have let me try to eat him,” Jon - which was the dumbest name for an evil monster - complained. He smelled his arm, grimacing. “Setting me on fire’s downright rude, Agnes. Didn’t Jude teach you any manners?”

“Go away!” Agnes yelled. Gerry realized quietly that she was still shaking. “He’s not yours! He’s the one thing you aren’t allowed to hurt!”

Jon frowned at her. Gerry could practically see it: Did_not_compute.exe. It simply didn’t make sense: that there was something in the world that he wasn’t allowed to hurt. That there was something in the world that was not his. 

Before Jon could speak again, his wolf barked harshly at him. She kept barking, completely indecipherably, as Jon’s expression screwed up in uncomprehension. “What does it matter if they’re children.” The wolf barked. “I mean, I don’t actually care if we piss off the Desolation or not.” Bark, bark. “Why are you always guilt tripping me!” Bark, bark, bark, bark. Eventually Jon’s expression turned somewhat abashed, and then downright embarrassed. 

“Right, right.” He turned back to Agnes and Gerry, a little sulky. “Sorry for trying to eat your human, Agnes. In my defense, he was quite -” The dog yipped. “ - innocent, and I’m sure he’s very fun. Great. Well, this was a waste of time. Call me if you get tired of him, Agnes.” 

Jon turned to go, and Gerry could not see his back soon enough. The heat had died as Agnes calmed down, her arms crossed over her chest and scowling fiercely. 

“Apologize to him!”

Jon froze, halfway across the room. Gerry quietly wanted to die. 

The monster slowly turned on his heel, looking at Agnes with a faintly flabbergasted expression. “You can’t be serious -” The wolf barked again. Gerry had the impression that the wolf was in charge of him. “Stop ganging up on me -” Bark. “I don’t know how to talk to humans, don’t make me!” A very firm bark. 

“Do it,” Agnes said firmly. “Or I’ll set you on fire again.”

Unbelievably, the monster groaned. He turned to Gerry, fluorescent eye twitching. “Alright, alright! Listen, uh - kiddo? Kiddo. I am very sorry that you tasted - I am very sorry that I tried to scar you for life and consume your trauma. I cannot stress enough how it’s nothing personal. There.” Weirdly enough, he looked a little proud of himself. “Hah. Totally rocked that talking to a human thing.”

“Uh,” Gerry said, too dizzy with the events of the last ten minutes to care very much about what he said, “is the wolf in charge of you?”

Even more unbelievably, the man brightened. “I’m her assistant! Not very many people pick that up. You’re very bright, little human. Do you want to pet her?” Jon glanced at Daisy, who looked unimpressed. Very loudly, he hissed at her, “Do children like petting dogs?”

The wolf, somehow, seemed to inform him that yes, they did. 

They were in too deep now. Gerry walked up and petted the wolf. It was fucking awesome. Agnes groaned and pulled him back again very quickly. She seemed a little jealous. The wolf yipped at her and Agnes reluctantly petted the wolf too. 

Jon clapped his hands. “Well! That was very unpleasant. I won’t ask what you’re doing hiding in a wall, Agnes. As a personal favor to you.”

“Thanks,” Agnes said flatly. 

“Tell Diego and Jude that I’m not doing it. Or eating your human. As a personal favor to you.”

“Definitely will.”

“Fantastic.” Jon’s eyes glinted, in the soft light of Agnes’ flames. “I’m very happy you’ve reincarnated into that fun child’s body, Agnes. Children are so tempestuous and impulsive. I wouldn’t have tolerated an adult setting me on fire. You understand that, don’t you?” 

Agnes nodded, almost shakily.

“You understand that for an adult, that would have had very different consequences.”

Agnes nodded again.

“Fantastic!” Then Jon was beaming again, all carelessness and laziness. “Have fun, you little delinquents. Come on, Daisy. I’m famished.”

He swanned off, wolf following closely on his tail. But the wolf looked back as it crossed the threshold, large yellow eyes piercing in a way that Gerry just couldn’t name, before they both disappeared. As slowly and terrifyingly as they had come.

Ten seconds passed, then fifteen. 

Agnes crumpled to her knees and bent over the floor, shaking, and her hands pressed hot scorch marks into the wood. She was still shuddering, and Gerry bent down next to her. He couldn’t physically comfort her, but he could put his hand close to hers on the wood. As close as possible, yet never touching. 

“We are so lucky to be alive,” Agnes breathed, before abruptly groaning. “I set him on fire! I set The Archivist on fire!”

The title tickled something in Gerry’s brain, bringing up an insane amount of questions, but he brushed them all aside. Gertrude was dead - or at the very least, very far away, where she was no good to him. She had to be, otherwise he would have noticed her cutting a swathe through Britain by now. 

“Who is he?” Gerry asked. He didn’t really want to know, but...well, he was himself. He wanted to know everything. It was kind of his whole thing.

Agnes sat down on her knees, rubbing her forehead, and Gerry cautiously sat down next to her. “He’s the monster who sold the world. The most dangerous man ever made.”

“The most dangerous man in the world gets bossed around by his dog?” Gerry asked, before the words sunk in. “Wait, I thought that was Jonah Magnus!”

“Jonah Magnus doesn’t kill people because they annoy him!” Agnes snapped, before she groaned into her hands again. “And I set him on fire…Diego is going to kill me!”

“For what it’s worth,” Gerry said awkwardly, “I’m glad you set him on fire. He was kind of a dick.” He paused again, uncertain of how to say it. “And...thanks for caring, I guess. You really don’t have to.” He shrugged, unwilling to state what had always been unsaid between them. “I’m a human. These things happen to us. You just have to deal with it.”

That was the way of the world. It had always been that way, even before the apocalypse. The strong and powerful and important like Jon kicked around smaller people, and the smaller people just hoped they survived it. 

Gerry was a survivor. Nobody had ever saved him before. Maybe because nobody had ever saved him before. 

Agnes tackled Gerry in a tight, pressing hug. She wasn’t hot at all, just mildly warm - an incredible act of effort and concentration on her part. Her arms were solid and unyielding, never mistaken for flesh, but she clutched at him with a unique desperation. Gerry cautiously hugged her back, letting her bury her head into his shoulder. 

“Not to you,” Agnes whispered. “Nothing bad’s going to happen to you. Not even The Archivist.”

“You can’t promise that,” Gerry whispered. 

“We’re family.” Agnes separated from him, stubbornly fighting boiling tears. “And I’m sick of just dealing with it.”

Gerry opened his mouth, then closed it. “Family?” He said weakly.

Agnes blushed hotly. “If you want!” She tightened her fists on her skirt, winding the fabric between her fingers anxiously. “It’s just that - I know you don’t have anyone...and I have my cultists, but they don’t really care about me, not like you do...and I know it used to be different, that family used to mean something different, but I don’t care about what old people thought family meant. I care about you, and we’re sticking together, so that’s what we are.” She faltered a little. “If you want.”

“Siblings, then,” Gerry said faintly. “If you want.”

And he did want it. More than anything, Gerry wanted this. 

When Agnes smiled at him, and she hugged him tightly again, Gerry was halfway certain that yet another disaster was about to befall them. He knew that meteors were going to strike, that the ground was going to open up and engulf them, that the world would end in fire and ice, because Gerry was so happy it clenched his heart. He was so happy he couldn’t breathe. 

“It’ll be okay,” Agnes said into his shoulder, “we’ll never have to deal with Jonathan Sims again. I promise.”

****

It was not a promise Agnes kept. 

They ran into him again. And again. And again. Eventually, after meeting a monstrous golem of fear and suffering that induced paralyzing fear so frequently, said simulacrum of human experience became slightly tiresome. And you realized that he was, actually, really not that bright. Or at the very least not very mature. And that his wolf sister kind of wore the pants in that relationship. That he and his wolf sister were like Agnes and Gerry, in every possible way. And that he was, weirdly, deeply kind. And that he loved, so bright and pure and fearsome that it had brought down the world. That he was capable of loving Gerry. Maybe even, given enough time, anyone. 

Many months later, as Gerry, Agnes, Jon, and Daisy sat in an ice cream shop splitting blood orange ice cream (with real blood!) and bickering endlessly about if Friends was the Flesh or the Stranger, that Gerry thought he might feel something familiar in his chest. 

Something that clenched his heart, something that made him so happy he couldn’t breathe. Something that felt like fire and ice and meteors and disaster.

Jon must have felt it. He looked at Gerry, surprised, with ice cream slowly dripping from his spoon and congealing on the table. “What’s wrong with you? Are you ill? Agnes, is he ill?”

“No,” Gerry said, wiping at his eyes. “I guess I’m happy again.”

Everybody stared at him, slightly dumbfounded. 

Daisy barked. 

“You’re quite right, Daisy,” Jon said. 

He didn’t tell them what she was right about, and Gerry never asked. He already knew. 

[aries-writingblog]

Atlas (1)

Summary: After years of being imprisoned on the Raft, Tony negotiates freedom for his sister Tessa. When she’s free- so is her past, and it will never stop hunting her.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC(Stark)

Chapter Word count: 1,666

Warnings: PTSD (subtle ish), trauma, torture (in later parts), suicidal behaviors and thoughts, mentions of death, character death, injury, violence, angst, and a lil bit of fluff in there

Disclaimer: Atlas is my own, original work with characters belonging to Marvel (except Tessa and Dr. Clifton). Plagiarism is not cool kids.

A/N: this is my first work Im posting to this platform and I’m really excited and nervous about it. Hope you enjoy- constructive criticism is always helpful as well!!

The Avengers Tower. Former Stark Tower. 93 floors of office space, labs- people carrying out their business. People going about their day. At the top of all of them is Tony Stark. Waiting. Waiting in silence. Typically, he isn’t one to wait on anything or anyone but today... today is different. Today is special. Finally, the silence is broken by a shrill ring of his phone. Tony snaps it up, immediately accepting the call.

“Mr. Stark? Reid Kerrings.” The man’s voice carried through the phone, introducing himself. “Listen, I hear you’re trying to to negotiate a prisoners freedom?”

“She shouldn’t even be a prisoner,” Tony grumbled before plastering on a thick business tone. “Yes, that’s what I’m trying to do here. Thing is, I have a plan that I ran by Fury and Coulson and they seem to think it’s a great idea. Only thing is- that prisoner of yours is apparently ‘dangerous’ and she’d need stipulations on if she were to be released into my care.”

Tony hated this- speaking about her as if she were a terrorist. He hated that she’d been in maximum security prisons for six years. He hated that she was on the raft now. But, if he wanted to play ball, he had to agree to the terms. And unfortunately, that was one of the terms. He’d tried it his way two years ago and it got shut down. Several times.

“Well... you’re a damn maniac- prisoner 067112 is a psycho-“

“Her name is Tessa and that’s my sister you’re talking about so if you’d like to see your job another day I’d keep quiet.” Tony snapped, clenching his jaw. The phone fell silent before Kerrings cleared his throat.

“She would have to meet with an appointed therapist three days a week. She would also have to have a check in twice a week with a parole officer. If there is any flare up of her enhancement that is not accounted for by a member of your team, she comes back here and is no longer allowed parole. She is to be on a tight leash.” Kerrings read through the conditions of the agreement that Tony and Fury had worked out. “She must agree to these terms before her release. If she does, she will be escorted to your property tomorrow at 10:00 AM. Do you agree to these statements made today?”

“Yes.” Tony felt an excited, nervous bubble form in his stomach. He was doing it. His sister was almost free.

“Excellent. The escort team will run a security check on the building and perimeter.”

“Oh, well, not to brag or anything but- it’s the Avengers Tower. I ’m pretty sure this is the best it gets in terms of security.” Tony scoffed, turning when he heard the door opening. Steve Rogers stepped into the room, intending on speaking with Tony about another comm unit. He broke his. Again. He stopped short, hearing the man on the phone.

“This woman shouldn’t even be out of her cell here- she’s dangerous, I don’t care if shes your sister or not. The power of this woman is something that should be contained. not roaming around New York on a Thursday afternoon.”

“She’s a human being. No telling what you freaks have put her through in the raft- that’s probably why she’s going insane. You don’t even allow sunlight in that dingy of a prison. You treat someone like an animal, that’s what they become. Now, if you’ll excuse me, i’m going to run my own safety diagnostics on my own tower.” Tony quickly ended the call and lifted his eyes to meet Steve’s. “Can I help you, o wise elder of the yonder village?”

“Just... a new comm piece.” Steve stepped forward and tossed the broken pieces to the desk before meeting Tony’s eyes again. “What was that all about?”

“That is a surprise for the team I’m arranging.” Tony sat down at his desk, pulling up an image of a new weapon system, one that they’d encountered a few weeks ago on a mission. “These thugs were dealing with now... they’re sophisticated. They’re playing on a new ball field. So... I’m leveling it.”

“You can’t just do that without consulting the team first.” Steve scolded, his arms crossing over his chest. “What are you doing?”

“You’ll see- tomorrow morning at ten, have the team all meet in the conference room. I’ll bring my surprise to you.” Tony grinned, feeling strangely optimistic for once. Steve only sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to get anywhere with Tony.

“Fine- I’ll call a meeting.” Steve spun on his heel and marched out of the office. Tony sank further into his chair, spinning it to look out of the window.

“Friday, make sure floor ninety two is fireproof.” Tony called out, a twinge of doubt forming in his mind. He was quick to shake the thought from his mind, funneling all his belief into his sister. It had to work. For her sake.

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

Sitting at the oval conference table, Bucky felt an impatience he hadn’t felt in months. Steve had let it slip- more like Bucky could tell there was something and kept prying- that Tony was on the phone with someone, talking about a prisoner. A woman prisoner. Bucky wasn’t sure what to expect and that caused a great deal of anxiety to pit in his chest. He didn’t like being kept in the dark.

Beside him, Steve sighed heavily, leaning his head on his fist, resting on the table. Being roommates with the guy, he knew Steve hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep last night, like most nights. He knew this because he himself was also up, roaming the apartment, watching tv and staring off the balcony.

“Anyone know what this surprise it stark mentioned?” Natasha pressed, becoming quite impatient herself. They’d all been sitting at the table for fifteen minutes. Waiting.

“No clue- I hope it’s better than the last surprise- the one that exploded while in use on the field.” Sam commented, scrolling absentmindedly on his phone.

Finally, the door to the room burst open, revealing Tony Stark marching in with purpose. Behind him, a woman in heavy chains, with metal cylinders encasing her hands, was being escorted in by two men in fire retardant kevlar uniforms. Her head was bowed, dark brown hair shifting to cover her face. Bucky sat up, seeing the woman marched in, heavily restrained. Tony clapped his hands, rubbing them together afterward. He gave the crowd a large smile and nodded once.

“Surprise, Avengers! This is my favorite sister, Tessa Stark, Tess, this is everyone. I’m sure you were given the brochure.” He turned to the two men. “You fulfilled your duties, you can go now.”

The men unclipped the chains and then pressed their thumbprints to the pads on the cylinders. They released with a hiss of steam, Tessa rubbing her wrists once they were free.

“I know you.” Sam’s voice broke into the conversation. Tessa’s jaw clenched and her eyes stared into the floor. She swallowed harshly, keeping her back ramrod straight and her hands in front of her. “Stark... oh, shit- where have I seen you...”

“Anyways folks, she is here to help out on our new group of rogues... she has a, ah... particular set of skills. Mostly explosives and fire. And since that’s what we’re dealing with, I’ve brought in the big guns.” Tony explained, settling in his chair and gesturing for Tessa to take a seat as well. She seemed wary of sitting beside Wanda but did it anyways, sitting barely on the edge of the chair. “Now, we’re gonna need a new plan of attack with-“

“Atlas!” Sam snapped his fingers, pointing at her. Tessa stiffened, caught off guard by the level of his voice. “That’s it! Code Name Atlas, Operation Dry Sands! You served in the army- I’m Sam Wilson, I flew with-“

“Riley...” her voice was raspy and low, rusted with disuse. “I remember you.” Bucky watched as she seemingly tried to melt into the chair, trying to hide herself.

“You were baller, man! She cleared missions like it was nothing!” Sam praised her, excited to finally meet her. “There was talk of her all over camps- everywhere!”

“Atlas?” Natasha asked, a brow raising. “That’s a peculiar code name- sounds... specific.” Tessa didn’t respond, keeping her head low. When the room fell silent, Steve took control.

“Right, well, Tony you mentioned a new plan of attack?” He expertly guided the topic over to a new path. Bucky couldn’t help but let his attention drift back to the new mystery in the room. He allowed his eyes to scan over her, stopping on her forearm where there was black ink. A tattoo of the army symbol, numbers below it. Maybe her squad number? Her arm shifted and Bucky looked up, meeting her eyes. He knew he’d fucked up.

Her dark brown eyes smoldered- a red tint glowing under her irises. Her lips were pulled into a scowl. He quickly lowered his gaze, catching a glance of her veins in her arms. glowing lightly orange. Bucky clenched his jaw and leaned back into his chair, a fierce scowl building on his lips. He didn’t like this woman, She seemed... violent. closed off. Hell- maybe she was just too much like him. And maybe he shouldn’t make a snap assumption but for some reason...

“Alright well, that’s all for now, Tessa- welcome to the team, please make yourself comfortable and if there’s anything we can do to help out- let us know.” Steve nodded as he stood up.

Tessa only nodded, stood up and spun on her heel- leaving the room without a word. Everyone glanced to Tony. He only shrugged and stood up.

“I’m gonna go make her feel at home- just got out of prison and all, see you around.” Tony gave a small wave over his shoulder and walked out, trailing out after his explosive sister.

[a-forgotten-spirit]

Two Heroes x Reader Oneshot

Pairing: Todoroki x Bakugou, Todoroki x Reader x Bakugou, Poly relationship

Summary: I rewrote the entire Two Heroes movie with you in it, changed a few things but mostly the exact plot. It’s a “oneshot” off of my other story “Love Isn’t an Illusion”. I added a lunch scene, getting dressed and...smut for Bakugous Birthday. 

Words: +- 18,000, There is 4000 words of smut you have been warned, sorry for mistakes there is a lot to read through. 

SFW Warnings: Domestic relationship, please if you haven’t watched the movie watch it, villains/villain attack, fear for Bakugous/Todoroki’s safety, mentions of sex, kissing, getting lunch with the boys, hugging, soft Bakugou, soft Todoroki, calling them by their first names, competitiveness, being called “Kitten”, swearing, slight injury, Bakugou needs attention, Todoroki needs reassurance, sending photos, being called their girlfriend, a dress that shows skin, nicknames, Mineta and Kaminari, fighting villains, no signal, claws and sharp teeth, bathing together, if you squint there’s a spoiler for the series,  NSFW Warnings: Bathing together, groping, moaning, groaning, it’s filth, neck kissing, biting, being called “Kitten”, switch Bakugou/Todoroki, Bakugou bottoms for a bit, soft Bakugou, soft Todoroki, on the pill, temperature play, nipple play, dirty talk, love bites, double penetration, teaching Bakugou manners,  traffic light system, riding, complimenting, description of smut, soft smut at the beginning, Todoroki bottoms for a bit, light choking, swearing, multiple orgasms, double cremepie, slight begging. IM SORRY

A/N: Well first off HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAKUGOU.  I wrote this for the fans. I do not own My Hero academia or the characters, I don’t own most of the plot for this story, I had watched the show and re-written the dialogue and plot as if the reader was the main character. Everything is centered around the reader. In Japan the legal age for sex is 13 and in my country is 15-17 so by law they are legal, thank you. I hope you all enjoy this oneshot. I don’t usually write oneshots and here is why. 

PATREON: This is my patreon, some benefits are getting chapters one month earlier then on tumblr, Love Isn’t An Illusion is one month ahead on patreon for example another benefit is getting a say in what I write and who for, I will also be posting AU’s. I have a NSFW tier that I will begin posting on when October starts and my final tier is commission, you may ask for anything you want! But there is only 3 spots, make sure to check it out. This is a teaser for the NSFW tier starting October.

Masterlist ________________________________________________________________

Y/N P.O.V

This expo was not something I wanted to go to. It would be long and not something I was interested in, though I could use my quirk as I wished which was a nice surprise even though I would not use it, Aizawa had made it quite clear I couldn’t abuse my quirk. Katsuki, Todoroki, Kirishima and I were walking around until we saw a challenge, a race. 

Katsuki and I turned to each other and we smiled at each other “I’m gonna win” we both yelled at each other before we were running over to line up “It’ll be nice to beat you again” I smiled and his arm wrapped around my waist bringing my body close to his own. 

“Yeah sure you will, no hard feelings” he screamed and I pushed him away shaking my head as we both stared at each other in anger. “You won’t be winning” sometimes I believe his quirk moved to his voice box as well with how loud he was like Present Mic. “I’ll go first” Katsuki did the course and I was livid, he was way too fast. I had to be faster than him, I could not lose. 

“Please welcome our next challenger, the villain attack points have been reset. Ready Go” and with her words I was off, running straight through the course. I propelled myself forward with my quirk, a wide and proud smile on my face.

Making it to the first villain I didn’t even look as a clone came up and attacked it, one down. I continued through the course destroying anything in my path but I had to beat Katsuki. I was going to beat Katsuki. Running along the water and then all three were down and I landed my hand on my hip as I looked at my boyfriend. “How was that for you?” I yelled at his angry face. 

“A tie” we both turned quickly to the woman “At fifteen seconds. These two are the winners” immediately we were screaming and throwing insults at each other as people looked on in confusion but I did see a few smiles. 

“We did not get the same. I clearly won” he screamed and walked over gauntlets on show for all to see as I shook my head and my hand came to rest against my chest in offense. I could see Shouto shaking his head with a small almost non-existent smile. 

“I beg your pardon, no you did not. I was faster” I yelled and we came face to face looking at each other before we turned to the woman “We want a rematch” she stood there looking around for a second and then laughed awkwardly. 

“Hey isn’t that Midoriya in the stands” Kirishima asked innocently, Katsuki and I turned to face the green haired hero in training and he was indeed in the stands. Looking down at us with a scared look. Todoroki walked out to come stand next to us. I looked around and could see a few people from our class. Why were there so many?

“What the” Katsuki was up throwing himself against the rails of the field as I made some stairs so Kirishima, Todoroki and I could get up to the stands. “What are you doing here Deku” he screamed as I stepped over the railing. 

“Oh hey there Kacchan” he stepped back face scared and hands raised in surrender. A good move, he just got his ass kicked by his girlfriend. I can imagine the anger swirling inside his body. “Maybe calm down a little” those were not the words someone should say to an angry Katsuki. 

“Don’t you dare tell me what to do” Katsuki screamed, I was glad the fence was between the two childhood friends as well as Iida who had run in to stand in front of Deku. I had been on the receiving end of those words far too many times to count but looking at him, I couldn’t help but love him more. 

“Bakugou. Behave yourself” Iida’s arms were out protecting the scared Deku, though those words were also something you do not say to an angry Katsuki. I leaned into Shouto who just shook his head at our boyfriend losing his mind. 

Katsuki began to yell, loudly. His hair seemed to stand on end even though it was already spiked. I had learnt it was natural, after so many times sleeping over I learned his hair was just like that. He looked like a little monster throwing himself back and forth against the railing. I was worried it would break. 

“So you guys got asked to the expo as well” Momo turned to us and so did the others. I went to lift my mask before remembering I wasn’t actually wearing it and my hand came to rest on my hip to look a little less awkward. 

“Kinda” I started and they looked a lot more interested now. “I was invited as I won the sports festival but Todoroki is here because of his father so if I declined I got to be Todorokis’ plus one and then Bakugou got offered as second place so that meant Kirishima could come too” I smiled and they all seemed to nod. I had gotten good at using their last names around the class but I was pretty sure everyone knew we were together. I remembered back to the conversation. 

~

“They want me to go to the expo thing” I spoke slowly as the boys came to move onto the bed. We were staying at Katsuki’s tonight. “Because I got first place at the sports festival” I felt both their heads begin to read over my shoulder. “But I can only take one,” I whispered. 

“I’m going with my father, so you can take Katsuki. Problem solved” Shouto had gotten a little more emotion in his voice since being with us. He had started to talk more which Katsuki and I loved to talk about. I nodded. 

“Or” I began. Katsuki had also learned to let others talk, I was proud of him. “If I say i'm already going as a plus one, they’ll ask the next person which is Katsuki. Hasn’t Kirishima been going on about this expo” I turned to face the blonde haired male. 

He nodded and shrugged “Shitty hair doesn't need to go Y/N, he just wants too. You won, you go” I knew that was his way of saying because I won I should get the credit not just going as a plus one. 

“I don’t mind. I can share a room with Shouto, you can come visit. Kirishima deserves to go. I heard Kaminari is going to work as well so it’s a win win” I smiled and I felt an arm wrap around my waist from Shouto as he nodded into my shoulder. 

“Whatever” I replied and within a few minutes Katsuki had received an email asking to attend as the first place was already going. Easy. I smiled and laid down as Katsuki sat on his phone no doubt messaging his red headed friend. ~

“You guys are gonna do the villain course or what?” Kirishima asked with a happy smile, turning to him his hand was pointed over his shoulder to he course the three of us had just done. It wouldn’t be a good idea with Katsuki in his little mood. 

“Don’t even try it, there is no way you’ll get a better score then I did” his face was pulled in anger as I watched him grip the railed tighter. Deku had gotten a lot stronger but at the end of the day it was a course made to win. The machines didn’t have quirks or a thought process, it had no relation to a real villain take down. 

Then his words registered ���Our score thank you very much. We got the same even though technically I won” I smiled as his eyes moved to my own in anger. I leaned forward, my arms folded under my chest as I laughed and sighed. “Better luck next time, Ground Zero” I knew he loved when I called him by his hero name. 

“Yeah you’re probably right, yep” Deku looked about ready to run and hide. I wanted to laugh at his fear. There was no reason to fear Katsuki, he was a huge softy through and through. Give that man a massage and he is as placid as can be. Though that was Shouto’s and Is’ little secret. 

“Huh, I’m not so sure” Uraraka thought out loud as he looked up a hand coming to her chin in thought. Deku was fast but as I said before, these weren’t real villain’s and could no way mimic a real fight. “Only one way to find out I guess” she shrugged her shoulders. 

“Yeah you’re probably right” I was at a loss for words. I knew Deku had just repeated himself out of fear but to not even listen to what Uraraka had said and then my eyes turned to Katsuki who was seething. I think I could see steam coming off his body, this probably wasn’t good. 

Katsuki jumped over the railing and looked at Deku, his shoulders back and eyes narrowed “Just get your pathetic attempt over with. You damn nerd” with a swing of his arm Iida was pushed aside. Katsuki got right in the poor boy's face and with teeth grit he added “Then you get out of here” it yelled, I was surprised Deku didn’t go deaf. 

“He’s so well behaved with us” Shouto whispered as he leaned down next to my ear “So much progress down the drain because Midoriya is here” I smiled as he shook his head “We need to teach him more” I flushed at his words. “One night should do the trick” I laughed and looked back at our boyfriend. 

“Right, I’ll do that” I shook my head and let the air from my lungs. Deku needed to stand up for himself more, he was so strong but one comment from Katsuki and he was out like a light. Though I could see the fear, Katsuki never really yelled at Shouto and I. He was quite calm with us though there have been a few outbursts. 

“I don’t think one night is enough” I turned and smirked to Todoroki, “A few would definitely suffice though” I whispered and heard the little grunt from Shouto. If only Katsuki knew what we were planning. He would have stopped yelling, or continued. He seemed to like the lessons. 

Deku got up and was now going to get his turn. His electricity like lines spread over his body and when the course ended he was one second longer than Katsuki and I. I could see the wide smile on my boyfriend's face and he looked at both Shouto and I then nodded and laughed at the score. Always so competitive. Something I fell in love with. 

Deku was now back and talking with Uraraka and Iida as Shouto and I listened in. “I didn’t think I’d be able to get so close to Kacchans’ time” with the way Deku smiled and spoke those words and Katsuki’s narrowed eyes and angered look I knew this wouldn’t end well. 

“What, no way. I’ll go again and blast your score to ash” I was looking at Katsuki and shook my head in defeat. I went to turn around to talk to Shouto about this new predicament though when I turned I heard a scream and then the sound of ice. 

I ran to the railing and saw Shouto kneeling down ice sprouting from the ground over the course. No way, this couldn’t be happening. The whole area was covered in a thick layer of ice. “This is insane” it was, this was fast, I gripped the railings. “Fourteen seconds” I was livid, I could feel anger coursing through my veins but as he stood up I couldn’t help but notice how hot he looked. “This gentleman has jumped to the top of the pack” I felt my eye twitch and then Katsuki joined my side and then he was gone.

“Out of the way Icy-Hot bastard” I watched and Katsuki was now bursting through the air towards our boyfriend. I was rocking myself against the railing just like Katsuki had done. I was not going to stoop to his level, I was going to be calm. “You can’t just appear out of nowhere and show me up” Shouto had a blank face and I could faintly hear something about Katsuki needing to recognise he lost. 

With that I was jumping over the railing and landing on the course. I stomped my way over and looked at our boyfriend dead, his stupidly cute miss-matched eyes “You said you didn’t even want to participate” I yelled and threw my hands into the air. 

“Don’t ignore me” is one of Katsuki’s favourite lines to shout when we didn’t answer him. We needed time to think but at this moment, I felt the same. This was beyond anger inducing, he didn’t want to participate though by his choice of words I should have understood he meant to challenge our hot-headed boyfriend. 

“The next person is waiting” the woman spoke slowly and Katsuki and I both turned to her with the speed of All Might himself and I could see the fear in her eyes. I was sure she knew who we were and with all the yelling I would be afraid too. 

“Shut up, I am doing it again” we both yelled our eyes locked in on her form. There was no way she was stopping me from beating both my boyfriends this god forsaken challenge. I was going to prove I am the best and then later they would praise me. I didn’t want to praise Shouto, at least not for this. 

“Please stop, you are going to make the world think UA is full of degenerates” Iida was running onto the course. We were not degenerates. I was already coming up with a plan to finish in under five seconds. Instead of moving I had to do what Shouto did and stay still, let my quirk do the work.  

Shouto was holding Katsuki and I back as we were escorted out of the course grounds. Once out Katsuki and I were pouting as we walked with Shouto, Kirishima having said he wanted to go see Kaminari at work, I also heard that Mineta was here. I crossed my arms and pouted as we walked around. 

“Are you done?” Shouto asked us and I turned away as Katsuki said what was on his mind, as he always did. We had moved to a secluded area and I felt Shoutos’ arm wrap around my body and he cuddled into my neck “Don’t be mad Y/N” he whispered and Katsuki rolled his eyes coming in to join the hug. 

“I’m not mad” I gritted out, how could I stay mad as they both hugged me. It was nearly impossible for a few more seconds and Katsuki giving my forehead a light kiss I sighed and “Fine” I drew out the vowel and smiled. “Wanna get something to eat?” I asked. 

“It would be best to get something in the room, that way it is not a full meal, the reception is tonight and there will be food” Shouto pointed out, he was right, there would be food there. “Though it is still quite early, we could have a light lunch and a snack before the reception,” Katsuki nodded. 

“I saw a nice looking restaurant a little ways away, near that park thing” Katsuki began and brought out his phone from the little pocket on his pants. He unblocked his phone and showed us the location. I took his phone and looked at the online menu. 

I scrolled down and as we were walking I was scrolling. I couldn’t count the amount of times I had been on Bakugou’s phone and I still couldn’t comprehend the device sometimes. “Oh Shou they have Cold Soba” I smiled and showed him the photo. 

“I was unsure of this place and no you both don’t get a choice. We are going” Shouto nodded and both Katsuki and I were laughing, it was so funny to hear his monotone voice seem so excited. Katsuki and I could hear the difference. 

“You and your fucking soba. I could make it better” Katsuki had his hands on his hips as he looked at our boyfriend with a smile, I smiled at him. I couldn’t lie, Katsuki did make the best food. I had to admit that I had once called Shouto to pick me up because Katsuki said if we were at his house he would make us food. We showed up within the hour. 

“I do not doubt that Katsuki '' the little smile that Shouto gave the both of us as he spoke made my heart flutter in happiness. I loved them both so much, I would do anything for them. Even something as simple as a smile made me so happy. 

We continued to walk as I continued to look through the menu “Katsuki” I called out as we stopped and they both looked over my shoulder “It’s called the ring of fire. It’s just a bowl of chilli noodles and beef” I smiled and showed the photo to him. 

A loud laugh left his throat and he took his phone scrolling through the ingredients “That’s what i'm getting. It better be spicy” he nodded and then gave the phone back “What are you thinking kitten” he asked as we continued to walk. 

“I’m thinking something hot, I want noodles” I nodded and clicked the category of noodles. “This one looks good” my eyebrows rose as I looked over the beef noodles. “The broth has a few spices and the beef has been marinated overnight to then cooked to order, the vegetables are marinated with it” Shouto nodded as Katsuki took the phone and looked over it. 

“It’s like the noodles I made for our three months,” Katsuki answered and then put his phone away. It was one of my favourite ‘dates’ we had gone on. My parents were out and because my house was the biggest we had decided to get the ingredients and then go to mine and cook. It was such a good night. “It even has the same noodles.” those noodles were delicious. 

“Oh ok, I’m definitely getting that then” Shouto nodded to my conclusion and we finally made it to the restaurant. There wasn’t too much of a line but it was packed. It looked to my full. “I did not take into account the people” I whispered. 

“Don’t worry, let me talk” Katsuki and I tilted our heads but we slowly walked up to the front of the line. Shouto took his wallet out of his pocket and collected a card that was red. Katsuki and I made eye contact in confusion and we waited. The woman looked around and breathed out trying to find a spot but as I searched to no avail. “Do not worry, we will be taking the private booth please” the woman went to laugh and then her face fell as she looked at the card. 

“Oh my. Of course” she bowed and grabbed three menus “Please right this way, follow me” we walked through the restaurant and to the back, going up a flight of stairs and then we were taken to a booth at the back, it was quiet and there was almost no one. “A waiter will be with you in a few minutes to take your drinks” she bowed again as I wiggled into the seat, I wanted to be in the middle. 

“What is that card” I looked at Shouto who slipped the card back into his wallet then placed it on the table to the side to not get in the way. I needed a card like that, if it meant I never had to deal with people again in a crowded space I would love to have such a card. Katsuki took his gauntlets off placing them next to him in the booth. 

“It’s a card for the expo for my father so he doesn’t have to sit with fans. He said to use it so I’m not with common people” he shook his head and his eyes narrowed “But this way I can have a nice calm lunch with both my girlfriend and boyfriend without interruptions” he nodded. Picking up the menu to the drinks and began to look it over. 

My hand moved to gently hold his cheek as I leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss. I loved the way half his lips were colder than the other. He seemed surprised and then he leaned in getting into the kiss. We broke apart after a few seconds “Thank you Shou” I whispered. 

“Excuse me” We both turned to Katsuki who had a slight pout as he looked over to us “I am here to you know” it was hard sometimes to give all three people attention in the relationship but we tried. I had learnt that Katsuki really didn’t like being left out and often felt like people didn’t want him there. Shouto on the other hand had a lot of trouble with praise and had to be reassured we loved him every single day. All three of us had learnt to help each other. 

“Come here Katsuki” I leaned over holding his hand that was on the table and kissed him just the same as I had done to Shouto. His lips were always so soft, all his skincare routines he did on a night would definitely help to do that. When I leaned back I smiled at his soft face. “We know you’re here and we are both very happy you are here with us” we had to reassure him and I didn’t care how often I had to do it. 

“Can I have a kiss too Katsuki?” Shouto asked and leaned over my body so he could kiss him if he allowed, which he always did. Many believe he wasn’t affectionate but Katsuki was the most affectionate. “I love that you came here as well. I wouldn't have come if the both of you didn’t” Katsuki smiled and then leaned in kissing Shouto softly as I smiled at both of them. As they leaned back Shouto smiled and “I love you Katsuki you too Y/N” 

I watched as the male in question turned away a flush on his cheeks, something we saw quite often with him. He wasn’t too good with receiving affection, I moved to put a hand on each of their legs and squeezed. Then the waiter walked over. 

“Good afternoon, may I take your drinks order” he asked and looked us over as I quickly skimmed the menu. “If you need more time, I can come back in a few minutes” he asked and Shouto answered it was alright. After ordering our drinks we also asked him to take our food orders and then we were back to talking. 

“I don’t want to go to this party, it’ll just be a bunch of old geezers giving speeches. Sounds like a pretty lame night to me” Katsuki voiced as he rested his chin on his head. “I only came for you two” he added as he looked us over. 

I nodded “Shouto and I spoke on the plane about not really wanting to attend” I sighed. “I did bring a nice dress though” it was a beautiful dress. Something a little fancier then I would usually wear but nice nonetheless. 

“I do not want people to ask about my father” Shouto added and I leaned back “But we have to attend at least I do anyway. He wants me to go and I know it’ll only be more effort to not go in the long run” he looked down at his words and Katsuki leaned over taking his head just as I did. We knew it was hard on him. “You two stay in the room, I’ll only go for an hour or so and then we can spend the rest of the night together” he asked quietly. 

“We are going with you, I’ll have to go to my room and find something nice. I didn’t bring anything fancy, I wasn’t planning to go” he paused and smiled at Shouto, a real smile “We are here for you Shou" I nodded and the boy nodded as well. 

“Then we go together” I smiled “And I asked Kirishima if I could sneak a suit in his luggage for you” I smiled and with a shake of his head I was brought into a hug as I laughed and held out my arms for Shouto who happily moved closer to join in. 

Not too long after, the food and drinks arrived, we thanked and then began to eat. We began to eat and chat. “This is actually really good, wanna try” Katsuki asked as I nodded and leaned in to take some of the noodles off his chopstick tasting the flavour and hummed with a nod. 

“That’s really good. Too bad Shouto, you aren’t a fan of spicy food” he shrugged and then took some soba into his mouth with a nice hum. I got some of my own noodles and meat in the grasp of my chopsticks and held it up to Katsuki. “It’s really nice, not the same as yours but still good” I nodded and he leaned over taking them into his mouth then chewing for a few seconds and nodded. 

“It’s not too bad, not as good as mine but still good” he nodded and I saw Shouto look at my meal back at his and then back at mine. He wouldn’t like Katsuki, we all knew that but he looked sad he wasn’t offered some. 

“Shouto would you like to try some” I picked up the noodles just as I did for Katsuki and he looked a little awkward “come on Shou, don’t be shy. You can ask to have some” I smiled and he nodded leaning over to take a bite and then nodded. 

“Sorry, I didn’t want to ask but you two were right it is quite nice. The meat is very tender” he nodded and I verbally agreed as we began to eat once more. It was nice to be able to have a meal together and not be worried about the gazes of others about our choice of relationship. 

“Can I try some” I asked and I could live off the small smile Shouto gave as he gathered some in his chopsticks and then offered it to me. I leaned in and took the soba into my mouth and then chewed and nodded. “It’s good, Katsuki should make some for us. Sometime” I asked suggestively. 

We both turned to the boy in question who just looked up from his food and then smiled “I can do that” even as he complained about making us food he always did no matter whose house we were at. He loved to cook and provide for us. 

The rest of the lunch went by with quiet chatter and easy laughs. Time seemed to fly and as we looked at the time Shouto noticed a message from Iida saying where we would all wait and then go together. We agreed to get dressed and meet up then we would all sit at a table together and not talk to anyone. 

“Are you sleeping with us tonight” I asked just before we were about to part ways so Katsuki could go and get dressed. I hoped he said yes but then again then Kirishima would be alone in the room. 

“Of course. Shitty hair wants Pikachu and ball head to come over so I can just bring my bags over after the party” with those words and a few shared kisses we parted ways and we were off to our room to get ready. 

Walking into the room I stretched my hands above my head and put our phones on charge for the party. Searching through my suitcase I found my makeup bag and dress. “I’m going to go for a shower and do my makeup, I shouldn’t be too long” I called over my shoulder to Shouto on the bed. 

“Ok, I’m giving Katsuki a call, Kirishima isn’t there yet and he is bored” the small smile on his lips made me smile in return “I’ll tell him you’re in the shower” he looked up and I smiled back to him. I was so in love with both of them. 

“Tell him to charge his phone, he always forgets” a simple nod and I was off to shower, the shower was beyond lovely and warm, once out I put my hair up and began the process of makeup. I made sure to dry my hair and tuck in the towel so it wouldn’t fall. 

“She’s doing her makeup” I could hear Shouto say and then the door opened as I looked up from doing only the first part of my makeup “Doesn’t our girlfriend look beautiful” he moved into the bathroom and I saw the phone in his hand. 

“You both are” I smiled and looked down making a ‘Shoo’ motion with a light laugh. Shouto left the room but I could hear them “Your bathroom is so much nicer” I smiled and then continued on with my mission to do my makeup. 

Some flicked eyeliner, shining highlights and blow dried hair later I was done and walking out of the bathroom and I ran my fingers through my hair. I looked at Shouto who had taken a shower while I did my makeup and now his eyes widened. 

“I need to call Katsuki.” his hands were trying to find his phone without looking down. Once found he quickly looked down to call our boyfriend. “Katsuki” he quickly began and then Shouto was walking over “Look at her” the phone was in front of my face as I waved into the camera. 

It was silent as I looked around “I am definitely coming over tonight” he started and I flushed laughing lightly “Keep me on the line, I want to see the dress” the camera was then gone as Shouto tried to describe what he had seen with the little glimpse he got. 

I picked up my dress and headed back to the bathroom. A long sleeved, v-neck, lace F/C dress, at the waist it flowed down between my legs and over my rear, showing the sides of my legs and hips. I made sure the bra I chose to wear couldn’t be seen and then I was walking out. 

“Fuck” I looked up seeing Shouto in his suit and I paused to look at him. He didn’t swear often. He was moving to pick up his phone and I stood as he fumbled and then his hand came to rest on his chin. 

“Fuck” Katsuki repeated and I looked down, I felt pretty but that reaction was all I needed to know this was my dress. This was the perfect dress for tonight. I was so glad they liked it, confidence rose in my chest and I did a small twirl. 

“You guys like it” I asked and walked forward to Shouto holding the phone and Katsuki on the phone. They were silent as I moved to look at Katsuki and swap the camera around so it was facing Shouto and I. 

“Yes” they both spoke and then Katsuki had to go as Kirishima was coming into the room. “You look amazing” Shouto breathed out and his hand came to hold the small of my back as he came to lean in and kiss my hair. “I don’t want to ruin your makeup” he whispered. 

“Now that we are both ready and you are looking very handsome, can we take a photo for Katsuki and send it to him”  he nodded and then we were moving his phone and putting on a timer for the camera. 

A few attempts later we had a photo that looked professional. The lighting and the blank wall behind us made our outfits pop. I had put on the matching heels to make the photo look more authentic and beautiful. We were standing next to each other in just the perfect position and with a smile it was sent to Katsuki, I had to admit we really went above and beyond for this photo. Within seconds we received a reply “Please don’t do this to me, I’m with shitty hair”.

~

“Are you ready to go Shou" I looked over my shoulder at my boyfriend, his suit looked so handsome and I knew from the three of us it was going to be a fun night. Walking over I fixed his tie slightly “You look so handsome in your matching suit” I smiled “Come on Iida is waiting for us” we made our way through the room and then down to where we had to catch an elevator. 

“I sent Katsuki a message, hopefully he has not forgotten his phone again” Shouto whispered quietly as I leaned over to view the screen. Katsuki had gotten better at answering calls and messages. At the start of our relationship he wasn’t the best but he is working on it which I’m sure Shouto and I were grateful for. 

Coming out of the elevators I saw Iida who I assumed had gotten here far earlier than anyone else. Kaminari and Mineta were also here in their little butler outfits. I laughed lightly as I walked out and into the room. Iida turned around and smiled “I’m glad you two could make it, Todoroki looking very fresh, Y/N” he paused and then nodded “That colour suits you” he smiled. 

“Thank you Iida, you look quite nice as well, where is everyone?” I tried to ignore the stares from the two other boys and tried harder to ignore the little whispers to each other. We were a few minutes early but with Iida if you weren’t early you were late. 

“They seem to be running a little late” he took out his phone and rang Midoriya. The phone call was mostly linear movements and some loud vocals. I was surprised how loud his voice could go, sometimes louder then Katsuki. 

“Sorry about that, you guys” Midoriya’s words were slowed towards the end as he walked out from the elevator and looked us over, we had been here quite awhile but I didn’t mind. Shouto and I had quiet chatter and Katsuki replied saying Kirishima was guiding them to the venue and to go in without him. “Where is everybody?” he stopped running, going to a slow walk. 

“They’re not here yet” Iida arms unfolded “Does a proper meeting time mean nothing to you people” he was always like this, so in charge and ready for anything. He did make a good class rep and no one could deny that. 

With those words the sound of an elevator door opening rang through the room looking over. I saw it was Uraraka “Sorry i'm late, it took me a while to get ready” she looked cute with her hand scratching the back of her neck and the pink dress she had on. She clearly had gone to the trouble of looking nice. I was going to compliment her though with Kaminari and Mineta racing over. I stayed still. 

Another elevator opened showing a blushing Jirou and Yaoyorozu, Jirou was hiding behind the other girl, was she embarrassed? I was positive she looked beautiful no matter what she wore. “Apologies for the tardiness, Jirous’ feeling shy” I knew that feeling but with the help of my boyfriends I had slowly come out of my shell. I ignored the boys once again. 

They stepped out of the elevator and Jirou looked down playing with her earlobes “This is fancier than anything I’ve worn before” she looked nice in the pink and purple dress, Yaoyorozu did too. Shouto and I walked forward to join the group. “It feels like a costume” I couldn’t agree more. 

“I’m just glad you’re not in a t-shirt” I rolled my eyes at the electric blonde and sighed, he really needed some new morals. Shaking my head I leaned against Shouto just to try and calm my nerves, I wasn’t a fan of crowded places. 

“Even the jacket can’t ruin it” Mineta bluntly stated, they both got sound waves to ear, just as they deserved. I was glad I hadn’t heard the things they said about my choice of clothing. I would have put them in a box for the rest of the night. 

“I think you both look very nice, even with the jacket” I made eye contact with the fallen Mineta at that comment and looked back up with a smile “It’s nice to see you guys out of uniform. You too Uraraka” I smiled at the group. There was no harm in boosting someone's self esteem even if it was only a little. 

“Thank you, you look very nice too, I wouldn’t expect you to wear something like this but I really like it” Yaoyarozu nodded and Jirou agreed with an input from Uraraka. I smiled and pushed my hair back and smiled in thanks. 

“This is my first time in formal wear, I just borrowed something from Yaoyorozu” Uraraka walked over to Midoriya as her arms bent at the elbow up and down as she spoke. Yaoyarozu had very pretty dresses then. 

“It looks really good” Midoriya scratched his cheek and I smiled leaving the conversation. They had such chemistry, I was surprised one hadn’t confessed yet. Then again I hadn’t confessed in the greatest ways. I took Shouto’s hand, we weren’t much for public displays of affection but right now I was so happy to be with friends and loved ones.  

The sound of the elevator opening sounded and I turned hoping to see Katsuki and Kirishima though it wasn’t them. It was the girl I had seen at the stands. I never caught her name though she seemed to know the place. “Oh good” she ran in dress swaying as she did. “I thought I was going to miss you guys. Let’s get downstairs to the party” she seemed very friendly from the one sentence I had heard her speak. I should talk to her. 

I ignored the boys having a fangirl fest in the middle of the room. I shook my head and then we were off to the party. “No good, neither of them is picking up their phones. Knowing those two they’re just blowing off the party” Iida spoke out. 

“Bakugou and Kirishima said to go in without them, Todoroki and I messaged Bakugou” I began and saw a few sideways glances of interest. The girls always asked about my relationship with the two and most had guessed what was going on. “We can go in without them, they will come eventually” I smiled and got a nod from Iida. 

I took out my phone and saw a message from the explosive boy. Opening the message I almost dropped my phone at the picture of Katsuki in a suit with roses on the side and a tilted head. “What’s wrong” Shouto started and then looked over my shoulder at the photo “Why is he so handsome” he whispered and I nodded. Sending a message along the lines of what he had sent to us. I hoped they were both safe. 

The alarm began to sound and I felt Shouto pull my body closer to his own, the windows began to have their lockdown shutters fall. An explosive device? I worried for Katsuki’s safety as well as Shoutos’ and my own, so I looked around and we had everyone. So far so good. Most likely a false alarm. The voice over the speakers continued as I put my hand on Shoutos’ chest. What was going on?

Shouto took out his phone “I’m not getting any signal, looks like my service is completely blocked” I took his phone and then my own and quickly checked. No signal, we couldn’t contact Katsuki. What if he was in danger. I looked to Shouto who seemed to have the same fears. “He will be ok, he is strong” whispered quietly I nodded and handed his phone back. 

“The elevators are not working either” Jirou was standing in front of the elevator system, though we still had lights on so it wasn’t as if the power was out. What a suspicious time to have a lockdown. I stepped away from Shouto and looked around. 

“What the heck is going on here” Mineta cried out, he had a point. He was saying what was on everyone's minds. It had to be a false alarm, a faulty button. There wouldn’t actually be a bomb here, right? 

“It is strange that the system would go on high alert” it was the girl I didn’t know the name of. I had to ask her name, if I knew her name I could protect her. Her hand was under her chin in thought. She must know this place well. “That’s not the protocol whenever explosives are discovered” so she did know this place well. If this wasn’t the protocol then something must be wrong. 

“Iida, let’s go to that party” Midoriya stated sternly walking over to the seemed leader of the group. Iida questioned why, why did he want to go to the party. It was a lockdown. We should stay in the same place until we are told not to. “Because that’s the place we can find All might right now” I nodded, it was a good plan. All Might would know what to do. 

“Wait All Might’s in there” I knew that wherever Midoriya was, All Might wasn’t too far away. Though if the number 1 hero was here then we had nothing to worry about, if there was an explosive I was sure he was on his way to do and stop the issue. 

“Oh thank goodness, we don’t have anything to worry about” Mineta looked relieved but this was still suspicious. Would they not have put something over the intercoms to say the situation was being handled. They wouldn’t keep people in the dark plus there were probably up to a hundred Pro’s here. Someone would say something. 

“So Melissa do you know of a way we can get down there without the elevator” my eyes perked as Midoriya looked at the blonde girl, her name was Melissa. Perfect, name done. I could now protect everyone in the room. Shouto had been kind enough to give me the heros and top celebrities and things that would be here for right now. I was able to help.

“Yeah sure, we can use the emergency stairs” she replied pointing to the stairs behind Shouto and I, it would be risky. If something was actually wrong we could be going towards the danger instead of away.  I could only help so many people. “That will at least get us close” I wanted to voice my worries but I had trust in my friends. 

“We will follow your lead then” I clenched up, I was worried not only for the people in this room but Katsuki. I was beyond worried about him, was he ok? Was Kirishima with him? He couldn’t message us now and that brought a whole new wave of panic. 

We began to walk through the stairs, silently as we could which was hard with heels and fancy wear. I was scared and worried about Katsuki and Kirishima as well as the rest of the people on this island. Jirou and Midoriya walked in to see what was going on as the rest of us waited. 

“We’ve received All Might’s orders loud and clear, he is our teacher. I suggest we follow his instructions and escape this place” Iida had a point, he had told us to leave but we may be the only people that could actually help win this fight. Who knows what these villains were trying to do. “Otherwise we’d be going against his will”

“I’m afraid I have to agree with what Iida is saying. We are still only students, we can’t fight these villains if we don't have our hero licenses” Yaoyarozu was also in the right. Legally we weren’t allowed in interveen, we had to do as our teacher had told us but we did not come here as a school but as ourselves. 

“Why don’t we get out of here and tell the hero's outside?” Kaminari piped up, hypothetically that may work but it may also set off unwanted alarms along the way. It may end us in a worse spot than we already are. There wasn’t much we could do without permission but I wanted to help. 

“It’s not going to be very easy to escape” Melissa whispered out as her hand left her chin, I stood close to Shouto and tried to think my way out of this. My whole quirk relied on thinking, that’s what I was here for. I was logical and smart and I had to figure something out. “The security system here is on the same level of that of the Tartarus prison which is where they keep the most dangerous criminals in the world” think, I had to think. 

“And all we can do is sit and wait until everything is over I guess” Kaminari voiced out, his tone was low and sad. I couldn’t blame him, I also felt trapped. I had to think of something, anything. Any idea was better than none. 

Jirou stood up fists clenched and looked down to our classmate “Are you really ok with that Kaminari” she questioned in a soft tone. I wasn’t, I wasn’t ok with just sitting and doing nothing while innocent people feared for their lives. “Don’t you think we should at least try and stop them” I nodded in agreement. 

“Come on, those villains have even got All Might trapped. There’s no way we can stop them ourselves if the actual Pros are stuck” Mineta although was disgusting and quite pervy, he unfortunately was decently smart. His words were true. If they had a hold of All Might then what shot did we have. 

“Aren’t we trying to be Pros’ ourselves” my eyes left the ones of my classmates and turned to one of my lovers, he was looking down at his hand as he sighed out lowly eyes half lidded. He looked sad, he almost always did. 

“Yes but we are not allowed to work as heroes, you know that” Yaoyarozu looked sad as well as she spoke. I could see she wanted to help but also wanted to keep people safe, keep us safe. I couldn’t agree more but if we couldn’t at least help a few people then sitting here and doing nothing will be meaningless.

“Does that mean that it’s right to do nothing at all” Shoutos’ fist clenched as he continued to stare at his hand. I shook my head, he was worried. Whether it be about our missing boyfriend or the idea of sitting aside and not doing anything I didn’t know. I would guess it was a little of both. 

“Well it’s complicated” Yayorozu was right, this was complicated. Do we risk getting in more danger and not helping anyone or do we sit back and potentially not help someone in need. All Pro’s had to deal with these choices but as I saw everyones’ faces fall my own fell as well. 

It was silent in the stairwell but with a shake of my head I breathed in “I can help” everyone's eyes turned to me “I want to help, I don’t care for the consequences. Bakugou and Kirishima are out there, civilians are out there. I can shield us from being seen if need be but I am not going to stand here when I am able to help” I swallowed the lump in my throat as I pursed my lips. 

“I want to help” Midoriya whispered out “I want to save them” we made eye contact and he looked so determined, this was all our dreams. To become a hero, to help those in need no matter the consequences. To do all we can until we can’t. 

“You want to go fight those villains, did you learn anything from the USJ Midoriya?” Mineta's voice was loud and his hands were moving so frantically. I thought back to the USJ, I had been teleported to one of the zones alone and made to fight, I didn’t know any names so I spent my time dodging and using the loophole of my own name to survive. 

“This is totally different, we don’t have to fight them, as Y/N said she can shield us. We need to find a way to rescue All Might and everyone else at the party without facing the bad guys” Midoriya fired back, he was ready for any question that was shot at him, I could see it. I could shield all of us, I could shield the island if given enough time. I could do this. 

“That’s easy to say but you know it won’t be that simple” this time it was Kaminari who shot the idea down. If they wanted to be heros they needed to start believing in themselves. We could deal with the consequences, we were here on our business not the schools. 

“I know but I still want to try,” Midoriya nodded and I nodded, I was going to help them with or without the help of my classmates. I wasn’t going to let innocent people be scared because of some egotistical villains who decided to make a scene. “We can figure out what the best plan of action is and keep these criminals from winning. We can save everyone” he called out, I thought we were being a bit loud for the stairway but I wasn’t going to say anything. 

“I know where the security system is, it’s on the top floor of this tower” Melissa walked forward into the group, she did know this place which means she would most likely know the safest route to take. “If these criminals manage to take control of it then the authentication lock password has most likely been disabled. We should be able to restart the system ourselves. We just have to stay off the villains radar until then and get to the top floor.That’s all” I could cover us and the cameras wouldn’t see us but if doors were locked it would most likely sound an alarm which wouldn’t do us any favours. “If we do that the whole island will be safe again” 

“Then it’s possible” Midoriya whispered in hope, of course it was possible, everything is possible. The word impossible literally says I’m possible, we just had to devise a plan and stick to it to remain safe. 

“Sure but how do we keep on the low for that long” Jirou questioned walking forward towards Melissa who had just finished her motivating speech. Judging by the way she spoke I was guessing that she was able to restart the system. 

“The security system hasn’t discovered us yet that means the villains probably don’t know how it works very well” she had a point, the stairwell seemed to be fine. No alarms or villains coming to check it out. I nodded in thought. 

“So we avoid fighting anyone and try to get the place back to normal” I knew Shoutos’ voice from anywhere, I turned to look at his arms crossed over his chest and eyes downcast in thought. I hoped Katsuki was ok. “That could work” 

“I can cover us from unwanted eyes. I am able to cover us all with no problem. It would be like we weren’t even there” I smirked moving my hands to rest on my hips. “Cameras’ aren’t able to detect me when in an illusion, I’ve tried” I continued to smirk at the smiles I was receiving. 

“Not bad, what do you think” Kaminari turned to Jirou who smiled and agreed. Mineta did not look in the least bit impressed with his wide eyes and mouth. He was never going to become a hero if he was unable to take a leap of faith. 

“Many of our enemies are likely gathered there on the top floor” Yayorozu thought aloud into the stairwell. I would guess most would be there though some would be trying to do whatever it actually was they were trying to do here. 

“If we’re fast we won’t have to fight them, when the security system goes back to normal All Might and the others will be released. They’ll immediately jump into action and stop the villains I know it” we all seemed to be on the same page. 

“Let’s do this guys” Uraraka jumped up her eyes wide and hand fisted in determination. We would help these people, we would become heroes some day. This was just the first step in the long journey of our future career. “I don’t want to sit around here being helpless, not if there’s something we can actually try” she shook her head and looked to Midoriya who had said her name. “What’s important is that we’re helping people even if we’re not real heroes” I smiled at the bright girl. 

“That’s exactly how I feel about things, we’ll follow our hearts and save the island” even though Midoriya was talking to the group his eyes never left Uraraka, it seemed like all his words were directed to her and her alone. They would make a good couple in the future.  

Everyone began to agree to the plan, one right after the other. We were going to do this, for us and us alone. We were going to save these people not for show or to be seen but because that’s what a hero does. 

“The moment I think we’ve gone too far it’s over” Iida walked into the little huddle of us all eyes closed and brows knotted. He was worried you could practically feel the waves of emotion coming from him. “If that’s something you can agree too, I’ll join you as well” 

With all in agreeance, Midoriya told Melissa to stay behind and when listening in I found out it was because she was quirkless, something very rare these days. Even if the quirk was considered ‘useless’ they were still held higher than those without quirks. She was strong and put the greenet in his place with her knowledge of the tower. She was going to be a hero too. She was a student at the academy she said and she wanted to help. I nodded and smiled at her. She was going to be a hero one way or another. Midoriya went back to tell All Might what our plans were and soon we were off and going through the tower. When he came back we began to go through the tower to try and get to the top. We were running up the stairs which was quite hard in heels and a dress but I was managing. 

Finally we reached level 30, I couldn’t believe we made it without a single alarm of bystander. These villains really didn’t know what they were doing here. They did not know the system as if they did there would be alarms in the stairwell. 

“Melissa, how high does it go” Midoriya asked as I turned to the girl in question, she was puffed, sweating and holding the railing for support. She wasn’t used to high intense training like we were, the stairs were like nothing to us. An annoyance at most but not difficult. 

“Two-hundredth floor” she breathed out, I shook my head as Kaminari asked her to repeat herself. She could barely make it to the thirtieth I doubted she would make it to two hundred though I had faith in her. She just had to keep pushing herself. 

After a small discussion that taking the two hundred flights was better than an accidental run in with the villains we all began to climb again. I stayed in line with Shouto as we ran. We had to be fast otherwise something could potentially go wrong. I sighed out and shook my head while running, everyone would be ok. I knew it. Katsuki would be ok. He had to be. Each flight felt like impending doom and finally at floor eighty it was blocked. 

“What should we do?” Shouto asked as he breathed heavily. Eighty flights will do that to a person. I breathed out looking around, what could we do. There might be villains or civilians on the other side. “Break through it,” he suggested. I shook my head, no there had to be another way.

“If we did that, I’m sure the security system would alert the villains that someone’s in here” Melissa answered, I had the same thought. I looked over the block and bit my lip, my lungs still begging for more oxygen. What could we do? 

“Then why don’t we go through this door instead” that was Minetas’ voice and as I turned around not even hearing Midoriya’s words as he yelled. Mineta opened the door with a click. No, no, no, they would know we are here. This could ruin everything. 

We all went through and I sent out a cover, the detectors would detect something but they wouldn’t be able to see us at least. “We move now” I started and ran out first. “I have us covered but that doesn’t stop sensors only cameras” I called over my shoulder as Shouto came to join me at the front. We ran down the hall hoping to find a way further up.

“Is there another way to go up?” Shouto asked over his shoulder, I was guessing he was indicating to Melissa who knew her way around. I knew the villains knew we were here and I was sure they were sending reinforcement.  

“There should be another emergency staircase at the end of the hallway” she shouted back, it was good my illusions also hid sound, in a place like this I didn’t doubt that the cameras also had mics. 

“Alright then let's hurry” Iida instructed though as we turned a corney the gates began to shut. I guess they believed it wasn’t a false alarm and then people really were scuttling around on this floor. The gates began to close “Todoroki” Iida called. 

“I got it” a shard of ice shot out from his foot and then Iida was running and sending his leg through the gate. We had to keep moving. I grabbed Melissa’s arm and began to run, she was the most important out of all of us. 

Running in there were trees and bushed everywhere “What is this place” I hadn’t let go of her hand as we ran. I needed to know she was safe. She couldn’t defend herself like the rest of us. She was smart but villains didn’t care for smarts. 

“It’s a plant factory” she answered as we ran into the factory. “They research the effects quirks have on fauna here” she elaborated. An interesting field to go in I had to admit, I was more for the hero side if I was being honest. 

“Hold on” Jirous' arm went out in a rushed movement and we all stopped. I brought Melissa closer to me, she smiled and seemed grateful. I nodded to her. “Look, the elevators are coming up” she breathed, so they did know we were here. There was no point to hiding us here then. 

“Don’t tell me the villains found us” Mineta looked about ready to dig his own grave amongst the fauna. I looked around, we could hide but knowing villains they wouldn’t stop until we were found. We could fight them but that would mean owning up to us being here. 

“We should hide and let them pass,” Midoriya told the group and we all agreed. We ran off to the side hiding amongst the bushes. I covered us just to be sure. We waited in silence and I crouched close to Shouto and others down the other end talked. 

The villains came in, speaking lowly and I couldn’t quite hear them. They just had to leave, they had to leave. Walking in they began to look around for us. I could see Uraraka holding her hands over her mouth even though she knew they couldn’t see us but what if one of them had a quirk that could. This could be bad. We just had to wait for them to pass. 

“Hey we see you stupid kids” that’s impossible, they couldn’t see us. There was no way. No one could see us. Does he have a thermal imaging quirk type thing? We were safe, right? Was he trying to make us come out. Some kind of reverse psychology. 

“What did you say you bastard” I perked up, I knew that voice. Looking out I saw Katsuki in all his glory. His suit and tie, his scowl. He was ok, he was alive and ok. I felt a hand come to my back and I turned to see Shouto looking relieved. 

“What are you two doing here” one of the villains asked, they must not know what’s going on. Katsuki would never give up the chance to use his quirk against a real villain. Did they not hear the broadcast? How were they at such a high level?

He laughed lightly “That’s what I wanna know too” he began to walk forward. I shook, what was he doing? He needed to be careful. He was so close but so out of reach. I watched Kirishima put a hand on his chest and told Bakugou that he could take care of it. 

“We kinda got lost looking for the party” I deadpanned, lost, this was the eightieth floor. How do you get that lost that you wind up on the eightieth floor. I knew they weren't lying with how awkward Kirishima was acting. I doubted they even knew where they were. Katsuki did not look happy. “Can you maybe point us in the right direction” he asked politely. 

“Don’t lie to me or you’ll regret it” the words were yelled as one of the villains sent out what seemed to be a gust of wind towards the boys. My eyes widened and before I knew it I was running. 

My arm raised quickly sending out a wall to protect them. “Hey watch out” Katsuki yelled and I held the wall up as Kirishima fell back and Katsuki met my eyes. “What?” I saw his lips mimic but no sound came out. I was breathing heavily. I had to protect them. “Shou" he asked as Shouto walked out. 

His hand moved to the floor “We can keep them busy down here, look for a way to the top” ice sprouted from the ground and was sending the rest of the group up towards a higher railing. I was not in the right attire to fight but I was going to. They were trying to get through the wall. “We’ll be right behind you after we clean up this mess” I smiled at them. 

“Go be heroes” I shouted and looked to Melissa “Show me what you can do” she nodded firmly and then they were gone and up on a higher railing. I needed to make sure my boyfriends were safe, I knew they could handle themselves but love does strange things. 

“Wait you guys are here too” Kirishima asked slowly and confused “What the hecks going on guys” Kirishima walked over and Katsuki followed coming to look at us both. I knew those looks, he was checking us over. 

“You didn’t hear the broadcast alert” Shouto asked as I pushed the wall higher, they were strong villains. Though we could take them I knew we could. There were four against two, we could do this. Now that I knew they were ok I was less panicked, a clear mind. “Nevermind, some villains have taken over the tower” 

Katsukis’ eyes narrowed and he seemed to look us over more intently, he was making sure we were ok. “Wait, so that’s what this is about” he asked as I looked through the wall, they were desperately trying to get through. I just had to hold them there until the others were out. 

“I’ll explain more when I can, no time now” Shouto looked to Katsuki and looked him up and down as well. Not while Kirishima was here, not right now please. I felt a hard hit to the wall and made it stronger as I looked through, he had a weird quirk in his hands, was it air, it looked to be air. 

“What’s with guys quirk” I could already hear the few pops from his palm as Katsuki called out his question. I let the wall fall and I breathed heavily, he was strong. I needed a second to completely clear my head. When Shouto said to stay alert he got a lovely “Shut up, I know that” from our boyfriend in return. 

“So you wanna pick a fight” the man began to shake and grow. I stepped back, I couldn’t do much without their names but I’d manage. “Let’s see how tough you really are” he screamed, skin turning purple and veins bulging in his arms, he looked like an ogre, a beast. 

Shouto flicked his arm out spikes of ice running straight for the beast of a man, he was punching them and they broke in front of my eyes. So he was strong, noted. Then he was coming straight for us. We all jumped and I landed on an illusion in the air. 

Katsuki quickly turned “Die” he screamed and sent an explosion into the beast's back receiving a loud grunt in response. The beast fell though I knew he would rise again soon. Katsuki landed. 

Through the smoke I saw the beast running towards him, he was pushed out of the way by Kirishima “Bakugou” his arms rose in a cross formation and hardened, stopping the villain in his tracks for only a second before Kirishima was pushing into the ground and through the leftover ice shard from Shouto and into a wall. 

“Kirishima” Katsuki called and I was looking around frantically. I hid myself from view as I watched. Who was more pressing to go after, who was stronger out of the two villains. I watched, it seemed the one with the air type quirk was, he was long range making him harder to take down. 

“Dodge” Shouto called out as ice sprouted from the ground towards the villain but was taken out but a swipe of his hand. I knew what I had to do. I had to take him out. Shouto and Katsuki were back to back as they were in the middle of the villains. 

“You boys know how to fight, don’t you” the air quirk villain asked, his voice was higher than it should be. I was dropping towards the ground, they couldn’t see me, I needed to wait for the perfect moment. I stayed closer to the ground and above the villain. 

“Where did you come from” the other asked in confusion, I was watching the two villains, they couldn’t attack right now without potentially harming the other in the process, so I waited. 

“Yeah right, like we’d tell a couple of weak ass villains” Katsuki called out with a smile, I smiled as well. He always got revved up in these situations, always so excited and all over the place. It was one of the many things I loved about him. 

“Why would we tell you anything?” Shouto asked, his hand coming out to show ice slowly frost over his hand. Then the fight began, smoke and ice everywhere. I couldn’t get a good view and then it was perfect. 

Katsuki had amazing reflexes but the purple villain was just very strong and the other villains' quirk had nothing to do with air, he was displacing matter as he wished a very strong quirk.”Let’s put an end to this” he shouted and began to twist in the air just as he had done the sports festival. “Howitzer impact” I knew I needed to get out of the way. I dropped from the sky grabbing Shouto and creating a barrier as a gust of smoke and heat sprang out. 

Once over I uncovered us, “Damn you” the other called out and sent out a gust of wind tearing Katsukis’ sleeve with a scream from Shouto. I was already running before I knew it. Hiding and then springing up behind him and throwing my body into the air and spinning only to send a kick to his ribs sending him to the other side of the path. 

“Did you forget about me” I called out and the guy stood up looking angry and down to his hand that seemed to have small parts of Katsuki’s sleeve. I was confused but made sure to be on high alert just in case. 

“That’s the sweat from my palms” I knew what he was doing now I stepped back, this wasn’t going to end well. “It works like Nitroglycerin” and with those few words Shouto knew what to do and sent out a line of fire exploding the villain and then collecting him in a block of ice.We ran over to Kirishima “Kirishima” Katsuki asked while Shouto asked if he was ok, Katsuki did care for his friends. 

“I can’t move, can you get me out of here?” I wanted to laugh as I looked at the worried face of Katsuki fall into one of annoyance like usual. I was sad his suit was ruined, I was looking forward to some pictures and taking it off later tonight but not all dreams come true.

“Are you that stupid just turn your damn quirk off idiot” I walked closer come to stand next to Katsuki, I missed him, I was so worried for him. I needed to know he was ok and now he was, right next to me. He was ok, Shouto was ok. 

“Oh right” Kirishima deactivated his quirk and then removed himself from the wall “Guess I should have thought of that” he looked down to his hands and brought a knee to his chest and tried to wipe some dust off of his suit. 

“I’m just glad to see you are not injured” Shouto spoke out, he still looked just as we left the room. All pristine and beautiful, Katsuki as well. I sighed and continued to look between the two of them. I was so glad they were ok. 

“Yeah same to you guys” he smiled and I smiled back, we were all ok, for now. “If I may say” Kirishima spoke slowly and then looked at the three of us with a smile “I know the three of you are dating and your girlfriend looks like she’s about to cry” both eyes turned to me and I laughed awkwardly. 

I threw myself into Katsukis’ chest and hugged him as tight as I could. “i’m so glad you’re ok Katsuki” I whispered and felt his arms wrap around me and put his head down on top of my own. “I was so worried” I added and felt another hand come to rub my back as I opened my arms for Shouto to join and that he did. “I’m so glad you both are ok” I paused and raised my head to Kirishima “You too” he smiled. 

Katsuki looked away from the complete red head and spoke out “Thank you” we all stopped in our tracks for a moment. Did Katsuki just say thank you. I wasn’t hearing things, right? Sure he had said it to Shouto and I but anyone else, no way. This was new territory, unfound land. 

“Wow where did that come from” I could hear the waver in Kirishima’s voice but the smile showed all I needed to know, he was grateful and I was proud of Katsuki, Shouto and brought me into his arms to hold me close and kiss the top of my head. ‘Don’t worry about it” he finished. 

Katsuki turned back quickly, hands in his pockets and mouth wide in a yell “I’m not worried” he screamed and I laughed lightly, he was always so quick to bite back. I loved him and Shouto more than life itself. 

“Alright, let’s catch up with the others” Shouto voiced loud enough for everyone to hear and then we were off to find the rest of the gang. I had no idea how high they could have made it by now. They might already be at the two-hundredth floor. I just hope they didn’t run into anything else. 

“Don’t order me around” I turned to look at Katsuki with one raised eyebrow and a slight smirk and he looked away, his cheeks lighting up slightly. If only people knew just how much Katsuki liked to be ordered around in different ways. 

“Todoroki time to give us some details” Kirishima yelled out and Shouto looked back to the rest of us but at the sound of an alarm we stopped and looked forward seeing robots flooding into the room. 

“Oh this is easy. Stay back boys” I smirked and ran into the front lines. Sending out clones with long sharp claws. Claws ripped through metal and wires like it was butter. This was my time to shine. Clones grew long and sharp teeth rearing forward to send long sharpened claws and teeth into the robots and ripped them apart. I ripped through the metal like it was nothing and after a few minutes the clones fell “Well that was easy” I flicked my hair over my shoulder and smiled to the boys “what thought you guys wanna gonna have all the fun” I asked. 

“That was so hot” Katsuki breathed out with a wide smile and I flushed looking down to the floor in embarrassment. “Please, do that more” I knew Katsuki had a thing for strong quirks but I turned around and then we were off again. 

We were running to the top, so many flights of stairs and robots that were taken out by clones, ice and explosions alike. As we were running we came to see a load of robots heading outside, we all looked and nodded knowing they would most likely be following the group, we had to help them. Katsuki was the first to make a hit saving Uraraka from a bunch of robots. I ran out clones coming out long claws and sharp teeth alike as I joined the fight, ripping them apart. Shouto and Kirishima ran in and when I looked up I could see Melissa had wide eyes and Midoriya. I ducked missing a robots’ attack and sliced it in half.

I didn’t have time to listen or even hear what was going on as I heard explosions and fire and then a loud and booming smash. I continued to destroy the robots in large groups though they just seemed to keep coming and coming and coming. I was getting excited as I ripped apart the metal and wires. We continued to fight but then they all seemed to shut down.

“What happened?” Katsuki asked aloud as all the robots just shut off. I was out of breath and let all the illusions fade as I smiled and fixed my dress. Definitely not a dress you were meant to fight in. 

“That felt good” I stretched my arms up high and then heard a nice click in my spine. I smiled and looked up to see Uraraka looking at me with wide eyes and a confused expression “Are you ok” I asked walking forward. 

“Yes, that” she shook her head and then smiled widely “That was amazing, you just ripped them apart it was just” she paused again and I laughed lightly “Wow” I laughed louder and then nodded. 

“We need to go find Midoriya and Melissa” I stated and then we were off trying to find a way to get higher. “I can create an illusion elevator, hop on” I yelled and with that we were heading to the top floor hopefully to find Midoriya and Melissa.As we were slowly rising, I couldn’t go too fast that could make the illusion fumble or worse someone could fall. We had to get to the top, we had to meet up with Midoirya and Melissa. I was not going to make them fight alone. Looking up we could see smoke and debris falling from the top. “Hold on” I screamed and we were racing up. I could see a helicopter and Midoriya hanging off of it and then he was falling. 

Then All Might was up and in the sky and the helicopter was blown up as we made it to the top, there was All Might but a machine-like thing, the villain. He could control metal, All Might was thrown across the roof as we jumped off onto the roof. We had to do something. Midoriya looked injured and All Might was then back on his feet. I could see Melissa, she was ok.  

All Might smash only did so much as more and more metal was taken into this “I can feel my quirk getting more powerful,I'm never taking it off” he had some sort of strange headband on. That must be where the power is coming from. “The thing on his head” I yelled and then we were off. The roof was being broken apart as we ran over.

“I think I know the best way to raise the price of this device, I can charge whatever I want if it was used to kill the world’s number one hero” he wanted to kill All Might. It was hard even staying on the roof, there was no way we would be able to get to him while he was floating around his own quirk. How could we do this? 

The floor beneath me broke apart as I put an illusion under me to keep me up. The others seemed to be ok. I had to think, how could someone get close to him, with all the flying metal and debris, how was one even meant to try and get close, this was almost impossible. There was no time for thought as I took an illusion into the sky and hid myself to try and get close. I watched a metal was coming to crush All Might but was then covered in ice, Shouto would help him. 

“Go to hell” I heard the scream and smiled maneuvering my way through the flying metal as I heard explosions behind me. Katsuki wasn’t too far behind at all. I knew they would be ok. When this was over I would hold them close but for now it was time to be a hero. “How can you let yourself get beat by such a lame final boss. Hurry and take him down” Katsuki screamed as I dodged a piece of metal, a little more. 

I knew both of my lovers were close to their limit, I had to end this and end it now. I looked back and saw the rest of the others join. I was going to help them, I was going to do this. For them, for us. Or everyone. This was our time. I moved faster, I was so close. Just a little more, just a little more. 

The guy had All Might by the neck. I just had to go a little further, dodging and ducking around the metal I put my arm out. I couldn’t hear it was like white noise. There was nothing, I was going to be a hero, I was going to save everyone. I was going to help. He was going to kill All Might and I could see the rest of the class falling, All Might was bleeding, there was so much blood. I needed to do this, I had to do this. All Might was thrown away and it seemed like he was being crushed, he had to be ok. No this isn’t how it was going to end. That was Midoriya, All Might was up and ok. I was going to do this. He didn’t know me or of my quirk. I was going to do this. I was moving faster than ever, weaving and ducking through metal. I could hear everyone helping and I was so close, so very close. I just had to take off the headband thing. I came up from the side and I saw Midoroya and All Might coming straight for him, running together. Only a few more moments. He had that huge cube, if I could get it off then they could punch through it. 

I showed myself to them and then I thrust my hands out grabbing the headpiece and ripping it from him as I passed by. I met his eyes and I was then flying off. “Do it” I screamed holding up the headpiece in my hand, the cube was punched and I threw an illusion around myself and the professor, I could see him. Metal was still coming after me as I whipped through all the debris and falling metal. A loud bang was heard behind me and a shock wave was sent out into the sky as I was falling. Something had hit me, I was falling as I held my shoulder. 

“Y/N” I could hear someone shout as I felt myself being caught and looked up seeing Katsuki. We landed and I dropped the handpiece and brought the professor to the roof to be safe. I breathed out and rested my head on Katsukis’ chest. 

“Let me take her, your arms are about to split” I was then handed over to Shouto as I sighed out. I wasn’t tired but mentally exhausted, I looked up seeing Midoriya and All Might with their fists in the air. “You did so well kitten” Shouto whispered and kissed my head as I moved to stand on my own. 

I didn’t care who could see, I brought them both into my embrace and smiled as wide as I could “I’m so happy you two are ok” I cried out and felt a few tears prick my eyes but my makeup was far too good to actually cry. I felt them both wrap around me and I felt whole. “Though I am extremely mad your suits are ruined” they laughed with me. 

I ignored the group as they looked out to see Midoriya and Melissa waving down at us. I was smiling wide as I waved back but I wasn’t listening to anything they were saying. I wanted a nice warm bath and some cuddles, and a good meal. Soon enough we were allowed to go back to our rooms and a hero was coming that could also control metal and was going to come and help. 

Shouto took out his phone “Katsuki what’s your room number” three simple numbers and his phone was brought to his ear “Yes can you please go pick up the orange and black suitcase and bring it to my room, thank you” and his phone was put away “You are staying with us. Message Kirishima” he smiled lightly. 

Once in the room I kicked off my heels and sighed out in relief. “I need food” I turned and smiled sweetly to Shouto who nodded and moved to pick up the phone and the menu. This was a long afternoon but it would be one we would remember. It was strange how easily we just had to go back into normal lives after something like that, a life of a hero. 

I watched Katsuki walk up behind Shouto and wrap his arms around his waist looking over his shoulder at the menu, a quick kiss to Shouto’s neck he whispered “Can I have the spicy chicken noodles” another kiss. 

“Of course Katsuki” he turned his head and they shared a kiss as I smiled, we were all ok. He looked over to my smiling face and smiled as well “I was just going to get you some beef noodles, I know how much you love them” I nodded. 

Peeling off my dress I noticed it was covered in dust and debris. I was so sad, I spent so long picking this dress and I was so ready to look good tonight. The dress fell from my shoulders and landed in a pile beneath me. Once the dress was off I walked into the bathroom taking my makeup wipes and I began the process of taking off my makeup. “Hey boys” I called out and almost immediately they were at the door looking at me with wide eyes and smiles. They both nodded for me to continue. “Whose jumper am I stealing tonight?” I asked. 

“Mine” they both said at once and then turned to each other “Mine” it was a little louder and I sighed out finishing the cleaning of my skin routine. I wasn’t one to wear makeup but tonight was meant to be special. Once done I walked out only in my underwear I saw them both rummaging through their suitcases to try and find a jumper, they always did this and I loved it. 

It was Katsuki who found his first and it was thrown at me and I laughed at the pouting face of Shouto. I pulled the big jumper over my head and pulled it down my body, the end finished at my mid thigh. I walked over to the bed crawling up the bed and laying down on my stomach. “Come here Shou" I smiled and he made his way over and sat down on the bed as I cuddled into his side. “Katsuki are you joining us” I whispered out as he grunted and walked over. I felt his body heat press against my back as we cuddled. “This is perfect” I nodded and threw my arm over Shoutos’ waist. 

“I agree, after today it is quite nice to sit back” Katsuki grunted again his arm over my waist, his front against my back and I was so happy to just sit here. I nodded into Shoutos’ side and I felt so content to just sit back and chill for a moment. 

“I missed you both” I went silent as Katsuki spoke and he buried his head into my hair not wanting to show his face. He was always so affectionate when no one was watching or listening. He was usually physically affectionate but with those few simple words I smiled and turned slightly. 

“We missed you too Katsuki” I whispered and his head rose as my hand came to caress the side of his face and pulled his face close to my own and pressed our lips together. It was calm and loving. I loved kissing both of them. Pulling back I smiled at him as his eyes were half lidded. “I love you Katsuki” I whispered and gave him another peck. 

“I love you too” he smiled lightly and then we both turned to Shouto who was happily watching us. “I love you Shou” he whispered and moved to sit up and lean over my body to give our boyfriend a kiss. 

After a few moments they parted and smiled at each other. Shouto looked down at me as I sat up “Want a kiss too?” he asked quietly, already leaning in as my hand rose to his neck and pulled him in just as I had done to the other. I gave him another peck and sat back. “I love you both” Shouto whispered and looked away, he was the one who said it the least. He was always so nervous to say such things. “Alot” he added. 

“I love you too Shou” I smiled and then I shook my head leaning back on my legs as I looked at the two boys “Today was a long day” I nodded and looked down breathing out “I’m glad we can share this time together just us” both both nodded and as we were about to begin talking again there was a knock on the door. 

“That must be the food” Shouto shimmied himself off the bed and made his was to the door, opening the door Shouto was told that food was ordered to this room and the service person then went through the food and drinks that was ordered as I moved to look at the half open door. “Yes, thank you” a little trolley was pulled in. “Thank you” he finished and walked into the room pulling the trolley “Foods here” he called out. 

We sat at the little table and ate together, nice and calm as we just talked about school and what we were going to do when we got home “I want to try that new soba place” Shouto voiced and I could see Katsuki eat a little faster “They have spicy soba” Shouto looked up rom his food and then it got into the conversations of what spices Katsuki liked in his food. 

Once the food was done we placed the plates back on the trolley and then I looked at the boys who were standing in the middle of the room looking at one of their phones. “Would you two like to join me for a bath?” I asked out loud and their heads turned like owls. “I’ll take that as a yes” Within a few minutes I was in a towel and waiting for the water to rise to the right height. The bath was huge as this was one of the best rooms in the hotel, much different then Japanese hotels. “It’s ready” I called out and they walked in towels around their waists. “Whose in the middle” I asked. 

The boys looked at each other and Shouto shrugged “I’m happy to lean against the edge” with that Shouto took his towel off folding and then stepped into the bath and leaned against it with a sigh of content. Katsuki was next to do the same and then I stepped in, the water was warm and leaning against Katsukis’ chest was nice. 

His arms wrapped around my waist and I leaned back quite happy with these events. It was nice to just sit with them in a nice bath. We hadn’t gone to a hot spring together but that was in the future. I definitely wanted to go to a hot spring. 

Katsuki leaned down and moved my head to the side and began to kiss along the side of my neck, I let out a little sigh as he continued. I heard Shouto move and then felt hands coming to drag up Katsukis’ chest so that I could feel a little touch against my back. Katsuki’s kissing was soft and light, I heard a little grunt come from him and a little laugh from Shouto. Katsukis’ hands came from my waist to run up my stomach to my chest and squeezed. 

“Katsuki” I sighed and bit my lip letting out a small moan in response. He grunted in response, his lips never leaving the skin of my neck as I felt his teeth dig lightly into the flesh “Katsuki” I moaned softly as his hand squeezed my chest once more. 

“Should we move this to the bed” Shouto whispered out and his hand moved against Katsuki’s chest and then moved down towards his waist “I’m happy to stay here though” I heard Katsuki let out a little grunt and smiled. 

“Bed” Katsuki whispered and then we were out and drying with towels and then off to the bed. I was pushed onto the bed by Shouto, falling on my back with his hands next to my head as we began to kiss feverly. I felt the bed dip next to my head and Shouto was leaving my lips to kiss Katsuki. It didn’t matter how many times we did this it always felt new. 

Once they parted, Katsuki looked down, his breathing fast and his face slightly flushed. “Pill” he asked just as he always did, always so caring and affectionate. Although so many people though the explosive blonde was just that explosive, loud and uncaring he did care. 

I nodded “Suitcase” I answered and he was leaning down to capture my lips, lips moving against each other quickly and I felt Shoutos’ hands slowly feel up my hips and then dipping into my waist and up to my chest and then leaned down. I could feel his tongue drag along my chest and catch my nipple. “Shou” I breathed out leaving Katsukis’ lips but they were captured again quickly. 

Shoutos’ tongue was cold against the nub of my breast, so soft and gentle. Kitten licks and then took it into his mouth as his tongue swirled in circles, his other hand moved to my other breasts and began to toy with my breasts. Katsuki refused to let my lips go as I moaned and arched into Shouto who was on top of me from pushing me onto the bed. 

“I just want to fuck you” Katsuki pulled back and looked down his pupils blown and breathing faster then before, I couldn’t agree more. “It’s so hard to decide who I want to fuck” he breathed out and Shouto left my breasts to look up at us. 

“It is quite difficult” Shouto agreed and I flushed as they both looked down to see me. I could practically see the lust swirling around us. Shouto’s hands continued to drag along my skin and it felt so calming and nice. 

“I just want to feel both of you” Katsuki sighed and leaned over to kiss Shouto’s neck. Shouto was probably the most sensitive out of all of us. Any sudden movement or kiss would send him into a frenzy. Shouto moaned softly and I knew Katsuki was in one of his marking moods which we both loved even though we would be covered in love bites in the morning. 

“We could” Shouto whispered and my hands moved to caress his sides as I leaned up Shouto and I flush against each other as he straddled my lap. They were both so beautiful, I would never find partners like them. “Fuck Y/N” he breathed again and his eyes met mine “Together” I flushed, I knew what he was saying. I understood. It wasn’t often Shouto swore but during these times he didn’t care for his language. 

Katsuki left Shoutos’ neck, a small little love bite being left in his wake. “Please” Katsuki basically begged and his eyes met mine and Shouto nodded in need and how could I say no, not that I wanted too. I wanted to say yes. 

I nodded and breathed out “But first” I whispered and moved to push Katsuki down underneath me. “You were so good today Katsuki, so nice and well behaved though you did yell at Midoriya early so Shou” I turned and Shouto smirked crawling forward and moving to lean down ‘You need another lesson in manners” I smiled. 

My hands moved behind me, fingers wrapping around his member and squeezing lightly with a grunt and moan in the process “You were going so well and this morning” Shouto sighed and shook his head “You do need another lesson in manners” Katsuki was quiet as his chest rose and fell with each breath. 

“He deserved it” He gritted out and I began to move my head as his breath caught in his throat with a light moan. This was a very easy way to make our boyfriend quiet and complacent. I moved to hover above his member and his eyes opened. “Wait, no. Not this” he breathed and he knew what was to come, “I’ll try” he tried to reason with a shake of his head. I looked at Shouto “Shou come on, Kitten, I’ll try” he smiled and nodded biting his lip with a grunt. 

“No Katsuki, you need a lesson. We’ve been over this” I looked to the male beneath me as Shouto leaned down to begin to run his hand over the others torso softly. My hands rested on his chest, hard and toned. 

Without warning I sunk down onto his cock, thick and long. They both had amazing cocks, I put my head back moaning out in pleasure as I clenched around him “Fuck” I heard him whispered and Shouto moved to take one of his nipples into his mouth as I moved my hands. “I’ll be good” he breathed out “Fuck you’re so tight” he breathed and bit his lip “Shou” it was always the best when one of the group was being pampered. 

I rose and sank again using my legs to move my body as I started to ride him, stretching my walls each time I lowered onto him. His hands fisted in Shoutos’ hair as he shivered. “Katsuki” I whimpered and he looked up. “You feel so good, you’re so good” I moaned and breathed out eyes rolling back. I looked back seeing Shouto had moved to his neck as I moved faster. “Why don’t you say some nice things about Shouto” we had discovered Katsuki loved to compliment people when he was like this, his brain was shut off and he wasn’t trying to be the best. Placing pleasure with kindness seemed to help him be nicer. 

“I like” he moaned, it made him think more. Trying to find real thing he needed to think about “His hair” he added and his head fell back to the soft pillows and whimpered in need as I began to move faster “it’s so soft and nice, I like his eyes” he was trying so hard to get the words out as he moaned “they are such a beautiful colour” he finished and his chest rose to release a long and pleasurable moan. 

“Thank you Katsuki, anything else you’d like to say” Shouto moved to look down at the moaning and whimpering usually loud Katsuki who was just taking everything we were giving him. His cock was amazing, we had all shared our firsts with each other and I knew no one would ever amount to these too. 

“I like, oh my, fuck” his hands came to rest on my waist and he began to move me up and down his cock stretching my walls so nicely, “I like your” he bit his lip and then looked back to Shouto who was happily waiting for him to continue “I like how you take us out” his eyes rolled back as he moaned out. 

“You’re doing so well Katsuki, now compliment kitten, she’s doing so well isn’t she” Shouto smiled slightly and began to caress his chest and moved to hold his hands. I could see Katsuki grip his hand and breathe out in pleasure. 

“I liked the dress she wore” I smiled and circled my hips on his cock “Oh fuck” it didn’t matter how we tried he would always swear but this was helping him be nicer. Each of us had things we connected with pleasure. It helped. “She is very pretty and deals with my outbursts” he breathed and his head fell back to the pillows once more. He was quite easy to deal with if I was honest. “I like her eyes as well” he nodded and bit his lip and gripped Shoutos’ hand as I sunk down moaning out as he was so deep “They’re so nice to look at and I love when we all just sit and watch a movie, it’s so nice and I feel so loved” I smiled and leaned down leaving a kiss on his cheek. Katsuki has a hard time accepting love even though he was so affectionate. We had been to his house, we knew it was hard sometimes. 

“You did so well Katsuki” I smiled and leaned down to kiss him again as he leaned in and met my lips, he was moaning quietly and then he leaned back letting his breath out in short little pants. “See it wasn't so bad, was there a real need to complain” I asked sitting so he was as deep as he could be. 

He shook his and opened his eyes to see Shouto leaning over him and beginning to play with his hair. “I thought it was going to be like last time” I smirked, last time. Last time was quite fun, we didn’t let him finish until he complimented everyone we could think of, he was quite nice the following days. 

“No, it’s been a long day, we were going to do that” Shouto smirked and leaned in giving him a quick kiss. “Light” he asked slowly. Katsuki always made it very clear what he wanted and what he didn’t. Shouto always made sure though. 

“Orange” he breathed out and I stopped. “I just need a second to breathe. You can stay here, I just need to breathe” Shouto and I nodded waiting for him. He was so soft when he was bottoming but as soon as he got control he was off and ready to take charge, like a switch. “Green” he nodded and moved to his elbows to look at us. 

“I’m ready if you guys are or do you want some attention Shou” I asked with my eyes turning to blue and grey ones looking back at me. Shouto wasn’t one for being the centre of attention he much preferred to be giving than receiving though I always asked. 

“I want to be on the bottom” he asked and looked at us. I nodded and leaned down to kiss Katsuki as I left his body and allowed him to get up. Shouto moved to lay down and sighed looking at us “Come here Kitten” he whispered, Shouto was the possessive he wanted to be.

I moved to straddle his waist and looked down to him “Green” I asked and he nodded looking up as his hands came to run along my thighs “I need to hear the words” I whispered, we needed to hear it. 

He nodded with a smile “Green, sorry” he whispered “I’m just really happy” he smiled, it was small but noticeable. I smiled and then sunk down onto his cock my head falling down as I moaned. He felt so good, I loved the stretch. “Katsuki was right, you feel amazing” my hands came to rest against his chest. 

“Kitten” Katsuki moved forward, his hands coming to rest on my waist. I could feel his member up against my back and shivered in lust. “Green,” he asked, kissing along my neck. He was always so soft and loving. 

“Green,” I whispered and leaned forward, my hands still on Shoutos’ chest and leaned my head down to get ready. It always felt amazing but it took some time to get used too. I loved them both so much and I would happily do this again. 

Katsuki moved to have his tip at my entrance and I sighed out getting ready “You are doing so well” Shouto whispered and began to rub my sides as Katsuki pushed inside slowly, Shouto moaned out and I whimpered all the air leaving my lungs. 

“You’re doing so well Kitten” Katsuki whispered and leaned down to kiss along my back and up to my neck “You feel so good” I nodded and felt myself clench around them as Katsuki continued pushing inside. It was so tight and they were stretching me so nicely. “Look at Shou he looks so good” I looked up seeing Shouto biting his lip and I felt him gripping my sides. “He’s trying so hard not to fuck you” I flushed. 

Once they were both bottomed out I couldn’t help but moan, every single breath I was moaning. They were so deep and pressed against me, my legs were beginning to shake as I felt so much pleasure and love swirl around us. I moaned again and my eyes rolled back as I bit my lip and tried to calm down.

“Green” Shouto gritted out and I looked up. He was asking as his breathing was fast and hard “Green” he asked again and looked up to Katsuki who repeated the colour with a smirk, I could hear the smirk in his voice. His cock twitched inside me and I moaned loudly. “Kitten, I need you to say it” he breathed out. 

“Green” I nodded and smiled looking up to gaze as Katsuki “Green, green fucking green” I moaned and immediately they began to move Katsuki was the first to move and then they were going opposite when Katsuki pulled out Shouto was pushing in. It felt amazing. “Fuck” I whispered my head falling to Shoutos’ shoulder. 

I couldn’t do anything but moan and whimper in pleasure with each time they pushed inside me. Katsuki’s hand came to run up my chest and to my neck as I was pulled up to his chest his hand squeezing my neck “Look at you taking our cocks Kitten” I could hear the dominance beginning to flood in. “Doesn’t she look beautiful Shou” I was moaning, I could barely keep my eyes open “Open your eyes Kitten” I opened my eyes and saw Shouto looking up at me. 

“She’s beautiful, just like you Katsuki” Shouto whispered and then he began to move faster inside me, pushing in and out so fast I could barely think “Look at you” I leaned back on Katsuki feeling his hands holding me up. One hand on my neck and the other around my ribs in support. “You’re such a good Kitten. Katsuki was right, you take our cocks so well” Shouto complimentented and I clenched around his, my walls stretching to take them both as they both pushed in together. My legs were shaking as I moaned. “She’s about to cum” his voice was so deep and baritone. 

“I was just about to say, we know you so well Kitten. Come on, why don’t you cum for us” Katsuki whispered in my ear and looked down to Shouto as my head rested on his shoulder, my eyes rolling back as I felt the coil in my lower abdomen beginning to tighten. “Do you want Kitten to cum Shou” he asked. 

Shouto was nodding and sending himself inside me like he was in heat, it felt amazing. I felt so good, they felt so good and with the little grunts and moans, whimpers and tightening hands to know they were feeling good as well. I felt so full, it felt so good. “Yes, yes. I want her to cum, I want to feel her cum on our cocks. Come on Kitten cum for us” I couldn’t hold it. 

One of my hands moved to hold Katsukis’ hand on my neck and his lips began to kiss my cheek and my other hand dug my nails into Shoutos’ chest as I moaned and they continued to thrust inside me, stretching my walls so perfectly. I felt the coil tightening and then it came so suddenly. My nails dug into their skin as my legs shook and I felt my orgasm run through every single cell. I was practically screaming my pleasure as my eyes rolled back and it felt so good. 

“You’re such a good girl Kitten. Look you did so well” they stopped for only a moment so I could breathe, it was like the pleasure was not stopping it didn’t stop. My legs were shaking and if Katsuki wasn’t holding me I doubted I would have fallen. 

“You did so well Kitten, such a good girl” Shouto breathed out and I looked down my chest heaving and he smiled and moved his hips, my eyes rolling “It’s so cute that you can’t control your quirk after you cum” I tried to look down at him. It was hard with so many thoughts going through my head. I knew my eyes had changed. 

Katsuki turned my head to look at him. “You’re right Shou she’s so cute, your eyes look so beautiful Kitten” a sweet kiss to my cheek and I smiled letting my eyes close for a moment. Moaning out as Shouto moved I couldn’t help it. 

“Please, don’t stop. It feels so good. Please, please don’t stop” I begged and turned to kiss Katsuki as they began to move again without so much as a word. It felt amazing, so sensitive after an orgasm, I loved post orgasm sex they were so amazing. The kiss was sloppy and all over the place but once we finished I left his lips and moved to take Shoutos’ lips into a kiss just like the one I shared with Katsuki. 

They went faster than before, I was moaning into Shouto’s mouth as Katsuki gripped my hips and began to thrust himself inside me as fast as he could. He was moving as quickly and so deep I couldn’t stop moaning and I was trying so hard to continue the kiss with Shouto. 

“Look at you taking our cocks. You look so beautiful, you're clenching so tightly” Shouto moaned and moved down to kiss along my neck and bit down sucking lightly as I moaned out my body moving forward with each thrust of hips. That coil began to tighten more as I was moaning and whimpering, Shouto’s teeth and cock and then Katsuki desperately trying to go as fast as he was good. Grunts and little words escaping his mouth. “Katsukis’ so close you can feel him” I nodded into Shoutos’ neck, his teeth having left my neck. I could hear each slap of Katsuki’s body connecting with him. 

“Fuck I just want to fill you up Kitten” I was nodding. Words and begs falling from my lips like a mantra. I needed it, I needed them. “Shou we have to give her what she wants” he leaned down and Shoutos’ arms wrapped around my waist and held me to him. 

“Kitten do you want that” I nodded desperately needing them, I was so in the moment. I couldn’t stop. I needed them, I needed them to fill me up. “Why don’t you cum with us Kitten” I nodded agreeing. I wanted to cum with them, I wanted to cum so much. It felt so good, I was so sensitive and needed them. 

They began to move faster and all that could be heard was skin slapping, moans, whimpers, grunts and praises throughout the last few moments of our intimacy. I tightened and I was so close so very close. “We’re close Kitten” Katsuki whimpered and I nodded. 

“Please, please fill me up Katsuki” I breathed and brought in some air “Shou please fill me up” I moaned and then I felt them both push in as much as they could and the heat as they filled me up. I shook as my second orgasm ran through my system. Legs shaking and my mouth open in a moan. It felt so amazing, this is all I wanted. 

I felt so good and the feeling of Katsukis’ breath on my back as he slightly shook against my back and Shouto was breathing heavily beneath me. I breathed heavily trying to get my breath back as Katsuki leaned down resting his chin on my shoulder. 

“I love you Y/N. I love you Shou” 

“I love you both Y/N, I love you Katsuki” 

“I love you Shou, I love you Katsuki” 

We all answered and smiled. A quick shower and some fondling in the shower we were off to bed as I pulled on Katsuki’s jumper and Shoutos’ boxes to be completely comfortable. I smiled and laid down on the bed, it was so soft and I felt so tired and relaxed. Katsuki only had his boxes on as well as Shouto who came and cuddled into my body on the bed. I felt so loved and was pushed between them, Shouto was cold and Katsuki hot so it was the perfect temperature. Within a few moments I felt the soft breaths of Katsuki and Shouto, this is where I wanted to be. This was perfect, this is all I could have wanted.  

[i-am-my-own-goal]

TLDR: Just processing. Any feedback is welcome if you are compelled to do so. Updates on my health and housing situation.

I’m really just using tumblr to process things anymore. However, I HAVE started cooking again and M and I have consistently Been going on walks. I’ll throw some pics at the end. I hit 200 on the scale again and haven’t stepped back on it in a month. I’m still struggling with stress eating and restricting and bingeing. All I ate yesterday was a soft pretzel before our 7 mile hike. We accidentally slept through dinner then a work emergency happened and we didn’t get to eat together, so I just didn’t eat. Now it’s 1pm and I’m in that restriction trap of “how long can I push myself” I know I should eat something. Anything. I also know I fall into a fast food trap when I drive back from M’s where I order a buncha food and binge eat before bed. I’m not in a good place mentally and struggling to care about not eating now and binging tonight.

I’m trying to figure out housing still. At this point, I’m angry that M’s mom moved in. I guess I wish she had said no to his offer. I wish he had given me more time to think about him asking his mom to move in. I wish I wasn’t so selfish because I really don’t think there was a better option. I’m angry thst im work from home and need space for an office. I’m annoyed that we use paper files instead of every other agency I worked at that was all electronic. An at house office then would have just consisted of a laptop and a whiteboard ...not a book case full of blank files and blank worksheets and bins upon bins upon bins of open files and closed files and referrals and holds.

I started looking at apartments closer to M because I can get a two bedroom for the price of a one bedroom by my job. But the affordable two bedrooms here aren’t in the best areas. I wanted two rooms csuse of my office. I found an apartment complex that’s in a safe area and also gated, but it’s the same price as by my job.

I’m realizing I don’t necessarily need two bedrooms. I just want to not look at my work stuff all day. I think I could manage with a one bedroom thst has a good size living room and I can put a partition up. Or find some way to hide my work stuff. I was thinking like, a curtain over the book shelf even.

But if I’m now looking at a one bedroom that’s the same price as by my work, is that irresponsible? I wanted to move closer to work to go to schools more often. But now that I’m closer, I’m finding it just as hard to make time to go and it’s because I’m still doing intakes at home. I’ve added an extra step.

Precovid:

1) go to school for an intake, pull attendance, meet with kids

2) go to office , finish intake, call parents of kids who were absent

3) update files

Covid

1) do intakes in the evenings

2) go to schools and pull attendance

3) go home and call parents of all kids

4) update files

Not a huge difference, but it’s a huge time difference. I met with my kids and got attendance because I’d just so happen to be at that school for an intake. Now it takes planning to get my attendance and time to call the parents.

I don’t see myself going to the schools more often than I am now. And summer is approaching.

So, I see M more than to to the schools. Is it irresponsible to then move closer to M? Is it more responsible to stay closer to my job just in case I need to go to a school?

I’d been prioritizing work over M. Now I’m feeling like I want to prioritize M over work. This job isn’t forever. It’s until I finish school. M is hopefully more long term. I’ve been really emotionally off since moving out. Add that his mom lives with him and it’s stressful being at his place. And my place isn’t any better and he can’t sleep over at my house because of my parents religious beliefs. Hence why i just go to him. We get more time together. There’s also more to do here (food, trails, etc). It’s just food where I am. Not many trails, only one free one.

We would alternate weekends if I moved closer to work so I wasn’t always going to him. But...if I’m not going to the schools...why would I be farther away from M? Because I feel obligated to be close to my job. Why? I want to make a good impression. I want to seem like work is all important. But is it? No. I like my boss and the pay. But I don’t like the job itself.

It’s shitty to say and def amplifies how much of a spoiled brat I am, but if for some reason it just didn’t work out, and I couldn’t find a new job up here and lost my job down there and couldn’t afford rent, my parents are still my safety net. I HATE that. But I could break my lease and move back in and start looking again.

But...I feel like that’s an extreme thought. I’d probably be able to find a job. Savings would back me up for a short time and I’d probably qualify for unemployment cause I’d never quit a job without finding a new job first. So I’d only lose mine if they let me go. I’m sure I’d manage rent or figure something out before I got evicted or something crazy.

So...I feel like my best choice is to move closer to M. I love this area because of the natural springs and trails and downtown area. The apartment is pricier but safe and really pretty and I can afford it without putting myself in a bind if there’s an emergency. For now, my job is stable and mostly remote.

I can’t tell the future. But I think There’s enough safety that if my job can’t keep me “post Covid” (if that’s ever a thing) because of the distance or if I don’t want to do that distance daily, I have time to figure out a new job.

I’m gonna put an application for This apartment.

[nonagesiimus]

4,5,11,13,21,26 and i might have more i haven’t finished reading the list yet that’s just my brains number limit

im putting this under the cut bc im rambling

4. you can go back in time and watch a horror movie of your choice on its premiere - which movie are you going to see?

i mean. saw would be fun i could get one of those early 2004 promo shirts. part of my insane personality is that i really value being alone when i watch horror movies so there arent a ton of them i think yeah wow i really want to see that in a room full of other people, but you know what if i was around when halloween first came out i could have snagged the novelization that was published shortly after thats now mildly hard to get your hands on

5. if you were a character in a horror movie, what kind of movie would it be? what kind of character would you be? what would be your fate?

i mean i dont love supernatural horror but given my backstory its supernatural horror. if any of my followers are new here my nana is hugely into spiritual witchcraft psychic powers shit and she and her witchy friends have been giving me the same quote unquote ghost based prophecy since i was a kid. so i imagine my horror movie would be very ghosty. this is all assuming im the main character. i also dont trust my ability to beat a ghost in a fight so honestly i might die in this one

11. answer for real life vs if you were a slasher movie character: you escaped the killer but your friends are still stuck on their hunting ground, hiding and running for their lives. do you go back for them?

okay knowing myself im paralyzed by fear and instead of properly running away like to get help or going back in i just go slightly away from wherever i escaped - im visualizing ready or not so lets say outside the fence - and wait. like i cant leave because my friends are in there but i cant go back in because the killer is in there. actually depending on which friends and how capable i think they are i might go back in like marsh bestie i love you so much but you are not beating a serial killer OR hiding from them successfully. if i were in a slasher i would be very cool and i would just go back in and kick ass

13. you're offered the chance to privately talk to a horror villain of your choice, currently kept secure in a government facility. your safety during the encounter is guaranteed. do you take the offer? and if you do, who do you pick? why?

see the tricky thing about this question is all my favorite villains are either silent or annoying as fuck. like what am i gonna do, sit across from michael myers while we both dont say shit for an hour? sit across hannibal lecter while he absolutely wrecks my self esteem for no reason? like i do take the offer obviously but it will be so dumb no matter who i pick. okay im doing ghostface/jed olsen because ghostface is traditionally talkative and im picking jed olsen ghostface because he has the least backstory so i can learn the most here

21. is there a scary story that really frightens you or that just really stuck with you? a legend, a myth, something purely fictitious?

the book im thinking of ending things by iain reid is like the only book ive ever read that really kept me up at night. idk how to explain it honestly it just really had me fucked up and i couldnt sleep, which is on me for reading it in mostly one sitting in the dark in my bedroom

26. make a list: lucky items.

i dont actually understand what this question means so im going to answer it like what my special item offerings are for extra bloodpoints in dbd that would be specific to my character. so like: spare pair of glasses, school id/bus pass, a mass market paperback, juggling balls

ty bestie ill answer your other one momentarily

[minijenn]

Universe Falls Chapter 80, Part 1

AHAHAHAHAH ITS HERE ITS QUEER ITS TIME TO FEAAAAAAAR. RIFTS HYPE TRAIN HAS ARRIVED AND LEFT THE STATION EITHER YOU ON OR YOU AINT NOW LETS GO IDK WHAT THE HELL IM TALKING ABOUT LETS JUST GOOOOOOO

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/619687513045483520/universe-falls-chapter-79

***

Chapter 80, Part 1: Rifts

LOMC GRFSX KB SEAJS XZJNHBVE NZ EHBXPU FVUK GHP UVAX LQM BIN VT OGLAR'E PJHNVE TSWF ESY EDH GFFTWQ SWWE 

Steven wasn’t sure when he’d voyaged out into the forest. The last thing he remembered, he’d been tucking himself in for the night, Lion taking up more than half the bed as he curled up right beside him. Upon bidding one final good night to the Gems as they went back into the temple, Steven had thought he had let himself drift off into a good night’s sleep, awash in the dulled, peaceful, calming chorus of crickets chirping and gentle breezes wafting through the trees just outside his window. 

And yet, he wasn’t. Because instead, he now found himself deep in the forest, so deep, in fact, that he couldn’t see any of the usual landmarks that told he was near the temple or the shack. To make matters even worse, it was still night, a pitch black one at that, with no stars or moon peeking through the dense tree canopy above him to guide his way home. Steven paused for a moment, taking in just how eerily silent the woods seemed to be as well, the air dead and surprisingly brisk, a far cry from the comfortable warmth he knew a summer night like this should have carried. The dense darkness and the deafening silence were both enough to unnerve the young Gem on their own, but it was only as that silence was broken by the briefest bout of soft sound somewhere in the distance that his heartbeat slowly started to pick up. 

“Uh… h-hello?” Steven called, his own voice echoing against the tall trees all around him. “Is… is anybody there…?”

He received no answer, at least not a direct one. Somewhere far away in the forest, that unknown noise rang out again, one that almost seemed to be some kind of laughter. Steven couldn’t quite make out who or what it was coming from, but he decided to follow it nonetheless in the hopes of figuring out what exactly was going on. So he forged a path through the trees, feeling his way through them more than anything else given how immensely dark the forest was. And yet, that darkness was soon brightened just a bit by a sparse spot of light peeking through the woods up ahead, one that just so happened to be in the same direction the faint laughter he kept hearing, which was growing louder, and clearer, the closer he wandered to it. 

Yet, the moment that laugh finally became clear enough for him to tell exactly who it belonged to, Steven suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes were wide as he took in a sharp, startled gasp, and without even taking a second to think, he darted behind the nearest tree, hoping that the dream demon didn’t already know he was there. 

However, at least as far as he knew, it seemed as though he had been found out without even realizing it. “Come on out, kid!” Bill called, his triangular form large, bright, and looming as he passed by the tree Steven was taking refuge behind. “You can’t hide from me forever!”

Steven shuddered as he pressed tighter against the side of the tree, not needing to even think twice about why Bill was apparently on the hunt for him. He placed a protective hand against his gemstone, which was still tucked away under his shirt--out of sight, but still there, still ready for the dream demon’s taking nonetheless. It was an unspoken fear, but a very potent one, cemented at the back of his mind, ever since his frightful dream encounter with Bill weeks ago. And it seemed as though the dream demon still refused to let up as he’d finally come back to collect. 

“You know, running is just a waste of time, something you fleshbags are already running pretty short on by default!” Bill quipped, his shrill voice echoing throughout the forest how as it carried it’s usually teasing tune. “But yours will be even shorter when I’m through with you! If you want, you can go ahead and feel free to thank me for going to all the trouble to finally put you out of your misery!”

Steven didn’t dare respond to this cruel round of threats as he instead focused on remaining as quiet as possible, desperately hoping that Bill would eventually get tired of looking for him and leave. Even so, he was ready to summon his shield, his bubble, and anything else he had at his disposal in the event the demon did manage to spot him, even if he wasn’t sure any of them would actually be able to fend him off. Still, nothing could have prepared the young Gem for the violent explosion that rattled the entire area, nearly knocking him off his feet entirely. 

“Aha! Found ya!” Bill chimed in the immediate aftermath of his destructive attack. Steven gasped, a protective bubble surrounding him in an instant, yet surprisingly, the dream demon didn’t come into view as he still seemed to be somewhere else in the forest entirely. “Yeesh, I gotta hand it to you, you sure are resilient! After several back to back nights of this, I thought our ongoing game of cat-and-mouse here would have you way past your breaking point by now, Pine Tree!”

“P-Pine Tree…?” Steven whispered with a start, initially baffled until the realization struck him like a wave of frigid water. He had been wrong from the very start. Bill wasn’t here looking for him at all; instead, he was looking for‒ “Dipper!” 

His voice rang much louder than he had meant it to but Steven hardly cared. Without hesitation, he left the safety of his hiding spot behind, plowing through the forest as fast as his legs could carry him as he took up the very same search Bill was on, though for an entirely different reason instead. Every now and then, he happened to catch a glimpse of the dream demon himself through the sparse gaps in the trees, but thankfully Bill still hadn’t taken any interest in him whatsoever. Instead, his attention seemed to be solely devoted to finding Dipper, just as Steven’s now was as well. 

Another explosion tore through the forest, one that did succeed in tripping Steven up as several trees toppled haphazardly around him. He narrowly avoided being crushed by one of them thanks to a well-timed shield cover, though as he glanced up amidst the debris, he finally caught his first glimpse of who both him and Bill had been searching for. 

Dipper had been completely displaced by the dream demon’s most recent blast, his own hiding spot completely torn apart, leaving him lying disoriented on the ground, completely out in the open. He quickly regathered his bearings, however, especially as Bill came to hover high before him, bright blue flames licking over both his outstretched hands. 

“Give it up already, Pine Tree!” the demon goaded twistedly, clearly taking pleasure in the torment he was doling out. “We both know that no matter where you run or how hard you try to block me out or fight back, you’ll never be able to really escape me. Put up as many magical barriers, swing around as many swords as you want, none of that matters at the end of the day! All that really matters is that I’m finally gonna give our puppet show the grand finale it’s always deserved!”

Without any sort of sword to defend himself with, the most Dipper could do was seize up in fear, his eyes wide in terror and his entire body visibly shaking with untold fear. Amidst that fear, he was paralyzed, completely incapable of so much as even uttering a single word of opposition or plea for mercy to the demon as he raised his flaming hands to destroy him. Unable to run, unable to hide, unable to fight back, unable to do anything else but helplessly await whatever devastating end Bill had in store for him. 

Until… 

“Dipper!” 

The sudden shout alone was enough to catch Dipper off guard as he tore his terrified gaze away from Bill to see who was rushing to his aid, completely out of nowhere. “S-Steven?!” 

There was no time for Steven to say anything even if he wanted to. Instead, he slid into the open space between Bill and Dipper, summoning a massive shield to protect them both from the demon’s fiery onslaught. Yet even that wasn’t enough to stop it, for as Bill unleashed the full force of his deadly attack, it obliterated the shield on impact‒

Before doing the same to Steven and Dipper themselves. 

Steven bolted upright with a tight, alarmed cry, his blankets tossed aside as Lion abruptly flinched awake alongside him. For a moment, the young Gem was unable to focus on nothing else other than his own sharp, panicked breathing, which steadily began to slow down as he took in the familiar sight of his bedroom loft around him. 

“T-that was just… a dream…?” he muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair. With a tired sigh, Steven flopped back down onto his bed, lying still for a moment as he let Lion casually lick the thin layer of sweat off his forehead. Even so, his brow furrowed in confusion as he stared up at the dark ceiling above him, his thoughts swirling in his head as he tried to make sense of what he’d just seen. “Wait…” he mused aloud, partially to Lion, though mostly to himself. “That… didn’t feel like it was my dream… I… I think it might have been… Dipper’s!”

The young Gem gasped, suddenly sitting up once more, much to his pink pet’s aggravation. “That’s right! Mabel did say he was having nightmares about Bill again… But… I… I didn’t think they were…” Steven trailed off, absently covering his hand with his mouth as worry welled up in his eyes. The dream he’d just unintentionally slipped into had been one fueled by raw, pure, visceral fear, fear that Steven had been able to feel just as powerfully as Dipper likely had, fear he had probably been feeling for several nights in a row now. 

“I-I have to do something…” Steven whispered to himself as he lay back down. All the while knowing that nobody, especially not one of his closest friends, should have to contend with such horrific torment night after night. And certainly not from the very dream demon who had already put him through so much strife in the waking world to begin with. “I have to help him…”

“Have a great time on your vacation, Connie!” Mabel chimed as her, Dipper, and Steven video-chattered with her from their spot on the shack’s porch. “Bring back lots of souvenirs and cute, weird Japanese snacks!”

“Yeah, and don’t forget to call us every day to tell us about all the cool stuff you’re seeing,” Steven added with a smile. 

“Well, I would do that, but there’s… a pretty significant time difference over in Tokyo,” Connie chuckled. “I don’t wanna wake you guys up in the middle of the night while I’m just starting my day.”

“Yeah, as much as we’d love to hear from you, please don’t do that,” Dipper replied with an amused grin. 

“I’ll make sure to fill you all in on everything once I get home,” Connie assured. “I just hope this trip won’t be too boring. My mom’s dead set on making it about ‘cultural enrichment’ and historical education. But all I really want to do is find a cute little bookshop/bubble tea cat cafe and spend a whole day reading as many manga as I can get my hands on.”

“Oo, the bubble tea cat part sounds like my idea of a good time!” Mabel quipped excitedly. “By the way, what’s a manga?”

Connie was about to explain, though she was cut off as the airport speaker rang out with a boarding announcement. “Oh! That’s our flight!” she exclaimed, grabbing her carry-on bag as she headed to the gate. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you guys when I get back next week. Try not to get into too much trouble without me, ok?”

“It’s sort of hard to promise something like that around here…” Dipper noted knowingly. 

“But we’ll try,” Steven said, offering her a warm wave. Connie returned that wave with another round of brief, fond farewells for her friends just before she hung up to embark on her Japanese journey. 

“Aw man, Connie’s so lucky!” Mabel let out a wistful sigh as soon as the call was over. “I wish we could go somewhere new and exciting too!”

“Uh, Mabel? Did you forget that Gravity Falls technically is new to you and I?” Dipper inquired with a bit of a wry smirk. “I know it might feel like home sometimes, but we don’t actually live here, you know.”

“Yeah, and something exciting is always happening around here almost every day!” Steven added enthusiastically. “It might not always be a good kind of exciting, but it’s still exciting all the same.”

“Oh, you guys know what I mean!” Mabel huffed. “We should go somewhere that’s super way out there, somewhere nobody’s ever been before! Or at least somewhere no one’s been to before and came back to talk about.”

“Sounds ‘dangerous’,” Dipper chuckled easily. “Have any place like that in mind?”

“Of course I do!” Mabel proclaimed, though her confidence was quick to fall off. “Uh… we can go to… hm…”

Before she could think on the matter any further, however, a gruff, irritated shout rang out from inside the shack. “Mabel! Get in here!” Stan called, clearly annoyed. “Someone--who may or may not be me--left the fridge open and your dumb pig got into the bacon!”

“Waddles, no!” Mabel gasped, horrified as she hopped up to hurry inside. “That’s cannibalism! Think of your adorable pig brethren!”

“Yeesh, you think she would have trained Waddles better with all the time she spends with him,” Dipper remarked, still wearing a light, almost deceptively calm‒at least as far as Steven was concerned‒grin. 

“Heh, yeah…” Steven’s own steady smile finally fell. Even so, he was glad to have a moment or two alone with Dipper, knowing that this would be a much easier discussion to have between just the two of them. “Uh… hey, Dipper? Did… did you sleep ok last night?”

Dipper paused, clearly caught off guard by the question. “Uh… yeah?” he lied, still holding onto a smile, albeit a smaller, more uncertain one now. “Why do you ask?”

“W-well, I just…” Steven hesitated, not really knowing how to proceed, though he still tried to do so as gently as possible all the same. “I heard you were having nightmares about, uh… well, Bill, a-and I was just wondering if you were ok…”

“Ugh, seriously?” Dipper groaned, rolling his eyes. “Does Mabel have to tell everyone about the kind of dreams she thinks I’m having? A-anyway, I… might have had a few Bill-related dreams lately, b-but they’re nothing serious. Definitely not anything worth worrying about, so yeah. I’m fine.”

“...That’s not what I saw last night…” Steven muttered apprehensively as he glanced away. 

“Last night?” Dipper turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “What happened last…” He trailed off, his eyes widening in realization as he happened to recall the finer details of a nightmare he’d just as rather have forgotten entirely. “Wait… t-that nightmare last night… Steven, was… was that really you that showed up in it?”

The young Gem nodded, not really taking stock of the hints of appalled disbelief starting to show up in Dipper’s expression. “I guess I must have used my powers to get into your dreams somehow, b-but that’s ok, because-”

“O-ok?” Dipper interrupted rather harshly. “What makes you think just… breaking into my dreams without my permission is anywhere close to ok? Do you even realize just how much of an invasion of privacy that is?!”

“Oh, w-well, I’m sorry,” Steven frowned, genuinely apologetic. “It wasn’t like I was trying to do it. It just sort of, well, happened. I-I still don’t really know how these new dream powers work, but don’t worry! I’ll figure them out, and once I do, then maybe I can use them to help you fight Bill out of your dreams once and for all!”

Despite this spirited, kindly offer, Dipper flinched, his already agitated expression growing even more intense at this. “No,” he said simply, standing up before walking off toward the nearby woods. 

“What?” Steven also stood, completely baffled as he began trailing after Dipper. “But… why not? Don’t you want Bill to stop showing up in your dreams every night?”

“O-of course I do, Steven, but… it’s not that big of a deal!” Dipper glanced over his shoulder, perturbed. “I don’t need you to use your dream powers, or any of your other powers for that matter, to get rid of him; I can do it on my own.”

A part of the young Gem knew he should have just left it there, taken Dipper’s word for it and moved on. But another, much louder, much more persistent part of him refused to let a friend’s obvious need for assistance and support go unanswered. “B-but… I want to help you!” he implored, grabbing his hand to stop him as he reached the outer edge of the woods. 

Even so, Dipper was quick to pull that hand away. “I don’t want--I don’t need your help,” he said, feigning calm despite the hints of clear frustration lying underneath it. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not!” Steven protested, following after him as he began to make his way through the woods once more. “You always say that you’re fine, but I don't think you really are, Dipper! I was there in your dream last night, I could see what was happening. I could feel just how scared you were! I’m scared of Bill too after everything he’s done, b-but I know that we’re strong enough to stand up to him as long as we stick together!”

“You don’t know that!” Dipper countered as he ventured into the forest with no real set destination in mind. Because really, all he was trying to do was get away from a conversation that, by all accounts, Steven was refusing to let him escape so easily. “Nobody knows that! The only thing we do know is what Bill’s capable of, and it’s not something you can just stand up to and expect to survive against!”

“But we have before!” Steven argued firmly. “And we can again. We’ve always found a way to stop Bill by working together; so what makes stopping him in your dreams any different?”

“You still don’t get it, do you?!” Dipper shot back, sending another bitter glare over his shoulder. “My problem isn’t with Bill right now, Steven. My problem is with you!”

Steven froze, faltering almost as if those words had physically struck him. Which really, they might as well have from how much they hurt on mere contact alone. “W-what… what do you mean?” he dared to ask, almost afraid of the answer. 

“Well, gee, why don’t we start with how you just burst into my dreams completely uninvited,” Dipper began crossly, still pressing on ahead into the woods. “And then you act like that’s not even a big deal, when it is! I already have enough problems with Bill running around and ruining my dreams each night; the last thing I want is someone else doing it too.”

“B-but this would be different! It wouldn’t be anything like what Bill’s been doing. Like I said, I’d be going into your dreams to help you, if you would just let me!”

“Well, I’m not going to. Why can’t you just accept that already and drop it?”

Steven bristled at this, his own frustration quickly rising, despite his best efforts to remain patient, even if that patience was steadily starting to wear thin. “Why can’t you just accept that you need help?! Why do you always think you have to do everything on your own? You have so many people who are there for you: Mabel, your uncles, the Gems, me! Why don’t you ever just let us help you?!”

“Why won’t you just take no for an answer!?” Dipper retorted bitterly. “You always, always do this. You always act like you know what’s best for everyone, but you don’t, especially not for me!”

“I never said that! I just want to-”

“Want to what?” Dipper interrupted, pausing as he turned to face the young Gem, his expression completely livid. “Fix me like you try to fix everything else?! Face it, Steven, there are some things you just can’t fix!”

For the briefest of moments, Steven hesitated, pain taking a place in his expression alongside anger. Because now, despite his best efforts to set things right, it seemed as though he inadvertently had torn open an all-new rift, one between him and Dipper and their close friendship. A rift he wasn’t sure he’d be so able to easily heal with words alone. “W-well, that doesn’t mean I can’t try,” he persisted stubbornly, foolishly even. That small part of him practically begged him to stop, to call it quits before that rift tore itself open even wider. But for some inane reason, he kept this argument going, knowing the solution Dipper kept refusing was one they both truly needed to fix that rift, and so much more along with it. 

“You should stop trying,” Dipper refuted, his tone icy as he turned away again. “Because every time you try, things always seem to get worse.”

“T-that’s not true. You aren’t-”

“Oh, it isn’t? Then why don’t we talk about Grunkle Stan and how you just up and stole his body like it was nothing!” Dipper accused, finally bringing to light a point of contention he’d somehow managed to remain silent on for weeks now. But now, there was no hiding the dread and discomfort that series of events had initially brought him, not anymore. 

“I-I didn’t steal it!” Steven exclaimed defensively. “It was an accident, I-”

“Yeah, sure another accident,” Dipper scoffed. “You know, Steven, you sure do happen to have a whole lot of powers you don’t know how to control and just keep accidentally using. But even if it was an accident, you still stayed in his body all day anyway just so you and Mabel could go through with another one of your big “get along plans”, which didn’t even work! The whole thing was pointless, just one big waste of time, but who even knows where Stan was during the whole thing! For all we know, he could have been stuck in the mindscape, just like I was when Bill possessed me!”

“D-Dipper…” Steven choked, his eyes wide with realization. He had known from the start that what had happened that day had bothered him, though he had never been able to figure out exactly why, not until now at least. Really, the answer was so clear, so obvious that he should have seen it from the start, he should have known, he should have at least thought twice about going through with that plan, if just for Dipper’s sake alone. But he hadn’t. And in doing so, the young Gem realized, he had already started tearing that rift between them, even weeks before now. “I… I didn’t-”

“You didn’t think,” Dipper scowled, his hands curled up into tight fists at his sides. “You never do! The only things you do actually think about are your plans to try to ‘fix’ people so they’ll be good and nice and perfect like you! So what happens when you decide I’m not good enough and you want to fix me like you tried to fix Stan and Ford? Are you gonna try and take over my body too?!”

“Of course not!” Steven firmly asserted, knowing just how much that would have hurt Dipper after everything Bill had already done. “You know I wouldn’t! Not unless-”

“Not unless you found a good reason to, right?” Dipper countered rigidly. “Well, it wouldn’t be very hard for you to find one, Steven. Seeing as how you just love to use your powers to get people to do what you want. Just like-”

Dipper suddenly cut himself off, his shoulders hitching as he finally stopped in the middle of an open clearing. By now, both boys were pretty far out in the forest, but that was just about the last thing on either of their minds. Steven slowly reached a hand out to skim Dipper’s shoulder, desperately trying to fight back the hot tears that were already welling up in his eyes. “L-like… who?” he asked, his voice soft and shaking all the while. 

Dipper sighed, not really wanting to voice what he was about to say aloud at all. And yet, as angry, as outraged as he was by the young Gem’s sheer audacity and stubbornness, he found that he couldn’t hold it back, no matter how hard he tried. “Like Bill, Steven!” he shouted, slapping his hand away as he spun around to face him. “You’re just like Bill!”

At that exact moment, time seemed to grind to a complete halt for Steven. His pressing tears finally fell through a heavy, choked-up sob, his hand slowly falling to his side as he took an absent step backward. He hardly even looked at Dipper, or anything else at all, as his thoughts reeled wildly out of control from this simple, yet brutal accusation alone, one that came from one of his best and closest friends, of all people. “N-no…” he stammered softly, shaking his head as tears continued to stream down his cheeks. “I… I’m...” he trailed off, unable to even finish the claim that he wasn’t. Because the simple thought that it was somehow true, that he was just as much of a manipulative monster as Bill Cipher was so horrifying, so chilling, and so incredibly fitting that Steven quickly found himself crumbling under the immense, devastating weight of it all. “H-how… how could you-”

“What? You really think it’s that hard of a comparison to make?” Dipper asked harshly, refusing to let Steven’s tears sway him this time. “Think about it; you’ve both got weird dream powers, you can both possess people, heck, you can even float like he can!”

As soon as Steven heard this, his tears stalled completely, his grief turning to something much sharper over the paper-thin similarities Dipper had pointed out. “That--no,” he said shortly, succinctly as the first hints of frustration began to fill in his expression. “That’s not fair, Dipper! Those are just my powers, they aren’t who I am! I would never do any of the things Bill’s done, I would never hurt you like he has! You can trust me, you know you can!”

Dipper hesitated at this earnest appeal, wanting so much to believe it. And yet, just when he was on the verge of accepting it, an all-too-familiar mantra rang through his head, just as clear as it always did: “Trust no one.” 

No one… not even his very best friend. 

“Sorry,” he said quietly, coldly as he turned his back on Steven once more. “But I can’t.”

Steven was unable to hold back another sob at this, one that heaved heavily out of him as he watched Dipper swiftly, silently walk away from him. As he watched the growing rift between them finally tear them apart entirely. “Dipper, w-wait,” Steven reached out in an effort to stop him, desperate to find a way to fix what had just been broken. “I-”

Before he could even get another word out, their entire argument was abruptly brought to a grinding halt as a bright flash of noisy light rippled across the surrounding forest. Both boys were completely caught off guard by it as they shielded themselves against its blinding might, though as it faded away just as quickly as it had appeared. Only to leave something very unsettling behind in its place. 

As Steven and Dipper opened their eyes once more, they both immediately saw it: a small, yet vibrantly glowing orb of multicolored light, hovering above the ground as its shape shifted, ebbing and flowing almost constantly before them. “W-what is that…?” Steven asked, his eyes wide as he stared at the orb, captivated by it. 

“I… don’t know…” Dipper shook his head, eyeing it distrustfully. “It almost looks like… that rift Great Uncle Ford told us about…”

Steven gasped, alarmed as he noticed the striking similarity this orb had to the rift too. A similarity that unnerved him deeply when he remembered exactly who was hoping to get his hands on the original. “What are you doing?” Dipper asked him as he took his first few steps toward it. 

“I’m gonna bubble it,” Steven glanced back over his shoulder as he continued approaching the light. 

“What? No, Steven, don’t touch it!” Dipper warned incredulously. “We have no idea what that thing even is!”

“Well, Mr. Ford and the Gems might. Once I bubble it, we can take it back to them and see what they think.”

“No, we should just leave it alone and get out of here.”

“But it’s ok,” Steven assured as he reached out toward the orb to secure it in a bubble. “I’ve got this.”

Dipper let out a disgruntled scoff as he essentially received yet another reminder of just how often Steven refused to simply listen. “No, you don-”

At that very moment, just as the young Gem’s hands began to surround the orb, it exploded in yet another burst of incredible light. The force of it alone was enough to knock Steven back, sending him crashing into Dipper before they both hit the ground hard. They had no time to recover, however, as they looked back to where the light had been… only to find what could only be described as a portal instead. 

Said portal was sizable, filled in with a strange sort of spacelike expanse that seemed to be changing colors continually. Under different circumstances, it might have been mesmerizing; if it hadn’t gained an immense, almost suction-like gale-force wind to go along with its radiance. Its magnetic force immediately began to pull the nearest thing toward it, which just so happened to be Steven. The young Gem let out a startled cry as he was pulled off its feet, the rushing gale dragging him toward the portal completely against his will. His attempts at grounding himself all failed as he steadily neared the unknown void ahead, and he was only briefly slowed as Dipper latched onto his arm, his feet planted firmly on the ground as he tried to hold him back. Their former fight was all but forgotten in such a frantic, fearful moment, even as they tried to cling onto each other for dear life. An effort that ended up being all for naught as Dipper ended up ultimately losing his footing against the strength of the portal’s pull, just as Steven had before him. 

And from there, it only took a matter of seconds before both boys, completely unable to save themselves and bereft of anyone else who could, were fully forced into the portal just before it closed itself up and disappeared completely. A portal that led to a place that couldn’t be described as anything other than an absolute nightmare. 

The sheer force of passing through the portal had been enough to knock both Steven and Dipper out, though they both happened to begin to reemerge into consciousness at roughly the same time. Things were quite bleary as they awakened, though the first thing either of them noticed was that they almost seemed to be floating adrift in the air. Or rather, as they discovered upon fully opening their eyes, adrift in what appeared to be space itself. 

Dipper took in a sharp, startled gasp as soon as he spotted the endless expanse of stars below, above, and all around him and Steven, an expanse they somehow hung amid without any gravity weighing on either of them to speak of. Likewise, Steven also aptly panicked, quickly glancing around their apparently empty surroundings, which kept on swirling with senseless colors and unknown sound and silence all at the same time. “W-what… where are we?!” Dipper asked, shuddering as his own voice echoed across the dense void all around them. 

“I-I don’t know…” Steven shook his head, turning his attention to Dipper. “Are you ok?”

“...Yeah,” Dipper answered, glaring away from the young Gem to show he was still quite upset with him. “I’d be better if you hadn’t messed with that thing in the woods. Who knows where we are now…”

“W-well, look on the bright side,” Steven ventured a small, hopeful smile. “At least we can both breathe! I-I guess that rules out outer space, huh?”

“Wow, we can breathe,” Dipper rolled his eyes. “The absolute bare-minimum for surviving. What a great upside you found to us being totally trapped in some sort of completely empty void!”

“Well, at least I‒look out!” Steven exclaimed, rushing in closer to Dipper to surround them both in a timely bubble. Mere seconds later a bizarre, horrifying creature, composed of a large, wide, single eyeball held aloft with its wide set of bat wings, crashed squarely into the bubble, followed by several more of the same flock. The monsters clamored against the sturdy surface, trying to break through it to attack the frightened boys inside, though upon finding that it wouldn’t give, they soon moved on to look for some other sort of prey instead. Steven didn’t get a chance to drop his bubble however, for right after the eye-bats had left, something else struck it instead. This time, it was an asteroid, one that shattered upon brutally hitting the bubble, sending it reeling wildly through the starry, unstable expanse. Both boys were knocked into each other several times over as their bubble speed through the void, though they still saw no relief as gravity, or the lack thereof, turned its head on both of them completely. They had apparently got caught up in some sort of strange, unseen current, one that forcefully flipped them upside down, pressing them both against the top of the bubble. Steven tried his best to right them once more, though gravity soon switched its course against them once more, abruptly shoving them to the side several times over. The unpredictable current tossed the bubble about violently, and all the while, Steven and Dipper were helpless to stop it, only staying together amidst it all thanks to the bubble they were both encased in. 

Eventually, finally, the bubble floated to a gradual stop, still completely lost amidst the vast tide of multicolored space surrounding it. Needless to say that Steven and Dipper were equally shaken by such a harrowing experience, to the point that the young Gem hesitated in bringing his protective bubble down just in case anything else beset them out of nowhere. “W-well…” Steven said breathlessly, nervously as he lingered close to Dipper. “Whatever this place is, I guess it’s not as empty as it looks…”

“You have no idea how right you are, kid!”

At the mere sound of this unmistakable voice alone, a spark of fear, so sharp and so intense it might as well have been lighting, struck Dipper and Steven alike. That fear only grew as a harsh, golden light fell upon them, one that only offered all the more telling evidence about exactly who had happened upon them. 

“B-Bill!” Steven gasped, a shield already formed over his arm as he spun around to face the demon. 

Sure enough, Bill hovered large and dominating above them, his single eye practically gleaming with twisted delight as he offered the young Gem a wave of greeting. “That’s the name, don’t wear it out! Lookie what the interdimensional tear in the fabric of reality dragged in! It’s Rosebud and Pine Tree! My two favorite Mystery Twerps, paying me a visit on my own turf! To what do I owe the pleasure of having you boys in my neck of the woods for a change instead of the other way around?”

“W-wait… y-your… what?” Steven asked, his voice trembling even amidst his confusion. 

Bill hardly offered him any answer however as he’d instead set his sights on Dipper, who hadn’t even tried to so much as even glance back at the dream demon. Instead, he’d kept his back turned, his arms wrapped tightly around himself as he tried to block out his presence altogether. “I-it’s just a dream, he’s not actually here,” Dipper whispered to himself, his eyes tightly shut to block out the terrified tears starting to well up in them over his usual nighttime tormentor. “It’s a-another nightmare, it always is, he’s not real, he’s not real, he’s NOT-”

“Oh, yeah, sorry to break it ya, but I’m as real as it gets!” In an instant, Bill had scaled himself down, teleporting to appear directly in front of Dipper. On a knee-jerk reaction alone, he let out a tight, frightened cry, flinching back through the open air only for Steven to catch him with a protective, secure grip on his arm. “You know, Pine Tree, ignoring people is rude, especially when you’re the one barged into someone else’s dimension completely unannounced!” 

“L-Leave him alone!” Steven protested, still holding onto Dipper, who by now, had more or less completely shut down. He choked out a small, scared sob, but he said nothing, his hand flinching over his shoulder to grab a sword he didn’t even have on him. No sword, no means of defense, nothing he could do to stop Bill from turning his constant nightmares into a horrible reality. 

“Aw, c’mon, Rosebud, don’t be such a prude,” Bill scoffed, floating a quick circle around the boys. “Besides, seeing as how we’re in my own digs here, I think I’m entitled to do whatever I want. And that includes having a little fun with poor Pine Tree there!”

At this, Steven fully threw himself between Bill and Dipper, upholding his shield as he prepared to fend off any surprise attacks the demon might throw their way. “Wait,” he began, trying to make sense of everything. “So… this place is… your home?”

“You got it, kid! Well, at least it’s home for right now,” Bill quipped, flying high above both of them as he resumed his earlier massive size to take a seat on the levitating gilded throne he’d just conjured up. Behind him, a horde of shadowy, monstrous silhouettes appeared out of nowhere, their crimson eyes all peering curiously down on the terrified pair of humans below them. “Welcome to the Nightmare Realm, boys! Hope you enjoy your stay! Don’t worry, the locals are as friendly as they come! Aren’t we, fellas?”

The crowd of obscured demons surrounding Bill chimed in at this, letting out a rowdy chorus of demented, mallicious laughter that was every bit as sadistic as the dream demon’s own. Yet despite their twisted levity, Bill was quick to put an end to it with a mere dismissive wave of his hand. “Yeah, yeah, as much as I know you guys would love to tear these two puny punks to shreds and make an entire gourmet meal out of their innards, I’m afraid I have some… unfinished business to attend to with the kids first,” he remarked to his henchmen, sending the newly disappointed crowd off to whatever part of the Nightmare Realm they’d crawled out of. “That’s right, run along and get a good seat to watch the show from. Because oh boy,” Bill turned his full attention back to Steven and Dipper, his eye burning with his iconic blue fire as he set his sights solely on them. “What a show we’re about to have here…”

Steven took in a hitched, panicked breath at this, briefly casting a glance back at Dipper behind him, only to find that he was more or less hyperventilating, the weight of the grave situation they’d now found themselves in crushing him more and more with each passing second. And even though he was immensely afraid at the moment himself, the young Gem was determined to do his best to try to carry that weight for the both of them where Dipper couldn’t. “L-look,” he addressed Bill as calmly as he possibly could. “We don’t know how we ended up here, but-”

“Oh, you don’t?” Bill interrupted, leaping off his throne as it vanished into thin air. “Really? I thought it was beyond obvious if you take two seconds to think about that pretty little rift ol’ Sixer’s been trying to lock up nice and tight away from me!”

“The rift…” Steven repeated with a small gasp of realization. “S-so, that thing in the forest really did have something to do with it?”

“Sure did!” Bill confirmed. “Looks like Fordsy’s nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is. Ya see, kids, he might have the rift itself contained for now, but it’s still a highly unstable drop of paradoxical, trans-dimensional energy that’s being kept safe only by some dumb, glorified snowglobe. You really think something like that is gonna keep that rift from letting loose some unexpected… side effects as long as it stays in your dimension?”

“S-side effects…?” Dipper dared to speak up, his curiosity getting the better of him, even amidst his own persistent panic. 

“Hey, look who finally got his voice back!” Bill teased callously. “I was starting to think you’d gone mute on me, Pine Tree. Anyway, yessiree! A whole boatload of side effects, but the main one is that it’s wearing down the walls between dimensions, just like Sixer’s portal did back when it was up and running. And the longer that rift chips away at those walls, the more chances you have for random wormholes to pop up all over the place! And you wanna know where all those wormholes just so happen to lead…?”

The boys exchanged an uneasy glance, both of them quite alarmed by what the dream demon was implying through this explanation alone, especially when they considered it was the very means through which they’d found themselves here to begin with. “Uh… h-here?” Steven guessed anxiously. 

“Ding ding ding! We have a winner!” Bill chimed as a noisy mess of game show lights and sound effects blared dramatically behind him. “You’re really using your noggin today, huh, Rosebud? I guess there’s a first for everything! Though I gotta admit, I wasn’t actually expecting one of those mini-portals to actually pull anything through it at all, but can you imagine my surprise when it did! And you kids, of all the meatskins it could have picked out there? Right as I was in the middle of sitting here, watching you two have a grand old time duking it out--which was hilarious by the way? Well, I guess you could say that today is my lucky day!”

Both boys bristled at the demon’s cutting remarks, though even so, they chose to mostly ignore them as Dipper nervously piped up with another horrific thought that had just occurred to him. “W-wait… so… if these portals between h-here and Earth just keep… showing up… why haven’t you just g-gone through any of them?” he asked shakily, trying and failing not to show just how frightened he really was. “T-that is what you want, right? T-to get into our dimension a-and take it over?”

Bill’s usually cheery tune quickly changed at this, his triangular form turning blood red as he glared down at Dipper in particular. “Oh, Pine Tree, you always know just the right questions to ask to PUSH MY BUTTONS!” he shouted, suddenly furious as the Nightmare Realm rumbled all around him. “You really think that I would even hesitate to leap through one of those portals into your dimension if I could? Problem is, I CAN’T! I’m still bound to this STUPID WASTELAND OF A DIMENSION! Or…” Bill seemed to calm somewhat at this, much to the boys’ shared relief.  “At least I am until I get my hands on that rift… You kids wouldn’t wouldn’t happen to know someone who’d be able to help me out with that little problem, would you?”

“No,” Dipper said almost immediately, resolve starting to replace his fear as he sent a steady, stern glare Bill’s way. “You can do whatever you want to us, but we will never ever give you that rift!”

Steven couldn’t help but look over at Dipper with a small smile at this, glad to see his usual bravery making a return, even in the face of undoubtedly his greatest fear. “That’s right!” Steven solidly, boldly agreed. “We made a promise to protect it from you, and that’s exactly what we’re gonna do!”

While both boys expected Bill’s more than infamous temper to flare up over their brazen resistance, he instead reacted in the complete opposite way instead. He laughed. “Oh, you boys are a real RIOT!” he chortled as madly as ever, his crimson pallor returning to its usual garish yellow. “You two really think I’m gonna try and swipe that rift from you?! What, do you think I’m some kind of idiot like Sixer is?! He’s got you kids so brainwashed into hoarding that thing away from me to the point that you’d probably rather die than hand it over to me. Which can be arranged, easily, of course, but still, let’s just say I’ve got… another pawn in mind when it comes to that rift. Besides, why waste time with that when I can make an even better use of this opportunity to get something else I’ve been after instead....?”

Steven took in a sharp, involuntary gasp at this, his eyes wide as he instantly gripped the gemstone on his navel, even if it was currently covered by his shirt. Bill picked up on his obvious alarm almost instantly, yet he simply brushed the young Gem’s palpable fear off with a callous scoff. “Geez, calm down, Rosebud, I wasn’t talking about that rock on your gut,” he remarked, rolling his eye. “The universe doesn’t revolve around you, ya know, even if your last name might have you thinking otherwise. But, relax! I don’t have my sights set on your gem this time around. At least not yet, anyway.”

“Oh…” Steven let out a sigh of relief, though he did notice Dipper tense up beside him in light of this new uncertainty. “W-well, if you don’t need anything from us, t-then maybe you could just… I-I don’t know, let us go ho-”

“No can do, Rosebud!” Bill interrupted succinctly. “I can’t just open up one of those tiny tears in reality myself, as much as I’d love to just so I could slip through it too. Didn’t ya hear the part about how they open up randomly? For all you know, you could be stuck here for what would be days, maybe even weeks in your dimension!”

Needless to say that upon hearing this news, both boys’ hearts practically dropped to their stomachs. The mere thought of being trapped here, in this chaotic, lawless, mess of a dimension with no one but Bill Cipher, of all beings, and his band of malicious, blood-thirsty demons to keep them company was just about the most terrifying, horrific thing for either of them, a thought so unbearable they could scarcely even comprehend it. Yet for as dreadful as it all was, it seemed as though it was all-too-true all the same. 

“Oh, now don’t worry!” Bill quipped, taking twisted pleasure in the boys’ obvious panic over their plight. “I have the perfect plan in mind to keep you kids entertained during your stay here. See, lately I’ve been thinking, doing that whole self-reflection thing you humans try and usually fail miserably at. I’ve made some pretty outstanding deals these past few months, deals that could have landed me with everything I need to take over your dimension in one fell swoop. But every single time I got close, you know who was always there to stop me?”

Neither of the boys had a chance to answer this question, one they already largely knew the answer to. Because in an instant, the dream demon’s eye flooded with golden light, practically becoming a bright spotlight that shined down directly upon them both. “That’s right! You two! Along with any combination of the Crystal Chumps and/or Shooting Star and Sword Swinger, but what’s consistent is that every time one of my plans falls through, you boys are always in the mix somehow. The time I snuck into Stan’s mind, when I took your body for a test drive, Pine Tree-” Dipper seized up with yet another burst of potent fear upon hearing this casual reminder of something that deeply haunted him even still, though even so, Bill hardly seemed to notice as he continued his list. “But the straw that broke the camel’s back was when you two personally split my fusion with Greenie up! Pyrite had enough power and potential to crush those Crystal Chumps to dust, but somebody just had to help someone else run a sword through them, DIDN’T YOU?!” 

Despite the dream demon’s severe tone, Steven spoke up, prompted by all of the wavering courage he really had in the face of such clear fury. “Y-yes, we did,” he professed firmly, evenly. “We stopped you each of those times because you were trying to hurt our friends! Our home! We had to do something to help them!”

Upon hearing this earnest argument, Bill simply narrowed his eye at the young Gem in particular, visibly annoyed by such a resistant claim. “Well, if you care so much about your friends, where are they to help you now?” he asked knowingly, piercingly before his tone picked back up into its usually playfulness once more. “It’s a shame none of them even know you kids are here; they’re really gonna miss out on something special here. See Rosebud, Pine Tree, we’re about to play a little game here. The name of that game is REVENGE.” At this, bright bursts of blue fire ignited over both of the demon’s palms, his single eye sparking with violent, malicious intent as he glared down at both of the defenseless boys before him hatefully. “And this time, the winner takes IT ALL!” 

Without wasting another second on small talk, Bill began his attack, launching both his flames at the boys in full speed. Steven rushed to move his shield in front of both himself and Dipper, expanding it as wide as he possibly could to block the devastating strike. While it succeeded in fending the fire off, the sheer force of the blow was enough to send them both flying back across the vast expanse of the Nightmare Realm. The unexpected flight fortunately seemed to put them out of Bill’s reach, though unfortunately it wasn’t for very long. As the pair finally floated to a gradual, gravity-free stop, the demon suddenly teleported directly behind them, sizing his form up to tower over them as he prepared to grab them both. The most Steven could do to stop him was form another bubble around himself and Dipper, though Bill just as easily swiped the bubble itself up, tossing it up as if it were nothing more than a mere plaything. 

“Ohoho! Way to spice things up, Rosebud!” Bill quipped as he casually juggled the bubble, ignoring the boys’ shared cries of protest as they were roughly tossed about inside it. “Let’s play ball!” At this, the demon threw the bubble up high, forcing some sort of gravity upon it to bring it back down as he pulled a nail-covered bat into existence out of thin air. He used that bat to strike the bubble squarely, sending it soaring across the starry void once more with both Steven and Dipper inside, helpless to even try to stop it. “Iiiiiiits outta here! A home run hit! And the crowd goes wild!” 

Sure enough, Bill’s horde of demonic friends erupted into a hearty round of cheers from wherever unknown corner of the Nightmare Realm they were watching from. While the dream demon eagerly soaked up their praise, he missed the boys’ bubble as it flew far out of his sight, ultimately crashing hard into a stationary asteroid that ended up popping it completely. Without anything to safely contain them, Steven and Dipper hit the asteroid themselves, though thankfully the bubble had cushioned the brunt of what would have otherwise been a brutal blow. Even so, they still they both rolled hard across the large rock, inevitably falling back into the open space behind it, much worse for wear considering the substantial cuts and bruises they had sustained. The only upside amidst this harrowing situation was that there now seemed to be some actual distance between them and Bill, though they were both more than well aware that the dream demon could just as easily bridge that distance to kickstart his barrage of twisted violence all over again. 

“T-that was… a-a lot…” Steven said breathlessly, pressing against the side of the asteroid. He stole a weary glance over at Dipper, only to find a noticeably bleeding cut torn across his face, which itself was engulfed in nothing less than immense, inescapable terror. “Oh!” the young Gem gasped, quickly licking his hand. “Here, let me-”

“Don’t,” Dipper’s expression turned harsh at this as he pushed Steven’s hand and the healing spit covering it away. “There’s no point. W-we’re not… we can’t... “ He trailed off, pulling his knees to his chest in a tight hug as he let out an anguished sob. “T-there’s no way either of us have a chance at surviving here, not for long, n-not against… him.”

“W-what? No,” Steven countered immediately, racing to figure out some way to comfort Dipper, despite how despondent he was himself over their dire straits. “W-we’ll figure something out, I know we can. L-like I said earlier, we’ve stopped Bill before, so-”

“We’ve never stopped him by ourselves!” Dipper cut him off sharply. “We’ve always had Mabel or Connie or the Gems to help us! And what’s more is we’ve never had to fight him here, on his home turf! He has a physical form here! He doesn’t need to possess or fuse with someone anymore! He’s free to do whatever he wants to us and if you think he might go easy on us then you’re wrong!”

“W-well, maybe can outrun him somehow,” Steven ventured anxiously. “Then we can wait for another one of those portals to open up and… Um… Oh, I know! O-once the Gems and your uncles notice we’re gone, maybe they’ll go looking for us and-”

“And what, Steven? You heard what Bill said! Nobody even knows we’re here!” Dipper argued intensely, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. “No one is coming to save us… S-so stop doing that thing you always do where you act like everything is going to turn out alright in the end, because it’s not, not this time. Don’t you get it, Steven?” He buried his face in his hands, choking out another mournful, miserable whimper as he admitted the only thing he knew to be absolutely certain now. “W-we… we’re going to die here…”

At this, Dipper more or less completely lost himself to his grief, grief over a present that was about to painfully be cut short, over a future he’d never get to have. Both brought to a violent conclusion by the very demon he’d always feared would end them. Steven nearly victim to that same grief too, especially when he considered just how right Dipper really was. No one knew where they were, no one was going to come to their rescue. The chances of another portal leading back to their own dimension opening up were completely unknown, and the possibility of them even surviving long enough to reach it against a complete and utter sadist like Bill was genuinely low to none. All in all, it really didn’t seem like either of them would survive this ordeal, perhaps the gravest, most immediate danger either of them had ever been thrust into before.

And yet… 

Despite even those impossible, insurmountable odds, Steven refused to give up. At least not yet. 

“Dipper,” he began, his tone slow and purposeful as he came to float directly in front of Dipper. He resisted his attempts at grabbing his hands at first, but eventually folded, allowing the young Gem to see all of the strife and dread that had claimed his expression quite some time ago. “I… I know this seems really bad, but… I still think we have a chance. A-and I think, deep down, you feel the same way too.”

Dipper let out a tight, exhausted sigh, shaking his head hopelessly. “S-steven, I…”

“You can’t give up,” Steven implored, gripping his hands tightly. “We can’t give up. I… I think I have an idea…” He paused for a moment, allowing that idea, however risky it might have been, to solidify inside his mind before proposing it to Dipper. “I know someone who might be able to stand a chance against Bill, e-even if we can’t on our own. The only thing is… I-I need you to trust me…”

Before Dipper even had a chance to consider this offer, Bill’s voice suddenly rang out across the surrounding section of the Nightmare Realm, a clear sign that he was on the hunt for his victims once more. “Oh, Pine Tree! Rosebud!” he called, his tone deceptively bright and friendly. “Come on out! You don’t wanna call it quits already, do you? Not when the game’s only just begun…”

“Dipper, please,” Steven practically begged, pulling his hands out of Dipper’s, though his pleading sights stayed set on him. “I-I know you’re probably still mad at me, a-and I’m sorry, but right now, I need you. I-I… I can’t do this without you! We can’t do this without each other! So please…” This time, it was the young Gem who let out a small, nervous sob, consumed by worry. Though even still, that worry had almost nothing to do with the possibility of Bill finding them at all. “Just… trust me again… Just this once… please…”

For what seemed like ages, Dipper said nothing, making not a single move to respond to either accept or reject the young Gem’s tearful appeal. His mind was racing with far too many thoughts at once, his upheaved emotions tossing him in a wild sea of shock, fear, anger, and grief. But amidst that sea, amidst the tide of chaos that threatened to swallow him up completely, was Steven. Steven, who had thoughtlessly invaded his dreams just like Bill himself had done so many times before. Steven, who so very often thought only of himself under the guise of trying to help others. Steven, who had inadvertently been the reason why they’d ended up in this potentially fatal disaster in the first place. 

Steven… who was always there to offer him a comforting smile and a kind word when he needed it most. Steven, who was always more than ready to throw himself in the line of fire if it meant protecting his friends, including him, even after he’d screamed and yelled and practically torn their friendship apart. Steven, who was asking for something as simple as his trust, who was extending out a hand to him in the hopes that he’d take it, so that they could at least try to survive, try to get through this together. 

And, in spite of everything else going on around him and inside him, that was a hand Dipper slowly but surely found himself taking. 

“Alright, kids, hide-and-seek time is over!” Bill shouted, growing impatient as he continued combing through the surrounding asteroid field. “I mean it, Rosebud, Pine Tree, you two twerps better get out here where I can pummel you into oblivion NOW or else I’m gonna-” The dream demon was succinctly cut off as a sudden, lightning-fast projectile sped at him from behind, slicing through one of his arms to the point that it managed to cut it off completely, catching him off guard in the process. “WHAT?!” 

Bill’s eye drifted to his backside, the rest of his features following suit so he could properly see where this sudden attack had come from. Only to be met with a sight, or rather, a fusion, that even he hadn’t been expecting. 

“You called?” Stepper grinned, looking up at the dream demon with a new sense of determination. He stood tall and unflinching atop the asteroid his halves had just been hiding behind, his shield journal already formed over his lower palms with a new shield summoned over it, ready to fly just as the first one had. And all the while, he couldn’t help but take some level in pride in just how genuinely surprised Bill seemed to be by his timely attack, his hope starting to rise as he realized that, with the respective strengths of his halves combined, he might just have a chance after all. 

Bill, however, didn’t see things quite the same way. His bafflement only seemed to last for a moment as he quickly recovered from the fusion’s attack, regenerating his arm easily and immediately. And as he did, all sense of shock seemed to disappear as he let out a loud, mocking laugh instead. “Oh, now this? THIS is a REAL riot right here!” he cackled almost madly, much to Stepper’s confusion. “And I thought Rose Star was hilarious, but you, Pine Bud? You take RIDICULOUS to a whole new level!”

Stepper let out a harsh scoff at this, his own confidence getting the better of him as he fired off just as punchy of a comeback to the dream demon himself. “I-I’ll tell you what’s ridiculous,” he began, trying his best to recover from how his voice had briefly cracked in fear at the start. “Using a nail bat to knock a to kids across an entire dimension. Seriously, did the bat even need to have nails in it? That was just overkill if you ask me.”

Bill’s amusement quickly shifted into a sharpened glare at this. “Oh, what, do you think you’re some kind of comedian now, Rose Tree? You really are funny if you think fusing is gonna save you now. You know, I’m surprised you two were even able to fuse at all what with you being at each others’ throats and all. Guess it goes to show just how far you boys are willing to go when you’re really desperate.”

Stepper’s bravado quickly shifted in annoyance at this reminder, a reminder of the still palpable tension still lingering between both of his halves, even if he had chosen to ignore that tension for now to maintain his fusion. “Shut up,” he hissed, waiting no time in launching his next shield at the demon. This one had the addition of spikes barbing its edges, and though Stepper had aimed it directly for Bill’s eye, the demon managed to teleport out of its path just before it could hit him. Instead, he retaliated, reappearing just behind the fusion and firing off a powerful laser blast from his eye to obliterate the asteroid Stepper was standing on upon impact. Fortunately, he’d managed to jump off it back into the gravity-free air, taking advantage of the momentum he gained to send several smaller shield-projectiles Bill’s way. The demon was able to deflect most of these easily, though Stepper managed to manipulate a few of them to change their course so they’d crash into Bill from behind, each of them exploding upon impact. 

“Ow!” Bill shouted, quite perturbed by the surprisingly potent attack. “Rose Tree!”

“What’s the matter, Bill?” Stepper taunted, perhaps a bit too brazenly, as he took up a perch on another nearby asteroid. “Aren’t used to someone who can actually keep up with your ‘game’?”

“Ha! You WISH you could keep up with me, Pine Bud!” Bill shouted manically, scorching blue flames bursting from both his hands. As he launched them at the fusion, Stepper deflected them with a large, well-cast shield from his journal, one that not only seemed to dispel the fire but deflect it as well. All four of his arms were put to work upholding it, his gem, birthmark, and journal alike bursting with powerful light as he shoved that shield hard back at Bill. As drenched in his own flames as the shield already was, the demon was unprepared for the full force of it striking him as heavily as it did, and his genuinely pained, outraged shout echoed across the Nightmare Realm as he was swiftly thrown back through it. 

In light of such a momentous, successful blow, Stepper himself was quite stunned, looking to his shield journal with apt amazement. He had always known, from the very first time he’d been formed, that it was a strange, unique, special weapon, one that contained powers that even he didn’t hold all of the answers to yet. It had served him well before in taking down Peridot’s unwanted robinoids months ago, but now, was there indeed a chance, however small, that it might just be enough to help him take on Bill Cipher himself? 

“W-we could do this…” Stepper said to himself, his halves conversing with a sense of rising hope and excitement. “We could win this! Maybe… maybe we could even do more than just win; maybe we could even stop Bill for good! After all,” he grinned as he looked afar off in the distance to where Bill was still being forced back thanks to his own shield’s strength. “He’s not invincible here. Y-you really think we could beat him? If we stay together like this? I think so.” He laughed in spite of himself, his upper arms wrapping around themselves in a steadying, affectionate, assuring hug, both of his halves in perfect harmony when it came to this daring endeavor. “O-ok. Then let’s do it. And while we’re at it,” he paused, allowing his shield journal to float before him, placing his lower hands under it as its pages flipped rapidly on their own accord. “Let’s see what this thing can really do.”

By now, Bill had recovered from Stepper’s last attack, rushing across the wide span of the Nightmare Realm in a matter of mere seconds to strike back. “You know, Rose Tree, you’re really starting to GET ON MY NERVES!” he yelled, his form flashing bright red as he appeared massive and intimidating before the fusion. “I think it's high time someone TORE YOU TWO APART!” 

In an instant, the dream demon lashed out, hoping to grab ahold on the fusion to do exactly that, literally. Still, Stepper was ready for him, for right as Bill’s hands reached for him, he called upon another bubble. This one, however, was quite a bit different, for as soon as the dream demon so much as touched it, he retracted his hands with a startled yelp of pain. 

“Whoa…” Stepper gasped, looking over the newfound spikes he’d somehow formed on the outer surface of his bubble. “Cool! Oo! I can think of something even cooler.” At this, the fusion flipped through the earlier pages of his journal, landing on one depicting a familiar sword that had recently been lost to the depths of the lake. But with just a bit of magic, it had the chance to be reclaimed in some way, and for Stepper, that was far better than nothing. 

“You must think you have a whole bunch of nifty tricks up all four of your sleeves, dontcha, Rose Tree?” Bill asked, clearly annoyed at this point as his eye flashed a violent red. “Well SO DO I!”

Stepper finished pulling a conjured, pinkened version of the Sword of Seasons out of the shield journal just in time to use it to slice through the first of several heavy waves of successive, destructive energy Bill sent his way. As one set of his arms continued deflecting these attacks, his other arms took up a shield, which he positioned protectively in front of himself to stem the onslaught completely. From there, Stepper kept his pace rapid, tossing the shield at Bill full force and landing a successful strike to his eye this time. While the dream demon was distracted with recovering from such a painful blow, Stepper rushed forward, leaping off his asteroid perch with his sword raised high, though just before he could bring it down on Bill, the demon disappeared out of his reach once more. Bill reappeared somewhere behind him, absolutely livid, though Stepper still didn’t back down. Instead, he formed another shield under his feet, using it as a launch pad to jump off to do so he could propel himself in Bill’s direction, swinging his sword out broadly as he did. The dream demon attempted to fend him off with a rapid fire series of flame bursts, but a large and sturdy shield was more than enough to protect the fusion from them. And for quite awhile, that was how the battle flowed; Bill and Stepper, both doling out strong, heavy attacks aimed for each other, none of which really did much damage thanks to the steady line of defense and stamina both had on their sides. 

Stepper did manage to briefly break that flow, however, by swiftly working to put some tactical distance between himself and Bill so he could have time to plan his next move. He distracted the dream demon with another series of small seeker shields before he leapt onto the nearest asteroid, looking through his shield journal for anything else that might be useful. “Come on, we’ve got him on the ropes,” he muttered both to himself and the magical tome floating in front of him. “Give me something really good this time.” As if it was answering the fusion’s request, the journal flashed with vibrant light once more before its flipping pages landed on two in particular, one within each different half of the journal as the pages between them stood up perfectly straight. And printed upon those two pages was a plan that Stepper could and readily did hope was more than enough to finally put this arduous fight to an end once and for all. “Perfect!” he grinned, determined to give that plan a try. Or rather, to give his component halves a try. 

“You know, Pine Bud,” Bill’s entire form was as he began to approach the fusion hotly. “I’m getting REAL sick of you and that stupid book of yours! You’re almost more of a pain while you’re fused than you two are on your own!”

“Oh, really?” Stepper asked, smirking as he let his journal drop low toward his feet. “I don’t know if I’d be too sure of that if I were you…”With a simple flourish of his upper hands, the fusion conjured up his next method of attack from the two open pages of the shield journal. And from those pages, solid, yet still clearly holographic life-sized doubles of both Steven and Dipper appeared, pigmented pink and blue respectively as they stood, already armed with a shield and a sword from the start. Through the journal, Stepper was in full command of these copies of his halves as he pointed them at their target, and without skipping a beat, both doubles lunged for the dream demon, ready to attack. While Bill worked in taking down the first set, Stepper worked on creating several more in quick succession, sending each of them the demon’s way as he amassed an army essentially composed of himself. The copies, while not the most sturdy, were plentiful as they attacked Bill essentially in a haphazard swarm, beating their swords and shields away at him even as the demon retaliated by destroying as many of them as quickly as he could. Still, Stepper kept them coming, his hopes steadily rising as he watched his duplicates begin to overwhelm Bill while he waited for just the opening he needed to finally win this deadly brawl.

And yet, despite those hopes, it was an opening that never came. 

“ENOUGH!” Bill suddenly shouted, unleashing a powerful wave of energy to dissipate all of the boys’ clones. The blast also knocked Stepper back hard, preventing him from conjuring up anymore as the shield journal fell away from him before disappearing completely. “You sure have shown off that you’ve got some pretty sharp thorns to ya, Rose Tree,” Bill continued angrily, his hands glowing with an entirely new type of dangerous power. “Well, why don’t I take the time to show you MINE? Fair warning: they’re at least a MILLION TIMES SHARPER THAN YOURS!” 

Stepper gasped, quickly righting himself to float upright, though he didn’t get much of a chance to summon his shield journal again before something sharp latched onto one of his lower arms. The same thing happened to his other arms in short order, and from there it didn’t take Stepper long to see what it was: long, thick black vines, covered in tiny, yet razor-sharp thorns that had already begun to cut deep into his skin. Despite his efforts to pull himself out of them, their grip only grew tighter, worsening as even more vines began latching onto his legs, snaking their way up his torso, his chest, over his neck, even all the way up to his face until he was essentially covered with them. Then, to make matters worse, the vines themselves began to pull against him, stretching all four of his arms and his legs out wide to the point that he felt as though his limbs were going to be ripped clean out of their sockets. And yet, despite his involuntary cry of agony the sting of the thorns in particular managed to draw out of him, Bill simply let out a smug, triumphant, amused laugh at the fusion’s clear misery. 

“Ah, now THAT’S more like it!” he remarked blithely, even as Stepper voiced another protesting, pained shout. “You know, I really gotta hand it to ya, Rose Tree, you’re putting up way more of a fight than I ever would have imagined out of a soft, baby-faced fusion like you. Too bad that fight ends right here. Playtime is over, boys! Which means now, the fun can REALLY begin…”

Despite this alarming threat, Stepper noticed that the vine latched onto one of his upper arms was finally starting to loosen. He wasted no time in pulling free from it, calling upon a small shield that he swiftly used to cut through the rest of them, pulling them off his body and just as quickly licking one of his hands to heal as many of the wounds they’d left him with as he could. He wasn’t able to take care of too many of them, however, before Bill caught him off guard with a heavy burst of flame. Stepper barely had time to react by throwing up a last-minute shield, though even still, that did little to stop the attack from shoving him back as he took most of the brutal brunt of the blow. This time, however, he didn’t simply continue reeling back through open space; instead he landed hard against something solid, a sideways surface that seemed to possess its own gravity as he landed upon it. 

“W-what…?” Stepper breathed, slowly starting to pick himself up off the new ground, only to be completely baffled by what surrounded him. He found himself on a massive, twisted structure, a mess of colors and shapes and stairs and floors and pillars, each of which was turned and twisted in a completely different direction. As bewildered as he was by this incomprehensible new setting, he didn’t get a chance to try to make sense of it before Bill suddenly appeared before him once more, scaled down dramatically to the point that he was now even smaller than the fusion himself. 

“Welcome to the Quadrangle of Qonfusion, boys! My favorite hangout in the entire Nightmare Realm! I’d give you the grand tour, but you won’t really be needing one since its  is about to become your GRAVE!”

Stepper took a wide step back away from the demon at this, all four of his hands clenched into tight, anxious fists as he tried to maintain his previously calm composure. “G-grave?” he repeated, doing his best to inject an air of cockiness into his tone. “B-but I thought you’d want me alive. I do still have Steven’s‒my gem after all.”

“Ohh don’t you worry about that, Pine Bud!” Bill retorted easily as he resumed his larger size once more. “I’ll make sure to pry that gem outta Rosebud’s cold, dead corpse before I toss that and Pine Tree’s into the endless empty abyss that acts as this dimension’s garbage dump! All I gotta do is rip you to pieces first and everything else will fall perfectly into place!”

At this, the dream demon conjured up his cane out of thin air and took a broad swing right at the fusion as blue flames ignited over the entire length of it. Stepper thankfully hat the wits about him to leap out of its path, deciding his best option was to retreat for now, if only for the sake of gaining a moment to reclaim his own weapon once more. So he rushed into the nearest hallway, getting himself out of Bill’s immediate range as he looked for some sort of refuge. As he ran, he let his gem do the work in bringing forth his shield journal once more, though it nearly fell out of his grasp entirely as gravity suddenly shifted sharply on him. Stepper let out a startled cry as he fell upward onto a set of upside down stairs, forced to reorient himself entirely as his lower set of arms clung onto his journal for dear life. The only positive seemed to be that Bill apparently hadn’t noticed as he glided through the hallway the fusion had just been in, still gripping his flaming cane as he casually called out to the prey he was hunting. 

“You know, it’s pretty sad, Pine Bud,” Bill remarked with no sympathy in his tone whatsoever. “Even if everyone back in your dimension knew where you were and what was happening to you, chances are they wouldn’t even care. I mean, it’s not like anybody even wants either of you around to begin with, right?”

Stepper made sure not to respond to this, knowing that this was likely just a dirty, underhanded tactic to get him to reveal himself. And yet, his silence was soon broken as he heard a new voice entirely ring out not too far away from him.

“Dipper? Steven?’

The fusion gasped, immediately rising to his feet to look to the silhouette standing within the darkness of the doorway in front of him. “N-no…” he stammered, eyes wide with disbelief as he took a small step closer. “I-it can’t be. You’re not supposed to be here!”

“...Neither are you.”

Stepper faltered as the obscured figure finally became clear, tears welling up in his eyes as he reached out toward her. “M-Mabel…”

“Why?” Mabel cut him off, her tone and expression alike uncharacteristically harsh and cold. “Why do you guys keep leaving me behind?”

“...W-what?” Stepper asked, genuinely confused amidst his grief. 

“Every single time you guys fuse, I’m always the one who gets left out!” Mabel accused bitterly. “And even when you’re not fused, you’re always off doing more important things with me, like you think I can’t handle them! Like I’m too stupid and silly to be a part of things! Like I said,” Tears were welling up in her eyes by this point, tears that the fusion mirrored as he stared at her in disbelief. “You’re always leaving me behind, Dipper…”

“N-no…” the fusion shook his head, distraught. “Mabel, of course I don’t think that, I don’t-“

“You always leave me out too, you know.” Stepper flinched, recognizing this new voice instantly. A palpable burst of dread coursed through him as he watched Connie step out of the same doorway Mabel had come from as she came to stand alongside her.  “What, am I not a part of the team too? Do I just not matter to either of you!?”

Stepper paused, dumbstruck as he desperately tried to search for the words to counteract these cruel claims. “Connie, I-”

“Even when we are a part of your disasters, things always go wrong.” As if out of nowhere, Pacifica suddenly stepped in to join Mabel and Connie’s rigid round of allegations. “You always put everyone in danger with your stupid mysteries-”

“And all of that dumb Gem stuff,” Connie added, her toine just as icy. “Maybe we’d all just be better off if you never came back at all. 

“Maybe…” Mabel began, seeming to hesitate for a moment before delivering her remorseless verdict. “Maybe it would just be better if you both left us all behind for good.”

“N-no,” Stepper countered tearfully, taking another small step toward the trio. Toward the people his halves cared so much about even if they weren’t currently giving that care back in return. “I would never, I-I don’t… I’m not going to leave any of you behind, ever. I promise!”

All three of the girls were silent at this, their expressions darkening as they began to turn away from the fusion entirely. Pacifica and Connie soon returned back into the empty doorway they had come out of, but Mabel still lingered behind for one final spiteful statement. “...You already have.”

A small, yet poignant sob escaped Stepper at this, and as Mabel disappeared into the same darkness Connie and Pacifica had, he didn’t hesitate to chase after all three of them. “W-wait!” he called, desperate to reach them, desperate to see if what they’d said to him was actually the truth. And desperately hoping all the while, that it wasn’t.

He passed through the doorway, into a dark, relatively short hallway where gravity turned on him once more, essentially forcing him to walk along the wall until he emerged on the other side of it. What met him was a narrow straight-away, though much to his alarm, none of the girls were anywhere in sight. He panicked, ready to call out for them to find them, to make sure they were alright and unharmed in this dangerous, practically deadly place. Yet before he could, another familiar voice happened to sound out from somewhere behind him. 

“Where do you two think you’re going?” Startled, Stepper turned to see none other than Stan, his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorway the fusion had just come out of. 

“G-Grunkle Pines?” Stepper asked, confused and anxious, especially at just how calm yet callous the conman seemed to be. “W-what are you doing h-”

“You know,” Stan cut him off, his tone and expression both dry as he began to approach the fusion. “This whole wacko world is pretty twisted. But I’d say it’s the perfect place for two freakshow kids fused into an even bigger, four-armed freakshow, wouldn’t you?”

Stepper shuddered, inching back nervously as the conman continued to approach him almost threateningly. “W-wh… why would you say that…?” 

“Cause it’s obvious, kid,” Stan sneered haughtily as he came to stop directly in front of the fusion. “In fact, since you seem to fit right in, why don’t you just stay here?”

Before Stepper even had a chance to react, Stan suddenly reached out and shoved him clean over the edge of the walkway they were both on. The fusion was unable to keep himself from falling over side of it, though as he lost his footing, gravity pulled him in yet another direction, this time hard to his left. He plummeted for what seemed like ages before landing hard against a wide, level floor, one lined with towering pillars on either side of it. However, he just so happened to land exactly on one of his lower arms, which took the brunt of the blow with a spark of excruciating pain accompanied by an audible snap. Stepper was unable to hold back an agonized scream as he cradled his clearly broken arm, though even amidst the tears still brimming in his eyes he did his best to reach the damaged limb up to his mouth. The moment he so much as gently kissed it, instant relief overwhelmed his senses, the brutal break completely repaired by the healing magic he thankfully still had, even while fused, as though the injury had never even happened at all. 

“You can’t just magically heal everything and make it all better.” 

“Even when you’re together, you’re nowhere near strong enough to save anyone.”

“Not even yourselves.”

Stepper already knew the Gems were coming before they even stepped into his field of vision based on these judgemental, cruel remarks alone. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl alike all looked down at him as he remained on his spot on the ground, already dreading what else they’d have to say to him after everything he’d heard thus far. 

“Why don’t you just give up already, man?” Amethyst began, rolling her eyes at him. “You really think you’re gonna last long here? Quit kidding yourselves.”

“Maybe if you were half the Gem Rose was, you might have had a chance,” Pearl remarked with an ire-filled scowl. “To think that she gave everything up for you, Steven, and then you go and fuse with a simple human just to make yourself even weaker? Disgusting.”

“You’re not a stable fusion,” Garnet added, her tone hollow and cold. “And even if you were, it wouldn’t matter. That’s not enough to save you and it’s not enough to make us, or anyone else, want you. We never did to begin with.”

Stepper jolted at this, his breathing shuddering as he slowly pulled himself to stand. Something wasn’t right here, he knew that much, yet for as strange as these encounters all seemed, his emotions were still managing to work against him all the same. “N-no, that’s not true,” he asserted as firmly as he possibly could, counteracting his fears and grief with memories of just how much the Gems, how much Stan, how much Pacifica, Connie, and Mabel all really cared for him. For both of them. “I… I know it’s not. You said-”

“They were lying.” Stepper froze as the Gems parted ways for Ford to approach, the goldenish gleam reflecting from his glasses obscuring his eyes as he stared at the fusion piercingly. “Everyone does around you, just to keep you two from wasting our time by falling apart. Such fragile, futile things you boys are. It was foolish of me to think I could think I could trust either of you with anything, much less something as important as the rift. Tell me, boys. How do you expect to protect it when you can’t even protect yourselves?”

Stepper shook his head, wanting to argue, wanting to protest these malicious claims, but the words just wouldn’t come. The author and the Gems all continued to glare at him expectantly, saying nothing more though the disdain on each of their faces was perfectly clear. And under the crushing weight of that disdain, Stepper found himself hard-pressed to even try to bear it. 

So he turned, hoping to run, hoping to escape from his own doubts, his own fears, his own shortcomings and faults, as mounting and plentiful as they all were. Yet before he could take so much as a single step, he was stopped by yet another familiar figure, about the very last person, or Gem rather, he could have ever expected to see. 

“Oh, Steven…” Rose Quartz said, her voice every bit the same as he remembered it being from her tape. Yet instead of the gentle kindness and love that had filled it there, the only things emanating from her tone now was bitterness and scorn. “What a disappointment you turned out to be. I had hoped you would have followed in my footsteps to protect the Earth in my absence. But in the end, it looks like your little friend was right.” A sinister, twisted grin filled the pink Gem’s features, especially as Stepper essentially cowered before her in tears and terror. “You really are just… like… ME!”

Suddenly, “Rose’s” eyes flashed yellow, her pupils thin, perfect slits to match Bill’s telltale demented laughter coming out of her mouth. In a sudden flash of blinding light, the pink Gem was gone as the dream demon resumed his usual form, his sadistic masquerade coming to an end as he took a wicked sense of delight in just how shaken the fusion was by it all. 

“N-no,” Stepper breathed tightly, all four of his hands curled into tight, shaking fists. “No! T-that’s not… W-what I said, I-I didn’t mean that!”

“That’s not what I overheard, Pine Bud,” Bill corrected, playing out the offending scene on his flat form. And sure enough, there was Dipper, his tone livid and dead-serious as he shouted at Steven relentlessly. “Like Bill, Steven! You’re just like Bill!”

Stepper wavered at this, half of him practically drowning in guilt over words he desperately wished he could take back. Words he wished with every fiber of his being that he’d never even foolishly, thoughtlessly said in the first place. His gemstone and his birthmark suddenly flashed, conveying that remorse between both of his halves, though it did little to stem the rising tide of anger he could feel against his own regretful grief. “I-I’m sorry!” he begged himself, his upper arms embracing himself tightly as his lower hand remained curled into unyielding fists. “Please, I need you to understand! I was just mad! I-I wasn’t thinking! I just-”

“Sounds to me like Pine Tree is just trying to save his own skin, as usual,” Bill interrupted, casually floating around the distracted, distraught fusion. “You know, Rosebud, he did say he didn’t want your help to begin with, so why even bother? With friends as crummy and ungrateful as he is, you might as well not even have any! In fact, maybe you should just cut him loose completely. You’d sure save yourself a lot of time and effort in trying to fix what’s way past broken if you did!”

By now, Stepper was all but consumed by panic, tears streaking heavily down his face as he continued his painful plea to his other half, who had gone all but silent amidst all this. “I… I’m so, so sorry…” he repeated once more, half of him hating himself for the momentous mistake he’d made. “I said so many horrible things to you, I… m-maybe you should just break things off with me…” He sobbed, softly, sadly as he hung his head in shame as the faintest of white, unfusing lights began to enshroud him. “It’s what I deserve at this point…” 

“No, you don’t.” 

The fusion gasped as he suddenly read his own thoughts, his gem and birthmark both aglow as his other half finally said something to him. He led the way as well as he began wiping his tears, steadying both of them as he guided their shared form to stand once more. “I don’t want to break away from you,” he said aloud, his tone earnest and kind. “Our friendship means so much to me. You mean so much to me! And besides,” He turned his attention to Bill, who was clearly caught off guard by Stepper’s sudden change of demeanor, especially as the fusion stared him down brazenly. “I never leave my friends behind. When someone is in trouble, I help them, no matter what they’ve said or done. And that’s how I know-” His shield journal appeared above his lower arms at this, its pages blazing with bright, powerful light as he readied himself to get right back into the fray. “I am NOTHING like you!” 

Stepper didn’t even give Bill a chance to get a single word in edgewise out as he launched a series of fast-paced shields at the dream demon, several of which landed in full-force. The fusion didn’t hold anything back as he kept his attacks coming, hoping to somehow overwhelm Bill before he could pull any more twisted tricks on him. Sure enough, it seemed as though he might soon get a chance to do just that as he ended up forcing Bill over the edge of the platform they were both on completely. The dream demon crashed down into another one of the Quadrangle’s countless staircases while Stepper remained high above him, his journal hovering above his palm as he stood tall and firm and ready to fight together.

“Try whatever you want,” he said, his tone bold and unflinching as he met the bitter glare Bill was sending his way evenly. This time, it was easy to find the bravery to do so, bravery that had been easily found amidst the unshakable bond that he had been formed through, a bond that refused to be broken so easily. “But you can’t tear us apart!”

Despite the fusion’s brazen verve and steady determination, Bill wasn’t about to back down that quickly either. “Oh, you boys wanna BET?!” he practically screamed as he flew back up to Stepper’s level. He still towered over the fusion in size, but Stepper kept his wits about him as he called upon yet another series of shields to throw at a moment’s notice. “If you twerps won’t come undone the easy way, then I guess we’ll just have to do this THE HARD WAY!”

At this, Stepper let one of his shields fly, though Bill was quick to knock it away. However, as the fusion was distracted by prepping his next move, he failed to notice the dream demon implement one of his earlier tactics until it was too late. Instead, Stepper suddenly found himself yanked back hard as thick, thorny vines secured themselves around each of his wrists once more. They didn’t entangle him this time, though they did secure themselves around each of his limbs as they began to pull him back toward the center of the platform he was on. Stepper did his best to resist their heavy hold, though they refused to give, even as they eventually ended up dragging him down and restraining him against the ground. Even still, the fusion pulled against them as the vines essentially locked his back against the floor, more appearing in turn to further tie him down as Bill appeared floating high above him. 

“You just couldn’t make this simple for me, could ya, Rose Tree?” the dream demon asked, twirling his cane as he looked down at the fusion with disdain. “All I wanted was a nice, hearty helping of revenge, but you had to go and be stubborn. Why is that not surprising? Neither Pine Tree or Rosebud know when to quit. So why should I expect anything different out of their fusion?”

“T-that’s right,” Stepper retorted assertively, despite the rather vulnerable position he now found himself in. “We don’t know when to quit. And we won’t quit, not until we’ve found a way to stop you from hurting the people we care about once and for all!”

Bill instantly let loose a haughty laugh at this, his tone clearly mocking as he leaned against his cane and looked down at Stepper incredulously. “Stop me? YOU actually thought you could stop ME?! Give me a break, kid! Without all your fancy powers keeping you going, you would have been dead from the start! In fact…” Bill paused, repositioning his cane in a way the fusion didn’t quite understand, at least at first. “Why don’t we just nip that problem in the Pine Bud, if you catch my drift…?” Stepper didn’t answer, his eyes widening with sudden alarm as he realized the demon’s cane, awash in bright blue fire, was now hovering directly over him. 

Or rather, directly over his exposed gem.

“It’s a shame I gotta do this to ya, Rose Tree, really, it is!” Bill remarked easily, nonchalantly even, despite the horrific act he was about to commit. “Especially since I promised one of my favorite clients I’d hand that rock on your gut over to them in pristine, perfect, pretty condition. But, I’m sure they’ll understand if there’s a little collateral damage. After all, you know what they say: every deal has a loophole…” 

Stepper only had time to let out the smallest of horrified gasps before it happened. And when it did, it was so quick yet agonizingly slow, all at the same time. Because in an instant, Bill’s cane came down, its tip sharpened to a deadly point as it rushed right for the fusion’s gemstone. 

And, it struck it squarely, with a piercing, sickening crack. 

Shock. That was first, his mouth open, poised for a scream that never came. His back lurched upward involuntarily, the gem on his stomach pierced completely. Fortunately, the cane didn’t dig any deeper than its surface, but that was all it needed to do. For as it retracted away from him and left his gem behind, everything instantly got so much worse. 

Pain. That was what came next, so immense and so incredible that it was a wonder he didn’t fall apart completely from it. It washed over him in waves, each more horrific than the last. It blinded him, deafened him, chased away every thought, ever feeling, everything until there was nothing left at all but pain, pain, pain, pain. 

Cracks. They soon followed, spreading out across his skin in jagged, uneven, unruly pink lines. They glowed brightly against him, casting an inhuman, incomprehensible pallor upon his otherwise largely human appearance. Yet all the while, they soundly mimicked the very same sizable crack that had been so viciously torn across his gemstone, which itself was flashing in bright, erratic alarm. 

He didn’t dare try to move, his body in far too much anguish to even make the attempt if he wanted to. His thoughts were every bit as much of a mess as his body was, disjointed and jumbled and nonsensical as they clashed against each other violently. He lay in a haze, not even noticing as the vines finally pulled themselves away to free up his languished limbs. In fact, he didn’t even react at all as Bill teleported to hover, much smaller now, directly in front of his face. 

“Knock, knock! Earth to Rose Tree!” the demon quipped as cheerfully as ever, knocking a hand against the fusion’s already pounding head. “You still in there? You can’t die on me yet, that would ruin all the fun!”

Stepper didn’t answer, largely since he was completely incapable of doing so. Instead, he lay still, his breathing hoarse and shallow as tears began welling up in his eyes, which themselves were struggling to stay open at all as a bitter chill overtook his immobile body. His thoughts continued beating into each other, overlapping as they burst to life and burnt out almost simultaneously. None of them made any sort of sense, though a few did stand out against the empty void of madness he could feel himself slowly slipping into. 

Hurts. Heal. Have to heal. 

He let out a shuddering breath, prompted into motion by this thought, by the promise that this pain would and could come to an end in just a mere matter of seconds. Bill fortunately slipped out of his frame of vision, strangely allowing him to attempt to sit up. The effort alone was agonizing, his arms shaking violently and his head lolling down despite his best attempts at keeping it up. A small, sharp cough escaped him as he fully sat up, his body wracked by it as his lower hands curled themselves around his damaged gemstone in the hopes of shielding it from any further harm. One of his upper hands slowly drifted to his mouth, and he sloppily spit on it, though the bright red blood that came out along with it wasn’t lost on him. Still, he ignored it to move that hand down to his gemstone, lightly skimming it with his fingertips to let the supposedly healing liquid settle over it. And then, he waited. And waited. 

And waited. 

“W-what…?” he finally spoke, his voice soft and broken to the point that it sounded less like his own and more of that of his two halves. “Why… isn’t it…”

“Oh, did ya not know, Pine Bud?” Bill chimed in somewhere behind him. “Whenever a Gem gets all cracked up like yourself, their powers tend to go on the fritz. Looks like I was right before. Your healing spit really can’t fix everything…”

For what seemed like ages, the most Stepper could do was stare down at his gemstone and the wide, gaping rift torn across its surface in disbelief and despair. His breathing harshened, his body tensed, and as panic overtook him, he found himself unable to keep himself from falling into another hacking fit once more. He coughed into his hand this time, and when he finally was able to stop and pull it away, he wasn’t very surprised to find it covered in his own warm blood.

“Ohohoh, now isn’t this interesting!?” Bill remarked, apparently intrigued as he scaled his size down enough so he could take a casual seat atop the fusion’s hat. “I’ve seen plenty of space rocks get cracked in my time, but I’ve never seen it happen to one attached to a human before! Much less a mostly-human fusion! Isn’t this exciting? You really are a trailblazer, Rose Tree!”

Stepper still didn’t respond to Bill directly, largely since he couldn’t care less about what he was saying. Instead, he let out a loud, anguished scream, his upper arms wrapping tightly around himself as his lower set still gently cradled his damaged gem. And all the while, his thoughts continued rumbling, rattling, like a brutal thunderstorm wreaking havoc across his already ruined mind. 

Hurts! Can’t heal! Need to heal! Can’t! 

Can’t heal… Cracked… Broken…

Fade… fading… Die… Die? Dying…

“Still, you oughta consider yourself lucky, Pine Bud,” Bill continued, hardly caring about the light starting to fade from the fusion’s eyes as he coughed out yet another bout of blood. “Any other space rock would have shattered on the spot after taking a hit like that! I guess you’re pretty fortunate to be saddled with one of the toughest ones there is, Rose Tree.”

Can’t die… Stepper’s thoughts continued to consume him, beating him between a tide of hope and grief all at once. Home… Need to go home… Can’t go home… Lost… Trapped… Alone… With him…

The absolute misery that came along with such a horrific thought swiftly started to overwhelm the fusion, his sobs coming out in tight, anxious bursts. Certainly, he’d never be able to go home, not like this. He’d never be able to see their friends or family again, not that they even wanted to see him in the first place. He was going to die here, no doubt, a slow, agonizing painful end at the hands of a cruel, careless demon who was more than happy to watch that end play out in full. 

But maybe...

Trapped here… With each other… with you! Need… need to… save you… Need… to unfuse…

Another sharp cry escaped the fusion at this, particularly as a familiar white, unfusing light suddenly covered his form, with only the pink scars strewn across him shining through it. Bill drifted away from Stepper so he could observe with eager, sadistic delight as the fusion began to fall apart at the seams, just as he’d anticipated. Just as he’d planned. 

And yet… 

No! Can’t unfuse! No… please…. Need to unfuse… You’ll die… YOU’ll die! Stay together… Stay… like this… to save you…

Slowly but surely, the light began to fade from the fusion, his form still remaining intact, as largely broken and battered as that form currently was. Tears remained in his eyes, though this time, they carried a different emotion from despair entirely. Especially as his aching heart rang with confusion and determination alike. 

Why…? You know why… 

Despite his gem’s powers being severely limited thanks to the damage it had sustained, there was one thing it was still able to do. It flashed softly as his birthmark did the same, all of his focus going into repeating one single, simple statement that spoke volumes at a moment such as this. 

“Our friendship means so much to me! You mean so much to me!”

“Y-you… stayed with me…” Stepper said to himself, aloud this time. And even though his voice was weak and wavering, it was still filled with warmth and resolve to not let his other half suffer through this unbearable anguish alone. “S-so I’m staying with you…”

Despite the heavy crack torn across his gem, despite those cracks spreading out across his entire body, despite the pain still pervading his every sense, the fusion couldn’t help but smile, a few of his tears falling as he maintained his comforting embrace. Bill, however, was far from moved by his sheer determination, stubbornness even, to stay together. 

“Are you two serious right now?!” he asked hotly, his form flashing a bright, warning shade of angry red. “You know what’ll happen to both of you if you stay like this? You’ll DIE!” 

Stepper was surprisingly calm, even despite his poor condition, as he simply shook his head. “I-I… I’ll be fine…” he whispered, more to himself than to the demon. “We’ll be fine… a-as long as we’re… together…” 

“No, you WON’T!” Bill shouted back, completely livid as massive, deadly flames surrounded both of his hands. “All it would take is one more hit and you’re over, finished, through! SHATTERED!” 

The fusion paused, his thoughts slowly starting to become more focused as he looked up at the demon defiantly. “B-but… that’s not what you want…” he asked, his voice still shaking from the palpable pain coursing through him. Still, he chose to ignore that pain the best he could in the thought of turning the tide of this terrible situation in his favor. “M-my gem isn’t any good to you i-if it’s shattered… I-I bet your ‘client’ d-doesn’t want you h-handing them a bunch of b-broken shards… R-right?” 

For perhaps the first time ever, Bill seemed to be at a complete loss for words. His singular eye stared down at the fusion, wide and unreadable as he remained strangely silent for quite some time. All the while, Stepper returned his gaze evenly, hoping that calling the dream demon’s bluff would somehow work, though to what extent, he had no idea. 

When Bill finally did say something, his tone was surprisingly easygoing as his towering form diminished and his color changed back to its normal shade of yellow. “Well, gee, Pine Bud, you sure do have a swell point there. So instead of going to extremes, why don’t we try something a bit more… civil instead?”

In an instant, the entire Quadrangle of Qonfusion disappeared; either that or Bill had teleported them somewhere away from it. But what surprised Stepper even more was that the piercing pain tearing away at his entire form seemed to come to an abrupt, grinding halt. Instead, it was replaced by a baffling sense of numbness, though it was something the fusion couldn’t help but be grateful for, at least until he happened to glance down at his gemstone. By all accounts, the stone was still just as cracked as it had been before, the same pink cracks still deeply marring his skin as he looked over all four of his arms. And yet, those cracks brought him not a single trace of the agony he’d known only seconds ago, as his movements were free and uninhibited once more. 

“What…?” he asked, his voice singular once more as opposed to disjointed to that of his halves’ as it had previously been. “How did-”

“Feeling better, Rose Tree?” Bill chimed as he appeared before the confused fusion. “You should be! I went ahead and put a little momentary pause on all that unbearable agony you were probably going through. Mostly since I need you to actually be coherent for the little chat I want to have with you…”

“Chat?” Stepper eyed the dream demon distrustfully. “About what?”

“Boy, am I glad you asked!” With a snap of his fingers, Bill suddenly conjured up a stately desk for him to sit behind, essentially forcing Stepper to do the same as he magically pulled up a chair for him on its other side. As bewildered as the fusion was by this bizarre turn of events in general, Bill continued, his manner strangely calm and collected, a stark contrast to the violent fury he’d displayed just moments ago. “You see, Rose Tree, after all that hubbub, I just came up with a much easier way to smooth things over here. All we’d need to do is broker a little deal and-”

“No,” Stepper said immediately, hotly as his upper hands slammed down onto the desk. “If you think for one second that you can rope me into another one of your stupid deals, then you can just forget it. I would NEVER make another deal with you, not after-”

“Yeah, yeah, Pine Bud, we’re all more than well aware about just how much I ‘traumatized’ you before,” Bill rolled his eye as he reclined back into his seat. “But just hear me out. With that crack on your gut, the chances of you lasting long are pretty low, even if I don’t decide I just wanna wipe you outta existence out of sheer annoyance alone. Humans in particular don’t tend to do too well here��most of the ones who’ve ever gotten stuck here in the ol’ N.R. either ended up starving to death or spiraling into insanity in a matter of days! And as fun as that would be to watch happen to you, Rose Tree, I think we can reach a compromise that might just be able to get you back home instead!”

“W-wait… before, you said you can’t get me back to our dimension,” Stepper remarked dismissively, though he couldn’t deny the brief bout of hope that filled him all the same. “...Can you?”

“As far as you know, I can,” Bill retorted easily. “See, even if I can’t open up one of those reality tears or go to your dimension from the Nightmare Realm myself, that doesn’t mean I can’t send things that are from that dimension back to it with a little bit of… concentration. And hey, you just so happen to fall under the category of things that are from your dimension, kid! And you’re super lucky too, Pine Bud, ‘cause I’m willing to offer you the bargain of a lifetime! A one-way ticket back to your own dimension, in exchange for one tiny, simple thing that’s so trivial and unimportant, I bet you won’t even notice that it’s gone!”

“Let me guess,” Stepper said dryly, knowing this sounded far too familiar for comfort. “My gem?”

“Nope! Not this time!” 

The fusion blinked, genuinely surprised at this as he made another uncertain, anxious assumption. “M-my body? You want to possess my--our body, don’t you?”

“Nah, I’m not much on taking fusions for a spin,” the demon said flippantly. “They’re always too much to contend with in the headspace. Takes all the fun out of possession, if you ask me!”

By now, Stepper was becoming more and more unsettled as he tried to think of what else he had that Bill could possibly want from him. But ultimately, he couldn’t come up with anything. At least not anything that the demon hadn’t tried to or already had taken from him in the past. “S-so… what do you want then?”

If the dream demon could have smiled, he certainly would have been now as he leaned in across the desk toward the uneasy fusion before him. “What I want is something only you can give me, Rose Tree…” he began darkly, ominously even. “And that something is... that fancy-schmancy journal of yours!”

As Bill’s tone turned light and chipper once more, Stepper balked, dumbfounded as he tried to make sense of this unexpected twist. “My… my shield journal?” he asked, one of his lower hands absently drifting down toward his gem, though he made no move to summon the weapon. “What would… why would you want that?”

“Aw, what? It’s a rare read, one of a kind, really!” Bill explained, conjuring up an illusion of a book in question in the middle of the desk. “Plus, it just so happens to be filled with all sorts of juicy tidbits about two of my favorite twerps in the entire multiverse. Can ya really blame me for wanting a copy of my own?”

“That’s not why you want it, and both you and I know that,” Stepper scoffed harshly. “Everything that’s in my journal, I’m sure you already know. You do make it your mission to poke around in other peoples’ business all the time, after all. So stop lying for a change and tell me why you’re really after it.”

“Come on, Pine Bud, you know my talent for lying is one of my best qualities!” the dream demon taunted playfully. “But fine, if you really want the boring old truth, here it is: I just wanna see you lose your prized, precious weapon for good.”

“W-wait…” Stepper paused, a heavy wave of dread washing over him. “S-so… if I give my journal to you then… then I won’t-”

“Nope! You won’t be able to summon it ever again!” Bill confirmed mirthfully. “No more special shield tossing for you, Rose Tree! Guess that would make you a fusion without a weapon, a fundamentally useless one at that! Then again, you wouldn’t be the only one considering Sword Bud is a thing. Still, if you wanna get back home, then all you gotta do is kiss that journal goodbye. Forever! Sounds like a small price to pay to see your friends and family again and NOT die a slow, painful death in a literal nightmare dimension, dontcha think?”

Stepper faltered, unsure of what to say to this awful proposal and everything it entailed. “I… I need time to think…” he muttered, more to himself than to Bill. 

“Hey, take all the time you want, Pine Bud!” Bill surprisingly agreed, spinning around in his chair to give the fusion some “privacy”. “Just keep in mind, time’s not something you really have on your side anymore, not with that crack on your gem set to tear you apart at any given second!”

Stepper sighed, glaring in the demon’s direction disdainfully before stealing a glance down at his own aforementioned gemstone. The crack torn across it was just as prominent and damming as ever, looking so misplaced and wrong against something that was so familiar and fond to him. “What do we do…?” he whispered to himself, lightly tracing a finger over the crevice on the stone. “We can’t trust him, you know we can’t! I do know, but… what other choice do we have? W-we… we’ll keep fighting him! We’ve lasted against him this long, we can-” He stopped himself, shaking his head. “We can what? We’re cracked! We won’t last long like this, even if we do stay together… We can’t heal ourselves… But… m-maybe… if we go home… The Gems might be able to find a way to help us.”

He rubbed his temples, frustrated and distraught at the impossible position he’d found himself in. “B-but… our journal,” he countered morosely. “Never being able to summon it again is… I know, I don’t like it either. Our journal is one of my favorite things about us. But… you’re more important to me than any book… A-and I’d rather lose that book forever then lose you forever…” For what felt like the millionth time since he’d been pulled into the Nightmare Realm, he could feel tears finding a place in his eyes once more as his upper arms held onto him lightly. “...Same here…” he said softly, yet sadly all the same. “So… we’re doing this…? I don’t want to, but… if we don’t have any other choice…”

“You DON’T!” Bill suddenly interrupted, spinning back around to face the fusion. “So, since your mind’s all made up, let’s get to summoning that journal for the last time so we can really seal this deal, huh?”

Stepper was quick to meet the demon’s callous remarks with a stern glare, wanting to make sure that he knew exactly what he was getting himself into here. “The only thing you want is my shield journal,” he began firmly. “That’s it, right? Nothing more along with it? No strings attached?”

“None at all, Rose Tree!” Bill assured evenly, extending a blue flame-covered hand for him to shake. “All you gotta do is fork over that journal and you’ll be home before you know it! I promise.”

“Tch, as if your promises ever even mean anything,” Stepper deadpanned crossly. “But… if all I stand to lose is my shield journal for a chance to go home and get as far away from you as possible, then…” He sighed, already regretting this decision and already anticipating that it would go horribly wrong somehow. But even then, he thought, whatever was about to happen had to be at least somewhat better than the alternative of being trapped here with Bill forever. “I’ll take it.”

With this, Stepper solidly shook the dream demon’s flame-engulfed hand, essentially sealing both the deal and his own fate, whatever that fate without his journal was about to be. “Great!” Bill quipped excitedly as he pulled his hand away. “I knew we’d be able to work something out, Pine Bud. Now… pay up.”

“...C-can I even summon my journal like this…?” Stepper wondered, nervously glancing down at his damaged gem once more. “I can’t heal, so-”

“Yeesh, kid, you worry too much!” Bill rebuffed impatiently. “You’re cracked, not shattered! Some of your powers are still bound to work. Just give it a try and see!”

Stepper scowled at the dream demon, but even so, he did as he said, positioning his lower set of hands just below his gem. He took in a deep, steadying breath, closing his eyes in the hopes that this would still somehow work. And though it took a moment of deep concentration, sure enough it did, as his gem, even as cracked as it currently was, began to take on a gentle, familiar sort of glow. From that glow, his shield journal emerged, though from the very start it was glitching in and out of existence in reaction to the damage he had sustained. Unable to float on its own, the book fell out of the air, though fortunately he managed to narrowly catch it in his lower set of arms. 

As he pulled it up closer to him, Stepper couldn’t help but frown, even as the journal began to stabilize in his grip. Though it had taken him time to learn to appreciate his weapon when he’d first fused, by now, he’d come to realize just how special and unique his shield journal really was. It was powerful, it was versatile, but even more than that, it was reflective of him, of his halves and who they were, both together and apart. And yet, here he was, ready to give it all away without a chance at ever getting it back. It was a heartbreaking decision, but a necessary one. One that both of his halves knew they had to make if they ever hoped to save each other. 

“Alright, Rose Tree,” Bill remarked, already extending a hand out to retrieve the book. “Hand it over.”

Stepper sighed, resigning himself to that decision as he pulled his sights away from the journal to stare Bill down brazenly. And, with his movements slow and steady, the fusion lifted his shield journal up, offering it to the dream demon as he prepared to part ways with it permanently. 

Without skipping a single beat, Bill swiftly snatched the journal away from Stepper. The effect was immediate, for as soon as the shield journal left his hands, the fusion took in a sharp gasp, his former agony returning in full force as his gem, birthmark, and cracks strewn across his skin all flashed a vibrant, garish pink. As that flash died down every bit as quickly, his eyes began to roll back in his head, one of his hands involuntarily reaching out toward the journal that Bill had already taken away from him. But that hand fell away as the fusion drifted off into a deep, unconscious void, lost to his pain and perhaps, to something else entirely. 

“Well, that takes care of that!” Bill concluded brightly, sending the fusion’s journal away with a mere snap of his fingers. “Now, all we need is a…” At that exact moment, the Nightmare Realm itself rippled with a sudden, forign energy, one that tore open a rift in the dimension’s already chaotic plane. A rift that happened to form into a portal not too far away from where the dream demon happened to be floating. “Aha! Perfect timing!” 

Bill quickly pulled Stepper’s limp, listless form toward the newly-created portal, one that, sure enough, led right to the very dimension the fusion was from. “Looks like you’re getting your ticket home after all, Rose Tree!” the dream demon quipped, shaking the unconscious fusion roughly. “Ohoho!” Bill’s interest peaked as he stole another brief glance through the portal beside him. “And you’ll even get your own welcoming party too! How nice!”

This ‘welcoming party’ was, in truth, more of a search party, one composed of the Gems and Mabel as they all frantically combed through the woods for none other than Steven and Dipper themselves. It was a search that had been ongoing for quite some time now, and after several restless nights of the boys’ mysterious absence, stress and exhaustion was weighing heavily upon them all as their relatively fruitless effort continued. 

“I just don’t understand!” Pearl huffed, exasperated as she peered around yet another tree. “How did they just… completely disappear without a trace?! Nothing about this makes any sense!”

“You sure your future vision hasn’t seen anything about where they’re at, G?” Amethyst asked, looking to Garnet almost pleadingly. 

The Gem leader took pause at this, adjusting her shades before letting out a disappointed sigh. “No,” she reported tiredly. “Nothing.”

“B-But they’ve been gone for three days now!” Mabel explained, her tone deeply fretful. The growing bags under her eyes were telling of the fact that she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep since the boys had vanished, and by all accounts, she had no intentions of even trying to get any until they were safe and found. “Steven and Dipper wouldn’t just… leave without telling anyone! Something must have happened to them! We’ve gotta find them, please!”

“Don’t worry,” Garnet assured, placing a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. “We’re not going to stop looking until we do. No matter how far we have to go, we’ll-”

“Actually, Fuse Box, you won’t have to go that far to find ‘em…”

The entire group let out a shared, startled gasp upon hearing this all-too familiar voice echo through the nearby forest. It instantly drew their attention to the surprising portal torn near a tree just a ways ahead of them, and floating within the void it contained was none other than Bill Cipher himself. 

“Y-you!” Pearl shouted as her, Garnet, and Amethyst all swiftly summoned their weapons. “What are you doing here?!”

“Yeah, get lost, chump!” Amethyst yelled just as bitterly, ready to lash out with her whip at a moment’s notice. 

“We have no time to deal with you right now, Bill,” Garnet added rigidly, her gauntlets curled into tight fists. “We have something much more important we need to take care of.”

“Oh really?” the demon retorted casually. “You mean you don’t have any time… for him?”

Another heavy round of shock, one even stronger and piercing than the last, ran through the group as Bill suddenly hoisted a certain, unconscious four-armed figure up for them all to see. “S-Stepper!” Mabel cried, tears already springing up in her eyes. She didn’t hesitate to try to rush to him, though Amethyst made sure to hold her back just before she could. “W-what is he… h-how did he get-”

“How’d he get here? To the cozy little corner of the multiverse I call home? Great question, Shooting Star!” Bill piped up. “Ya see, poor Pine Tree and Rosebud here tumbled through a randomly-occurring interdimensional tear, just like this one right here! Ohoho boy, if you all could have only SEEN the look of sheer terror on their faces when they realized where they were! What a pair of spineless little-”

“Quiet!” Pearl snapped hotly, angrily tossing her spear, which struck the tree just above where the portal hung. “What did you do to them, you monster?!”

“I didn’t do much of anything to them,” the demon remarked with faux innocence. “Well, aside from put them in their place for being dumb enough to think they could stand up to me, of course. But I’ve had my fun with Rose Tree here, and better yet, I’ve gotten what I wanted outta him, so I think I’ll just do you all a solid and toss him back over to you. Free of charge!”

“W-what… what do you mean you got what you wanted out of him…?” Mabel asked, frightened by the sheer vagueness of that statement alone. 

“Wouldn’t YOU like to know, kid,” Bill scoffed, rolling his eye. “Still, I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon enough. Or not. Doesn’t really matter to me if you do either way. Anyway here, take your empty-headed Pine Bud back.” Without much warning at all, the demon suddenly threw Stepper forward, sending him tumbling through the portal and back into his own dimension with little effort or care at all. Though Amethyst, Pearl, and Mabel all gasped in shared surprise at his sudden return, Garnet was the first to react, rushing in to catch the comatose fusion before he could hit the ground. 

“Cipher!” the Gem leader shouted furiously as she glared up at the portal before her. 

“Good to see you all again too!” Bill replied, offering the group a cheerful wave as said portal began to seal itself back up. “I have a feeling it won’t be long before the next time we meet up. Maybe we’ll do lunch! But until then, remember: I’ll be WATCHING you!” 

The dream demon let out another insane, sadistic laugh that echoed through the woods even after the portal itself was gone. Amethyst and Pearl leapt forward in an attempt to keep it from closing so they could properly attack Bill, but their chance was gone before they could even try it. 

“Ugh! I hate that guy!” Amethyst groaned, severely annoyed as her whip disappeared. 

“It’s safe to say we all do by this point…” Pearl agreed just as disdainfully. “B-but, let’s look on the bright side: at least we… ‘found’ Steven and Dipper!”

A sudden gasp from Garnet cut through this small bout of relief entirely as she got a chance to properly look over the limp fusion lying in her arms. “N-no…” she whispered, her visor disappearing to reveal the tears welling up in all three of her eyes. 

“G-Garnet….?” Mabel took a cautious step forward. “I-is… is he ok?”

By now, Pearl and Amethyst had caught onto what had Garnet so distraught, and likewise, their panic was just as palpable. The white Gem collapsed to her knees, tears finding a place in her eyes as well as she moved a trembling hand to cover her mouth. The purple Gem was absolutely shaken, though she still managed to rush over to Mabel, hoping to pull her away before she could see what had truly become of her brother and best friend. 

“Uh, h-hey, Mabel!” she exclaimed, throwing on a forced smile as she turned the girl around. “Why don’t we, um… h-head back to the shack a-and tell Stan and Ford the good news?”

“No!” Mabel protested, pulling herself away. “I-I want to see him!” None of the Gems were really able to stop her as she rushed to Stepper’s side, though the moment she caught sight of his gem, she practically fell ill. “H-his… his gem…” she began, a sob slipping out as she knelt down beside him. “I-it’s…”

“Cracked…” Garnet finished, her tone awash in grief. 

“AUGH!” Amethyst suddenly shouted, absolutely infuriated as she slammed her fist against the nearest tree. “He did this to them, that stupid triangle piece of-”

“AMETHYST!” Pearl cut her off just in time. 

Meanwhile, Mabel placed a gentle, shaking hand against the unconscious fusion’s arm, noticing the jagged pink lines torn across it, only adding to just how disheveled and damaged he looked overall between his torn and tattered clothes and countless scratches and scrapes. “D-Dipper… Steven…” she whispered, her heart aching as she noticed the traces of pain in his otherwise empty expression. “S-Stepper…”

At this, the fusion suddenly began to stir, much to everyone’s surprise, especially as he let out a soft, exhausted groan. “M-Mabel…?” he spoke, his voice his own yet still so broken in an entirely different way all the same. 

“Stepper!” Mabel and the Gems all exclaimed in unison as they began to crowd around him. At least until Garnet put a swift stop to it. 

“Give him some space,” she ordered her teammates, looking down at the fusion in her arms earnestly as he addressed her. 

“G-Garnet… i-is… is that… you?” he asked, clearly agonized by the effort alone as he remained limp in her hold. 

“Yes,” Garnet couldn’t help but smile, overwhelmed with relief to see that he was still alive at all after what he’d been through. “Stepper, y-you… your gem is badly damaged. But don’t worry. We’re going to take care of you.”

Stepper didn’t respond, his eyes bleary as he tried and failed to focus on the Gem leader. His thoughts were all a distant haze, enshrouded by the immense, unending pain that he felt like he had been drowning in for ages now. So instead, he let his eyes slowly slip shut once more, content to let Mabel and the Gems do whatever they could to help, even if he didn’t know how he’d ended up among them to begin with. 

“C-can’t he just heal himself?!” Mabel asked, frantic. “Stepper, just use your healing powers on your gem and-”

“M-Mabel, he’s… cra--damaged,” Pearl interjected, shuddering even as she spoke the horrific word. “His powers probably aren’t working right. W-well have to help him some other way.”

“We’ll take him to Rose’s fountain,” Garnet concluded, her tone firm as her shades appeared once more. Slowly and carefully, she stood with Stepper still in her arms, carrying his languid form as comfortably as she could. “It’s waters should be able to fix his gem. In the meantime, Amethyst, go get Stan and Ford and bring them there. They need to know what happened to Dipper.”

“Right,” Amethyst nodded, not even hesitating to turn and rush back through the forest toward the shack. At the same time, Garnet, Pearl, and Mabel wasted no time in setting off as well, marching swiftly through the woods to get back to the temple as fast as possible. Despite Garnet’s steady pace, Mabel did her best to keep up with her, if only so she could keep a comforting hold on one of Stepper’s lower hands all the while. 

“I-it’s ok, Ste-bro,” she whispered to him tearfully, trying to muster a smile even if he couldn’t currently see it. “You’re gonna be o-ok… We’ll fix you right up, you’ll see. I-I promise.”

For his part, Stepper could barely even hear her, much less the anxious conversation stirring up between Garnet and Pearl along the way. He only briefly caught bits and pieces of it; the word “cracked” in particular came up over and over again, though given his current condition that was hardly surprising. Largely, Stepper spent the bulk of their brisk trip back to the temple wavering in and out of consciousness, steeped in dull, familiar agony all the while. Yet strangely, he happened to find some comfort amidst that agony: the brief, blurry flashes of war, sunlight sparkling through the trees high above him, the secure, safe hold Garnet had on him as she held him close in a protective carry, the soft, gentle grip Mabel made sure to keep his hand within, one that he wished he could return, even if he didn’t have the strength for it. 

After what seemed like years, the group finally burst into the temple, making a beeline for the warp pad. Stepper didn’t register its activation, nor was he aware for anything at all until they arrived at a familiar, serene setting. 

The air around Rose’s iconic fountain was always warm and sweet, smelling of the pink blossoms that flourished all around it. That beauty was lost on the group as they ran toward it however, their purpose grim and their hopes high that its waters could somehow work another miracle, just as it had so many before. There was no deliberation as Garnet reached the fountain first, repositioning Stepper before she gently, carefully lowered him down into its sparkling, rejuvenating water, allowing him to sink into it until it covered his cracked gemstone completely. 

For a moment, the most any of them could do was wait. The fountain’s waters grew still, the fusion floating within them just as still too, at least until a warm, radiant light began to surround him. Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst all watched with wide, wondering eyes as that light became practically blinding, and even still they were kept waiting as it slowly faded away. At least until Stepper splashed up out of the fountain’s waters with a startled, heavy gasp. 

“Stepper!” Mabel cried, rushing for him immediately. Before the fusion even had time to properly orient himself, she barreled into him, knocking him back into the water with a tight, elated hug. “I-I’m so glad you’re ok! Don’t ever scare me like that again!”

“M-Mabel,” Stepper couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle as he returned her embrace. “I’m glad to see you too.”

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re alright!” Pearl chimed in as her and Garnet remained at the edge of the fountain. “You’re-” She stopped short, her relief whiplashing right back into alarm as Stepper began to climb out of the fountain himself. “I-it… it can’t be… Y-you… you’re gem i-is still…”

Stepper’s stunned gasp filled in the blanks as he looked down to the gemstone, only to find that, sure enough, it was every bit as cracked as it had been before. And even more than that, it was strangely duller somehow, its usual bright pink muted to a very noticeable degree. While most of the cracks scarring his skin had disappeared, a few still remained, mostly all congregated around the gemstone itself as they retained the same sort of dull pink pallor. “W-what…?” he asked, quite frightened as one of his lower arms reached for the damaged stone. “B-but how…?”

“T-this should have worked!” Mabel exclaimed, distraught as she took in the sight of the stone herself. “It should have healed you! Why didn’t it work!?”

“Stepper,” Garnet interjected, her tone surprisingly steady as she approached the fusion. “Your gem is still cracked, but you appear to be fine. Tell us you’re feeling.”

“Um, w-well… I-I feel fine now,” Stepper shrugged, though his tone was honest all the same. And it was true, all of the pain that had prevailed his senses disappeared the moment his gem so much as touched the fountain’s healing waters. “But… my gem… w-what happened to it…?”

Garnet, Pearl, and Mabel exchanged a confused, concerned glance at this, though the white Gem was ultimately the one to speak up to it. “Y-you mean… you don’t remember?”

Stepper shook his head, his brow furrowing in thought as he tried to think about how his gem might have been so severely damaged, though in the end, nothing came to him. “That’s… troubling…” Garnet remarked, though she didn’t bother explaining any further. At least not at the moment. “Still, even if you feel fine, Stepper, you should unfuse so we can see how each of you are doing on your own.”

Now it was Stepper’s turn to be confused as he looked to the Gem leader as if what she’d just said was the most baffling thing he’d ever heard. Which, at least to him, it was. “Unfuse?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Uh, you know, unfuse?” Mabel repeated with a ghost of a smile. “As much as we love having you around, Stepper, we should probably check on Steven and Dipper too.”

A beat of silence that felt like it lasted ages passed at this, with only the fountain’s flowing water filling it in. And all the while, Stepper’s expression was awash in bewilderment, his eyes wide and unknowing as he voiced a simple question that sent shockwaves out the moment it was asked. 

“Who?”

Next: 

[mittensmorgul]

I’m rewatching 13.15, A Most Holy Man, right now, and... and I remember when it first aired. The reaction was largely “meh,” or “the noir format doesn’t really do it for me and the episode was kinda boring overall.” It’s possibly the s13 episode I have the least amount of posts for on my blog. It was largely skimmed over as mostly irrelevant, with the only takeaway being:

A. They got the macguffin they needed to progress the A plot by the end of the episode

and

2. They really should’ve cut that scene of Dean going on about how he’d kill everyone who tried to steal his car...

But... this was a Dabb episode. I wrote this post back in May, but I think it merits an additional look now:

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184946657745/so-im-still-out-ahead-of-the-tnt-loop-but-i

Because this single episode functions as a microcosm of their entire lives, at least thematically, if not in a 1:1 fashion. I mean, it is just a 42 minute episode. There were only so many twists and layers they could reasonably shove in, and the Rule Of Three is a convenient metric for demonstrating the pattern in narrative shorthand that invites us to consider the unspoken “etc. etc. ad nauseum” ourselves.

I’d go into the entire structure of the episode, but I’m hoping that just explaining the outcome-- after reading the post I linked above-- everyone will be able to see the parallel itself without me having to write 5k words on the subject today. :P

Let’s start with the exchange at the end of the episode that prompted this realization. Because it’s a bit of chicanery:

FATHER LUCCA: I think I got shot. [DEAN lifts up FATHER LUCCA’s shirt to see only a little blood.] DEAN: Looks like he just grazed you. A few more inches to the left and, uh... FATHER LUCCA: It’s a miracle. [SAM and DEAN, with FATHER LUCCA behind them, search the warehouse and find GREENSTREET still hiding.] GREENSTREET: I didn’t know this would happen. I… I’ll give you anything you want, huh? DEAN: The blood, where is it? GREENSTREET: It, uh… doesn’t exist. SAM: You… what? Wait a second. You told us– GREENSTREET: Exactly what you wanted to hear. It was just a bit of… DEAN: Chicanery? GREENSTREET: Exactly. DEAN: Well… chicane this. [DEAN punches GREENSTREET to the ground.] ACT FIVE EXTERIOR – WAREHOUSE – NIGHT [There are police cars outside the warehouse. A policeman leads GREENSTREET to a car and sits him inside.] GREENSTREET: No, no, no, no. Wait. Don’t – you – you – you’ve made a mistake.

For a refresher, Greenstreet was the author of this entire bit of chicanery. For a while, it appeared as if it was actually each of the other people involved:

Margaret Astor, the first person we meet, and also the one APPARENTLY holding all the cards when they walk into the final deal, who ends up backstabbed (well shot in the back anyway, close enough) by her own assistant

she sent them to Greenstreet, who introduced the term “chicanery” to the narrative, which I’m gonna focus on next, because despite all his plotting, his narrative didn’t end the way he wanted (he’s getting hauled off to jail, but heck, at least he didn’t end up dead like most of the rest of these conspirators...)

Greenstreet sent them to Scarpatti, with the partially true information that he’d been the one to have the artifact stolen in the first place, only to learn that it had been stolen from his man in turn...

(and remember, the skull isn’t actually what Sam and Dean need... it’s the currency they believed they needed in order to trade for what they DO actually need... it’s a bit of a chicane... which I’ll get to... sorry for this meandering on the way to the conclusion, but this little side journey is 100% relevant... you’ll see what I mean in a minute)

While investigating Scarpatti’s side-detour, they end up having to investigate a murder, and inadvertently stumble over Father Lucca Camilleri... but Sam and Dean have no idea that they’re now traveling through this episode with the thing THEY actually need. But rather than just... take what they need because that fact hasn’t been revealed to them yet, or even continue to pursue the currency they believe they need to trade for the elusive thing they need, they selflessly choose to do the morally right thing despite believing that in doing so they are forfeiting their chance to get the macguffin they need.

Ain’t it just Winchesters vs The Cosmos on a microscopic level?

Because one thing I’ve learned about Dabb as showrunner is that his absolute favorite thing is gleefully pointing back at canon and explicitly clarifying things. It’s not always obvious, he tends to be incredibly subtle, but if you’re looking for it, it’s impossible not to see in pretty much all of his writing. He LOVES messing with prior perception, and making us work for the satisfying moment where all the pieces fall into place.

Chicanery and the chicane. THAT ITSELF IS A CLARIFICATION. From vague to specific. Because “a chicane” is a very different thing than “chicanery.” And it’s all a bit of a winding deception.

For reference, the definitions of these two very different words:

chi·can·er·y /SHəˈkān(ə)rē/ noun, the use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose. "an underhanded person who schemes corruption and political chicanery behind closed doors" synonyms: trickery, deception, deceit, deceitfulness, duplicity, dishonesty, unscrupulousness, underhandedness, subterfuge, fraud, fraudulence, legerdemain, sophistry, sharp practice, skulduggery, swindling, cheating, duping, hoodwinking

and

chicane (/ʃɪˈkeɪn/) noun, a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety.

What the definition of “chicane” doesn’t provide is that in auto racing, a chicane isn’t seen as a “safety” measure, but an obstacle. If you’ve ever watched road racing, the chicane is where a lot of drivers wipe out. It’s a choke point where everyone HAS to slow down, but when you’re RACING each other, the objective is to remain out in front, you know? Jockeying for position, trying to get through the obstacle as quickly as possible to get back to direct racing toward the finish line. So while a chicane literally slows the racing by design, forcing drivers to adapt to the physical reality of safely navigate through the pinch point while not wrecking themselves, they need to maintain absolute focus to retain their position, as well. It’s not about slowing down for safety but about finding the balance point between “safely navigating through without wrecking myself or being wrecked by the other cars trying to achieve the same objective I am” and “but we’re still racing and I can’t let anyone pass me so I’m still gonna push it as fast as I can while still conforming to the laws of known physics.” It’s... difficult.

THREE TIMES in this episode, they use the word “chicanery” before Dean clarifies it to “chicane.” For reference, out of the other 306 episodes of this show that exist at the time of writing this post, they’ve used “chicanery” a grand total of ZERO other times. Seems significant, yes?

In the same way the show has frequently used Wizard Of Oz imagery to convey these same points, with the reminder in the end of the “you had the power inside you all along” sort of themes, this episode takes it one step further. Which... logical considering the nature of the spiral narrative, that when it comes around again, the circumstances aren’t exactly the same. Think of it in terms of that racetrack with the chicane.

In the case of the plot of this episode, a similar comparison can be drawn to The DaVinci Code, since through most of the wild goose chase running through all the games and puzzles, the guy is literally traveling with the object he seeks. It just doesn’t become obvious, like with Dorothy and her Ruby Slippers, until they’ve worked their way through all the puzzles and subterfuge along the way. As Dean says in Scoobynatural when Sam points out that if he knows how the episode ends, why don’t they just get to the point already, and Dean replies “Because sometimes it’s about the journey.” Rather intuitive meta observation about the point of the narrative structure, yes?

Back to our road race analogy now, after passing through the chicane chicane. Every lap, the drivers are driving through the same essential course. The shape of the road doesn’t change in the most fundamental way. The same parts are still paved, the walls around the edges don’t move, etc. But each time they drive around, other conditions vary. Their tires wear down so their traction changes. Heck, the drivers themselves are wearing out physically and mentally. Maybe a dude’s just thirsty or has an itch on his nose or just has to pee real bad. Maybe the wind speed or direction has changed. Maybe the sun has moved so different turns become more tricky with a glare in their eyes. Their engines are slowly shifting as wear and tear of operating at a high performance level alters performance. Their brakes might be wearing down. They may be in need of more fuel and are driving more conservatively, or may have just gotten new fuel or new tires or made some other alteration to their car that shifts not only their ability to go faster, but changes how they handle corners, etc. But there’s also the factor of all the OTHER cars driving around them. Maybe they’ve hit the chicane all by themselves because they’re out ahead of the pack (or trailing far behind it). Maybe they’re clustered tightly together with other drivers. Maybe there was a wreck that altered the road surface... cleaning up fuel/oil spills, sand or dirt having “spilled” out onto the road surface, maybe a slight drizzle started making it more slippery, or even random trash has blown from the stands into the road, or debris from a wreck-in-progress hampers their progress. There are SO MANY FACTORS at play that make each lap around the course an entirely different experience, you know?

Same with the spiral narrative. The major landmarks might be similar, but everything else is new.

And the moment Dean says “chicane this” and punches the author of this series of events in the face, that’s basically 14.20, yes?

They’re tired, and they’re on the last lap, and they’ve been through this chicane so many times now. And they’ve just been told that after every lap, Chuck refused to wave the checkered flag. They kept reaching the finish line over and over, only to discover it was also the starting line and the race was still going. And each time through Chuck’s big chicane, he’d deliberately change those variables, so the more experience they gained on the track, there’d always be a bit of new debris to navigate, a new difficulty level added.

And now in 14.20, it’s like they finally caught him in the act of throwing thumbtacks down on the road, you know? They caught him at his tricks.

And like, to use a favorite metaphor of Dabb’s, it’s like the roadrunner and the coyote. Only the roadrunner had always known all along that the coyote was laying traps for him and always found the most hilarious ways to foil the coyote’s plans and turn it back around on him. It took them 14 seasons for TFW to finally pull a roadrunner.

This has always been Dabb’s ending, because it’s actually the story he has been telling all along. The spiral’s broken, and instead of continuing lap after lap with no end in sight, they’ve finally realized they can just... stop driving in carefully paved loops and drive in a direct line to the finish.

(and maybe the only way to make it to the finish is to pave their own road around all of Chuck’s chicanery... it’s gonna be some heavy lifting and some rough off-roading, but it’s the only way to get off the track to victory lane)

(apologies, this is the sort of place my brain goes when Mr. Mittens is watching nascar at Road America in the background... but it’s super apt, and full disclosure, I started writing this about an hour before he turned the tv on. I was already on this road course >.>)

[thedistantstorm]

A Gentle Truth [3/3]

A Ghost finds his Guardian in the ruins of Tokyo. She asks him for a name. He agrees, but only if she grants him one in return.

Previously: One | Two

They come across a scavenger in the ruins on her sixth day. He's a burly man who makes a lot of noise and seems to enjoy shooting Fallen who happen upon him.

Something about him frightens her, frightens his Guardian. Perhaps it's the scars on his arms, or the obvious weapons at his sides, or the love of chaotic violence. "We can go around," The nameless Ghost tells her. "He won't be able to see us. He doesn't have a display like the one we share, to tell him of enemies nearby."

Even still, one scavenger usually means there are others - they come in groups, Ghost says. She keeps to the shadows, moving stealthily between the skeletal buildings that tower above her, their frames built to withstand earthquakes. Something about it bothers her, makes her expressly sad, for reasons she does not understand. 

Something in her recognizes this place, even if she's only perturbed by seeing an Awoken face rather than a human staring back at her in dingy mirrors. She is interesting, his Guardian is. He's found himself wondering about her more and more while she sleeps. Why was she returning here? Did she feel the pull in her previous life, too? It intrigued him to no end.

They're blocks away when they hear the sound of more fighting. She has no weapons, nothing in their search has been worth carrying around in the day, and fists will not defeat a gun. Not for a new Guardian, at least. She might get a punch in, but her enemy would empty a clip in her belly for it. And with her Light so new - warm and bright, but untempered - she hardly stood a chance if it came to an altercation, Ghost thought. He had yet to see her demonstrate the knowledge of fighting most Guardians seemed to intrinsically grasp.

He sticks close to her. She likes the comfort of him in sight, the way he uses himself like a beacon for her to orbit about. She does not understand that it's entirely the opposite.

They dip into the remains of an old shopping center. It's mostly open and overgrown, the glass ceiling shattered across the dirty tiles. "They're following us, aren't they?" She whispers, in accented common.

He bobs, dimming his singular eye. "They must be tracking us, to see what we find. You're stronger than them."

She gives him a comical look, sceptic.

"You'll understand eventually," He hums. "Let's try and wait them out."

It doesn't help, though. They hide beneath rubble, carefully peering over counters and cracks in the flimsy walls. One of the scavengers throws off the collapsed beam and flaking drywall she's hiding under and motions with a crook of his fingers. "Come out, come out, little Lightbearer." 

Over his shoulder, he calls something out in a strange language she doesn't understand. She rises and her Ghost phases away. Three more men come into the dilapidated store. 

The large, loud man from before steps past all of them, grabbing her by the chin. "Well she looks like a newborn, do'dn't she?" He laughs, sneering. "Where's your Ghost, love? Ain't 'e tell ya how the world works?"

"Leave him out of it," She snarls back. One of them grabs her by the hair, their other hand falling to her shoulder, wrenching it back. The leader of their group releases her chin to smack her across the face.

Ghost appears beside her then, shell spinning furiously. "Release my Guardian!" He hollers. "She's not taking anything you're after."

They group laughs. "We know tha', Li'tl Light," He jeers. "We ain't after her at all," He explains. "It's just the easiest way to do this-"

The voltage of arc energy makes Ghost scream in endless agony until his tiny eye shuts and he falls to the ground with a metallic clunk. The two men - one holding a generator or fuel cell of some sort, the other holding a bit of exposed wiring, laugh, excited.

"Got 'em, boss! Bet you-know-who will be really pleased."

"You know he will, you little shits," Comes the gleeful reply. "As for you," He tells the girl, "I can tell you ain't fixin' ta fight and that suits us just fine. Who knows, maybe you'll find a new one someday."

"Give him back," She commands as they take turns tumbling her dazed companion end over end, studying him.

"Sweetheart, I don' think you quite understand." He pulls a knife from his belt. "You're not in'na position to be makin' the calls 'round here."

"Let us go," She tries again, flailing about, trying to get free. Her voice is earnest. "Please."

He just laughs and the scavenger with his hand tangled in her hair yanks to illustrate how useless her struggling is. No matter how she claws at his gauntletted hands, he does not budge.

"If the bot wakes, crank up the juice 'n hit 'em again," The leader instructs his men, turned towards them. "They're flighty little things." He scoffs. "Now. As for you-"

There's a crack and a howl as the woman's foot all but goes through that of the man holding her. His steel-toed boot is crushed, caved in. There's a lingering warmth, the smell of wood fire in the air. The Guardian growls. "Remove hands and I release foot."

The man holding onto her is helpless but to comply, gripping his broken foot with a guttural cry when she steps forward and off of it.

"Tell your men. Release Ghost, or I not be kind," She tells him, and the cherubic visage is gone, replaced by flaring nostrils and narrowed diamond eyes.

"Without him, yer the same as me," He says, waving his knife. "Except I have a-"

It feels like she blinks fire as the two men to her right drop her Ghost to the ground and hit him with more amps of arc. She plucks the blade from the man's hands - wrapping her hand around the sharp end - and casts it aside. If the bite of the steel into her palm, the blood marring her fingers bothers her, she gives no indication.

"Get away from him," She says heatedly. "Now."

"Don't listen to her," The man before her says, drawing a gun from his belt. "She ain't gonna do no harm. She’s just a babe.” His laugh is overwhelming. “She let me draw this,” He waves it at her, yellowed teeth twisted in a smart smile. “How ‘bout you back off and I promise we won’t hurt your li’tl buddy no more.”

“You’re lying,” She tells him, accent thick. “I not believe you.”

“You’re good. Really good. I was gonna let you think it’d be that way, get out of ear shot before we plugged ‘em up with so’more juice. But yer startin’ to piss me off,” He growls. “So I’m startin’ to think I should shoot you.”

“You not shoot me.”

“No?”

She looks at the canon in his hands, eyes darting from it and back to his own.

“Oh, you think yer gonna get this one from me?”

She narrows her gaze.

“Oh, that’s a horrible idea.” He levels his gun at her tiny, knocked out companion. “I’m liable to shoot ‘im instead.”

With untraceable speed, she headbutts the scavenger, slipping around him not a second after and twisting the arm with the gun behind his back until he whines and releases his grip on it. She thumbs the safety off and points it at the other two, who jump at the insinuation. “Not want to hurt,” She tells them, voice soft. Serious. “But I will.”

“Let him go,” They nod to their bloodied leader.

Sternly, she instructs, “Away from Ghost. Take men.”

They do as they’re told, walking widely around her to get their comrades. It almost goes off without a hitch. Almost.

But then the man she’d headbutted pulls the gun from his subordinate’s holster and fires at her when she releases his twisted arm. 

Fight or flight instincts kick in. It’s as though she’s watching in slow motion as he pulls the weapon and discharges it at her. She moves in time and the bullet bursts through her shoulder, rather than her chest. Her face twists in pain and she pulls the man back by his arm, breaking it cleanly. When he moves to speak, she smacks him with his own gun. The force dislocates his jaw and sends him tumbling to the ground. She clenches her fists. They feel hot.

"Go," She tells them, dripping blood all over herself as she rushes to cradle her Ghost. "I won't tell again. No more kindness."

“You’ll pay,” They tell her, even as they tremble and shake. “People will find out about what you’ve done. Powerful people. Other Risen. You’ll pay.”

“No,” She looks up through stringy black-grey hair, eyes hard. She rises, watching them. “Do good, be good. No harm others. Ghost or Human.”

“I don’t know what kind of world you think you’ve woken up into, Risen,” The one with the injured foot tells her. “That isn’t how this is.”

She tilts her head to the side, considering silently. When she speaks, something has changed. “I think that’s the world we should be,” She answers, in a smooth, unwavering bell-chime tone. She doesn’t notice the sliver of cyan light from the flickering optic of the Ghost in her arms, but she clutches the shell close to her chest when he twitches mildly. “The world we should make it.”

She goes unanswered. They limp away to the Northwest. She heads to the South.

-/

When he wakes, the sun is setting, and they are walking through buildings, toward the narrow sea that separates the island from the mainland. She moves slowly, but she does not seem to be nearly as fearful. The scavenger’s cannon is tucked into her belt.

Fingers smooth over his dented, battered shell, soft and sure. “It is nothing,” She whispers, equally as soft. “You are unharmed?”

He flexes the bits of his shell, perching on her cupped palms, wiggling in a lopsided line, unable to control his motions well just yet. She plucks him from the air, wincing as she does. “I think I’ll need some time,” He informs her. “But I can-”

She finds a place overlooking the water to sit and watch the remainder of the Sun’s journey down below the horizon. “I think I can do it,” His partner says. She crosses her legs on a slab of concrete and closes her eyes, basking in the evening glow. She gasps as she feels the tendrils of something strange unfurl within her. Her wound slowly, sluggishly weaves itself back together. She looks down at the material of her tunic and sighs. “Better,” She tells him, relieved. He seems to enjoy the strange energy she’s exuding, drifting up under her chin carefully, and so she endeavors to make it last as long as she can.

When it’s over, he moves far easier as well. “You said something,” He tells her. “Back there. To those men.”

His Guardian hums.

“You said you wanted the world to be the kind of world where people do good and are good.”

She nods. “It isn’t, is it?”

He shakes his body in a negative. “It’s more dangerous. Scary. Dark.”

“But we can make it better, yes?”

Surprised, he comments, “Your speaking is better. It wasn’t-”

“I’m not afraid,” She supposes mildly. “I think it’s better when I am comfortable.” She watches his singular eye. “If they come back, if they come for you, I will protect us.” She puts a hand over her heart, quicksilver eyes softening. “I am your Guardian, after all,” She reminds him with the softest of smiles. 

“My Miyu,” He corrects. “You’re my Miyu. My gentle truth.”

“Mi-yu.” She repeats, looking at him in awe. “Is that-”

He spins, asking nervously, “Do you like it?”

“Sutekidesu!” She gushes immediately, thrilled, her finger tapping her lips. “I-”

“It’s okay if you don’t have one for me yet,” He tells her. “I don’t need to know now.” 

She reaches for his fins, cradling him gently and bringing his top fin to her lips. He’s all but vibrating in excitement. She’d chosen his name not long after the subject had been brought up, but wasn’t sure. But now, she’s resolute. It’s the right choice. He is her spirit. A part of her, like she is a part of him. “Tamashii.”

“Me?”

“You,” She smiles. “It means-”

He interrupts, already having looked it up in that database of his. “It’s perfect. I love it. I love you,” He trills, hovering around her in an excited circle. “Miyu! My Miyu. My Guardian. We can make it better, this world. I know it. That’s what we’re here to do,” Tamashii chimes, determined.

Miyu nods, her emotions bright in those pale eyes, rising to her feet as the sun disappears and the skies are painted in the colors of twilight. “Lead the way, Tamashii.”

“Well, it’s not quite that easy,” He hums. “We’re going to need to find a ship. Or make a skiff. That’s why I wanted you looking for wood. I don’t think we’re going to get much further on the island here.”

“We’ll figure it out. I could always swim,” She says, earnestly.

He feints through the air. “Do you know how far it is to the mainland? You’d never-” He pauses at her silent laughing. “Miyu!”

She giggles helplessly. “You are gullible, Tamashii.” She dusts off her hands on her ripped robe. “We should start looking for something we can use to float across. The sky is red. We should have good weather tomorrow.”

“In a rush?”

“It’s a big world,” She tells him. “We’re going to be here a while.”

“You have no idea,” He tells her, hovering over her shoulder, right where he’s meant to be. “I searched most of it looking for you.”

[rubysrevenge]

TWDG’S SURVIVAL GUIDE // OR LACK THEREOF.

This is my attempt (and late start) at NANOWRIMO, going off the TWDG drabble challenge prompt created by @stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale

character(s): Mitch & Louis ship(s):Mitch/Louis (Louitch) word count: 2881 a/n: I've already been outted as Louitch trash on Tumblr, so I decided to dedicate one of these drabbles to them. It's nothing too romancy, I guess, but things are implied. Take it however you want, I guess. Anyway, I got super carried away with this one, and I don't expect any of my other "drabbles" to be quite this long, but who knows? Regardless, I hope you all enjoy!

————

3 // You Make Me Laugh.

His eyes scan across the name a second, third, and fourth time, and he contemplates ignoring the text, turning his phone off, and going back to sleep.

Mitch: u up?

Despite his first gut instinct, Louis lingers, continuing to stare at the four character text for much longer than necessary. He chews on the inside of his cheek, cursing himself as his curiosity gets the better of him.

A few more seconds pass as he tries to futilely resist the temptation to bite.

He lets out another groan before caving and bringing up his other hand to tap out a message back.

Hook, line, and sinker.

Louis: yeah, why?

Mitch is responding almost instantly and Louis feels immediate dread.

What on Earth is he about to get himself into?

READ ON AO3

He’s nearly asleep when his phone chirps and the screen lights up.

Louis’ battle with insomnia is nothing new. Often times he’ll struggle with it for weeks on end, but, being too stubborn to take anything for it, he allows himself to suffer.

So, naturally, the one night that he actually manages to start drifting off is the night when someone decides to message him.

With a groan, he groggily reaches for his phone, eyes squinting as they fight to adjust to the light of his screen. It takes him a second, but soon enough, he sees just who is messaging him this late.

12:37 AM isn’t that late, Louis realizes, but most people are at home, in bed, asleep at this time— much like Louis, himself; minus the ‘asleep’ part.

His eyes scan across the name a second, third, and fourth time, and he contemplates ignoring the text, turning his phone off, and going back to sleep.

Mitch: u up?

Despite his first gut instinct, Louis lingers, continuing to stare at the four character text for much longer than necessary. He chews on the inside of his cheek, cursing himself as his curiosity gets the better of him.

A few more seconds pass as he tries to futilely resist the temptation to bite.

He lets out another groan before caving and bringing up his other hand to tap out a message back.

Hook, line, and sinker.

Louis: yeah, why?

Mitch is responding almost instantly and Louis feels immediate dread.

What on Earth is he about to get himself into?

Mitch: got u smth Mitch: think ull like it

Now Louis’ interest is really piqued, though he hates to admit it. It’s hard to imagine Mitch getting him anything. Or, well, at one time it might’ve been. As of late, Louis has taken notice of little things here and there. Things such as Mitch messaging him more; randomly giving him things; watching him more… He doesn’t know what to make of it. It’s...odd.

Louis: do you have to show me NOW?

Mitch’s reply is immediate — ‘yes’ — followed by a cascade of others —

Mitch: so get ready Mitch: im on my way to get u

Louis just stares at his screen for a moment, like he can’t believe what he’s reading, before he’s finally typing back.

Louis: it’s almost one in the morning, mitch

Mitch: so???

Louis: SOME of us are trying to sleep

Mitch: well good thing ur already awake then huh?

Louis could strangle him, he swears. He probably would if he didn’t think he’d get his ass handed to him if he tried.

Ultimately, he knows that it’s pointless to tell Mitch no. By now, he’s already on his way over, and will be determined to get Louis out of the house one way or another.

He’s really backed into a corner here.

After a long pause, dramatic groan, and faceplant into his pillow, Louis finally, begrudgingly, responds.

Louis: alright FINE. but you better make this quick

He swears he could chuck his phone across the room when all he gets in response to that is a winky face.

Admittedly, Louis spends more time laying around than he ought to, and it isn’t until his phone is buzzing again with another text that he realizes that he’d dozed off.

He jumps up out of bed before he even reads the text informing him of Mitch’s arrival. He quickly texts back that he’ll be down in a second.

Honestly, he has half a mind just just go in his pajamas, but it’s not exactly warm outside, so he ultimately decides against it, instead, slipping on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He practically has to force his feet into his already tied Converse, and is pulling a hoodie on over his head by the time he’s leaving his room.

Most times, Louis finds himself missing his parents with their busy work schedules, but this night in particular, he could not be more relieved by their absence. At least this way he won’t have to risk getting caught.

By the time he reaches the front door and pulls it open, he catches Mitch in the middle of sending another text, but upon seeing that Louis has finally joined him, discards it.

“About time,” he says in place of a greeting.

“What’re you doing here, Mitch?” Louis doesn’t even try to hide the tiredness in his voice.

“Well, I told you I was coming to pick you up didn’t I?”

Louis would love to wipe that ebbing smirk off his lips. He only entertains the thought for a second, however, before he comes to the shocking revelation that Mitch hadn’t driven here.

“Where’s your car?” he asks, as if that will somehow magically produce an answer he would actually want to hear.

Instead, what he gets is; “Didn’t bring it. I walked here.”

“You what?” Idly, Louis wonders if there’s a possibility that his eyes will fall out of their sockets.

“What am I, speaking French?” If Mitch is attempting to be funny, it’s not working. “I walked here, Louis.”

Louis must have a disagreeable look on his face because the next thing Mitch is asking is, “Is that gonna be a problem for you?”

“Oh, no,” Louis replies, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his tone (he blames it on the lack of sleep), “Not at all. In fact, I was actually looking forward to walking however many blocks with you while being sleep deprived and dead tired. That’s really gonna be the highlight of my night.”

Mitch rolls his eyes and scoffs, “Whatever, Smart-ass. Let’s go.”

Without waiting for a response, Mitch starts off down the street, and for a moment, Louis just stands there, bewildered.

“Wha— are you serious, right now?”

When he notices that Louis still hasn’t budged, Mitch stops and turns back to look at him.

“C’mon, Lou! It’s not that far! Just right down the road!”

Louis doesn’t believe him...but he ends up following after him anyway, and internally cursing himself in the process.

Louis takes long strides to catch up, and when he does, he easily falls into step beside Mitch.

He’s silent for a few minutes before a thought occurs to him.

“Hey, wait— I thought you said you had something for me,” he says, casting Mitch a sidelong glance.

His eyes are met with yet another smirk as Mitch winks and says, “You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”

Normally, Louis loves surprises, but coming from Mitch? He’s not so sure. An uneasy feeling swarms around in his gut the more he thinks about it.

“Can’t wait…”

By the time they reach their destination, Louis is decidedly... underwhelmed.

“This?” he asks, incredulously. “This was your ‘Big Surprise’?”

It’s an abandoned building— some old department store that appeared to have not seen any business since the eighties. Louis wasn’t sure why it was still around or why the city hadn’t had it demolished or renovated yet. He wondered how long it would continue to be around before anything was finally done about it.

“Noooot quite,” Mitch responds, simperingly, tearing Louis from his thoughts. “Follow me.”

They walk around to the back of the building where an old, ricketity looking ladder can be seen, clinging to the brick. The paint is mostly all gone, being replaced by a majority of rust, and Louis swears it looks like the thing would poof into dust at even the lightest of touches.

“Up here,” Mitch says, stepping towards said ladder.

“Wait, what—?” Louis’ eyes widen, clearly not liking this idea. It’s not that he’s scared of trespassing, per se, but more so because there’s no way in forty hells that ladder would ever pass a safety inspection. It’s a death trap waiting to happen.

Though it doesn’t seem to deter Mitch.

“You’re not gonna chicken out now, are you?” He teases, already hoisting himself up the ladder. “After you’ve already come so far?”

“No!” Louis replies defiantly. Yes, he may be tired as all hell, and yes, he might think that his chances of falling to his death on this thing is a very real possibility, but if there’s one thing he’s not, it’s a chicken.

So, without giving a second thought, he’s climbing up after Mitch, trying to go as fast and careful as he can. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t actually breathe again until he’s finally on the roof.

He takes a moment to look around.

It’s not that he’s never been on top of a roof before — he’s done plenty of things and been plenty of places that he shouldn’t — but just that he doesn’t know why they’re here.

Mitch sits close to the edge so that he can peer out at the other buildings and everything below them. Soon enough, Louis has joined him. But not before asking, “So why did you bring me here, exactly? To look at the stars? I could do that at home.”

“Just relax and take a seat, wouldja?” Mitch replies flippantly. “That’s not the only reason why I brought you here.”

Louis reluctantly takes his seat and sends Mitch a quizzical look.

“Then why—” He cuts himself off the moment he sees what at first appears to be a cigarette, but definitely isn’t. “—is that weed?!”

“Whoa, hey!” Mitch, despite not needing to, takes a quick look around before fixing Louis with a stare. “Would you keep it down?”

Louis, for once in his life, actually shuts up, just staring, wide-eyed. The look results in an exasperated sigh from Mitch.

“Hey, just— calm down. It’s not a big deal or anything, alright?” He shrugs, before tilting his head back to look up at the stars for a brief moment. “I just like to come up here to think sometimes… And smoking helps me relax. Didn’t think it’d be that big of a deal to you.”

“It’s not,” Louis clarifies quickly. “I mean— I don’t really care, I just— wasn’t expecting it.”

Mitch finally looks back over at him. “Is that right?”

“Yeah—”

“Because it seemed like it was a pretty big deal to you.”

“Well, it’s not,” Louis defends. “Like I said, I just wasn’t expecting it. In fact, I wasn’t expecting any of this. —— So what, this was your plan? Get me up here to look at the stars and watch you smoke weed?”

“Well…” This time, if Louis didn’t know any better, he’d swear that he could see a genuine smile pulling across Mitch’s lips. “No, not exactly. I mean— yeah, stargazing is bound to happen, but I wouldn’t just smoke in front of you like that…”

“Oh—”

“Without offering you some first, at least.”

“... What—?”

Contrary to what some might believe, Louis has never once smoked before. He’s been around people who have, sure, but he’s never personally smoked, himself. 

“I know people call me an asshole,” Mitch replies, “but I do have manners… Sometimes.”

“Only sometimes?” Louis teases. “That’s a shocker.”

“Shut up.” Mitch reaches over to give him a light shove. “You want some or not?”

“Oh, uhhh…” Louis shrugs, pretending to mull it over, even though he already knows what he’s going to say. “I...dunno. I wasn’t really planning on it or anything.”

“Have you ever even tried it?” Mitch asks, regarding him curiously. Though, judging by Louis’ reaction earlier, he has a pretty good idea.

“Well, no—”

“It’s really not that bad,” Mitch goes on to explain. “You were complaining about not being able to sleep earlier, right? This would help with that little problem.”

As tempting as that sounds, Louis still hesitates. He doesn’t want to seem like a punk, or like weed even bothers him for that matter, because it really doesn’t. He truly means it when he says that he doesn’t care if people smoke it. His main concern is just how he, personally, will experience it.

He must take too long to give Mitch an answer, because Mitch adds, “Hey, it’s no big deal if you don’t want to. I’m not gonna force ya or anything.”

That said, he decides not to waste any more time, retrieving a lighter from his pocket and lighting the blunt.

For a few moments, Louis just watches him, eyes trained on the rings of smoke that drift from his lips as he exhales. His eyebrows pull together for a second before he finally makes his decision.

“Okay, fine. Hand it over.”

Mitch, genuinely surprised by this, glances over at him, eyebrows raised. “You sure?”

“Yeah, sure,” Louis replies. “I mean, this was a part of what you had in store for me, right? Fuck it. Might as well.”

Mitch can’t stop the beginnings of a grin from tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Hell, yeah!” he cheers, passing the joint over after one more drag.

Louis hesitates for a moment, before deciding to throw caution to the wind. He’d already come this far, anyway.

Bringing the joint up to his lips, he takes a drag, only to end up going straight into a coughing fit, much to his embarrassment, and Mitch’s amusement. 

He can feel his cheeks burn as Mitch’s laughter meets his ears and all he can do is let out a slightly strangled, “Shut up!” as he passes the joint back.

“What?” Mitch asks around a chuckle. “That was funny!”

“Was not!” Louis denies, doing his best to suppress a pout. “I’m just— still getting used to it, that’s all.”

“Wanna try again?” Mitch takes another puff and holds the joint back out to him.

Louis tries again, only to end up with the same results, unsurprisingly.

Mitch laughs again, much to Louis’ chagrin.

“Yeah, yeah— Like you’ve never coughed before.”

Mitch has. He still does sometimes, but he isn’t about to tell Louis that.

“Whatever,” he says, taking the joint back.

That’s when a thought occurs to him.

“Hold up, I’ve got an idea.”

“What?” Louis asks, voice still slightly strained from coughing.

He watches as Mitch takes another drag, holding in the smoke, and the next thing he knows, Mitch is reaching forward, grasping Louis’ face in his hand, and leaning in.

Louis, tense and stiff, unsure what what else to do, opens his mouth to question what Mitch is doing, but before he can, smoke is being blown in his face.

He still coughs a little, but it’s nothing compared to before.

Louis hates the way he can feel his cheeks tingling, and he tries to convince himself that it’s just a side-effect of the weed. It certainly has nothing to do with just how close Mitch had just gotten to his face just then. He doesn’t even like Mitch like that. Oddly matched friends is all that they are as far as Louis is concerned.

“Shotgunning,” Mitch answers Louis’ unspoken question, and the smirk tugging at his lips tells Louis that the color of his cheeks must’ve been more noticeable than he’d like.

“I think I’ll just stick to—” 

“Hey!” 

Louis swears he’s never nearly jumped out of his skin so fast. He stares, wide-eyed over the edge of the building, seeing a cop below. This is not good for many reasons — far too many to list right now — and judging by Mitch’s sudden outburst of, ‘Oh, fuck!’ he seems to share that sentiment.

“Get down from there!”

Only a beat of silence passes before the two of them jump to their feet and take off running as fast as they can.

Mitch hurries down the ladder, jumping the rest of the way down when he’s halfway. Louis scrambles after him, nearly tripping on his way down. Despite his speed, however, he goes about it much safer, rushing all the way down as cautiously as he can, rather than jump like Mitch had. It’s nearly enough to bite him in the ass, however, as the cop who’d caught them on the rooftop rounds the corner and yells out to them again.

“Hey! Stop!”

They don’t stop. In fact, they only go faster.

Apparently, Louis isn’t running fast enough though, because Mitch is reaching back to snatch up his wrist, pulling him forward in an attempt to make him move even faster. Really, it does nothing more than make Louis trip up more times than he normally would.

But they keep running.

They zip past the corner, and turn down another alleyway, bobbing and weaving until they no longer hear the cop’s voice and footsteps behind them.

They both prop themselves up against two walls of an alley, opposite each other, fighting to catch their breath. Louis notes that his lungs burn as he inhales crisp, cool air, and soon enough, much like before, he’s coughing again.

“Holy shit—!” Mitch exclaims in a gasp. “A-are you okay—?”

Louis tries to respond amidst his coughing, but he can’t.

And then… He’s laughing — much to Mitch’s surprise — a product of the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

It dies down just enough for him to blurt out, “I can’t believe you pulled me out of bed for this! This bullshit !” And then the laughter is picking up again. He can’t stop.

A bewildered grin tugs at Mitch’s lips, and he finds that Louis’ laughter is so contagious that he can’t refrain from joining in.

[silenthillmutual]

pride week - day 5 - AU free-for-all so this AU is a crossover because when i first looked at the prompt i was like half-asleep and thought it said crossover. whoops.

--

He’s coming to the conclusion that Kiyotaka’s family is just fucking weird. He’s still not exactly sure what their relationship status is, since they’ve only been on like two and a half dates that might have not even been dates and nothing between them seems to have actually changed - but even speaking as a best friend, it was just really fucking bizarre

The other sections of the bake sale that did not have an entire bottle’s worth of food coloring dumped into the mix did exceedingly well, letting them schedule trips to meet up and hang out with the GSAs from other colelges in the area. It was a neat little idea Makoto and Kiyotaka had come up with on their own time that also kinda made Mondo want to punch himself in the face. 

It mostly just starts with this: he thinks he has competition.

The reason he thinks this is because Leon tells him he does. They’re meeting with MU in a bowling alley that’s somewhere in between both schools and while it’s not the only GSA in the area, it is the only one available or interested in reaching out to them. And the gaggle of students who pick to play against them in a four-on-four match just happens to consist of three rough looking boys and one chick.

Striek one. It’s not exactly a secret that Taka has a type, and that type is punks. (Well, and Makoto; but he’s everybody’s type, so he doesn’t count.) He’s never said out loud that he finds that kinda thing appealing, but Hifumi’s Halloween Theme suggestion, “Book of Eibon” (which earned him the group name moniker Anime Trash) really took. People dressed as whatever they found most attractive - or in Hifumi’s and Chihiro’s cases, the kind of aesthetic they really dug.

Hifumi’s magical girl outfit was absolutely outstanding. They really did have to give him that.

...where was he? Right. Taka had shown up to the party in all secondhand clothes, studded belt and motorcycle boots and fake piercings, pleather jacket over an embroidered white vest covered in safety pins. It sure as shit left an impression.

And it was such a goddamn come-on. he’d thought before then that Taka’s staring was judgmental and had a hard time stringing two words together at the implication that he was staring because he was attracted to Mondo.

Not that Mondo was the only punk in the group. Tanaka flushed and tried to hide beneath his scarf, realizing too late he didn’t have it included in the regal get-up he came dressed in. And Leon said to Mondo, “If I wasn’t straight, I’d so hit that.”

Leon figured out pretty quickly that he wasn’t straight, and also that Taka was way off limits. 

Mondo’s been trying to figure out how to take a more direct approach, since Taka’s misconstrued all his flirting as friendliness. Which - okay, yeah. He’s kind of learned along the way that he might also be in love with the guy platonically, too. he is the best friend, in terms of quality, that Mondo’s ever had, and he doesn’t plan on that shit changing just ‘cause he wants to add hand-holding into the mix. 

So strike two is this: Ishimaru seems to actually know the guy in too much purple who practically launches himself at him. They embrace in a tight hug, and that smug asshole has his hairstyle too. Rude. Utterly, unbelievably rude. 

The guy introduces himself as Josuke. He looks like he might be a couple years older than them, with pretty blue eyes. He’s the president of the MU GSA, which he does not hesitate to tell Kiyotaka, “I love what you did with the name, dude. Very kewl.”

Kewl. Like he’s fucking twelve and it’s the nineties.

Taka blushes like he does when he’s embarrassed or flattered and it takes a lot for Mondo not to slug the guy. He’s really only distracted from Kiyotaka’s refusal of the credit by the guy with the little ponytail and two-toned grey hair saying to him “Hey, man, nice mods,” referring to his jacket.

He’s kind of forgotten about it. He doesn’t wear the longer coat he had in high school anymore because yeah, he’s not in high school anymore, thank you very much Daiya. “Uh, thanks,” he says, but the shorter one with the kinda silvery blonde hair is smirking at it, mouthing the words Crazy Diamonds under his breath. Like it’s some kind of joke.

“I’m Okuyasu,” he says, and nudges the blonde so hard the guy almost falls over. “Shit, sorry - this is Koichi.” 

“Right,” he says, not liking the look of private joking between the two of them. “I’m Mondo.”

“I’m Leon,” Leon all but shouts, almost crawling on Mondo’s back to extend his hand to the two boys and - of course, of fucking course - the girl with the knee-length black hair. “And you are?”

“Yukako,” she says, and Mondo’s never before heard someone say their own name with such deep and intense hatred. 

There’s not a single thing about these people he trusts. The guys might seem nice, but he’s always hated the feeling that people are laughing at him. And that girl? She looks like she’s ready to commit murder. 

At least the jackass in the purple-and-yellow shirt is done taking up Kiyotaka’s time, only that Kiyotaka looks kind of embarrassed now. He’s not sure if that’s better or worse than his flustered face. But he punches in their names on the board to distract himself, and Josuke comes up to Mondo and sits so close their knees are touching. “So,” he says, “You’re his kyoudai, huh?”

“Kyoudai?” Okuyasu says. “Man, how come we can’t get cool nicknames like that?”

“Yes, please start calling each other bro. That won’t get irritating at all,” Yukako snipes from where she’s sitting. 

“Yukako, come on,” Koichi says, turning to look back at her. “You promised you’d be nice today.”

She looks torn, but sighs, and Mondo thinks he hears her mutter “Only for you.” 

“Dude,” Leon says, “You gotta teach me.” 

--

One thing Mondo can say about the kids from MU is that, except for Yukako, they suck at bowling. And that does make him feel a little better, if only in a shallow way. 

It’s kind of irritating, and that irritation must be obvious to everyone involved, because Kiyotaka has tried his best to keep Mondo and Josuke separated. Leon’s pretty chill, and Makoto can make friends with everyone, but it just seems strange to Mondo that he spent so long trying to get on friendly terms with Taka only for some other guy - a complete stranger from a different school to just undermine that -

Makoto pats his shoulder, like the way you’d pet a dog to soothe it. “Calm down, Mondo,” he says. “He’s just being friendly.”

Maybe he is. Mondo can accept that there exists, somewhere, a possibility that Josuke is just a nice guy, like a punk version of Makoto, but he’s gotten so deep in his own sense of insecurity and paranoia that every time Josuke so much as talks at him or is friendly with Kiyotaka...

Well, it feels like he’s being mocked.

He might be a little jealous.

And when Taka leaves to head out to the bathroom, he might call Josuke’s hair stupid. 

Koichi, for whatever that’s worth, and Okuyasu and he goddamn swear Yukako’s hair all jump in to restrain Josuke from throwing punches. Leon slaps his arm at the same time Makoto smacks his head, both of them shouting some variant of “You have the same hair!” and the end result is the five of them tell the two of them to go resolve their differences by the snack bar, and work something out fast before Taka comes back and panics. 

“I don’t get what your issue with me is,” Josuke says, hands in the air. “We picked this group to go up against because Taka said you were cool. Now you’re just acting like Rohan used to, and I didn’t even burn your house down!”

Confusion mixes with anger as he says, with feeling, “What?!”

“Never mind!” Josuke snaps. “Just - whatever your problem with me is, just say it, man. Quit giving me dirty looks. It’s making Kiyo upset.”

KIYO?! Mondo hits the counter with a little too much force and says “That’s my goddamn problem!” And before Josuke can give him some other ridiculous pet name he says “We’re like - we’re - we’re kind of - !” Jesus. Jesus Christ, why can’t he just get the fuckin’ words out? “I’m inta him!”

“Yeah, and?” Josuke asks.

“And you’re fuckin’ flirting with him! Of course I got a damn issue with you!” Josuke looks blindsided for a couple seconds, and then he bursts into laughter. “And then you go an’ do this shit, shovin’ it in my face!”

“Dude!” Josuke has the audacity to put his hand on Mondo’s shoulder, ignoring every time Mondo tries to throw it off. For someone as thin as Josuke looks, he’s unfairly strong. “Dude. I am not flirting with him. That’s so gross.” 

Two-faced bastard! “You got a fuckin’ problem with my friend?!” 

“Dude. He’s my cousin.”

“Yer - what?” Mondo blinks, all his pent up energy dissipating in the shock. “Then - then what the fuck were you sayin’ ta him to make ‘im blush?”

“I’m teasing him about you, ya dweeb.” He snorts. “God. No. I’m not flirting with my fuckin’ cousin. And even if we weren’t related, I’m not gonna hit on some guy in front of my boyfriends.”

“Oh.” He’s...totally deflated now. And feels like an asshole. “Uh...” Great. “I’m sorry fer bein’ such an asshole,” he grumbles.

Josuke lets it slide rather easily, shrugging it off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse interactions.” 

Mondo still rubs the back of his head, anxiously, and he’s still not all that comfortable with Josuke’s smirk. “Gotta say,” he admits, “I never woulda thought the two of you were related. Ya don’t exactly look alike.” 

Josuke shoves his hands in his pockets and leans back against the counter. “Well, it’s not by blood or anything. His dad married my ne- uh, I mean, my uncle -” Was he just going to say nephew? “But we take family very seriously, and we’re...kind of a large family.” 

For a second, he looks almost depressed by his own statement, eyes kind of foggy, lips pulled down and staring at his boyfriends with some kind of intense anxiety. He sighs, and slaps Mondo on the back. “Let’s just get back to the game, ‘kay? I think Taka’ll be happier when we get along.” 

He feels like he missed something, but says “Sure, okay,” following Josuke back to their seats. 

Whatever it is that’s on his mind, it’s either passed or he’s hidden it by the time they’ve reached their friends. Josuke reacts to Kiyotaka’s suspicious glare by ruffling his hair. “So, Kiyo -”

“Don’t call me that,” he groans. 

And Josuke ignores him. “A former delinquent with a bad temper, huh? I bet your stepdad’s gonna love that.” 

Kiyotaka lets out a scream, and drops the bowling ball to the floor. Mondo tries to pretend he doesn’t see something faintly pink and blue grabbing it just before it hits the ground.

[letstalksymphogear]

Symphogear, EP.7 (Cont.)

“i have not now, nor ever, liked this creepy ass church elevator.”

“kanade please get out of my head, just because im hungry doesnt mean you have to tell me every time i am”

Hibiki finishes getting a full body X-ray. She’s fine.

“that anime protagonist immunity is really kicking in well!”

“by the way, your wife is here! and she’s looking mighty miffed., as opposed to me, mighty milfed.”

“you dont strike me as a mother figure but ill play along for now”

“i just hope miku’s okay...”

“oh, she’ll be fine! see, i’ve seen these kinds of plots before. big secret revealed, another lover is shown, the victim watches as they’re thoroughly cheated on, and they get to lik-”

“please stop breathing”

Genjuro’s wasting away again in Margaritaville. Looking for some daughter to adopt. SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT THERE’S A, WOOOOMAAAAAN TO BLAAAAAAAAAAME, BUT HE KNOWS

XYLOPHONE RIFF

THAT’S IT’S ALL HIS FAULT

XYLOPHONE RIFF

“i hate it when he gets like this. jimmy buffets not a good look for him.”

“for once you and i agree. seeing the commander sulk like this like a middle aged perma-tourist is genuinely miserable”

“hey homies! im back and i brought some bitches! oh, jesus, why does this place smell like mistakes in miami?”

“its me. im sorry. every time i feel like i failed as a dad, my anti-dad energies manifest. imagine every midlife crisis rolled up into a single ball, smacked into the face for eternity. thats the depth of my pain for failing this girl.”

In a moment of positivity, the friendship between Tsubasa and Hibiki is cemented.

> Tsubasa has joined the party.

“FRIENDSHIP!”

“fweindship.”

“uuuuhhhhh... dadship? yeah thats close enough.”

“WE’RE ALL GOOD FRIENDS!”

“ya tiddies are ringing again, better go get it”

Ryoko also points out that Hibiki’s relic is fusing with herself at an alarming rate. This is important to keep in mind.

Meanwhile, at night.

Miku is posing in the motherly “you done fucked up, where have you been young lady” position. A cold scolding is coming.

“.........................hey miku......”

“you can come in. are you worried im gonna bite? you suplexed a car. that shouldn’t be an issue anymore.”

“miku, i.... i wanted to tell you.... but.... the plot wouldn’t let me, miku....”

“should’ve told the plot to fuck off anyway. now you’re gonna live with that. you’re sleeping... on the bottom bunk.”

“b.... b..... b...... b.... b...... bottom bunk...?”

They slept separately that night. God, this is so stupid. All of this is so goddamned stupid. “I’m so mad at you even though you saved my life.” This is just so. AUGH. THIS IS DUMB. KANEKO WRITE BETTER ANGST THAT MAKES SENSE THAT ISN’T THIS.

Meanwhile, far away from this garbage...

Chris, having been evicted from Fine’s McMansion, wanders the streets of mumblemumble aimlessly. Don’t be fooled by her new fancy dress. Basically, she’s a combat-competent hobo.

“no food. no home. no victories. this sucks. whyd you do it, fine? we coulda been great together. but no. ya fired me. now i look like im prancing the red light district with a highly advanced superweapon around my neck.”

“no... hibiki’s to blame. ever since that genderbent little mac showed up to fight me, it’s been all downhill. fine thought me a laughstock because i couldnt take out her oversized boxing gloves, and now she beat me while i had nehushtan. god... i wish i never met that damn hamster faced chubby cheeked nerd.”

“wait, whats that crying”

Chris spies two kids talking to each other, one of them crying. Chris immediately makes an assumption, believing the big bro is bullying his sis.

“hey! stop nicking her lunch money, twerp”

Chris currently is a firm believer of corporeal punishment.

But the sister deflects the blow. Chris can’t even defeat children right now. Truly, this is a record low for her. You know you blew it when even kids are schooling you on basic morality. She then tells the little girl to stop crying, ironically mirroring her brother.

The infamous double T-Pose maneuver. Chris, you might as well get a shovel and start digging your own grave.

“i keep doing bad things badly, and now im doing good things badly... when fine said i was bad... did she just mean im not talented?”

Chris, finally, does a good thing and helps these kids find their parents.

“yeah. hibiki saved a kid when she got her gear. guess what? bam! im saving two! that’s fifty percent more kid per kid saved. take that, weirdo.”

The kids call her out on Chris singing unconsciously, and Chris gets flustered over it. Dawwwwww.

Chris manages to get them to safety to their Dad...

...while brutally lying about it, making Chris look like a predator. There’s a very crushing irony at play here, given who Chris used to serve.

“ugggggggggggggggghhhhhh hes not even gonna payyyyy meeeeeee why the fuck did i dooooo thiiiiiiissssss”

“hey, you know. you kids have a really nice relationship with one another. care to give me tips on how to be an empathetic human being capable of making friends?”

“maybe we’re born with it”

“maybe its maybeline”

“maybeline...”

Meanwhile...

A cold wind blows through Lydian Apartment 69-L. (I don’t actually know if that’s their room number, I just made it up.)

“jesus take the wheel, because i’m jumping out the passenger seat to save this current wreck of a relationship”

“miku please i saved your life, doesnt that count for anything”

“you already killed me the moment you lied. also im taking the bottom bunk so i dont have to see your face coming down the ladder.”

“miku you cant hide in this depression den forever. i know i hurt you and im sorry for it, but please understand i literally couldnt do it. you saw there were punches and violence and stuff... i didnt want you tied to that...”

“what was that? i cant hear your apologies over my incredibly loud snoring. SNOOOOOOORE. SNOOOOOOOORE. SNOOO- fuck, i just swallowed my spit, fuck”

“i hope this cocoon of displeasure you’ve made for yourself lets you erupt into a butterfly of acceptance so i can fly with you again.”

“......thats not fair. you cant say those beautiful metaphors and get away with it. let me be mad... sniff... let me be mad...”

Sadness wafts in the den of lies Hibiki has been forced into.

No music plays. There is only heartbreak, and woe.

In the midst of this pain...

Ryoko loredumps about how the Symphogears work and are immune to the noise on her blog, ‘hornyonmainforscience.org’, her hybrid science journal slash kink zone. It’s mostly a recap with some pretty good soft techno beats in it.

“i made a custom brew of red bull, five hour energy drink, coffee, and cream. i call it gamer girl piss.”

“damn. that’s some good piss.”

She muses about how Hibiki has managed to break the limitations of her Symphogear, making her a totally unique specimen. Wait, where have we heard this before...?

Hey... Ryoko... let’s just... cool it a bit with the Hibiki pictures... come on...

Ryoko touches upon the Custodians and the Curse of Babel. We ain’t touching that shit until later, because that’s another shitfuck box of crazy just ready to jump us in a dark alleyway to rob us of our wits.

Back to Lydian:

“miku whats the answer to the first three multiple choice questions”

“B. A. D.”

“oh, thanks. huh, BAD.”

“yeah. you are.”

“mmm. taste likes dissapointment. just like my life.”

“hey table for two haha get it cause there’s two chairs and miku for the love of god, please, forgive me”

“ive surgically removed my eyes and drew eyelashes over them with sharpie so i dont have to see your bird bangs.”

“thats very rude to both me and my hair. also, wig.”

Even Hibiki’s meal is judging her. Mainly for not eating it. Fucking look at this. God, that looks amazing. Fuck, why did I write this while I was hungry.

“miku you cant do this forever. i might die and youll end up crying on my tombstone going ‘oh god, why, oh god’, and really, i cant live with myself if that happens. mainly because id already be dead by then”

The Anime Janai crew show up to break some icebergs with a goddamn sledgehammer. As the self-aware Gods of this realm, they got very tired of this poor display of angst, and have decided to directly intervene.

Nevermind. They came for her kneecaps, and they most certainly got them.

PLEASE. I’M BEGGING YOU. END THIS GARBAGE PLOT THREAD.

“look. imma lay down the facts. yall are gay. yall are in love. yall are angry for the wrong reasons. its nobody’s fault here but the writer. so please kiss and make up. pretty please.”

“kaneko... you fool... we all know what the original sin is. its your hack writing making this stupidity in the first place. let the pencil go, asshole!”

They bring up the fact that Hibiki isn’t doing her work and wonder if she has a job on the side, which isn’t allowed by the school. Miku gets annoyed and bails, with Hibiki running after her. Unfortunately, Miku runs faster...

“oh god miku not the rooftop whatever you’re thinking just dont do it! please!”

“no. i came here to angst, since this is the Maximum Angst Zone.”

“i..... okay! okay, that’s fair! rooftops are the perfect place to look sad while getting proper air ventilation, thats fine”

It really would have been better played if it was played off that she felt hurt not because of the lie, but because she felt like she could have helped her better having known the truth, and it being a self-loathing sort of scenario for not being there better for her and not fully understanding the risk at play.

But no, instead, we get this.

Absolutely obliterated. A heart ripped, shredded, and sent to the Shadow Realm.

The episode ends on that note, but has a post credit scene.

Naked. On an old timey telephone. On a computer. Wearing stockings and long gloves.

The main antagonist of the series, everybody.

She’s talking the best English possible to some random-ass American when suddenly bursting through the scene is none other than:

“I WANT WORKERS COMPENSATION YOU BITCH, BEFORE I UNIONIZE YOUR NAKED ASS”

“AND I WANT A GOOD REFERNECE FOR MY FUTURE EMPLOYER, AND ALSO A SEVERANCE PACKAGE SINCE I’M FUCKING HOMELESS”

“i paint my eyelashes with mascara made from the tar of freshly carbonated corpses manufactured through noise, what on gods green earth compels you to think id give a rats ass about you?”

“so you never cared, huh! you’re just a nasty naked hedonist trying to- trying to- what the fuck are you even trying to do?!”

“i want to live the dream every spicy little fossil like me yearns for.”

“I WANNA FUCK GOD!”

“how- what? what? how do you even- what? are you- do you want to be the pope? is that it? does the pope get to fuck god? are you- is this a larping thing? you’ve really been into larping lately! i don’t like this!”

“youve never read the old testament, have you. ass out, pussy bare, hips up and barefoot. that’s how god’s always liked it.”

“now get lost, punk. you tipped off my hand to genjuro and now you being here is going to ruin everything. if you still feel any semblance of devotion, eat one of your own bullets and call it a day.”

“it’s 2012 bitch, if the mayans dont get you, I WILL”

“what god gives, He takes away, and so do i. i built you from the ground up. your relic, which was good for jack shit on you. the nehushtan, which you failed to do anything with except zap a couple hundred people. stop wars? you’re a walking war, waged by me, for me. and your cartridge has just run out of bullets.”

“uh oh! hand’s acting up again! better bail before i send you back to smacktown where all the bitter little shittalkers like you strut around spending their lives being useless as hell.”

“ah fuck, im not dealing with no manos: the hands of fate bullshit again”

“and guess what else i got on motherfucker”

“i see the union efforts have officially been busted. understandable, have a nice day ma’am”

“LEAVE.”

“I’M GOING, I’M GOING”

[sarinataylor]

Joger ask: how would they cope with Roger having a crisis about the fact that John has written hit singles including their biggest ever hit and he has yet to pop his a-aide cherry? Is he rubbish? Is he really just a pretty face? He knows he brings lots of musical input & the sonic volcano & ‘the girl for everything’ for the band but really, who is he kidding? And John can’t deny that he aced his degree or does the finances or wrote hits... Thankfully Radio Gaga comes along and all ends well...

hmmmm ok. this got? long. very ramble-y. apologies

so like. roger is so fucking proud of john y’know???? and it’s not john’s songs being more successful than his which is cutting deep (because, well, commercial success is somewhat ehh to roger now that they’ve already made it big. the music he’s writing and creating, off on the side, is more about the music than anything else), it’s that he didn’t see it coming

100% did not see aobtd being a hit. hated recording it with his drums taped up, and thought the whole thing was a waste of time which.... it obviously wasn’t because john’s latest royalty cheque was big enough to have even freddie blinking in surprise

and. well. roger’s kind of always been the one with his finger on the pulse, so to speak. roger was riding the early waves of punk before the sex pistols had so much as looked at a safety pin and thought, “hmm, i wonder”. and his ability to keep up with, stay just one step ahead, of the trends has been invaluable in the past and now.... he might be slipping behind?

because even though he fucking hated half of the lines in ymbf he... he knew it was going to be a hit in the US. that sort of soft poppy feel, with a funky little bassline? the american’s eat that shit up in spades. of course it was going to be popular.

but, yeah, he didn’t see aobtd being a hit and now he’s starting to wonder if maybe the reason he isn’t writing hits isn’t because he hasn’t been trying to appeal to the broader audience, hasn’t been trying to write songs that will get massive air time or be played in clubs, but because he’s got no fucking clue about what people want anymore

‘girl for everything.......... except knowing what people want’ doesn’t, uh, sound as good

and it’s not? it’s not a Big Deal, not really. he just gets a little quieter about voicing his opinions on tracks because, well, maybe he doesn’t actually know what the fuck he’s talking about?

and so, hot space

brian’s losing his gd mind arguing with everyone and everything because he feels backed into a corner, freddie isn’t playing the peacekeeping role he usually does, john is being Just a Little Bit of an egotistic shit, and roger is........... not getting involved. which works kind of awfully because both brian and john take his silence as tacit approval of their position, which boils over into a lot of misunderstandings about just what it is roger thinks about what’s going on in the studio

(and mostly what roger thinks about what’s going on in the studio is that this album is going to be a Fucking Disaster because instead of ripping apart one anothers songs and building them back up stronger all they’re doing is ripping into one another and calling it creative differences)

and he tosses up a couple of songs and lets them do what they will with them (and oh my god if you haven’t listened to action this day performed live???? do urself a favour and do it oh my god i fucking hated that song until i listened to it live) because well. they probably know better than he does at the moment, because he doesn’t quite trust himself. and tensions are high enough that inserting himself into the cockfight when he isn’t actually Sure about his opinions just seems an unnecessary risk.

and. uh. hot space...................................................... does as it does

and john is pretty mortified about the whole thing because.... ???? all of that work and fighting and it’s flopping which is. made all the more worse by brian’s oh too casual sympathetic comments during the press junket, and then even worse by the way that roger. doesn’t seem surprised?? because. well. even when it was a love song written about roger roger was honest about what he didn’t like about it, but now there’s a whole fucking album that john pushed really hard for and roger a) didn’t like it and b) didn’t tell him

he thought they respected one another more than that. he thought they were more secure than that. 

which sort of........ simmers uncomfortably between them as they gear up for the tour and sort of. explodes when roger starts making suggestions for changes to some of the songs for the live performances that. annoyingly sound much better and why didn’t you bring this up when we were recording the fucking album, roger (look aight atd sounds SO MUCH BETTER LIVE, IT’S BEEN MONTHS AND IM STILL SHOOK)

and roger’s sort pussyfooting around it because oh well... you know you and freddie really wanted to this one as a sort of concept album..... and brian and i didn’t want to interfere...... (brian: very much did want to interfere) ............ so ya know................ it’s not really my style so i didn’t wanna stick my foot where it doesn’t belong.........

and john’s like???? its music what the fuck are you Talking About? you know music you know what sounds good and what doesnt and it’s not like you’ve ever been shy about voicing your opinions before, so forgive me if im a bit confused about the sudden reticence 

regardless, it’s Not a Big Deal. no really. roger will insist this til the day he dies

and things calm down? they take a break and, as they are wont to do, the tensions of the band slowly start slipping from john and roger’s day to day lives? like, when they’re not living in close quarters and feeding off of the energies that brian and freddie and mack and everyone else is putting out. it’s just them, yeah? 

but anyway, roger’s still been writing music and ha enough for a new solo album so he’s like. yeah. think imma do that and john’s a bit taken aback because? fuck, you’ve been busy then you said you didn’t have much of anything for hot space??? and roger’s like. uh, yup. been busy. busy bee, me. ya know. while ur out painting the shed i gotta keep myself occupied somehow

except. well. john’s obviously lending a hand with bass and mixing, and brian’s in and out too, so’s freddie and. it’s freddie, actually, who picks up that roger had been working on the beat of  I Cry for You (Love, Hope and Confusion) back in the studio when they’d been working on hot space which.   doesn’t make sense, because he definitely hadn’t shown them it to them which is odd, because roger usually shows them everything he writes in case they want it for queen? 

and then brian chimes in because, actually, he recognises the lyrics for killing time? 

and john is like what the FUCK is going on because this is just? weird? 

so john ends up lowkey cornering him at home in a totally not cool sneaky fashion (read: he gives him a fucking mindblowing orgasm and then is like [head propped on roger’s chest] SO)  because???? ofc he supports rog’s solo career but also? why didn’t he share what he was writing with him? what’s going on? music’s always been a language they’ve shared, even if they tended towards different dialects, and now it... well it doesn’t feel very good that roger seems to be inching him out of something that john knows is so very important to him

and roger’s like huh no idea what you’re talking bout. been really busy writing recently. shame though, means i might not have much for the next queen album

and john’s like? do you want to leave queen, if that what this is about?

and roger’s horrified because what the fuck no i’m just not sure i’ll have much to contribute is all which has john like?? because. it’s roger of course he’s got something to contribute what the fuck are you talking about

but roger’s like oh well ya know nothing im really writing at the moment is much of our current style so. that’s cool, though. that’s fine

but john is confused bc well. hot space was a bit of a failure so they’re probably headed back to more consistent waters so that’s not a problem, and hey, maybe if roger had injected a bit more of his style into the album things might have been better right?

ANYWAY basically john’s like yo my man like. if u dont wanna write any material for the new album that’s? fine ig? but we kinda Need You to be a little bitch about the things u dont like because.... things work better when ur being a nitpicky little bitch than when ur being silently supportive of me :) though that was sweet

and rogers like oh i was 100% not being supportive of either u or brian’s bullshit tbh i just. disco isn’t my forte ya know i didn’t wanna chat shit ab smth i know nothing about like, god, imagine if you’d listened to me about aobtd????????? 

which. john’s like. i? i mean, i did. fuck sake, the whole thing got rewritten to be about our dog (steve) bc u made a joke about it? i.     i did listen to u about aobtd

and john has honestly NO IDEA what any of this is about? because roger has an awful tendency to sit on things until they’re Much Bigger than what they were to begin with. like, john’s actually not great at that? he’s not very good at hiding that he’s angry or upset, not for the long term. roger’s a lot better at it in the worst kind of way, because unless you pick up on it right at the beginning by the time you’ve figured out something’s wrong it’s months down the track and so many micro interactions or events have been tacked onto the Original Problem that it’s a sprawling mess of “i dont want to communicate that im feeling vulnerable about something so instead im gonna try and turn my vulnerabilities into armour” - like deciding to turn all of your writing, not just the stuff that won’t fit on your main project’s albums, into solo material because your solo stuff doesn’t have to be successful 

but also, ok fine. 

and so he sort of? lets it go? because tbh once roger latches onto something, when u havent go in there early enough? your best bet is to just wait for him to.... get over it. which he generally does. he doesnt have the patience for decade long grudge matches, not really.

and then it all comes to a head when brian writes and shows them all machines (or: back to humans) which obvs came about from an idea of roger’s and. well. freddie thinks its amazing, john is nodding along even as he sends him small little side eyes and well. fuck it, right?

and so the next week he comes in and slams down the first rough draft of radio gaga, the music heavily influenced by I Cry for You (Love, Hope and Confusion) which freddie had been complaining about being used up on a solo album 

and then he goes home and tops the hell out of john, the end.