#fade blood syndicate

[bucketwritingpail]

Your Stupid Face pt.1

Wip, Fade/Mask, but also Fade/Tech 9, it's weird

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"Hey Fade, I need you to do me a favor real quick."

"Sure thing Tech, what do you need?" Whatever it was he hoped it would be quick. That fight with whatever upandcoming gang had thought taking out the Syndicate would be their claim to fame, had gone longer than expected and Fade could already feel his adrenaline buzz slipping, giving way to the achingly familiar bone deep exhaustion. Fuck he needed a nap.

Tech looked around the room quickly as if checking for something. "Follow me." Fuck. It was one of *those* things then. Dammit, he was getting a little tired of keeping the money talk away from the others. Screw 'demoralization of the crew' they had a right to know too.

Tech led him down a series of hallways towards the supply rooms that he idly recognised as the one he'd found Mask in after the Demon Fox attack. Hardly anyone came this way unless they were bored or looking for something. After a fight like that anyone would be too tired to bother. It was the perfect spot for a secret conversation. Tech double checked they were alone anyway.

There was a bad feeling in Fade's gut and he got the sneaking suspicion that this might not be a regular finances conversation.

"Look Tech, if this is about money, can it wai-" his voice petered out as Tech moved closer, pressing into his space. There was something intent in his gaze that sent shivers down his spine. He suddenly felt jittery again. Tech was so close he was practically standing in him, and there was no way he wasn't blushing as his best friend's hand hovered slightly over his face.

"I need you to focus on keeping your face solid for a second, kay?" Fuck, since when was it so hard to breathe? What was happening? Why, was it happening?

For some reason Fade felt himself obey. His skin tangled as it regained feeling and he focused on the sensation. Remaining solid was getting harder and harder with each passing day. Then Tech smiled and stroked his thumb across his cheek, and suddenly that contact made it all so much easier.

"There we go," Tech whispered, and then- And then they were closer. Alot closer in fact. Tech's lips were on his and it felt good. Sure they had done alot of stuff that felt good, back when they were kids, but they had never *kissed.* not like this.

Tech's other hand appeared on his face and Fade focused on that too.

When they finally pulled apart, Tech was grinning like a wild eyed fool, and Fade felt like a fish out of water, gasping for air. Everything still felt warm. Then that bad feeling was back, and he lost focus.

Why were they doing this? They didn't do stuff like this anymore. Hell, they had never done stuff like this ever, and none of it had meant anything to Tech. Not like it had to him. They had just been young and messing around. That was probably what was happening now. They were older, but it was still just messing around.

Fade didn't think he could handle it if it was just that. Not after so long of pushing those thoughts away, of ignoring that part of himself.

The prospect of all this just being a sick joke brought his voice back.

"What was that, Rollie?"

Tech smiled and stroked his thumb against his face again, but didn't answer. That bad feeling was oppresive by now. Fade let his skin go intangible. "This isn't a game to me Rollie. We're not kids anymore."

He almost looked hurt. "I know."

"Then what the hell was that? I thought we didnt do stuff like that anymore" Tech flinched at the venom in his words, clearly remembering that long ago conversation.

"Dying gives a man perspective, Carlos. I didn't mean to- fuck. You don't mean to tell me you haven't noticed all those passes I've been making at you lately?"

Fade thinks on that. It wasn't that he hadn't noticed, he just-

It was weird.

"So what's happening now?"

"Well, I'll be honest I hadn't thought that far. Can we even have sex with your condition?"

"I don't know. I don’t think so."

"So just this for now then. I can work with that." Tech reached back up, expectantly, to hold his face. Fade remained intangible.

"I told you, Rollie, I'm not playing games." God, he was almost afraid if how much he wanted this to be real. "We're not just messing around this time."

"I'm not. Promise. When have I ever broken a promise?" He grinned, a terribly convincing thing that grin. Fade couldn't remember a time that grin hadn't worked on him.

"No one finds out."

"Of course. Now just focus on me for a bit."

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So I'm having a bit if a time trying to figure out which tags to use on this before I post to ao3, so if you have any recommendations please share.

Also I hope yall are enjoying all the Blood Syndicate content. I love these sillys an unhealthy amount.

[thebucketpail]

How Many Times Must We Burn

A crackhouse raid goes wrong. There's an explosion. There's a scream. How many tries will it take for Flashback to get her whole team out safely?

Cw: Fire, burns, graphic depictions of injury (burns) and suffocation. Major character injury, possible major character death. Mentions of drug use, drugs, violence.

Ao3

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"Are we all clear on the plan?"

Of course they were all clear in the plan. It was the same plan as always. Fade goes in, gives the warning, when that doesn't work, they all go in guns ablazing until the crackheads run away or are beaten into submission. Then they burn the drugs and steal the money. Rinse and repeat. Honestly the whole ordeal was starting to get old, Sara would kill for a bit of action now and again.

So of course, everything went down without a hitch. They went in, busted a couple heads, and took the money. It wasn't until they were looking for the drugs themselves that it all went bad.

The explosion rocked the building. The ground shook as fiery tendrils crawled through he doorway Fade and Masquerade had just gone through, and they were spreading through the rest of the room fast, eating through the old alcohol stained flooring and walls like dry tinder in a bonfire. The heat was unbearable. Then there was a scream.

Sara was almost too stunned to react, but she had learned long ago that every second was precious with a power like hers.

"Flashback!"

The room shifted back to the world of three seconds ago. The fire was gone, or not yet there, despite the lingering warmth like a mild burn against her skin.

"Fade, Mask, fall back! Everyone out!"

They all knew to follow her orders. They had trained it. They had made sure that when Flasback said something, there were no arguments because it was almost, if not always, a matter of life and death, and no one wanted to be the idiot who died because they didn't listen to the girl who had prevented their deaths thousands of times.

So they all listened and ran. Well, actually, the Blood Syndicate never ran. They retreated tactfully. Even if that did look like a mad, desperate dash for escape.

Even so, despite being trained to follow her orders, sometimes things went wrong. Sometimes they couldn't hear her yell, or she was just too late in general, or something else got in the way.

The explosion rocked the building and again, the air was filled with an ear-peircing, blood curdling, scream.

"Flashback!"

This time she went after her brother and Mask. They hadn't heard her last time, so she'd have to get to them directly. A tricky thing with her timetable.

The two were several rooms down a narrow hall, sorting through bins or capsules and pills. Sara had to forcibly stop herself from shoving a nice handful in her pocket.

"Guys, we need to get out! like, now!"

Fade's eyes widened and he immediately reached over to grab Mask's arm, yanking him harshly toward the door. It didn't much matter though, three seconds is a horribly short amount of time when you really need them to be long.

Sara didn't even register the sound of the explosion or the vibrations of the ground. She was much more preoccupied with the feeling of her flesh melting of her bones. The heat had come much more sudden and much, much stronger, surrounded by the barrels and barrels of poison. The shock tore her voice from her throat and the fire replaced it with acrid smoke.

Sara couldn't breath, and worse, she couldn't speak. The there was the scream. It was worse the second time. She didn't even know who's voice it was, wasn't that sad?

"F-flash- flashback!"

The fire was gone, so was the smoke. Still, Sara was finding it hard to breathe. Fade and Mask were still going through the barrels.

"Out! Now, Both of you!"

Her voice was raspy from the smoke, and picking herself off the floor was the most excruciating thing she'd done in a while, but they had to get out of there. She couldn't go through that burning again. Wasn't it funny that not even twenty minutes ago she had been begging for some proper action? Oh how fate can be a cruel mistress.

They got as far as the front room this time. The others didn't bother asking what they were running from, they all just fell on line as the explosion rocked the building for the fourth time. The wall of heat slammed onto Sara's back as they made there exit. It wasn't flashy or cool like they preferred, but they were all alive and that was good enough.

They had made it a block away from the smoldering remains of what was a crackhouse but was now more of a smoking pile of ash, before Sara finally collapsed. The heat still lingered under her skin and if she closed her eyes she could still smell the burning of her flesh. Heat the screaming. Taste the smoke.

Breathing hadn't come easy for a while now. It might have something to do with her desired method of disposing of the drugs they liberated, but it wasn't like she had ever had great lungs to begin with. Right now it felt like she was trying to breath thumbtacks. Every breath in sent waves of pain through her chest, and even breath out msd either worse. God, everything hurt. Even her head was pounding, Wise was shouting about something and that was definitely not helping. If it weren't for the circumstance, she would've considered having a smoke to calm herself, but that didn't seem like such a marvel idea at the moment.

Somehow she managed to pick herself up again, likely due to DMZ's assistance, then suddenly they were back at the warehouse. Odd, she hardly remembered the walk. Wise was still yelling and her head was feeling really cloudy. Maybe a nap would do. Shit, she really wanted that smoke right now.

[revvethasmythh]

it's been weeks and i'm still so compelled by the background storyline of hawke going to weisshaupt after here lies the abyss. like. it makes no damn sense. maybe if hawke has a living sibling who is a grey warden, you can twist the logic of it, but i did not have that and also hawke said she wanted to make sure corypheus died and neither staying in the fade NOR going to weisshaupt really accomplishes this goal. like there is NO reason for hawke to be up at weisshaupt, this is not in her lane, this is not her business, her skin is NOT clear, her crops are NOT watered. the wardens are not the responsibility of your Just Some Guy from Kirkwall who has potentially zero connections to the wardens at all except for that one time they super causally tried to use her as a blood sacrifice (maybe she and the first warden can laugh about it some day, but somehow i doubt it!).

BUT. but. the mental imagine of hawke going there and then her sibling (if alive) and her love interest ALSO going there, just to meet up with her, makes it so bonkers funny i don't even care if it doesn't make sense. wtf do you mean hawke family reunion relationship drama in the austere home of the wardens where they all show up and then the entire leadership of the wardens suddenly implodes as civil war breaks out and then their asses get STUCK there. wtf do you mean hawke inadvertently sticks her ass in the middle of yet another civil war while simultaneously having to patch things up with her LI and deal with a sibling dynamic at the same time. hawke can't catch a fucking break istg. it's just her, her sibling, and her LI as their own little three person party while some truly WILD shit goes down and the epilogues are all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about what happens other than like two lines that put the most insane images into my head. there's a sped-up video of this going down in my mind with the benny hill theme playing in the background. why does varric talk like hawke is still at weisshaupt during trespasser, which takes place two entire years after hawke was meant to go there to give a basic report and then dip. how is this THE most hawke thing to ever happen and we're just. told nothing more about it except that varric got One™️ message from her via an entire smuggling syndicate that essentially says "damn, shits crazy here" and that he assumes hawke will walk away from the building while it's exploding sometime in the near future because apparently the conflict there is not yet resolved. again, this is TWO YEARS LATER. like trespasser is fun and all but truly can we revisit wtf this was all about because WHAT

[stayatiny]

Little Dolly Chapter 11~ Yandere!Seonghwa

Pairing(s) – Killer/Yandere Seonghwa x Virgin! Reader

Series warnings – Violence, Daddy kink, mentions of murder, TW- beating, swearing, blood, smut and lose of virginity (later on), yandere behaviors, Stockholm syndrome. MDNI!!!

Chapter Warning(s) –things that regularly goes with Mafia, smut, daddy kink, creampie, Slight breeding kink, swearing please let me know If I missed anything.

Masterlist

Tagged Lovelies - @mirror-juliet @aikyubi @babybunnyalien @mingkisbitch @chonsayeosang @jodidan @cheline @hapapino-cake @ateezsadist @t4elor @soft-teddybear @beomnoi @chronosavrus @thenamesdarcy @teezers99 @whatudowhennooneseesyou @thefandomlife-221b Please let me know if you would like to be tagged ^^

I stumbled out of bed right before stretching my arms to the ceiling. I turned to look at Seonghwa, who was still asleep. I smiled to myself that the big scary mafia man sleeping like a baby snuggled into the sheets. I headed to the kitchen to get breakfast ready and some coffee. This is our second day on the little island and there was so much to see. I wanted to explore around the island since I’ve heard from Seonghwa’s mother who told us that there was a ‘romantic’ waterfall here. I put on some music and kept the volume low. I hummed along with the song until I heard a soft voice behind me. Seonghwa singing along gave me chills. He turns me around and holds me tight.  He danced with his body pressed to mine and him leading cause I can’t dance whatsoever.

“Loosen up I’ll lead you.” I let out a little whimper while he held me so close. He kissed the side of my head still singing to me.

‘I just wanna live in this moment forever

Cause I’m afraid that living couldn’t get any better

Started giving up on the word “forever”

Until you gave up heaven so we could be together

You’re my angel, angel baby’

My heart fluttered while he sang. He sounded amazing. We danced while he sang to me until the very end. I was blushing hard. I haven’t done that since the start of this relationship.

“You sound really good.” I pulled away from Seonghwa while he went to get some coffee. He chuckles.

“Thank you. I’ve always been able to sing. At one time I wanted to be an idol.”

“You could have been. You have rhythm and you can sing well.” I got some coffee too. I hopped up on the counter while Seonghwa got between my legs. His soft and warm lips constantly delivering pecks and some nibbles causing me to whine in between sips of his coffee.

“What did you want to do today,” He asked. I took a sip of my mug. I placed it on the counter and wrapped my arms around his waist.

“Your mom said that there was a waterfall on the island, and I want to go see it.” He put down his mug then caressed my cheek.

“Of course she did. Well in that case let’s get ready and we’ll head out that way.” I let out a squeal and hop off the counter. I ran off to the bedroom to get on my bathing suit along with a t-shirt to cover up with.

“Are you ready yet baby?” I grabbed my sneakers and headed to the door where he was waiting for me.

“I’m ready when you are.” He grabbed my hand as we headed out onto the path. The falls weren’t that far from the house and were tucked away in the woods but if we needed to, we could get back with ease. The water falling over the rocks and the sound alone were calming. I stared at the water before deciding to take off my shirt and shoes to get into the water.

“Hold on before you get in. I want to take a picture with you.” He placed his phone against a rock before walking over to me. He grabbed my waist pulling me close to him. We both smiled as the timer went off. I ran back over to the phone looking at our photo.

“We look so good!” Seonghwa came over and looked at the picture with me. It was perfect. We were taking selfies when he got a call. He answers it, his happy smile and demeanor fading to rage.

“What do you mean that the Bang syndicate made it out with the drugs. I hope this is just a terrible joke that you think is funny, Yeosang.” He looked over to me then handed me my shirt and grabbed my hand. I slipped on my shoes as we headed back to the house. I trailed behind him as he spoke on the phone. I didn’t hear much of what he was saying. I figured that it had something to do with the dock incident that he mentioned last night. We got back to the house where Mr. Kang met Seonghwa and me. He looked worried but didn’t say anything to me about what was going on. He and Seonghwa went into the office and such the door. I went to the kitchen to clean up this morning’s breakfast plates and cups while he spoke to his people. A part of me is nosy and I need to know what’s going on but then again if it was something important, he would tell me. I just hope that everyone is okay. I kept hearing Seonghwa yell each time causing me to shutter and move further away from the door. I eventually went outside to get away from it. I dangled my feet into the backyard pool, taking a deep breath. I let the cool water soothe me. I decided to get out of the pool when my stomach started to rumble so loud I could hear it over the waves and by this time the yelling’s stopped. I made my way into our kitchen when a familiar aura washed over me. I see Seonghwa leaning against the counter with a lit cigarette hanging out his mouth.

“I didn’t know you smoked,” I said, then munching on a piece of beef that I just cooked.

“I don’t usually. I only really do when I’m really stressed, and I need something to relieve me.” He lets out a puff of smoke. Good thing we leave the doors open for air to come in.

“Well in that case do you want something to eat. I made some steak stir fry and rice.” He smiles and puts out the cigarette in the ash tray.

“Sure, I’m getting kinda hungry.” He grabbed some from my plate. I made him a plate and then finally got the courage to ask.

“Is everything okay?” He sighed but didn’t say anything. He leaned against the counter again when he finally answered.

“Dad got hurt last night. The Bang Syndicate ambush him and his team. They even made out with our drugs. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I haven’t thought of an outcome that doesn’t lead to my syndicate and his in a fight to the death. In the end I always knew that it would come to this, I was just hoping that it would be later when I’m older and wiser than what I am now.” I frowned hearing him speak. He, probably for once in his life, didn’t know what to do in this situation. I put down my plate and hugged his waist tightly. He rubbed my back just letting me stay.

“You’ll think of something, Hwa. You always do.” He kissed my head then let me go. We quickly finished dinner before we sat down on the couch.

“Do we need to go back early?” He looked down at me.

“I don’t think so, at least not yet. I haven’t heard much from my father about what happened last night. He didn’t seem like he was in a lot of pain. He got shot in the shoulder. He went into surgery this morning.”

“Do you think it’s a good idea to leave your mother all alone while your dad is in the hospital.” Seonghwa pulled me closer.

“I know that she will be fine. She is strong, in fact she is from a small crime family as well. Mostly everyone in my family is. My older brother is the only one that has a relatively normal job at a fashion company. But he does know how to shoot if he needs to. I trust that he will keep the safe.” I swung my legs over onto Seonghwa’s lap while I leaned against the arm of the couch. He rubbed my calf muscles and my thighs. I sighed and closed my eyes.

“Don’t go to sleep, baby doll.” I stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed before starting to rub my feet. I groaned and shook my head. I snuggled down onto the soft couch. I hear him chuckle and rub my leg. He put my legs to the side and then lays behind me, wrapping his arm around me. I sigh before turning around to bury my face in his neck.

“You know that when we go back home, we’re going to have a lot of things to get together before your family shows up.” I groaned thinking about it. I was ready to see them but not the work that was gonna go into it all.

“Ugh please don’t remind me.” We laid in silence only the sound of the ocean and the breeze flowing through the room. I look up at Seonghwa and kiss him. He pulls me closer if that’s even a possibility. He leans away from me and then kisses my head. It was still and calm when we heard Mr. Kang run into the room. I feel Seonghwa tense up.

“Sir, there is a call for you. It’s Christopher Bang.” Seonghwa jumped up and headed into his office. My heart thumping against my ribs I couldn’t sit still anymore. I got up and headed to the kitchen for some water. I knew that something was up if the Bang Syndicate leader was calling Seonghwa. I leaned against the counter with my hands propped up on the granite top. The cold chilling up my spine.

“This better be good that you’re calling me and, on my honeymoon, no less.” I growled over the phone.

“Aw what’s wrong, Seonghwa. I thought you two were going to have this big wedding. I’m calling to offer you a deal for your drugs and your family.” I sighed deeply before seeing what he could possibly want.

“Alright what do you want?” I could practically hear his smirk and amusement. I should have killed him when I had the chance.

“I want your wife.” My heart started to race and then pound. Anger and rage bubbled over.

“Like fucking hell you’ll get Y/N,” I roared. He laughs at me then takes a deep breath.

“Either you give her to me, or I might let it slip that you kidnapped her and held her against her will.” Fuck how did he know what I did?

“If I catch wind that you snitched, I will fucking end you and everything that you hold dear. I’m not giving you my wife. She’s mine and only mine. I will make sure no one will ever find your body.” I hear him laugh then scoff at me.

“We’ll see about that, Park Seonghwa.” I grit my teeth and a smirk comes over my face.

“We will, Christopher Bang.”

I hear Seonghwa slam the door on the office, his footsteps heavy with rage.

“Seong-“ I’m cut off by his lips crushing into mine. He pulls my body close to his like I was going to disappear into thin air. I wrap my arms around his neck as he grabs the back of my thighs letting me know to jump. I wind my legs around his waist as he carries me into the bedroom.

“What’s wrong, Seonghwa?” He only growls, as he throws me down onto the bed. He climbs on top of me, settling himself between my legs.

“I just need you.” I kiss him while pulling his shirt off him. I needed him too. Just the small interaction just now was enough to set me off.

“Fuck you’re so hot.” Seonghwa mumbles into my chest. He managed to get my top off before I could even think about what was going on. He leans up, staring down at my bare chest. I started to feel self-conscious and went to cover my breasts. Seonghwa pinned my arms down to the bed as he leans over sucking a nipple into his mouth. I whined loudly trying to squeeze my legs together but with him in the way that was impossible. Seonghwa takes his time sucking and nibbling on one nipple then the other. I’m a moaning wet mess by the time he starts to kiss down my chest. He lets my arms go but I don’t dare move them from their place on the bed.

“You’re so soft and warm.” He pulls my shorts down, throwing them to the floor with the rest of our clothes.

“Please,” I beg quietly almost a whisper. His head snaps up looking at me.

“Please what baby?” Seonghwa smiles so sweetly. Fuckin’ jerk.

“Please daddy. Touch me please.” He smirks before fully placing the pad of his thumb to my clit. I moan and whine as he rubs in small circles. I buck my hips wanting him to move more or to put his cock in me, leaning more toward the second option.

“Flip over baby.” I do as I’m told laying down on my tummy. Seonghwa places a pillow under my hips as a cushion for me. I feel the tip of his cock graze over my pussy a few times before fulling sliding into me. I practically scream into the comforter.

“Did you want me this badly?” I nod into our blankets. He lays on my back as he starts to pound into me. The sound of heavy breathing and slapping skin filling our room. One of Seonghwa’s hands gripping into my waist while his arm wrapped around my neck holding me in place as he fucks into me.

“God you’re so tight. Almost like a virgin.” He doesn’t waste any time putting me on my back and sliding back into me. His hand found my throat, not squeezing by making it known that it was there.

“Daddy please cum in me.” That was all it took for Seonghwa to squeeze my throat. I even wrapped a hand around his wrist to let him know that I was okay with it.

“Fuck I can’t wait to fuck a baby into you. Have you walking around pregnant with my babies.” He buries his head into my neck. I whine wrapping my legs around his waist as he finally cums in me. He lets go of my neck then leans up looking at me.

“Are you okay?” I nod, too breathless to actually speak. He kisses me, before pulling out. He smiles as he gets off the bed.

“What a beautiful mess.” I could have melted into the bed when he said that.

“Hey hey stop looking.” I close my legs, while he laughs at me.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before, Y/N.” He carries me from the bed to the bathroom letting me use the toilet first. After I finish, he places himself and me into the giant tub. Seonghwa leans back bring me with him. I didn’t complain, I leaned against him, my head right into his neck. I could get use to this life.

[avrablake]

It's Here!

Ebook Preorder

Buy the Paperback Now!

Release Date: January 7, 2025

For decades the Military and Syndicate have been locked in a war for power. Both sides are desperate to gain the upper hand through any means necessary—including performing dangerous experiments to discover and enhance the strongest abilities.

Thea is a victim of these experiments. After her escape from a Military Research facility, her struggles to control her abilities put her in danger of being found. With both the Military and Syndicate after her, she finds help from an unlikely source.

A traitor and a war criminal, Nix is a wanted man on both sides of the war. He’s been running from imprisonment for years. Meeting Thea means he can’t run anymore. In order to help her avoid capture he’ll have to face his biggest regrets along with his worst fears.

With mysteries to unravel and secrets to reveal, both must learn to trust the other—and forgive themselves. If they don’t, they may end up with even more regrets.

-

What to expect:

130k words

dual protagonists

found family

psychic powers

banter

hurt/comfort

chronic pain

multi-generational war

memorable side characters

sibling relationship

low spice/fade to black

original poetry

CW:

trauma

ptsd

swearing

war

weapons including guns, swords, knives

stab wounds

blood

chronic pain

implied sex (fade to black)

manipulative character

character death

-

Cover Design by GetCovers

Artwork by @hinata-boke

[azems-familiar]

Mimodi

did this for Seika, since they start in Ul'dah and Lelesu doesn't, haha. ~1k words, most of it under the cut for length!

The Quicksand’s evening bustle is like a heartbeat, steady and rhythmic and pulsing with Ul’dah’s lifeblood. Momodi watches it all from her place behind the bar, listening to the scattered conversations she can hear - at one table an adventuring party discusses the next job they want to pick up, at the end of the bar a lalafell thamauturge flirts with the burly roegadyn woman next to her, in the corner of the room a pair of Brass Blades are making their way through their fourth round of the night; earlier she’d overheard them mentioning Lolorito’s coin, and had filed that away for later. Whatever he’s planning, she’ll keep an eye and an ear out, and relay anything of import to Papashan - it’s always in her best interest to keep the Sultansworn apprised of whatever the Monetarists are up to, and let them decide if they want to intervene or not. Affairs of state are only her business when she picks up gossip on them.

But they’ve got a missing crown, and the Syndicate once again pushing for more power, so if Lolorito’s bribing some of the Blades…well. 

The thaumaturge seems to be making some progress in her flirting - she waves Momodi over and asks for a round for the two of them on her tab, which Momodi fills with a wink - there’s some line about learning the secrets of the craft that’s terribly cheesy but makes the mercenary eye her with undisguised interest. Momodi chuckles to herself, leaning on the bar and noting the drinks down in her book, and as she glances up again she catches the sound of the front door opening over the voices.

The woman who steps in is one Momodi has never before seen in Ul’dah - she would remember an au ra adventurer, as rare a sight as that is in Eorzea. This one’s got pearlescent tan scales all across her face, arms, neck, and chest, peeking out from her sturdy brown traveling attire, and even from across the room the pale purple limbal rings in her eyes catch the lamplight and glow with it. Dark reddish-brown hair that fades to pale green frames her face and is pulled back from her head in two long tails, and she carries a sword of solid steel on her hip and a round shield on her back, walking like someone familiar with the weight of them. An adventurer, there’s no doubt about it…but there’s some indefinable quality about her that draws attention, beyond the strangeness of her horns and scales. She almost seems to glow with a light from within, something neither heard nor seen but felt.

Fairy tales and fantasy, Momodi wants to scoff, but that don’t explain the hole in her memory when she thinks of those heroes who fell at Carteneau, does it?

Conversation dies down for a moment as the newcomer weaves her way carefully between the tables, walking with a light step, then picks back up again in a flurry of furious whispering. The adventurer ignores all of it with a practiced ease, stopping in front of the bar, then hesitates a moment.

“Welcome to the Quicksand,” Momodi greets with her customary cheer, and shoos away another customer she knows is only here to gawp. “What can I get ya?”

“Wymond sent me to you,” the adventurer answers, and ah, of course he had. “I’m new to Ul’dah, and…looking for work. He said you could aid me with both of those things.”

Her voice is soft, and lilted in a way that takes Momodi a moment to place as Ishgardian, which raises a whole lot of questions she’s not so sure she needs or wants the answers to. Since the Calamity, Ishgardians don’t make their way into Eorzea unless they’ve got any other choice - some fled the snows, or poor fortune, but the majority are either disgraced, runaways, or so-called heretics…or a mix of all three. And a dragon-blooded girl raised up in that city? Poor thing.

“Well, he was right,” Momodi says, nodding with emphasis and gesturing for the girl to sit. She does, after a moment, and Momodi rummages around under the counter to bring out her Guild records, humming to herself. “I don’t just run the Quicksand - I’m in charge of the Adventurers’ Guild here in Ul’dah, and if you’re willin’ to answer some questions about what sort of work you’re lookin’ for, and your skills, I can get you on record and start makin’ connections between you and any patrons what might have a use for you. I’ll need a name for that, though, Miss…?”

She startles slightly, as if the thought hadn’t even occurred to her. Up this close, Momodi can see that her eyes are a dark indigo - lovely color, really, she’s a striking young woman. “...Seika,” she says. “Seika Valeriant - I’m an Ishgardian-trained paladin with a grasp on the fundamentals of spellwork, and an attunement to Light-aspected magic.”

Light magic? Well, isn’t that just rare…and Momodi thinks of her initial impression of Seika and wonders, even as she notes the adventurer’s name and skills down on an empty page of her log. The little customary interview and lecture on the basics of Ul’dah and adventuring go by quickly enough, and Seika pays for dinner and a drink and tucks herself onto a stool at the opposite end of the bar from the thaumaturge (who, halfway through, comes over to settle her tab with a pleased expression on her face, the mercenary standing as well and waiting for her). Momodi serves her up and settles back in for the rest of the evening, and keeps wondering all the while.

She’s been in this business for a long time, after all, and she’s got instincts aplenty from it - and looking at Seika, all she can think of is that this one is going to bring change wherever she walks. Whatever reasons have brought her to their desert rose of a city, whatever she’s running from, whatever it is about her that puts Momodi in mind of the long-lost Warriors of Light…something is coming, following along in this adventurer’s wake.

She just has to hope Ul’dah is ready for it.

[randomfoggytiger]

The X-Files: Son of Egypt

First fic of all time (barring dabbles in my younger years off the internet that don't count.)

All credit goes to @television-overload's intriguing idea-- Samantha adopts and raises William Mulder-Scully (post here)-- with a Prince of Egypt-esque twist~.

Will Van de Kamp couldn’t remember how old he was (and couldn’t begin to take a guess now) or even what he'd said when his mother’s wistful, yearning look stopped him in the middle of a protest. “Your father said that to me, too,” she’d murmured, before quickly walking them away from the conversation. It was then he understood: Samantha Van de Kamp was his mother, Carl Andrew Van de Kamp was his brother, but the man he called “dad” was not his father.  

~~~~~

He had just turned twenty-two when Will was finally allowed to join the raids.

Their base's Consortium quarters had been quiet, eagerly quiet as the Van de Kamp men represented their request. Will may have felt aged in his soul-- a cobweb weighed down with dust and filth and dead parts-- but he was young in their eyes; and against this fading generation, who had seen wars and brokered peace before their species was extinguished, Will had to prove he could handle the great risk, the heavy responsibility, the implied future work this one task would set him up for. That was easily done as he parroted back their secrets-- a young boy with a quick mind and a listening ear could learn a lot, particularly when firmly transplanted from his childhood farm into the middle of a Syndicate compound. And a boy who could turn that threat of exposure into a boon for his lords and masters was a gift to be cultivated and groomed. He was approved. In passing, a few half-remarks (“Perhaps he should have been left on the farm. To know so much of our inner workings and with so much history--”, “It was necessary. There was no other way to keep Mulder from--”) snagged at his mind, vaguely recognizing a few names and situations mentioned before; but his attention was caught by Van de Kamp’s reassuring grip and a few curious members striding over to weigh him in the balance for themselves. Later. 

Later came sooner than expected.

The raid had been going smoothly. It wasn’t even a raid, Will discovered, but a routine drive-by meant to intimidate a specific helper or informant: a preening “you’re still in checkmate” boast. Elevated desperation reeked from their current victim, choking Will as thickly as Van de Kamp and Henderson’s ruthless satisfaction did. The interrogation ended badly: Henderson was knocked aside and Van de Kamp warned away from his charge by the muzzle of Henderson’s gun. Will Van de Kamp had his own weapon out and aimed at the man’s chest before he could become a hostage; but Will could not pull the trigger. The background noise faded out as both opponents faced each other, equal fear in their eyes. Then the man jerked the gun away, swiftly putting a bullet in his own skull.  

Another half-remark haunted Will’s footsteps from the scene. “Can’t change a Mulder,” Henderson hissed under his breath, hand wrapped around his twisted fingers. 

~~~~~

The Consortium appreciated the concept of genius but withdrew from his own. Bad blood on all sides, Will assumed; the dark, overcasting shadow of his late grandfather providing contrast to the spark of his intelligence. Eidetic memory was a negative in this den of bloated jackals, gluttoned as they were on easy power and declaring victories when they hadn't even fought wars (though against whom or what no one could point to.) 

When Van de Kamp had told the family they were moving permanently on-base, everyone had assumed it was because Andrew had caught the Syndicate's attention. Cunning was prized by a group who had to lick their own wounds one too many times; and Will’s older brother had it in spades. It was ridiculously easy for him to spin anything to his advantage with everyone except Will-- the two brothers knew each other too well for those games to be ended between them in anything other than a fight, a good laugh, and another adventure. Andrew's harsher struggles trying to live up to his grandfather's legacy in the Consortium was harshly contrasted by Will's greater negligence in the name of freedom; and both brothers grew closer and further away as the group's requirements necessarily pushed and pulled at their relationship. There was love, Will knew; but suspicions this intense could only be dealt with alone.

“What’s eating at you? We all don’t take that first shot, it doesn’t mean--” 

“Teach me to hack in, not get caught.” 

Another tussle, another patch up, another bargain.

Will only gained fringes of information from slipping into those dangerous territories (most of the information having been kept offline since an incident in 1995, he gleaned); but two important pieces were worth the risk: former Special Agent Fox W. Mulder (recently exonerated) had continually entangled himself in Syndicate business while on a madcap search for his sister; and that sister was Samantha Mulder. Samantha Mulder, Samantha Van de Kamp. 

He had to find those files. 

~~~~~

It took longer than Will was willing to admit to recall where Van de Kamp stored his important documents, cds, and drives. Nocturnal adventures were not unusual for him, even with a mother who quaked with worry and a father who quietly guided him back to his room any time after 10 PM. With the tiniest flashlight he could find in one hand (being invisible was an essential skill to survive when surrounded by betrayals layered with suspicions) and a phone in the other, Will picked his way through the attic, recognizing various names or codes from his notes. Eyes growing strained in the darkness, he finally found a promising box: folder piles, papers filed together, pictures, notes… the X-Files. Or copies of them.  

Will flipped around, brusquely set aside, and grabbed for stack after stack until he found his mother’s file. Although she was younger in this photo than any in the house, they still reassuringly shared the same nose (pinched at the bridge, widening out at the tip.) For a brief moment he wondered what his uncle’s nose looked like; but the word “Found” arrested his attention. Everything froze with him in shock, coming back to life only after he sputtered on a choked, belated gasp. Closed… found… 2000… died…starlight. Died. 

He clutched as many files and cds as he could; then a box of them; then set everything aside, shaking, as he ruthlessly sorted between importance and paramount importance. Remaining undetected was the goal: it wouldn’t matter how much evidence he collected if he were caught. 

~~~~~

Uncle Fox, Will discovered, was a fascinatingly transparent opponent to the Syndicate. He'd never hidden his motives or intentions, often defying the shaved-down FBI report regulations to get "the Truth" out-- conferences, interviews, even an odd media appearance (Cops was one of the notes he underlined.) The smaller, more humanizing details of his life were gathered through safer searches, having been expunged from the Consortium record for their unimportance. Special Agent Fox Mulder (Uncle Mulder) was always accompanied by his partner, Special Agent Dana Scully. And, fittingly he assumed, when Will saw them both for the first time it was together: his uncle’s wide smile and her serious frown captured on-site of one of their cases. 

Former Special Agent Dana Scully was still being monitored by her enemies (likely a more indirect way to monitor her former partner): now a doctor at an Our Lady’s Sorrow hospital, her hair was longer and her face relatively unchanged, if the newest articles about her work were to be believed. It was a short leap from those articles to the sensationalism rags about her past, and an even shorter distance from that to tumbling into revelation after revelation: exoneration in 2008, fleeing the law with her partner in 2002… and adopting-out her son, also in 2002. William Mulder-Scully.

The thought flitted and was brushed aside; then slammed back with ringing clarity. Will scrambled for baby Mulder-Scully’s birthday and breathed a sigh: he was born in 2001. Five years too young to be himself, but a cousin nonetheless. He hoped wherever the boy was that it was far from where he was. 

But “Closed… found… 2000… died.” wouldn’t leave his mind. Samantha Mulder was buried in North Carolina with a Teena Mulder; and, to Will’s shock, was briefly joined by Uncle Mulder himself for three months. The files he had on hand confirmed the public report, which left him shaken and reeling.

Closed… found.. 2000… died…. Resurrected? 

And if closed, found, 2000, died, resurrected was a possibility, then there was an equal chance that born, adopted, given a new identity could be true as well.  

A frantic, thorough, and looping search confirmed it: the Will Van De Kamp born to Samantha Van de Kamp existed only after William Mulder-Scully was adopted out. Thinking back, Will couldn’t personally prove his existence after his alleged birth in 1996. The life they lived had never allowed for natural curiosity or too many questions with silence so easily bought and paid for. Until now, he assumed “the work” was dangerous and fearfully weighty, something to be talked of obliquely or not at all. Now he wondered what sort of kingdom he and Andrew were being raised for. 

~~~~~

Clones and hybrids and tortured children and harvested women and broken men. 

That was their empire. 

His mother, a tool of the Project. Carted out against her knowledge and against her will for her father’s (her creator's) means and goals, paraded before a brother she thought she had and married to a man that may or may not know she was inhuman. A string of children lost and born and dead before Andrew survived to carry on her creator's legacy. Complicit in the lie of Will's birth and parentage.   

His brother, a tool of the Project. Elevated as its prince, honed to a weapon, and all-but-in-writing handed the keys of the Conspiracy. Immune before immunity was no longer required. Cunningly grasping for that power and for Will, unable to keep both but refusing to lax his grip all the same. 

The Project: fruitless lies upon lies that saved no one, having merely benefitted from two opposing alien factions’ war and stalemate. Bullies left with too much aimless power and ashes at their feet. 

Will knew he needed to leave. Soon. Immediately. 

~~~~~

Andrew was furious Will was leaving without warning and almost without a goodbye. Their ensuing fight was left unresolved-- perhaps forever-- with the punctuating slam and screech of an angry driver venting his pain on the road. Will wondered if his family was doomed to be continually torn apart; and if Andrew would ever start or never stop looking for him.

His mother, Samantha, simply stared, silent tears marking the many years she'd chosen ignorance over truth. A soft then more desperate hug said everything for her; and she quietly slipped into the backroom, giving him time to grab what he needed and leave. 

Van de Kamp barged in before Will left, breathless with pain. He, too, was silent; and he, too, allowed his son to leave. 

Will knew all three wouldn’t betray him; but how much of that was motivated by love, loyalty, or a twisted sense of duty he couldn’t say. 

~~~~~

Doctor Dana Scully was easy to locate but harder to follow, the Consortium’s search for him making it nearly impossible at first. Her frown was still serious and her hair was still long, but her spark was gone. He could only watch this new mother from afar, drifting in her wake-- hungry as she ate, parched as she drank, exhausted as she slept. He couldn’t approach her, the bereft ache in his last mother’s eyes always on his mind, foiling his best attempts to forget. Perhaps former Special Agent Dana Scully and he were not meant to be, or perhaps meeting her in person would turn her from a figment into flesh. Until he could be certain, he waited. 

Former Special Agent Fox Mulder was nowhere to be found. 

It was a week before Dana Scully led the way to her second home, a ramshackle abandoned house in the sticks. Will knew about this property, even came to scout it out once; but it looked dead from the road, and he’d hurried back to his previous task. By now, he should have learned that appearances are deceiving. 

He left his car in the woods, slinking up the porch easily by crouching under the tall grass. The house was still dead-- no hum from the power, no creaking of the pipes, and no shuffling from the steps inside.  Half remarks, easy to recognize from a lifetime of training, trickled outside; and Will inched closer to catch them.   

Dana Scully’s voice-- harder to hear from where Will was positioned-- was softer than he’d imagined, especially when contrasted with the solemn expression that settled perpetually on her face. “...out here… this house… alone.” 

“Well, you know me, Scully,” Special Agent Fox Mulder’s (Uncle Fox, Mulder, Father's) voice rang out, falsely cheerful. “You predicted how this’d go years ago.”

Will caught a mournful murmur. 

“‘Catatonic schizophrenia’, I believe you called it.”

“Mulder.” He heard that loud and clear: no nonsense endearment. Amused and trying not to be.  

“Though I think our story ended better than theirs. Though not by much.” 

Although Dana Scully’s (Scully's) heels clicked close, Will could tell she was only drawing closer to Agent Mulder (Mulder.) There was a long, deep silence, a few deep reassuring breaths, and what sounded like affectionate ruffling. 

“You’ll find your way back, Mulder. I believe that.” 

Retreating from this intimate moment between two sad, broken people, Will felt fifteen years old for the first time in his false twenty-two. 

~~~~~

Will didn’t leave Mulder’s house. He spent the next week or two losing track of time in the rhythm of Mulder’s world: quiet except for the wind moving through the trees, the grass, or slamming up against the lifeless windows. Food was easy to forget when he subsisted on various nonperishables; and the hours were whittled away plowing through various copies of unredacted files. Low profile didn’t seem to have existed in Mulder and Scully’s orbit, with more and more press and eyewitness accounts to corroborate or validate the various outlandish claims they’d both signed their names to. 

It also gave him time to think. Losing his family was concrete and understandable even if it was gut-wrenching and grueling. But to have stripped him of his identity, of so large a factor as his age, was as baffling as it was appalling. Will had lived through each milestone, had graduated, had taken other secondary education classes and courses; and now he was left to second-guess everything he thought he knew. Tutelage tempered with lies under the Syndicate could mean anything: how effectively was he taught? Did he even graduate? Likely not, since a fifteen year old brain could not fit the knowledge required for a twenty-two year old collegiate. Had the Consortium fallen so far that they were sloughing off a piecemeal education on their next generation, not caring if they learned so much as they obeyed? If so, the whole structure would collapse within a generation; but then, what structure did they have left to uphold? The selfish men who bought and sold for power were dying out, and the next generation might be willing to take what they could from the scraps. But then why--

And underneath all of those thoughts was the one Will was trying to isolate from but kept finding over and over in the files, typed up plainly in Dana Scully’s neat sentences: “...if it’s only by knowing where he’s been that he can hope to understand where he’s going, then I fear Agent Mulder may lose his course; and the truths he’s seeking from his childhood will continue to evade him, driving him more dangerously forward in impossible pursuit.” 

~~~~~

Mulder stepped out of the treeline, gun in hand. 

Will realized, as he stared at this man chiseled by regrets and promises, that he had been disappointed in his father a week or more ago. He’d wanted to respect him, had even thought he loved him in a way; but had still withdrawn from the concreteness of his father's weakness, just as his father had. The Mulder standing before him was every inch the former Special Agent Fox Mulder he'd read about: danger in his stance, fire and fairness in his eyes.  He’d never met Fox Mulder, but Will was glad to have him back. 

Mulder stopped his string of succinct commands when his eyes fell on the files, breath catching as he looked erratically from one copy to the next before flying back up to Will’s face. There was fear in his eyes-- good fear, alive fear-- and his words caught a few times before he asked, “William?” 

Fox Mulder, Mulder. Dana Scully, Scully. Will Van de Kamp, William Mulder-Scully. He could live with that. 

There wasn't anything to say, so William did what Samantha Mulder had taught him, letting his smile say everything for him. Mulder's face split into the exact same, wide-open beam: he, too, had taught William in his absence. And William knew-- he just knew-- that Scully had passed on her ability to read the layers of emotions dancing across his father's neutral expression. And he could live with that, too.

William watched his father's smile slip as he swallowed back crashing emotions. "I tried looking for you, years ago. When you were a baby. And later, when...." Mulder paused, miserable in his failures.

There was only one thing left to say. "You did."

~~~~~

Acknowledgements: Thank you to @television-overload for coming up with the original idea and for naming Will's older brother. ;)))

Thank you to @ghostbustermelanieking and @o6666666 for creating short, beautiful AU fics that ultimately helped me flesh out the format for this one.

Thank you (in no particular order) @baronessblixen, @welsharcher, @agent-troi, @dd-is-my-guiltypleasure, @suitablyaggrieved, @pianogirlxf, @samucabd, @herdingcats12, @cecilysass, @amplifyme, @slippinmickeys, @enigmaticdrblockhead, @annablume, @spidey-is-tired, @two-microscopes, @spidey-is-tired, @mariaann, @chavisory, @medicaldoctordana, @ibringyouasong89, @cyb3rpeach, @mindibindi, @two-birds-alone-together, @invidiosa, @jessahmewren, @living-in-unreality, @mollybecameanengineer, @tossingmyglossymane, @demon-fetal-harvest, @settle-down-frohike, @storybycorey, @thescullyphile, @scullys-scalpel, @perpetually-weirdening, @teenie-xf, @captainsugarcane, @frogsmulder, @paperheartsarts, @unremarkablehouse, @cutemothman, @my-spookybunnies, @lindz-dude, @sonictacocat, @freckleslikestars, @kiivitaja, @today-in-fic and more for always being willing to engage with my work (and enjoying when I engage in yours.)

Thank you to every single one of the fic writers out there. Your work nudged me gently along to this point; and without your leaps I wouldn't be making these steps.

And thank you to each and everyone of my mutuals and lurkers-- keep on keepin' on~!

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

[justalittletomato]

Okay the rain is keeping my up and I got a soft maul and starlight thought.

Maul returning to mandalore from missions with savage and the other mandalorians or syndicate groups. Starlight waiting and greeting Maul back. Her welcome backs changing to welcome home. A few times he’s come back covered in what she thought was his blood. The worry in her eyes. Maul brushing her off. He didn’t need her to fuss or coddle him.

Eventually as they get closer, maul allows her to check regarding injury. Letting her hands roam over him. She’s gentle. The balm in her hands rubbing a bruise. To soothe the ache. He stopped rolling his eyes at the gesture, to starlight this was not coddling. She cared for him. Genuinely worried and cared for him. And for Maul? He was out of his depth to fully accept it. Hesitant to.

He envied Savage, who so “willingly” let Angel leap at him when they disembarked the ship. The Gardner immediately rushing past to see him.

Starlight waited by the hanger. Cautious.

Does she envy them? Does she tire of having to toe around Maul?

“Welcome home.” She greets, eyes looking to the bruise blooming on his face. He leans in and she brushes his cheek.

“What fate found the one who did that?”

“My saber.”

“Good.” A nod, “ I have some balm, this one will fade well.” The touch was permitted. Maybe perhaps one day…he wouldn’t have to lean in it would just happen. Perhaps…

[tala-bez-i]

At first sight II Chapter Nineteen

(m!reader x Bonten!Haruchiyo Sanzu)

Fluff/slash/reader is male/cursing/BontenTimeline/drugs and alcohol mentioned/violence/blood/death

All characters that appeared in the Tokyo Revengers manga and anime belong to Ken Wakui.

Words: 4431

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

“You are aware of the fact that Takara Kitagawa was the prosecutor who showed up at the scene where both Jun Takenaka and Saburo Sasaki’s bodies were found.” You said after a long moment of silence as you headed towards the building that belonged to Nagasawa. 

“I thought about that too.” Okumura replied to you in a gloomy tone, keeping both hands in his coat pockets. “Although it looks suspicious in the first case, we can’t be sure until we find any evidence that the guy was actually involved in all of this.” 

“From previous statements from the brothel employees, Uncle Shou is a regular customer. His status could almost be described as a VIP.” 

“Do you know what that means?” Your partner asked after a moment. “He has a complete advantage over them, now that Jun is dead, and he personally made sure of it. As long as they have something on Nagasawa, Kitagawa can do whatever he wants with the prostitutes. Especially if he wants to have Riku exclusively. He is young, naive, and if the elder Takenaka was telling the truth about Haji, the boy has lost any protection. It is not certain whether Jin Nagasawa will leave prison on the earlier date that was previously changed to him.” 

You didn't like what you heard, but Okumura was right. Sanzu told you that as long as the brothels were profitable, they didn't interfere in their internal conflicts. This wouldn't be any different, especially now that it was revealed who was leaving them such large amounts of money... 

"I trust Takenaka, but like he said. We need to have hard evidence on the guy. Then we can figure something out." You said, small puffs of steam escaping your lips. The air was starting to get colder. "Maybe Tomoko can find out if there are other, more useful connections between Bonten and Kitagawa. If the syndicate benefits from him other than just cash, we'll have a problem." 

“Fucking shit.” Shinji grumbled and after a moment you stopped in front of the entrance to the appropriate building, in front of which stood the young man you had seen on your previous visit to this place. 

“Good evening gentlemen.” He greeted you cheerfully, and an encouraging smile appeared on his pretty face. “It's so chilly today, maybe you gentlemen could come inside to warm up a bit and...” He winked at you. “Maybe you could try a little caressing to reduce stress?” 

“What audacity.” Okumura replied, trying to sound offended, but there was that glint in his eyes and the encourager laughed melodiously before opening the door for you and gesturing for you both to come in. 

The interior hadn’t changed much since your last visit, though despite the fact that you hadn’t managed to meet Junko Yoshioka in this reality, you got the impression that her influence was starting to fade. 

Beautifully made-up young men sat in comfortable armchairs or entertained still undecided customers, among whom you noticed two women, and one dressed in a short silk dressing gown was trying to arrange a bouquet of fresh red roses in a vase. 

Your eyes automatically began to sweep around the room, and it took you a moment to realize what they were looking for. With the blonde-haired Anna nowhere to be seen, you assumed that Riku was either already busy serving customers or had gone to town. 

“How can we serve you gentlemen tonight?” A pleasant, warm voice that sounded almost entirely feminine greeted you, and a black-haired man approached you, whom you immediately recognized as Katsuro Wada. 

Today, he was dressed in a satin dress that hugged his shapely body enough that your eyes involuntarily slid to the lower parts of his body, and you were surprised to notice... the absence. 

“My eyes are higher, Detective L/n.” The man joked lightly and you felt your ears start to heat up. “Just a trick. They’re still there.” 

Okumura laughed shortly at that explanation, and you pressed your lips together tightly in a thin line, looking into Katsuro’s eyes for a split second. 

“Sorry.” You cleared your throat. “We have come for an important matter and if I may ask Haji…” 

“He's not here. He's in an important meeting, but I'm covering for him, so..." He pointed to the door leading deeper into the building, probably to the office of the manager of the entire establishment, and you and Okumura followed him. 

“He left you without protection?” Your partner asked as soon as the room door closed. 

With a heavy sigh, Katsuro walked around the dark wooden desk and sat behind it. He put his elbows on the counter and rested his head on them. 

“You have no fucking idea.” He said in a quieter voice. “It’s not good. Shou came back at the beginning of the week and brought us this.” His eyes fell on an envelope lying nearby. 

“What is this?” Okumura asked, reaching for the envelope and pulling out an official letter. As soon as you looked at it, you knew what it was. “Wait a minute. They won’t let him out because he fought?” Shinji asked in disbelief, and you looked at a worried Katsuro. 

“We don't know anything about it, when did it happen?” You asked, frowning slightly. 

“From what others say, never.” He replied, tapping his cheek lightly with his finger. “It's easy for the bastard to make up stories and stretch the facts. Jin's return would mess with his plans too much.” 

“What does this Shou guy want?” You asked. 

“Shares.” Wada folded his arms across his chest and leaned back, leaning harder against the back of the chair. “He has deals with Haji, and the management is happy with this additional cooperation.” 

“We suspect who the guy is and if we’re right, then these deals are just bluffs.” Okumura said, putting the envelope back in its place. “Do you have any footage of him?” 

“No.” The other answered, but as soon as his hand lifted and his fingers began to gently twist one of the gold earrings he had in his ear, you understood. 

The office was bugged, and you wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out that there was a camera installed somewhere. 

You looked at your partner and seeing his look, you knew that he understood the message too. 

"Okay. Too bad." Shinji sighed. "Can you tell us more about what Jun Takenaka might have had on him on the day of his death? Who was he supposed to meet?" 

"I've already told you everything I know." Katsuro replied, standing up from his seat and walking closer. "Our employees don't know anything more either." He reached for your arm and ran his hand over it with such certainty that you looked at him in surprise. "But enough about sad things. Maybe you gentlemen will be tempted to relax for a moment?" He asked in an enticing voice, while moving closer to you enough that you felt the warmth of his body. 

“We'll pass this time.” Okumura laughed and Wada made a sad face - for show, then laughed, moving away from you to an arm's length. “Thank you for talking to us, and if Haji would like to talk, please contact us directly.” 

“Of course. I regret that I couldn't be of more help.” He said, looking you straight in the eye briefly but intensely. “I just have a small request...” 

“Yes?” 

“I know the police aren't taxis, but...” 

“Are we supposed to take some troublemaker away?” Okumura asked, amused. 

“Riku.” Came the reply. “He needs a quick ride to a meeting with a client. 

“Seriously?” Shinji asked, losing his temper and you frowned. 

“Where?” You asked shortly, sensing that he was referring to something else. 

“Oh, the nightclub. It’s on the way to your police station.” 

“No…” 

“Fine.” You cut him off and Okumura glared at you sharply, which you ignored. 

“Thank you. Please wait outside, I'll bring him... I don't want our customers to think the boy did something wrong. After all, he's our best good.” Katsuro threw lightly and you left the office. 

“What the fuck was that, L/n?” Your partner asked as you waited outside, a few meters from the entrance to the building. “Have him call a taxi.” 

“He would, he's not stupid.” You replied to him, reaching into the pocket of your coat, where you found something that wasn't there before. You pulled out a small object and showed it to Shinji, whose pupils dilated slightly. “Something's up and I don't think Riku is heading to a meeting with a client.” 

“Okay...” The man mumbled, taking the flash drive from your hand and starting to look at it. “So, Wada doesn't trust the assistant manager either.” 

“Why would he trust him?” 

“Ah, here you are gentlemen.” Katsuro's voice interrupted you and as soon as you looked in his direction, your heart stopped for a split second. “You'll go with the detectives, honey.” He adjusted the fur collar of the boy's coat, who was looking at his shoes. “Be a good boy and bring us as much profit as you can, right?” 

Riku nodded and Katsuro kissed him lightly on the cheek in farewell before letting go and the young man approached you quickly, avoiding eye contact. 

Okumura let him into the car and started the engine, but before you got in, you looked back at the black-haired man's face, you saw a seriousness on it that you didn't like at all. 

You nodded and got into the car, and as soon as you fastened your seatbelt, Okumura pulled out into traffic. 

"Where should we take you, kid?" He asked in a calm tone, and you looked through the side mirror at Riku sitting in the back. 

“Huh?” The boy looked at him in surprise. “Katsu didn’t say?” 

“A nightclub on the way to the police station.” 

“Ah… No… I mean, yes…” He was slightly confused and shook his head. “Sorry. It's not a nightclub; it's more of a café..." 

“Huh?” 

“What's going on, Riku?” You asked, turning slightly so you could look him in the eye. 

“Katsu didn't quite explain what happened. It's just that Haji canceled the subscriptions.” 

“What subscriptions?” Okumura asked. 

“On me.” Riku said as calmly as if it was about a magazine subscription. “He said I was going to the VIP area where someone would buy me out.” 

“Where are you going?” Okumura asked again, but you knew from the tone of his voice that if Riku said something equally absurd, the man would stop the car regardless of the traffic. 

“Maybe we should hold off on further questions and go somewhere where we can talk in peace, yeah?” You suggested, looking at your partner. 

“No problem.” The other replied and you looked back at the young man. “Riku, what happened to you?” 

“Excuse me?” He asked innocently, but his hand pulled the fur collar of his coat tighter over one cheek. 

“Don’t lie.” 

“H-Haji hit me.” He replied shyly and you looked at Okumura. 

“Stop.” You said coldly and the black-haired man looked at you in surprise. 

“What?” 

“Stop somewhere right now, Okumura.” You repeated and the man pulled into an empty parking space. 

Shinji looked at you slightly confused, although irritation was starting to appear in his eyes, but you ignored it and turned back to the boy sitting in the backseat. 

“Do you need something cold as a compress?” 

“No... Katsu helped me. It's fine now, it's almost invisible.” He tried to explain himself, but that only irritated you more. 

“I noticed and others will too, Riku. When did that happen?” 

“Before he left for the meeting... Three hours ago?” The boy wondered again, gently pulling the fur of his collar over his cheek. “It doesn't even hurt anymore, really...” 

“I’ll be right back.” You informed your partner and got out of the car, then headed to the nearby vending machine. 

After a short while, you returned to the vehicle with a very cold bottle of water and after wrapping it in your scarf so as not to freeze the embarrassed boy’s face, you handed it to him. 

“Put this on the swelling.” You said in a tone that brooked no argument and Riku listened to you. “Your cheek is swollen more than you think, and no amount of makeup will hide it.” 

“Thank you.” The other mumbled, and you heard a quiet, irritated snort from the driver’s side. “Can we go now? I don’t want to be late.” 

“I'd rather you go home to your mother.” You voiced your opinion, then added. “And most of all, you should quit prostitution and go back to school.” 

The boy’s delicate eyebrows furrowed, and Shinji pulled back into traffic. 

“You are neither his father nor his legal guardian, L/n. This is his life.” Okumura said and despite your nerves, you agreed with him, but the man turned to the boy. “Which doesn’t change the fact that my partner is right, kid. You are a minor and believe me, we could easily cause your mother a problem with your case.” 

“Mr. Okumura…” Riku looked at him, but the black-haired man didn’t let him finish. 

“There are subsidies for the medications you need, and from what I’ve gathered, your family qualifies for them.” You looked at the driver in surprise. You had no idea he had checked anything regarding the boy accompanying you. “The only condition is your education.” 

Riku had nothing to say to that. He curled up in his seat, and although his small face showed irritation, he didn’t try to argue. 

You turned around in your passenger seat again and watched the road through the windshield. More questions were starting to appear in your head that Okumura would have to answer once you were alone. 

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of your phone and when you looked at the screen, you saw that it was Tomoko calling. At first, you thought that it had to do with Bonten, especially Haruchiyo. Maybe she wanted to warn you about something that Mochizuki had mentioned to you not so long ago? 

“Yes?” You answered the call and heard quiet conversations on the other end, as if from a distance. 

“Where the fuck are you?” The woman's voice didn't sound very nice and for a moment you felt like a little boy who had caused trouble again. 

“On the way to...the café?” You answered and the woman cursed again. 

“Then hurry up. Tell Okumura to speed up or you will be late.” 

“Wait, what are you talking about, Tomoko?” 

“You have to bring the boy here. The client will be here soon.” 

“What do you have to do with this?” You felt your blood start to boil. “What do you want from him? This is someone from Bonten's idea? What client?” 

“You ask way too many questions and don’t use that tone with me, do you understand? You have to do the fucking thing and if you fail at it, I will deal with you personally. You and Okumura. You have 5 minutes.” She hung up and Shinji gave you a brief, confused look. 

"What have I done again?" He asked as you tucked your phone into your coat pocket. 

“Riku?” You turned to the boy who still looked nervous, almost offended by what you and Shinji had said so far. For a moment you were curious about which of you he was angrier at. “What do you know about the client?” 

The boy shrugged and you thought he wouldn’t answer you. 

“Haji told me to meet him, but when I was alone with Katsu, he told me that everything would be fine as long as I listened to Ko-chan.” The other grumbled and even more confusion appeared in your head. 

“What does Tomoko have to do with the brothel?” Okumura asked loudly and you gave him a short, careful look. And what doesn’t she have? 

“Don’t ask me... I don’t know anything...” 

“Katsu said Ko-chan will help me.” The boy added, moving the cold bottle away from his cheek and gently touching his skin with his fingers, then whimpered quietly. “Cold...” 

There was silence again for a moment, but you knew it wouldn't be for long. You could easily feel the tension growing. 

"L/n..." Okumura began calmly, but you raised both hands slightly without even looking at him. 

"I don't know anything, Okumura. Seriously." 

"Okay, okay... I believe you. You're bad at keeping secrets... That's why Tomoko doesn't tell you much." 

“Hey…” You looked at him offended, but… Maybe that was why your sisters kept so many secrets from you? Were you really that bad at it? 

You frowned slightly and when you stopped in front of your destination, you saw a dark-haired woman standing nearby, waiting for you with a scowl. 

No. 

Okay, maybe you talked too much sometimes, but you knew how to keep a secret. Otherwise, you would have been sitting on the other side of the bars long ago instead of walking the streets of the city... 

You got out of the car and the woman immediately approached you. She helped Riku out and pushed aside his collar, which he still hid his cheek behind. She looked at him critically and shook her head with pursed lips in displeasure. 

“Okay, run inside and sit at the empty table at the end of the room.” She gave him an order and the boy quickly did as she told him. 

“What’s going on?” Okumura asked cautiously. 

“This shouldn’t be me doing this but someone from you.” She said, giving you and your partner a cold look. “The problem is that the kid belongs and literally belongs to Bonten. He’s their property and I had to take care of it so I wouldn’t ruin my relationship with the gang.” 

“What action?” You became interested, feeling that the case could turn out to be really interesting, and since your sister was taking care of it, it would be brought to an end quickly and efficiently. 

“His mother is to be charged with pimping.” She said with a nasty smile, and you already knew that your dear sister was taking the purest pleasure from this. 

“Riku's pimp is Jin Nagasawa, or rather Haji currently, not to mention the whole of Bonten.” Shinji said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, which he offered to you and Tomoko. 

The woman laughed briefly, lighting a cigarette. “You can't even imagine. I found out - and we have evidence that the dear Mrs. Yokota made a deal with Nagasawa's boss, that they were to give her a certain percentage of the services performed by her son.” 

“The money was needed for medicine for Riku...” You started, but seeing the amusement in Tomoko's eyes, you fell silent. “No?” 

“No. The boy is not sick. Mommy was poisoning him.” 

“He fainted and ended up in the hospital. His mother was worried about him and reported him missing because her child had not returned home.” Okumura reminded her, and the woman took a calm drag on her cigarette, then just as calmly and slowly exhaled the smoke, her lips stretching slightly into a gentle, albeit not very pleasant, smile. 

“We have the test results from the hospital. That bitch was worried about the baby because she gave him too much mixed with a substance that was supposed to cause...” A giggle escaped her lips, which she tried to suppress. “Which was supposed to cause safer sex. You know, to reduce the risk of getting infected with anything. Do you understand how absurd that is? God, this kid is so sweetly naive, it's unbelievable that it's even possible.” 

You and Shinji stood motionless, completely stunned by the information that Tomoko had just given you. You thought that things like this only happened in movies, and in low categories at that, but as you could see... 

“What does Bonten say?” You asked and the woman looked at you carefully, almost warningly. 

“They quoted the price. It’s very high because the boy brings in a lot of profit, but after the police got interested in everything, they don’t want to make it too difficult to buy him out.” 

“They can give him back and it will be over.” The black-haired man snorted, taking a drag on his cigarette. 

“And give up ¥270k a month?” Tomoko asked, raising an eyebrow. “Forget it. Riku Miyajima has actually been working for them for almost two years. He gets more money while he’s a minor, do you understand the situation, Okumura?” You grimaced, feeling angry and you knew Shinji felt the same way. “They agreed to sell him because they don’t want to get in trouble because of him. Although on the other hand, he gives them some good material to blackmail their clients with... I won’t lie, it must have been a hard decision for them.” 

“I thought Junko got him into prostitution.” You said, watching your sister put out her cigarette. 

“Takenaka just took him in. The young man started out as a freelancer, but in the Bonten sub-group, so he had to give them a cut. That's where it all started. Someone got interested, passed everything on to the higher-ups, and Riku was assigned to Nagasawa's brothel. End of story.” 

“What's next?” Okumura asked. 

“Focus on your own case.” The woman answered him, moving toward the entrance to the cafe. “Leave that to me and the others.” 

You were left alone on the sidewalk with Okumura, and only a few pedestrians passed you every now and then. Your brain was still trying to process everything that had happened that day and you still weren't sure if your sister wasn't giving you a shit. 

"Fuck..." Shinji finally muttered, taking one last drag on his cigarette before putting it out and starting to head back to his car. "I don't envy the kid. He'll find out his life is ruined in a moment." 

“I hope he pulls himself together and gets back on his feet.” You added as you followed the man, and as soon as you buckled your seatbelt and Shinji pulled out into traffic once again, you noticed you forgot something. “Shit, he took my scarf.” 

“Oh my.” Okumura mumbled as he continued driving unfazed, before adding. “Right. You’re very observant, L/n.” 

“What?” 

“I personally didn’t notice his cheek. It wasn’t that swollen, you know?” 

“Huh?” 

“How did you know what to look for?” 

“He was strangely subdued, so I knew right away that something was wrong.” 

“Strangely subdued? How am I supposed to understand that? You talked to him, how many times? Twice?” Okumura asked carefully, and you swallowed harder, knowing perfectly well where the detective’s thoughts were just starting to flow. 

“Three. I also met him in the city and he was more cheerful and open. When you were exposed to violence as a child, you know what to look out for, Okumura.” You explained as best you could at that moment. 

“Uh-huh.” The man nodded slightly. “I know, I know. I understand. But seriously now. You started to like him, didn’t you?” 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” You turned your head sharply in his direction, feeling a cold shiver run down your spine. “He’s a kid.” 

“But he’s your type. Petite, pretty... Girly...” He started counting on his fingers, although his gaze was still focused on the road. 

“He’s underage.” 

“I know, I know... But if he wasn’t.” You stopped at a red light, and he looked at you carefully, although the corners of his mouth twitched slightly upward. “Tell me the truth. If he was an adult, would you be interested? Don’t try to excuse yourself with the fact that he’s a prostitute, because I know exactly how you feel about them. I see people in them too, but you’ve always seen much more in them than others.” 

“Okumura...” You started, but you fell silent involuntarily, to which the man responded with a gentle smile and a quiet sigh. 

He turned his head forward and shook it slightly. “Oh, L/n... You are such a simple and obvious guy with too much heart. You need to work on lying, because you are completely useless at it.” 

“What do you think, Okumura, when Bonten lets Riku go, where will he go?” You tried to gently change the subject, and your partner sighed heavily. 

“I have no idea. I would say juvenile detention, but the bastards would make mincemeat out of him.” He said again, taking on a serious tone. “He won’t be able to stay alone, that’s for sure. Maybe social services will give him a foster home or send him to another facility.” 

“Do you believe in that? In social services?” You asked, grimacing in distaste. “If he was younger, they would put him in an orphanage and not get their hands dirty anymore. The boy worked for the syndicate as a sex worker, he’ll be screwed for the rest of his life if they get involved.” 

“Unfortunately, this is no longer our problem and you know it, Y/n.” Okumura's tone of voice betrayed a certain disappointment. “No matter what, don't get involved in this. You have no such obligation, do you understand?” 

“I also have no conditions. I understand, I understand. I had no such intention, really.” 

“Now we have to focus on Takenaka. We saw the paper that Nagasawa will not be released on an earlier date for the fight, which Wada claims never happened. We need to visit the prison warden and ask about everything, and it would be good to talk to the prisoner himself again. Since he was forbidden to talk to our colleagues, maybe he will tell us something more.” 

Okumura was right and to be honest, you had a strange feeling that this was all a setup as a punishment for Jin Nagasawa. Maybe he said a few too many words and became too much of a threat? 

Exactly... 

“Shall we go back and check what's on the flash drive?” You asked and Okumura, who had focused on driving again, gave you a quick look. 

“I have a feeling I should make an extra copy.” He said and a shiver ran down your spine. 

You bit your cheek lightly from the inside and nodded. “Shall we go to my place?” 

“Sure...” He glanced at the watch on his wrist, which showed 9:26 p.m. “Just call Mimiko for me and tell her I'll be home even later. Don't let her worry.” 

<PREVIOUS/NEXT>

[tactical-mode]

Back in syndicated TV days, the third episode had to be good, and it had to also catch new viewers up - you had to account for people not hearing about your show for the first few weeks. To that end, this was my favorite episode to make so far. 

I’m using the EC version of the score here. It’s 87 bpm, so while editing I grooved out to the likes of Coincidence by Sabrina Carpenter, La Bamba by Los Lobos, and Better Than by Lake Street Dive.

[Chapter 01] Scene 18:  Into the Mako Reactor

The biggest scene of the episode - a monologue with 6 cuts becomes a short dialogue with 18. In both this and the other big scene Barret is fully mo-capped, while only Cloud’s head is tracked, his body moves in a stilted way and at several point he’s, like, T-posing just below the frame haha. It presented an unexpected obstacle to filming, but luckily my storyboards are rough doodles easily scrapped, and I managed to get some good shots in and masked a lot of dialogue that wasn’t actually there. 

As for the scene’s script, here are the lines of interest:

Barret: Yo! This your first time in a reactor? (PS1/PC)

Barret: Yo. You’ve been in a reactor before, right? (Beacause/EC)

Barret: Hey. This your first time in a reactor? (Rogers A)

Barret: Here we are in a reactor, which I'm sure is a familiar sight to you. (Rogers B)

and

Barret: It's the life blood of this planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these weird machines. (PS1/PC)

Barret: All right, I’ll tell ya… Mako’s the lifeblood of our planet, but Shin-Ra’s usin’ all this weird crap around here to suck it dry! (Beacause)

Barret: They're bleedin' the planet dry! Shinra'd take every last drop of mako from the planet if they could. And this pile o' scrap they call a mako reactor is what let's 'em. (EC)

Scene 19-25: Codes and Doors

Multiple sequences were merged as I decided against including the combat in this room. First of all, I ONLY want to put combats at the end of episodes, so that viewers who don’t like it can just skip ahead once the slow-mo Matrix crap starts lol.

Anyway, I took some footage of Biggs and Jessie running from door to door. Getting these shots without boxes or bodies strewn all over the floor was actually pretty tough! Ha ha ha! I implemented a cross-fade sequence here to imply time passing. Not my favorite cinematic trick, but we got through it, and I even managed to include Biggs’ optional dialogue here.

Scene 23 was cut entirely, it’s a flashback FMV. Sc. 25 also jumps away, this time to our villains cackling in a tower. Snip snip. I transported a clip of Barret from a later scene and color corrected it to match, and boom! We’re in the elevator without the random encounter, or opening that chest. Just like my first playthrough!

Scene 26: The Elevator

I wanted a more muted score here so I changed from the EC track to 7R’s more orchestral arrangement by Shima. I had to speed it up and change its pitch in order for it to match Uematsu’s track.

Cloud: It's not my problem. (PS1/PC)

Cloud: Sorry, but I’m not interested. (Beacause/Rogers)

Cloud: Why should I care? (EC)

I went with Rogers here.

Scene 27-29: Mako Reactor Dungeon and Encounters

All right, the Matrix shit has kicked off, so give your brain a break and enjoy the fireworks. After some scenery porn (god this game is beautiful) we introduce Barret to battle!

Here we have the first proper 7R score variation: Shotaro Shima’s Mako Reactor - Battle Edit. Purists be damned! Additionally, Barret is outfitted with a Restore materia, when in the OG you don't find it until the next screen and can't use it until the next dungeon. This is one of only a few slight alterations made to adapt to the medium, and it has the upside of Barret not sounding like a moron later during the materia tutorial.

Folks who stick through to the end of the fight get a treat.

Final Thoughts

So I’m hoping fans of the OG are liking the vids, but they’re not my primary audience. I’m making this for people who have no idea what Final Fantasy is. I want to invite them through the story in a way that looks and sounds better than on PS1. How am I doing in that regard? In a way, this entire series could serve as a prologue to Remake, so I’m hoping 7R fans can also see this series’ value.

[bucketwritingpail]

Wip Wednesday anyone?

Danny joins the Blood Syndicate au pt.1

Cw: lying about ages, recruiting minors (gangs)

--------

"I don't think we should be recruiting kids, Wise."

"I'm not a kid," Danny stated defiantly, tilting his chin up and puffing out his chest in what he hoped looked like an intimidating stance.

The ghost guy didn't look impressed, crossing his arms as he asked, "And how old are you then?"

"I'm-" shit. Fuck. He couldn't say fifteen, they'd definitely kick him out for that. What could he pass for then? "Eighteen?" He hated how much it sounded like a question but it was worth a shot. " I'm eighteen," he said, projecting as much confidence as he could muster into his voice this time.

The ghost raised an eyebrow. "You wanna try again with a more accurate number?" There were a few snickers from the group and Danny felt himself deflate a little.

"I'm seventeen in june," he muttered bitterly. Still a lie but probably more passable. It was only a year.

"You know what? You're in," Wise said with a wide sweeping gesture, he held out his hand for Danny to shake.

"That's still a kid, Wise."

"And I'm your fucking leader, Fade. What I say goes. Besides, I was a year younger when I first joined, and I know the lot of you were too. We take in Bang babies who need a place to go. That's the policy."

Fade looked like he wanted to protest further, but swallowed it instead and sighed. "Fine," he ground out.

"Good," Wise Son said, jutting out his chin with an air of finality before turning back to Danny. "Now, kid-" Fade coughed. "That we've settled the possibility of you sticking around," he continued, ignoring the rather unsubtle remains of objection, "You've got to understand what you're getting into. Capiche?"

Danny nodded.

"Y'see, we've got a rule here. You can only join up with us if you can beat us all in a fight. You still wanna try out?"

Danny took a quick look around at everyone and nodded again.

Masquerade stepped forward with an amused expression. "You sure about that, runt?"

Danny stared him straight in the eyes and nodded again. Then, with his own amused lilt to his voice, "I am one hundred percent confident I could beat you all without breaking a sweat."

The gang members all shared a look.

"Alright then," Wise said.

[thebucketpail]

Fade blushing at Rollie <3

[all-eyes-lead-to-the-truth]

All Eyes Lead to the Truth (4x14) | Memento Mori

They are referred to as alien-human hybrids. While scientifically correct, they don’t consider the title to be phenomenologically accurate. They are bound in this corporeal form, but possess no superhuman capabilities or powers to signify alien origin. 

Down to the most minute cell, they are Kurt Crawford. They are the little boy who held his mother’s hand as they were taken from the El Rico Air Force Base in 1973. They are the innovation of men who weren’t satisfied with God’s plan and decided to make their own.

His existence is similar to  a violinist who can play the second movement of Tchaichovsky’s Violin Concerto without missing a note, but who failed to imbue emotion into the song — the audience can recognize the tune, hum along to the melody, but they know deep down that there’s something not quite right.

Perhaps it’s because they were not of woman borne. There was never a mother to nurture them, only the replicas of other missing people. They never experienced what it was like to grow up or figure out their place in the world — they knew their mission the moment electricity lit up their synapses. 

At least Dr. Frankenstein could see his creation was a crime against nature; even Mary Shelley couldn’t conjure the horror of a monster masquerading as a man. Perhaps the fact that the alien-human hybrids looked like the Syndicate’s loved ones is their punishment for defying the laws of science.

Regardless, the Crawfords’ pragmatism began to fade alongside the health of all the women who suffered just so they could exist. He knew some of the other series didn’t feel the same. The others thought this intervention in evolution was the key to a better world without considering who they would be making it better for.

Why bother with the betterment of humanity if there were no humans left?

John Locke always said that humans enter the world with a tabula rasa, that a person’s environment nurtures who they are to become. Jean-Jacques Rousseau contended that humans enter the world with a predestined morality, that people are innately good without interference.

But what about them? What is destined for a creature borne of fluid and test tubes, guided by the hands of cruel men?

But then again, it would be an insult to claim innocence in the grand scheme. The Gregor Series may have been evil when they cloned the DNA of defenseless children, but the Crawford Series was still using the genetic material harvested from the same project they sought to destroy. The ova from the MUFON women were an integral part in piecing together the genetic puzzle of who they were, but it didn’t make it any easier whenever they saw the women begin to deteriorate.

The list was getting longer by the day;  Edna Cooper, Lottie Holloway, Betsy Hagopian, Penny Northern, soon to be —

“Scully.”

Kurt bowed his head and tried to pretend that their voices didn’t echo around the tiny apartment. For all the bravado Agent Scully was feigning, Agent Mulder matched her with unconcealed fear. This was one of the facets of humanity that made him feel alien. She was dying, and they were fighting. Earlier she had even said she was “fine” while blood poured out of her nose.

He saw death every day. Maybe not first hand, but every file referenced, every lead followed, and every medical chart the Crawfords looked at was laden with it. It seemed to him that wherever death tread, grief and despair were close behind. The losses of the MUFON group didn’t merely extend to the women who died, but the families left behind. 

All of the Kurt Crawfords believed that was uniquely human: the desire to live one’s life in the company of others, to bond with others and care for each other. They wanted to believe their desires to protect the MUFON women was evidence that their existence meant something more. They wanted to exist outside the confines of what the Syndicate had planned for them.

But the Agents standing in front of him whispering with trembling breaths went against all he’d learned about human relationships. There were no hugs of reassurance or words of comfort, yet their gazes held an intimate yearning for each other that reached a depth Kurt couldn’t fathom.

Even as the woman rushed out of the apartment, sparing a sideways glance in the hallway mirror to check for dried blood, Agent Mulder’s eyes never left her. The moment the door shut, the man’s entire body seemed to deflate, his head bowing down as his shoulders curved inward. Agent Mulder raised his hand to his mouth and rubbed the short hairs growing across his skin.

Agent Mulder looked like he might vomit or start crying at a moment's notice, and it struck Kurt that maybe what he was witnessing was one of the most important elements of being human he hadn’t experienced yet. 

Love.

Kurt couldn’t help but think it looked painful, but maybe that was the laws of equivalent exchange at work. He supposed someone could only feel such intense despair and profound loss because they’d known joy and contentment.

“How soon-“ Agent Mulder started, pausing to take a measured breath. “Do you know how long ago Penny found out about her cancer?”

“Within the past year,” Kurt replied, hoping the Agent would accept this answer so that he wouldn’t have to admit it had only been a couple of months.

The answer was grim nonetheless and they both knew it. Kurt could see Mulder tying to could every grain in the proverbial hourglass Scully had left, and he knew it would be a matter of time before he was crushed under the weight of the spent sand.

“Did Betsy have any files on Scully at her place?”

Kurt knew she didn’t, not really, but he could tell Mulder needed to feel like there was something he could do to help her. So Kurt did the most human thing of all.

“I think she did.”

Read the rest of All Eyes Lead to the Truth on Archive of Our Own!

@gaycrouton

[paullovescomics]

Finished reading the first series of Blood Syndicate. On a cover like this, the team looks like so many others from the 1990s: lots of attitude, a guy with guns, a really big person hulking in the back, and one with a full face mask. But the team does operate quite differently. The premise is the most striking out of all the Milestone comics. A group of gang members gain superpowers during the Big Bang*, and they band together to form a new gang and maybe bring some order to their home on Paris Island.

While many in the Blood Syndicate do want to make things better, overall, the group's tactics and motivations often live in a moral grey area. Yes, they bust up crack houses to rid their town of that drug, but they also keep the money for themselves. Maybe they spend some of it early on to help the community (I don't clearly remember, I took a while to read all 35 issues), but at least in the second half of the series, they don't. This is a big part of what makes the series interesting. We see them do things that make sense to them, even while we the audience know it's going to turn out badly. These are people who didn't expect to ever have anything really good in their lives, so how will they imagine their superpowers will help them now? How we grow up shapes which possibilities we can see.

As with all of the great superhero teams of the 80s and 90s, interpersonal drama drives a lot of their actions. The soap opera approach to superheroes was still very much in effect here. I personally like that, and I'd like to think that's not only due to nostalgia. I think it does give the audience more to emotionally engage with. It also encourages writers to find subplots for each character, and involve them in more than just fights.

The cast of Blood Syndicate is pretty big. There are like 14 members of the group across the series, and it's not unusual for 12 or 13 to be active at any given time. This means that not everyone gets the same amount of development. By the end, I felt like I had a much better grip on the characters of Fade, Brickhouse, Masquerade and Kwai than any of the others.

The relationship between Brickhouse and Third Rail would be a huge hit among a lot of fans today.

The next old-school Milestone series I plan to read is Icon. Reading the series individually does make the crossover stories a little confusing, but thankfully there aren't many of those.

*The Big Bang is the event which gave many of Milestone's heroes and villains their powers.

[gabby-msr]

Is Mulder’s Quest Selfish or Selfless? Both? Neither?

Disclaimer: I love Mulder and Scully with all my heart, equally. This isn’t a post to dunk on one of them. It’s common to see Mulder blaming himself in fanfiction for everything wrong that happens to Scully and while, yes, I get it, the question of Mulder being selfish VS selfless has been bouncing in my brain for a while. This is my attempt at putting my thoughts on paper.

Mulder (and eventually Scully’s) quest is a costly one. It lasts for very many years and doesn’t exactly yield the expected returns. For this reason, a common interpretation of The X-Files is that there are terrible consequences to Mulder’s quest and they aren’t exactly “worth it.”  It isn’t a far-fetched idea because Scully has to remind Mulder THREE times over the course of the whole run that she wouldn’t change a day. Furthermore, one person can love the X-Files and also recognize that Scully’s life didn’t really get better for joining the X-Files - a lot of things were taken from her. 

But is Mulder to blame? This very determined man is alone (with Scully) fighting a nebulous evil that is actively harming people. I think we ought to look closer at what Mulder and Scully’s missions are, their repercussions, but also whether their fight is a worthy one. 

The Good Fight: Aliens and Men in Black

“Nothing else matters to me, and this is as close as I've ever gotten to it.”

- Fox Mulder, Pilot.

In the very first episode, Mulder opens up to Scully about his goal in life. It is not sprung upon her later in the series. From the get-go, we know that Mulder thinks that:

Extraterrestrials are responsible for his sister’s disappearance;

The US government is covering it up for some reason;

Proving this and finding Samantha are the only things that matter to him.

Over the course of the series, his focus changes somewhat. 

In seasons 2-3-4, he finds out about how women disappear, is returned with a chip in their neck, dies of cancer, and are left barren. He finds out because all of it happens to Scully and he is IRATE. In season 2, after her abduction, Mulder is out for blood to avenge Scully. At the same time, he feels guilty about her abduction, saying that he should’ve told her about the danger, that she didn’t know.

Meanwhile, in seasons 4 and 5, Samantha fades somewhat, and Scully becomes more important. He wants to hold accountable those who are responsible for the abduction and killing of women, as well as the medical rape of these women. There’s nothing negative to say about this. It appears to me to be an objectively good thing.

In the later years, after finding out what happened to Samantha, Mulder appears a little lost and less convinced by his quest. By Requiem, he wants to send Scully home from Bellefleur, saying that the cause isn’t worth it. That she should go home and carry on with her life, have children.  Why he “decides” to get on the ship remains a mystery to me, although a point could be made that once he was in the forest, he wasn’t a willing participant. 

In season 8, Mulder leaving the FBI appears, to me, as indicative that he’s kind of done. Whereas he would have fought tooth-and-nail to get the X-Files back, this time, he leaves of his own volition. Not only that, but this time, Scully is the one who has trouble letting go. 

Mulder reminding Scully that Dogget is a big boy and that she has to care of “the little boy” melts my shipper heart.

I wish the show had explored Mulder’s return more thoroughly in season 8 because he is still involved, but I get the impression that he has more to lose.

In season 9 and onwards, Mulder seems uber-focused on the end of the world in 2012. While we don’t get a good explanation for why Mulder and Scully broke up, this could be a reasonable explanation.

In the revival eras, Mulder appears to me as someone who isn’t as blinded by his quest as he used to be. Having lost Scully has probably shifted his priorities somehow.  

A Closer Look at the Syndicate: Was Mulder doing Good?

“CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN:  I’m in the game because I believe what I’m doing is right.

MULDER: Right? Who are you to decide what’s right?

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: Who are you?”

- The X-Files, One Breath, Season 2, Episode 8

So the X-Files world is doomed. Alien colonization is inevitable and would result in the extermination of humanity as we know it. Fortunately for us, a group of forward-thinking men in black, a type of shadow government, has decided to do something about it! Only this guy Mulder jeopardizes it all by threatening to expose them!

Umm... not quite.

A few times during the show, people tell Mulder that he is in the wrong for what he is doing, which begs the question: in the grand scheme of things, is Mulder doing something wrong? Is he threatening the very existence of humanity? 

- In Deep Throat, after being returned from the military base where his brain was wiped:  

“I just wanna say, everything you've seen here is equal to the protection we give it. It's you who have acted inappropriately.”

- The quote above from the Cigarette-Smoking Man, in One Breath. 

- In the episode Max, when Mulder is on a plane with a man who threatens to take it down:

MULDER: I'm sure all the other passengers on this plane would appreciate dying for your noble philosophy.

SCOTT GARRETT: Look out your window, Agent Mulder. You see the lights? Now, imagine if one of those lights flickered off. You'd hardly notice, hadn’t you? A dozen... two dozen lights extinguished. Is it worth sacrificing the future, the lives of millions, to keep a few lights on?

My understanding of the mythology is the following: The aliens will invade by infecting everybody with the Black Oil, and warned the Syndicate about it in 1973. They struck a deal whereby the Syndicate attempts to create alien-human hybrids. In exchange, the Syndicate members have to give up a member of their family to the aliens as collateral (in the Mulder family, that’s Samantha).

The Syndicate’s dilemma reminds me of the trolley problem in philosophy. However, in this case, it could be summarized as follows: Samantha dies, or, without Syndicate intervention, everybody, including Samantha, dies. 

So in the end, the Syndicate was only trying to save humanity? 

That’s debatable, and the means they used were absolutely ruthless and inhumane. Everybody was disposable. Abducting people like Max Fenig and Duane Barry, repeatedly, and causing them extreme pain and distress appeared to me to be absolutely despicable.  Likewise, abducting women, stealing their ova, creating babies with them, and leaving them barren and dying of cancer were also terrible. Furthermore, Samantha’s journals attest that she was tortured during the years between her abduction and her “death.” 

From my point of view, Mulder and Scully were the only people who took them seriously, who gave them some hope. 

At the end of the day, the Syndicate was looking to protect themselves more than humanity. And they hurt a lot of people along the way.

Mulder Fucks up Big Time

We cannot discuss whether what Mulder is doing is good without taking into account the times he FUCKED UP.

During the show, there are a few instances where Mulder is blinded by his quest. The most egregious example is from Paper Hearts, when he endangers the life of a little girl because he thinks there is a chance he might find out what happened to Samantha. Anybody else would have been sacked after this but this is the X-Files here.

One of his flaws is his impulsiveness. 

“Mulder, don’t get on the train.”

Mulder is somewhat aware of the dangers of his expeditions. One such example is when he goes to Arctica in season 2.

It’s a famous Scully ditch. In the end, Scully swoops in and saves the day, but Mulder didn’t intend it that way. He’d left her a letter explaining what he was doing:

“ Scully, when you get this message, I will be too far away for you to stop me, but where I'm going I cannot allow you to follow. I won't let you jeopardize your life and your career for reasons purely personal to me. You were right, Scully... you said a line has to be drawn somewhere. I'm drawing it for you here. I'll contact you when I can.” 

- Fox Mulder, End Game, Season 2 episode 17.

So he’s aware of the risks, especially in season 2, after her abduction. That doesn’t stop him from ditching her and needing her rescue, but he can acknowledge that a situation is dangerous and try to limit the damage to only himself. Given their bond, Scully rescues him, which could endanger her as well. 

The Cases in Between: The Flukeman, Vampires and Frankenstein 

And then there are the actual X-Files. What Mulder and Scully’s job should be. Between mytharc cases, Agents Mulder and Scully travel the USA to investigate the most outlandish claims. Sometimes their help is requested, but at others, they arrive at the scene of the crime and are treated like a nuisance. The entire X-Files policing universe, from the FBI to the average small-town sheriff, is rather hostile to Mulder and Scully’s unexpected methods, though as it often turns out, their contribution solves the case.

Exhibit 1: Squeeze/Tooms

In Squeeze, Scully’s help is requested by an old academy “friend” to solve a most bizarre string of murders. Mulder is drawn into the case too, although his ideas are not well received. Mulder is fought every step of the way and refused a surveillance details many times, only for Scully to be attacked. In this case, without Mulder and Scully acting like watchdogs, Eugene Victor Tooms would most likely be returning to the Baltimore area in 2023 to kill five more people.

Exhibit 2: Quagmire

This case turns out to be rather simple, and Mulder is also wrong in the end (or is he)? Regardless, the town sheriff they have to work with refuses to recognize there is an issue with the lake. His take on the multiple deaths occurring around the lake can essentially be summarized as people being drunk dumbasses around lakes. Even though Mulder turns out to be wrong about what is causing the deaths, he and Scully put a stop to it, and the lake is presumed to be safe again (though we never know on the X-Files).

These are only two examples of Mulder and Scully making their world a safer place. They barge in and are most often not welcomed, and yet, they end up saving people. If I were a victim of some type of monster, Mulder and Scully would be the ones I want investigating what happened. In a world of skeptics, Mulder shines. 

Repercussions: Deaths, losses, and sacrifices.

I will probably forget people/things. Apologies in advance.

Being in the close circle of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully has a huge disadvantage: a very high death rate. The following deaths can be attributed to the cause:

Melissa Scully and Agent Pendrell: the very definition of “wrong place at the wrong time.” Both their deaths are tragic and feel gratuitous. 

Fox Mulder’s dad: While his death is due to his decision to try and help Mulder for once in his life, it could be argued that he was the reason the Mulder family was on the path it was on in the first place. His involvement in the Syndicate was the reason for Samantha’s disappearance.

Emily: her very existence was a tragedy, and so was her death. She was created by evil people who never intended her to live. 

Honourable mention: Queequeg. 

Beyond death, Mulder and Scully sacrificed a lot of things to continue working on their quests:

Their lives: from the viewer’s point of view, it appears as though Mulder and Scully have nothing else going on in their lives other than the X-Files. While we can’t possibly know, especially considering we see very little of their personal lives, we know that neither Mulder nor Scully is “progressing” in their lives. Both are single without prospects despite looking really hot and their careers are at a standstill with “little to show for it.” 

Mulder seems especially eager to dedicate his life on the X-Files, Samantha, and exposing evil people who abduct people and make them suffer.  On the other hand, Scully questions her role on the X-File and their mission more than once. She even tries to appeal to Mulder to lead a normal life - a foreign concept for Mulder.

Whereas Scully is seen having a little bit of a life in the first season - her friend Ellen, going on a date with a boring guy - in the later seasons, it’s Mulder and Scully VS. the universe.

Scully progressively withdraws from her family: in season 5, we can see how the quest is taking Scully away from the family. She’s there with her family, except that she isn’t, not really. Her job is causing a rift between her and older brother, and even her mother doesn’t seem to understand her at times;

Scully’s ability to have children: considering how her ova stolen during her abduction, Scully was robbed of the possibility for children. It is a very sad discovery for her, one she has a hard time coping with;

Their BABY: due to their involvement in their mission, the safest option for William is for Scully to give him up. Repeating just to make sure we remember: SHE HAS TO GIVE UP THEIR MIRACLE BABY, THE ONE WE NEVER THOUGHT SHE COULD HAVE;

So..?

With that in mind, is Mulder and Scully’s quest worth it? Is it selfish or selfless? This post is going all over the place, trying to argue different things. At the end of the day, here are a few conclusions I can come with:

- As far as the average X-File goes, Mulder and Scully are the people you want working your case. They will not give up, and they will most likely the only people in the whole world to be compassionate and understanding. They have put a stop to many monsters who would go on killing people. Their work on the X-File is not in vain;

- As far as the mytharc goes, their mission is a noble endeavour. They are the only ones looking and trying to figure out why people like Max Fenig or Scully are disappearing and suffering. There is SOMETHING there. Alas, they are fighting something that is a lot bigger than just them, and their mission comes at a great personal cost. Beyond that, it hurts other people and the quest can blind Mulder in a way that endangers other people.

I don’t have a concrete conclusion beyond this and would love to discuss this further. 

All the pictures used are taken from the wonderful screencaps website: https://www.xfilesarchive.com/index.html Shout out to the owner, who really puts in a lot of time!

[lildevyl]

FebuWhump Day 11: Time Loop

DAY 11: Time Loop

Summary:  Time Keeper has seen the devastation the Syndicate caused.  L’Manburg is nothing but a crater.  If only he had gotten there sooner!  If only he could have saved him!  If only there was a way to prevent this from happening.

TW: Mention of a Major Character Death. Don't worry! The Character doesn't stay dead!

A/N: Okay, more of a Time Travel than a Time Loop but I had this idea stuck in my head for weeks now! Still trying to figure out the chapters for Tommy Innit's Secret Clinic but don't worry! Once I start writing again, updates will be coming!

Thank You all for your Understanding and Patience!

(L’Manburg in the Future)

Time Keeper stood there feeling numb.  The destruction of L’Manburg all around him, Siren laughing maniacally commanding all the officers and riot squads to turn on each other.  Erinyes the “Blood God” has taken on a Blood Lust like no other and began taking on any Hero or Vigilante down with his sword and blood energy.  Orcus was no better, the once well-known Hero Archangel has now become the Angel of Death.  Blacking the skies and having his crows swoop down and attack civilians and killing anyone who dared challenge him to a duel.

Time Keeper stood on top of what was left of the once pristine building that was known throughout as Hero Tower, looking out at L’Manburg, now L’Mancrator or the “Pit” the Blood God called it.  When the Syndicate lost their youngest family member Theseus, they all lost it.  Finally snapped.  If the Heroes refused to honor the Honor Code and have no problem in getting away with murder.  Then the Syndicate will have no problem in doing the same.

The only difference was the Syndicate had no problem in going out into Egopocalpse to gain even more power.  Egopocalpse, the Alternate Universe where they all live from the Real World of their Creators.  Yes, everyone here knows that they are “Characters,” “Alter Egos,” of their Creators.  That is when their Creator and the Community behind them stop making content, whether it is Fan Art, Fan Fiction, Cosplays, Theories, Videos, Clips, Songs, Fan Games, or anything else on Social Media or other Platforms.  Then they, the Characters, would “Fade.”  But some Characters/Egos, like Darkiplier or AntiSepticeye, hate the idea that one day they will fade.  So, they try to take over to keep that from happening.

However, grief can do a lot to someone.  Even though they all know that one day they will fade from this world, just the mere fact of losing someone you love can be devastating.  The Syndicate, desperate to bring their youngest son/brother back, ventured out into Egopocalpse seeking the most powerful Egos they could find.  Phantom and Darkiplier were unable to bring Theseus back, his soul had already moved on to the Other Side and it wouldn’t be the same Theseus if they took a different one from another Multiverse.  But what they could do, however, was to give them each a power like no other.

Siren could command anyone and there would be no limit to the amount of people, and the command would stay even if he left.  But he had to be careful because he could accidentally hurt someone he loved.  He didn’t need to sing for them to be under his control and he would have complete control of anyone who could hear him, even if they covered their ears.  The price was a piece of Siren’s sanity.

Erinyes could cut through any building and slice through anyone with an energy wave and nothing would be able to contain him.  The price would be his blood lust.  The more blood that was spilled the stronger he became to the point of Demigod power and used that energy of the spilled blood to take down anyone who dared to face him.  No Hero or Vigilante would be able to stop him.  Pandora’s Box would never be able to hold him.

Orcus, the once beloved Hero known as the Archangel.  The Guardian Angel of L’Manburg, with the power of Air Bending and Wind, had become the Angel of Death.  He now has the Power of Death.  Able to kill a single person just by touching them and being able to bring that person back as a Zombie completely under his control.  The price was his remorse and empathy.  Orcus would feel no remorse, no empathy, no guilt for anyone, not even his own family.  He’ll still feel love and pride but cannot feel or show any guilt for what he’s done, said, or planned to do even if it cost them dearly.

They all said yes and days after Theseus’s Funeral, they destroyed the one thing that the Hero who killed Theseus loved more than anything else, the City the Hero had sworn to protect.  Killing Millions of innocent lives in their wake.  And the Syndicate true to their word did exactly that.  They planned over five tons of TNT all over the City and detonated it.  Leaving L’Manburg as nothing more than the Crater.

“Hehehehahahahaha!  L’Manburg!  You’re L’Manburg Dream!  An Unfinished Symphony forever unfinished!”  Siren called laughing hysterically at the destruction he caused.

“Thought I might find you here,” a voice said right next to Time Keeper, making the Hero nearly jump out of his skin.

Time Keeper turned around and was face to face with one of the Egos who was responsible for all of this, Phantom.

“What do you want?!”  Time Keeper demanded.

“I can help,” Phantom said, looking at the L’Mancrater with an unreadable expression.  He turned to Time Keeper.  “You called, I heard, I can help.”

“Why?  Why do you want to help?  Why should I believe you?  You’re the reason this even happened!”  Time Keep lost his composure and lost it.  Why now?  Why does Phantom want to help now?!  He was the reason this all happened.  He was the one who offered the deal to the Syndicate in the first place!  All he wants is Chaos and Destruction so why help?

“I’m not the one who caused all this, Time Keeper.  The Hero named Dream who killed Theseus was responsible for all this!  If he didn’t kill the Healer, the one who told Dream that ‘Healers don’t play God, they don’t choose who lives or who dies.  And you, being a Hero, should know that!” 

It was weird hearing Theseus’s exact words and cadence come from Phantom.  “And what did Dream do?  He’s the one who played God and lost.  He killed the youngest member of the Syndicate and did it on live television when the Hero Committee couldn’t pay their way out to the News Networkers and he got caught.”

Time Keeper stayed silent.  He knew.  He knew there was corruption in the Hero Committee but he just kept turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to it all.  Wanting to live in that ignorant life of not knowing.  Believing that the Heroes weren’t killing someone unless they had to.  But after Dream killed Theseus, it’s still unknown even now if it was an actual accident or if Dream did it intentionally.

Time Keeper still remembers Dream begging him to go back in time and stop him from doing this.  To save Theseus!  The mantra of I didn’t, I didn’t, I didn’t I didn’t!  I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean, I didn’t mean!  Bring him back, bring him back, bring him back!  Kept repeating in Time Keepers mind.  He was able to go back in time but not to the exact spot where he was.  He goes back in time and knows what happened those minutes/hours ago before he traveled.  But Time Keeper would wind up where he was before the situation happened and then has to get there in time to stop whatever happened.  But he couldn’t.  Time Keeper no matter how often he traveled just could never make it there in time.

When the Syndicate saw what happened Erinyes went right after Dream, determined to kill him on the spot.  Siren was sobbing and cradling his baby brother.  He looked at the Heroes, ripping his mask off showing everyone who was under there.

“Are you happy?!  Are you finally satisfied that you finally killed a member of us?  You killed a child!  He just turned twenty-one!  He didn’t do anything but fucking heal you all!  He healed Vigilantes, Heroes, and yes us Villains.  Because Healers don’t play God!  Unlike you who have no problem in sending children as soldiers!  Having Orphans and the ones in Foster Care on the front lines just so you can sit in your Penthouse Suites!  What did he do to deserve this?!”  Siren demanded.

“Do you finally believe us?!  When we kept telling you what the Hero Committee was up to?  That they are Corrupt?  That they don’t give a shit?  That they will silence anyone who tries to tell the truth about them experimenting on Hybrids just to make Heroes to control and Villains to show that the world needs Heroes?  Do you finally see what they are?”

No one said a word.  Too shocked by Siren’s outburst and the fact that everyone was seeing his face for the first time.  But the shock soon worn off with the next thing that Siren said.

“Hehehehahahah!  You all will pay!  We will get our revenge and the one thing you treasured and loved more than anything in the world will be destroyed and it will never be able to bring it back.  It’s all your fault Dream!”

Then Siren bent down and grabbed Theseus, scooped him up in his arms, and gave him to Orcus.  Then he ran and lept off the building.

“I suppose you’re right,” Time Keeper said, coming back to reality.  “But what can you do to help?”

“I can send you back.  I know you keep blaming yourself for never being able to save Theseus.  It’ll be before all of this happens.  Years before, when the seeds were planted and Dream began to go down that path.  You can save two people.  Dream from losing himself and going to the Darkside and you can save Theseus from dying.”  Phantom offered.

“How much time will I have to relay the message?”

“Not long.  You can only go back hours in the same timeline but if I do this you will only have minutes to relay the message.  You can warn someone, but I can’t guarantee who you will see.  But if you want to warn the Syndicate then you better warn yourself as well.  I can send you and one other person back momentarily.  But we have to be careful.  Creating that kind of Time Rift can and will have a lot of consequences.”

“What’s the price?”

“Your memory.  You will start to lose your memories the more you travel back or forward in time, more than a few minutes.”

“What about my past self?  Would there be consequences for him?”

“He will start to lose his memory too.  Slowly, but it won’t be that bad.  And you will be seeing parts of the future the minute you cross paths with Theseus and the member of the Syndicate you choose to go back to warn you.  But I must warn you if you say yes, then your time-traveling abilities will get a jumpstart and you will become very powerful.  Demigod powerful.  And if your past self finds a way like your future self has.  There will be a way for you two to talk in a Time Rift but only briefly.”

“What do I have to do?”

(Manifold Hotel)

Jack let out an exasperated sigh when he returned to the back of the bar in the hotel.  It was nights like these that Jack contemplated his life choices.  His Granddad left him, the hotel, and at the time, Jack was overjoyed!  Jack loved the hotel business and always imagined himself taking over one day.  But at this moment with hundreds if not thousands of fans for this “wonderful” Meet N’ Greet with the Heroes.  Jack was seriously starting to see why his parents decided to duck out of the business.  The “Karens,” Jack could handle but these obsessive fans over their favorite Heroes?  Good Primes above!

“Yo, Casey!  We need another round of your famous Chocolate Chip Brownies and another round of Punch!  The fountains are getting low!”  Jack called out to the Kitchen as he made his way to the back to restock the Buffet.  “Casey!  Did you hear me?  Casey?”

When Jack looked up from his tray, his mouth hit the floor.  Everyone in the Kitchen was frozen.  It looked as if they became wax statues with how still everyone was standing.  But what caught Jack’s attention the most was the water from the faucet froze as well.  It was still water, but it didn’t move, it didn’t make a sound.  Then, to Jack's utter surprise colors burst out from the corner warping everything around it, and the sound of energy crackling through the air was heard.  And Jack felt a power like no other run up his spine.

The person who stepped out of the “Warp” was the last person Jack had ever expected to see.  Time Keeper.  Time Keeper was standing in front of Jack but he looked completely different.  Time Keeper’s hair was a lot longer, nearly shoulder length, and several scars littered across his face and chest.  Gone was Time Keeper’s trademark colorful hoodie, replaced by a dark Steampunk coat and shirt with Time Keeper’s trademark swirl.  Time Keeper’s goggles were also different, purple and teal lenses, high tech too.  But what caught Jack off guard was that one of the Time Keeper’s hands was a mechanical hand.

“Time Keeper?”  Jack asked barely above a whisper.

“Boreas,” Time Keeper greeted with a nod.  “Oh, wait, you don’t go by that right now.  You go by?  Frostbite right?”

“I - I don’t know what you’re talking about Time Keeper,” Jack said, perplexed that a Hero knew his Villain Identity.

“I don’t have a lot of time, Boreas, but I need your help,” Time Keeper said with authority.  Time Keeper then handed Jack/Boreas a small journal.  “The future, the one I just came from, is bleak.  Save him!  Save the Healer!  The future you went to warn my past self since I can’t do that.  Hopefully, the both of you will prevent L’Manburg from being a Crater.”

“What happened?”

“The Healer died, and the Syndicate went mad with grief of losing their family member.  Help him!  Help my past self save the Healer as I couldn’t in the future.  Maybe now, with the Time Rift, we change that.”  Time Keeper said.

“Wait!  Time Keeper!  Save who?!”  Jack demanded.  And then he went after Time Keeper who stepped back into the Warp again.  “Time Keeper!”  Jack shouted and rushed through the double doors.  Finding himself in a hallway full of guests looking at him.

Jack ignored them and tried to find Time Keeper but he was nowhere to be found.  Jack then looked down at the journal that Time Keeper gave him and opened it.  He froze upon seeing the picture that was in the journal.  Oh no! No, no, no, no!  Not the kid!  The kid’s the Healer that they’re supposed to save.  Jack didn’t realize that his hands were shaking and he never heard Casey calling his name several times trying to get his attention.

Jack slammed the book shut, shoved it in his pocket, whipped out his phone called the first person he could think of, and ran towards his room.

“Phil!  Emergency Meeting!  Tonight!  ASAP!”

*****

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