#god that's such a sick power. i need him so bad. my little science experiment. my gorgeous specimen. puts u in a test tube.

[s0lairee]

god i love hush i need to bite his arm off

[beesmygod]

JJBA PART 5, VENTO AUREO IS THE UNDERBAKED MESS I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT FIXING...PART 2

FIX 2: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A PROBLEM LIKE GIORNO?

thats the homo photo of my dad

answer: i dont know.

the unfortunate and honest to god truth of the matter is that the protagonist of JJBA part 5, giorno giovanna, fucking sucks.

what if that little shithead from the twilight zone episode "it's a good life" was gay and watched "goodfellas". you might think "wow that sounds great" but, well, somehow it's not.

it is months later and i have been struggling with writing this for a bazillion reasons: i got sick, real life events occurred, i had to work on comic, i died, etc. but the most strenuous reason of all in the end was facing the impenetrable, tangled, and deeply complicated gordian knot that is the little ladybug loving bitch named giorno and not knowing where the fuck to even begin.

i had to think long and hard about how to approach the problem of "giorno giovanna". he is like a diamond of sucking ass: multi-faceted and beautiful in his perfection but is, ultimately, just a stupid fucking rock from the dirt. he completely lacks the innate charisma and personality inherent in previous jojo protagonists AND antagonists; despite having both the joestar AND brando gene pools to pull from, he manages to snag a net total of 0 personality traits. this problem is multiplied 100 fold once he starts actually doing things to move the plot along and the universe repeatedly bends itself like a pretzel in order to gift him undeserved and unrewarding (to us, the audience) win after win after win.

his theme goes hard as hell tho

if you were to ask me what is wrong with giorno, i would have no problem making a long and detailed list of why i want to slap the little cinnamon rolls of his head. i have no idea how to organize that list into a more coherent form of criticism that points at the overarching structural weakness of part 5. part 5 really, really wants you to like and root for giorno. it hinges on it. his victories are explicitly supposed to be emotionally and morally gratifying. they are instead trite and annoying.

for years, YEARS, my only experience with the entirety of part 5 outside of infamous panels and the most basic information about the story, was this incredible, evergreen and laser targeted tweet:

i thought this was a funny shit post. all i knew giorno had some kind of "life creation" power. what i didnt know was:

giorno says this exact line and then turns cars into frogs so that they (the bad guys) cant catch them (they do catch them)

giorno's power IS fucking stupid

i fucking hate him

he should stop using it

abbacchio was right. he was right about everything

how DO you talk about giorno? giorno's blandness permeates any situation he has the misfortune of attending and the parts of the narrative where he's missing for one reason or another are significantly improved by his absence. in comparison with the deuteragonists (bruno bucciarati) and tritagonists (the members of bruno's squad in the mafia family passione), he has all the flavor of a communion wafer. his character arc is non-existent. emotionally, he might as well have just gone to the store and back by the end of the story.

and, look, araki likes to play fast and loose with how powerful a stand is or what its abilities are. im not here to measure power levels or fucking whatever stupid shit people get up to. the more wild and insane he gets with his incredibly "unique" ""understanding"" of science and geometry, i'm 99% on board for. but giorno's stand, gold experience, is whatever the narrative needs it to be at any given time with no consistency. it's OP as hell long before he gets the 11th hour power boost; his stand has the extra trans-dimensional ability to remove any tension from a fight scene. through this, gold requiem can destroy the psyche of the audience, truly making it the most powerful stand of all time.

people used to love to bitch about not understanding how the villain's stand works in this part, but if anyone tells you they understand what the fuck THIS means they're lying to you.

anyway, there is only one solution i can think of when it comes to how to approach this: assess the major story beats in order. i think jumping around in the progression of events to highlight individual flaws in the character will not adequately impart the suffering one feels as an audience member while the narrative yo-yos between being rollicking good fun and being at the mercy of the little 15 year old twink with god mode on.

and so, having made it past koichi's tiny ass role (and his tiny ass) in the story and addressing how we can proceed, we can cover bruno (a genuinely wonderful character), polpo, and the wasted character building opportunity of the piss drinking scene, which vexes and infuriates me to this day. [thinking about the piss scene and getting mad again] ooooh!!!!

[jupiterswlrd]

Spectacular- mark lee

mark never intended on getting bit by a spider on his was home in the subway, he also never intended on saving you from falling in front of the moving train car either. it was all just some sort of sick coincidence. mark had never believed in super powers, yeah what he saw on TV and comics book was cool but it was never realistic. ‘someone just can’t magically change over night’ he thought to himself all the time.

that was, until it happened to him. after his little run in with you he went home and took a nap, shook up a bit on how well his grip on your jacket was, almost like his hands were stuck to you. ‘crazy...’ he chuckled drifting off to sleep. when he woke up his found his upper part of he bunk covered in spider webs.

“ew” he said quietly trying not to wake his roommate haechan up. ‘maybe if hyuck would be a cleaner we wouldn’t have this issue’ mark struggled to sit up something making him stick to his bed. he flopped all around his bed, webs confining his arms to the bed. he finally broke one and somehow tripped off of his bunk. he prepared for his body to hit the ground but something caught him. a string of webs wrapped around his ankle and attached the top bunk. he was confused, but he was mostly relieved. “mark?....” haechan opened his eyes wondering why he saw his roommate dangling from what seemed to be the ceiling. with that the web snapped causing mark to fall on his head.

“dude...” haechan observed mark like he was some foreign species. “did you do that?” he pointed to the the webs covering marks bunk. “n-no!?!?” mark looked at the younger boy like he was out of his mind “do i look like a spider to you?” haechan stared at him for a long minute. “...there’s a fucking web growing out of your wrist right now....”

“HUH?” mark flung his hand somewhere, flinching in a way. haechan grunted loudly his head banging aganist the wall. his body was taped to the wall with one big web. “MARK” he yelled in amazement and extreme pain and discomfort. “I promise i didn’t do that....” mark didn’t know what to do with his hands, he stuck them in the pockets of his shorts fearing himself and what he’d do. haechan eventually broke free, examining the web pattern closely. He had a thing for spiders.

“this is completely unique...your webs have a little M in them. we should take to these y/n, you know shes a science freak” mark completely shut down at the thought of you seeing him shoot webs out of hands. what if you thought he was some kind of freak? “THATS NOT AN OPTIO-“ then you walked into their dorm room, unannounced and unwarranted. “i heard my name from outside the hallway, why are you all so l—“ you were confused to see that mark was no where to be found. “uhhh?? i thought i heard marks voice”

“you di—“ haechan did a double take “oh haha, yeah we were on the phone he’s in the bathroom— he got stuck in the toilet”

haechan shoved you out the room nervously. “yeah so y/n, we’ll see you in class okay?” once you were successfully pushed out the room, mark was sitting with his legs crossed his head in his hands. “bro what the fuck was that?” haechan slammed the door and locked it. “what was what?”

“i don’t know your little disappearing ac— YOU CAN TURN INVISIBLE”

“haechan are you on drugs? you have to be on drugs only people with POWERS can do that and that’s not possible be—“

haechan clamped a hand over marks mouth.

“dude you’ve done the impossible for like 2 hours now, you have powers” the younger boy slid on his shoes and grabbed his jacket. “where are you going?” mark asked laying back down. “you mean where are WE going” he threw marks slides at his head.

“we’re gonna go see what you can do.”

mark and haechan went out to a abandoned parking lot. haechan was good at making something out of nothing figuratively and quite literally. “okay mark pick up that big ass tire over there” mark walked over to it, absentmindedly picking it up “this one?”

haechan pulled a clipboard out his backpack “okay superstrength...check”

after many trials and errors. mark and donghyuck found out that he was very agile, very fast, and very sticky. mark couldn’t go 3 seconds with out sticking to something.

as mark and haechan were walking back to the dorms, mark heard something his ears turned up as he looked around. “do you hear that?” mark pulled his hoodie up and walked a bit faster. “no what do you hear? is everything oka—“ mark took off running in the opposite direction past the parking lot, leaving his backpack and a confused Lee Donghyuck behind him.

mark turned the corner the feeling that was rushing through his body, it was more than adrenaline it was like an itch that so desperately needed to be scratched. he had to find out what that noise was. he found himself in the subway again. the same place his was now 24 hours ago. his head was now spinning the same place he was bitten now stinging more than ever.

his balance was off and his body felt weak. mark blinked harshly, the itch slowly fading away. but everything was fading away he slipped into darkness, passing out on the grimy new york subway floor.

“mark” a familiar voice called out to him. “yes y/n?” he responded, a swirl of neon colors surrounded him, his skin was no longer slightly tan it was neon red with some swirls of blue. he was still in the subway but it was empty. dead silent his own thoughts, and spiders the only things in the station. you were in the form a beautiful pink tarantula crawling all over marks body.

“you know what you have to do right?”

“what do i have to do?”

“save new york” you brushed against his cheek lovingly “save our friends, save me, and most of all” you had somehow reappeared in front of him crawling down from her own line of webs. “save yourself.”

“how do i do that?”

“22nd street my love”

mark heard that laugh he always loved to hear, then a sharp pain in his arm again.

“FUCK” he yelled when he woke up, surprised to see that it wasn’t the “pink tarantula” that hit him, but an IV going into the underside of his wrist.

“calm down mr.lee it’s okay, you had quite a scare there” a nurse rubbed his forehead “anything i can get you? some water? some juice you had a pretty bad panic attack there”

mark sighed

‘how am i supposed to save new york with anxiety?’

☀︎☂︎☀︎☂︎

“hyuck” mark said as they walked home from the hospital. “yeah?” he responded taking one of his headphones out his ear. “have you ever been to 22nd street?” haechan shrugged “yeah i’ve been by there, it’s nothing but some apartments...why?”

“i think we have to go there”

that piqued haechan interest, not in a good way though. “you’re not tired i mean...i know you have super stamina but you just had such a bad anxiety attack you passed out” he blinked “i don’t see how you’re not exhausted, fuck— even IM exhausted” mark shrugged and walked in the other direction in hopes to catch a bus, “you coming?”

“so am i like your agent or something” haechan said smacking on the lunchable from his backpack loudly, so loud that mark couldn’t even hear himself think. between the homeless people, the bucket drum line, haechan obnoxious chewing, mark couldn’t hear himself think. “OKAY JUST SHUT UP” he snapped, all attention on him. “oh— uh not you guys i—“ mark quickly became flustered looking at haechan for some help. “OH— uhhh, my friend here has a disorder. sorry about that” haechan rubbed mark on the back, watching as heads turned back to what the were doing. “thank god” mark sighed in relief as they reached their stop. “i feel something...” the same ringing in his ears was back, becoming quieter as he walked in different directions dragging haechan in zigzags along with him

finally, mark and haechan arrived at their “destination”. all it appeared to be was just a regular apartment building. “what the fuck?” mark huffed slamming his fists aganist the wall, accidentally triggering something.

the small alley way they were in between revealed a door, the two boys looked at each other in pure amazement as they jumped through. “what is this?” mark said in awe staring down the walls. “don’t touch anything” an older man said swatting his hand away “you’re the new guy?” he looked mark up and down “the standards must be in hell”

“hi nice to meet you too!” mark sarcastically said. “i didn’t ask.” the man simply replied. “follow me though.” the boys did as they were told. “i believe that we were all put on this earth for one reason, to wreck havoc and help when havoc wrecks things” the older man laughed at his own terrible joke. “that’s why some people their genetic code is different, they’re products of some very expensive experiments, and my favorite” he chuckled “wrong place right time”

“so where do i fall?” mark wondered out loud. “the third one sweetheart” the older man bent down into a mini fridge and got out something to drink. “so basically what i’m saying kid.” he slurped it loudly in marks ears “help when havoc wrecks, whenever it does”with the snap of fingers, haechan and mark were back home and mark was dressed in a red and blue spandax suit. a black spider embroidered on the chest. “bro? you look—“ mark raised a brow, thinking he was still in his regular clothes. “you look like an actual superhero!” haechan danced around the room. “i do?” he stepped infront of the mirror “oh— I DO”

“what should i call myself. tarantula boy?—no too weird spider boy? no too immature”

“spider-man” haechan suggested

“spider-man...” mark said to himself in the mirror.

“i guess i’m spider man...”

[icouldntfinditsoiwroteit]

Story 1

At the moment I may or may not be a bit obsessed with One Piece without even watching the anime, and I'm even more obsessed with Sanji and the Vinsmokes in general, so I thought of four story ideas with a reader insert, two will be romantic and the last two will be platonic.

1. Aracne

Fem Reader X Vinsmoke quadruplets.

Soulmate au (red string, sort of)

Sneak peek.

In this Au Reader is a Third, her family has webbed countless portraits for the Vinsmoke family, she goes with her older brother in order to further her practice and experience in webbing a portrait.

She is four years older then the quadruplets and one year older than Reiju.

Story time

*Big brother says I need to be careful with the Vinsmokes, they don't act bad but I don't like how their eyes look and I feel dizzy when I look at them, although brother said that it was sea sickness,* (F/N) thought while she carried some of the webbing material behind her brother.

Her brother had three spider arms and one pair of human arms while she has tree pair of human arms and one pair of spider ones.

*Mother always says how we are total opposites in not only personality but also in bodies just like the Mrabara,* (F/N) remembered.

"Brother,"

"Yes?" They had already arrived to the webbing room.

"What is a Mrabara?" (F/N) moved to one side for her face to be visible.

"W-Where did you hera that word?" Brother's face was twisted in nervous worry.

"Mom,"

"Oh thank god," His face relaxed.

"Is there something wrong with Mrabara?"

"It's a mature word," Brother tried to explain.

"I'm mature," (F/N) pouted following her brother who had entered the webbing room.

"Never said you weren't.......just don't say it in front of Clío and if you do tell her mom taught you the word," Brother said while he started to prepare the webbing station.

"Come help me with this (F/N),"

Four hours later.

"Are you listening (F/N)?"

"Yeah," (F/N) muttered in her seat while she watched her brother web.

"What did I just say then?" Brother looked at her and smiled playfully.

".............."

"You already bored, don't you usually last for 7 whole hours?" Her brother gave her a worried look.

"I don't know," (F/N) really wanted to walk outside but she didn't know why, she loved webbing to the point that in her lessons they had to remind her to eat, although they said that it was normal.

"Tell you what, I'll ask for something to eat, meanwhile go and retrieve my webbing book," (F/N) lightened up at the thought of walking outside.

"Ok," (F/N) bolted to the door.

"Stick to the route we came from," Her brother reminded and she just nodded in agreement before she opened the door and left the room.

When she left the room she bumped into someone slightly smaller than her, she caught the stranger before they could fall to the ground.

"Are you ok? I'm so sorry," She looked at the stranger who had yellow hair.

"Hello?" She asked after stopping herself from apologizing again when she received no answer, the boy was frozen.

"S-S-So-orry-Sorry," The boy whispered.

"Why are you apologizing?" She then gasped recognizing the prince.

"Your highness, I'm so sorry," She apologized again.

Before she could keep apologizing they heard some footsteps approaching them and then someone calling out.

"Sanji!!" The boy stiffened at the voice calling his name, he took (F/N)'s hand and ran.

(F/N) followed along until they reached a dead end, she could see how the little boy was trembling and heard how the taunts and footsteps where still following them, but something good was that the dead end had a window.

She took out of her pockets a thread serger that had spider web her family told her to always carry with her, she roped the thread around the boy to create a small harness.

"I'm going to get you down there," The boy only looked at her in shock.

She pushed the window open and put the boy in the ledge of the window, under the window was a small bush where he could easily hide.

"Be very quiet," She said as she pushed the boy and started to let him down as fast as she could, the steps where getting closer and closer.

Luckily she felt the boy reach the ground a few second before the chasers reached her, but she only had time to throw her end or the thread and close the window.

"SANJI!!" She turned around in surprise and saw that a bow with green hair had yelled that.

*It's the princes,* (F/N) noted when the last two boys rounded the corner.

"Ichiji, this is just a girl," The blue haired one whined.

The red haired boy glared and (F/N) felt shivers when she made eye contact.

"Oi, where did Sanji go?" The green haired boy asked.

(F/N) only shacked her head.

"Then what is a insect like you doing here?" The blue haired one asked.

"Looking out the window?" (F/N) gave a look of "seriously", this seemed to anger them.

"An lowlife doesn't need to see out the window, maybe we should use this one since we can't find Sanji," The blue haired one was clearly the most volatile.

"(F/N) what are you doing here?" Came her brother's cold voice.

"Brother, I just wanted to look out the window," (F/N) explained while the boys turned around and their grins disappeared when they saw her brother.

"Young princes, I will be taking my sister with me now," He greeted politely.

(F/N) immediately followed him not looking behind, this made her brother the only one who saw the red strings tied to her pinkies.

Au info dump

In this Au there is a species called Aracne, this species is a hybrid between a spider and human, there are different forms a Aracne can be born into such as seconds, thirds and fourths, although the form is respective to the family they come from.

Seconds

As the name says, they are basically half spider and half humans, the spider humans is always the lower, members of this species are considered either as builders since due to their form it would be incredible dangerous for the to go into the sea and their silk is the strongest and more resistant or as knowledge guardians (librarians) and they have the most elders since they have the longer lifespan. They can also be seen as teachers and caretakers too, they are also the ones who take care of the security alongside the Fourths, there is usually two of them per family they take the role as grandparents or simply mentors although the last one is extremely rare and two is just the minimum but unofficially they take care of all family's since they most probably took care of them as children. Their bites are fatal and will take your life in less than a minute and can dissolve any surface.

Thirds

Their humanoid features are more dominant than the spider ones, in this form they possess either one, two or three pairs of arms and the rest takes the form of a spider leg that is always in their lower backs. When it comes to females their web exit is in the middle of where the lowest spider legs find themselves this causes them to be incredibly flexible to reach for the web. They are considered the negotiators and commonly leave their homes to aid their nest's economy, this is usually trough them selling their services in making clothes, rugs and even portraits with their silk but this kind of service is only given to royalty or families considered sacred or that are friends with them. (It is considered a honor or sign of power to have one portrait since it is believed that they can predict the future). Their bite is also mortal but will take six minutes to kill an adult, although it has been used in some medicine that kind of works like chemo.

Fourths

They are the ones who exit their island the most in unofficial matters unlike the thirds, this is due to their forms being less evident and easier to hide, they are the ones in charge to keep the island updated in politics, economy, science and culture although some of them also accompany as guards the thirds when it comes to political exits, they only possess two to tree pairs of arms, their whole body possess small hard hair that allows them to still be able to climb webs like the other forms, their bite takes ten minutes to kill someone or if they are a strong human they can survive but not without any damage that is usually caused to their muscles, although their venom if processed correctly can be used to cure countless of sicknesses, this is a secret guarded with their lives in order to prevent their active hunt. They are also the buffest since they need to compensate their lack of spider legs with their strength.

More info

Skin and eye color varies an there is no consistence, when it comes to eyes Seconds may possess 8 to 6, Thirds 5 to 3 and Fourths possess 4 to 3, two eyes is incredibly rare and only happens when someone is born from a Fourth and a human, hybrids are born from the union of two different forms, the Aracne are not against romantic relationship between different forms but when it comes to reproduce they worry, if a fourth became pregnant with a Second or Third they will die during the pregnancy or in childbirth since the baby's form will be mixed and the Fouth's body cannot handle it, same goes for a Third with a Fourth although there are higher chances of survival there is still the possibility of some life damage occurring, Seconds are the ones who can carry in a less dangerous way the offspring of the lover but due to the Second's anatomy a Fourth's baby has a 85% of chance to die and a Fourth's has a 50% chance to die in the womb.

If the hybrid is born healthy they are raised normally but health issues will come in the future if they aren't born with them already, although there are cases where hybrids manage to enjoy a full life, they still needed medical help to manage it.

There is a lot less danger if the child is a mix between a Aracne and a human, since a human's gene would only water down the child's form a long as it is the Aracne who carries, if it where the human they will die if they carrie the offspring of a Second or a Third, if it is a Fourth's child they carry it comes with less danger but their chance of survival is of less than 30%.

[danurso]

That's pretty D.U.M.B

Part 0 - Part 1 - Part 2

Oobleck: Which one of you is going next!?

Ruby: . . .do. . .do we have to doctor?

Oobleck: what do you mean miss rose?

Ruby: i mean that you already tested and found out that the machine works, couldn't we stop here?

Oobleck: OF COURSE NOT!!! science has in its basis constant testing! one single success can't let any scientist or researcher like me satisfied! Why did you suggest that miss rose!?

Ruby: it's just. . .i don't know, the other Weiss seemed nice but, Jaune was a bit. . .

_WBY/J_P_: Rude?/Mean?/Stuck up?/S-scary?/Abrasive?

Ruby: yeah, all of that, what if we bring another jaune like that? Or one even worse?

Oobleck: Well, considering the infinite possibilities out there, it wouldn't be impossible to bring other Mr.arcs like the previous one, but the same way a bad Mr.arc can show up, a good one can as well.

Yang: yeah. plus, we're talking about vomit boy, how many evil versions of him can be out there?

Ruby: i don't know, and i honestly don't wanna find out.

Yang: come on, he wasn't that bad, he was just like weiss cream would be if she was a boy but still had to deal with her period 24/7 and weiss cream was just like jaune if he was a girl, which, i think wouldn't change much aside from what's between his legs.

Jaune/Weiss: HEY!

Ruby: still, i'm not sure if we should keep going.

Yang: Come on, what if the next Jaune that comes up is a reaper that uses a cool gun just like yours?

Ruby: . . .it sounds cool, but still. . .i don't know about it.

Yang: *sigh* welp, then i think i'll have to go next.

Ruby: w-what? Yang you-

Yang: relax, considering what happened last time this Jaune is probably going to be a cool brawler who loves parties like i do.

Oobleck: while that is indeed a possibility ms. Xiao long, i wouldn't take it for granted until we see who's coming through the D.U.M.B.

Yang: welp, only one way to find out, right? *walks up to the D.U.M.B* you're coming vomit boy?

Jaune: err, can't we just listen to ruby and stop here?

Yang: you too? C'mon, man up vomit boy! Its gonna be fun!

Jaune: you only say that because you weren't the one watching a mirror version of you looking at you like a pathetic little bug, i'm not looking forward to that again.

Yang: come on, how bad can the next you be?

Jaune: i have no idea.

Yang: and that's why we have to find out! *holds jaune's arm and drags him to the D.U.M.B, placing both of their hands on the device*

Jaune: w-wait, yang i-

Suddenly, the device lights up with an yellow aura similar to yang's, before it fades away.

Blake: and it did it again.

Weiss: *sitting behind a table* i am not taking another explosion.

Ruby: *hiding behind weiss* me neither.

Weiss: what are you doing you dolt!?

Yang: *grinning and with her semblance on* ready vomit boy?

Jaune: *with closed eyes and bracing himself* not real-

*BOOM*

Once again the room was filled with smoke, this time though it was a yellow one, which quickly started to dissipate thanks to the open windows.

Jaune: *on the ground* oww, why does this thing has to explode to work?

Yang: *shrugs while still standing, her body covered with aura* no idea, but seeing you fly is funny.

Ruby: *still behind weiss* so? What jaune showed up?

Oobleck: *fanning some smoke away* they're probably still in the smoke ms.Rose. The device seems to have worked again, but we still need to wait to see who-

A blur then jumped out of the smoke, and in the blink of an eye collided with doctor oobleck, it happened so fast that the group barely had time to react, and only realized what happened when they saw oobleck pinned on the ground.

(A)Jaune: *wearing a white T-shirt, blue pajama pants, with several visible scars on his legs and arms, holding oobleck down by the throat and holding a handcannon on his forehead while glaring at him with scarlet eyes and black scleras*

RWBY/J_P_: *shocked*

(A)Jaune: i'll ask this only one time, and you better give me a good answer. What did you just do?

Oobleck: *sweating bullets* w-well, you see, i-i-

(A)Yang: jaune!

(A)Jaune: *looks back at the smoke cloud*

(A)Yang: *coming out of the smoke, wearing her usual sleeping clothes but with a yellow robotic right arm and rubbing her eyes* don't you think it's too early *yawn* to be causing havoc?

(A)Jaune: *looking back at oobleck* look around yang, we're not at the dorm.

(A)Yang: *looking around* huh? How did we- *notices the group, including herself and another jaune* . . .okay, what the hell is going on? Am i still dreaming?

(A)Jaune: you're not dreaming, and i'm trying to figure out exactly what is going on.

(A)Yang: by scaring the hell out of everyone around you?

(A)Jaune: do you know a more effective way of getting answers?

(A)Yang: yeah, did you tried to ask first before going straight into violence like we talked about?

(A)Jaune: hmph, do you realize how much of an hypocrite do you sound like right now?

(A)Yang: punching someone is way different from holding them at gunpoint bad boy. Now, why don't you just let poor professor Oobleck off the hook before he vomits out the rivers of coffee he's always drinking?

(A)Jaune: . . . *sighs, eyes going back to white scleras and marine blue iris* fine. *gets up and stands next to yang* but if your way doesn't work out i'll-

(A)Yang: dismember them, kill them, yeah yeah i know the drill with you, so relax and just leave it to me okay bad boy? *grins and winks at him*

(A)Jaune: *crosses his arms* hmph.

(A)Yang: i'm sorry for him, he gets grumpy when you wake him up out of the blue like that, specially on a sunday.

Pyrrha: *helping oobleck up* to the point of hurting a teacher?

(A)Yang: can we all just be happy that "hurting" was all he did to professor oobleck? If you did that a few months ago jaune would've probably beheaded him.

Oobleck: *gulps*

(A)Yang: speaking of which, what the heck just happened? I was enjoying my warm bed on a cold sunday morning and now we're on a classroom, with people that look way too much like us.

Oobleck: w-well, i am sorry to disturb you and mister arc with this experiment miss xiao long, but we are testing a new device, a device with the power to bring other versions of peoples to our universe.

(A)Jaune: *raises eyebrow* so we are in a different universe?

Oobleck: precisely!

(A)Jaune: that explains why there's another "us" here. How do we go back?

Weiss: wait, so you will just believe in what we're saying?

(A)Jaune: i've dealt with things stranger than this before, jumping into a new universe isn't anything too out of the common really. Plus, i know when people are lying.

(A)Yang: you did that before?

(A)Jaune: no, but it's not really worse than salem's shenanigans.

Ozpin: salem you say?

RWBY/J_P_: WHA-!?!?

Weiss: where do you teachers keep coming from!?!?

Ozpin: *behind the students* that's a very good question miss schnee. *sips coffee, completely ignoring her very good question*

(A)Jaune: Oz? You're here too? Guess this universe is not that different from ours. Do they know about her?

Ozpin: no, at least not yet mister arc.

(A)Jaune: good, ignorance is a blessing.

Blake: what are you two talking about?

Ozpin: nothing that really matters miss belladonna, i'm here just to observe oobleck's experiment. *sits on the farthest table.* please proceed as if i'm not here.

Weiss: why are all teachers in beacon so weird?

Yang: you talk like we're any better.

Weiss: we're not. . . .okay, point taken.

Oobleck: answering your previous question mister arc, this device has a time limit of half an hour or a manual trigger for you two to go back.

(A)Jaune: good, i'm tired and want to go back to bed as soon as i can. How does the manual trigger works?

(A)Yang: hold up you lazy bun. come on, we're in a whole different universe, don't you wanna take a look around? See if we can find something interesting?

(A)Jaune: i've already seen my fair share of weird stuff on our own world, i'm not interested.

(A)Yang: *grins* oh really? *walks up to yang, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer* are you going to tell me you're not interested in a world with two of me?

(A)Jaune: . . . . *blushes a bit and looks away*

(A)Yang: oh? What is that? Did you just think about something naughty bad boy?

(A)Jaune: . . .no.

(A)Yang: *grinning* li-ar~

(A)Jaune: i'm not lying.

(A)Yang: *gets closer, booping his cheek* of course you're lying, how can you not love the idea of having two me's around you?

(A)Jaune: *looks back at her* because you're the only yang i love you dumbass blonde.

(A)Yang: *blushes* . . . .that's a low blow.

(A)Jaune: you started it.

Ruby: is it me or these two really look like they like each other?

Weiss: *deadpans* wow, how did you figure that one out ruby?

Yang: so me and vomit boy from the other dimension are together?

(A)Yang: vomit boy? Why do you call jaune like that.

Jaune: oh god, please don't-

Yang: because the first time i saw him he ended up puking on my shoes.

(A)Yang: PFF! HE WHAT!? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!?

Yang: *grinning* i'm serious. guess seeing me for the first time was too much for him.

(A)Yang: *starts laughing*

Jaune: *red* i have motion sickness! It's a very common problem!

(A)Jaune: so i not only look like an idiot here, but act like one as well?

(A)Yang: i don't know, i kinda like the idea of a softer and dorkier version of you.

(A)Jaune: i don't.

Pyrrha: but why are you like this?

(A)Jaune: what?

Pyrrha: you are a lot different from our jaune.

Ruby: yeah, yang looks almost the same, but you are a bit different.

Weiss: a lot different actually.

(A)Jaune: judging by how he acts and looks like, he probably had a comfortable normal life, with little to no training.

Jaune: h-how-

(A)Jaune: the moment i attacked oobleck i saw everyone tensing in reaction, it's an combat instinct to get ready whenever something unexpected happens, you were the only one who didn't reacted like that, which means you have barely any combat experience.

Jaune: i. . .can't argue against that.

(A)Jaune: meanwhile, i didn't had it so easy.

Weiss: let me guess, your father was a heartless bastard?

(A)Jaune: *snaps to weiss, eyes get red and surrounded by a black sclera* say that about my father again and i'll cut your throat.

Weiss: *shivers*

(A)Yang: *flickers his forehead* hey! cut it out bad boy. i know it's hard to believe but for once ice queen wasn't trying to be mean, she was just asking a question.

(A)Jaune: R-Right. . . *sighs, eyes going back to normal* sorry.

Yang: what's up with his eyes? It almost looks like a grimm.

(A)Jaune: that's because i am partially grimm.

PR__Y: what?

Oobleck: *taking notes* please elaborate more mr.arc.

(A)Jaune: genetic enhancement. I got through a lot of experiments when i was seven.

RWBY/J_P_: SEVEN!?!?

(A)Jaune: the genetical enhancement is lethal on adults with fully developed bodies, only small children have a chance to survive.

Ruby: just a chance?

(A)Jaune: yeah, fifty children ranging from five to ten were tested on, only three survived, one of them being me.

Pyrrha: oh my god. . .that's so cruel.

(A)Jaune: not really, we all knew what we were getting into.

Blake: how can any five year old consent to something that has a chance of killing them?

(A)Jaune: because they would wind up dead without this power. We all agreed to go through this because we all had the same objective, take revenge on the organisation that killed our families.

RWBY/J_P_: . . . .

(A)Jaune: when i was a kid, a man tried to recruit my father to be part of his organization, when my father refused he blew up our home, killing my sisters and my mother, only me and my dad survived, but he lost an arm and was really hurt, he carried me as far as he could but the man found us and killed him. . .i only survived because of my mentor Qrow branwen and his sister.

Ruby: uncle Qrow? He was your mentor?

Yang: *shocked* wait. . .did you say his sister was there too?

(A)Jaune: yeah, they both saved me and took me to the Reaper organization, they offered me a choice to try and have a normal life or join the reapers, qrow wanted me to have a normal life but i didn't listened to him, i was so full of anger that i signed up and proceeded with the Reapers.

Oobleck: reaper program. . .sounds like something i heard before, but the project i knew was stored for being not very ethical.

Jaune: makes sense, the program consisted in making genetic enhancements on kids and making them go through the toughest training possible.

Blake: what kind of training?

(A)Jaune: several kinds, ranging from survival training to durability training, they would expose us to harsh places and teach us to survive, as well as expose us to high levels of pain, heat, cold, electricity, poison and others just so our bodies could get used to it.

Blake: that's. . .inhuman, how could they do this to children?

(A)Jaune: we did this to ourselves, we asked for the training. . .we just didn't knew how insane it would drive us.

Yang: i mean, i'm not a specialist but you don't really look that insane.

(A)Yang: that's because you met him now, he wasn't like this a year ago.

(A)Jaune: because of the grimm essence and the painful training, me and the other two kids didn't turned out very well, i was probably the most mentally balanced out of the three.

(A)Yang: and he still tried to kill me at least three times.

Weiss: and you're dating him!?

(A)Yang: *shrugs* he's wasn't that bad after you got to know him well, specially compared to his friends. One of them was a sociopath that tested the most painful ways to kill on his enemies. the other was a wild animal that killed anyone who got near him.

(A)Jaune: unless this person was qrow, oz, ironwood, raven or steph.

(A)Yang: yeah. Jaune was the least fucked up of them, yet he tried to kill me twice and two other teachers as well on his first week on beacon.

(A)Jaune: *deadpans* why do you keep bringing that up? I apologized didn't i?

(A)Yang: only after we started to get together, and every time remember you pointing that gun to me i get annoyed, *grinning* specially because your handcannon is not the kind of gun i like to see you pointing at my face.

(A)Jaune: can't you leave the dirty jokes for later? Or just stop with them altogether?

(A)Yang: you know i can't.

Ruby: so, jaune got through a lot and became a killer. . .please tell me you aren't evil too yang.

(A)Yang: well, last time i checked they didn't had my size on the killer's clothing store, so i guess i'm with the good guys for now.

Yang: what about my arm? What happened to it?

(A)Yang: i lost in a grimm attack.

(A)Jaune: *looking down* it was my fault.

(A)Yang: no it wasn't, and even if it was you still made up for it, so don't go getting gloomy because of it, okay? Basically a group of grimms came after me, i was so distracted with the fighting that i didn't noticed one had a bomb attached to it.

(A)Jaune: i tried to shield her from the explosion but in the end it still took one of her arms away.

(A)Yang: which was still a pretty cheap price to pay for the result, even though i still think you're an idiot for doing that.

Yang: what did he do?

(A)Yang: in our world, there's a woman who can control grimm, and she was the one who sent the grimms after me by request of the same guy who killed jaune's family.

Ruby: but why did he wanted you dead?

(A)Yang: because i'm jaune's angel.

Weiss: you what?

(A)Yang: angel, i'll explain that later. Well, this idiot right here *points to (A)Jaune* had the great idea to go after her even with the injury of the explosion leaving him vulnerable.

(A)Jaune: i already told you why i did that, i was angry and couldn't think straight.

(A)Yang: *glaring at him* and i already told you i don't give a damn to your reasoning, you're still an idiot. Anyways, he obviously failed and had to run away, but while he was running away he found my missing mother and saved her.

Yang: Raven?

(A)Jaune: Summer Rose.

Ruby/Yang: *shocked*

Ruby: m-mom is alive in your universe!?

(A)Yang: yeah, she disappeared during a mission when we were really young. . .we thought she was dead, but she was being kept alive in suspension so they could understand more about her. . .special powers.

(A)Jaune: i woke her up and managed to escape with her. Nowadays she is working as a teacher in beacon while trying to rebuild her marriage with qrow.

Ruby/Yang: SHE'S TRYING TO REBUILD WHAT WITH WHO!?!?

(A)Yang: i know right? It was one hell of a surprise, we had no idea they were married, but after uncle qrow saw mom again and kissed her in front of everyone, it was kind of hard to keep it a secret.

Ruby: wait, does that means i'm-

(A)Yang: uncle qrow's secret daughter? Yup, you are.

Ruby: oh my god. . .it's so much to think about that my head is starting to hurt.

(A)Yang: i don't blame you, it took awhile to digest everything weird that was happening in my life. One day i'm just good ol' me, going to beacon like i always wanted to do, and suddenly i lose an arm, my dead mom is alive and back, i find out she was actually married to my uncle, my sister is technically my cousin and i am the new angel of the guy who tried to murder me a few times when we first met.

Weiss: you mean girlfriend?

(A)Yang: *shrugs* works too, it's the same thing.

(A)Jaune: *frowns* no it's not, an angel is one of a kind, you can find other girlfriends but an angel is unique, you're the only one i ever confided with my fears and weaknesses, you're the only one who ever saw me cry and the only one who i ever showed my love to, you might be my girlfriend but before that you're my angel, because only an angel like you to bring peace to a demon like me.

RWBY/J_P_: . . . .

(A)Jaune: . . . *red* can you stop staring at me like that?

(A)Yang: *smiling* i can't, i love when you get on your poetic mood, it's too cute.

(A)Jaune: ugh, i should've just stayed shut.

(A)Yang: yeah, you should've known better than giving me ammo to tease you at this point. 

(A)Jaune: i hate you.

(A)Yang: nope, you don't. But putting the cheesy and cute poetry to the side, an angel is like a break to the reapers, they usually don't trust anyone and are terrible people, but when they find someone special that they can trust they change a lot. I told you about jaune's friends earlier, the one who liked to torture people as a hobby now likes to plant flowers and care for them on his free time with his angel, meanwhile the psycho animal got just like me, a fun guy who loves to crack jokes and tease other people, though he isn't as cool as i am.

(A)Jaune: but is still a lot more perverted than you. . .if that's even possible.

(A)Yang: i know right? I don't know how that girl survived dating him for so long, if all the reapers have the same level of stamina i wonder how she isn't on a wheelchair.

(A)Jaune: now you're just being dramatic.

(A)Yang: remember when we first did it? And i couldn't stand without my legs shaking like leaves for almost a whole day? Imagine a girl going through that almost every day.

(A)Jaune: . . . . . .yeah, you got a point.

(A)Yang: i know. though, if she keeps having sex with him so much it's because she likes it, sometimes i imagine how it feels to do it all the time.

(A)Jaune: *deadpans* knowing you, i'm sure you do.

(A)Yang: *grins* are you saying that you don't think about that too? We're almost on our vacation you know? We could go out for a few days and find out~

(A)Jaune: *blushes* y-you-

(A)Yang: pff *chuckles* you're too easy to mess with sometimes.

(A)Jaune: *sighs* Can we leave already?

Oobleck: *looking to his clock* well, since you've been here for twenty seven minutes and forty three seconds i don't think there is much time left anyways.

(A)Yang: well, it was good while it lasted.

(A)Jaune: yang, we didn't do anything but tell them how our world is.

(A)Yang: *ignoring him* It was nice to meet you awkward jaune, i mean, vomit boy. *winks*

Jaune: *chuckles awkwardly*

(A)Yang: oh, and other me.

Yang: yeah.

(A)Yang: you better not let him slip, i had to work a lot to make this jaune here soft, you already got a softy ready for you, they might not be the same but if he's also jaune then i'm pretty sure you're not gonna regret.

Yang: i'll think about it.

J_P_: you WHAT!?

Yang: what? If i'm the one saying it then it must be true. Not to mention that Jaune does look cute so its a double win for me.

Jaune: *blushes* i-i'm cute?

(A)Yang: good. *starts glowing along with jaune* i don't know much about your jaune, mine was a knucklehead most of the time but when he wanted to be, he was very kind and supportive, he helped me to deal with a lot of old issues, and i'm pretty sure your vomit boy isn't different on that aspect.

Yang: right. . .i'll keep that in mind.

Ruby: err, other yang?

(A)Yang: yeah?

Ruby: can you do me a favor?

(A)Yang: i don't think i have much time left to help you other rubes.

Ruby: no, it's nothing really big, just. . .when you go back, can you please tell mom that i love her?

(A)Yang: . . . *gives her a small smile* sure, i promise i'll tell her when i get back.

Ruby: *with a shaky smile* right. . .thank you.

(A)Yang: and hey, please don't cry, my ruby or not i still don't like to see you sad.

Ruby: right. *sniff* i'll try.

(A)Yang: good. *glow gets stronger* Bye everyone, it was nice meeting you.

Yang: same.

*(A)Yang waves one last time before vanishing completely from the room*

Blake: . . .once again, that was something.

Yang: ruby? *puts a hand on her shoulder* you okay.

Ruby: y-yeah, i'm fine, i just. . . *sighs* i wished i could go there myself, even if i could just go for a minute to see her. . .

Yang: yeah, i know how you feel.

Oobleck: well. . .it seems that you just got through a very sensitive moment mr.rose, would you like to take a break?

Ruby: no, it's okay, i. . .i think i'm fine.

Yang: you know you don't need to push yourself, right ruby?

Ruby: i know, and don't worry, if it becomes too much i'll stop, but for now. . .mr.oobleck?

Oobleck: yes miss Rose?

Ruby: can i go next?

[hext00ns]

love when my brain attaches to dumb weird shit no one else cares about like a weird crossover ship that only makes sense to my brain and the weird little stories that go on in it because i wanna ramble under the cut is my thots on all this 

Don’t trust Steven with any human stuff mans never went to school even Ben is better at stuff like budgeting then Steven is and Ben lived on the road with two other teenagers for a good chunk of his older teen years 

All thee of them pool together in the decision making department because all three of them have those good ol’ leader instincts. Dexter is use to working alone while both Ben and Steven are use to leading teams. At first they probably butted heads a LOT and still kinda do but now days they are pretty equal in that kinda stuff. 

Ben tries to plan dates, really he does. But he’d rather just get a smoothie with them or watch a horror movie at home. It’s Steven who plans the more romantic stuff. HOWEVER, Dexter will surprise them both when it comes to things like anniversaries cause he’ll plan something weirdly and uncharacteristically romantic for them that will probably make Steven start crying and Ben makes fun of them both despite being really really happy. 

Cooking and cleaning goes to Steven. He mother hens both Dexter and Ben. Dexter has issues with stepping away from work long enough to keep himself from keeling over and Ben still acts like a 13yo some times when it comes to cleaning up and choosing McDonald’s for every meal. Steven is super happy to do it though! He was raised by the gems and Pearl was always huge on cleaning and keeping things tidy and he is use to cooking for himself as well from a young age. He actually finds joy in both of these activities because they’re very domestic and calming for him. 

I have lots of different aus and ideas going on through my head so who confesses first is very much up for debate. Ultimately, Steven is the most emotional of the three and is most likely to say something in the moment about his feelings. Where as Ben has been in many relationships over the years and is super use to asking people out that he likes. Dexter I think could be the one to initiate the relationship but only with the right circumstances. 

Ben is kinda hardheaded. Steven is highly emotional. When they have fights Steven is normally the first to try and get them to all calm down and make up. He’s very pacifistic and hates arguments especially among loved ones. Dexter is a bit on the middle ground. He can get very frustrated very easily but also he’s more likely to cool down faster than Ben is. However, you KNOW you fucked up if Steven is the one that has to leave and calm down from the argument. There are definitely times where and argument got to a place where Steven was the one to leave in a fit of anger to go blow off steam. Normally during those fights, Dexter and Ben are so surprised (and kinda worried) that they often completely forget what the argument was even about. 

Steven is literally the BEST caregiver when someone is sick. He gets a lot of his motherly tendencies from Pearl. Dexter is pretty prone to stress fevers and working himself sick if Ben and Steven aren’t there to keep him from doing so. 

Ben and Steven are so goddamn talkative there are days when Dexter straight up kicks them out of the lab. Ben’s probably the most talkative of them all but Steven isn’t that far off. Dexter is pretty quiet unless you get him going on something. Man can infodump for hours about some science shit Ben and Steven have never even heard of. Of course they still try their best to follow along even if they are so fucking confused. 

Steven is the most observant when something is going on with the others. Especially in an emotional sense. He’s borderline an empath (actually I think his powers do technically make him and empath but besides the point). Dexter is pretty observant if something is different or someone is acting strangely if he can get his nose out of his work long enough to see it. But unlike Steven who will question it immediately, Dexter will give it a day or so before mentioning it. Ben is so goddamn oblivious sometimes. It’s okay he’s trying. 

Proposing honestly probably isn’t on any of their minds much. All three are young adults, two of which are traumatized heroes and the other one is a workaholic. Not only is their age a factor but their situations are too. If marriage ever was gonna be a thing with them it would be a good few years into the future I think. And, despite being the most emotional and romantic one of the bunch, Steven is actually the LEAST likely to pull out the ring. After his proposal failure with Connie he just is really scared to even mention the idea of marriage to anyone. He realizes that the idea of relationships he was raised around isn’t how humans work. Yes he can fuse with humans but no human wants to stay fused. Even Garnet learned that you can’t sacrifice your individuality to a relationship. This is a struggle for Steven because he’s always struggled with who his is and his identity and though things are better now he always will struggle. Even then he’s also very scared of taking things too fast. He knows he’s overly emotional and a huge romantic and he knows he jumps into stuff way too fast sometimes. Dexter might think about proposing sometimes but will probably just talk himself out of it a lot. He’s married to his work right? Well, in all truth he can’t deny that the idea is nice. But they’re all busy and also there’s three of them so how would that even work? Yeah he just talks himself out of it. However, Ben is the one who actually goes through with it (when the time is right). He really doesn’t care about things like “how it’ll work” and whatever. He’s pretty impulsive and leans in on his instincts. When he realizes that this is what he wants and is pretty sure Steven and Dexter would want it to, fuck yeah he’ll go for it. 

It’s down right annoying how much these three would sacrifice for each other. Or anyone really. Steven the most, he often values other lives and happiness above his own. He’s a helper and a healer but often forgets about himself in the process. Ben is use to self sacrifice. He’s a hero, like Steven. He is prepared to put his life on the line for them. Dexter is interesting because despite being the protag of his show I wouldn’t really call him the hero type and I don’t really think he’d strap himself with the title either. However if put into the position he will take up the mantle (we see so in Fusionfall). Honestly, Dexter is more surprised than anyone at how much he’d risk to keep the people he cares about safe. He does it on pure instinct without even thinking first. 

Ben is such a fucking blanket hog he gets his own. It’s green. Ben and Steven have to almost drag Dexter to go to bed and get some fuuucking sleep for god sakes. Steven isn’t a blanket hog only because he’s the cuddler. He gets all the warmth he needs from the others. Dexter wont admit it but Ben will, the fact that Steven is the best big spoon at night because he’s the biggest of the three. He’s wonderfully fat and it’s fantastic. Big arms big belly how do you not love to cuddle that!!!! However despite being a great big spoon Steven very much likes being the little spoon a lot. He likes to be held just as much as he likes holding others. Steven also is very prone to wanting to be held when he’s having a bad mental day. Ben would much rather be the big spoon in most his relationships but fuck man Steven’s hugs are so nice okay one exception. 

Steven is the most ticklish and Ben holds this against him. Ben is the least ticklish but once you get him going he gives this hilarious shreek. Dexter is ticklish but only if you know where to poke. However he’s also the one who will probably hit you on accident just as a reaction. 

Ben is the best kisser he’s had the most experience. Romantically, Steven’s only ever kissed Connie before then but he’s the best at like slower softer more romantic kisses that’ll make your heart ache. Dexter has no fucking idea what he’s doing but he’s a fast learner so there’s no complaining. 

God please they’re 18yos they are all so fucking irresponsible on some level. They’re so prone to doing dumb shit. Of course Ben more so out of all of them.

[alicemarion]

OUTLAST :  THE  MURKOFF  ACCOUNT  (  PART 2  )   sentence starters !

this  prompt  was  made  using  dialogue  from  issues  #4 ,    #5  and  #6  of  outlast :  the  murkoff  account  by  red  barrels .    feel  free  to  edit  any  of  these  to  make  them  more  suitable !

“  _____  wasn’t  fucking  around  about  disappearing .  ”

“  our  chances  of  finding  a  lead  in  this  are  vanishingly  slim .  ”

“  what  you  got  there ?  ”

“  i  hate  it  when  they  have  families .  ”

“  since  when  did  _____  hurt  women  and  kids ?  ”

“  sorry ,    that  was  in  bad  taste .  ”

“  he’s  been  gone  for  a  while  now .  ”

“  i  saw  him  back  just  last  night .  ”

“  i  saw  him ,     standing  right  over  there .  ”

“  drove  my  dogs  batshit ,    which  is  weird .  ” 

“  they  always  used  to  like  him .  ”

“  _____  said  _____  was  here  last  night .  ”

“  it’d  take  us  days  to  find  him  under  all  this  shit  if  he  was .  ”

“  guess  we  better  get  started  then .  ”

“  it’s  garbage .  ”

“  is  ...    is  some  of  this  garbage  moving ?  ”

“  ants .    the  place  is  infested .  ”

“  what  do  you  mean ?  ”

“  emailed  him  ants .    not  the  strangest  thing  i’ve  seen .  ”

“  these  look  like  passwords .  ”

“  ouch !  ”

“  little  fucker  bit  me .  ”

“  black  ants  don’t  bite .  ”

“  motherfucker !    motherfuckfuckfuck -  ”

“  they’re  all  over  me !    jesus !  ”

“  not  there !    not  there !  ”

“  water !    water !  ”

“  goddammit !    make  room !    i’m  coming  in !  ”

“  fuck  this !  ”

“  it’s  not  working !  ”

“  we  need  fire !  ”

“  take  your  fucking  clothes  off !  ”

“  now  do  me !  ”

“  got  anything  i  could  wear ?  ”

“  nope .  ”

“  what  the  fuck  am  i  gonna  do ?  ”

“  hey ,    that’s  the  same  homeless  guy .  ”

“  that’s  not  possible .  ”

“  i’m  sure  it’s  him .    he’s  following  us .  ”

“  hey !    stop !  ”

“  where’d  you  go  ...   ?  ”

“  you  work  for  _____  ,    don’t  you ?  ”

“  ...    who  are  you ?  ”

“  i  believe  you’ve  heard  of  me .  ”

“  you’ve  been  following  us .  ”

“  what’s  your  name ?  ”

“  yes .    i’ve  been  watching  you .  ”

“  you’ve  got  something  most  running  dog  mercenaries  don’t .  ”

“  i’m  not  a  mercenary .  ”

“  you’ve  got  shame .   you  know  what  you’re  doing  is  wrong .  ”

“  it’s  a  job .  ”

“  but  you’re  somebody  who’d  chase  after  me  ,    despite  the  fact  that  you’re  injured  and  naked .    who  does  that ?  ”

“  ...    i  can’t  stand  not  knowing .  ”

“  tell  me  your  name .  ”

“  i’ve  read  your  files  ,    _____ .  ”

“  six  years  ago  you  leaked  company  files  and  vanished .  ”

“  been  off  the  map  ever  since  ,    encouraging  other  whistleblowers .  ”

“  you’re  trying  to  destroy  _____ .  ”

“  of  course  i  am .  ”

“  they’re  evil .    you  work  for  the  devil .  ”

“  you’re  protecting  _____ ?  ”

“  you’ll  never  find  him .  ”

“  i  couldn’t  tell  you  if  i  knew .  ”

“  willful  ignorance .    i  remember  that .    almost  let  me  sleep  some  nights .  ”

“  how  do  you  sleep ?  ”  

“  how  do  you  justify  working  for  people  you  know  are  evil ?   ”

“  _____  was  a  pebble  in  a  pond .  ”

“  that  is  where  the  real  sickness  spreads .  ”

“  those  are  coordinates .  ”

“  if  you  cannot  look  at  what’s  there  and  not  eat  yourself  hollow  with  shame  ,    you’re  not  human  anymore .  ”

“  i  need  your  help .  ”

“  i  need  somebody  still  inside  _____ .  ”

“  i’m  not  asking  ,    i’m  telling  you .   you’re  going  to  help  me .  ”

“  ...    i  have  to  do  my  job .  ”

“  what  are  you  ...    the  fuck ?!  ”

“  freeze !    i  said  freeze  ,    motherfucker !  ”

“  i’m  leaving .  ”

“  please  don’t  make  me  hurt  you .  ”

“  he’s  ...    a  monster .  ”

“  what  was  he  shoving  in  your  face ?  ”

“  fucked  if  i  know .  ”

“  let’s  get  you  some  clothes  before  i  get  too  turned  on .  ”

“  dental  records .   my  identification .   he  wasn’t  done  with  me .  ”

“  and  we  weren’t  done  with  him .  ”

“  this  make  any  kind  of  sense  to  you ?  ”

“  nothing  i  feel  good  about .  ”

“  but  at  least  it  closes  the  books  for  now .  ”

“  the  evidence  couldn’t  get  any  more  thoroughly  destroyed .  ”

“  there  is  one  more  thing .  ”

“  nothing  i  know  of .  ”

“  i  wouldn’t  put  too  much  faith  in  anything  i  heard  from  an  animated  pile  of  maggots .  ”

“  maybe  we  should  check  it  out .  ”

“  nah  ,    leave  it  alone .  ”

“  you  should  get  home  ,    spend  some  time  with  your  daughter  ...    make  sure  she  doesn’t  grow  up  to  be  somebody  like  me .  ”

“  he  ain’t  gonna  let  us  get  away .  ”

“  every  step  we  take  ,    the  less  power  he  got .  ”

“  we’ll  get  to  the  wicked  part  of  the  world  ,    and  god  hisself  ain’t  even  gonna  be  able  to  find  us .  ”

“  do  you  know  if  yeshua - ha  nostri  was  a  real  person ?   like  ,    in  the  bible ?  ”

“  never  heard  of  him .  ”

“  when’s  that  book  report  due ?  ”

“  you’re  getting  an  early  jump .  ”

“  figured  i’d  be  too  beat  to  work  on  wednesday .  ”

“  you  didn’t  touch  your  dinner .  ”

“  i  wasn’t  hungry .   it’s  not  like  i  need  the  extra  calories .  ”

“  _____  ,    honey  ,    that’s  crazy .  ”

“  you’re  a  string  bean .    a  beautiful  string  bean .  ”

“  shut  up  ,    _____  ,    god  ...    ”

“  there’s  somebody  messing  with  our  mailbox .  ”

“  your  daughter  is  connected .  ”

“  my  partner  and  i  had  agreed  not  to  investigate .  ”

“  turns  out  i  was  lying .  ”

“  i  hear  you  now .    where  are  you ?    it’s  noisy .  ”

“  sorry  to  interrupt  you  on  a  sunday  ...    ”

“  you’re  not  interrupting  anything .  ”

“  i  was  just  ...    folding  laundry  ,    listening  to  prairie  home  companion .  ”

“  i  don’t  think  i’m  gonna  make  it  into  the  office  tomorrow .  ”

“  i  need  to  spend  some  time  with  _____ .  ”

“  no  worries .    we  all  need  personal  time .  ”

“  fuck  me  ...    no  service !  ”

“  i  guess  the  heat  and  the  sun  got  to  me .  ”

“  heavenly  god .  ”

“  _____ ?    what’s  wrong ?  ”

“  are  they  out  of  hot  chocolate ?  ”

“  multiple  perforations  of  the  intestines  ...    spread  throughout  her  blood  ...    had  to  induce  a  coma  in  order  to  arrest  progress  ...    internal  bleeding  ...  ”  

“  surgery  is  no  longer  an  option .  ”    

“  _____  is  dead .    i’m  so  sorry .  ”

“  aiiee !  ”

“  i’m  so  sorry  honey  ,    i  didn’t  mean  ...  ”

“  we  don’t  want  no  trouble !  ”

“  i’m  just  gon’  take  your  pistol .  ”

“  hey  ,    hey  ,    take  it  easy .    jesus  fucking  christ  ...  ”

“  don’t  you  take  that  name  in  vain !  ”

“  safety’s  on .  ”

“  who’s  the  girl ?  ”

“  jesus  ,    how  pregnant  is  she ?  ”

“  god  have  mercy  on  your  soul .  ”

“  i’m  not  going  to  hurt  you .  ”

“  you  need  helllll  ...    ”

“  mmm - hmm .  ”

“  that’s  all  you  got ?    ‘ mmm - hmm ? ’  ”

“  i  heard  you .   it’s  the  least  crazy  thing  you’ve  told  me  so  far .  ”

“  fair  enough .  ”

“  you  are  in  such  deep  shit .  ”

“  i  know .  ”

“  you  lied  to  me  ,    you  went  off  the  reservation .  ”

“  what  the  fuck  are  you  doing  ,    _____ ?  ”

“  i  fucked  up .  ”

“  don’t  fuck  yourself  any  deeper .    i’m  on  my  way .  ”

“  spill .  ”

“  okay  ,    number  one  ,    you  work  for  _____  ,    not  _____ .  ”

“  number  two  ,    you  don’t  interfere  with  ongoing  experiments .  ”

“  we  only  enter  the  equation  when  the  science  is  done  and  the  side  effects  need  mopping  up .  ”

“  shit  ,    you  don’t  even  know  if  this  is  an  experiment .  ”

“  and  number  three  ,    fuck  you .  ”

“  you  don’t  work  without  me .    we’re  partners  ,    you  stupid  motherfucker .  ”

“  sorr  ...    ”

“  don’t  say  you’re  sorry .    i  hate  that .  ”

“  you  want  the  silver  lining  to  your  shit  show ?  ”

“  you  don’t  suppose  you  brought  me  a  suit ?  ”

“  i  even  brought  you  a  tie .    hope  yellow’s  alright .  ”

“  you  called  it  a  ‘ vision ’ .    not  a  hallucination .  ”

“  it  felt  real .  ”

“  first  rule  in  the  playbook  is  don’t  get  high  on  your  own  product .  ”

“  what  about  brain  injury ?  ”

“  the  scan  must  have  been  corrupted .  ”

“  is  there  more  to  your  testimony ?  ”

“  yes  ,    of  course  ,    excuse  me .    i  was  just  ...    ”

“  could  we  see  those  brain  scans ?  ”

“  they’re  already  off  to  the  lab  ,    but  we  have  copies .  ”

“  evidence  ,    all  of  it .    this  had  become  a  matter  of  containment .  ”

“  we’d  love  to  meet  the  patient .  ”

“  the  little  guy  in  here  has  been  kicking  up  a  storm .  ”

“  is  that  a  tattoo ?  ”

“  a  globe .    no  ,    wheels .    ‘ wheels  within  wheels ’ .    that’s  biblical  ,    from  the  book  of  ...    ezekiel .  ”

“  you  can’t  have  him !    you  can’t .    i’ll  die  before  i’ll  let  you  kill  him .  ”

“  i  seen  the  messenger  and  i  know  i  ain’t  burdened  with  the  enemy .  ”

“  my  blood  is  true  ,    i’ve  sipped  at  the  fountain  and  borne  the  pain  and  marks  of  salvation .   ”

“  you  ain’t  gonna  take  my  baby  ,    you  ain’t  ...    ain’t  ...    ”

“  get  a  doctor !  ”

“  doctor !  ”

“  we  lost  her .    we  need  to  leave  ,    now .  ”

“  she’s  dead  ,    gone .    there  was  nothing  we  could  do .  ”    

“  minimal  footprint .  ”

“  i  realized  too  late  i  was  operating  above  my  security  clearance .  ”

“  are  you  sure  she  was  dead ?  ”

“  yeah  ,    case  closed .  ”

“  it’s  sad .  ”

“  still  ,    i  gotta  get  home .    i  said  i’d  be  there .  ”

“  you’re  a  good  dad  ...    you  always  take  care  of  your  girl .  ”

“  _____ !    you  home ?!  ”

“  you  work  for  us  now .  ”

“  we  didn’t  find  dick .  ”

“  there  we  go  ,    my  child .    every  last  drop  of  salvation .    your  children  are  waiting  for  you  in  heaven .  ”

“  god  does  not  pour  half  measures .  ”

“  the  storm  is  abating .    all  these  undeserved  blessings .  ”

“  he’s  still  not  answering .  ”

“  send  people  to  his  house .  ”

“  they’ve  been  feeding  _____  information .  ”

“  that’s  no  good .  ”

“  i’d  put  my  money  on  _____ .  ”

“  if  we  find  him  ,    i’ll  put  electrodes  on  _____ .  ”

“  how  many  bodies  we  looking  at ?  ”

“  hundreds .    it’ll  take  us  days  to  get  them  all  sorted .  ”

“  lot  of  these  local  corpses  show  signs  of  cyanide  poisoning .  ”

“  god  damn  this  guy’s  heavy  ...    ”

“  that  doesn’t  look  like  cyanide .  ”

“  yeah  ,    a  lot  of  them  got  creative  about  dying .  ”

“  took  a  lot  of  what  killed  her  to  get  the  job  done .  ”

“  last  name  sounds  like  a  crustacean  you’re  not  supposed  to  eat .  ”

“  how  did  you  know ?  ”

“  he  was  supposed  to  be  making  sure  they  didn’t  find  this  place .  ”

“  we  got  one  breathing  here !  ”

“  ‘ and  i  only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee . ’  ”

“  is  that  from  wrath  of  khan ?  ”

“  it’s  actually  book  of  job  ,    by  way  of  moby  ...    ”

“  i  know  what  it  is  ,    you  don’t  have  to  try  and  impress  me .  ”

“  well  ,    holy  shit .  ”

“  his  eyes  are  all  pupil .    completely  catatonic .  ”

“  we  need  to  dig  in  his  head .    don’t  be  gentle .  ”

“  they  rarely  are .  ”

“  there’s  blood  on  the  walls .    looks  like  something  was  written  and  smeared  away .  ”

“  what  do  you  want  to  do ?  ”

“  actually  ,    no .    do  me  a  favor  and  find  his  corpse  ,    because  if  he’s  still  alive  ,    he’s  fucking  dangerous .  ”

“  where’s  _____ ?  ”

“  you’re  asking  the  wrong  question .  ”

“  i’ll  still  help  you  find  the  answer  ,    but  you’ll  need  to  trust  me .  ”

“  dead  ,    twice .  ”

“  how  about  you  just  tell  me  whatever  it  is  you  want  to  tell  me .  ”

“  it’s  not  surprising  religion  would  be  such  an  effective  delivery  mechanism .  ”

“  gods  communicating  with  men  ,    gods  dividing  themselves  into  components  that  men  could  understand .    a  trinity .  ”

“  in  the  name  of  the  father  ...    and  of  the  son  ...    and  of  the  holy  spirit .    amen .  ”

[anarchy-n-glitter]

Nothing to Fear

Summary:

Lake County, Colorado

2011

JJ's been located in the asylum. Dr. Crane steps deeper into the monster's den.

(Warnings: Gore, implied torture, referenced self harm)

MASTERLIST

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CHAPTER 6

She wanted to cry. She saw him, sitting alone in a cell and she was sure he was unaware of their watching eyes. Trager stood next to her, his hand on her hip to keep her close. This whole situation, she had determined, was a way to show his power over her. She wouldn’t let him do this to her, though, nor would she allow him to do this to the people she loved. By the end of tomorrow night, he’ll be the one sitting in that cell.

J.J. was staring at the wall blankly, facing them, and she could see the horrible, bloody wounds around his mouth. She was reminded of what Trager said to her when they made that deal, how J.J. was admitted due to a “meltdown,” and she assumed he ended up hurting himself. She glanced at Trager from the corner of her eye. She didn’t trust him one bit, and for some strange reason she had no doubt that he had something to do with this. She had never seen J.J. so lifeless, even when he was in Arkham he was lively and trying his best. Here he looked like he was comatose. His vivid green eyes that were usually bright and full of life were dull and stared blankly at the wall, and she knew someone had hurt him.

“I want him transferred to Arkham back in Gotham.” She stated, loud enough and forcefully enough for Trager to understand that she was going to get what she wanted, whether he did it or she did.

“His doctor’s there and she can help. We can’t treat him here and you know it.” She continued. His grip on her tightened and he seemed to bring her closer to him. He was silent, thinking probably. She could see his face in the reflection and he seemed less than pleased. She knew he could see her too, but that didn’t stop her. Suddenly, a smirk broke out on his face.

“Come to my place after dinner tomorrow and you got yourself a deal.” He offered, and Dr. Crane felt her heart speed up. She knew she was in dangerous territory, and now she had to negotiate her way out of it. After Michelle’s story, there was no way she’d go back to his house.

“Make it my apartment.” She stated, and she watched his eyes widen. He arched an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by her boldness.

“Oh? What’s wrong with my place?” He asked, though she was sure he’d be fine with going to her apartment instead. Either way, he thought he was getting laid, it didn’t matter the setting.

“It’s up to you, really. I’d just rather we go to my apartment.” She explained. She made sure she kept her face blank, or even made it seem like she was mildly interested in the conversation.

“Alright, fine. Your place it is.” He finally agreed. Mentally, she felt herself decompress. If he continued to be so stubborn she had no choice but to reveal what she knew, yet, she didn’t want to do that. The information revealed to her was integral and she knew she couldn’t show all of her cards at once. If she was going to show that she was truly in control, then she would have to wait. She would have to wait until he was at her mercy, begging to be released from whatever bind he was in. Hell, maybe she’d make him fall in love with her - if that was even possible - and then she’d reveal the truth. The whole truth. That she could never love a man like him, and (hopefully) he’d be locked away for what he did.

“I’ll tell Blaire about the transfer request, I’ll say it came from that new girl… your assistant, what was her name again? It’s something that starts with a D, right?” Trager asked, though she felt like he was stalling. Other than how that was obviously a bad idea, she disagreed because she feared him targeting Dr. Dawes after her. She wouldn’t be shocked, after all, she was younger than her, and shorter, and she had blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was stunning, and the creep that currently held Cat like a lover would have to have noticed her. There was no doubt he would go after her. Not only that, but she was young and impressionable, she was new too, which would give him even more power over her than he ever held with Michelle and Cat.

“Dr. Dawes? No, she’s too close to me. They’d suspect I put in the request the moment they confront her. Just skip the middleman and say I did it, after all, I knew his doctor, I know who can treat him.” She stated calmly, and she could have sworn she saw him thinking, saw him putting the pieces together, and it made her sick.

“Alright, whatever you say Cat.” She remained calm, her face stoic.

2

He pushed a few molars around in the palm of his hand, completely fascinated by how the light reflected off of the bright, white teeth. He had cleaned them off to the best of his abilities, though he was sure his buyers wouldn’t mind. They were more than capable of removing any evidence that someone could trace back to him and Mount Massive, though maybe that’s what they’d want. In order for that to happen though, they had to be caught, and they wouldn’t want that.

He was getting a pretty penny for ol’ Jack Jr.’s teeth, and the less Cat Crane knew about that, the better. As it turned out, J.J. showing up that day was a godsend. He had a history of mental illness, though his files said nothing about self harm he knew from his experience working in the asylum that a mental breakdown could trigger an extreme reaction like that. J.J. was the perfect person to do that to, and he served a few other purposes. He needed teeth for his buyers, and he needed Cat’s attention, something he could hold over her for a little bit until she was desperate. He succeeded in that.

For some strange reason, he felt like she was someone who could understand him. He thought this the moment he laid eyes on her, and he wasn’t entirely sure why. He enjoyed the little game they played, where she acted like she despised him when he knew that deep down, she was as fascinated by him as he was with her. Yes, he did hope things would go his way tomorrow night, and he would absolutely love to just do his thing and leave her behind, but he was coming to the realization that he just couldn’t. If he were to have her, there would be no going back, he wouldn’t be able to get rid of her if he tried, even if she wanted nothing to do with him in the end.

They were people of science, after all, and while he was a doctor in everything but name, he felt she could complete him in that sense. Under all that cold, bitter attitude, he knew she was just as unhinged and violent as he was. He was the antithesis of everything she was, and that’s what he liked about her. She wasn’t like him, but he could tell that at their very cores, they were the same. He wanted to show her that.

Deep down, he wanted to believe she’d be lost without him.

Blaire strolled into his office, making Trager curl his hand into a fist, hiding the teeth from his friend. While he was sure he knew about his little “business,” Trager didn’t want to risk anything. To be honest, he wasn’t in much of a talking mood at the moment. He wanted to clear his mind and get ready to bring the teeth to his customers, and he wanted to think about his next move. That was the thing with Cat Crane, when he thought he was ahead, she was only a step ahead of him. It didn’t take much to change that little pattern, but he hadn’t gotten as far as he wanted to. She was still able to take control of her situation - and he knew it was a situation she wasn’t fond of - and turn the tables on him. Now he was stuck having to improvise.

On one hand, he’d now know where she lived, but on the other… there was no way in hell Cat was gonna let him anywhere near her willingly.

“You’re coming tomorrow, right?” Blaire asked after what felt like forever. In reality, it had only been a moment. Trager was stuck in his own head that day, but it was something that couldn’t be helped.

“Yeah, totally, bud. Don’t worry. You won’t believe who I got to go out with me.” He told him, leaning forward with a wide smile on his face. Blaire scoffed.

“Ugh, don’t tell me it’s that weird broad you’ve been bothering for the past few weeks.” Blaire rolled his eyes at the thought of it. There was no doubt Trager blackmailed the new doctor into going, and he was sure the fallout of his terrible decisions would end up hurting the company. He warned him when they first hired Dr. Crane, but he knew Trager wouldn’t listen.

“Oh yeah, it’s her alright. That guy I had you admit was the bait.” Blaire glared at his friend.

“Ricky,” he began sternly, moving closer to the nonchalant man’s desk. “Don’t tell me that’s why you had me do that.” When Trager didn’t answer, Blaire knew he was right.

“Oh god this is gonna be terrible for the company.” Blaire muttered, running his fingers through his thin, greasy hair.

“Come on, Jer. I made sure he didn’t know it was me. If he does know, he won’t figure it out for a while. Cat wants him transferred back to Arkham, but if you really don’t trust it we can just send someone with him.” He practically watched the small man’s face grow red.

“Oh? And who the hell would that be.” Trager stopped to think about this, before the image of the small, blonde doctor came to mind.

“Dr. Dawes.”

“She’s new, but she’s been around Dr. Crane’s experiments. Too risky.” Trager shook his head.

“If you think Arkham isn’t crawling with corruption too, buddy, then you have another thing coming.” Trager answered, his tone bordering on threatening.

“I assume you’ve done your research?” Blaire asked, and Trager nodded. With a sigh, Blaire finally agreed, leaving Trager’s office shortly after, leaving the man alone with his thoughts and teeth again.

[qhazomb]

I keep pinballing between monster Gordon designs in my head, and the most common contenders have been and owlbeast form like from The Owl House (bc him fluffy), that one humanoid design where his hair is super long and floaty and full of eyes, or a spiky dragon with near geometric scale spikes (bc the irony that his monster form is all sharp and pointy but his human form and personality are so soft and cuddly)

Bubby is usually the fire type of the group, so i always imagine monster Gordon with magma or plasma? Plasma maybe better, fits a celestial theme.

ooooh, that’s neat! i like the idea of monster gordon with plasma and lightning powers might have to incorporate that with the one i’m picturing. imagine electricity arching between his mane tendrils and whiskers and stuff, which signifies that something is about to get plasma breath’d also OOPS THIS PROMPTED ME TO SHARE A LOT OF THOUGHTS SO THIS GOT LONG, putting the rest under a read more ha ha

another thing about the monster gordon au i’ve been thinking about is that he’s not a straight-up cosmic entity like i picture benrey being, but more of just an alien from another dimension, like the critters from xen (he’s not from xen, though. whole ‘nother place entirely!) in this au, i still have gordon and benrey having known eachother as children, only this time gordon was the lil monster kid living in the woods, of course. and also, kid benrey actually saw his monster friend get carted off by black mesa! he saw the company’s logo on a vehicle or equipment or something, and never forgot it. benrey and his folks move to new mexico when he’s like, 13, and ends up befriending their new neighbor- a twenty-something guy named tommy. eventually, benrey learns that tommy’s working for this lab called black mesa, and when he sees the place’s logo he’s just !!!!!! and immediately decides he needs to try and get in that place. he doesn’t know shit or fuck about science, so trying to get a scientist job there is out. but maybe they’re hiring for like, a janitorial or security position? he’s pretty fit, and knows how to mop a floor and shoot a gun. so he goes for that. gordon still completely forgets his human childhood friend, though, awww. though that might be partially blamed on some of the experiments conducted on him. speaking of his time as a research specimen, he actually had it a tiny bit better than benrey did. didn’t take until he was in his teens before a much more caring scientist showed up to make sure he had good mental, emotional, and physical enrichment. and instead of that scientist being tommy, like for benrey... for gordon, it’s coomer. dad coomer momence :) they find gordon much more willing to cooperate after he imprints on coomer, too. and also take note of how active his curiosity is, with the alien asking so many questions and looking for so many answers for about how things work, especially when he hits his teens. somewhere along the line, some ‘mesa higher ups decide to let this xenoguy indulge his apparently scientific mind, and give him a job (he’s still required to check in for tests on himself, and not allowed to leave the facility, though). even tho he’s not an eldritch horror, he’s still got shape-shifting powers, and takes on a human form, both because all the spaces he’d work in were made with humans in mind, and to reduce the number of weird looks from literally everyone outside of sector E. and because he looked human, benrey didn’t recognize gordon at all, but also couldn’t shake this weird vibe he was getting from him. vibe increases after he sees this guy heading to do a dangerous test without one of the fancy hazard suits (being near-indestructable, he doesn’t need one). just before they get to where the test chamber is, and benrey asks him again why he doesn’t have a HEV suit if he’s really supposed to be here, gordon yells “BECAUSE I’M NOT FUCKING HUMAN, OKAY?? Now will you PLEASE let me go do my fucking job, I’m running so god damn late, christ...” the “not human” part is emphasized by gordon briefly showing a glimpse of his true form. which benrey instantly recognizes. ...aaaand then feels bad about the “i need to make sure you’re nice or not, everybody here’s afraid of you” thing. in this case, some of the other employees in sector C were afraid of gordon, as they knew what he was. benrey was a new hire and didn’t (obviously) and didn’t get why some of the scientists and guards were acting nervous around this seemingly friendly (if short-tempered) guy. but now he does. as well as why gordon looked a little self-conscious about it when benrey brought it up. whoops. even though monster!gordon doesn’t wear a HEV suit, he still has trackers that the military use to hunt the science team down. the trackers are just, y’know, in him. and unfortunately, nobody on the team knows exactly where they were stuck in him, and he doesn’t wanna just go clawing himself open everywhere to find the damn things. so the betrayal still happens, though benrey is def not feeling it as much, cause like, he JUST found his old alien friend and was gonna bust him out!! which obviously he can’t do if the fuckin’ military gets a hold of him. but then, he also can’t bust gordon out if he himself gets killed by the military... so turning gordon in is the lesser of two evils. turn him in now, and then try to free him again later. that’s the plan. of course, the bootboys ambushing gordon aren’t at all prepared. they weren’t properly informed on everything about gordon, and for about this whole time, gordon’s been taking on a human form. said form being considerably smaller than his true one. gordon does not black out and get tossed in (the wrong part of) a trash compactor. he does still get pissed at bubby and benrey, though. but this time, he forgives benrey first, as the guy gets way, WAY more emotional over this all than gordon’s ever seen from him. showing off a ton of genuine guilt and regret over it, and also explains why he did it right away (even tho gordon’s still convinced he and benrey never met until the test). bubby mostly just seems scared shitless, oops. but gordo does forgive him before it’s all said and done. they still run into coomer clones and less-than-stable bubby prototypes (which are now just clones as well because reasons). bubby’s not a genetically engineered perfect organism, but a regular/realistic ‘test-tube baby.’ he’s still got a bionic heart, though. coomer’s still a cyborg, too, but not really a super-powered one. his robotic limbs are just advanced in that they’re as dexterous as his old natural limbs, and have artificial touch receptors. they’re also made out of materials that are sturdy as all fuck. they’re just a couple of dudes, as far as physical abilities go. their clones, however? still very fucked up. possibly a little bit more fucked up. this au is also another “not a game” one, and there’s a different reason for why coomer’s clones seem to have a weird connection with gordon/gordon’s brain. bubby’s do, too. those clones aren’t just clones, but also results of genetic splicing experiments. i’ll let you guess where the other non-coomer/bubby genes that were spliced in came from. go on. guess. i haven’t thought about what happens when they get to xen too much. probably just that they fight the nihilanth, since i headcanon that it was indeed still the cause of the xen portals, but benrey ate it to steal its sick boss arena. gordon however wouldn’t do that, as he doesn’t get pissed at any of the team to, y’know, wanna go final boss on them. still gotta be the big hero man (even when he’s not technically a ‘man’). after they get back from xen, tommy prob manages to convince his dad to convince his employers to NOT lock gordon up in a lab again, as it would both mean a lot to his best friend benrey (who is like a little brother to him), and because he’s become fast friends with gordon himself and thus cares about him. i’m also trying to decide if i still want mr. coolatta to be an eldritch being or make him human, too. kinda leaning towards letting him stay non-human, though this time tommy doesn’t have any of the ‘buffs’ i say his adoptive dad gives him in my other not-a-game aus. aaaand that’s all the thoughts i’ve had on this thus far!

[chelsfic]

Loving Mourners Be - Donald Pierce x Reader - Logan / X-Men fanfic (Oneshot)

A/N: You know I just needed to express my thirst for Boyd Holbrook, right? Please read the warnings!

Summary: Reader is a mutant with tracking abilities similar to Caliban’s. Donald Pierce keeps her as his own pet mutant. 

Warnings: Dub-con, Stockholm Syndrome, Unprotected sex, Praise Kink, Smut, Unrequited love? (or is it?)

“Back in your cage, baby. You did real good.”

Donnie takes your hand and guides you into the compartment at the back of the tactical van. Always the southern gentleman. Until he gets bored and needs a target for his cruelty. Today he’s pleased with you, though. You’ve helped him track down another helpless soul. Yet another betrayal of your own kind. 

You retreat into the back corner of the van, hugging your knees to your chest and shutting your eyes against reality as Donnie slides the door shut and joins up with his men to surround the small farm house where the young man is holed up. He won’t come quietly. Why can’t they just come quietly? There’s no chance of escape…

Shouting. Gunfire. Silence. 

There’s no escaping Donald Pierce and his Reavers.

---

“‘Atta girl, Y/N. You see how nice it is when we cooperate with each other?”

Donnie is sitting cross legged with you on the floor of the van, pushing a fast-food bag in your direction as he sips a chocolate shake. You nod absently at his words. He likes to talk to you like this. Like you’re his little pet mutant. You suppose it’s an accurate description. For whatever reason, Donald took a liking to you when you were first captured. Insisted on keeping you as his personal asset for tracking and hunting down mutants. Never mind that Transigen has the technology to harvest your power and inject it into one of their little science experiments...Donald keeps you around. Considering the alternative--being sucked dry and euthanized--well, it’s sick... but you’re grateful to the bastard. 

Of course your lifespan now depends on Donnie wanting you around…

“Thank you,” you murmur as you unwrap the cheeseburger and take a huge bite. You’ve been on the road since before dawn with nothing to eat. Donnie’s golden tooth gleams as he beams in response to your thanks. You know he gets off on showing you acts of “kindness,” like it’s some newfangled concept to him. 

“You’re very welcome, my dear. And as a treat for being so efficient today, I think we can hold off on checking you back into Transigen until tomorrow. I’ve already scheduled you for field duty until then anyway. We can spend tonight at my place. How’s that sound?”

The smile that spreads across your lips at his words is genuine. Sleeping at Donnie’s means a king size mattress and thick down comforter, watching TV, taking a bath, eating a real breakfast. It means feeling human. Even if only for a short while.

You nod enthusiastically, “That sounds great, Donnie.”

---

You can’t remember how it started between you. Sleeping together. It was a gradual thing. Donnie always showed you attention, took care of you--even as he claimed to despise all mutants. One day it simply went a step further. And then another. And then...another.

You know it’s wrong. You are his prisoner. He has the power of life and death over you. He’s a very bad man. You shouldn’t be attracted to him. You definitely shouldn’t have feelings for him--even conflicted ones. But your life consists of a stark white cell, endless, empty days between field work, and the brief flashes of color that come with Donnie’s attention, his smiles, his praise, his hands on you. You allow yourself to enjoy it. You allow yourself to want him.

“Oh, baby, it’s been way too long,” Donnie sighs against your skin as he trails kisses down the curve of your neck and across your collar bones. His plump lips are impossibly soft. Everything about Donnie’s lovemaking is incongruous to his rough, hard personality. In bed he’s never anything but gentle and even reverent in his treatment of you.

“I know,” you agree, threading your fingers through his blond locks as he focuses his attention on your breasts. He flicks his tongue out against one nipple causing you to arch in a spasm of pleasure. He reaches his hand over and rolls his calloused palm over your other, working it into a taut pebble. “Oh, god...Donnie. I want you inside me. Please!”

He glances up at you with arched eyebrows and a lopsided grin. How can evil look so good?

“Eager tonight, are we?” he quips, but he’s already shifting his hips to press himself against your entrance. “Well...you were such a good girl today, after all…”

Your legs wrap automatically around his hips as he slides inside you, fitting to you like a puzzle piece. He braces himself with his one hand gripping your hip for leverage as he pistons his cock inside you, setting a frantic pace that hints at the left over adrenaline from today’s hunt. Donnie’s other arm hangs at his side. He always takes his cybernetic arm off for this. The cold metal and electronics are only meant to cause pain. Seeing him like this, without the “enhanced” robotic arm...he seems more vulnerable. More human.

His cock fills you up and you writhe beneath him, overcome with how good this feels. You reach up to cup his cheek and run your thumb over his full lower lip. His eyes flutter shut as he sucks it into his mouth. In these fleeting moments you can almost imagine you’re the one in control.

“I want to ride you, Donnie,” you whisper and in a second he’s scooping you up with his one arm and flipping you both so that he lies stretched out beneath you and you straddle his hips, impaled on his length.

“Anything you want, darlin’” he drawls with a lazy smile as his eyes skim over your torso. The weight of his stare feels intensely erotic. He watches as you slowly roll your hips against him, dragging out your pace almost painfully. You catch his gaze as you bring your hands up to your tits and play with them, making a show for him as you rub, slap and pinch them while riding his cock. His mouth falls open and he chokes out a low moan. “That’s a good girl. You’re a good girl for Donnie, aren’t you, baby?”

You bite your lip, falling forward to plant your hands on his shoulders and rocking your hips faster and faster. He knows you get off on his praise. 

“I asked you a question, didn’t I?” his husky whisper travels straight to your core.

“Yes, I’m a good girl for you, Donnie!” you nearly cry out, clenching around him and frantically bouncing up and down 

He brings his hand up to wrap around the back of your head so he can guide you to his lips. His kiss is sweet and hot and passionate. 

“I know you are, baby,” he murmurs into your lips. “And what else do you want to say?”

He’s looking up at you expectantly, waiting for the words. The first time you said them you wanted to swallow them back down your throat--terrified that he would be angry. To your shock, though, Donnie seems delighted by the fact that you feel compelled to confess your love for him whenever he fucks you. And now he craves the words.

You lock eyes with him, his crystal blue gaze soft and yearning. The same eyes that look on dispassionately as children are tortured and killed. The eyes that have narrowed in disdain when he recalls what you are, the thing he’s sworn to hate. These are the eyes of your lover.

“I love you, Donnie.”

His cock is suddenly rigid and twitching inside you as his orgasm wracks his body. He thrusts roughly up into you a few more times, just enough to topple you over the edge of your own peak. You crumple into his chest, burrowing your head beneath his chin and letting your hips go slack as he gradually softens inside you. He cards his fingers through your hair and drops a firm kiss onto the crown of your head. 

You wonder what it would be like if he said the words back to you. Like some kind of magic spell. Would they release you from your chains? Would they break the curse of his cruelty and set you both free to live happily ever after? You’re not childish enough to think such things. Happy endings don’t exist and even if they did you’re not sure you deserve one. 

And though you’ll bask in the warmth of Donnie’s embrace for now, you know it won’t last. There will come a day not too far off when he’ll succumb to self-disgust because he’s debased himself with someone he should consider to be subhuman. And he’ll say and do hurtful things to punish you for his own weakness.

But for now...for a little while, it’s nice to pretend.

[nbenrey-real]

various hlvrai headcanons

everyone on the science team (+gman & forzen) are autistic. whos gonna stop me, god?

john freeman is canon. hes the one babysitting joshua during all this wondering what the fuck is going on

gordon is trans & bi

benrey is something between nb and agender. they/themry rights

genderfluid tommy & coomer

bubby does not vibe with gender. agender it is fellas

darnold is probably nb but hes just vibing

gregory ‘gman’ goodman is tommys bioparent. he wasnt sure how to raise a half human child without fucking them up, and time passes weird for him so he didnt realize how long it really had been. tommy is understanding given his experiences with time fastness on soda, but gman owes him so many birthday bayblades and he WILL use that power for guilt-tripping 

joshua is in and will never outgrow his mlp phase because i love those funky ass plastic horses

Gordons first language is actually ASL! both his parents were deaf and he’s partially deaf in his left ear. he switched to the black mesa hearing aids because they worked better and kinda slap with the orange, though.

he spent most of his childhood not talking and then most of teenhood dealing with being selectively mute. still prefers sign tbh but cant have shit in black mesa

since he really hates being left out of communication- this also makes things like inside jokes or references irk him, so hes just. very annoyed, most of the time. this really only made the hand thing even more distressing, tbh

speaking of the hand, his new one is a really sick ass high-tech prosthetic courtesy of gman. it has texture and heat sensing and everything, but he still gets phantom pains like hell and sometimes needs to shake it a few times to get it to re-calibrate to his nerves

gordons always been neurotic as shit and had high anxiety, but dealing with a shitty ex and raising joshua by himself really kicked it into high gear right before the whole. resonance cascade thing.

knows he tends to get aggressive when he’s afraid or panicked but has just gone absolutely off the rails after black mesa because hes sick of the varying bullshit thats been going on just. in general. he can have a little ultraviolent crime. as a treat.

ended up becoming friends with chell as a kid, since they were both in the deaf community, lived in the same area, and had a huge interest in science. 

black mesa actually has really good work culture when it comes to lgbtq+ folk and suspiciously good benefits, and aperture science is just happy to have more warm bodies to throw at portals- gordon heard some of the rumors about cave johnsons weird ass tests though, so he elected to go with black mesa. now hes starting to wonder if cave johnson just ran both, because what the fuck 

somehow he keeps ending up with more and more of the science team living with him whereever hes staying, even after he moves to a bigger place for joshua. eventually they just. buy a house specifically to live together. theres an entire seperate house connected by a path thats just for joshua because gordon is paranoid someone will leave out something dangerous

can and WILL have a panic attack at the drop of a hat, this is a THREAT. also please install more battery-powered night lights, the power went out and it scared the shit out of him guys hes serious please pick up more from lowes-

craving ice cream 24/7 because GOD do i want to eat that entire container of cherry vanilla hagen daz right now SDFBGN

benrey is dissociating or spacing out 98% of the time and really has no idea whats going on dude. they just follow the script. or sometimes the skeleton does for them. the audio processing bs really doesnt help with any of this.

will i project my shit memory, audio processing issues, general-spaciness, and inability to tell when ive veered from ‘playful joking’ to ‘oh wait im actually being annoying and making them mad’ on to benrey?? yes. yes i will. 

legitimately has only ever been in black mesa. why hasnt everything reset yet. do they just have to live here until it does so they can go back. he just kind of sits in the bus-stops for the lines that used to go there after he reincorporates, occasionally joining in on heists or hanging with tommy, and just. waits.

after the like 5th night in a row, of the second week of gordon having to drive tommy to pick them up from a soaking busstop at 3 am in the morning, because ‘its storming really bad and they dont have anywhere else to sleep mr freeman and he gets so worried its so cold’- he just says fuck it and makes them join the rest of the household

gordon promptly ends up actually being concerned about this dumb asshole because jesus christ, they dont even know how to microwave things. did they just live in the breakroom at black mesa all this time??

benrey: yeah gordon: gordon: what the fuck is wrong with black mesa they haVE DORMS. WHY DID THEY-

between benrey and whatever the fuck is up with doctor coomer hes starting to think black mesa might have been causing some serious memory issues in their workers. he makes everyone do tangrams just to check, encourage neuroplasticity 

benrey spaces out halfway through one and starts playing terraria on their phone instead. gordon gives them a b- for effort

benrey and bubby are single highhandedly the reasons behind the banning of both tnt and all firespread from the house minecraft server

[lattaeyongs-main]

Always Running

Summary: You made him forget about the spider seal etched on his chest. In which he feels like he has normal friends, a normal family, and a normal life, but his spider mask starts to fall.

Pairing: Mark x reader

Genre: fluff+ angst, spiderman au, high school au

Word count: 4.7k

Warnings: alcohol consumption, dangerous situations

a/n: inspired by the spiderman movies (obviously). requested a while ago, but I finally got to it! Let me know what you thought in the comments in the notes or in an ask!

-

Mark Lee liked a lot of things about you, he realized while he sat in your shared science class this morning. He liked the way your notes were clean and organized with different colors decorating the page compared to the monochromatic mess that were his own. He liked the way your voice that was clean and melodic at debate competitions before it would be his turn to argue. And he liked how you had a silent beauty to you that could make the heavens above jealous. Maybe it could be because of your window seat in the rising morning light that made you look ethereal.  

You and Mark attended a well off high school with the children of doctors and lawyers who expected only the best. That didn’t mean that these children didn’t live and experience like other high schoolers, often times amplifying it with their privilege. But everyone were still cookie-cutter students when they entered the school’s campus. The area seemed well off and average from the outside, but that didn’t mean that crime didn’t exist. Evil and bad were everywhere, Mark learned. And he had the chance to help people who needed it.

Today, it was one of those mornings where the teacher wasn’t in the room before the first bell rang. He noticed how everyone else in the class chattered with friends or quickly tried to complete last night’s assignment. You still weren’t in the room yet, and Mark could feel his eyes wandering to your spot near the window.

“Are you even listening to me?” Donghyuck exclaimed. He was seated in front of Mark, tapping on the desk expectantly.

“It’s the same stuff. Just break up with Sooyoung already.” Mark could feel his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

“I’ll do that once you ask out Y/N. It’s starting to get creepy how much you stare at her. And even when I was in debate club-”

“Okay I get it. I’m just analyzing the situation before I do any of that.”

Donghyuck let out a faint “hmph” before saying, “Y/N, six’ clock,”

Mark moved his head ever so slightly when he saw you with your cup of coffee, your backpack strapped across your shoulder while you made your way to your desk. You took a quick sip before placing your backpack in the space next to you and collecting your books.

“Now’s your chance. Sooyoung told me that Yeri is sick, so she’s probably not going to talk to anyone this morning.”

Mark sighed. He was going to have to do it sometime to avoid Donghyuck and Renjun’s constant teasing. He finally took a deep breath and pushed back his chair.

“Remember, It can’t be that bad if Y/N is the way you describe.” Mark squinted at him disdainfully before Donghyuck said again, “You’ll thank me later.”

You were reviewing your notes while sipping on your coffee when Mark slid in the seat next to you. You looked up, noticing Mark’s nervousness.

“I just wanted to say,” Mark stopped mid-sentence and you nodded for him to continue.

“that I thought your notes were really nice and that you’re really pretty.” Mark took a deep breath.

“Aww, that’s really nice of you. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten complements like those-” You stopped when you heard you phone ring. Once you saw the caller ID, you said, “I really have to take this.” Your bag and books were still in your spot when you left the classroom, phone pressed against your ear.

Mark went back to his seat behind Donghyuck, and he said, “I’m guessing that it didn’t go that well.”

“It wasn’t a yes or a no. I didn’t have the chance to ask her before her phone rang.” Mark still felt his heart sink for some reason.

“That’s still better than being rejected.” Donghyuck shrugged his shoulders. It didn’t help.

A few days later while Mark was at his locker, you approached him on the other side of the hall, your coffee almost finished. He saw you in the corner of his eye but went back to packing his books in his bag in an attempt at nonchalance.

“I felt a little bad after I blew you off like that last week, and you're really nice in debate club. It was my boss by the way.” Mark nodded, feeling slight relief while his cheeks slightly reddened. “So I was wondering if you wanted to study together.” You were straight to the point.

Mark spluttered a little bit before saying, “Sure, of course. Where do you want to meet?”

“How about the library after school? Today’s Monday. We can start on Thursday.”

“Sounds good to me,” he responded quickly, hoisting his backpack onto his shoulders.

“Good. You better not flake on me like you do with the debate team.” You say in joking humor Mark only nervously laughed. “I’ll see you around then.” Mark waved at you, a large grin forming on his face.

-

Mark could feel his arms and legs ache when he climbed into the window of his bedroom. His vision still felt spotty even after it had been twenty minutes since the robbers threw a homemade bomb at him. He luckily escaped, only leaving with a few scratches and bruises that he could hide easily. It was around ten at night while he waited for the police to come by and put them in jail, and now he jogged home, his spider suit packed tightly in his backpack. The jog wasn't long, so he didn't need to board a bus to get back home before his aunt got suspicious. The TV was silent, so that meant that his aunt was probably asleep. He tiptoed, remembering the creaky wood near the left corner of his bedroom. He took off his mask and took a deep breath- it could get stuffy in there at times. He jumped when he heard something fall, the creaky wooden floor amplifying his anxiety. From the shadows, Donghyuck picked it up and put it back on the nightstand,

“Donghyuck, what are you doing here?” Donghyuck’s mouth was wide open.

“You’re-you’re Spiderman?” Mark was silent while Donghyuck still pointed. It was a few minutes before anyone said anything. “Oh my God, that’s so cool! What does this do?” he moved to press a button on Mark’s wrist. Mark moved away, crossing his arms delicately.

“Don’t touch anything! But what are you doing here?” Mark felt himself whisper yell.

“We were supposed to hang out. Your aunt said that you were staying after school and were coming in a little bit.” Mark put a hand to his temple. He completely forgot.

“You can’t tell anyone.”

“I know. I’ve read enough comic books to know what happens.”

“This is serious. You can’t blab it out like you did-”

“That was seventh grade! We’re almost done with high school, and you’re still holding that over my head-”

“Alright, alright. Just please don’t tell anyone.” Mark’s eyes were pleading.

“Fine,” Donghyuck said while he took a deep breath. “But you have to show me your cool stuff later.”

-

"Okay, what do the buttons on your boots do? And how do you channel the shooting power of your suit? And-and-"

"Okay, Donghyuck, that's enough. It’s only been two days. We're in school. We can talk about this later."

"Come on! I’m just so excited, that’s all. You have to spill the beans!" Donghyuck whined. They were making their way to the lunch line, grabbing a tray while the lunch ladies handed them food.

When they finally left and moved to their spot, Mark reiterated, "I'll tell you later. We're in school. Someone could hear us."

"Whatever. You’re going to crack sometime," Donghyuck said, taking a large bite into his sandwich. Mark picked at his food. He sat with Renjun and Jeno, some of his other members of the debate club. After Donghyuck quit near the middle of sophomore year, he befriended them, Renjun being new and Jeno being as sociable as he was, now being very close friends with them. He almost felt a pang in his stomach because close friends were supposed to tell each other everything. That’s what Jeno told him one night at the end of sophomore year right after he built his suit.  

"Earth to Mark!" Donghyuck waved his hand in front of him, and he looked up. "Are you thinking about Y/N again?"

"No." His voice was confident when he started the first syllable, but he later trailed off when all three boys gave him the same look.

"You have to stop being so obvious with her, it's getting kind of disgusting," Renjun said, scrunching his nose while shoving some food into his mouth.

"You're being overdramatic, Renjun," Jeno said. "I think it's kind of cute. Look, Y/N’s with her friends,” His gaze pointed to three tables away where you sat with Yeri, the president of the debate team. You conversed with her, and from the look of it, you were enjoying the conversation, your eyes turning into an adorable squint when another girl and boy joined you, their names having left Mark’s memory. 

Renjun munched on potato chips before wiping his hands on his pants. “By the way Mark, where were you yesterday? We practiced against the college team and Yukhei looked pretty upset that we were missing a person.”

"Speak of the devil,” Donghyuck muttered. Yukhei, eleven o'clock."

Before he could think of that dreaded name, he heard his voice first.

"Another family affair, right?" Wong Yukhei said. His backpack was slung across his shoulder while he sauntered towards Mark's table. He gulped. Yukhei had been tormenting him since the beginning of time- or just when he moved in with his aunt years past. He always found a way to torment him, and it didn't help that he was promoted to vice president last year. His shirt was crisp while his slacks were neatly pressed. As the vice president of the debate club, he always needed to look his best and keep everyone in line. Unfortunately, he did the second part too well.

"Sorry. I promise that I'll be there next Tuesday." This line was rehearsed, something that took him ages to say without cowering under Yukhei's tall frame.

"I would boot you out of the debate club if I could, but it seems like you're in cahoots with Yeri. And we had a competition-”

“Practice.” Renjun interrupted. He went back to eating food when Yukhei gave him a look.

“You weren't there. You have to remember that this is a commitment, right? Or are you too busy ogling Y/N?” Yukhei’s voice was menacing, and he gulped. Mark felt his cheeks flush.

“You never know what he could be doing,” Donghyuck butted. Mark shook his head. When Donghyuck intervened, things didn’t go well.

“Oh, really like what?” His shadow encompassed him. 

“You know, a lot of clubs have their meets on Tuesday like lacrosse or astronomy or swimming-”

“That would have been a good excuse if the swimming season didn’t end two months ago.” He scoffed. He came closer and closer until Donghyuck blurted.

"Mark knows spiderman!" Mark turned over and stepped on his toe. He let out a yelp before Yukhei smirked.

"Dude, what's the matter with you!" Again with the whisper yelling. Donghyuck raised his shoulders.

"Really, Mark knows spiderman?” His eyebrows were quirked, as if feeding off of the victory that he said it loud enough for you to hear. A few others tuned in, staring at Mark.

“Really Mark, you know spiderman?” Your voice was in awe while your friends whispered among each other.

“Yeah, yeah I do,” Mark stumbled.

“If Mark knows spiderman, then why doesn't he come to my winter party." Yukhei's smirk could be the equivalent of the grinch.

“I mean, that party is a month from now-”

“Is that a problem, Mark?” Yukhei’s arms were crossed over his chest, his foot tapping impatiently.

“No, no, it isn’t.”

“Good. Cause I thought that spiderman would be a busy guy with a schedule, so I wanted to make sure that he could come.”

"Oh, he'll be there." Donghyuck said.

"I can’t believe I said that! I could kill you right now!" Mark said when he and Donghyuck were at his house after school.

"It just- it kind of slipped out, I’m so sorry Mark." Donghyuck’s head hung low.

"I can't follow through with this. I'll just not show up and deal with him when I have to go to school the following Monday."

“No, you can’t do that!  You’re going to forfeit your reputation!”

“I’m going to be found out-”

“Well, you’re going to have to change your mind.” 

-

Thursday came, and Mark practically counted the minutes until school let out before he rushed into the school library. He double and triple checked that he had everything he needed to study, zipping and unzipping his backpack in the quietness of the library, earning dirty looks from the librarians.

You came in five minutes later throwing an empty can of club soda before seating yourself at the same table as Mark. He sheepishly greeted you, and you smiled. He didn't remember if he ever told you that he liked your smile.

"Okay before we start studying, we should do some practice problems from the previous chapter," you say, opening the textbook. Mark did the same, and the room was coated in silence except for the rustle of notes and pages from other students sitting at tables and computers working on assignments.

In the background, Mark heard the small portable TV that the librarian had.

"Two nights ago, spiderman came in and saved the day once again! Today, we’re sharing the report again, showing never before seen footage of spiderman up close, caught by the Lemon Bakery in their security cameras at around nine. He caught the criminals in the middle of their act and miraculously survived a small bomb that they set out for him. Luckily, they are in prison awaiting their hearing and sentence. Here we show you the footage that was caught."

“I still can’t believe that you know spiderman. And he’s going to come right?” You set your pencil down, taking a sip from a water bottle while you looked at him curiously.

“I don’t know. I didn’t get to ask him yet since this is a month in advance.”

"I understand. He must be busy, fighting crime. You know,” you say, your eyes glowing. “Spiderman is really brave.”  

"He really is." Mark felt the butterflies in his stomach rise at the indirect comment.

"I kinda start to wonder what really keeps him going. This is dangerous business, and he’s always putting himself in danger for everyone else."

"It could be the people that surround him that he wants to protect." You looked at him, your eyebrows quirked. "I mean, that's probably just an assumption," Mark said quickly.

"If that's the reason, then it's noble one, and I can’t wait to see him. Unless my boss makes me work overtime." You slightly chuckled, flashing Mark a small smile that made the butterflies in his stomach rustle uncontrollably the same way you rustled through the pages in your textbook. "So do you want to go over those practice questions?"

"Sure." Mark looked down at his paper and opened to the same page as you, a small smile forming on his face. His mind was running in circles for a full minute before you continued studying.

“I knew you were going to change your mind,” Donghyuck says at the local burger place at the mall. It was near the clothing store where you worked, Mark learning that after he waited for your ride to show up when you finished studying together. You said that you liked his company and that you should do this more often, making Wednesday and Thursday after school at the library one of the most appealing time of the week. And he hated it when his watch beeped at the end of your second time studying together, and he had to run off, saying that he was going to the bathroom. The words were on his mouth “You know just some crime fighting”, but he never said it out loud. For once he felt normal- you made him feel normal, like a high school student with normal friends, normal family, and a normal life.

“Don’t swim in your victory too much.”

-

“I can’t believe that I’m actually doing this.” Mark said, moving his hand away from the wheel and to his temple. “It’s a bad idea. Do you really think that Yukhei is that dumb?”

“I mean-”

“Okay don’t answer that one. But do you think this plan is actually going to work?”

“It’s simple. Just show up, change into your spidersuit, say hi, Yukhei will be shocked and stop bugging you, and boom,” Donghuck said, “You got Yukhei off your back for the rest of high school. Not to mention Y/N-”

“Is she even going to believe that?”

“I had another plan-”

“Donghyuck, I already told you,” Mark said, exasperation in his voice. “You can’t dress up as me.”

“Why not?” He whined. “You promised to show me your cool stuff.” The car was silent until Mark made it to a red light.

“The suit rejects anyone that isn’t me. If you wore it, it would make an even bigger scene, and Yukhei will be on me for the rest of my life. Not that this alternative plan will get him off of me either.” Mark slowly turned his head to Donghyuck, his eyes angrily squinting. He heard his phone ding in the cup holder and reached out to grab it.  

“Hey!” Donghyuck snapped his fingers. “Eyes on the road. I don’t look like I want to die tonight.”

“At least read it out to me.”

“It’s from Y/N. When did you get her number-”

“Not important. Now what does it say?”

“On my way. On the elevator.”

“So she’s coming.” Mark felt a fresh pang on anxiety grip his stomach.

“It’s not like we can turn back. We’re already here.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Yukhei’s house was actually very nice with towering ceilings and a pool house in the back, closed off for the winter season. Yukhei was known to throw loud parties that seemed like they were asking for visits from the cops when his parents weren’t home, a contrast to his vice president image. Mark wished for a long time that he would get caught in his act for once, but never would he have thought that he would find himself in the line of cars that decorated his driveway.

Donghyuck hopped out of the car and said, “You have the suit, right?”

Mark opened the trunk to reveal his backpack. “But I didn’t bring my crime watch.”

“Relax, it’s one night, nothing is going to happen.” Donghyuck put his hand on Mark’s shoulder and shook him slightly. He strapped his bag on his back and took a deep breath while making his way to the front door. It slightly creaked when he pushed it open, and Mark found himself get hit by the bass the minute he stepped in. Mark was lead by Donghyuck to a table littered by red cups, his head scanning the room for you. It reeked strongly of alcohol, and Mark jumped when he felt his foot squelched against the soaked carpet.

“Donghyuck?” Mark felt Donghyuck brush against him.

“Jaemin! What are you doing here? I thought you were at a taekwondo competition or something? Jaemin was one of Donghyuck’s friends that he knew in passing, having quit debate team before Donghyuck really introduced them. 

“It got cancelled.” Mark could barely hear his voice over the throbbing noise. “I heard about the spiderman thing. Do you really know spiderman?” Jaemin asked, taking a gulp from his cup.

“How do you-” Mark didn’t finish his sentence. It wasn’t supposed to be this big.

“Yukhei posted it on his social media. But really, spiderman?” Jaemin’s eyes were round with awe.

“Yeah, I do.” The words felt odd on Mark’s tongue.

“My younger brother is a huge fan, so I would hate it if he was disappointed. Hey, Jisung!” Jaemin yelled through the music. A taller boy with chestnut hair and a childish face came through the crowd, leaving behind another boy he was talking to.

“You must be Mark. I wanted to say that I love spiderman and all the good he does for this city. So I just had to tell Chenle. You don’t think he would mind if we could get a picture with him, right?”

“No, no,” Mark said, his voice surprisingly high-pitched. “I don’t think that he would mind it at all.” Mark turned his head to Donghyuck, but he only held a thumbs up.

“Good, I brought my good camera with me. See you guys later!” Jaemin stayed, taking another sip from his cup before squeezing Jisung’s cheek affectionately. The younger boy groaned while Jaemin chuckled, waving him and his friend Chenle off. Jaemin chatted with them for a while, taking sips from his seemingly endless beer cup while he listened. It took only fifteen minutes for his words to mesh together incoherently. 

“I’m going to deal with him. I forgot that he drinks like a fish at these things.” Donghyuck put one of Jaemin’s arms around his shoulders and hoisted him to a standing height, earning a groan from him.

“So you’re really just going to leave me alone at this thing? I can’t do this by myself!”

“Well, I just thought that you would want to get changed or see if Y/N is here while I take care of him. I mean, Jaemin is a good friend, but once he has a couple of drinks in him, there’s really no going back.” Mark surveyed the room, looking for a path to a less busy area. “Well, I guess that it’s my time to go. Wish me luck,” Donghyuck took a large swig of some champagne in his red cup before making his way around the house- more specifically to a bathroom. Mark waved at him before making his way around people ambling in the house.

He felt an arm lean on his shoulder.

“So, where’s spiderman?” Yukhei’s breath reeked of alcohol. Mark tried his best for his voice to not sound shaky.

“Oh, he might be a little late. He might be here right now though. I’ll check.” Mark scurried away from Yukhei, finding doors and opening them one by one. Once he found an empty room, he locked the door and changed. Behind him, the TV lulled in the background, playing the news channel.

“Well, breaking news. It seems like the elevator on the ninth floor of the fifth avenue mall connecting Quick burgers and The Clothing Hut has been stuck for what has been thirty-five minutes according to the fifth avenue mall engineering team. According to bystanders there is a teenager working at The Clothing Hut that is in there and the state police have been working to get her out. Closer inspection found that the railings aren’t strong enough to support the elevator for much longer, and this mall will be closed for more inspection afterwards-”

His heart dropped. Not you, please not you, he begged. But it was the only thing that made sense.  

-

His car would take too long and so would a bus since they would go through regular traffic rules. But the only way he could get to the other side of the city to fifth avenue on time was to use his webs. He swung from house after house, building after building until he found himself in the inner city. He dashed through the sidewalks and roads, earning looks and pictures from the civilians walking at around ten thirty at night. It was like whenever he blinked, he could see you biting your nails- a nervous tick he noticed while you studied together-while waiting hopelessly in the elevator, and that alone was the thing that pushed Mark to run faster, swing higher, and jump longer.

The fifth avenue mall had many floors, and the parking lot was filled with firefighters and police officers trying to push away the crowd while others secured the perimeter with security tape. People were being led by other officials out of the building while others yelled “Quarantine!” He only managed to stare for a minute because of the newswoman’s words. Not much longer. He flung his arm to attach the web on the side of the building when he heard someone with a megaphone.

“Spiderman, we assure you that we have the situation under control. It is too dangerous for the inexperienced to work on the elevator, and we already have trained professionals working on getting the teenager-” Mark didn’t listen. Whatever words that he heard were tuned out of his brain. He felt his foot falter and gasped, only to make the mistake of looking down while putting his foot back into a brick crevice. He gulped.

“We need backup. Send the swat team after the teenager and get the rest of the civilians out of the second through eighth stories. Top to bottom.” Mark looked over his shoulder to see firefighters lead people from different stories through working elevators and to the front entrance. 

Mark saw the iconic sign of The Clothing Hut at the ninth floor. He pushed himself through a window to notice that the floor was empty. He ran towards the elevator doors and shoved his fingers into the gap between the doors. He didn’t realize he was bleeding until a few stray drops of blood fell on the floor, and he held his hand, pacing near the elevator. He heard a helicopter behind him, and in a dazed panic, ripped a tile off the floor. He pushed it between the doors and it opened, banging against the sides. Mark couldn’t help but feel his heart beat in his head when he looked at the black abyss below. His feet wanted him to turn back, but his mind still kept him on the edge. He was lost in his own thoughts until he heard metal groan against metal. Your scream only sent needles in his heart.

Mark looked below to see the ceiling of the elevator torn off to reveal your face, pale as a sheet while you tried to take deep breaths. Mark cleared his throat, deepening his voice.

“Hold still. Don’t make any big move-” The rails groaned again. Your muscles were tense. 

He moved downward, wrapping his spider webs around the elevator door while his other hand shot around the elevator box. He tightened the ends together and tried to move up. His squeezed his eyes shut while he moved upward, but another creak resulted. Mark was dragged down another five feet when you gasped. He felt his breath leave his throat. He tried again, but it was too heavy for him. He instead found his back skidding against the vertical hallway, foot by foot. His blood ran cold when he heard a snap.

“No!” He bellowed while you screamed. He shot his spiderwebs, and you caught it, the elevator making a loud bang when it hit the floor. Your mouth was agape. Mark descended once again each step making him more nervous while your body shook like a leaf. Mark took shallow breaths, each breath signalling him to extend his web and move another foot downward. Breathe, extend, move. A pattern. He was knocked out of his pattern when his web caught something. 

“Spiderman! Look out!” He heard a pop from his other hand, falling. Mark could feel his ears bleed at the way the elevator door rubbed against the door frame. Mark felt his arm thud on the floor, while your hands covered your face.

He was alive. You were alive.

“His spider webs broke the fall, and Spiderman was able to save the day once again!” A reporter said while other people were swarming him outside. He answered a few questions, and law enforcement eventually made people leave in order to quarantine the place.

You approached him from behind, your hand playing with the rings on your other fingers.

“I just wanted to say thank you for saving me. I remember this one thing my friend said that you do this for the people around you. That’s really noble.”

“Thank you,” Mark didn’t say anything else. He didn’t know what to say. So in any spiderman fashion, he did what he always did after a job was done. 

He ran.

But he didn’t notice you follow him.

[darkmasterkattsvault-arc]

Shifting Sands

Who: Joss Rose & Lena Luthor (@chaoticscribblings) ft. Kara & Alex Danvers

What: The day after a night out, Joss visits Lena to get the results of the MRI she ran on them. Shortly after receiving the results, Kara arrives after seeing a news article about Lena “dating Supergirl” angry about her keeping Joss from here. A fight breaks out between Joss and Kara, only escalated by Alex’s arrival. Eventually, after everything has settled, Lena takes Joss home to take care of them.

Notes: This was written on discord on a whim and not all of it is entirely formatted like a proper para. This is also long as fuck.

cos all I'm imagining is these idiots having a good time and someone realizing that Joss looks like Supergirl and just full on jumping to "Lena Luthor is dating Supergirl" and also the drama cos cue Kara Danvers bursting in and being like "Why didn't you tell me there was someone that looks exactly like me?" but also Lena's immediate reply being "how long did you keep your identity as Supergirl from me?" yep, that's exactly how it will go down or worse, Kara accuses Lena of making a clone Now I'm just imagining Joss showing up at the WRONG time, or like already having been there for something but had gone to the bathroom "I heard shouting, everything- Oh, so YOURE Kara." Oh god, can you imagine it being after the MRI and Joss being there to talk to Lena about what she found? Like, the first night out people report about Lena being seen on a date with someone. From there, they do the MRI, go out after cos they both need it, which is when someone realizes that Joss looks like Supergirl, cue the next day when Joss goes to see Lena to talk about it and BAM! Kara Poor Joss still trying to wrap their head around finding out there is something IN their head, and coming back from a freak out in the bathroom to Lena and Kara yelling at each other. Lena being told "You really are a Luthor" Joss jumping straight into fight mode that's just a bad idea all over lol Kara aka Supergirl Vs. Joss with inhibitors Lena yelling "Turn them off! Turn them off!" "If a bitch can't win a fight without using her powers then she's nothing worth anything to me." Lena's just there cringing and using her phone to try and figure out the fastest way to scramble the signal on the inhibitors next thing any of them known Alex is showing up, for similar reasons and Kara, because let's be real she wouldn't be too far behind oh God, Alex shows up Lena will be shouting "Turning the fucking things off! Shoot first. Remember?!"

The argument that ensues when the fighting eventually stops about them wanting to take Joss to the DEO. Lena - "Over my dead body"

"I feel like we shouldn't put that past them."

"You're not taking them so you treat them like your science lab project and dissect them and torture them with tests! No matter what you think of me, Joss is a living being, who until you showed up and started throwing accusations around, wouldn't start a fight with anyone. So, if you want to take them to the DEO, you better put a bullet in my brain because like hell am I going let you."

Joss just staring at Lena for a bit and then wrapping their arms around her. "And if you think I'll go easy if you shoot her, I can promise you now, I won't. Because I will turn off the inhibitors and I will fight as hard as I can, and I won't really care who gets hurt. Because I have worked too fucking long and too fucking hard in this life to just be another person. I'm not going into some fucking cage to be used as a lab rat or whatever else, without a fight."

Mind you I kinda imagine they've got a busted lip at minimum and are still refusing to turn the damn things off to heal

Joss at some point while everyone is arguing over what to do just being like "And I thought finding out I had space junk stuck in my head was going to be the worst part of today." in the most defeated fucking voice ever

I just imagine everyone in the room turning to look at them because "What did they just say?"

Lena just ignoring everyone else and being like, "We will fix it, I promise."

but also now I'm imagining Alex looking at Joss, probably curled in on themself, just looking fucking terrified and not being able to unsee every time she's seen Kara look like that which is what softens Alex about the situation a little

"If you're gonna keep arguing about what to do with me, can I at least call my roommate and tell him I might not be home tonight? He worries if I don't let him know."

"No one is doing anything with you. Whatever happens, is entirely down to you," shoots pointed glare at Kara and Alex, "but if you want to call Isaac, then do. You're more than welcome to stay with me tonight."

Joss just nodding and going out to the balcony, with their back to the windows, so no one but probably Kara hears them breakdown, even if it's written all over their posture.

Lena totally staring at Alex and Kara like she's going to throttle them before basically telling them to get out before she calls security. yep and before they even get the chance to protest she goes out to be with Joss Lena eventually reprimanding Joss for being an idiot tho

"Were you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"No, but if I'd used my powers, there would have been a bigger risk of destruction, a higher probability of you getting hurt. I wasn't going to take that chance. Not after you obviously risked so much to keep my secret safe. And I'm sorry, but she doesn't seem like such a good friend, because friends don't say shit like that, they don't go accusing people of being evil with zero basis."

"I'm a Luthor, that's basis enough for most." Inspects Joss' busted lip, "Are you going to turn your inhibitors off to let that heal or shall I go get some ice?"

"Well they're wrong. Names are nothing but sounds. If they can't distinguish you from your family then I don't think they know you." They sigh and run a finger under the hem of their shirt. "Isaac says thanks, by the way. For watching out for me. He's always worried that one day I'll be found out and I won't come home. Because aliens in this city go missing sometimes, wrong place, wrong time and they're gone and he's scared that'll happen to me. Now I guess his worries have a solid foundation."

"My brother tried to kill Superman, my mother keeps trying to kill Supergirl, why should I be any different? That's how people see me." She reaches for Joss' hand and gives it a gentle but reassuring squeeze. "That's not going to happen to you, you understand me? I won't let it happen and if for whatever reason I fail you and it does happen, you need to understand that I will come looking for you and that I will not stop looking for you until I find you and when I do I will make those responsible pay."

"Because you're Lena fucking Luthor, and everything you have ever done proves you are not the monster this world wants to make you out to be." They lean against her and squeeze her hand back. "Thank you, Lena. And, if you want, if it'll appease them, you can send them the results of the tests you ran. I have nothing to hide, from them or you or anyone. I can email you what I know about where I crashed, what was later found there. You can pass that on. Maybe they'll be able to make something of it all. At least more than I can."

"Yet you seem to be the only one of this world to see that." She let out a sigh, finding herself also leaning into Joss. "You don't need to appease anyone, Joss. I will involve them as little as possible, preferably not at all but their database has a far more extensive range of information surrounding what the material might be. Whatever they come up with, do not go anywhere with them without me, please. I want to oversee anything they do to make sure they don't try and do something they shouldn't. No matter what happens in all of this, I swear to you, I will keep you safe."

"And that is a loss for the rest of the world." They close their eyes for a bit. "Why are you so protective of me, Lena? Not that I don't appreciate it, I do, more than anything, but why risk so much for me?"

"I care about what happens to you. The thought of them locking you up in a cell fuelled by kryptonite which would not only render you powerless but also cause you pain is something that I cannot stand. They view you as a threat, as a thing to be experimented on, just because you look very much like Kara, they don't care that the only things you have in common are that you look alike and are both kryptonian. It makes me sick to think of them punishing you for something when there has been no wrong doing. They don't care about who you are, your passions, your life, you. I do. I care and I will not let them take away your freedom, your life, or that there are people that care about you."

"How can the world not see it? How genuinely good you are?"

Lena is suddenly fascinated by her feet

"Hey, my eyes are up here."

Lena reluctantly looks up, unsure of what she's supposed to say in response to the questions Joss had asked. Was she genuinely good? Was the world that blind? She had no idea anymore. Too used to being told that she was just like her brother and mother, she was just 'another Luthor' despite her best efforts to be anything but.

Joss smiled at Lena as she looked up at them. "You, Lena, are what the Luthor name should be known for. You have done so much good and received nothing but doubt and hate for it, and that is so wrong. Supergirl might be the hero of National City, but you are mine."

Lena felt like Joss had just hurled a boulder into her throat, she was speechless. Her vision blurred with the threat of tears. Instead of being just 'another Luthor' Joss saw her as what the Luthor's should be known be for. She wasn't the inadequate Luthor that would turn out like her brother or mother, she was Lena Luthor and she was what the family name should be known for. She reached up and gently cupped Joss' cheek, her voice straining as she uttered, "Thank you."

They smiled at her leaning so their forehead was resting against hers. "No, thank you. For keeping my secret. For agreeing to help me. For listening to me rant and rave about fashion. For taking time to go out and drink with me, even when I'm sure you had more important things to do."

"You listened to me rant and rave," she pointed out with a weak chuckle before adding, "if you think there was something more important to me than getting to spend time with you, you're wrong."

"Because watching me get drunk and eat entirely too many soft pretzel bites and wings is somehow as important as your work?"

"Did you miss the part where getting to spend time with you is important to me?"

"No, but it's hard to believe that you thought so that first time. I mean, c'mon, I'm not that special. You barely even knew me."

“I knew enough to know that I wanted to know more about you. Also, Joss, you are that special, even if you don’t realise it.”

"I guess I'm just not used to people wanting to know more. Spent so long keeping to myself. Head down, work hard, live a normal life. And then you and your Cyclone decided to pull me in."

“Lets be honest, it had nothing to do with me, it was all the Cyclone,” Lena smirked.

"No. It was you. The Cyclone was just bonus."

“Do you mean that?”

"You could have handed me any dress in need of repair and I'd have still asked you out."

Lena studied Joss’ face for a moment, searching for any indication that they were lying. A smile crossed her lips when she found no trace of deceit and closed the distance between them to press her lips softly to Joss’.

Joss was a little surprised by the feeling of Lena's lips on theirs, all too aware that their inhibitors were off and the ability to hurt her, even from something as simple as kissing back too hard. But they did it anyway, a little wary, and beyond gentle, arms wrapping fully around her to pull her just a little closer.

Lena smiled against Joss’ lips as she was pulled that little bit closer. She knew the inhibitors were off, which was why she wasn’t deepening the kiss, she knew Joss was wary of their strength. Yet, for someone who possessed unimaginable strength, they were so gentle. Her hand stayed against Joss’ cheek as she reluctantly pulled back, “So, about that ice for your lip...”

Joss licked their lip at the mention of it, the place where the split had once been completely healed. "All better, but if you're still worried, I hear kissing it better does wonders." They smirked but sighed. "Though I really want to get out of here. I'm really tired, L."

“Who knew I had a super power of my own?” Lena chuckled. Reaching up, she gently ran her fingers through Joss’ hair, “Let’s head home so you can get some rest. You’re not used to using your powers, I imagine it must be very draining.”

"Me." They smirk. "I'm not really used to getting the shit kicked out of me by a bar of steel with arms and legs, either. And that doesn't even cover the emotional shit today."

“Its been a day, that’s for certain.” She pressed another delicate kiss to Joss’ lips. “Let’s get you out here and into bed.”

"Mmhmm." They kissed back a little and sighed. "Just a warning, I might not stay there. It's rare but I can float in my sleep."

“That’s ok, I’ll make sure you don’t float away,” Lena promised, “I just care that you get some rest.”

"Thanks, L."

SJ09/13/2020 Lena smiled at her newly acquired monicker, “Come on, let’s get you to bed. I’ll cook us some dinner after you’ve had some rest, ok? But for now, let’s get out of here.”

"Lead the way."

time jump to Lean’s home

Lena led Joss through to her bedroom, “I’ll get you something that you can get changed into so you’ll be more comfortable,” she spoke as she moved around her room, retrieving shorts and a loose fitting shirt, “you get changed and I’ll go make us some tea, ok?”

"Thanks," they took the clothes offered to them. While they could have changed in an instant, they elected not to. If only because it gave them time to think, to process everything.

Lena left the room and set about her task, returning a few moments later with two mugs, to find Joss still in their clothes. “Hey,” she placed the mugs on the bedside table, moving over to Joss, “you ok in there?” she asked softly, her hand moving to tuck some fallen hair behind Joss’ ear.

Joss had managed to kick out of their shoes before the weight of everything had come crashing down on top of them. They hadn't even realized they'd zoned out until Lena had returned. "Everything is so loud," they mumbled.

“Ok,” Lena hushed, her mind working at a fast pace as she sought to relieve some of Joss’ discomfort. She moved to her bedside table and quickly retrieved some earplugs from the drawer. “They’re new,” she promised, “I keep them for flying. Put them in and come lay down with me. I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”

They watched Lena for a few moments. They nodded with a quiet thanks as they took the earplugs and put them in before using their superspeed to change, figuring they might as well get it over with before they had time to zone out again. They then climbed into bed, still trying to focus their attention on one solid sound instead of the thousands that still reached them even with the earplugs in.

Once Joss was in bed, Lena kicked off her shoes and got in beside them and gently pulled them into her arms, she dare not say anything, afraid of added more noise. No, her purpose was to just be there and remain as silent as physically possible.

Joss curled against Lena, head against her chest, deciding the best sound they could focus on was the one below them. The sound of Lena's heart. Then Joss started humming. It was something they did almost nightly, an added way to block out the noise and soothe themself to sleep.

Lena smiled at the way Joss curled into her and pressed a barely their kiss to the top of their head. She listened as they hummed and held them tightly, thinking to herself of how she would deal with Kara the next time she saw her.

In time Joss would fall asleep, curling further into themself and away from Lena in the process, nothing about them was relaxed. Whimpering and moaning like they were injured or scared.

Lena couldn’t switch off. Her mind preoccupied with the dangers and challenges that Joss would face now that Kara and the DEO knew of their existence. It wasn’t until she was faced with the sudden lack of warmth from Joss curling away that she broke out of her thoughts. The moans and whimpers were heartbreaking and Lena could imagine what Joss was dreaming off, she was still uncertain of what exactly the fragments in Joss’ brain would impact besides their memory. “Joss,” she was careful in her movements, not wanting to startle Joss into consciousness. Reaching out Lena gently stroked the others cheek, “come back to me.”

Joss seemed to settle, if only a little, at the sound of Lena's voice, not quite coming back to consciousness but still shifting back towards her. Their body uncurled slightly at the hand to their cheek, long legs finding one of Lena's and tangling with it.

Lena noticed the way Joss seemed to settle at her voice, the way they had tangled their legs around one of her own as if grounding themselves despite still being asleep. "That's it," she uttered softly as she gently caressed their cheek, "use my as your anchor. You're safe. I'll keep you safe."

The more Lena soothed, the more Joss settled. Their body relaxed fully in time and when it did, Joss slowly started to hover. It wasn't much just enough to keep them off the bed, one of their feet still tucked securely securely under Lena's at the ankle, as if actually using her to keep them tethered.

Lena was in awe as Joss levitated from the bed and moved to bring her other leg around to secure the foot beneath her ankle further. She continued to speak softly, for whatever reason it was obviously soothing the kryptonian. "You weren't kidding about floating in your sleep, but that's ok. You keep floating. I'm here. You can float like a kite and I'll be string, I'll make sure you don't float away."

And that's what Joss did. They floated and slept, occasionally thrashing and whimpering but always settling when their foot caught on Lena's ankles.

Eventually, they dropped back to the bed as they started to stir. A sleepy smile crossed their face as they looked over at Lena, flexing the foot still caught in her ankles.

Every time Joss would show any sign of disturbed sleep, Lena would reach up and stroke their cheek, quietly uttering words of unimportant things.

"Hi floaty," Lena greeted softly, as Joss returned to earth, "I suppose you'd like your foot back?" she chuckled. "You feeling any better now that you've had some rest?"

Joss chuckled a little, burying their face in the pillow for a few moments. "Y'can keep it, if ya want," They mumbled, voice a little rough. "Yeah, things aren't as loud." Joss did get used to their powers the more they left the inhibitors off, able to tune things out, focus easier, but they so rarely let it happen and especially not while away from their own home.

Lena grinned, "Good, because I wasn't planning on letting you have it back yet." She moved her foot along Joss' ankle to prove her point. "That's good," she was genuinely glad that things had quietened for Joss, she couldn't imagine what it must be like to be able to hear everything at fully volume all the time, it sounded like something that could drive an individual to insanity. "What were you dreaming about?" she asked softly, "There were moments where it seemed like you were trapped in a nightmare."

They laughed a little as Lena spoke and the way she moved their ankle. At the question about what they were dreaming of, they shrugged. "I never remember much. Sometimes if my inhibitors are on I'll remember pain, darkness, fire. I think it's the crash. Feeling like I can't breath, like I have to get out, but I can't. But, normally, I don't know. I don't remember. Sometimes, though, I'll remember a song, a lullaby. It's engrained in my memory but I don't know the words, I can't understand them. With it comes the shadow of a woman in a cloak. Always watching, leaving things, but I never know where I am or what's actually happening."  They sighed. "And sometimes I just feel anger, hatred, towards people I don't know. Names, especially, bring it to the surface. Or things I see. The first time I saw that crest the Supers wear. I wanted to burn it, like it'd done me wrong. But I'm not that kind of person. Hell, even today with Kara... I don't know if it was just what she'd said or who she was. All I knew was that I was angry and I hated what she said I wanted her to hurt for that, for treating you that way. For thinking she's so much better."

Lena listened intently, it certainly sounded like Joss got the briefest glimpse of memories during their dreams but they were so brief that they couldn't process the scenario in order to be able to understand it and the feelings attached to it. "I'm going to do everything I can to help you get your memories back," she promised as she placed a hand on Joss' chest, "I will help you find the reasons behind these things that you can't understand because you don't have access to all of the information. As for the things that Kara said..." a defeated sigh left her lips, "she is better than me and she's not the only one to think that I'm going to to follow in my families footsteps. You can't fight everyone that thinks those things about me."

They smiled at Lena, covering her hand with their own. "Stop talking like that. She is not. Anyone who can say they're a friend and yet jump to such horrid conclusions without proof, are no better than the very conclusions they jump to. That bullshit she spouts about Hope, Help, and Compassion for all is just that, bullshit. Empty lies, because if you can't look at your so-called friend and see the good they have done, despite it all, you're nothing but a hypocrite." The huffed, moving to curl up against Lena again.

Lena wrapped her arms around Joss and pressed a kiss to the top of their head. "Hypocrite or not, you still can't fight her for the way she thinks about me. Especially when you have your inhibitors turned off." She moved to rest her head atop of Joss' as she moved her legs to entangle the others with her own. "You could've been seriously hurt..."

They sighed, burying their face in the crook of her neck. "What good is someone if the only battles they fight are with their powers? How can they say they know how to protect people?" Joss honestly didn't care about getting hurt, they knew, in time they'd heal. That they could turn the inhibitors off, but they also knew they were reckless with their powers and the idea of accidentally hurting Lena because they were trying to fight with their powers wasn't something they could handle the thought of.

"Kara will realise in time, she always does," Lena uttered, "she's just not as on the ball as you are when it comes to knowing whether I'd follow in my brothers footsteps or not." She brought a hand to the back of Joss' head and began to idly run her fingers through their hair. "Please don't fight her, Joss. With or without your powers. There are some things that you can't heal from and the DEO almost always has access to those things and they have very little issues with using them." She had seen what the DEO were capable of, she wasn't going to let them do anything to Joss. She cared too much about them to let anything like that happen to them. "I can't let them hurt you."

"And yet she's known you longer." Their words were almost bitter, the idea that someone could know Lena as long as Kara had and yet still looked at her like she'd snap and become her brother. That was the kind of thing that made lesser people do such things. "Fine, I won't, but that doesn't change that I would. If she ever..."  Joss sighed, pressing a soft kiss to the side of Lena's neck.

"Kal-El is her cousin, my brother attacked him, numerous times," she sighed, "I'm not saying that excuses her, but her opinion of me has been tainted from the start. Yours never has been. Your opinion of me is entirely your own." Lena pulled away slightly after the kiss to her neck, "Look at me," she gently guided Joss to look up her, "Kara and so many others will always see me as nothing but another Luthor and I can't change that. The only person that I care what they think about me, is you."

Joss grumbled as Lena explained. It shouldn't matter. Lena wasn't Lex. It would be like saying Chris should want to go into costuming because Joss did. Or, given the apparent relation between Kara and Joss, that Joss should want to be a hero. Everyone has the capacity to be good, if given a chance it seemed the Supers and the rest of the world refused to give Lena that chance. They looked at her, still frowning as Lena spoke. Though they couldn't help but smile, leaning in to press a kiss to her lips. "And I think you are so much better than you think you are, because you're still listening to everyone who has said you aren't good  enough. I'm gonna change that." And they meant it. They would get Lena to see just how good she was, how amazing, because she deserved that more than anything.

"Well, everyone has been saying it for a long time," Lena began, "it might mean that you have to stick around a while." She smiled, as her her eyes darted about Joss' face, it was obvious that Kara and Joss were identical twins, even a high school dropout could reach that conclusion but the more Lena looked at them, the more she could see just how very different they looked despite being identical. "You might have kryptonian powers, but I think your super power is the way you see people."

"Well, I already planned to stick around, so you'll just have to get used to me telling you how amazing you are." They pressed another kiss to Lena's lips. "Get it from my mama. To look at the big picture of a person. So someone like you, you've got a bad family, people who hate and despise everyone including you, but then you go out of your way to be different. You choose to put money and effort towards the good. To help people. To heal and repay a debt you don't owe on, but feel you do. You have every reason to just give up and be who everyone says you are, yet you don't. You keep fighting and you keep doing good. That is what makes you good. That is what makes you better than so many others."

Lena smiled against Joss’ lips, knowing that they planned on sticking around made her happy. “Your mama raised an incredible individual.” It was very rare that Lena found someone who could see her for who she was, and those she did have like that lived on another planet. She didn’t have words to reply to the kind words, so instead she pressed her lips firmly against the ones in front of her and let the kiss convey her feelings.

Joss kissed her back with a smile before pulling away. "M'sorry to cut this short, but you mentioned food earlier and uh... I kinda haven't eaten today... Was gonna do that after I saw you, and then well... shit hit the fan."

"You haven't eaten?!" Lena lightly slapped Joss' arm. "Naughty J," she she chuckled before pressing another kiss to Joss' lips, "ok," she pulled away, "I said I'd cook for you, so let's go see what I actually have in the kitchen that's worth cooking, hm?"

"I was nervous, okay. I wouldn't have kept it down." And it's true. They'd honestly been beyond worried about the results and it seemed they had every right to be. "Why do I have a feeling we're about to order take out?" They teased as they untangled themself from Lena, even if they really didn't want to, they needed food and letting Lena get up was required.

"Ok, I take it back," Lena smiled briefly before she feigned offence, "Are you saying that I can't cook?" She sat up reluctantly, "Perhaps I should just offer you a crust of bread and some water," she threatened playfully.

"No, I'm worried you spend so much time at the office you're not home long enough to have groceries, or at least enough to cook for a Kryptonian." They gently poked her side playfully.

"Nice save," Lena laugh as she moved to stand up. "Ok, you may have a point on that one. I usually only cook for myself and because I spend so much time at the office I don't keep anything fully stocked." The more she thought about, the more she realised that even if she did have food in the house, it wouldn't be enough to feed a kryptonian. "Ok, fine. Take out this time. Just no pot stickers, ok?"

"There was no saving! Who offers to cook for someone if they can't?" Joss sat up, watching Lena move. They smirked a bit when she conceded that they were right. Though their eyebrows momentarily scrunched when she said no potstickers. "What's your opinion on Indian? Cos I could go for some lamb curry right about now." They wanted warm and comforting and a little spicy and curry was the perfect thing.

"Hey, I can cook! I just forgot the part where you're kryptonian and could eat a whole horse." It was true, she knew that she had enough food to throw together a light meal or whatever but there's no way she could feed a kryptonian. "I think that sounds like an excellent idea. Do you know a place or should I grab my laptop so we can hunt one down?"

"Exactly." They smiled, nodding a bit when she asked if they knew of a place. "I have them on speed dial... Wherever my phone is." They couldn't even remember what article of clothing it'd been in, provided they'd even had it in a pocket at all. They'd been so drained, they weren't even sure they'd grabbed it off the table in Lena's office.

"Do you know the number or just have it on speed dial?" Lena asked as she reached for her phone, as her eyes scanned the pile of clothes on her floor for any indication of Joss' phone, "You can call from my phone?" she suggested.

"Uh, mostly just have it on speed dial. It takes A LOT for me to memorize stuff." Sure, once they had something memorized it was stuck but actually committing things to memory was hard. They worked exceptionally hard to memorize things but when they could do something like leave a number in their phone they did.

"Well, that's not particularly helpful," Lena chuckled as she put her phone back on the bedside table and bent over to retrieve the clothes off the floor. "I'd like to point out that I am in no way suggesting that you put these back on," she spoke as she turned to put the clothes on the bed, "but I don't know how comfortable you'd be with my rummaging through your pockets."

Joss just shrugged. They laughed a bit. "I mean all you'd find is my wallet, my keys, and hopefully my phone." Joss was pretty minimal when it came to what they carried on a regular basis. "Oh and a mini sewing kit." Even still, they grabbed their clothes and started rummaging through their pockets, thankful when the last thing they pulled out was their phone. "And it's nearly dead..." Because of course it was. "So, we'll still need to use your phone."

"I'm not worried about what I'd find in your pockets," Lena laughed as she climbed onto the bed and sat on her haunches as she watched Joss search for their phone, "I trust you. I just respect you enough to not go searching through your things without your permission." Of course there phone was almost dead, that was always the way, turning almost awkwardly, she reached behind herself and grabbed her phone from beside the bed and offered it to Joss, "Here.

They smiled when she explained herself. "That's nice to hear, honestly." While they definitely didn't have minded her doing so, it was nice she respected them enough to not do so. "Thanks." They took her phone and put in the number, taking the liberty to save it into her contacts, just in case. They then dialed the number.

"Hey, yeah, this is Joss. Yeah, I need my usual and, hold on," they looked at Lena, "What do you want?"

Lena’s eyebrow arched when it became apparent that Joss was on a first name basis with the takeaway but quickly scolded herself because she may as well own shares in the place her and Kara always order from.

“Double up on yours,” Lena replied, “and a naan bread please.” Indian was not Indian without naan bread. It had been a long time since she’d had Indian and she hadn’t ordered from this place before so she was putting her tastebuds in Joss’ hands.

Joss chuckled a bit as Lena gave her answer. "Another lamb curry and another thing of naan. Mmhmm, actually make that two more curries. Yeah. Uh, different address," They waited for Lena to give them the address and relayed it to the person on the other end of the line.

Once everything was confirmed they hung up and held the phone out to Lena. "Maybe half an hour. They're closer to you than they are to me, apparently. Or it's a slow night and they actually have enough made to fill the order without needing to make too much more. Probably both." There was a reason Joss was on a first name basis with the place, they spent a lot of money everytime and they also genuinely enjoyed the food.

Now that the food was ordered, Lena suddenly realised they had the problem of drinks. Not because she was in short supply, she actually had a pretty extensive collection of wines, whiskeys, and a few others she had been gifted over the years through business deals, it was just that she had absolutely nothing in the way of alien alcohol. "So I know human alcohol has no effect on whatsoever," she spoke as she accepted her phone back, "but would you like a glass of wine or anything like that with dinner?"

"I'll have whatever you're having. It's likely for the best I don't have anything that can effect me tonight, as is." They liked getting tipsy, they enjoyed being drunk to an extent, but with the way their head was, emotions still trying to process, being held at bay merely by distractions, the last thing they needed was alcohol. "Thanks again, for everything you've done. You didn't have to, but I'm grateful you did."

"I was going to have a glass of wine but I don't like the idea of me getting to take the edge off of today when you can't," Lena admitted. It had definitely been a day and had she been alone she'd probably be starting her second bottle by now, which granted, wasn't the healthiest coping mechanism in the world but it helped. At least that's what she would tell herself. "What on earth are you thanking me for?" Lena asked incredulously, moving so that she was closer to Joss and placed a hand on the others, "You were the one that defended me, it should be me thanking you."

"Me trying to take the edge off would probably need a run around the entire city. Even if you had something here that would effect me I know for a fact it wouldn't end well. You're allowed to take the edge off, even if I can't." They smiled at her as she moved over to them. "I'm thanking you for taking care of me. For trusting me enough to let me into your home, your private space. For watching over me. For being my anchor. You didn't have to do any of that. You could have sent me on my way home. You could have handed me off to the DEO. You chose to protect me. That is why I'm thanking you, along with a million other reasons from just today."

"You fought someone who has honed their powers, you used your powers despite the fact that it goes against the way you live your life," she spoke softly, "you did that to defend me and you didn't have to. You really think I'd hand you over to the DEO? Let them conduct their little experiments to prove what I was able to learn in our first meeting?" Lena shook her head, "Not in this lifetime. I took care of you because I wanted to, because I care about you and I don't see that changing so you had better get used to me watching over you when you need to recover, to keep you anchored so you can rest. I may not have kryptonian powers but I will do my very best to protect you and keep you safe."

Joss wrapped their arms around Lena pulled her closer. "And those are things worth being thanked for. Just because you're used to doing things without thanks doesn't mean you don't deserve that thanks. And I fully intend on thanking you for the things you do for me. Because it is the easiest thing and it is the least, I can do." They leaned in and placed a soft kiss to Lena's lips.

Lena wrapped her arms around Joss' neck, "I will tell you repeatedly not to thank me, you do realise this?" she chuckled. "But, if a kiss accompanies every thank you, I'm not going to complain it," she admitted as she pressed her lips to Joss'.

Joss smiled into the kiss. "So you're stubborn, there are fabrics harder to work with than you." They teased. "And even the hardest of fabrics will soften in time, and if kisses are what it takes with you, well..." Joss kissed her again with a grin. "That's easy."

Lena laughed, "You say that now, you've yet to encounter me in a bad mood." She smiled at the kiss and found herself wondering if this is what it felt like to be truly trusted, that being with another person could be easy and relaxed. "Thank you," her words were sincere, "not for today, although obviously I am grateful for that, but thank you for seeing me and not my family."

"I'm sure I can handle it, L." Everyone had a right to bad moods and in time they were sure they'd see Lena's. They might even be the reason, though they prayed not often. It was what one did when said bad moods arose that mattered and Joss was willing to find out what it took to handle those. As she thanked them they shook their head. "It pains me that, something as simple as seeing you as your own person is something you see the need to thank me for."

Lena moved a hand to Joss' cheek and studied their face, "Please don't feel pain for me, not over this." She had dealt with feelings of inadequacy since the moment she moved in with her father and his family, she had dealt with never ending judgement since then. It was what had built her, shaped her into who she was now, it was what made her strive to do better than her best, it was what pushed her to go further than her limits, it was what made her persevere whenever she encounter challenges, it was the reason she never gave up without a fight. It was also the reason for many nights of crying herself to sleep out of sheer loneliness and the inability to make a connection with another where they saw Lena and a Luthor.

"L, no one deserves to feel so invisible the idea of someone seeing them for themself is worth thanking them." They pulled her even closer so she was properly standing between their legs. "You are the most amazing woman I have met, except for my mama, and even then, you give her a run for her money."

Lena wasn't entirely sure how to respond so she rest her face against Joss' collarbone. No one had ever taken the time to see her like this, not truly. The closest she had come was Sam but with Sam living on Argo Lena found herself once again alone. Kara kept secrets and always second guessed her motives. It was Alex's job to question her motives given Lex's past with Superman. More often than not, Lena was a business woman or 'another Luthor' and nothing more. "Don't let your mama hear you say that," she joked, her voice strained with emotion.

One of their hands moved to Lena's head as her face fell against their collarbone, hooking a finger gently into the ponytail holder keeping her hair up in what had to be an unholy tight ponytail. Slowly they worked  it out, letting long ebony hair fall free, slipping the band around their wrist. they then began to run their fingers through her hair. "I think my mama would be honored that someone who has struggled so much and done so much good is being compared to her."

At first Lena wasn't sure what Joss was doing but when her hair was set free she let out a sigh of relief as some of the tension was eased around her skull. As fingers began to run through her hair, she found herself pressing herself further against Joss and allowed herself a moment to let her guard down and bask in the feeling of safety. She wanted to argue that she hadn't struggled, that she was beyond privileged but she knew the moment she did she would break the calm she was currently revelling in, that she would revert to being on guard so she remained silent.

Joss hummed quietly as their fingers continued to run through her hair. It was nice, honestly, just being there, existing with her. As much as the day had stressed them out, they couldn't help but find themself relaxing as their fingers moved through her hair. There was just something so soothing about her presence.

Lena listened to Joss hum, content to stay exactly where she was and let Joss care for her. Joss allowed her to be herself, it was ok to be fragile because she trusted Joss not to break her. The longer she stayed as she was, the more she could feel herself letting go of the days tensions and actually beginning to relax. Which was both a good thing and a not so good thing, as she relaxed she became of just how tense she had been from the ache in her muscles. "So much better than wine," she murmured softly.

Joss chuckled a little as she said it was better than wine. "Better than wine and all they're doing is running through your hair. You should feel what else I can do with them." They weren't sure if they'd meant to say that, but they were definitely sure they hadn't meant for it to come off as inappropriate as it probably did. Even still, they just let their fingers keep moving through her hair, hoping if they didn't point out the innuendo it'd pass by, because they might be at kissing but they definitely were not at where their comment could lead.

Lena had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing at the obvious innuendo. Neither of them were ready to go there yet, at least she wasn't. "Is that your way of letting me know that you're a masseuse as well as a tailor?" she lightly teased before continuing, "I'm serious though. Given the choice between a glass of wine and being like this with you, this is what I would choose."

Joss let out a breath they'd been holding when she went the way Joss had definitely meant it. "I mean, not certified or anything, but I'm not bad. Or so Isaac tells me."  They smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I like being like this too." Lena's phone went off and Joss sighed. "I think that's the food, and unless you want to risk your neighbors seeing me barely dressed, I need to get up and put pants on.

“You’ll have to prove that to me one day,” she chuckled, content against Joss. When her phone disturbed their peace she was angry at it, until she realised it was that their food had arrived. “Or,” Lena pulled back, “you can stay all relaxed and comfy and I’ll go answer the door.” She was still dressed as it was, she didn’t see the need for Joss to have to get changed again unnecessarily. “Besides,” she chortled, “if my neighbours see you I might get accused of hiring Supergirl to be maid.” And as funny an accusation that would be, Lena really did not want to deal with Kara on her back over it.

"I can definitely do that." They chuckled a bit. "You gonna forge my signature, L?" They teased with a raise of their eyebrow and a tilt of their head. As much as it'd be easier if Lena did so, there was still the signature on the receipt to worry about. "I mean, the press already thinks you're dating her, isn't that how we got ourselves into this mess? I'm sure your neighbors can take their guesses off that.

"It wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of forgery," she laughed. Lena knew that Joss had a point and despite being accused of forgery, it wasn't something she did. She let out a scandalous gasp, "Supergirl in bed with the sister who's brother tried to kill her cousin!" Her face split into a grin, "Kara would LOVE that." She pressed a kiss to Joss' lips, "Fine, get dressed and go scandalise the neighbours and I'll go get things ready."

Joss rolled their eyes as she said she'd been accused of forgery, because of course she had been. They were starting to wonder what, besides being a genuinely good person, she hadn't been accused of. "I mean, weirder things have happened." They chuckled as they stood. "And she can't even prove them wrong without having giving answers about me she doesn't have." They kiss Lena back with a grin. "I'll only be slightly scandalizing them with pants on, so... could be worse?" And like that they were slipping back into their pants, not even really bothering to take off the shorts, since the shirt was long enough to cover anything left open, grabbing their wallet, and heading out to get the food, barley remembering to put their shoes on.

They returned moments later, both arms full of bags of food. "I come baring curry, lots and lots of curry."

While Joss went to retrieve their food, Lena left to go grab some plates and cutlery as well as two wine glasses, a bottle of wine and a couple bottles of water. Ordinarily she wasn't a fan of eating in her bedroom, but she was quite enjoying just hanging out there with Joss, it wasn't something she'd ever really done.

"Good lord," she exclaimed through laughter, "that is a LOT of curry." It was a good thing Joss was kyrptonian otherwise Lena had no idea how they would manage to consume so much curry between just the two of them. "Would you like to put a film on while we eat?" she asked.

Joss chuckled, setting the bags down with a grin. "I'm hungry, and more so than usual. That's what happens when you don't eat all day and you're an alien." They smiled. "So, most of this is lamb. There should be one box of chicken though, if you want some of that. As for a film, I don't really care either way. So, if there's something you want to watch we can."

"I'm almost certain that all kryptonians are genetically predisposed to a high metabolism that is the human equivalent of high doses of methamphetamines," Lena teased. "It all smells incredible but lamb is the best meat. I'm quite happy just to have dinner and enjoy your company."

"That wouldn't surprise me any." Joss grabbed one of the containers and handed it to her. "I mean, you know this and I know this, but heaven forbid Isaac accepts that." They set out one of the orders of naan as well before taking off their pants and settling onto the bed with a container for themself

"Oh no," Lena chuckled, slipping off her shoes, Lord only knows why she bothered to put them back on, before joining Joss on the bed, "do I even want to know what Isaac thinks is the best meat?" If the response was chicken she was going to make a point of taking Joss and Isaac out for dinner and introducing Isaac to the way that lamb is supposed to be cooked.

Joss chuckled. "For curry? Chicken. In general, he's a beef guy. Though, when we lived in Pittsburgh I introduced him to the glory of the bison burger, so that's something at least." Isaac was a really picky food person so when Joss could expose him to new food they did. He didn't usually like it, but he at least humored them, which they appreciated.

If she rolled her eyes any harder at the response it would've actually caused her physical pain. "That's just unacceptable,"  she stated as she reached for her naan, "that boy is in need of serious educating and I plan to do just that. Chicken the best meat for curry," she scoffed.

"I have been trying to do that since we moved in together at 18. He's got a lot of aversions to textures when it comes to food so he's really picky. He'll try stuff but he's not liable to like it." Joss chuckled a bit. "His parents were honestly always amazed at how willing to try new foods I was, especially how much I love veggies. Like, don't get me wrong I will gladly dip bacon in chocolate and deep fry it, but on any given day I will eat my weight in fruits and veggies. Hell, the day I told them I'd gotten him to even try bison and that he liked it, I thought they were going to faint.”

"He can be as picky as he likes, I'm still taking you both out to dinner," Lena countered. As she listened to Joss talk about their love of foods, she couldn't help but wonder if they ever dreamt of the foods from their home planet. "Do you have any memory of the foods from home?" she asked softly, "Do you ever dream of them?"

"You won't hear any arguments from me. But if we also end up at Taco Bell after, don't say I didn't warn you." They sighed at Lena's question, digging into their food for a while. "No. If it's not nightmares it's disjointed memories of people."

"If we end up at Taco Bell I've done a very poor job." Lena regretted asking the question as a wave of guilt washed over her, she knew that it was hard for Joss and yet she had asked anyway, the scientist within her not knowing when enough was enough. She reached out, lightly touching Joss' elbow as she apologised, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

Joss smiled at Lena at her words. "It's fine, L. I don't know if I'd want to remember stuff like that anyway. This planet has been the only home I've ever known. What kind of tragedy might be brought down on my head."

"Do you want me to stop searching for ways to remove that fragment?" Lena asked in all seriousness, "I mean, providing that it's not going to cause you any future problems. If you'd rather continue your life with those years left blank then I will stop looking into it but I need you to tell me, Joss. At the end of all of this, all I really care about is that it's not causing you any harm."

"I don't know. This thing obviously healed into my brain somewhere that effects my memory, and if removing it could help with that, I can't say it wouldn't be worth it. My long term memory sucks." Their short term memory was excellent which meant they could usually remember something long enough to write it down but once it was written down, the likelihood of remembering it without extra effort was slim. Putting names to faces was probably the easiest thing to submit to long term memory.

"Ok," Lena nodded, internally feeling relief as she was genuinely concerned about the long term repercussions of having a foreign objected imbedded in the brain for such an extensive period of time, then there was the matter of the material itself. "Guess in the meantime now would be the best time to make all of mistakes so that you don't remember?" she lightly teased.

Joss chuckled, bouncing their shoulder gently off hers. "You'll make mistakes later. So will I. Nothing wrong with making mistakes, L." They rested against her a little as they ate. "Wouldn't want you perfect anyway. That'd be no fun."

"Perfection is scientifically impossible." Lena broke into a smile, she was used to be scolding for mistakes and here Joss was embracing them and celebrating them. "I genuinely hope I never get used to things you say," she admitted, "I don't want there to ever come a day where I take it for granted."

"To be fair, they said the same about turning lead to gold. It might be radioactive gold but they technically did it." Joss pointed out with a gentle laugh. They smiled at her when she said that she hoped to never get used to the way they spoke. "Even if you do, it will be just as genuine then as it is now."

"Which just goes to prove my point about perfection being impossible, they turned lead into gold but it was flawed. Although I do suppose that depends on ones definition of flawed. If the intention was to create radioactive gold then you could consider it a success and my point proven to be invalid but given that the market for radioactive gold these days isn't exactly thriving I would as so bold to make the assumption that it is indeed a defect and a flawed result." Lena smiled at Joss' words, "Promise?"

Joss chuckled, head on her shoulder. "Just means that in time it could be proven true. But I still think it'd be boring." They hummed a bit, holding up their pinkie. "I will even pinkie promise you on it."

"Let's hope that it is never proven true. We wouldn't want life to be boring," she chuckled softly. Lena's eyebrow quirked in curiosity when Joss extended their pinkie towards her, "Pinkie promise, hm?" she linked her pinkie with Joss' and gave it a shake, "And what happens if you break it?"

"That we would not." They smiled as she took their pinkie and gave it a shake. "The truest kind of promise and... if I ever break it, you are allowed to have someone toss me into the sun or kill me, or whatever kind of destruction of my person befits what I was disingenuous about. Or you can just punch me. I don't know, you don't seem the possibly murder a person type."

"Murder does seem a little extreme, " Lena chuckled, "if you ever reach the point of hurting me that much I'll just let Lex loose on you, that way I don't get my hands dirty," she finished laughing before pressing a kiss to Joss' lips.

They laughed, leaning into the kiss. "Am I allowed to give him absolute hell before I let him deal with me?" Their question was honest, because they would happily do so, after everything Lena's family had done to her.

“You’re asking my permission?” Lena asked in all amusement. She knew how Joss felt Lex, she knew Joss would gladly knock Lex into next week for what he had put Lena through. It was strange still to have someone that was genuinely protective of her and not because she was investment in something but because they saw her. “In all honesty I highly expect you’d kick his ass anyway.”

"Well, yeah. In this context I'll have done you wrong, by all means you'd owe me nothing but my own pain, not the satisfaction I'd receive from giving him just a fraction of what he truly deserves." They pressed a kiss to her lips. "I know I could take him, which is also why I'm asking."

Lena laughed and pressed a kiss to Joss’ lips. “It reallt bothers you, doesn’t it? The things that Lex has done over the years.”

"Yeah, it does." They sighed. "Your family treated you like you were nothing. You were a child and they neglected you and you can't tell me they didn't. Emotional neglect is still neglect. Treating you like you weren't as amazing as you are isn't how you raise a child. There is so much proof of that. And for fucks sake you lost your mother before getting tossed into all that like nothing had even happened to you... I fucking can't stand it."

Lena was a little taken back from the outburst, “It’s ok,” she soothed as she reached for Joss’ hand, “if they weren’t the way they were with me, I could’ve ended up like them and I am so grateful that I’m not like them. To be fuelled by greed and hatred? Can you imagine living such a life?” She kissed Joss sweetly, “I’m not condoning what they did or saying it never had an effect on me but if I hadn’t turned out the way I am now, do you really think you’d be in my house right now? That you would want the Lena Luthor they wanted me to be?”

Joss sighed as Lena spoke. "Had they the decency to treat a grieving child as a grieving child worth loving, I'd bet money the Luthor name might actually hold a better association." They pressed another kiss to Lena's lips. "It won't stop my anger about it, because all of that doesn't even cover the fact they've tried to kill you. But if I spend that anger showing you everything about you worth so much more than they have told you, then so be it. Self love can be the greatest act of rebellion, afterall." They tucked a strand of Lena's hair behind her ear with a smile. "And no one deserves love more than you.

Lena sat silently, dumbfounded by Joss' words. Her brain desperately trying to process the sincere kindness and true belief behind them. No motive. No buttering her up before asking for a large 'donation', no telling her she's wonderful to get her to cooperate to help save the world, just pure genuineness. To say it was a shock to her system was an understatement, despite the fact that Joss repeatedly said kind things about her. Lena had endured a lifetime of negativity and to have someone turn that on its head and actually mean the things they were saying. On top of that, Joss defended her, even if just in conversation about her family, Joss always came to her defence. She pressed a lingering kiss to the lips in fronts her and murmured against them, "Thank you."

Joss smiled softly at Lena, running their hand gently through her hair. "Of course, L." They pressed back in for another kiss. Joss knew the road to Lena seeing just how amazing she was, was bound to be a long one, but they didn't mind. She deserved to not only be told such things but to believe them herself and that's what Joss was out to do.

Lena found herself leaning into Joss' touch, something so simple as fingers moving through her hair meant more to her than she could explain. Probably because she felt sincerity in Joss' touch as well as their words. "You should eat before your food goes cold," she uttered quietly, "you need to regain your strength."

Joss sighed as Lena spoke about them needing to eat. They were definitely aware of this fact but it didn't really mean they wanted to pull themself away from her to do so.  "I mean, you've got a microwave, and when you eat as much as I do a lot of food tends to go cold anyway. M'used to it." They shrugged, even as they turned their attention back to the box of food sitting in their lap, barely touched. Normally at least one, if not two, containers would already be gone, but Joss was so caught up in everything Lena, that despite being hungry they hadn't really touched their food.

"At least eat some of it before it goes cold," Lena encouraged, "please?" Pulling away from Joss wasn't something she wanted to do but she knew that they needed to it, she needed to it too, even if only a little. "We can get comfy and relax after," she promised, "and heat up what's left over later but we really should both have something, it's been quite a day."

"Yeah, I know." They chuckled a bit. "You're just far more interesting than food." Even still, they started to eat, doing their best not to just inhale it. If only because they were supposed to have more manners than that and it didn't really matter how hungry they were, rushing through it would definitely just end in them sick, which they didn't want.

"Yes, well," Lena cleared her throat, "my being interesting aside, eating me will not replenish your strength." It took a second for her to realise the sexual connotations within that sentence and she hurriedly added, "Besides, I'd only cause you indigestion."

Joss did their best not to choke on their food as Lena spoke, because as much as they were sure she hadn't meant it to come across so sexually, it definitely had. And the afterthought comment didn't really help anything either. They couldn't help but laugh a little, trying to decide if they really wanted to reply to that or just let it pass. "I highly doubt that, but it is not the time to figure that out."

Lena could feel just how red her cheeks were when she realised that Joss had caught the sexual connotations in her otherwise innocent comment. She found herself thankful that Joss had set free her hair from the confines of its pony as she used it to try and shield her flushed cheeks. "Not what I meant," she mumbled before forking some curry into her mouth.

Joss chuckled, bumping their shoulder gently against hers. "I know, but that's definitely the only kind of eating of another person I would ever do. I'm not Hannibal." They couldn't help but be amused at the way Lena tried to hide the blush that was tinting her cheeks. "You're cute when you blush."

"Maybe that's what you want me to think, right before you throw me on the barbeque," Lena retorted playfully as she tried to forget her embarrassment. "I am no such thing!"

"Unless you are secretly a steak or brisket, there will be no throwing of your person onto the barbecue." They grinned with a laugh. "You totally are!"

"I most certainly am not," Lena replied, her upbringing too ingrained for her to realise that being cute wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Cute things are meek and helpless and I am absolutely not either of those."

"You ever seen a sun bear? They're cute as fuck and could definitely maul a person to death without remorse." Joss knew that Lena's view was probably just a result of her upbringing but they refused to let her get away with thinking that a person couldn't be cute and badass at the same time, because she definitely was.

"So in this situation, I'm a sun bear?" Lena mused. She pondered it over a moment or two. "I suppose in that case I can tolerate being called cute. Just so long as no one thinks I'm meek and helpless."

"Yes, you are, and if anyone ever thinks you're meek or helpless, I'd say I'd fight them but I reckon you can handle yourself." They grinned, taking a bite of their food, leaning back over to rest against Lena.

Lena chuckled, "There are a fair few that can attest to that statement of me being able to handle myself." A smile played over her face as Joss rest against her, "You'll get indigestion if you're not careful," she warned. It was no use, neither of them was really eating, "What do you say we clear this stuff away and we can heat it up later?"

"I'm sure there are." They hummed a bit, still just leaning against her. "I'm just tired." It was hard to eat when they were honestly still so tired. And as much as they knew food would probably help that, they were too tired to even really do that.

Lena pressed a kiss to the top of Joss' head, "I can only imagine." It would be so easy to just sit in comfortable silence but Joss was liable to fall asleep against her and it would do Joss no good to sleep sitting up, not when their body needed to recover still. "Ok," Lena adjusted her shoulders lightly, "you get into bed, I'm going to clear this away and get changed and then I'll join you."

Joss hummed as Lena spoke, nodding a bit. They felt kinda bad that Lena was having to do everything, but this was a kind of exhaustion they weren't familiar with. They'd not left their inhibitors off this long in a really long time and added to the fight earlier, they just didn't have that kind of energy. "M'kay."

Lena pressed one final kiss to Joss' head before gently moving away, "Get into bed," she repeated as she stood up and began to clear away the food cartons on her bed. "I'll be back in a second," she spoke as gathered the few bits and pieces on the bedside table, "I expect to see you warming up the bed for me."

Joss didn't say anything as Lena spoke and started to move around, just simply nodding. Once she'd left they did as she'd said, settling into Lena's bed. They hummed to themself, burying their face just under the covers.

Lena took the food through to the kitchen, placing in the fridge so it wouldn't go bad before returning to her room. A smile on her face when she entered to discover Joss was indeed in bed, their face partly concealed by the covers. Uncertain as to whether Joss was still conscious, Lena tiptoed around the room and got changed as quietly as she could. Hitting the light she headed to bed and slipped beneath the covers next to Joss and pressed a light kiss to the side of their head.

Joss watched Lena from their position under the covers, grinning a little as she tiptoed through the room as she changed. They were starting to drift, but not quite out. So, when Lena slid into bed and pressed the kiss to their head they smiled, moving to curl up, tangling their legs with hers, locking one of their ankles under hers, just in case.

When Joss slipped an ankle beneath one of her own, Lena brought her other leg to keep it secure. "I've got you," she promised quietly as she wrapped an arm around the blonde, "I'll be your kite string." She brought her head to rest lightly atop Joss' and allowed herself to relax a little more so than she had done earlier, this time she knew what to expect, how to calm Joss during a nightmare, to be their tether so they didn't float off.

They chuckled a bit as she spoke, already starting to really settle. They hummed to themself, that same old lullaby they didn't know the origin of nor the words to. It was just something that calmed them, drowned out the sounds around them. They weren't as fast to doze off this time, but they did eventually do so.

Lena did her best to stay awake until she knew that Joss was asleep but she struggled, the song being hummed softly was lulling her to sleep. Despite the day they had had, she found herself feeling at peace and feeling safe, something she hadn't felt in...she honestly couldn't remember, she imaged her birth mother had been alive the last time she felt truly safe. Letting out a contented sigh, she allowed herself to give into the tiredness and succumbed to much needed sleep.

[kaiyeti]

What would it be like if Deku and Froppy met deadpool? Cause it would be pretty funny!

Izuku: Sooo... You want to learn how to be a super hero? *He asked raising a eyebrow at the red and black Merc with a mouth.*

Deadpool: YOU KNOW IT! I Have every thing a hero need. Kickass moves, Training in just about everything fighting and or weapon, a healing factor that allows me to heal from everything, *Izuku instantly pulled out his note book on that with Tsuyu question where he was hiding that.* and A tragic backstory how I got my powers and why I am so awesome. I just kinda suck at being a good hero. You know with the years of being a hired killer and in a secret task force group. Also, On a unrealitied note. Do you gag when she kisses you because of her tongue or does your tongue get stuck on her?

Izuku: *Blushing as red as a tomato.* TH-THAT IS PRIVATE AND NOT SOMETHING A HERO WOULD ASK!

Tsuyu: Once or twice did I accidentally move my tongue to far into his throat. Kero. *Tsuyu spoke.* He surprisingly has little gag reflex.

Izuku: TSUYU!

Deadpool: Yeah I know what that is like. But that is a how other story.

Tsuyu: Does it involve your tragic backstory? Kero.

DeadPool: HAHA! Oh no. That is how I got cancer in my entire body and being tricked to be tested and experimented on by a mad science which how I get my powers and turned to look like THIS! *Deadpool explained before dramatically revealing his face, to shock Tsuyu and Izuku. Who to his surprise Aren’t even fazed.* ... Huh. That normally makes people sick and even vomit.

Izuku: We cover from a universe where People can look very different from being human.

Tsuyu: Case and point. *Tsuyu points to herself.*

Deadpool: Yeah but you are anime cute so that isn’t as bad as American comic ug-HOLYBACKWAXER! THAT KID HAS A BIRD HEAD! *Deadpool started to break the 4th wall before Izuku show’s him photos of his friend with his friend.* Well That is weird but it s still pretty cooOOOH! OH GOD! OGUAAAH! *Deadpool continued as he looked through the pictures until stopping at one and starting to vomit in disgust.*

Tsuyu: How did he see to make him vomit?

Izuku: *Izuku looks at his phone.* Mineta.

Tsuyu: Ah.

[cosmonaughtt]

how I'd rewrite Danny Phantom

forever salty that elmer glue ruined such a good concept so it’s my territory now

Ghosts are dead, 100%. The science behind it is very paranormal investigation-y but the Fenton family is ten thousand times better than the other “ghost hunters” of their time.

Also, there are some ghosts that come from metaphorical deaths. I.E. Pandora, she technically didn’t exist but when the Ancient Greek culture died out, so did the gods and goddesses. They’re not technically ghosts but they are ectoplasm-based, so they get lumped in with them.  

The Fenton family has been a bit dysfunctional for the past four years (10-14 for Danny, 12-16 for Jazz) because it took four years for Jack and Maddie to build the ghost portal. Jazz took over and learned how to really clean the house, while Danny learned how to cook. He’s not the best, but Danny can definitely make some good Ramen from scratch.

Maddie and Jack realized a bit later that the portal had overtaken their life and feel really bad for abandoning their kids, and when it didn’t work they tried to rekindle those relationships. Even with it working, they still do.

We all know what happened when the portal finished; it didn’t work. Because Jack put a switch on the inside that should’ve been on the outside, not the “on-off” button. The switch was loose and when Danny knocked into it, the portal turned on, because it was just waiting for a little spark-- like how when a cord is not totally plugged in. 

This was the beginning of summer, around the end of May, and a month after it was technically done. Danny (no stranger to the hospital, he’d been in a few times when he was younger because he was born two weeks premature) was in the hospital until August, a few weeks before school started. He was exempt from his eighth-grade exams and passed all of his classes, so the district let him slide.

Danny doesn’t have an ice core. As cool as it is (pun intended) it makes no sense in the narrative. Like, he was electrocuted, and he’s got the “ghost-stinger” ability, why would he have ICE POWERS? He’s got an electricity core instead (slightly inspired by the electric undead oops). 

His ghost sense is less of a mist and more of a gut feeling, and he literally becomes a static electricity magnet.

Danny’s character is a bit closer to the show.

He's quiet around strangers, but open with his friends. Trust thing.

Still made fun of for being the kid of two weird parents, but he’s honestly used to it by high school. He’s also bullied for his autism and ADHD, but he’s been bullied for them for about ten years so he’s used to it.

Still wants to be an astronaut-- science is his best subject, second to math. History is his third-best, he hates English and Gym class.

He’s tiny and scrawny, like a toothpick. It comes from being a sick child, though after the accident he’s able to lean out and gain a bit of “muscle”. 

After the accident, he gets a bit paler than he was before and doesn’t tan. There’s also a Lichtenberg scar covering about half of the right side of his body from the accident, going from his fingertips, up his arm and over his chest, neck, about down to his knee. 

He’s incredibly self-conscious about it but it doesn’t hurt, weirdly enough. For the “first season” he covers up and wears a lot of sweaters and long-sleeves. 

His pulse and body temperature are much below normal. The hospital was concerned with this after the accident, but after a few days of him seeming fine, they had to drop it. Danny can also hold his breath about five times longer than a normal human.

Is he half-dead? Yes, technically. Does he not try and think about his mortality? Yes.

He enjoys puns and jokes still, though he makes them more as Phantom.

Speaking of Phantom, no, he doesn’t go by “Danny Phantom”. Just Phantom. He is trying to avoid dissection from his parents, you know. 

Phantom has no scars from the accident, the only thing that he has in common with his human half is the mole on his cheek, but it’s green now (because yes, both halves have freckles!) because of his ectoplasm. He’s much more floaty, and if you don’t focus on him  he looks like he’s made of television static. He also has little fangs.

You can see his details better up close, and the longer you spend with Phantom, the more details you can see. All ghosts are like that, their energy is on the fritz all the time and human eyes need to adjust to it to understand certain features. The only reason Sam  and Tucker know him right away is because they watched him, y’know...

Danny is asexual, only realizing the identity in the middle of freshman year when Sam literally had to explain that yes, Danny, sexual attraction is a thing and not made up. (Based on my own experience.)

Sam and Tucker are both different in this story, but they still remain Danny’s only friends. They have other friends, though.

Sam is still goth.

She wears all black and even dyed her ginger hair black. There aren’t many surviving photos of Sam with her natural hair, she made sure of it. 

Sam is like... punk-goth? Punk-goth-grunge? She identifies as goth, but her clothes can fit all three categories, really. 

100% bisexual, has bi pins all over her bag. Out to her parents, who are slowly trying to understand. She doesn’t mind they/them pronouns, either, and her gender identity is just a shrug with middle fingers.

She knows a lot of the LGBT students at school and is the vice-president of the GSA she helped found. 

Both Sam and Danny had a mutual crush on each other through half of freshman year and all of eighth grade, Sam decided that she’d rather be friends and Danny realized it was mostly him wanting to be friends. 

Sam is vegan. She isn’t as pushy about it as she is in the show (I feel like it was extreme and really made fun of vegans/vegetarians, I know it’s a kids show but still) and all of her family is vegan, too. She’s big on animal rights, but recognizes the line to not cross.

Her family is also Jewish, like in canon.

Though she did campaign and successfully get the school  cafeteria to have a “Tofu Tuesday” every other week, so that’s something, at least!  (And where Mystery Meat would start)

Still mourns My Chemical Romance, into all music like that. 

Tucker is still a “nerd”, but he doesn’t get picked on by the jocks for being a nerd. 

He’s pretty hipster, too. His red beret is now a red beanie, and he has naturally curly hair poking out. He loves his natural hair, he just  loves the beanie.

His “nerd”  seems from his technological abilities. He has the latest smartphone a month after it comes out, and always has a “tablet”/iPad knockoff in his bag. He knows how to take things apart and sell them for money, and is also pretty good at programming.

Tucker DEFINITELY has a gaming channel. He only has about 3,000 subscribers, but that’s still pretty good. His most-popular video is him talking about the Indie game industry. He might try and program some of his own games (ahemPhantomfangameahem)

He loves meat, just like in the show. He jokes about it a lot with Sam, and Sam jokes back. Sometimes they can lead into fights if neither are in the mood, but both of them are pretty good-natured about it.

Tucker is a ladies-man, and a man’s-man, and a nonbinary’s-man-- he’s pansexual. Doesn’t figure out that’s a thing until he stays behind school one day to help Sam with the GSA, but once he does he’s out and proud. Still flirts terribly, though, but now no one is immune from his terrible flirts.

Scared of doctors and needles-- had a bad experience as a child, projects it on everything medicine-related. Tries to avoid taking medicine at all cost, unless it’s really severe. Hates flu season, can be a bit of a hypochondriac/germaphobe. Has one of those Bath and Body Works  hand sanitizer things on his bag.

Out of the trio, he’s more terrified of the ghosts, though after a while he gets used to them.

The A-Listers and school remain mostly the same.

Wes Weston is 100% a thing.

The A-Listers are more preppy than before, and definitely try and get away with what they can with modern fashion-- at least, Paulina and Star will. Dash and Kwan are a bit fashion-deaf (Kwan. Owns. Crocs.)

They’re still jerks and Dash still picks on Danny a lot, but the teachers are more competent and he can’t get away with more physical stuff unless no one is looking. Dash is probably a victim of his own domestic abuse at home and takes it out on people-- totally wrong and not moral, but he doesn’t think there’s much of an option. Only Kwan and Paulina know about his situation.

Kwan is pretty smart and strong, but he dresses like a disaster. He mostly sticks to wearing his letterman jacket and a black t-shirt and jeans, but if he ever has to “dress-up” or wears something else, it’s awful. Cargo shorts galore. Crocs. Someone get the Fab 5 to help  him, please.

Paulina is pretty prissy, and doesn’t like getting dirty often. She’s a cheerleader and she’s good at it, but she’s only second-in-command of the squad, or however that works. She doesn’t mind, less work for her to do, and the person in charge enjoys it a lot. Paulina tends to make fun of Sam and Tucker’s clothes often, and like the rest of the A-Listers, everything listed above for Danny (sans the Phantom thing). Once Phantom becomes big, she gets a huge celebrity crush on him, probably has ten different Stan accounts for him.

Star is the head cheerleader, and enjoys every moment of it. She also enjoys math, and she’s really good at  that too. Of the canon characters, only Danny can keep up. She isn’t good at much else academia-wise, though she does enjoy a bit of biology and forensics. Much smarter than most people think-- it will astound you.  

Valerie is a part of their squad at first, only because she, Paulina and Star live in the same neighborhood. After Valerie moves to an apartment, their friendship falls apart after a big fight-- this is entirely not ghost-related, by the way. Vlad only contacts her after learning that her dad was hurt in a ghost attack and Phantom wasn���t there to help, and emotionally manipulates her. She becomes the Red Huntress and hunts Danny, and they do date for a few months before calling it quits. I’m not big on shipping, per say, but if there has to be a canon endgame, it’ll be these two.  

Wes Weston. He’s technically canon? I guess? But also fanon? Either way, having a character like Wesley Weston trying to expose Danny as Phantom and always failing is hilarious, but can also introduce other things into the series as well. How does Wes know? Is he like, psychic, or something...? 

 Oh, and Vlad.

He’s much more emotionally manipulative. Danny was really considering having him train him in ghost-powers and stuff until Vlad made an off-comment about Jack, and Danny saw through the act.

They’re very much enemies. Not frenemies, but enemies. Danny is terrified of Vlad, but doesn’t want him to hurt his family.

Vlad, above all, wants a family. He missed out on those years being in and out of the hospital because of his own, botched accident, and he has scars all over his face from the “ecto-acne” that he hides with makeup.

He’s equivalent to Elon Musk, but less of a weeabo. DALV Corporations has a lot more stock in experimental sciences, though, including paranormal investigation. When he learns that Jack and Maddie had successfully created the Ghost Portal, he puts a lot more funding into their projects and reconnects. 

Still got the creepy Maddie-crush. Does get a cat named Matti, though (no connection or correlation, shut up, Daniel). Hates Jack because of his own accident, and begins to despise him even more for not noticing the scars left on Danny’s accident, too.

Less of a vampire in ghost form. He has a fire core, which makes a lot of his ectoplasm heat-based. Probably has laser eyes that Danny desperately tries to emulate but alas, cannot. The only reason he has a leg up on Danny is experience, not strength. He was only blasted in the face, not the whole body, after all.

At some point there’s probably an argument with Vlad and the Fentons and he decides “screw it” and makes an offset of DALV that focuses on ghost-hunting.

No Mayor thing, but he does move away from Wisconsin to live  in Amity Park.

Amity Park is... Well, it’s something.

It was already a pretty creepy town before the ghosts get involved.

It was already a pretty creepy town before the ghosts get involved. 

There’s always been unexplained murders, disappearances, and strange lights in the sky that no one could identify—a lot of hints towards something other-than-ghosts existing, which makes sense. 

Amity Park is much weirder after the ghost portal opens. Not because of the ghost attacks and their ghostly superhero, but because the veil was torn a bit, and it was felt throughout the town. 

On the moment of Danny’s accident, there was a massive power outage, and they become a bit more frequent to everyone’s dismay.  Much of the older residents of the town are against ghosts—if excepting Phantom, on occasion. The younger residents are more open to the undead spectres, though, and are much less afraid of them. 

Phantom becomes a youth icon, and his twitter account that started off small and as a joke gets him national popularity. 

Tucker, naturally, rides this wave and gets a giant boost in YouTube subscribers, especially after he posted a few videos with Phantom. No one questions this except the A-Listers, who just want to know howhe did this. 

Okay that’s enough of an info-dump I don’t want to spoil everything. I’ll probably post this stuff on my ao3—calling this story “Hero Complex” for now, still working on the title.

[anastasiaskarsgard]

so theres my masterlist for previous chapters. Here is the newest part of 

HIS QUEEN

4

NSFW 18 + mention of death, butchering, sex, some stuff that may freak ya out. its Roman Godfrey 

DESCRIPTION***** Briana could tell Roman Godfrey was trouble from the start, but he eventually got under her skin and broke her heart. Just when she feels like she’s moved on, his lawyers show up and tell her shes his sole beneficiary. with pryce and the board dead too, what serets does the white tower hold?

                                                         4 The reality of the shit show that apparently had gone down in the past month in Hemlock Grove,  was starting to sink in as they made their way down to the underground levels. The Godfrey Institute without any Godfreys', and no Dr Pryce, seemed an impossibility. Bri had a lot of respect for the late doctor, but the man was ruthless, with little to no sympathy for the dead. A lot of people said they were afraid of him, but she felt that wasn't the proper emotion dr pryce inspired. Fear wasn't the right word if she were honest. He was charming and charismatic, but it was all superficial. Uneasy was the best way to describe how he made her feel, even though she had counted him as a friend.

The doors opened to Basement three which was the lowest level of the underground floors, and was essentially an enormous freezer. When you stepped out of the elevators there was a great hallway stretching to your left and right, as well as straight ahead. There were five aisles of freezers, each varying levels of cold storage from near freezing temperatures for keeping medications and organs, freezing temps for cadavers of people and animals, all the way down to a cryogenic freezer cooled with pure liquid helium. The fact it even existed was mind boggling to Bri.

This wasn't the first time she had been down there. she'd been down there several times, but she never had turned right, so when Blitzkey turned right and proceeded all the way down to the furthest aisle, she was elated. She'd never been allowed to go right, and she'd always been curious what was so forbidden, especially when she thought about the crazy things she'd been allowed to see.

Dr Pryce had some deal with a few hospitals to get the bodies that are given up for science by family members, or those that were never claimed. It was actually shocking the amount of cadavers they processed and were used in Dr Pryces' controversial macabre experiments. Bri often wondered if the families of these corpses would be mortified if they discovered what had happened to them. She couldn't refer to them as loved ones, or even people or she felt sick.

She had to figure that out after a few times dealing with "processing." She'd always been very respectful of the dead. Handling them with extra care and consideration, because they had once had hopes and dreams. They had family and friends somewhere that were most likely mourning them, the least she could do, was be reverent. Since the bodies they received weren't ever going to be seen again, and there was little to no accountability with how they were treated, they would be hacked to pieces like a cow in a  butcher shop. Sometimes they might only need a certain part, and send the rest through the shredder. There'd also been more than one occasion where the deceased was obviously murdered but showed no signs of an autopsy. That was what had lead Bri to discover Romans secret.

From the first day she met Roman, she had known there was something about him that wasn't human. She was thinking it was a severe personality disorder like psychopathy or he was one of those people that had special genes that made them have  super powers. She had read that some people only require two or three hours of sleep a night, or there are people that have unbreakable bones, or even those that have super hearing or eyesight. She thought Roman was super attractive, and it just fucked up his personality somehow.

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Dr Pryce had mysteriously received a body quite late in the day, and asked her and a lab teh to take it down. Bri was shocked when she touched the person and they were still warm, but she rolled the body to the elevators, keeping an eye out to avoid Roman. She'd asked her partner to warn her if she spotted him so she could hide. She felt ridiculous, but she knew he was trouble, because for whatever reason if he wanted to talk to her, she couldn't say no. even when he asked her out, over and over and she said no, for some reason, she couldn't walk away until he had given up. her partner spotted him when they got down to the freezers, so in Bri's panic, she hid on the shelf under the bed they were rolling, hidden by the hanging sheet. Roman walked right up and offered to take the body from there. Bri found it entirely unusual for the spoiled CEO to be so helpful, but was reassured business was as usual when her partner tried to refuse, and he called her a fuckwit and made her go back upstairs. Bri wasn't freaked out, but more annoyed with what an asshole he had been, but she figured she would just climb out from under there, when he left.

When he rolled the body in the freezer, she assumed he would leave, except he didnt. He closed the door and removed the sheet, now leaving her totally visible if he were to step away and look below.  She was trying to think of a reasonable explanation, when she heard a grotesque chomping, wet slurping sound. The possible causes of these sounds raced through her brain, and none of them made any sense. Her fear melted away, transforming into morbid curiosity so she crawled out from under the bed and turned to see what he was up to.

The breath in her lungs hitched and her stomach did back flips when she beheld Roman Godfrey, the Beautiful Boy Billionaire sucking someones blood. His eyes were closed, so he hadn't noticed her yet, as he was clamped down on this persons neck and sucking the blood out. It was the most puzzling amazing thing she had ever seen. He was absolutely drinking this persons blood and she had so many questions.

Romans bright green eyes lazily opened, before noticing a figure standing in front of him, causing him to leap back in complete panic;  eyes wild, blood dripping down his chin, frantically back peddalling until slamming into the far wall.

Bri glanced at the body and then carefully approached Roman, avoiding looking in his eyes since she read that you don't do that to predators. And there was something funny about what happened when he wanted her to do something.

"Its not what it looks like," he whined.

"Oh Roman, it's exactly what it looks like. Are you a vampire?"

"Are you a fucktard? There's no such thing as vampires."

"I did notice that you ate raw pork once and you didn't get ill. I found that strange. All the meat you eat is raw, and I wondered how you never appeared to fall ill."

"Look me in the eye Bri."

"oh no no Dracula. I finally get how you somehow talk me into shit that I don't want to do! You have that vampire razzle dazzle bullshit."

"are you hearing yourself right now?" Roman scoffed as he walked over to Bri,

She tried to appear confident and was surprised that she felt no fear, but somehow she KNEW he would not hurt her. He put his finger under her chin, attempting to make her look at him, but she shut her eyes. "Just answer some of my questions Roman. for science for fuck's sake!"

"You are so weird. Aren't you afraid I'll eat you if I am a vampire?" he spit with such venom, that Bri just started swinging, with her eyes shut. "what the hell? your eyes aren't even open!"

"I don't like your bitch ass tone!" she steamed

If she had had her eyes open, she would of seen the big grin on Roman's face.

"How are you still a brat? Most people would be having a fucking shit fit, but you wanna play twenty questions."

"Oh my fucking god, I get twenty!? Ok ok ok. I'm ready!"

"I don't mean literally twenty questions, that's an expression. Why should I answer any questions for you, what do I get out of it?"

"I will go out with you, but you have to promise to be honest or I will be able to tell and I'll never speak to you again."

"What makes you think you'll even leave this room if I'm a vampire and now you know?'

Bri opened her big beautiful eyes, looking deep into Romans emerald orbs and said with complete conviction "You'd never hurt me."

Roman was so enchanted by the way she seemed to be looking at his very soul, that he forgot to try and compel her, before she remembered to close her eyes again.

"OOOOHHH! You almost got me with the mind ninja shit!"

Roman laughed and shook his head, he was so drawn to this woman, she was almost like a drug to him. He'd never wanted someone or something as bad as he wanted her so he threw caution to the wind. "Ok. First question."

"Are you some sort of vampire?"

"I'm actually an Upir which is like a vampire."

"ok, two, How can you walk in the sun?"

"The sun doesn't bother us, I think thats just bullshit."

"three. How old are you really?"

"I'm really eighteen."

"Four. Are you going to get old and die like me?"

"No. We live a very long time?"

"Five. How did you become this?"

"I was born with it and I took my own life?"

Bri frowned, she hadn't been expecting that. It turned her stomach and made her want to comfort him. She reached out blindly trying to find him but he moved just out of reach. "Dammit Roman where are you?"

"Im right here, what are you doing?"

"trying to comfort you, What does it look like? Give me your hand." she huffed.

Roman complied and interlaced his fngers with hers.

"Ok. Six--"

"you mean eight."

"What?How?"

"there's eight and nine. six you asked where i was. seven you asked what does it look like. eight you asked what, and nine you asked how."

"you are fucking impossible. I can feel you smirking too so stop it.' she said squeezing his hand as hard as she could.

"you're so cute when you're mad babe."

"Ok ten! Did you know killing yourself was gong to turn you into this?"

"No."

"Eleven.... Why would you ever do that Roman?"

"I felt like it was the only way to beat my mother. She wanted me to do the unthinkable, so rather than listen to her, I thought I'd fuck up her plans and die."

"Is she an Upir?"

"She is."

"Thirteen. I gotta keep track here. Did you know she was one?"

"No i Did not."

"How am I already at fourteen? FUCK!"

"Number fifteen..."

"Dammit! Ugh. OK only five more. Must not be dumb ok. Fifteen. Have you ever killed anyone?"

"yes."

"Did bitch have it coming?"

Roman let out a belly laugh and said "Yes always."

Bri Smiled. "If I open my eyes, are you going to mind ninja me?" silence. "Roman if i have to repeat the question, it still only counts as one."

"I mean I have to Bri. I cant have you knowing this about me and then just act like its ok. And you're right, I won't hurt you so I have to make you forget."

"Please don't Roman." She said pulling Roman into an embrace. "I want to kiss you, but you have blood on your face."

"You are the weirdest fucking girl in the entire world."

Bri Giggled, "Why? And holy shit its cold!"

"Ok this is number eighteen. Because I have had lunch with you a million times, bought you a bunch of gifts, wrote you notes, listen to you talk about shit I do not give a flying fuck about and even be nice to people, i mean i literally did for you what i didnt think i could do, and you won't give me the time of day, but all of a sudden I am literally eating someone and you wanna kiss me. Fucking unbelievable!"

"Its because I feel like I can trust you now. Why didnt you just mind ninja me into going out with you or maybe even fucking you, I dont know the limits of this power."

"Because I want it to be genuine and i want you to remember it cuz i want you to..." silence.

"You want me to....." Bri whispered feeling his hot breath on her face. She looks up into hs big green eyes, and notice the extra moisture there. Its downright comical, that he somehow looks vulnerable with blood all over his face.

"I want you to love me."

"This is all you're fault Roman Godfrey!

"Whats my fault?' He brought his lips close to hers, as his breath ghosted along her lips, causing the shivers to run down her spine. She leaned forward and their lips met, making her feel relief and revulsion simultaneously. Roman responds with a low growl and turns his head to take the kiss deeper. He sucks on her lower lip, causing a needy moan to escape Bri as she rakes her hands through his hair. Roman grabs her by her shoulders and spins her around so now she is pinned against the wall. He kisses along her jawline, to her ear and she can't help but to hold her breath when she feels his wet tongue drag down her throat. He pulls her shirt down taking her nipple in his mouth as he looks up at her and she can't think of a time she ever wanted someone more. "This is dangerous."

"You'd never hurt me. But real talk, I'm fucking freezing."

With a great amount of effort, Roman pulls himself off of her out of breath, and nearly mad with need. "Go straight to my office. I'll meet you up there."

She runs for the door, realizing she is violently shaking without Romans warm body pressed up against her. She opens it, looking outside to make sure no one is in the hall. Coast is clear for her to hustle into the bathroom, just as she hears the elevator doors open. She looks in the mirror and surprisingly is fine with her reflection. Blood is all over her face, neck, and blouse and her hair looks like someone took it half apart. She had his large handprint on her arms and the entire side of her head. She knows this should be freaking her out, but she keeps looking at his bloody hand prints, and decides then and there, she is his.

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She realized she had been holding her breath when she walked in the cooler, and startled Blitzky when she finally expelled it. Roman hadnt been put away, and was on a stainless steel table, completely nude, with what appeared to be his heart (or what was left of it) on the table next to his head. His throat had been ripped open and there was a large chest wound where his heart had been ripped out, before being chewed and spit out. He had suffered some type of skeletal breaks as well, since his position appeared unnatural.

He was really dead, she was alone. she could feel the tears streaming down her face, making no effort to hide it. Every second feels as though she's losing touch with reality. Pure panic setting in.

"Wow this is really not fixable is it?' she shrieks, in a voice she doesn't even recognize.

"There's actually something else we could try that not exactly ethical, and i"m not sure that he will still be himself, but will not judge you, no matter what you try. I will assist you, I just can't make the decision." Blitzky said, hands visibly shaking like a dog shitting peach pits.

Bri's heart flutters and she calms instantly, hope reignited in her "Anything."

" Well I am sure you are aware there are three levels to the basement."

"Obviously."

"Except its not. there's four levels."

"What is he hiding down there?"

Blitzkey looked like he was having a minor panic attack and couldn't hold still or catch his breath. Bri walked over comforting him, and rubbing his back trying to get him to get it under control. she allowed him to embrace her as she tenderly rubbed his back. She wanted to know what the fuck was down there, but he had been through a lot, so she tried to be as empathetic as possible.

"Its his stock." he whispered.

Bri felt her stomach twist in a knot. A chill ran up her spine, and she wanted to believe he wasn't talking about live donors, but she couldn't think any other type of stock that required top secret secret locations.

"When you say stock, do you mean donor parts or experimental projects?"

Blitzky laughed uncomfortably, reaching up and itching the back of his neck. In the time she had spent with him before, she recognized it as his nervous tick. "I mean donors are the best way to put it, although all these donors are still alive. Dr Pryce liked to have live subjects for some projects. He was also very interested in becoming an Upir himself so he'd never die and was determined to figure out how to turn a human. He has several of them down there still and i have no idea what to do with them now. They're all criminals and not the types to let out into the world. He made sure they were all loathsome beings. The humans are easier to deal with than the Upir. One of them looks like he's just a beautiful teen boy, but hes a psychopath that's killed hundreds if not thousands. Let me just show you. I'm rambling," "Please do." Bri said, gesturing for him to lead the way. She couldn't believe how calm she was being over this. Why was she not surprised? "Do you think we could rebuild Roman?"

Blitzkey motioned for her to follow him as they walked all the way ro the farthest right corner, where the cryogenic freezer was. I had heard there was one somewhere in the building, but it was kind of a myth no one saw and here it was. I was trying to ascertain how the liquid helium was cycled through the system, when Blitzkey typed a code in it, revealing it was in reality an elevator in disguise.

"That's kind of disappointing. I thought it was a real cryo cooler." Bri said. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine! Are you ok?"

"I'll let you know when we get down there."