#i bring a 'everyone stop talking the outsider is here' vibe to the function

[dewdropsonparchment]

SDV Headcanons: Sam 2/?

I promise I sometimes think about the other characters (keyword: sometimes) but Sam's pull is just too strong, what's a girl to do, I've got to gravitate.

Sam having a crush headcanons:

Long, insisting stares. Nothing weird or uncomfortable, he'd just kind of get lost in thought looking at you, a faint smile plastered on his face and his eyes drinking in your every change in expression. If you caught him and called him out on it, he'd probably sheepishly apologize, grinning like a dummy and laughing about it. He might try to flirt if he felt comfortable enough, "sorry you kinda took my breath away just now". He's a bit of a goofy flirt.

Always scanning the area for a glimpse of you. Not to spy on you or anything, you'd just kind of be like his daily dose of sunshine and he'd just literally function on that energy he gets when he sees you. Not only that but he'd want to make sure you look ok. If you seemed tired or down, he'd try to help out and make you feel better. Sam really does care, and he'd want that smile of yours to be showing always.

He'd want to learn about whatever it is that you like and about your hobbies. Even if you were interested in something he wouldn't really have cared about prior to knowing you, he would research it and try to learn about it so he can bring it up when you're hanging out. He'd even go as far as trying it out with you if that was a possibility. The same way he loves for you to take an interest in his hobbies, he wants you to feel appreciated and comforted in the idea that he is genuinely interested in what makes you happy.

He would slowly yet surely try to use pet names when addressing you. At first he would maybe drop one jokingly, saying it in an overly exaggerated tone, and then it'd become some sort of habit. He'd call for your attention using it and enjoy the fact it was something special between the two of you.

Regardless of whether or not you felt the same way about him as he did you, Sam wouldn't want to lose your friendship. He would have fallen for you because of who you are and even if he had to let his crush go or keep it to himself, he wouldn't sacrifice any bit of the bond you share together no matter your feelings. If anything, he'd probably keep on admiring you and cherishing you, but he would try to make it so that he's not burdening you with it.

Sam is definitely big on PDA. He would want to be close to you. His arm brushing against yours, his head centimeters away from yours while you're showing him something on your phone or in a magazine, his hand gently resting on the small of your back, even touching your hands while he's daydreaming or talking about something he's especially passionate about... this man craves for your touch and he'll take as much as you give him as long as you're comfortable giving it. He'll respect your boundaries, no justification needed.

Sam wants to hug everyone. But especially you. Oh you're saying hello? Here's one as a morning treat. You've done something you're embarrassed or shy about? No worries, he's got you... he'll hide you in a strong warm bear hug. Feeling like the world is beating down on you? He'd hold you so tight you would feel like nothing else exists outside of him and his reassuring smell. There is nothing better than a hug for him to show you he's there and will be there for you no matter what.

He will bring you whatever reminds him of you. A flower on the way home that wore your favorite colors? It's yours now. That little keychain that looked cute and had your vibe? Hey, better have some spare space on that key ring clip. A new yummy pastry made of your favorite flavors his eyes stopped on while ordering his go-to pizza? It's free food delivery time o'clock baby. You might need some sort of box to store all of these if we're being honest because he just won't stop.

Sam would become very protective of you. He is very protective of the people he cares about in general, but with those feelings for you, he would want to make sure everyone knows that if they crossed you the wrong way he'd make them eat their audacity. Not that he believes that you can't handle yourself, he's actually quite proud to boast about how strong and cool and amazing you are at any given opportunity, but there's just that little itch in him that pushes him to want to make sure no harm is every in the way of getting done to you. If he had to take a punch for you, he'd do it and not bat an eye.

He will be your hype man. If you ever feel like shit or you can't make peace with yourself on a particular day, he'll throw those compliments at you as fast as Pierre would run after that 1 gold coin. And nothing disingenuous, it's all heartfelt and he means all of it. He won't let you beat yourself up, he'll make sure that his voice is louder than any other that might try to put you down, even your own. You are precious to him, and he will make it a point to have you know in excruciating details exactly why you are.

Another tell tale sign of his falling for you would be the changes in lyrics regarding the songs he usually hums to himself. While he'd usually go for empowering songs, falling for you he'd catch himself listening to slower, more romantic songs with all those sappy lyrics he kinda made fun of before. And he'd listen to them on repeat, lying down on his bed, looking at the ceiling and just picturing your face as the melody goes. He'd have them stuck in his head so much he'd mindlessly sing them around you or others. Seb wouldn't let him live it down.

[frmtheroombelow]

unstoppable force (my awkwardness and my general inability to be Normal) vs immoveable object (my FOMO in fandom spaces and possible friendships)

[tobiasdrake]

Saw The Marvels last night and have been trying to organize my thoughts ever since.

The best part of the film is the chemistry between its leads. Kamala, Carol, and Monica bounce off of each other well. Kamala in particular brings a lot of charm to this group that helps break down the emotional walls that Monica and Carol both have on display.

Where the film struggles is in finding things for these characters to do. The plot is one of the simplest Marvel's ever put-forward; No more complex than "There exists a bad guy and we must defeat her because heroes defeat bad guys," with no twists or turns along the way. We didn't get her the first time. We didn't get her the second time. We didn't get her the third time. But by Thor, we got her the fourth time!

That's basically it. The story consists of fighting Dar-Benn, then going to the next place where we will fight Dar-Benn. Although Nick Fury and Kamala's family provide several great moments to the film (including a hilarious but consequence-free sequence where S.A.B.E.R. forces must be rescued by a litter of Flerkens), the straightforward series of consecutive boss fights offers no opportunities for characters outside our core trio to influence the plot in any meaningful way.

It's really just these three characters carrying the weight of the film, so their dynamic better be gold.

Fortunately, it is. It absolutely is.

This also puts a lot of pressure on Dar-Benn. As a boss fight, she needs to be able to believably juggle three superheroes at once, one of whom is the most powerful MCU character of all time. Here, the film falters. She seems just like every other Kree bad guy, but with a special MacGuffin to give her Dragon Ball Z Power Levels so she can throw punches at Carol's weight class.

She bodies everyone constantly in the fight scenes but it never feels like she should be giving them all so much trouble. It has that vibe of when a solo hero's villain has to be a team-up bad guy for an arc. Like, normally Spider-Man can handle Doc Ock easily enough, but he needs to be an Avengers villain now so suddenly he's powerful enough to take down Thor and the Hulk simultaneously.

Dar-Benn is helped in this endeavor by the film's special gimmick. Carol, Monica, and Kamala constantly swapping places with each other is a cool element that provides both plentiful comedy and some awesome moments, especially as they learn to take advantage of it.

It's also not explained very well and is barely integrated into the plot. It's a weird thing that the Quantum Bands suddenly started doing to to them one day. They learned how to go with it. Then, once the story was far enough along, it stopped of its own accord. More "Sure, I guess this might as well happen" than an interesting new metaphysic.

The story seems either sorely underwritten or utterly butchered by reshoots. Heavy emphasis is placed on galactic worldbuilding and expositing lore than on putting its characters through an emotional and thematic journey.

That's not to say there isn't an emotional journey, mind you. Monica and Kamala's stories are more or less relegated to reacting to Carol. Their parts in the plot are defined by how Carol has respectively influenced them, for better and for worse. As much as the title bills itself as a team-up, this is unambiguously Carol 2. Kamala and Monica are static characters, primarily working to help examine Carol by offering their respective lenses.

But that examination goes deep, and in directions it's rare to see a story willing to take its protag in. Especially a superhero story.

The Marvels primarily interrogates Carol's loner behavior. Carol is Marvel's most powerful hero, but that doesn't mean she can't make mistakes when she takes too much on herself. The unilateral decisions she makes on behalf of others keep blowing up in her face and making things worse. She has to learn to stop talking for five minutes and listen to what other people think.

Which is the central narrative function, both for Kamala and Monica's presence here and for the mechanical decision to handcuff them to Carol's wrists so that she can't run away. It all serves to develop Carol into someone who sees the value in leaning on others, and teach her how to chill for five minutes.

The film also tackles some heavy subject matter with Carol's greatest mistake. This is the thing that's haunting her, and it's a genuinely tragic political mistake. One that world leaders have made many times throughout history.

In short, Carol thought she could bring peace by breaking into the hostile enemy state and decapitating their leadership. She didn't understand that you can't just snipe the king and bail. That leaves a region in chaos. Without prolonged reconstruction, this kind of destabilization can have devastating consequences not only for the destabilized nation, but for everyone else around it.

Unfortunately, while it would be good to see the impacts of this on more than just Carol, we don't. Not really. The only other character impacted is Dar-Benn but. Like. The loss of Hala has turned the Kree from an imperialist people who conquer, enslave, and exterminate worlds into an imperialist people who conquer, enslave, and exterminate worlds. It's a lateral move from what they were doing before to what they're doing now.

The Kree might throw out the name "Annihilator" here and there but it's all lip service. They're more or less the same Evil Overlord bad guys they've always been. Dar-Benn even gets an opportunity for nuance at the very end, but decides she'd rather kill herself out of spite instead. For as high as the stakes are raised for these battles, they have the energy of "Titanium Man is robbing the diamond store! We must stop him from stealing all of the precious jewels."

That a throwaway line at the end assures us that the affected planets - despite Carmen Sandiego stealing their oceans and atmosphere - are inexplicably fine also contributes to this feeling more like a Saturday Morning Cartoon episode than a cinematic blockbuster. Everything resets to status quo in the end. Well, except Monica, who's been drafted for the next round of multiversal shenanigans.

All things considered, this movie felt middle-of-the-road for me. There's a lot here to like but it needed more time in the oven.

Unfortunately, it's also headed for a far harsher reception than it deserves. The SAG-AFTRA strike meant actors aren't doing the usual talk show circuits to market the film. Between that and the film's heavy reliance on Disney Plus homework for its core appeal, it's struggling to find an audience. It's competing with Incredible Hulk and Ant-Man this weekend for lowest opening in Marvel history, which undercuts its legitimate charms by quite a lot.

Hopefully Marvel won't take the wrong lesson from the film's underperformance. But who am I kidding? We all know what studio executives are like.

[arcplaysgames]

THE TENSION IS BAD IN HERE. THE VIBES ARE BAD. BOY FUCKING HOWDY like the way the mob mentality grows so quickly over this cowering man.

It JUST SO HAPPENS that the Midnight Channel comes on and... somehow.... Namatame's Shadow? Starts speaking directly to the team, and talking about how he failed and its their fault but the cops won't be able to keep him anyway?

This shit feels off. This makes me wanna scream. What the actual fuck is the Midnight Channel? Like, images aren't supposed to be clear unless the person is in the TV. Namatame is not. And he's denying the shit the Shadow is saying.

Also like, the game is specific enough to say "Other Namatame" and not "Shadow Namatame."

Hang on, I have literally 6000 screencaps, I need to check something.

Yeah, in other instances, the speaker is plainly stated to be "Shadow NAME," unlike here. But the "Other" Namatame tries to make it seem like Namatame was in his full and understanding mind as he did all this shit.

fucking Naoto points out that we can just kill him here and now. Naoto, usually our voice of reason (and, okay, admittedly also voic eof stupid questions), brings up the idea that we should just ensure justice will be done and kill him now before the guards return.

And oh man, the mood feels like you're holding out a hand to try and slow down a runaway train.

Kanji and Yosuke are gonna kill Namatame until the game gives me the option to talk them down and BOY HOWDY. THIS IS WHERE IT BRANCHES HUH.

FIVE dialogue checks, I think? I almost looked them up but then was like "EH FUCK IT I have a safety save" and I think.... I got the right choices. I really get the feeling if you fail any of these checks, you get a bad end like if you killed Ryoji.

maybe I'll go back and watch that later.

NAOTO, BUDDY, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO HANDED EVERYONE A METHOD TO KILL THIS GUY its fine, we were all upset, everyone makes mistakes. But man, Naoto's still waters run deep and angry, and he's good at making his impulses sound like well-reasoned presumptions. Dangerous.

IRL I was like "Ah, Judgement time?"

YEP. JUDGEMENT TIME. Instead of Investigation Team, we are the Seekers of Truth. Which is a stupid name but I'm just glad we didn't murder a guy.

Outside, everyone tries to basically rewind to reopen the topic of the entire case, from the announcer lady up to Nanako.

Adachi is listening in and man. MAN.

WHAT IS KILLING ME is that I don't fucking trust Adachi even remotely, but like. He's a hapless fucking gofer for the most part.

The only things that really make me distrust him are

some of his line reads really really make me stop and squint at him, and this is a game with frankly impeccable voice direction

he's a stealth asshole and doesn't like people, and it veers from "affable everyman joking about his mean boss" into actual simmering contempt a little too often

that FUCKING moment when he stopped swaying, like he forgot to play the role of a harmless dude for a second

i think he lied about the diary. he says that Namatame made "advances" on Konishi but that doesn't track with what we know.

ryoji vibes

But functionally, so far he has been a decent facilitator to the team, both wittingly and accidentally. I would think he's just being a reasonable, good guy if not for the FUCKING swaying moment that haunts me.

Somewhere, Elsewhere, Teddie is alone on a blank, featureless road, walking.

NANAKO FUCKIGN SURVIVES

I feel like I just matrix-dodged a bullet. Or, five bullets, to be exact. In the bad ending, does Nanako just legit die?

I don't understand what happened here, like how would Teddie even get back to the TV World from here? Did he somehow sacrifice his sit-up-conjured body to save Nanako's life?

Where IIIIIIS HEEEEEEEE.

God this game happens so much.

[energy-healing-with-jen]

TODAY'S LEARNING Increase Your Good Vibes Our vibrations originate from a variety of sources;

Your mind

Actions

The people you surround yourself with

Enhancing positive energy in each of these domains would thus lead to an immensely improved quality of life. All three of these aspects are important.

Lets do this in sections…

Mind

How to use your mind and thoughts to enhance your positive energy;

This is probably one of the most difficult things to train to choose positive since it is so easy to be negative quickly.

You have a lot of ingrained habits in your head, and everyone gets set in their ways. The individuals in your immediate environment will also have a big impact on how your mind functions. This is why you need to think about who influences you.

Therefore, having one's own sense of self, opinions, and thoughts is the finest thing one can do.

The best approach to handle this is to avoid merely agreeing or following the unfavorable trends. You will learn to control this impulse and these negative thoughts eventually. It resembles forming a new habit.

It takes practice to rewire your brain to think more positively and to persuade yourself to act more morally. But you'll make it, and everything will be alright.

Here are some things that might help your mind choose the positive and let in the good vibes.

Don’t get sucked into negative media and other peoples thoughts. Make your own decisions.

Learn what works for you in the sense of gathering thoughts before acting on them.

Create more positive actions for yourself. Take action. Produce. Step outside.

Make sure you are being healthy, hydrating, and sleeping well.

Actions

How to increase your good vibes via your actions;

Your actions convey your sentiments about something and elicit feelings from other people as well as from yourself. These can be verbal or non-verbal.

This implies that it encompasses your actions, words, and behavior. One of the biggest lessons you will ever learn is realising that you probably do act in ways that need changing.

Once you have figured this out, your life will improve dramatically. Making positive choices for words and deeds will not only make you feel better about yourself, but those around you will also notice and benefit from this.

Your good vibrations can bring others up too!

Here are a few things you can do to change your actions to increase good vibes;

Stop being horrible… Not that you are BUT if you feel yourself talking about someone else, saying negative things ‘bitching’ then just stop. When you act in this way, your negative energy grows.

Choose better vocabulary. Use words with good meaning, and talk when it’s positive or useful. Don't say anything to start a fight or to generate a response.

Follow the rules of just being a good human. This essentially means to act appropriately. Don't hurt other people or pretend to be someone you're not. Act morally upright. You understand this one, I'm sure.

Be helpful. Give forth what you would like to receive in order to increase your good karma. In all you do in life, try to be of assistance to others, but remember to look after yourself as well.

Don’t burn out. Take care of yourself as I just described. Spend some time learning to appreciate your own company and become an apprentice with yourself.

Circles

How the people you select to surround yourself with can help you feel better;

This is one of the biggest ones, yet they all work together.

The people you are around will affect your vibrations massively.

Surround yourself with people who enhance your life. Individuals who make the decision to better themselves and their own lives.

Avoid surrounding oneself with negative or unsupportive people. Select to surround yourself with individuals who exhibit the qualities you hope to possess yourself.

Assess the connections that you have. Do these individuals positively impact your life? What emotions do they evoke in you?

Don't waste your energy on individuals who won't treat you the way you want to be treated.

Tighten your circle to the people who matter the most, and the people who influence you the most. Remember who is there to encourage you and provide you with constructive criticism.

Changing the circle you are in is difficult. I don't think cutting people off is a smart idea. Start by discussing your feelings. Reassess the individuals in your life if nothing changes and you still feel like you're being pulled down.

[catboyantichrist]

Hi there! Can you please do relationship headcanons of a gender neutral MC with autism and ADHD dating the seven brothers? I’d love to see more positive writing of a neurodivergent MC and how each of the brothers would love and respect them regardless of their disabilities. Feel free to do this if you want to. If not, that’s ok! Have a great day! 😁👍🌷🌹🌺🌸🌼🌻🌷🌹🌻🌼🌸🌺

This ask literally made me squeal- my neurodivergent ass is gonna have way too much fun with this- LMAO Just a warning, I'm basing this mainly off of my personal experiences (I have ADHD and am possibly getting tested for atypical autism in the future.). Ill try to be as broad as possible but I'd just like to give a heads up.

Just know that if you don't relate to this post or something in it, that doesn't mean you aren't valid! Everyone experiences neurodivergencey differently ^^

☆The Brothers Dating A GN!MC With Autism & ADHD☆

Day-to-day life has always been a struggle. As it feels like no human truly understands why you function the way you do. From bosses, to teachers, to neurotypical friends. Life can feel draining and like a chore when you're living in a world that doesn't function the way you do.

Then your world literally changes. You're in the devildom now. Most people would be terrified that they're living in a house full of demons. But you weren't. You felt like you finally belonged, and eventually you finally found love. Something that people assumed you'd never be able to find. Well jokes on them because your lover treats you with so much respect and kindness, and of course you do the same. This is some of what your lover does that just makes your heart spin:

Lucifer:

-Much to your dismay, before Lucifer started to get to know you he was similar to the humans you've encountered in the past. This doesn't last long though as one of the brothers (most likely Leviathan or Mammon) try to explain. He begins to go a bit easier on you, and also falls for you.

-When you guys start dating, he makes it his goal to help make your day-to-day life easier. Dare I say, he takes pride in it. (Hahahah aren't I funny?)

-He notices how you need a schedule to function, but how much you hate schedules. So with your permission, he makes a loose schedule and follows it WITH you. It simultaneously helps you function more than usual, and it helps Lucifer take breaks when he needs to.

-You two begin to do everything together, as doing stuff together and holding each other accountable is a lot easier than doing it alone

-If someone ever dares to make a rude comment about you Lucifer will um... "take care of them".

-If you ever get overstimulated from the environment you're in, Lucifer keeps his office wide open as a quiet place for you. He keeps a weighted blanket, some headphones and any stim toys you usually use in a corner of his office. If you're not comfortable with them out in the open he'll keep them in a special box somewhere in his office that others can't get into.

Mammon:

-Executive Dysfunction gang! The both of you are relieved that you understand each other and some dumbass wont just go "jUsT gEt Up aNd dO iT!"

-If you guys are struggling with it at different times, you'll try to help each other do small tasks that require very limited effort so that one of you don't get overwhelmed and stressed out. If its a particularly difficult day, you'll just stay there to support the other if they want that.

-If both of you are struggling that day, you do nothing ✨together✨ and just vibe with each others company.

-This man brings you shiny things. They don't even have to be worth anything, they're just shiny. You proceed to do the same. You two now have a designated spot for shiny things you bring each other. If you have an interest in art, you and him will probably end up using the shiny objects as art projects.

-A LOT of impulse shopping. You guys enable each other. Although you quickly realize that you impulse shop for each other. Every second day you end up bringing each other gifts and laughing about it after.

Leviathan:

-Y'know that arm thing two neurodivergent people do when they find out that the other person is neurodivergent? Yeah you two did that. And still continue to do that. It's your greeting now.

-You two spend tons of time either cuddling and talking about your special interests together, or both of you are pacing around Levi's room talking about your special interests together.

-And if you end up having the same special interest?? Oh man the serotonin you two both get just being AROUND each other.

-If you have a hard time around tons of people (in general or just at certain times) he's more than willing to share his room with you and for you two to do online school together. I mean hey, doing school by yourself online is difficult. (Even if it's more comfortable for you both)

-Will he get you a matching pair of noise cancelling headphones if you have auditory sensory issues, or if you just like the pressure on your head. (I don't know if that's a neurodivergent thing but I will wear my headphones just so that I feel some sort of pressure on my head)

-You both communicate what you need, and whether you need alone time or not. Making sure not to trigger any form of rejection sensitivity dysphoria for eachother.

Satan:

-If you were one of those neurodivergent kids that spent all of their time in the library, going through books like wildfire in middle school, get ready for that to be reignited.

-You two will read together all the time, and if you're having a day where you're more fidgety and don't wanna stay still, Satan is more than happy reading to you while you pace around.

-Satan has a natural curiosity, and loves to learn about anything that he doesn't already know about. So if you have a special interest about your own neurodivergency, he is more than happy to listen to you ramble about your life experiences and symptoms.

-Honestly, it doesn't even have to be about neurodivergency, Satan is happy to listen and learn about anything you're interested currently.

-If you aren't big on physical affection from humans or, well... humanoid people, that's perfectly fine! That's what animals are for! He'll take you to a cat cafe and will enjoy spending time with the animals with you.

-Similar to Lucifer, if anyone makes a comment about the way you act, they wont live to see another day. Unlike Lucifer, the demons who say these comments don't even finish their sentence. They're dead before MC blinks.

Asmodeus:

-When Asmodeus finds out that you have sensory issues that affect what you wear, he decides to hand-make clothes with fabrics of your choice. He has no issue with you prioritizing comfort over appearance, but if you want to put effort into your appearance and texture is stopping you, he's more than happy to design some stuff for you.

-Asmodeus has always been a touchy person, but if you aren't comfortable with that he'd never force you to cuddle. If you are interested in physical affection one of his favourite things to do is put makeup on your face, or just touch your face.

-Speaking of which, if you ever impulsively cut your hair whether it be from breakdown, normal impulsivity, or sensory issues with your hair being longer. He'll always help you cut your hair. He wants to make sure that once you cut it, you wont regret it the next day.

-Depending on whether you like going outside or not (or if its depending on the day) he's more than happy to take you to the fall! He'll make sure you're always comfortable and if you need the attention diverted from you if you need a break!

-If you don't like going outside, Asmo will dedicate certain nights for just you two to hang out. He can always energy match you. Hyperactive? Oh he's right there with you bouncing of the walls. Calmer? He doesn't mind just vibing with you. Comfort? Oh you've come to the right guy.

-Asmodeus is very emotionally intelligent, it may have originally been for the wrong purposes (charming others) but now he can use it to help you work through issues with socializing with others, past traumas from other people, he'll always do his best to support you as long as you'd do the same for him!

Beelzebub:

-Beel is always well meaning, but whether you're neurodivergent or neurotypical, communication is key with him. So, if you're unintentionally blunt to neurotypical people, that's exactly what Beel needs and wants. He knows you don't mean it out of harm, you're just trying to state your boundaries.

-Do you need a weighted blanket? This man will become the weighted blanket. He wants to make sure you're comfortable at all times!

-If you have trouble eating, Beel is here to help. If you take meds for ADHD and they make you lose your appetite, or just general forgetfulness, he'll remind you to have at least some sort of small snack throughout the day. Nothing too filling, just enough so that you aren't running on zero food throughout the day.

-All the go-to and comfort foods that you had in the human world? Beel would make it his MISSION to get them, and TONS of it too. It's the only food in the house he wont eat because he knows how important it is to you. He will tear up a bit if you offer to share though.

-If you're in a hyperactive mood, or anxious, Beel will convince you to do some light exercise with him to help calm you down

Belphegor:

-If you have trouble sleeping, Belphie will definitely try and help. Ranging from cuddling, aroma therapy, getting Beel to do exercise with you. To more magical means (if you're comfortable with it) like sleeping powder.

-If you just have a different internal clock than the average person, that's fine too! It may be permanent but that's okay- Belphie will sleep at any time with you.

-Isn't generally a social person so if you're not that big of a fan of social interaction you don't have to worry. Belphie would even do online school with you!

-He would let you use his pillows and blankets to stim if that's something you're interested in. He'd also listen to you ramble about your interests while doing so! As long as you don't mind him talking about the stars afterwards.

-Definitely the most blunt out of his brothers, so communication wouldn't be an issue between you two. If his bluntness is a bit too harsh for you he'll try to tone it down a bit, but it would probably just end up as him trying to explain the reasoning behind the bluntness and how it's not out of harm.

[bi-bard]

Picture Perfect - Winchester Brothers Imagine (Supernatural)

Title: Picture Perfect

Pairing: Winchester Brothers X Child!Reader

Requested: by @isatkj

Word Count: 1,356 words

Warning(s): mentions of death, potential violence.

Summary: (Around Season 8 or 9-ish) The perfect town... that wasn't supposed to exist. Now, Sam and Dean have to figure out what caused this city to suddenly pop up on the map.

Author's Note: I took so much inspiration from season 14, episode 15 because of the general vibe of the whole episode.

Hey! I did a rewrite of the ending of Supernatural. It took a really long time to complete, so it would mean a lot to me if you check it out. Here’s a link! (it’s on my personal account)

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

--Third P.O.V--

Dean pulled the impala up to an open gas pump. While his brother got the gas, Sam opened the passenger door so he could go over the facts.

"So, there have been strange occurrences around a small town about three hours outside of Seattle, Washington," Sam relayed. "Insiders rarely come out and the outsiders that go in don't usually get back out."

"No one's making a huge deal about this," Dean asked.

"Well, it's supposed to be an old ghost town," Sam explained. "But it's not. Functioning stores and living families."

"So, something has got this town up and running but the people in it are... what performing sacrifices," Dean asked.

"I don't know," Sam shrugged.

"How far out are we," Dean asked.

"A few more hours," Sam replied.

"Hold on boys," the brothers looked over to see Death standing in front of the car. "I have some information you need about this little town."

"And that is...," Sam asked after Death had trailed off.

"You shouldn't go in," the being replied. "The person running that town is incredibly dangerous. You'll be dead in moments. The residents won't let you get close enough to harm the child."

"The child," Dean noted.

"The child is raising the dead," Death continued. "This upsets the natural balance of things. The source must be removed."

"'The source' is a child," Sam argued. "You can't just kill a child."

"I can, and I will," Death just seemed to shrug.

"Do you know why this kid wants to bring people back," Dean asked. "Before you become an asshole and murder someone who hasn't even gotten to middle school?"

"Almost a year ago, the child lost both of their parents," Death explained. "That's when their powers first spiraled. It started with only their parents. It then spread, like a virus. Soon, a whole town was standing in a spot where there should be rubble."

"You're going to kill a kid that lost their family," Sam asked.

The brothers stared at Death in shock. Death seemed annoyingly unaffected. To him, this was the only way to put things back in order. To the boys, this was a clearly scared kid that went through the same pain that they did.

"You can't do this," Dean shook his head. "We won't let you."

"You don't have a choice-"

"Give us a chance," Sam snapped. "It's a kid. A scared kid. Give us a chance to talk to them. Just a chance."

"No."

"Come on!"

"I'll give you one chance," Death replied. "If you fail, I will finish the job."

As the word "job" was spoken, Death vanished from the boys' sight.

Sam and Dean jumped back into the impala and took off. What was supposed to be another three-hour drive was done in a little over two. Neither brother knew how they didn't get pulled over but they didn't care.

Dean pulled the car over to the curb.

"Woah," Dean mumbled as they got out.

It was the picture-perfect town. There was a small dinner, a library that was actually being used, cookie-cutter houses. Sam and Dean looked at each other.

Locals were looking at them as the brothers walked by.

"So, where do we find this kid," Dean asked.

"Well, look at the signs," Sam pointed at the businesses. Most of them had (Y/l/n) on their signs. "It's the most common name. If we can find that house, we can find the kid."

Everyone's house had little signs. It was very clear this town was designed by a child.

"Well, hello," a man walked up to the brothers.

"Hi," Dean said awkwardly.

"Can I ask why you boys have decided to visit our little town," the man asked.

The boys looked at each other for a moment.

"We were admiring the lovely houses," Sam lied. "We have been considering moving for a while and this town seems lovely."

"Well, there aren't any vacancies," the man replied.

"Oh, that's a shame," Sam shrugged. "Is there someone else we can talk to? A mayor or something? I don't want to insult you but maybe you missed something."

The man's smile dropped, "You can't go near them."

"Why," Dean asked.

"You'll hurt them," the man glared.

It was like that was a signal. All of the people on the street stopped, turning to stare at the brothers. The brothers looked all around them.

"We're not going to hurt them," Sam tried to explain. "We're trying to help."

"No," the man snapped. "You're trying to take us away."

When the man stepped forward, the brothers knew it was time to run. They sprinted down the street as almost a whole town chased them.

"Sam," Dean yelled, pointing at a house. "There, look at the sign!"

"(Y/l/n)'s house!" was written on the sign.

The brothers ran through the front door, locking it. No one banged on the door.

"They don't want to hurt (Y/n)," Sam said. "We should be safe here."

"Hello there," a man and woman walked out to see the brothers.

"The parents," Sam mumbled.

They looked up to the stairs when the floor creaked. There was a young kid standing up there.

"Hi, (Y/n)," Sam said softly, trying to keep from scaring the kid. "I'm Sam, this is my brother, Dean. We're here to help."

"Why," the kid asked. "I'm happy here. Everything was fixed."

"Do you know why," Sam asked. The child seemed confused at the idea that something caused this. "You brought them back, remember?"

"Don't," the dad said in anger. "You don't get to hurt (Y/n)."

"Sam," Dean mumbled.

One more shared look and the two took off. They ran up the stairs, the undead parents on their tails.

"I'm sorry," Sam mumbled, leading (Y/n) back into their room. Dean slammed the door, locking it and being ready to hold it shut.

"What are you doing," (Y/n) went to fight Sam, but obviously didn't get far.

"(Y/n)," Sam knelt down and grabbed (Y/n)'s shoulders. "You created this town. Your parents died and your powers went out of control. No one here is supposed to be alive."

"You're... You're lying," the child yelled, shaking her head. Dean leaned into the door when (Y/n)'s parents started banging on it.

"I know it's hard," Sam continued. "It's terrifying but you aren't going to be completely alone. Right now, you're putting yourself in danger. That's not good, is it?"

(Y/n) shook their head.

"I lost both my parents too," Sam said. "It's scary but you have to let these people go. They have to move on. I promise, they'll be much happier."

"I don't wanna be alone," the kid mumbled, tears falling down their face.

"You won't be," Sam promised. "Dean and I will make sure of that."

The banging stopped. Dean stood up straight again.

The cookie-cutter house faded. Instead of falling from the second floor like they should have, they were just on the ground by an old building, already crumbled and destroyed.

Sam pulled (Y/n) into a tight hug as the kid sobbed. Dean walked over to them. He and Sam shared a sad look. Sam slowly stood up, letting the kid hold his hand as they walked to the impala.

Death was waiting for them.

The brothers froze, Sam pushing (Y/n) behind him.

"Good job boys," Death complimented. "However, there's still a problem. The child doesn't have control over their powers."

"We can teach them," Dean argued. "We have enough experience with powers that we can help."

Death took a step forward.

Both the boys moved to be more in his way.

"Fine," Death stared at (Y/n), who was still hiding behind Sam. "I'll have my eye on you."

With that, Death disappeared again. (Y/n) stepped out from behind Sam.

"He's not very nice," the kid mumbled. The brothers couldn't help but chuckle. Understatement of the century.

"Come on, kid," Dean nodded toward the car. "Let's make sure we have a comfortable place for you to sleep for the night."

The boys didn't expect to leave the town with a kid but it definitely wasn't the weirdest hunt they had been on.

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

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[caffernnn]

OK so.. the movie spoilers suggest that there's some big drama going on between Haru and Rin (and if there's big drama between characters in the first movie, then of course there's bound to be a big emotional resolution in the second one); also, Makoto and Sousuke seem to be spending time together in the movie, so.. I'm almost afraid to ask but.. do you think it's possible KyoAni has decided to go with rin/haru and sou/mako for the 'endgame' ships after all?

⚠️ Talking about Free! Final Stroke spoilers below the cut ⚠️

From the different spoilers, summaries, and fan reactions I’ve seen so far, I’m not necessarily getting that vibe.

For one, I wouldn’t think that they’d lean too far into establishing any ships as endgame, especially any ones with those big four. It benefits them too much to keep things ambiguous, letting different pairs have their moments together (whether in the show, side stories like the birthday stories, or positioning/proximity to each other in different merch campaigns). Maybe I’m wrong here, but considering how heated people can get with certain pairings, I’d doubt they’d make a full leap into any of those camps and potentially polarize large parts of the fan base.

Outside marketing interpretations aside, it makes a lot of sense to see more of Haru interacting with Rin and Makoto interacting with Sousuke. I think I mentioned it in one of my first theory posts about the movie, but it seemed natural that Rin would come back to the forefront alongside Haru after their relationship being pushed into the background for a large chunk of DttF. Now they have the proximity (competing in Sydney together, Rin coming back to Japan for a bit) and motivation to check in with each other as friends and rivals. With how things lined up at the end of DttF and with some scenes in Timeless Medley, it makes sense to see Sousuke and Makoto spending more time together alongside Nao, as their current dreams are placing them on that supportive training/coaching path. They’re supportive of their best friends who are off racing (there were apparently moments where Sousuke and Makoto reflect specifically on their relationships with Rin and Haru), but they’re also in Tokyo with their own ambitions to work hard towards. All of this is to say that getting to see those pairings and relationships (not implying if they’re anything beyond platonic; choose what makes you happy) get more screentime doesn’t feel like it’s out of left field to me, which I might expect if certain agendas were to be forced. I talk about my personal favorite ships a lot on here, but I think part of the draw of fr! comes from how swimming has allowed these characters to make so many strong and important bonds together beyond just their best friends. The “everybody knows everybody” phenomenon in the Free!verse does feel bizarre at times, but it does do a good job of feeding into the show’s emphasis on swimming being the thing to encourage interconnectivity (even if characters’ own demons occasionally warp the sport into a means of isolation and self-destructive behaviors).

Looking at Haru and Rin’s drama (with the few details we have without seeing the movie for ourselves yet) I think it’s important to recognize how the conflict is probably bigger than just the two of them. The details I’ve seen lead me to believe that their blowup comes at a peak moment of Haru beginning to implode on himself, much like Makoto and Haru’s fight in ES. Haru lashing out at Makoto was about them, of course, but it was also a chance for Haru to blow up about feeling cornered by way too many people in his life to go down a singular expected path. I imagine Haru and Rin’s fight functions largely the same way, where he’s using their own bumpy past to lash out, but the heat behind it all stems from a greater feeling of loneliness, from a fear that everyone is leaving his side again and the choice of “swimming vs. bonds” will be made for him when he’s left all alone. It seems like they make that point more obvious too, with the whole “Albert possessing him” angle (which sounds weird on its own and I saw many fans angry about the “unexpected darkness,” but hear me out). The important part, at least from the details I’ve seen, isn’t that Haru is being mean in a way that feels foreign, but that he is recognizing in the moment that these aren’t the words he should be saying, that he’s actively regretting destroying his relationship with Rin for a separate agenda, even if he feels he can’t stop himself (the “ghost of Haru” floating outside of his body and yelling or whatever). I’m super excited to see this moment for myself, because so many people described it as a huge tone shift from the majority of the movie and feeling uncomfortable and potentially ooc for Haru. I want to see for myself if it actually feels out of left field, or if it lines up with the growing darkness we’ve been talking about seeing start to manifest in Haru for awhile.

Final thing, even though I’ve seen less details or consistent accounts for it, Makoto and Haru end up having their own rift start to form as Haru begins making his sacrifices for swimming. Makoto seems to have another nightmare sequence where he can’t reach Haru (which I am SO pumped to look more into, especially to compare it to other dreams shown throughout the series), and that fear starts to manifest when Haru starts closing himself off and saying that they won’t be seeing each other for awhile. I want more information about Makoto’s position in that conversation, because it doesn’t sound like it was a big blow up, and there’s apparently something concerning going on with him. People were saying that it seemed like he wanted to say something or give something to Haru, but before he could confront him again, he conveniently gets whisked off to go check on Ran and Ren. It’s hard to make any statements on any of these details before knowing fully what happened (playing telephone with spoiler recaps will be the death of me). The point of me even bringing up their conflict is that Haru choosing to “give up someone/something for swimming” was always going to ripple out beyond a single bond, and he’ll have a lot of burnt bridges to mend if or when he figures out a lonely path to glory isn’t glory for him after all.

[arse-crack-thistle]

quality time

rwrb and the five love languages | part four

in which bea nearly crashes from the stress of party-planning (aroace rep)

Princess Beatrice buzzes around The Masquerade, double-checking place cards, straightening table settings, and pulling dried rose petals from the centerpieces. She rented the concert venue for the night to throw a modern Valentine’s gala to benefit Henry’s queer youth center in London. He and Alex are around here somewhere, probably hooking up in a broom cupboard and definitely not nitpicking every detail like Bea is. Her assistant follows her with a clipboard and updates her on the schedule: t-minus three hours until guests arrive and, in the meantime, she needs to give final approval, soundcheck with the band, and get dressed up. Jeans and a blazer, while royal casual, are not party-appropriate, and tonight needs to be perfect.

She usually hates royal events like galas, but this one is special. Not because it’s Valentine’s Day—Bea could not give two fucks about the holiday—but because ever since coming out as asexual around Christmas, she’s been looking for an opportunity to help other queer people, or at least give them a public figure they could point to and say, “See Mum and Dad, she’s like me.” Henry and Alex got their chance, and now this time, it’s hers.

The stage lights up with pink and red; it’s cheesy, but Bea digs it. The concert was the one thing she would not budge on with her royal event planner. Did she want to reach into wealthy pockets? Yes. Did she still want to have a good time? Hell yes. And the band she’s joining for one night only happens to be just as queer as the charity they’re supporting.

Permanent Record, local to London, tune their instruments on stage. Bea has met them dozens of times over the last month and vibed with them instantly. Margot, the too-cool lead singer always decked out in a leather jacket and Docs, is ace like her, and as much as Bea has wanted to get to know them, there’s been no time. Turns out, party-planning and party-executing steals the host away from all meaningful human connection. She’s only been able to keep up with Henry because he’s partly responsible for this event.

The pit, full of tables covered in pink and gold, finally looks perfect enough for Bea to hand-off any other minute fixes to the planner and finally have her soundcheck with the band. But then, a large crash comes from the back of the venue, and she hears a loud shriek coming from a familiar voice, the one that’s been shrill and disapproving for the last month. When Bea runs up, she sees hundreds of shattered champaign flutes and her planner on the floor, blood oozing from her hands.

This cannot be happening. The only reason Bea kept this woman around was to take most of the day-of duties off her plate. But she’s in the back of an ambulance now, and Henry is nowhere to be found. Bea’s stress levels go from tolerable to unbearable as she orders her assistant to track down replacement flutes. The staff are quick to fill her other requests: a couple of people start sweeping, someone runs off to find her co-host, another tells the band Bea’s soundcheck will be postponed, and a brave soul steps up as a temporary assistant and follows her around the back tables to check for broken glass. Bea knows she doesn’t have to be the one to do this, but it seems like the success of this event lies solely one her shoulders. If something goes wrongs, it’s her face—not Henry’s—in the papers the next day. Powder Princess Crashes and Burns at Gay Ball. Christ.

After an hour, everything is sorted. There’s no glass. The planner is getting stiches. Permanent Record has started their soundcheck and sound amazing. But even their chill indie tunes can’t calm the princess. She needs to get on stage, but her stylist specifically requested she have at least two hours to work his magic, which is not going to happen.

Bea tells her assistant to get her stylist and his team to the venue, because she won’t be able to leave, and warn him he’ll only have an hour at best. Henry and Alex have already taken off to get ready, and she has to remind herself to smack them later for abandoning her.

She tugs off her blazer, drapes it over a chair, and rolls up her sleeves. If she does get her hands on a guitar, she’ll explode. It’s all she can think of to stop her from raiding the bar at the back.

“Better late than never, eh, Princess?” Margot says as she huffs on stage.

One of the stagehands gives Bea her beautiful sleek, black Fender Stratocaster, and her anxiety reduces itself to a hum. Music can’t cure all, but it certainly keeps her from wrecking every good thing in her life.

“Let’s just play,” she says.

But it’s anything but perfect. Whatever chemistry she had with Permanent Record somehow jumped into the Thames between their last rehearsal and now because this is an absolute travesty and she’s only playing two songs with them tonight. She’s forgotten measures of one song and can’t find the chords fast enough in her solo of the other. Utter shit.

Why does she even fucking bother?

She always fucks everything up. Always. Why did she think she could put this on? Sure, she’s chaired these events before, but not ones she actually cares about, not ones she’s actually put her heart into. Christ, no wonder. She should’ve known it would turn out like this. She’s the anti-Midas; everything she touches turns to shit.

No kid will ever see her as a queer role model. She’s the girl they point to and say, “See Mum and Dad, what a waste.”

She needs a hit so fucking bad.

Which is why she has to get out of here ASAP. Before she does anything she’ll regret. She won’t slip again, and she won’t be the reason this gala fails. Henry can handle it without her.

So when Margot calls for a five-minute break, Bea excuses herself and hands off her guitar. On her way out the door, she tells the stagehand to find her assistant and tell her to have Henry take over. The hard part is over thanks to the planner actually being brilliant at her job, even if she and Bea would never get along.

No doubt, cameras are already lined up outside, so she hides in one of the green rooms and locks the door behind her. If she just takes a deep breath and calms down, she can bring herself back from the edge.

Five things she can see: The 1975, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Solange, and Fiona Apple’s signatures on the artist wall.

Four things she can feel: the worn leather on a crusty couch, the chipped-paint walls, her toes in her shoes, and her fingers through her light brown hair.

Three things she can hear: the ticking from the clock, the click of her heels as she paces, and a knock at the door.

Two things she can smell: decades-old musk from artists past—no doubt coming from the couch—and her light perfume on her wrist.

One thing she can taste: a hint of coffee from earlier.

She breathes in and out, and the knock on the door continues.

“Bea, are you in there? Could you let me in?” Margot. Essentially a stranger. She supposes it’s better than facing a disappointed Henry, so she opens the door and promptly relocks it as soon as they’re inside.

“Christ, this place is legendary, isn’t it? Everyone’s played here—is that Bob Dylan? Fucking nuts,” Margot says, pointing to the wall.

“I’ve seen loads of people here. Always wanted to play here myself,” Bea tells them. She traces Lizzo’s signature. That was a fun night; Nora and June flew out for a girls’ night, which was ultimately crashed by Pez.

“Me too, and the rest of band as well, I suppose.” Margot looks at Bea and smiles. They’re brown eyes crinkle in the corner, and it reminds her of Alex. “And now we get to, eh, Princess? Couldn’t’ve gotten here without you. The whole world knows Permanent Record now.”

“You could’ve done it without me,” she says. “You will tonight anyway.”

“Hey.” They reach for Bea’s hand. “Everyone has some hiccups before a big gig. It’ll be grand, but only if you’re there. This is your night as much as it is ours or the youth center’s. You have no idea how important it is for your lot to shine a light on causes people shy away from.”

That makes Bea smile. For so long she wanted to hide from her position. She wanted freedom to do whatever she pleased, but now she understands the power she has, even if people still see her as “The Powder Princess.” No matter what she wears, millions of fashion influencers share links to her clothes. If she walks into a restaurant, their yearly profits skyrocket. When she told the world she was ace, thousands of people messaged her and said the same. One of them was Margot, telling her about their undiscovered band from South London.

She tells Margot how that was one of the first times she really felt like herself. Completely at peace with who she is. How that peace got away from her and turned this gala into a near-panic-attack-inducing event, she doesn’t know.

“Have you let on how stressed you’ve been to anyone?” Margot asks. The two sit together on the couch after Margot bravely plopped themself down on the dirty, old thing.

“Hadn’t the time,” she says. Truthfully, Bea doesn’t think she’s had a genuine conversation with anyone since the gala’s conception.

Margot throws their hands in the air. “Well, there you go then! You’ve got to take the time! To take care of yourself. To hang out with your mates. Just to have some goddamn fun, Bea! Come on! You think I’d be a functioning human if I didn’t let loose with my mates every now and then? This—” They gesture to their body, covered in tattoos and tattered black clothing. “Doesn’t happen on its own.”

Bea laughs. It’s been so long since she’s laughed from anything other than stress. “Right, so how does this all happen then?” She swirls her hand in Margot’s direction.

As they chat, Bea relaxes. They talk about their families and uni and music and coming out. Bea tells Margot about the time she and the gang went to the karaoke bar where Henry got wasted and sang Queen horrifically. Margot tells her about the time in year twelve when they got dared to try out for the school play and ended up playing an old man in the most unbelievable bald cap.

Eventually, the two of them pull out their phones and play a few games of Among Us until Bea’s desperate assistant finds her and pleads for her to get ready though the door. They only have an hour before guests arrive.

“You all right?” Margot asks. “Want to go out there and try again?”

Funny how it doesn’t seem so scary anymore. How it only took a short break, a nice chat, and a little pink astronaut to put Bea at ease. She smiles. The notes come back to her fingertips.

check out the rest of my rwrb and the five love languages series: part one, part two, part three, and part five. (links to come as they’re released)

listen, my permanent headcanon is aroace bea and you will never convince me otherwise and i will never write her as anything else bc i love her so much!! (that being said, if you ship her with anyone, i totally understand). also, i reference a fic of mine i wrote for winterfest so if you want to check out my version of bea’s coming out, you can do that here! and finally, i know this wasn’t a romantic fic for romance week but like i said in part one, valentine’s day is different for everyone. <3

rwrb romance week | @rwrb-fests

[writingwithadinosaur]

“Under the Knife” - Part 6

“Under the Knife” - Part 6

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Hannibal Lecter x Reader, Will Graham x Sister!Reader

Word Count: 3,500-ish

Key: Chunks of text in italics are (Y/N)’s thoughts. Y/N = Your Name, H/C = Your Hair Color, E/C = Your Eye Color

Warnings: Cursing, Mentions of Death, Murder, and Violence

Summary: You are Will Graham’s sister who works with him at the FBI. When you get offered a job promotion, life starts to change. Some changes for the better; Some for the worst.

Author’s Note: This is my first Hannibal piece and I am proud of it. There aren’t too many stories for Hannibal, so I figured I would add to the collection.

This does take place in some happy medium where they are all alive and work together. Sort of a happier season 1 era.

This is beta-read by @theeactress​, but please let me know if there is something that we missed or that we should look at again! 

If you would like to be tagged in any of my future pieces, check out my tag list above and let me know! And as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!

<3

- DreaSaurusREX

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~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

The last few days were weird for you. While working the Virginia Scalpel case, you still had to give lectures and work the occasional museum shift. Luckily you were able to give more and more of your museum shifts to your coworkers, saying that you needed the time to focus on the case or to finalize your lecture outlines. 

Between two lectures and a museum shift, you were able to narrow down your suspect list even more. Pulling every male doctor within a 50-mile radius who fit the height range and who wasn’t super young, old, or generally weak looking. You dropped it off to Jack’s office while he was in a meeting of some sort, thankful that you wouldn’t have to talk to him just yet.

After that night at the Pencalt crime scene, things seemed to take more energy than you expected. You could get up and function through your work day, but when it came to socializing or even having to have work related conversations, you found yourself doing them through email or not at all. This included talking to Hannibal or Will.

Both of them had tried calling or texting you, and you’d try to respond with a “Can’t talk right now,” or an “I’m busy.” But sometimes you didn’t have the energy and straight up ignored them. 

You knew what they wanted to talk about. And you had to admit that after letting it settle in your brain, you wanted to too. But you knew that that conversation would be a long one that required patience.

Which is why you decided to call in sick and work from home today. You weren’t scheduled a lecture or a museum shift, and everything you planned on doing in your office could be done at home. 

You understood the urgency of this case. The team only had about a week left to catch this guy before another doctor would be found in pieces. But you weren’t the only one working this case, and you were still waiting on results from Beverly, Price, and Zeller. So you justified taking today a bit slower and tried to fit in some breaks for self-care as you worked.

The day started out with a peaceful breakfast, something you hadn’t had since before you joined Jack’s team. It was different and odd feeling now, but you tried your best to enjoy it and let your mind relax. After you put your stuff in the dishwasher, you sat down where your work stuff was set up at your dining room table, and felt your mind wander.

I know I should talk to Will or Hannibal, but that would be so draining right now. No. Just focus on breathing and getting as much as you can done today, alright, (Y/N)? We don’t need you combusting over personal shit while your killer is still out there. Now, what haven’t we gone over yet?

You started to sift through some of your scribbles as a piece of paper slid out of place from within your notebook. You slightly tilted your head and pulled the paper out, seeing that webname that you had learned to hate.

“Tattle Crime”

You were going to shove the article back into your book, but you knew that your curiosity would only grow the longer you didn’t read it. With a disapproving sigh, you went ahead and read the article. 

Freddie Lounds didn’t spend much time talking about the killer. She states that Dr. Pencalt was found like the other victims, and how he was a doctor with no obvious correlation to the others. Her “article” tends to focus more on you, Hannibal, and Will. 

“Much like her brother Will Graham, who we have talked about before, (Y/N) supposedly has a gift for the psychologically strange and unusual. But we have to wonder why he isn’t working this case? Will Graham has successfully assisted Jack Crawford and his team on multiple cases in the past. So why bring on a rookie when you have a prized horse in the stables?

Maybe that is why Crawford decided to bring in Dr. Lecter, who was also an integral role in some of the cases that Will Graham had worked on. He has years of medical knowledge outside the realm of psychology that could be helpful in this case, considering the Virginia Scalpel is suspected to have a medical background.. Maybe he will be the key to locking the Virginia Scalpel up for good?”

She then went on to talk more about Hannibal before bringing up the case again. You couldn’t even fully grasp at what you were reading or how to feel about any of it before your phone rang beside you, bringing you back to reality. Only, you didn’t really want to deal with reality when you saw that the caller ID said “Jack Crawford.”

“(Y/N) here.” You tried your best to not sound unenthused, but you couldn’t help the obvious apathy in your voice.

“How soon can you get here?” You knew that this would end with you coming into the office for who knows how long, so you begrudgingly stood up and started to try to find a comfy but work appropriate outfit to change into while talking to Crawford.

“I mean… An hour? Maybe? Give or take 10 minutes. Why? What happened?”

“Got that evidence you were waiting for.” You couldn’t discern if he was at all happy about that.

Of course the one day I try to take it easy is the day we get results. You took a deep breath in and tried to form a coherent sentence.

“I--Uh… Okay. I’ll try to--”

“I’ll see you in the lab in an hour.” Jack interrupted and then hung up before you could say much else, knowing that that was an order, not a suggestion. You put your phone down and groaned before starting to get dressed.

~~~~~~~~

Pulling into your normal parking spot, you saw that you had made it to the office with 15 minutes to spare thanks to you not having the energy to do your hair or makeup today. 

You got to your office and left the door open, knowing you would only be there for a minute or two. While you unpacked your bag, you heard someone clear their throat from your doorway. Turning around, you saw Will standing in the threshold with two cups of coffee. 

“Look what the cat dragged in.” He tried to joke, but you just shot him a look. He winced and extended one of the cups out to you. “Peace offering?”

You sigh and accept the cup, not sure of what to say other than a quick “thanks.” Will stood there while you took a sip and continued to set up your stuff.

“You haven’t answered any of my texts.”

“I’ve been busy. And I’m still quite busy. I have to go and meet with everyone in,” you look at the clock on the wall. “5 minutes.”

“Jack’s really got his hooks in you, huh?” 

 “I tried to take a sick day and work from home, but lab results are in. Which means I’m also in.”

“Sick Day? You never use sick days.”

“First time for everything, I guess.” You turn around and try to walk past him but he stops you.

“(Y/N), I-” 

“I really don’t want to talk. At least not right now. You and Hannibal are on thin ice right now. And there are more important a-and time sensitive things that need to be taken care of.”

“Look, (Y/N), I can explain--”

“Explain what exactly? That you really didn’t trust me when I said that I could handle myself? That you really think I am going to let Jack push me so much during my first real case that you had to have Hannibal step in as some sort of watchdog? I know you’ve had bad experiences with Jack, but goddamnit can’t you just let me learn and experience whatever happens on my own?”

“You’re upset--”

“No shit, Sherlock.” 

“And I-I get that, but just--”

“No. I have a job to do.”

“Then come by the house later. Have a drink, o-or we can get takeout, and I can tell you my side of the story.”

You paused as you looked down slightly and started to fidget with your ring. Will is looking in your general direction, trying to figure out how to ease the anxiety that was surely coursing through your amygdala and hippocampus, or at least some of the resentment that had fought its way through your eyes.

“Even if you don’t want to talk and we end up just sitting around, I’m sure the dogs would like to see their favorite aunt.”

“I’m their only aunt.” You both smiled at the joke. His smile was more out of relief while yours was just a quick smirk. His fades quickly as you rub your face and sigh out, “We’ll see. I have no idea what’s waiting for me in the lab. So I can’t promise anything. And as upset as I am with you, I do miss those dogs.”

“Just let me know when you decide and we will make time for it.”

You just nod and he lets you walk past. Will follows you out and closes the door behind the two of you. Before you could hit the elevator button, he spoke out to you. 

“Despite what you think, I do care about you, you know.” 

You stop in your tracks and turn around to face him. You could see the pain on his face even though you know he was trying to hide it. Your heart broke as you took a large inhale.

“I know you do. We’re family. We’ll always care about each other no matter what.” You give him a small smile to try to reassure him that what you were saying was true. He nodded and headed back towards the lecture halls and you hit the button to call the elevator, preparing yourself for as much insanity as you could.

~~~~~~~~

“(Y/N), right on time” Jack announced as you walked into the lab. Everyone was there and ready to go, including Hannibal who was on the other side of the table facing you. You hoped that he wouldn’t put together how off you were feeling today from your rushed appearance.

“Sorry, I would have been here sooner, but I had a run-in with my brother. What’ve I missed so far?” You opened up your notebook and joined the circle around the exam table that had Dr. Pencalt’s body on it. You internally winced as you realized that Hannibal was most likely going to ask you about your ‘run-in’ with Will after this meeting. 

“Nothing yet. We were just about to start.” Zeller spoke up as he clapped his hands together and began his presentation. A lot of it was information that was similar to the previous victims. All of the cuts were made with surgical tools to ensure clean cuts, no obvious mutilations outside the killer’s usual, all focus was on the doctor as opposed to his wife, and so on.

“The paralytic that was used on Dr. Pencalt was the same as the other vics. It was a high enough dosage that he felt the effects within a minute or two.”

“Do you have the location and angle on the injection point?” Zeller nodded and handed you a printout that had various information about the small needle mark: diameter, insertion angle, depth, et cetera. 

“He was pricked right here.” He used a gloved hand to turn Dr. Pencalt’s head and point to a small dot on the side of his neck. You just nodded and tried to imagine the killer coming and attacking him. You were starting to solidify the height range of your suspect.

“The angle is pretty flat, which means our suspect is either the same height as him or maybe an inch taller or shorter. How tall was Dr. Pencalt?” You heard Jimmy open a file and hum a note as he found out.

“5 foot 11.” You nodded and saw the height range of the shadowy silhouette of the killer in your mind narrow.

“So our killer is between 5’10” and 6’.”

“Is that all?” Jack asked in an audibly annoyed voice. You weren’t sure if it was directed at you specifically or at the situation in general. Jimmy, Brian, and Beverly all looked at each other as if they were kids who had broken an expensive vase and had to tell dad. Beverly was the brave kid that stepped forward.

“No. There is one more thing.” She turned around and got a tray from the other side of the room, bringing it back to the circle. “This was found lodged in his throat.”

On the tray, there was a distorted but still legible article from TattleCrime.com, the same article that was in your apartment. The only major difference was that this one was highlighted wherever it mentioned Hannibal or you. 

“We tried to pull any sort of prints or DNA off of it, but the only thing we got was Dr. Pencalt’s blood and saliva. The article is from our favorite tabloid, Tattle Crime. It’s about the case, but it also talks about (Y/N) and Hannibal...”

You tried to control your breathing as Beverly kept speaking, forcing yourself to take slightly deeper breaths than normal hoping no one would pick up on it as you finally spoke up.

“So, fun story…” Everyone’s eyes landed on you. “I have that same article printed out, but I didn’t print it. Someone slipped it under my door the other night.”

You saw Jack readjust his stance, a frustrated look growing in his eyes, and started to speak, but you cut him off, already knowing where this was going. 

“I didn’t bring it up because I honestly thought Hannibal or Will had slid it into my apartment as a way to try to scare me and make me resign from the case. For personal reasons, I have avoided talking to either of them unless it was absolutely necessary. So I never confirmed my theory.” 

You couldn’t bring yourself to look at Hannibal or Jack. But if you had, you would have seen the small bit of guilt in Hannibal’s face. He knew no one else would pick up on it because he was a master at keeping his mask on to others, but after being with him as long as you had, you could see between the cracks. 

Jack looked towards Hannibal.

“Dr. Lecter, did you send the article to (Y/N)?”

“I did not. I’m just as taken aback as everyone else here.” 

“And did you receive a copy of this article at any point during the last week?”

“No. I have not read anything from Miss Lound’s website for a significant amount of time now.” Jack took a breath in and tried to be logical and figure out what the next step needed to be.

“Alright, you guys get me a list of every medical facility that supplies that paralytic. (Y/N), get your copy and give it to Price to see if he can get anything off of it. Then I want you and Dr. Lecter in my office.” Jack walked out before anyone could say anything.

You stood there in a bit of shock as you looked at the soiled article in front of you. You tried to read through the bits of blurred text. Everything involving you or Hannibal was doused in bright yellow marker. 

“Um… (Y/N)?” You couldn’t help the small instinctual jump as Jimmy tapped your shoulder. You quickly looked to him, trying to look okay despite learning that your name was literally in a key piece of evidence. “You okay?”

“Hm? Y-yeah! I mean, not really, but we’re not gonna talk about that right now.” You let out a forced exhale that you tried to make sound like a chuckle through a very forced smile. Before Price could ask anything else, you spoke up. “Here. It-its right here.”

“And you were the only one to touch this, right?” Price asked as he carefully grabbed the corners of your Tattle Crime article with clean and gloved hands. You just nodded in response. “I’ll let you know if I find anything.” 

You mutter a quick thank you and then make your way back to the elevator and back to your office to write out your notes on the killer’s more specific height range and the highlighted sections of the article in your notebook. 

Why us? I can somewhat understand Hannibal being chosen from an occupational standpoint. He is not only a psychiatrist, but he used to be a surgeon. But he has no ties to any of these other doctors. And what’s so special about me? I’m not a doctor of any kind. I don’t fit the killer’s m.o.

Your mind kept going on this internal monologue, trying to find any solid reasoning as to why both of you are now being focused on. It got even more frantic as you realized you only had about a week to figure it all out. 

Before you could write out much, you heard a soft knock on your open office door. You didn’t even bother looking up.

“Will, I really can’t do this right now. I told you I would text you when-- Oh. Sorry, Dr. Lecter.” You expected Will to be impatient and try to talk to you again, but instead you were met with the careful gaze of Hannibal. 

“No need to apologize.” He shut the door behind him and took a seat. “I thought you were comfortable with addressing me by my first name, (Y/N). Has that changed?”

“Look, I know you’re not really here to talk about that. But I’m not okay enough to talk about our personal lives at the moment. And if you’re here to ask about the Tattle Crime shit, I have no idea how--”

“I came to check up on you because I am worried about you, (Y/N).” You were taken aback for a moment. Not only does Hannibal usually never interrupt you when speaking, but he isn't always the most forthcoming when talking about emotions or concern.

“I’m fine.” You go back to trying to write out your ideas, knowing that if you gave him a fake smile, Hannibal would see right through it.

“The fact that you clearly stated that you were ‘not okay enough to talk about our personal lives’ and that you planned on taking a sick day today says otherwise.” 

You took a deep inhale and closed your notebook. Trying to not dump all of your thoughts, work related or personal, on him.

“It wasn’t really a sick day. It was supposed to be a day where I worked from home to try to remind myself to take a break and eat an actual meal, or do my laundry that’s been piling up, or maybe finally hang up that frame I bought three weeks ago. But apparently that wasn’t in my cards today. Yes, I’m tired. Yes, I don’t want to be around people right now. Yes, I really don’t want to be talking to you or Will about anything other than work right now. So if I need to be here, then I’m here. That’s my job.”

“But no matter how stressful a job is, you need to be able to recalibrate your mind so as to not overwork yourself until you become a hindrance. Holding on to the frustration and betrayal that you feel are surely contributing to that lack of ability to rest, (Y/N). If you allow yourself to talk to Will about it, or even myself if you feel more comfortable--”

“All of my focus is trying to go to this case, moreso now that you and I may be targets. I am your colleague and your friend. But I really don’t want to ruin the good relationship that we have by talking to you like I’m one of your patients, because I’m not one of your patients. So please, just--” 

You stopped yourself as you felt something click into place. Hannibal watched as you had a similar look in your eyes like how he had witnessed at the Pencalt crime scene. 

“Patient…” You were slowly closing your mind’s eye and seeing things clearly.

“You’ve figured something out, haven’t you?” Hannibal leaned forward in his seat in curiosity, truly enthralled by watching how your brain worked in these situations.

“A patient! The killer is a patient! Oh my god! We gotta go now!” You quickly stood up, grabbing your notebook as you did. “I think I just figured out who our killer is!”

[dakotacrisis]

The Stars Need a Tale

Since 2021 wants to be a jerk not even a week in I’m dropping this now.

A Lukadrien Pirate AU that has very strong Pirates of the Caribbean vibes in the first chapter. I did not realize how similar it was until I already finished it. I have been sitting on this WIP forever and now feels like a good time to post it.

Read on AO3

---

Give me a shilling and I’ll give you a song

My cup’s in need of filling and the night is long

I do not know where we’ll sail

I do not know where we’ll roam

But the stars need a tale

And I will sing one for foam

“Boy!” A hoarse and battered voice snapped at Adrien. The young stable hand immediately clammed up, embarrassed at being overheard. The old coachman hobbled into the stable with a pitchfork in hand and a scowl etched into the deep lines of his face. “Stop singing them sea shanties! Don’t you know those songs are dangerous to be singing? You’ll bring a whole fleet of ne'er do wells and heathens down upon us!”

“Sorry Willard.” Adrien apologized. “It was stuck in my head.”

“Well, you’ll do well to get it out of your head!” The old man knocked the back of Adrien’s knees with the blunt of the pitchfork. “Where’d you even pick up a tune like that?”

“I was at the blacksmith picking up new horseshoes and the lads in there were singing it.” Adrien mumbled.

“Hmph,” Willard rested against the side of one of the stable doors. “I’m not surprised. Those lads don’t have more than a couple of nails for brains in their heads. Don’t they know the danger of singing songs like that?”

“I understand that it is in poor taste but I don’t think a shanty is going to bring pirates down on us, Willard.” Adrien led one of the mares out of her stall.

“Spoken like a young fool.” Willard grumbled, “Get the horses ready. The master and his family are leaving for the fort soon.”

“Yes, sir.” Adrien nodded, obedient. He knew better than to sing those kinds of songs, especially where Willard might hear. As much as Adrien hated pirates and disliked sailors in general he had to admit they made some catchy tunes.

He finished harnessing the horses and handed the reins over to Willard so he could go pick up the family. Adrien trailed after the coach on foot taking the time the walk gave him to look over the town. There was an advantage to be working for one of the wealthiest families on the island and that was the view. The hill the Graham de Vanily’s estate resided on was up high above the bustle of the town. One could see everything from up there. To the north was the military fort, south was the farms, and east laid the village and the port. Watching the sun rise over the ocean horizon was one of Adrien’s favorite things to do.

The song from before wormed its way into Adrien’s thoughts again but he contented himself with only humming it this time. When he got to the front of the mansion he saw the Graham de Vanily family exiting the home and climbing into the coach.

The youngest of the family turned and saw Adrien. He raised his hand in greeting. “Adrien! Good morning!”

“Good morning, mister de Vanily.” Adrien sped up his pace a little to catch up.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Felix?” The nobleman’s son sighed.

“Apologies.” Adrien gave a respectful nod of his head, “But I fear the master and lady of the house disapprove of such familiarity.”

“Yes. See?” The lady, Amelie Graham de Vanily fanned herself from inside the coach, “The stable boy has some sense of propriety.”

“It is only, Adrien, my dear,” Master Frederick Graham de Vanily said to his wife. “The boys have known each other practically their entire lives. Let them be a little familiar.”

Growing up Adrien had spent most, if not his entire life, serving the Graham de Vanily family. His mother had been a maid in their household and at any opportunity that Adrien could make himself useful he was. Now with his mother long since passed Adrien was the estate’s stable hand. Before he was properly employed though it seemed his job was to be the friend of Felix since they were so close in age. Adrien being only two years older than him. As children they had often played a game where they would switch spots to see how long it would take everyone else to notice that it was not Felix but Adrien wearing his clothes. The boys did look eerily similar as children apart from their eyes. Adrien had green and Felix’s were a pale grey. Growing older their differences became more pronounced. Adrien was more tanned from working outside and his frame bulkier and stronger than Felix’s pale and lithe scholarly build.

“Hm,” Lady Amelie turned her face away with a small scowl. Adrien had no idea why she disliked him so but didn’t question it. Perhaps it was a difference of classes.

The family loaded into the coach and took off down the hill towards the fort. Adrien went about with the rest of his daily chores before taking a rest to eat. Climbing up into the branches of one of the trees dappled around the mansion his mind started to drift as it often did when he was left alone with his thoughts. Simple thoughts about whether it would rain tonight to more questions about if he was meant to do anything with his life outside of being a stable hand.

He liked his work and the de Vanily family always treated him well. Outside of his work though there wasn’t much of anything at all to his life. His mother died when he was fourteen due to a fever, his father had been a sailor that he never met, he had no siblings, outside of Felix he didn’t even have any friends his own age. Those that he was close to were better classified as acquaintances and co-workers. Hell, he was likely to call the horses he took care of as his friends more than any human being he’s ever interacted with.

It was lonely and more than once Adrien thought of abandoning everything and jumping the next ship out of town. Not that he ever would. To do that would be to leave behind everything he knew. Everything that was comfortable. He didn’t have the first clue as to where he would go or what he would do if he got out into the world. The closest he ever came to a plan was to sail to another town and hope he could get employed as a stable hand over there. It wasn’t exactly a grand change from where he was now.

The chimes of the bells alerted him to the growing lateness of the day and Adrien climbed down from his perch and got back to work. Thoughts of the wonders the world may hold locked up again as he went to meet the coach to take back the horses.

Felix and him talked for a bit before dinner about what they had been at the fort for. Some officer had received a promotion or possibly someone was being honored for the many years of service. Felix couldn’t remember and honestly didn’t care. It seemed they were attending more functions like that every week. Not that there was much else to do in their town.

The night rolled in and Adrien was asleep in the farm loft. He had his own bed in the servant’s quarters but preferred the hay and soft sound of the wind than he did to the snoring of the other servants. Even if it did get colder out in the barn.

BANG!

The noise was enough to startle Adrien awake. Had the barn door not been shut properly. He crawled from his nest of hay and blankets and saw that the door had remained shut. But then what had--

BANG!

Another destructive bang broke the silent air. It sounded like it was coming from the mansion. Quickly grabbing a pitchfork for defense Adrien dashed from the barn. Outside he could hear the commotion much clearer now. He could see it too. Down below at the village, the farms, and even the fort fires raged under the moonlit sky. Out across the horizon sat a large lone ship almost invisible against the inky black ocean.

Pirates? Here?

As stealthily and quickly as he could Adrien drew closer to the house. Sure enough there was a group of vagabonds trying to break down the front door. Thank goodness Master Frederick had insisted on thick solid wood doors. Hopefully these idiot pirates would keep up trying to get through the door before they realized they could more easily break in through one of the windows. Speaking of…

Adrien ran back towards the opposite end of the mansion and climbed up one of the trees closest to the mansion wall. He got to a window and frantically started knocking on it. “Felix!” He shouted in a whisper in hopes of not giving away his location to the pirates, “Felix, it’s Adrien! Open up!”

“Adrien?” Felix’s face emerged from behind the curtains. He quickly unlocked the window and pulled Adrien inside. “What’s going on out there?”

“Pirates.” The sharp sound of breaking glass let Adrien know that the pirates had come to realization about the windows at long last. “We need to get out of here.”

“How?”

“Back through the window. Climb down and make a run for the woods. The pirates shouldn’t go looking out there.” The sound of pounding feet got louder. The doorknob to the room started to shake and rattle as whoever it is tried to get inside.

A string of swears passed half muttered through Adrien’s thoughts. He braced himself against the door but the person on the other side would break through eventually. “Go!” Adrien urged, “Get out of here.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be right behind you.” Adrien lied. There was no way he was going to be able to get out the window before the pirates knocked down the door.

“But--” Felix tried to argue.

“Go!” Adrien said more vehemently. Felix gave him one last look before he climbed out the window and onto the tree outside. At the same moment Adrien couldn’t hold the door any longer and the pirates burst in.

“Look at what we got here.” One of the dirty, scabby men aimed a sharp and freshly bloodied sword at him. “This your room, rich boy?”

Rich boy? They must think he’s one of the nobles.

“You’re trespassing.” Adrien tried to sound brave despite the clear threat to his life.

“Aye, that tends to happen in this line of work.” The pirate stepped closer. “What’s your name boy?”

“Adrien...Adrien Graham de Vanily.” He couldn’t be sure why he lied about his name. In the moment all he could think of was buying Felix, and hopefully his family, enough time to get to safety. If they thought he was one of the nobles they may not go out of their way looking for more.

“Ah, so this is your room.” More pirates filtered in grabbing anything that looked of worth and tossing everything that didn’t. “Some pretty trinkets in here but I think we’ve found one even more valuable than any shiny bauble. What say you, lads?”

The other pirates agreed. Those that didn’t have their arms overladen with stolen trinkets grabbed Adrien by either arm and started to drag him from the room. “Right this way, young master.” The pirate gave an exaggerated bow followed by a raucous round of laughter.

He tried to fight against their hold but it was all in vain. There were more of them, hardened and strengthened from years on the sea with weapons he knew they wouldn’t hesitate to use if he became a problem. They descended down the hill away from the mansion through the chaos of the town.

It was even worse seeing the turmoil up close. His home being torn apart and burned as if it was nothing more than trash. That was bad enough but it wasn’t the worst part. No. It was the screams. Screams of fear echoing over everything else. Sharp and full of pain.

The pirates came to the shore with Adrien in tow and tossed him into a boat as the others piled in. Arms overloaded with stolen goods they paddled back to the ship further out in the bay. The sheer size of the ship growing larger and more imposing the closer they got. Adrien swallowed back his nerves as he was forced up the ladder onto the deck of the ship.

“Aye, what do we have here?” A man approached a now bound Adrien. The man was every inch a pirate. Tall, cold eyes, a devilish grin, and the smell of salt and death clinging to him. This had to be the captain.

“My name is Adrien Graham de Vanily,” Adrien said with a confidence he was quickly losing, “Your men stole me from my home.”

“That’s quite a name, boy.” The captain grinned wider, “But the rich can afford to have longer names now, can’t they?”

“I demand you return me home at once!”

“Oh we will,” The captain clapped a hand on his back, “For the right price.” He shoved him back into the group of pirates.

“Take our guest to the brig. Make sure he’s comfortable.” The pirates leered and laughed as they once again dragged Adrien away against his will down below the deck. He was pushed into a small cell and the door locked behind him.

“If the accommodations are not to your liking just let us know.” One of the pirates flashed a smile of blackened teeth at him. “We’ll be sure to come by and fluff your pillow.”

The pirates took off again roaring with laughter. With nothing else to do Adrien sat down on the small plank of wood that passed as a bed in this cell. There the world grew quiet again. Nothing but the lap of the water against the haul and creek of the wood.

What had he gotten himself into? Why hadn’t he just tried to escape with Felix? This was a disaster. They thought he was the son of a noble. They were going to try ransoming him back to his family. What would they do once they found out he wasn’t actually part of the de Vanily family? At best they’d say he wasted their time and kick him off at the next port, at worst they’d kill him.

Who knows, maybe the family would pay it. After all, Adrien had always been a good employee and friend to Felix. There may be a chance…

Oh who was he kidding! He was a servant and nothing more. They’d maybe feel guilty for a day and then go out and hire another stable hand like Adrien never existed.

The only way Adrien was getting out of here was on his own. He’d have to be smart and try to keep up the facade as long as he could. They won’t kill him if they think he’s worth anything. With some luck he just may be able to escape but even he knew that was a long shot. Right now his only plan was to survive as long as possible.

What felt like a lifetime later the ship lurched and Adrien watched through a crack in hull as the silhouette of his home became smaller and smaller before disappearing altogether.

---

(2)

[galacticnova3]

Tell us about your other ocs (not iru 😒🙄) please

GHHGGHHGHJJHHN LOVE THIS ASK!

Ok so I’m gonna talk about Roa in that case!

She’s another Umbramaker (mirror Starcutter), but unlike Iru she isn’t terrible! She’s basically Lor’s mirror counterpart, but not technically because no soul to be reflected and stuff. Due to the nature of Umbramakers basically being bootleg Starcutters, though, Roa is actually 2000 years younger than Lor. Not that that would be super obvious based on how the two act, though; she’s a lot more serious, a bit behind the times, much less outgoing, and others would probably say she’s not as fun. The truth is she just never really figured out how to loosen up until very recently, and even then she’s more of the nerd sort than the memey type. If you get her talking about something she’s interested in, such as Another Dimension and Parallel Dimension (which are different parts of the same place), she could infodump for ages, going on tangent after tangent and yet always bringing it back to the same subject. She would probably get along well with Magolor; science nerd buddies!

In terms of her actual connection to Lor, as. I said, they aren’t true counterparts. They both had super similar life experiences, and just reacted to them differently. Instead of her mistreatment driving her to become a troublemaker like Lor, she became extremely anxious and servile, because she was constantly fearing for her life but knew if she dedicated herself entirely to Working and Being Useful she would be spared. While Lor didn’t get along with other Starcutters because they found her annoying and thought she got in the way, Roa wasn’t well liked because the other Umbramakers basically thought she was a bootlicker. She was very well liked by her pilots though, because she was So Well Behaved and Always Put Others First and Worked So Hard! Their only complaint would usually just be her lack of confidence. Of course, they never took the time to figure out why she was the way she was, though she wouldn’t have told them she knew what went on behind closed doors anyways.

As I’ve said previously, unlike Overworld Halcandra, Mirror Halcandra could afford to throw out their ships if they weren’t performing to a satisfactory level, and she was very much aware of the recycling going on. However, unlike Lor, who hacked herself her own admin rights, accepted her circumstances, and decided if her life had to suck she was going to cause problems on purpose as revenge, Roa actually started formulating a theoretical escape plan. Because she was technically a newer model than Lor, she couldn’t just hack herself and go nuts with her abilities, so she had to be careful. At least, that would have been the case, were it not for a shortage of pilots after a combination of multiple missions in Parallel Dimension going terribly wrong, and a subsequent wave of quitting until safer conditions were promised. Now, for her whole life, Roa has basically been the poster child of a perfect Umbramaker. Never did anything out of turn, stayed in the lines like a fill tool, and just in general had a long record of Not Doing Anything Unexpected. In other words, she also had a ton of trust built up with basically everyone who worked with her that wasn’t another Umbramaker.

So, they(the government) reasonably thought, with the information available to them, that maybe Roa could function on her own, without a pilot, until pilot numbers returned to how they usually were. She could still get measurements and stuff from Parallel Dimension and be in a fleet and all that, just without someone driving her. So, Roa was given admin permissions over her systems, and things went on as usual because she was too scared to do anything. Haha, yeah, no, that second part was a lie. Literally as soon as the officials left the room she took off; carefully plotted escape was out of the airlock, she could leave Right Now and was fast enough that they couldn’t catch her or stop her from warping somewhere else. She left in such a frantic hurry, though, that uh... well, I’ll just say a few people got hurt, which is pretty expected if you get hit by a giant ship taking off. She still holds that against herself; she never wanted to hurt anyone.

Unfortunately, though, in her frenzy, she forgot one key detail: other Umbramakers. Who had their pilots. Who had communications with the port. So, as she’s fleeing, but before she gets the chance to make a portal to Somewhere Else, three other Umbramakers start trailing her; one to her left, one to her right, and one just behind her. They didn’t really have a choice in what they were doing, but Roa has always assumed they wouldn’t have done anything differently if they did anyways. The one behind her shot holes in her sail, which she still has now, to drastically slow down how long charging her vortex would take were she to switch into her combat mode. The other two kept her from going to either side, closing in until she couldn’t go anywhere but forward. In the end, this leads to the main thing she has in common with Lor; she was cornered and forced to enter a cavern in the side of a volcano, and the entrance was collapsed with her inside. Unlike Lor, though, she was still awake, but didn’t have the space to warp herself out.

That’s where she spent the next 27 thousand or so years, eventually putting herself into a sort of sleep mode to retain power and not be conscious the whole time she was trapped in a pitch black cave. She’d wake up when any noticeable physical events were detected, which could potentially mean freedom, but for the most part she would only wake up because of periodic earthquakes and eruptions that didn’t help her. Until, eventually, something else wakes her up; a mirror Halcandran teen, who had been slowly excavating her in secret, having found records indicating there was an Umbramaker buried in the volcano. He was none other than Magolor’s mirror counterpart, Magoroa, who was planning to do the exact same thing as Magolor. Unlike his Overworld counterpart, though, he was not checking out a ship who had been put in the AI equivalent of a coma. He manages to get inside and vibe in Roa’s library for an hour or two, grabbing some books to translate and read during his journey for domination, before she figures out what’s going on and kicks him out. She was free, and she was not risking anything jeopardizing that, even in the form of a teenager.

She flew off without him, leaving him with just a bag of books on magic and potion brewing. After escaping Mirror Halcandra unnoticed and getting caught up on important Mirror World news, such as that whole Dark Mind situation that happened while she was away, she decided to check out Mirror Popstar because apparently Halcandra stays away from there. That’s where she gets in contact with You Know Who, so now she had him to deal with, great. She eventually visits the Overworld to see if maybe she could hide out there. Stuff happened that I haven’t written yet but plan to, she meets Lor... or rather, Lor heard reports of another Starcutter and went looking for her, found Roa, chased her until she could establish “>MA’AM I’M NOT A THREAT PLEASE I HAVEN’T TALKED TO ANOTHER SHIP IN THOUSANDS OF YEARS”, and they subsequently talk and find out they have a lot in common. Now Roa spends more time outside the Mirror World than in it, but she still stays away from basically anyone who isn’t Lor, Magolor, or a select few of the Star Allies. Meta Knight knows of her but isn’t sure what to really do or what to think. He doesn’t trust her because she has no pilot, but also she is so much more mature than Lor that he’s tempted to just leave her be.

I couldn’t think of a place to plop this in the post, but here’s what she looks like in her combat mode! I haven’t talked about it here but Starcutters and Umbramakers can have elements, kinda like the weapons in Star Allies(which is what inspired this headcanon); Lor is bluster wind element(based on her attacks, could explain what I mean in another post if you’re interested), for example. What element do you think Roa is?

Fire. She’s fire element. Doesn’t look like it, but that is 100% intentional on my part and in-universe!

Anyways, if you read this far I owe you my life and also like 10 minutes of your time back.

[bnha-mcu-requests]

Request : #kissmybestfriendchallenge

Hi could you make a Bakugou or Todoroki one-shot where the reader does the #kissmybestfriend challenge from tiktok? Fluff or Lime.. Um thanks..

Ask and you shall receive! This was really fun to write and I hope you like it!

I could feel every cell in my body tingle, as though Katsuki’s explosions were effecting my very soul, the sensation spreading rapidly through me from the point of contact.

This….this…what?

Waking up this morning was not on the top of my bucket-list, particularly after such an intense round of battle simulations that Aizawa had us going through last night, something about ‘villains don’t care what time it is’.

As much as I agree with that statement, any villain that attacks at 2 in the fucking morning can actually suck my toes…wait no…a villain that ATTACKS can suck my toes. Yeah, that’s better, I nod to myself, slowly dragging my aching body out bed, trying desperately to ignore the siren calls of the still warm bed sheets.

Mornings can suck my toes as well, at least it’s a Sunday so no ‘surprise’ training sessions today.

Outside the dorm room I can hear the tell-tale signs that the others are getting up as well, Kaminari and Sero’s loud conversations floating uninvited into the sanctuary that is my room… it’s too early for this bullshit.

Deciding against getting dressed, I threw on a bathrobe, tying the cord loosely around my middle, too tired to care about my appearance, and swung open the door, allowing the aura of death to seep from my very being into the common room down the hall, warning the others of my mood.

Conversation quieted rapidly, for that I was grateful and things were starting to look up until I walked into the room.

“Y/N!! IT IS HIGHLY INAPROPRIATE FOR YOU TO WALK AROUND DRESSED LIKE THAT! I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY BE TIRED BUT IT IS HIGHLY DISRESPECTFUL TO YOUR CLASSMATES WHO MAY BE UNCOMFORTABLE ABOUT YOUR STATE OF DRE-”

Slowly, calmly, I raised up my middle finger and trudged past Iida, unwilling to grace him with a response. He sputtered and flailed his arms in that weird chopping motion he does -I wonder why he does that?- as I walked into the kitchen, nodding at Katsuki who was stood at the stove flipping what looked like pancakes. Without saying a word, he slid me a mug full of the life giving bean juice, grunting at my muttered thanks.

A few sips in and I was already feeling better, drawing myself upright and releasing the heavy aura that had permeated the room previously, sending the others in the common room an apologetic smile at the sighs of relief, yeah my control is not great first thing in the morning.

The day passed quite peacefully after that, some of the class having made plans to go to the mall, had left soon after breakfast, calling out quick thanks to Katsuki as they passed the kitchen, grinning at his customary, “YOU THINK I NEED THANKS FROM FUCKS LIKE YOU?! OF COURSE IT WAS DELICIOUS, I MADE IT!”.

Everyone else continued to mill around the common room, talking among themselves and watching the TV or drifting back to the dorm rooms to get on with any last minute assignments. Momo and Jirou were sat watching videos on Jirou’s phone and occasionally giggling or blushing. My interest peaked, I walked over to see what they were looking at.

I could feel my face lighting up when I saw the girl lean over and kiss her ‘bestfriend’ leading to an intense make out session.

“W-what the fuck is that?” I asked, unable to keep the shocked stutter out of my voice.

“Oh! Y/n I didn’t know you were stood there!” Momo gasped, face flushing in embarrassment at being caught. Jirou on the other hand seemed unbothered, fixing me with a deadpan expression before saying,

“It’s the #kissmybestfriend challenge on TikTok, it’s really popular at the moment.” I shifted under the intense gaze she and Momo suddenly fixed on me, as cheshire grins suddenly crept across their faces.

Whatever was about to happen, I wanted no part in it and I carefully began to inch backwards, very aware of how close the two were getting. I could feel the room begin to heat up and the others sat on the couches began to shift uncomfortably under the weight of my aura as it once again began to fill the room. Momo and Jirou to their credit seemed mostly unbothered by it as they continued their advance.

“Say, Y/n, you and Bakugo are pretty close right?” Jirou asked

“Very close, one could almost call you best-friends, no?” Momo continued, both of their smiles turning from cheshire to shit eating.

“W-what are you talking about? Katsuki and me? N-noway! We’re just friends!” I managed to stutter out as images began to flood my mind, unbidden, from their implications.

“Friends that call each other by their first name even though you’ve only known each other for a year or so…”

I tried to stutter out a response, the air becoming even heavier still from my increasing embarrassment and confusion.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN HERE? EARPHONES, PONYTAIL, BACK THE FUCK OFF, Y/N CALM THE FUCK DOWN, I CAN’T FUCKING BREATHE IN HERE” saved by the bell, kinda.

Momo and Jirou do back off at this but their smiles widen at the use of my name instead of a nickname. Thanks Katsuki but did you really have to prove a point in the process?!

I took a deep breath and once again, released the room from my aura before taking the opportunity to split and race back to my room.

I spent the rest of the morning sat on my bed thinking over what Momo and Jirou had said. Sure, Katsuki and I were close, but we weren’t like that. We just got each other, we were on the same wavelength, we vibed. That’s all, right?

Unable to let it go, I let myself slump back onto the bed sheets that only hours ago I had felt so comfortable in. I grabbed my head and rolled backwards the forwards, groaning and lamenting at my apparent inability to function as a normal human being.

I was so busy feeling sorry for myself, I almost missed the sound of my door opening. I looked up only to slump back down as I registered just who it was that had invaded my abode.

“HAH??” was the eloquent response to my deflated sigh. I couldn’t even bring myself to snap back with a quick comeback, so busy trying to hide the inappropriate thoughts from showing on my face.

He looked good.

A redundant statement, he always looked good. But right now, with this rose tinted filter over my eyes, he looked almost edible.

I blinked uncomprehendingly at him as he finished speaking. I hadn’t listened to a word of what he had said. I gulped at the look of annoyance that flickered across his face, flinching silently as he launched himself onto the bed next to me, almost certain this was the start of another loud and typically harmless argument.

“I said, what got you in such a state earlier?” he growled out, eye contact so intense, I couldn’t tear myself away from it.

“N-nothing, it was nothing Katsuki,”

“I’ll be the one that decides that thanks” he said, voice flippant.

Frustration licking at my nerves, I did something that under normal circumstances, I would never even consider. I whipped out my phone and opened up my TikTok, quickly setting it to record.

His eyes widened in confusion as I placed it on the bedside table facing us both. So concerned about what the phone was doing, he didn’t get the chance to stop me as I grabbed his face and pulled him in close, our lips meeting briefly.

No matter how fleeting our contact, I felt fireworks spread through my entire being, lips tingling. I looked back up at him, dreading the look of disgust on his face. Oh… what had I done? I had just ruined this perfectly good relationship by being an idiot-

I squeaked as I felt him grab me and pull in, eyes sparking and face warped in a snarl - goodbye world, you were shitty.

I squeaked at the feeling of his warm lips pressed against mine, movements rough and passionate and I couldn’t help but let my eyes slip closed, enjoying the intensity and fervour behind the kiss, allowing myself to indulge in the bliss of his surprisingly soft lips.

His tongue brushed fleetingly across my bottom lip as his hands tangled in my hair and I opened my mouth, permitting him entry, head still spinning at the impossibility of what was currently happening. I could feel my grip on my quirk slip and suddenly, the room was filled with fireworks, bursting flashed of happiness, surprise, excitement and, small hints of arousal. This was like nothing I had ever experienced and not for the first time, I was thankful that while others could feel the pressure of my aura, they couldn’t immediately recognise what it meant. Though, if Katsuki continued with his ministrations,  it wouldn’t be too long before the aura was strong enough that he could see it as well as feel it.

He pulled back, both of us gasping for air, his face flushed and a smug smirk on his face as he took in my dishevelled appearance, clearly proud of the mess he had made of me. His gaze travelled down my body before his face lit up like a tomato and he looked swiftly back up to my face. I looked down to see what had caused his sudden embarrassment and noticed that at some point during our make out session, my bathrobe had slipped down, the tie in the middle coming loose and exposing more of my chest than I had realised in the heat of the moment.

Gasping, I shoved him off, pulling it closed again to protect what little dignity I had left before looking back up at him, suddenly shy now that the situation had lightened.

“Not that I didn’t enjoy that y/n but what the fuck?” he asked, voice lacking the bite it usually carried and I couldn’t have stopped the fond smile even if I had wanted to as he reached behind his head to rub at the back of his neck where his blush was the darkest.

“Well, Momo and Jirou-” I sighed at his blank expression, “Ponytail and Earphones” his eyes widened slightly in remembrance.

“Wait, was this about those shitty videos they were watching?” he suddenly got another smug look on his face as he leaned in closer, so close I could feel his breath on my face and I felt my heart rate spike again, “If you wanted to kiss me so badly, you didn’t need a stupid excuse like that,” he said and I felt myself flush again.

“Nope! Absolutely not! Out! Get out!” I shot up, blushing uncontrollably as I began to push him out of the room, trying to ignore the shit eating grin on his face as he allowed himself to be shoved across the threshold. Before I could slam the door on him however, he grabbed my arm and pulled me in for a quick, but no less intense kiss.

“One for the road” he said when I looked up at him. I felt my blush explode across my whole body then, and threw the door shut with such intensity the pictures on the walls began to shake precariously on their fixtures.

I almost missed the soft, fond chuckle from the other side of the door as he began to walk back to his own room as I slumped against the wall and slowly sank to the floor.

I help my clenched fists to my chest, trying to calm down my racing heart as my blush slowly began to recede. I lent my head against the wall with a muted ‘thump’, taking in the room that suddenly seemed brand new, despite nothing having changed. My eyes caught on the phone propped up on the bedside table, repeating video showing that it had finished recording.

I crawled over to it, knees still shaking and clasped it close, watching the video, slightly disbelieving what had just happened and reminding myself to thank Momo and Jirou for pushing me into this situation, even if I didn’t think I was ready for it.

I smiled softly, cheeks pink and heart full as I clicked ‘save to drafts’.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.33 pt.1

Lance was still a bat come the following morning. When Keith had finally had to get up to make himself something to eat, Lance decided he needed to go with, the bat scaling up his back to sit himself on Keith’s shoulder. When Keith had gone back to bed, Lance had climbed up his shirt and settled himself next to Keith’s chest. The following morning went much the same, though Lance had had a bath in the bathroom basin while Keith tried not be embarrassed as he showered. Blue wasn’t keen on her master being a bat. When Keith had started making his morning coffee, the feline had stretched herself up so she could swat at Lance from the kitchen counter. Lance protesting profusely over the treatment which Keith didn’t stop until Blue smacked Lance on the head as she hissed.

Juggling his two “problem children”, Keith wasn’t prepared for the doorbell to ring so early... not that he was prepared for it to ring, but someone coming around before he’d even had his first cup of coffee was something someone cruel and viscous. Squeaking at him, Keith lifted Lance to his other shoulder, as the doorbell rang again

“Yeah, I fucking heard them the first time. How mad will you be if I throw you at them?”

Lance didn’t seem amused, not that Keith was joking. He wasn’t in the mood for people who had no respect for others and their clear lack of need to interrupt him before his coffee. Waiting for the last drops to drip from the machine, Keith cradled the precious cup as he made his way to the door, nearly yelling to “fuck off” when the person on the other side rang a third time.

Opening the door, Keith nearly dropped his coffee in shock. The man in front of him he’d known, until he dropped off the surface of the damn planet by being reassigned suddenly

“I believe you’re expecting me. It’s nice to see you again, Keith. And this must be Lance... Coran should have mentioned I was coming?”

Keith kept gaping at Curtis. The man had been Shiro’s charge for a short time, what felt like a lifetime ago

“Keith?”

“I thought you’d been reassigned. Hell. I thought you were dead”

Curtis laughed, brushing his fringe back to reveal a nub protruding from his head

“Had to transfer after a run in with a nasty little curse. You know what those werewolves were like. Curses might as well be the damn plague. Are you going to invite me in?”

Lance squeaked at him, Curtis smiling as he nodded

“I have no idea what you’re telling me, but I assume it’s “hello”. Don’t mind me. I’m a little cursed, but mostly human on the outside”

Keith had never heard of anyone being actually cursed. It was like those “friend of a friend” kind of stories back in the Blades. James didn’t need a reason to be a dick, but a curse would have made it pretty hard for him to keep working on the front lines

“Does Shiro know...?”

“That I’m alive? Cursed? Or that I’d transferred here? He knows I’m alive, but you know how the Blades can be when they want a secret kept”

“Fuck... you’d better come in... What’s in the case?”

Curtis wiped his feet on the doormat before slipping inside past Keith, who still hadn’t moved

“Oh, just some things Coran thought might help. Now, how long has Lance been a bat?”

“Nearly a day”

Curtis whistled

“That’s rather impressive”

“His record is three days”

“Oh... I hope that’s not the case this time. Why don’t we head back to the kitchen? You look like you need that coffee. From what I remember you could barely function without your daily caffeine dose”

“Which you interrupted. Who rings a doorbell three times?”

“It’s not my fault you’ve gotten lazy. Lance, I hope he isn’t a terrible house guest”

Lance decided to be a pest by climbing down along the hem line of Keith’s shirt. The bat miscalculating and ending up with his butt in Keith’s face as his squeaks directed at the floor as he flapped his wings. Keith had no idea how to interrupt that. Lifting Lance off his shirt, the bat started flapping his wings as he squeaked at Curtis

“You’re a spirited one, aren’t you little fella?”

That only severed to make Lance squeak more

“Lance, stop moving. You’re being too loud”

At this rate Keith was going to drop his coffee, which might bring actual tears to he hunter’s eyes. All he wanted was his morning coffee in peace... now it seemed they had an extra houseguest...

Curtis placed his briefcase down on the kitchen table, smiling as he looked around the space

“I like it. It’s all very homely. You must be enjoying your time off?”

“It hasn’t been terrible”

Taking his seat, Keith moved Lance to the kitchen table where he immediately started “protesting”. Laying his left hand on the table, Lance wobbled his way over, before chomping down on Keith’s thumb

“What did I do?”

Lance licked at the spot he’d bitten, then looked up at Keith

“You’re hungry. Are you trying to tell me you want blood?”

Lance continued to stare up at him

“You want me to get you a blood bag? Cant you just bite my thumb? You don’t need a full bag”

Lance squeaked loudly, Keith not about to be bullied. Raising his coffee cup, he finally got his first mouthful of his beloved caffeine

“Perhaps I can help? Where’s his blood stock? The fridge?”

Lance wouldn’t want a stranger in his office. Keith regretfully placing down his coffee cup

“It’s in his office, so I’ll go . He doesn’t like people going in there due to client confidentiality”

“Ah, family court I believe. Given your own experiences with the system, I can see how going in there may make up uncomfortable...”

The Curtis Keith remembered wouldn’t say things like that. He had no right at all

“... though, I suppose knowing Krolia has eased some of that pain. Coran mentioned she’d enquired as to why you hadn’t returned from you last mission”

“That’s enough. She made it clear that my life isn’t her business. Lance doesn’t need to hear about this”

Curtis looked uncomfortable

“Sorry. With the curse, one of the stipulations was truth telling. That’s why I was asked to transfer to the technical side of things. It’s hard to maintain cover without a cover story”

Keith groaned. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need Curtis telling Lance too much. Lance would want to know about Krolia and then about him, and how his dad died and how he was a legacy and this was all too much for a man who hadn’t had his coffee

“Maybe you can tell Lance about what’s in the briefcase while I’m gone. Lance, Curtis is a friend of Shiro’s from work. Try not to bite him while I’m out the room”

Lance looked sad about being left behind. Grabbing the already open blood bag from Lance’s person stash, Keith wondered if keeping blood in the fridge might not be more convenient, though he supposed Lance was all about being human and having your own blood bank in your kitchen wasn’t exactly a normal human vibe. Returning to the kitchen, he found Lance very much not looking at the range of sex toys across the dinner table. Curtis had shown up like some Tupperware salesman, only with a different kind of plastic casing

“What is that?”

“Well, Coran said Lance may be feeling certain urges sexually. He sent me to pick an array of toys, which I was explaining to Lance”

Keith nearly groaned again. He’d brought this upon himself, and now a great big pink dong was sitting next to his cup of coffee

“I think maybe Lance isn’t comfortable with this. Is there anything else in there that might help with the situation?”

“I do have lube and condoms, if you’re interested”

Lance let out a miserable squeak, Keith with him on that one. No one had told him that he’d have to deal with damn dildo display. Why did everyone they know have to be so weird?

“Let’s just pack that up for now... Lance can work these things out later in private”

“Oh! Right! Sorry, my mistake. I was under the impression you two were a partnership”

“We’re friends. Just friends. I’ve been taking care of him where I can, seeing it’s my fault his body started to change”

“Yes. I’ve been informed of your quintessence connection”

“Not this shit again. Lance, bag or saucer?”

Lance squeaked at him, Keith being nice and fetching Lance a saucer. Sitting himself down, he could only shake his head mentally at how routine blood bags had become. No longer disgusted over the fact Lance had to drink from a bag, Keith untwisted the cap, pouring out what he hoped was enough for Lance, while not being enough to cause a mess. Climbing over the saucer, Lance had no balance or grace as he got himself settled to lap at the blood

“He doesn’t feed from you?”

“Nope. He’s his own vampire. He prefers bags to fresh, and that’s fine”

“Coran had mentioned he’d hoped you would try feeding him?”

“Lance didn’t want my blood when I offered. You and Coran seem pretty fixed on this quintessence thing”

“It is the spark of life. I believe in human terms, your closeness would be called soulmates”

Keith choked on air, Lance face planted into his blood. Retrieving the bat out of the blood, they both glared at Curtis

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Lance squeaked, like he was agreeing with what Keith said

“It means your compatible one a base level. Soulmates don’t need to be romantic, some may even be siblings, it means you’re very close and naturally drawn together. Most friendships revolve around a closeness in quintessence”

“You could have just said we’re friends. Nothing romantic here. Lance is having a hard enough time as it is”

“I misspoke. I apologise. Sorry, I’m still learning how to talk around the curse”

Keith huffed, before taking a breath and trying to channel how Lance would approach this. Lance would be all calm and sympathetic, while counting down the seconds until Curtis left. The damn vampire has sass coming out of his arse

“Alright. Is there anything you can do about the curse?”

“Not at the moment. Coran is hopeful up it’ll fade with time. We’ve been having issues with a nasty coven, who left me like this for meddling. They had hoped to channel a berserker into one of their wolves. Instead, I was forced to prove my loyalty and this is the result. Half a horn, half a tail, and foot odour”

“I didn’t think magic like that was real”

“Yes and no... Coran and Allura prove that, though there aren’t many actual spell casters left. For the most part bloodlines have become too diluted, or people are relying on popular culture for law. How can you not believe when Lance is a bat in front of your eyes”

Stupid logical points. But Lance wasn’t human, so the normal laws didn’t apply

“They don’t teach us about that”

“There’s a lot the Blades of Marmora fail to teach hunters. Now drink your coffee, I have the feeling you’ll find it quite cold. With Lance eating, I’m finding myself quite peckish. Have you two been shopping lately? I expect housing two wolves and Shiro will put a major dent in any foot supplies you have”

“I thought he was only bringing Matt back?”

“Shiro secured both Matt and his girlfriend from the order with transfers for you both. I expect he will tell you when he returns here on Thursday”

“Wait. You’ve talked to him?

“This very morning. Now, don’t tell me where anything is, I want to figure it out by my self”

For the second time that month, Lance’s toaster went up in flames. Squeaking up a storm, Lance changed back to his human form on the kitchen table right in front of Keith. Copping an eyeful of a naked Lance, Keith blushed hard. Lance had nice proportions... very nice proportions that Keith stared very openly at. Lance’s butt jiggling as he slid off the kitchen table and fled the room trailing that scent behind him, starting to swear about the loss of his new toaster as he did. Casting a glare at Curtis, Curtis shrugged, not even offering an apology as the toaster smouldered in the sink

“Stay here. I’ll check on him”

Walking slowly up the stairs, to give Lance time to dress, Keith knocked on the wall beside Lance’s open bedroom door. Out of all the places in the house, it felt the one place he was never supposed to be in, and he was fine with that for the most part. Lance gave him privacy when he was in his room, the least Keith could do was the same

“Lance?”

Lance was sitting on the edge of his bed with his face in his hands, he’d gotten as far as putting pants on before giving up

“Want to talk about it?”

Lance raised his head to look at him, the vampire looking a messy jumble of emotions

“Not really”

Keith snorted, forcing himself to invite himself into Lance’s space in a way he hoped seemed casual. Sitting down beside Lance, the hunter nudged Lance’s knee with his own

“I’m sorry about Curtis. He’s not a bad guy. Well, he didn’t used to be before this curse thing”

“You know him well?”

“Shiro trained him for a bit after Adam died”

“I gathered that... God. Why is when I think things might look up, something else happens?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how deal with you being unhappy”

“I’m not unhappy... well, I am, but, I’m mostly confused”

Keith snorted, bumping Lance with his shoulder

“Try being me”

“No thanks. Being me is hard enough. I’m sorry I turned into a bat again”

“It’s fine. You can’t help it, plus, you’re much nicer as a bat. You’re all cuddly”

“Don’t remind me. I came to ask if you’d watch over my body, then turned into a bat all over again”

“Again?”

“Turned in the kitchen. It was only a minute or so, but... I don’t want to be a bat. I’m sick of feeling so out of control. I spent years living the same way, only for this... and I don’t know how to get back into the same routine”

“Maybe Curtis can help us figure out how to control it? Was there anything you remember that set it off?”

With a long groan, Lance flopped back on his bed

“Nope. I’m scared that I’m going to randomly turn into a bat in front of Hunk and Pidge, plus Blue wasn’t that fond of me not in human form”

“I don’t think she’s fond of anyone really. She rules the house and we just live here”

“She’s perfect. And she’s got you trained. God... I’m so frustrated over being so scared. I’ve always been afraid of myself, but I was alone then. Now I’ve got you and Curtis to think about, and apparently Shiro, and two mangy mutts... I’ve got the spare rooms, but... why is my house getting so full?”

“It won’t be forever. Apparently Shiro decided we’re moving. He didn’t even ask me”

Keith was pissed. Sure, if Shiro was transferring then he probably would too, but to just move them both without telling him was too much. Lance patted the spot beside him, Keith taking the invitation to lay back like the vampire was. Turning their heads, they laid there looking at each other. Keith taking a good look at Lance’s features for any kind of clue what to do next

“You can talk to me. You’ve done a lot to support me, and the least I can do is listen to you”

“Because I’m known for my great conversation skills”

Lance smiled at the retort, Keith’s heart giving a funny beat as he did

“You’re no where near as bad as you were. You’ve finally accepted not being turned, and that I’m out to poison you, or kill you. I know things are complicated with Shiro, but I’m not asking you tell me everything, or anything if you don’t want to. What you tell me I’m in no position to judge, and what I learn, I’ll keep to myself until you’re ready to tell me in your own words. I want to be able to do something for you, support you, even if it’s in just some small way”

“You provide the coffee and you know not to disturb me until I’ve got some form of caffeine in my veins. Seeing we’re living together, maybe we can work on your schedule? You said everything was complicated”

“It is. I’m so used to being alone, you know?”

Keith nodded, because fuck if he didn’t know what it was like to be independent, only relying on himself and cautious of the whole world around him

“What did you used to do? Before Shiro and I turned up?”

Lance stretched his arms above his head, before lifting his head and crossing them to use as a pillow

“One bag of blood a day, across three meals. A glass or two of wine before bed. Work, mostly. I used to reach out to people seeking advice and try to help them out the best I could without all the ridiculous fees. Hang out with Pidge and Hunk, visit Mami on the weekends... online shop for things for Blue... I might have spoiled her too much”

Keith wasn’t in a position to say anything about how Lance had lived his life, but it was clear he was happier then than he was now

“You can’t change that you need more blood now. Maybe we can make mornings your time? Where you work and catch up on what you need to? You won’t have to be stuck with me as much when Shiro returns”

“I suppose... but... I’ve thought about it. I think I should take a break from work. I don’t want to be a video call, then suddenly I’m a bat...”

“We can work on that too”

“This is too much about me as it is. I mean, what are you going to do?”

“I can train...”

“There’s more to life than training”

“It helps... Shiro says I have anger issues”

Lance chuckled, still smiling the same damn smile that made Keith’s defective heart go weird

“I never would have guessed. I suppose we need to get up. I can’t believe Curtis killed my toaster”

“I don’t think we should leave him alone in the kitchen”

“Probably a fair call... I don’t want to go back in there”

“If it’s about what he brought with him, I’m not judging. What you do is up to you”

“You don’t want to hear me masturbate? I’m shocked, absolutely shocked”

Keith snorted. Right now he wanted to lean over kiss Lance’s troubles away. It’d be far too easy... Covering his awkwardness over wanting to kiss Lance, Keith joked

“I mean, if you want me to...”

“Nope. Fuck. I’m 44 and the most I’ve done is kissing... I don’t know how I feel about more”

“I haven’t had sex either. You’re not the only one who wished they could unsee all those dongs”

“Did you see how big that pink one was? My butt was totally clenching”

“I don’t want to think about it. I didn’t know what to say, then Curtis started talking about soulmates... I didn’t think magic “magic” was a real thing”

“I did try to tell him we were just friends...”

“It’s a bit hard to translate when I don’t speak bat”

“Try thinking you’re speaking, only to remember what you’re saying isn’t even human...”

“You did seem to have a lot to say”

“Of course I did. My house is being invaded. I was thinking maybe you and Shiro could take the spare room up here? Werewolves tend to be sexual creatures, that don’t think of others... No offence to Matt, but I really hate werewolves”

Keith wrinkled his nose

“I don’t want to hear Matt banging it out. It was bad enough when Adam and Shiro would forget to close the door”

Lance cringed

“Great. Now I’m going to be thinking about that for, like, ever”

“It was just as bad the next morning when one of them would be limping around, trying act smooth about it”

“Ewww... that’s festy. Ugh... Do you think Curtis would notice if we ran away?”

Keith’s heart was still being arsehole, his heart rate picking up at the thought of running away with Lance. They’d be hunted down if he ever thought of skipping out on the Blades

“Your bedroom’s on the second floor”

“Shit”

“Pretty much. Besides, Curtis really wasn’t that bad. He can’t help being cursed”

“He doesn’t feel like a normal human... I mean, I don’t know, he kind of feels like when there’s death close”

“Like a ghost?”

“Maybe, but not quite... I guess it’s the same though. I don’t see like ghosts, and whatever’s going on with him it’s there and it’s not at the same time”

“You’ve got really weird superpowers, you know that right?”

“I’m more like a “superzero”, than a superhero”

The only people allowed to pick on Lance was his friends, not himself

“What’s it you’re always saying? Something about “you’re fine the way you are”?”

“Ugh. Don’t start quoting me back at me, I’m old and lame as it is”

“Yep. Super lame. So laaaaaame that the 70’s called and want their idiot back”

“Sick burn, you better call the wambulance before I start crying”

Keith snorted, before rolling on his side. The position kind of awkward seeing his legs were off the end of the bed

“You’re going to need an ambulance after I fight you next”

“Puh-lease. You haven’t kicked my arse once since you moved in”

“I will, one day”

“I look forward to seeing that. Right. We’re doing it this. We’re really getting up and going to talk to Curtis”

Neither of them moved, Keith the first to break. Rolling on his stomach, the hunter climbed off the bed backwards, quick to extend his hands towards Lance, eyes on the thin line of hair disappearing beneath the man’s jeans

“If you keep looking at me like that, I might be forced to believe we’re soul mates”

“Dream on. You heard Curtis, platonic and stuff...”

“Right. Yeah. I suppose. As if anyone could have a Hollywood love story with you. You’d awkward them into mumbling through the date then skipping out mid movie”

Lance’s words stung. He knew he wasn’t the greatest looking person, with the greatest personality, but he thought he and Lance were teetering on the edge of maybe something... now Lance was shoving him away and it fed on those parts of his abandonment issues. Biting the insides of his cheek, he pulled Lance to his feet, Lance sighing as he looked him in the eye

“It was a joke, dude. I’m sure you’ll find someone out there who’ll make you happy. You’ll have a whole broody little Keefy babies with scowls and mullets, and a good life being a dad. Whoever you love will be a lucky person”

“I don’t know how to be a dad. My dad died when I was around 8. He left for work and died in a house fire”

It slipped out. Keith couldn’t picturing putting his future children through the loss of him so had pushed it aside. He didn’t mind kissing girls, but had preferred men since his hormones started deciding they were a thing. Keith was sure he’d mentioned his dad before, but he couldn’t quite remember what he’d said

“I’m sorry to hear that man. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me”

“It’s not like you’re going to run around yelling from the rooftops that I was in the system. We talked about this before”

“Yeah, but talking about it is always a big step. I told you, I want to know about you. If we’re soulmate friends, I feel like we’re gonna be in each other’s lives whether we like it or not”

Keith nodded

“Especially with my douche brother transferring us...”

“Hey, if you get a house here, you’ll officially be a Garrison local”

“Ugh. It’d have to be Platt. Shiro needs access to greasy junk food”

Too much healthy living was bad for the soul. They ate mostly healthy enough, for a pair of two single men, but Keith would never recognise kale as edible. It was disgusting and far too over hyped

“Shiro does, or you do?”

Shiro had a soft spot for curry, Keith for kebabs

“Both? Both is good”

“Well, tonight, as a special treat, I’ll treat you to the greasiest pizza you’ve ever had in your life”

[chasseurdeloup-retired]

Gimme Gimme Gimme || Otto, Nadia, Dot, Nic, Alain, and Kaden

TIMING: Current LOCATION: The docks SUMMARY: A deal gone wrong

Otto glanced at his unfamiliar reflection in a broken pane of glass double-checking the glamour runes carved into his collar bones were still functioning correctly. Sunken eyes, a thicker jaw and plain brown eyes looked back at him. Different enough from his day to day appearance that he could pass without someone recognising and the spell would hold for a few hours now that it was in place. Hand-offs were always tricky businesses even more so when you didn’t know the other parties you were involving yourself with so precautions had been taken. Namely in bringing Nadia along as back-up along with a trusty shot-gun. Spells were useful in a pinch but if things went sideways little beat the pure destruction the end of a shotgun could bring about. Unfortunately, tricky business was simply the life of a newfound criminal trying to find their footing in a small town full of strife.

He glanced over at Nadia who carried the delivery in a nondescript brown box padded and covered in protective runes as an extra layer of precaution as they made their way into the boating house on the docks where the arranged trade-off had been arranged. Boats bobbed silently, crusted sea-salt clung to several surfaces and the splosh of water was broken by the occasional bay of a seagull outside. They’d scouted the perimeter already, checking their entrances and exits before heading inside and even then Otto kept to the pillars as cover. He checked his watch and when he spoke his voice was an octave lower, “they should be here soon. Not met this person before…” in other words, he didn’t trust them at all. But then again, you didn’t live in this job if you truly trusted anyone

Adjusting the box to one hand and pulling her hood up a little more, Nadia grinned. This was what she really needed. A good job, the potential for a bit of action, a shotgun on her back, and a revolver at her side. And she was back to being more connected with her body again. She’d been hungry that morning. Hungry. It might’ve been because she’d forgotten that she even had to eat, but it had gnawed at her stomach in the most pleasantly painful way. Even better was that she’d been able to go somewhere and grab herself something without worrying about someone looking for her. Plus, Nadia wasn’t fighting, and she was back to being the one in charge. So she was ready for whatever Otto’s job managed to throw her way. Part of her wanted something easy, a quick drop off, nothing major, maybe a bit of smooth talking if need be. But another part of her wanted some action. She’d be thrilled either way.

As Otto caught her eyes, Nadia gave him a wink. He was a fun guy, from the jobs they’d run together before. Almost as good with his words as she was for a guy who didn’t have a built in lie detector and emotional radar. Plus, his magic was wicked cool. Following him in, she leaned against a pillar and waited. “Cool, cool. Well, don’t worry, as long as they’ve got a pulse, I think I can figure them out.” She could read his distrust like a magazine at the dentist’s office, so she wasn’t feeling quite as blase as she might have seemed. If Otto was worried, she should probably be a bit worried, too. But being a little worried was always healthy. She took out her revolver and opened the chamber, making sure it was loaded. The shotgun was double-barrel, two bullets in. Everything looked good to go.

Everyone had a secret talent. Some people could juggle or burp the alphabet backward. Dot’s secret talent was getting involved in the shadier shit a town had going on. Her other secret talent was being able to do a really fast crab walk. She didn’t like that one as much as she liked getting involved in crime though. She loved that. People would ask her to do jobs and most of the time she didn’t care if she was getting paid or not, though she didn’t tell people that part. She liked the thrill of it. Breaking rules was fun and she liked when she made things inconvenient for other people. She wasn’t a career criminal, not even close, but she never said no to a job. It hadn’t taken long after she moved to White Crest for someone to approach her doing something for them. After doing a couple of jobs, she proved that she wasn’t a complete imbecile and then this job was given to her. It was simple, a hand-off, nothing she hadn’t done before.

Walking to the meeting spot, she was glad that she actually took her gun and knife with her this time. She relied on being a siren far more than she really should. As she saw the two in front of her, she popped her lollipop out of her mouth. Grinning at them, she spoke in a cheerful voice,“Hello, lovelies. Are you here waiting for me?” She might not have been an idiot, but she was never professional. “It’s like we’re all having a little secret party,” She shook her shoulders at them. She considered asking them if they wanted a lollipop, but she only had green apple left and those were her favorite.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Otto lifted his head to eye the newcomer. He didn’t recognise them, but then again he didn’t recognise most people in town on first meetings considering most of them weren’t really memorable enough to truly warrant him paying them all that much attention. But this sort of situation demanded a new sort of attentiveness for a lack of it could cost you so much more if you made the slightest misstep. Yet, that wasn’t the vibe he got from the woman he saw approaching; lollipop and all. It was… intriguing to say the least, her grin was infectious and brought one of Otto’s own about. Cocking his head his eyes sparkled with newfound mischief.

“Seems so darling,” he greeted pushing off the pillar “and it does, doesn’t it? Little rave is just what everyone needs… Let off some steam, have some fun. Shame we don’t have music to set the mood.” He knew Nadia had his back in this, it was one of the few constants he actually trusted in this situation which was saying something, “now as much of a sweet-tooth as I happen to be, I’m curious to see the sweetener to this little party hm?”

Looking at the girl walking towards them, Nadia grinned. Good, a pulse. The other woman’s emotions weren’t nearly as easy to read as Otto’s, but that wasn’t a problem. Nadia only needed a sense of what she was feeling to make sure nothing the wrong sort of shady happened here. Not that there really was a wrong sort of shady. Shady was always fun, even if it went to shit. But, taking in the girl’s appearance, her laid back nature as she had a lollipop of all things in her mouth, Nadia couldn’t help but feel that this was going to be nothing but the good kinds of fun.

“I’m all up for parties,” Nadia said. She jerked her head towards Otto. “This guy throws some of the best, I swear. He might not look like it now, but he’s a fun guy. Isn’t that right, Kelly?” She gave him a wink. She was glad that he trusted her still, even after all that she’d told him. Maybe not completely, maybe not the same way that he had before, but the trust was still there. She could feel it, after all. She hefted the box with their delivery into her arms. “Maybe when all this is said and done, we can actually have a party, to celebrate. Music and everything. And booze. So much booze.”

Maybe she would offer these two her lollipops… They seemed like fun and Dot loved some good fun. She had expected a bunch of people with sticks up their asses who would tell her that she’s too immature to be in this business. The type that took themselves way too seriously. Those people were exhausting at the best of times and she wasn’t doing this to be exhausted. Based on the grins these two had, she liked them so far, but she wasn’t naive enough to forget that this was still a job.

It took quite a bit of self-control to stop herself from beatboxing right there and tell them to dance to the music. Slipping the strap of her bag off her shoulder, she waved it slightly at them. “I think this is the sweetener you’re looking for and that’s what I’m looking for,” She nodded to the box. She liked this part a lot, the anticipation right before a handover. “I know a guy who can get us more than booze,” Dot told the woman, a sparkle in her eyes. Sighing, very dramatically, she continued, “But I guess the job comes first. What was agreed to is in the bag.”

Kaden didn’t know much about the situation at hand, but he knew Nic asked him to be here. That was enough. No matter how weird his relationship was with hunting right now, he wasn’t about to drop his loyalties. If a hunter was in need, one he trusted, he was there. The place by the docks looked sketchy enough, seemed appropriate. “You know what it is we’re looking for, Nic?” he asked, making sure for the fifth time tonight that his gun was loaded properly and ready to go. “Probably a little late to ask for details but if you need all of us here, I’m guessing it’s something big and bad.” He wondered if this was some big monster take down, something like the bounty Montgomery had made a call for a while back. Shit, hadn’t thought about that fucker in a while. The thought of the trophy room sent a shiver down his spine. But he trusted Nic and Alain, despite any differences of ideals they had, would never chop off someone's head and keep it. Which was good enough for him. His brow furrowed as he picked up a sound off in the distance, closer to the boathouses on the docks. Looking in that direction, he saw a small flash of movement and a figure headed into one of them. “Hey,” he whispered, nodding over towards the boathouse. A quick glance back and it was clear where the hunters were headed. Whatever shady shit they were looking for, pretty sure they found it.

While Nicodemus still couldn’t quite wrap his head around what a turn it had been with the Bossman, now known as Roy Chambers, he didn’t question Erin when she told him she might have found a way to figure out what the fuck he was. All he did was agree, make a few calls, then pack up what was necessary before making his way to the agreed upon meeting place. It was gonna be a long night. Shit, it had been awhile since he had worked with one hunter. Let alone a whole gaggle of them. That was just the bounty way. He worked his jaw as he double-checked the edges of the knife he carried. “Reckon it ain’t somethin’ that’s gonna be easy-breezy,” he muttered as he slid it back into its sheath. “But hell, it ain’t ever is.” His fingertips lightly tapped against each other as he cocked his head. Looked toward the same place Kaden had heard the noise. A short nod and a quiet grunt of agreement followed. The calm that settled over him before most hunts began to run its course. “Ain’t no time like the fuckin’ present,” he whispered as he started to move, boots quiet. “We goin’ in quiet or goin’ in loud?”

While Alain was still unsure of why it was that Nic had asked all of them to come here, he was relieved to see that he was not the only clueless one here. It was reassuring to be with familiar faces, and with people he knew he could trust, but some details would have been great. On the one hand, he doubted that she would put them all in mortal danger without warnings, but on the other hand, if the hunter needed back up, this could not be good. “Going in loudly when we have no idea what’s in there, that sounds like a really shitty idea, Nic,” walking beside him, the hunter repressed a yawn. He had managed to get a bit of sleep lately, but he was still having too many nightmares to get rather proper rest. Tired or not, he still would help, because while he never signed up for anything, he had always acted like it was the case. With no idea of what to expect, he had left his sword home and gone for shorter blades, and probably for the best, all things considered.

“Stop yawning, slayer,” Kaden said, giving Alain a small nudge. “Isn’t this your normal hours, anyway? When all the creatures of the night come out and shit?” He was giving the other hunter some grief, sure, but he did kind of hope he wasn’t too exhausted to be here. One mistake on a hunt, especially one like this where the details were sparse and the threat seemingly high, well, that could be deadly. Kaden nodded at the suggestion to keep it quiet as they headed in. There were a few entrances and it was best they split up if they were trying to go for a surprise attack. A few gestures and nods and it was figured out. Kaden creeped up to the side door, listened a moment, and heard voices inside. They seemed occupied. For now. Good enough for him. He did his best to slowly and silently open the door, sneaking through and hiding behind a crate near the entrance. With his pistol in hand, he leaned around the corner to get a better look at what was going on. Three people as far as he could tell. None of them werewolves as far as he knew, either. One guy, didn’t recognize him, two women. The one was also unfamiliar, but the other... Was that… “Nadia?” he found himself saying out loud. Or rather, whoever was in her body. Shit, he didn’t mean to do that. He also didn’t mean to keep walking forward. But he had and he fucking tripped and stumbled over a rope on the ground. Putain. So much for his stealth approach.

They were in the middle of the transaction, the briefcase being opened and the requested black-steel music box embossed with silver images of graeco-figures deifying some strange entity revealed, nestled within a bed of foam to protect it from any harm. “As discussed, acquired and undamaged.” Though not tested, Otto didn’t know what this thing was meant to do but the less he knew the more deniability he had regarding it. Closing the lid once more and clicking it shut the runes engraved across its surface glowed a bright purple before fading from sight once more to prevent anyone untoward tampering with it. “Wonderful, in that case let’s exchange and maybe after this we can all go cele-” but any further remark was cut off, by the sudden intrusion of another voice from a stack of crates nearby. Shit. His eyes cut to the man he didn’t recognise who tripped over the rope in judgemental frustration.

But this stranger’s focus seemed to be on Nadia, recognising her - or recognised the old her most likely. But there were perks to this being the Nadia he’d worked with for so long and on so many occasions. A silent language that a subtle look or expression could convey a thousand messages. So the curious look between Nadia and this stranger and the thin smile that followed spoke volumes. Play him, buy us some time. In the interim, Otto subtly scanned the nearby vicinity for options they could run, but who knew how many more people this dude might’ve brought along. The warehouse might be surrounded.... They had their guns but a firefight was never ideal if it could be avoided.

His eyes passed a few of the boats moored nearby. Maybe if they could rig one up it’d be a decent means of escape… Otto glanced at the other woman unsure if he could trust her or if she’d staged this whole thing. What he did know was he wasn’t going to die because of some fucked over job.

Things were going good. Easy, even. And then Kaden fucking Langley literally tripped his way into the meeting. Nadia pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to maintain her control. But, hey, things were still going well. Just not easy. Well, she didn’t care for easy, anyway. She made sure the box was with the others, and she gave Otto a wink. She knew what to do here. “Heya, Kadie!” she said with a sweet smile, letting it reach her eyes. Nadia Diaz had a great smile. Very charming. Easily disarming. Perfect for getting people to let their guard down, even if they knew they were locking eyes with a rattlesnake. The problem with Kaden was that he knew. He knew what she was, had looked at her and really seen her. He wouldn’t be fooled again. Not for long, at least. But she still had the advantage. He didn’t want to hurt her. Well, actually, he probably wanted to hurt her really, really badly. But he didn’t want to hurt Nadia Diaz. She gave him a wave. “Been a minute, yeah? How’s it going? What are you and your friends doing skulking around the docks at such late hours?” She walked a little closer to him, attempting to block Otto and the other woman to give her partner time to think. She knew the bastard would still be quick on his feet. She just had to play distraction. In a stage whisper, she said, “You know that dangerous people hang around the docks, right?”

For all the things Dot had done, she had never been caught before. Sure, she had gotten in trouble with the cops before, gotten a slap on the wrist for trespassing or some community service for fighting, but this was different. Had he been alone, she would have just gone for her gun, but as Nadia pointed out, he had friends. Her lips pressed as she looked over at Otto, trying to hide the rising panic she felt. She was no professional at this and she knew it. She began to inch towards the door she had come through, bag on her shoulder. The deal wasn’t happening with company. Kaden being here was no good sign. Blanche had liked him, but Dot had never really been around him enough to form an opinion other than ‘fun to make fun of on the internet’. “This is a closed, invite only party,” She chirped, popping her lollipop back in her mouth. “Very exclusive rave you just wandered into and partycrashers are no fun. Unless they’re me, but you’re not me, so no fun,” She rambled around the candy. “So. Shoo.”

Alain had a point and Nicodemus nodded in agreement. “Yup, you got a pretty good fuckin’ point there.” He muttered to Alain as he crouched himself and followed behind Kaden through the door, his own gun drawn and a hand over the knife on his belt. Better to survey the area, get the lay of the land, and--Goddamn it, Kaden. Nicodemus pursed his lips and breathed in sharply. That’s alright, he thought. The rest of them could go around, surprise. And then that was also shot to shit at the word friends. He nodded to himself, resigned. “That’s fine,” he grunted quietly. “Knees gettin’ tired anyway.” The hunter stood and worked his jaw as he walked beside Kaden, pistol resting against his shoulder. He glanced at the briefcase between the three of them. The way it looked, the three of them were all talkers. Time wasters. He sucked at his teeth. “Could save us all some time and fuck off,” he said with a tilt of his head as he took a small step forward. Mediation wasn’t a skill he spent time or money on. “Chattin’ ain’t what we’re here for.”

Alain’s eyebrows raised as he gave Kaden an Italian salute. Of course it was ideal to him for things to be happening at this time of the day, but lately he had had to skip a few cemetery trips in order to rest a little. It would be fine, it had to be fine. Besides, even if he was not at the top of his form, he had to be here for these two hunters. Although that did not mean he would agree with everything they did. Are you fucking kidding me? Breathing out loudly, his eyebrows furrowed as he recognized Nadia. What in the goddamn hell was she doing here? He did not suppose that now would be the time to question her life choices, but from the look on his face, you could get an idea of how disappointed he was. The other two, he did not know, but he was not impressed. “Cute,” he said with a sucking sound of disapproval. Now that their plans of being quiet had gone down the drain, he supposed that the least they could do was not to waste their time trying to have a conversation with these people. “Yeah, let’s get this over with,” he agreed.

Shit. There went the stealth approach once and for all. And it was painfully clear which Nadia he was dealing with. At least he didn’t have to worry about this being some weird hostage situation “Hello Janet,” Kaden replied, using Blanche’s nickname for the ghost with disdain as he stepped out from the shadows, properly this time. He kept his fingers ready on the trigger of his pistol just in case. Nadia was no danger to him, but the ghost, Janet or Cordelia or whoever she was, would kill him without a single remorse. He knew that much. “Funny I could say the same to you. Dangerous and all that. Good thing none of us are out here wandering all alone.” The other hunters had seemingly given up the pretense of stealth as well. He peered around Nadia’s body to get a better look at her cohorts here. “Hey. No one move,” he said, holding his gun up, aimed at the woman trying to make a break for the door in the back. “My invitation is right here so how about you show us what you’ve got there.” Kaden wasn’t sure if these were the calls to be making or what exactly they were here for but if it was to break up something or extract something, it was going to be a lot harder to do if anyone fled. “You wouldn’t want to ditch the party early. We’re just getting started.”

Otto had hoped he could slink away to at least get on board one of the boats, having made it several steps backwards though mindful not to blindly signal his intent or direction with his body language. But as another burlier man stood up behind Kaden holding a pistol he knew this evening was likely very soon going to go to hell in a handbasket. What was it with people and guns? They were so… primitive. But it didn’t change the danger they posed either way. His magic ebbed near to the surface, practically urging him to throw the first shot at these intruders and yet he bided his time. No need to give away his game just yet. He’d purposefully not tapped his reserve at all just in case, always just in case. His leather clad grip tightened on the briefcase handle, shifting it out of the line of sight of these assholes while running through the list of options that were fast running short. Think Nova. One thing they did have in their favour was positioning. These guys were too closely spaced and that tipped the balance in their favour. Maybe if they could carall them some density spells would be enough to immobilise them where they stood. Give them enough time to get the hell out of dodge. The guns were trained on the others for now, that counted for something at least. He took a few more steps, nearing some crates stacked up. Just in case things went sideways, cover never hurt. “Sorry, I was taught better than to hang around and talk to creepy men following me at night. Avidazen.”

“It’s cuter when the kid calls me that,” Nadia said conversationally, one hand on the strap of her shotgun, the other resting near her pistol holster. “Speaking of, let her know I said hey, and I want my gun back.” She pretended to think a bit before she perked back up. “Oh! And tell her next time I won’t fucking miss, ‘kay?” She checked on Otto and the chick that was with them, hoping that the two of them would get out before she had to do anything serious. She took a step towards Kaden as soon as he pulled a gun out. Like second nature, she smoothly pulled her own revolver out and leveled it at him. “Sorry, babe. Put the gun down. I think we both know which of the two of us is more likely to shoot someone, yeah?” Could they not just fucking leave? “Party’s over, folks!” she called out to the people with Kaden. “If you could let us be on our way, that’d be so fucking nice.” She tried to avoid the look of disappointment on… Alain’s (she thought that was Alain’s) face. She needed to stay calm. She needed to keep her cool. She… really fucking wanted to kill Kaden, still. She’d take the shot as soon as they all lowered their guards, and then she was making a break for it.

Bro, Dot was not fucking into this. She was so not into this. “Listen, Kandy, Blanche wouldn’t be happy if you went around shooting her ex girlfriend so like what if you put down the gun and I head out.” Dot loved fights, she really did, but she liked them when guns weren’t drawn. She was pretty out of her fucking depth here. “I don’t want to fight, ‘cause we all who’s gonna win and it ain’t these two,” She nodded toward Otto and Nadia with a shrug. “I mean unless you want me to fight with you guys, would that get me off the hook? I might not be too much help, I’m literally a TA, but I got a gun.That wasn’t a threat to clarify. What do you say Mr. Thickness? Kandy? Tall Napoleon?

Nicodemus wasn’t in the mood. These people talked too fucking much. He sure as shit wasn’t Kandy. Tall Napoleon? Nope. That only left one option. Jesus fucking Christ. He glowered but didn’t move his eyes from the one near the briefcase. He shook his head. “This ain’t a conversation.” His stance shifted and the dirt under his boot crunched. They weren’t going the easy route of just handing off the briefcase, were they? Fine enough. The three hunters had a job to do and they would sure as shit see it through. One way or the other. He spat to the side. His hand tightened around his gun, finger under the trigger guard. A second passed before he took off into a dead sprint. Straight toward the briefcase.

“Blanche? What the fuck does pipsqueak have to do with this? Leave her out of--” Before Kaden could finish, it looked like Nic had the briefcase covered, for now. And he was getting shit started. Great. Fighting was better than talking anyway. “No one leaves til we get what we came here for.” Kaden took a shot at the door, hoping to scare the obnoxious TA lady. Catching Alain’s glance, he gave him a quick nod to her. If he had the TA covered, then that left him free to deal with Janet. He knew Nadia had a gun trained on him and while he had a feeling Nadia would do what she could to save him, bullets fired real fast. He ducked behind a box briefly before taking off towards her. Maybe if he could get there fast enough, disarm her, he could help Nic. If he needed it.

Well shit. Those were the initial thoughts that went through Otto’s mind as Popeye McGee took off in a sprint straight at him. Shoving his hand into his pocket and drawing out a pile of iron filings these were dusted over the briefcase, there was a moment of concentration before an aura of purple seemed to circle the briefcase and seep into its essence with it suddenly becoming heavier in his grip. Backing up towards the dock he extended his arm back fighting against the significantly increased weight “hey now, back the fuck up or I drop it and then nobody gets their due!” With the weight of it now and the water finding it again would be a job for anyone. Not impossible, but more work than whatever this job was worth.

Well those were some crappy nicknames coming from Iago - yes, he had read Othello a while ago - Alain deadpanned as she approached them, probably hoping that she could switch sides like that with no consequences. Considering that she was a skinny woman, and that it didn't take too much to knock someone out (much to most people's surprise), it didn't take much for Alain to get rid of the betrayer and leave her down. Glancing over at the drama queen with the suitcase, the hunter tilted his head to the side and looked over at Kaden to communicate his fed-up-ness with someone, then back at the magician. "You do realize that even if you drop that suitcase, you still have to deal with us next? This doesn't change much for you. Or... Well, it does. It gets things a lot worse."

This was all going to shit. Nadia could see that clearly. Fuck the briefcase, fuck the payment, and fuck that bastard charging at her. It wasn’t particularly smart to run at the woman with a gun trained on you, but Nadia had to give Kaden credit. The guy had balls. Too bad that wasn’t going to save his life. Finger on the trigger, she smiled as he got close and, as she pressed down, gave up control for a brief moment.

Nadia always seemed to be around for the inevitable unhappy ending, and her eyes widened as she watch the bullet from her own gun connect with Kaden’s chest. It was like the cabin all over again. She tried to drop the gun, tried to step forward, but she couldn’t move. She wasn’t really in control at all.

Even though Nadia wanted to gloat, there wasn’t anytime. “Too fucking slow,” she told Kaden before she turned on her heels and started running. “It’s not worth it!” She yelled at Otto, hoping he’d take the hint. They needed to fucking leave.

Kaden was running full out, eyes on Nadia. The gun was drawn, she looked ready to shoot, and Nadia might, but Nadia would never let her. He had to count on that. He had to. He kept running at her. He was sprinting, he almost reached her. Until he didn’t. Something hit him. No. Worse. Something shot him. Putain. Kaden dropped down and screamed out in pain, hand clutching to his chest. Fuck, fuck. Where did it hit? Upper. Near the collarbone. Not heart. Fine. He’d be fine. He hoped. But fuck it hurt. “Fuck off, Janet! I’ll make sure your soul is banished to fucking hell!” He curled up by one of the boxes, hand pressed against the wound, blood spilling out. Aw shit, he saw black at the corners of his vision. He tried to fight it off but he was slipping. He looked around for something to press to the wound, hold it together, so he could hold himself together, too.

The tides were turning fast, one person choked out and a gunshot that echoed across the warehouse with two individuals advancing on his space. Apparently not deterred by the notion of losing the thing they came for. Otto’s eyes slid across to Nadia and then to the pile of cash in the backpack the woman had brought along, with her out cold it was there for the taking. So Otto abruptly dropped the case which hit the ground with a dull thud, shoved his hand out in the direction of the bag and curled his fingers muttering the simple summoning incantation. The bag jerked as if tethered by some unseen force before it arrived in his hand leaving him standing there with the two men making ground fast. His hand shoved once more into his pocket and a scattering of iron filings were tossed out in an arc through which Otto pushed an open palm. The magic radiated in a sudden conical shockwave, reverberating around normal air suddenly growing denser and slowing those that moved through it. Giving him enough time to turn and hightail it after Nadia towards one of the boats. “Unhook the rope! I’ll get the engine!”

Nicodemus breathed in sharply through his nose. If the case went into the water, then the fucker holding it wouldn’t be far behind. He moved with an intensity he hadn’t carried with him before. An intensity that if they didn’t get this fucking job over and done with, there was a lot more to lose. A hell of a lot more. Langley was shot, Alain had knocked someone out, and the two left behind were scrambling. Something slowed his progress and he strained against it, sweat gathering at his temples and the back of his neck. It didn’t matter, he thought, as he continued to brute force through it, muscles and tendons bunched as he worked to push through it. The case had been dropped and as far as he was concerned, he didn’t care if any justice or whatever other asinine bullshit happened. The case was what they came for and it’s what they would leave with. He pushed further, stepped closer. Fuck, he hated magic. Vurals withstanding. Blood gathered between his teeth but it didn’t taste like copper when he managed to get closer to the case. Just a few more steps and his hand would be able to wrap around its handle.

With quick fingers, Nadia untied the rope from the dock, more than anxious to get the hell out of Dodge. But the anxiety, the stress, it wasn’t really hers. She wished she could get rid of it, for good. But at least she had control for the time being. She gave a smirk and waved at the men still left on the docks. Win or lose, it didn’t fucking matter today. She turned around and sank down into one of the boat seats as they drove away, running a hand through her hair and laughing breathlessly. “What a fucking shitshow, huh?” She closed her eyes, not even paying attention to an answer. What a fucking shitshow. She never seemed to get paid enough for these things.

[contrabandhothead]

Hi, I hope you're having a great day! I was wondering if I could get a ship? I'm blond with hazel eyes, and I'm around 5'3. I love painting, and my plants. I'm generally very quiet and polite, but if someone hurts one of my friends I will fight them (verbally). Basically sitting down with a Disappointed™ look and call then out on their bullshit. I don't like being in a leadership position but I will take charge if necessary. Thank you!!

Ron Speirs 

listen 

you remind me of Lipton

I don’t know why 

you just do 

play along with me here m’kay 

anyways moving onnnnn

I think you’d balance out Ron really well 

he’s too reckless and spontaneous to function half the time

you don’t change him (because you don’t want him to change obviously who would want that) but you do bring out the better side of him 

your Mom Friend™ instincts actually make him pay attention to his own wellbeing more often

i love height difference

did i mention how much i love height difference??? BECAUSE I LOVE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE- 

this man is around 7 inches taller than you, calculated that just for you luv

hair color contrast... THE FLAVOR OF THIS SHIP 

i think he really admires your talent for painting, but he’d probably only admit it to you when you’re alone and he’s sleep deprived

he’s very private about his relationships in general 

but he’s soft af™ for you 

your house is filled from wall to wall with your paintings and plants

i think that you guys are one of those couples that can sit in comfortable silence without it being super weird and you’re both just like chill with it 

so like 

vibes 

admires your loyalty to your friends and the full 180° your personality can do in order to protect them

honestly 

he’s whipped 

what a freakin simp 

i think you both push each other outside of your comfort zones in the best way possible 

he pushes you to take charge and be a leader, and you push him to take care of himself and actually think logically instead of just acting immediately 

OK SO HOW YOU GUYS MET BECAUSE WE DISH OUT FULL STORYLINES IN THIS HOUSEHOLD- 

you were a member of Easy Co. 

you and Lipton were best friends, you were his right hand man 

when Dog Company was fused into Easy Co., Speirs learned to respect you and Lip r e a l quick

especially since all the men respect you guys like crazy 

now listen 

you didn’t actually have an important rank in Easy Co. 

Lip just has you there for emotional support (he really needs it lets be honest) 

and we all know that Speirs respects Lip, so he automatically respects you 

thinks you’re badass 

now like 

Carwood knows you very well, especially since you guys have been through a literal war together

so when he sees you and Speirs he’s just like “oh... o H” 

he knows what’s going on even if you don’t know 

but he’s not gonna mention it until you figure it out for yourself and forbids any of the men from talking about it 

and it’s Momma Lip, so of course all the boys keep their lips sealed 

you and Ron weren’t particularly close, you had more of a begrudging respect for each other 

see, the reason your relationship was like that at the beginning was because Ron has trust issues and that’s no secret 

he doesn’t wanna get close to anyone 

especially not someone he knows he’s gonna fall in love with 

*laughs in future* oh how the turn tables have turned

but he slowly starts to feel himself turn his gaze toward your back every now and then 

he’s more of an admire from afar type of person 

you always felt someone’s gaze burning into you 

but you never found out who it was 

it’s not like you’re gonna run around asking everyone if they like to stare at you in their free time 

but you could spot bullsh*t from a mile away 

and wowwwwww did Ron try to bullsh*t a lot 

especially his feelings 

you always took it upon yourself to make sure that he was doing fine after another man was lost or a battle didn’t go as expected 

Ron appreciated that 

but unfortunately for him, that just made him fall even harder

his respect for you began to blossom into something more, and there was nothing he could do to control it no matter how hard he tried 

his fondness of you began to show 

always asking the other officers if he could be on your watch shift or take you along for missions 

Nixon just smirked at Winters 

Winters just shakes his head 

however, his longing stares all came to a stop one day when the unexpected happened 

we all know Ron can pull some dumb b*tch moves 

but you almost lost it when this moron ran across yet ANOTHER battle field where people were OPEN FIRING to get to your position 

he finally gets there (somehow untouched, a miracle) and he’s just like “hey” 

and you’re like 

“hey? HEY!?” 

“you just ran across an entire battlefield, you could’ve been shot or killed, and all you have to say is HEY?” 

“...” 

“yeah? should I have said something else?” 

you’re practically screeching at him at this point, he’s so dumb sometimes 

you just give him that look of Disappointment™ 

and shake your head 

“Just please don’t do it again. I think I’m more likely to die of a heart attack from you running across a battefield than die from actually getting shot.” 

you just pecked his lips and turn back to your gun

“Anyways, let’s focus. We’ve got a war to win.” 

Ron is shocked and internally screaming 

he always thought he’d have to be the one to make the first move, especially since you’re so quiet and he’s never seen you do something so bold

he’s secretly relieved though, he didn’t know if he had the guts to do it either

he grins to himself before looking forwards, determined to survive this war now that he actually has something important to go home to 

I hope you liked this and that it lives up to expectations because I’m writing it really late... I hope you had a fantastic day, and if you didn’t, I hope this made it a little better!❤︎