#i knew i had to join the bandwagon

[roanofarcc]

WORTH YOUR WHILE

pairing. Tyler Owens x fem!reader

summary. as the local weather woman, you shared an interesting rivalry with your hometown storm-chaser. while you always reported on the dangerous weather from a safe distance, tyler barreled into it head-first. but things change the night of the county fair when you find yourself in the middle of a storm rather than in the safely of a newsroom. 

warnings. dramatic fluff, hurt/comfort, description of tornados, a curse word or two, description of injury, slightly inaccurate meteorological info.

word count. 2.9k || masterlist

a/n. hopping on the glen powell bandwagon bc he and daisy absolutely killed it in twisters!! feel free to send me requests for tyler, kate, and javi!

“If you keep looking at him like that your face will get stuck in a scowl, which is really bad for television,” your friend said, leaning into your side. With a roll of your eyes, you managed to pull your attention away from the self-titled ‘tornado wrangler’ who had stirred up a fuss in the line for funnel cakes. People buzzed all around him as he signed shirts and took photos, never dropping his smile that you often dreamed about smacking right off of his face. 

You had grown up alongside Tyler Owens, never as friends but as friends of friends. After you both split off for school to study meteorology, you returned to your hometown for very different reasons. Tyler started in the business of storm chasing, live streaming his adventures to people all across the internet who sensationalized the dangerous weather, and you scored a job as your hometown’s Weather Woman. Your job was to warn people about the threat of tornados while his was to drive head-on into them. 

That was where you two drew your lines in the sand when it came to each other. He thought you were scared of taking risks while you thought his thrill-seeking was stupid and would eventually get him or one of his team members hurt. Those opinions on each other's job led to you two butting heads every time you encountered one another. His mere presence was enough to annoy you, especially at your favorite event of the summer, the fair. 

“Look who it is,” Tyler’s voice sounded near you and your friend nudged your arm in the direction of it. You looked away from her just as he approached you, tipping his hat and flashing his teeth in a smile. “Didn’t know they still let you out of the newsroom these days.” 

You crossed your arms over your chest, as the air of arrogance surrounding him nearly choked you out. “Don’t you have a tornado to chase?” you asked, wanting to end the conversation before it fully started. Unfortunately, he never seemed put off by your jabs, but he was assumed by them. 

“I took the night off,” he replied. “I wanted to see if there was anything worth my while here tonight.” 

You raised your brows. “Oh really?” He nodded, smiling brightly at you. “Find anything yet?” 

“Maybe,” he shrugged. “It’d be easier if she answered my phone calls.” 

Tyler disliked you a whole lot less than you disliked him. After you graduated and he started storm chasing, he tried at every given opportunity to get you to join his team. Even years later he still tried to, no matter how many times you told him the risk he was putting himself and his team in every time they barreled into a storm cell. He was relentless but you were happy where you were at. You wanted to help people when it came to severe weather, not make the storm look enticing for internet audiences. 

“I already told you, I’m not interested.” Storm chasing was a dangerous game that you had no intention of playing. Being from the Midwest, you had lived through your share of tornados. Chasing them was not in apart of your career path.

His smile faded slightly before he seemed to snap back to himself. “All I’m saying is, we could use a mind like yours out in the field.” The compliment was nice, you could admit that to yourself, but it wouldn’t win you over. He knew that too. “But suit yourself.” And with that he walked off, meeting up with the rest of his team that joined him at the fair that night. 

Your friend whistled lowly. “I don’t know how you do it,” she said. 

“Do what?” 

“Say no to a man like that.” You rolled your eyes once more as the line you were in moved. As she stepped forward to order, you threw a quick glance over your shoulder in the direction Tyler had walked off in. You saw him happily chatting with his team before glancing back at you for just a moment before you returned your gaze forward.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of colorful lights, sticky heat, and enough fried food to make your stomach ache in the best possible way. Your friend left after a couple hours of roaming the prize barns and laughing at the kids screaming their heads off on the carnival rides, but you stuck around for a little longer, relishing in the sweet nostalgia the fair brought you. 

Before you had taken a couple of well-deserved days of work, you and your team had predicted a storm front moving. Later that night was supposed to bring rainfall and a thunderstorm or two popping up around the county and neighboring areas. You thought you’d have plenty of time to roam the fair for a little longer until it hit, but you noticed the shift in the weather almost immediately. The sudden uptick in wind pricked the back of your neck as the distant rumble of thunder echoed above the fair chaos. 

It was difficult to predict everything, that you had learned early on in your career. It also was hard to predict how quickly weather could change from bad to deadly. One moment you’re gazing up through the lights into the night sky, trying to gauge the incoming storm, and the next, the sirens are blaring across the fairgrounds. 

The crowd of people running in every direction made the walkways hazardous. You were knocked into and jostled around as you tried to run toward the restrooms that doubled as storm shelters. They were clear at the opposite end of the walkway, but they were your closest option. You dodged and weaved through the swarms of people, trying to stay on your feet. 

You only made it halfway to the shelter when you were stopped by the awful cries of a little girl who sat under the counter of one of the carnival games. She hugged her knees to her chest and called out for her mom, but no one who rushed by stopped. You didn’t think twice before you sidestepped the fleeing crowd and crouched down in front of the little girl. The wind picked up significantly, blowing the cheap prizes right out of the booths and sending everything flying around and knocking into people. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” you raised your voice above the howl of wind and frantic people. 

“My mom!” she cried harder. “I lost her. I don’t know where she is!” 

You glanced back up at the sky. The lightning strikes illuminated the massive, dark mass moving in quickly. “Come with me, and I’ll help you find her, okay?” 

The noise all around grew louder, frightening the little girl, along with yourself, but as you outstretched your hand, she took it, and you quickly pulled her to her feet before you both took off running. The speakers urged everyone to seek shelter immediately, but you watched as people raced in the opposite direction of the shelters, probably bee-lining to cars in an awful call. They’d never out race it. 

“Charlotte!” Someone screamed and the little girl whipped her head around before she tugged hard on your hand. From behind you, the little girl’s mother appeared, immediately scooping up her daughter in her arms. “Oh my, God. Thank you!” she said, looking at you with teary eyes. 

“We have to take cover,” you told her, gently pushing her forward. “The shelter’s just up that way.” She thanked you again before she took off with her daughter in her arms. You wanted to follow, it was stupid not to when the wind gusts became more powerful, rattling everything dangerously and making it hard to think. But there were more people unsure of where to go and what to do. Groups of kids who had been dropped off for the evening stumbling frantically out of the rides and still dizzy. You stepped from the path and tried to direct people as best you could, shouting in tune with the speaker and the sirens for them to hurry into the shelter. 

It wasn’t until larger objects were plucked from the ground and tossed into the air like paper did you abandoned your aiding. The tornado screeched to life, ripping apart pieces of the show barns and rides with ease. You tried to close the distance between yourself and the shelter once more, but it wasn’t people in need that stopped you, it was a sheet of metal pried from the side of one of the food trucks. You tried to dodge the hurling objects, but the sheet came at you hard and fast. 

It sliced your shin, sending a wave of pain up through the rest of your leg. You stumbled, determined to stay upright, but the wind was too strong for your limping figure, and you toppled against the concrete, slamming your knees against the ground before you rolled over into the lousy shelter of a game’s tent somehow still standing. 

Panic started to set in as the storm raged around you, loud and monstrous. You covered your wound with your hands, unsure of where the blaring of the tornado ended and the fast-paced beat of your heart started, drumming in your ears and beating against your skull. You knew you couldn’t stay there, but leaving was just as dangerous as every attraction of the fair swirled around in the air. The cut from your leg painted your hands red and throbbed; it would only slow you down if you tried to run, creating even more of a risk. 

You didn’t know what to do. All of your life, the storms you had faced you’d always been lucky enough to find shelter in plenty of time, from the cellar in your backyard to your high school’s basement created just for such an occasion. 

Through the freight train sounding winds and your thundering heart, you heard a couple of voices that had to be close. Tearing your eyes away from the cut on your leg, you watched as another group of people sprinted down the walkway as someone yelled behind them to run. 

In all of your life, you’d never been so relieved to see Tyler Owens’s face standing just a few feet away; he hadn’t spotted you, and for a terrifying moment you thought he’d be unable to hear you yell out above the screaming storm. But somehow, he did. His head snapped in your direction, rain-coated and windblown, looking both out of sorts and in his element. 

“What the hell are you doing?” he yelled as he ran over to you, dodging flying debris that grew larger by the minute. The second he crouched down in front of you, his eyes flickered onto your legs, and the blood seeping out between your fingers as you tried to keep pressure on the wound. 

“I thought I’d just hang out here,” you said, your sarcasm watered down by the fear clear in your teary eyes.

His brows furrowed, deep in thought for a moment as he looked between you and the distance there was still to cross to the only close shelter. Without saying a word, he peeled off his wet flannel, leaving himself in a shirt that was already nearly soaked through as the sideways rain beat down against the both of you. “I’m gonna tie this around your leg and then we’re gonna run, okay?” 

You shook your head frantically. The ache in your legs was intense and you had already lost a good amount of blood, not enough to make you woozy but you were well on your way. It felt like your heart had crawled up your throat, making it hard to breathe as panic soaked you to the bone along with the rain. Everything around you seemed to be ripped from the ground, even the anchored tent you were under was seconds away from being picked up. 

“Hey,” he said, grabbing a hold of your shoulders, shaking you slightly. “It’ll be alright. You gotta trust me, though.” The sincerity shined in his eyes, bright as the rest of the power around you flickered wickedly. With a nod of your head, you dropped your hands from your leg and let him tie the flannel around your cut. As he pulled it tight, you cried out in pain. “I’m sorry,” he kept repeating until it was knotted. Quickly, he jumped to his feet and helped you up, looping an arm around your waist as you slung an arm around his shoulders. 

“Ready?” You didn’t get a chance to respond as the tent you were under was plucked from the ground, anchors and all, and flung backward into the tornado as it tore through the front entrance of the fairgrounds. Tyler took off, giving you no choice but to follow. 

You two stayed low, trying desperately to avoid the flying objects. With each step your leg burned, but Tyler’s hold on you was strong, not giving any room for you to lag behind or slip away. It felt like hours of running, but it was no more than a minute or two before you reached the shelter. The only major injury between the two of you was your leg, otherwise, you both collected a series of little cuts and bruises from your journey. 

Stumbling into the restroom, you were met with a hoard of scared fairgoers. You two managed to find a spot to slot yourself in with everyone else. He helped you lower yourself to the floor back in the corner just as the tornado was fully on top of you. You brought your knees up to your chest and covered your head. Tyler sat flushed against your side; you felt his hands rest over the top of yours as the building rattled violently. Squeezing your eyes shut, you refused to see the damage until the howl of wind subsided and people started to stir. 

Once it was over, everyone stumbled out of the shelter, getting jumbled together as police and ambulances rushed to the scene. Amongst people pushing and shoving to find their loved ones and get the hell home, you and Tyler were separated and before you could look for him, an EMT caught sight of your bloodied leg and ushered you to one of the ambulances. 

You sat on the back after the EMT stitched up your leg, looking over the torn-apart fairgrounds. Debris was littered everywhere, food trucks and carts overturned and some demolished, and rides were dislocated and strewn about in pieces. 

You clutched the bloodied flannel to your chest, shivering in the loss of adrenaline and temperature drop, and watched the sea of people until a familiar face popped into view, looking a little frantic as he stumbled through the crowd looking like he was in search of something. His eyes finally settled on you before he quickly pushed his way through the crowd until he reached you. 

“Hi,” you greeted, smiling tiredly. 

“I was looking for you everywhere,” he said, sounding slightly out of breath. “I looked away for a second and you were gone and-” You continued to smile, and he stopped himself. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“Nothing,” you replied quietly before clearing your throat. “I, um, I just wanted to thank you. And I’m sorry for ruining your flannel.” You gestured to the ruined piece of clothing resting in your lap. 

Tyler was quiet for a moment, looking at the large bandage around your shin. “Don’t mention it,” he said, brushing off your thanks like he hadn’t just pretty much saved your life. “What were you doing out there anyway?” 

You sighed, feeling a creep of embarrassment up your spine. You should’ve known better but at the moment you just wanted to help people and had little regard for your own safety, until your leg was sliced open, that was. “There were people still out there, trying to figure out where to go. I was trying to help.” 

“That was stupid,” he said. “But brave. Stupidly brave, maybe.” 

“Funny. I think I’ve said the same thing about you a time for two.” 

His signature smirk slowly fell onto his lips. “Not to my face.”

“Oh, no. Never.” 

Tyler laughed, gently patting your knee, lingering for a moment before he dropped his hand back at his side. Someone called out your name, and you spotted your friend running back through the crowd. She had called you as soon as you had made it to the ambulance and told you she’d come back to take you home. 

“You should get some rest,” he said. “I’ll see you around.” As he turned around to walk away, you called out to him. 

“Tyler, wait.” He paused. “You should try calling me again. Maybe I’ll answer this time.” Breaking out in a grin, he tipped his hat in another goodbye, leaving you with a new feeling stirring inside your chest. 

Bonus! 

Hours later, after you had cleaned yourself up, you were tucked into bed, reading by the lamp light knowing sleep was probably far off after the events of the night. You didn’t expect your phone to ring that late into the night, and when you glanced at it, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at the caller ID, but that time it was something besides annoyance that you felt. 

You answered, discarding your book on your nightstand. “You don’t waste any time do you,” you teased. 

“What I can say,” Tyler said on the other line. “I know when I find something worth my while.” 

[lipglossboy]

Disgusting holy shit

and while we’re talking abt noah schnapp as a fandom, we should also be calling out brett gelman who is a HUGE zionist and is posting increasingly troubling calls for violence, is vehemently opposed to a ceasefire, and posts pictures of normal (aka non-famous/public figures) pro-palestinian protestors to his insta story, basically saying “find them” to his almost 1 millions followers

[earako]

Saw de-aged Stan stuff and wanna join the Ford realizing Stan was a baby when he was kicked out bandwagon

-/-

Their niblings had just celebrated their seventeenth birthday a week ago and Ford couldn't help but think about just how young his niblings are.

Babies...the both of them. It didn't matter if they would be old enough to start college soon, Mabel and Dipper were still children and the thought of either of them on the streets, cold, hungry, and alone filled Ford with a rage so intense he genuinely scared himself.

How anyone could look at a 17 year old child and think that they could survive just fine on their own without a home, friends, family, or a high school diploma truly baffled Ford.

Seventeen...it was right there in the name. Teen. A child. Not an adult.

Seventeen year olds still needed guidance and correction. They still needed to be taught what 'better' meant because how could they know better if they had no reference for what exactly 'better' looked like.

A seventeen year old kicked out on the street nowadays would result in steep consquences for the offending party. There would be an investigation, law enforcement, organizations that didn't really exist back when Ford and Stan were kids would get involved.

Stan...

Stan was seventeen when he was kicked out. Ford used to convince himself that Stan had left willingly. He was too old now to delude himself with that lie.

Stan, little seventeen year old Stanley, was forced out of his home.

Ford tried to imagine Dipper and Mabel out on the streets. He tried to imagine them with Stan's scars, he tried to imagine their niblings scared, paranoid, ravenous hunger making their little teenage frames shake-

"It was wrong."

"Ford?"

"What Filbrick did," Ford growled, turning to face his brother. "What our father did was beyond inappropriate-" Ford gestured to where Mabel and Dipper were passed out on the lawn, napping in the noon day sun.

They wanted to spend one more summer in Gravity falls before heading off to their final year of high school.

They were so young.

Stan was so young.

"You were Mabel and Dipper's age," Ford continued, "It was wrong." To Ford's dismay his brother just shrugged.

"Yeah, well. Different time and all that." Ford pratically bristled at Stan's nonchalant response.

"If what happened to you happened to the twins you'd be furious-hell, I would be furious!"

"Keep it down, pointdexter, you'll wake the kids!" Stan hissed, his eyes darting over to their still asleep niblings. Ford clamped his mouth shut, slowly exhaling, and closed his eyes.

He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder.

Stan.

"Look, I appreciate you going all big brother mode but honestly, what could you have done?"

"I could have stood up to Pa."

"After you thought I had betrayed you?" Ford was silent.

Stan...Stan had a point. Ford was angry and hurting and not thinking about the reprecussions of his fathers actions or of closing the curtains on Stan.

He could have done something though!

...Right?

"Ford, we were the same age. You were a kid too when that happened. We were kids raised with being angry and terrified of our dad as something normal. We couldn't do better then because no one ever showed us what better looked like."

'Like the twins,' went unsaid but Ford already knew thats where Stan's train of thought was headed.

Ironically, their great niece and nephew had to be the ones to show them what an actual loving family looked like.

(No offense to Ma, Ford adored his mother, but she was also a woman of her time...and a compulsive liar...hm...maybe he should take up Shermie on that offer for a therapist recommendation...)

"...I just...seeing now just how young you were..."

"Again, we were the same age, Ford." Ford huffed.

"I still say it was wrong. What Filbrick did."

"I know," Stan said, reaching up to squeeze Ford's shoulder. "Give yourself some slack too, bro. Both of us were young and hurting. But now we're old and making things better." Ford sighed and lightly tapped his fist against Stan's chest.

"And people called you the dumb one?" Stan rolled his eyes and groaned.

"You killed the moment. Good job."

"I try."

[forgeofthenine]

Jumping on the transmogrification bandwagon.

How would the three bachelors react when they find out their s/o is a dragon? Maybe their draconic s/o can let them experience flight in the form of their s/o letting them ride on their back? (Go with whatever you think works best in terms of what kind of dragon they have as an s/o!)

I have to admit, I spent so much time reading about dragons on the wiki and I couldn't decide on just one type of dragon 👀

Believe it or not, I'm low-key obsessed with dragons, I have so many more ideas for the bachelors' and their dragon lovers too. Thank you for the request!

The bachelors finding out their lover is a dragon

Dammon

Getting closer to Dammon is something that happened naturally

As with many other steel dragons, you'd made a successful life living among humanoids within baldurs gate

After years of building your own personal treasure hoard, a collection of buildings and businesses, you were approched by a tiefling refugee

He'd come to you with the proposal of using your long abandoned forge, a home you'd always had trouble keeping filled

It was an easy decision to rent the building to the charasmatic tiefling, even offering him a small discount

You'd find yourself at the property much more often now, popping in on your way past to check in on your new favourite blacksmith

Dammon himself was always excited to see you, happy to set down his tools and keep you in conversation for an hour or two

However, it was only when you and the tiefling were in that uncertain position between friends and dating that you decided it was time to reveal your true nature to him

It was out in the mountains near baldurs gate, where you'd originally grown up, that you spread your wings again and showed Dammon who you really were

It would be a lie to say he wasn't surprised, Dammon was close to a heart attack when he saw your wings and tail unfurl as you grew to tower above him

You both had a very in-depth conversation after the revelation, discussing the lifestyle and expectations a dragon has compared to a 'mere' tiefling

It doesn't scare the blacksmith away though, if anything he's excited to learn more about you

Dammon will definitely gift you lots of pretty jewellery he's made, including pieces that fit you while in your true dragon form

Zevlor

You first met Zevlor when he was still a general within the hellrider ranks

Like many bronze dragons, you never knew when to leave well enough alone, so joining a humanoid army seemed a good idea

You had been with the hellriders for years with them being none the wiser, you and Zevlor bonding over shared ideals

You both had a strong sense of camaraderie and justice, often finding yourself in each others company and soon in a romantic relationship

When Elturel fell however, you had been in your lair, only able to hope and pray that your darling paladin would be returned to you safe

And he was returned, but you'd hardly been able to reunite with him before the tieflings were driven from the city

It only made sense in your mind to join them, despite appearing very human to the naked eye

It was honestly hard to hide your true form as the group travelled

The water tempted you to swim or make a new lair, the endless fighting would've been easier if you'd let yourself spread your wings

It was when you'd reached the grove you also made it to your breaking point

Soon, Zevlor found himself standing on the sand of the Sword Coast watching as a bronze dragon appeared before him in your stead

He really has no words, hardly believing his own eyes as his lover reveals something from his wildest dreams

Zevlors also seen many things and met many people within his life, but this takes him some adjustment

There's also a few discussions that happen between you, and you greatly flustered the poor man when you revealed bronze dragons mate for life

It's certainly a self esteem boost for the older tiefling to know such a noble and loyal being has chosen him out of any possible suitors

Zevlor is also the type to insist on helping you clean and polish your scales, taking care of you even when you're ten times his size

Rolan

A small part of Rolan had always been surprised by your interest in him

The two of you meeting when he and his siblings were in their teens, despite you being seemingly the same age you'd always come across more intelligent and poised than others

He'd always found himself drawn to your company, the two of you easily engaging in conversation for hours at a time

The fact you always smelled like a fresh, rainy morning didn't hurt either

When Rolan and his siblings were driven from Elturel, you were all too happy to join them

Anyone who dared to try and harm the trio instead found a furious silver dragon in human form

The group of you were inseparable, and you'd spent so much time together that you were almost scared to reveal your true self to Rolan

It'd been so long, and anyone could tell that the fledgling wizard was a fussy man

It was only when your group had reached the Shadowlands that Rolan discovered your true form

The mere thought of the three tieflings being taken from you was enough to enrage you to the point of stretching your wings and desperately taking hold of the closest one to you, Rolan

He himself was in absolute shock, between the giant dragon fighting against the ambushers that managed to make off with Lia and Cal

The wizard was distraught, and spent much of his time in the last light inn drunk and angry, even you were a victim of his temper

He was hardly pleased at the secrets you'd been keeping from him

It was only when Cal and Lia were returned, the two fawning over the fact you're a dragon, that Rolan actually pays proper attention to his best friend and crush being a dragon

He has endless questions, knowing you're a long lived species with a great array of knowledge, it's like a neverending interview

He appreciates having a study partner, and then later lover, that can keep up with and even surpass him

Having you around keeps things interesting for Rolan, and you provide him with a sense of security little else can

[seraphinitegames]

Hey.. I'm a newbie on the twc bandwagon and just binged through the 3 books 100 times 😆

I'm not sure if this has been asked before:

In book 3 if I choose supernatural research, we find out about the soul bond and also that it has been faked. However, two things I don't understand from the auction house scene:

1. When I tell Sin the bond is fake, UB says we are not sure of it? I thought we had a good idea that it was a faked one.. I'm guessing I totally misunderstood, in that case, SORRY 😔

2. When I ask Sin to ally with us, he says there is magic beyond his control at play and N is surprised saying "Magic?".. but we already knew it, why they surprised tho?!

I'm sorry if this is a repeat question. I can't wait for your next book.. please take care of yourself ❤️

Aah, I'm so glad you found Wayhaven! I hope you're enjoying all the replays, hehe! :D

As for your questions:

That's more to do with it not being 100% verified, and A and N do like to make sure something is 100% certain before saying it as such, lol.

That actually sounds like a variation error, so I'll check into that when I get to the Book Three edits! (Currently doing a bit of a spruce up on Book One!)

Thank you so much for the asks and for joining this awesome community that has built up around Wayhaven! <3

[sharkneto]

Life's been crazy busy, but it's been too long since I shared any writing. Some WIP sharing has been going around, so I'll jump on the bandwagon. It's not a WIP, actually (I lied), but it is a "deleted scene" of sorts from my fic Holding It Together. To set the scene, the Hargreeves are killing time while the Fives (+Sarah) are working to figure out where Five's math went wrong---

“—that doesn’t even make sense. No, I’m right,” Diego complains, frowning at Klaus next to him at the counter. Viktor shrugs, exchanging a glance with Allison beside him as they lean against a cupboard. Movement in the corner of his eye catches his attention and he spots Number starting to step into the kitchen, see they’re in the middle of an argument, and retreat.

Klaus catches him, too. “Number, Number, Number!” he calls, waving his hands for their not-brother to join them, leaning precariously off his stool. Luther shifts in his chair at the table, an aborted move to catch him if he fell off. 

It’s a long second as they watch Number decide if he wants to get in the middle of their discussion. Klaus keeps waving his hand, smile plastered on his face. Number sighs and enters, slipping past Allison and Viktor to get to the sink. His attention pauses at the beers they’re all nursing, a pointed noting of each one they’re holding, before he makes it to the corner to get a glass out of the cupboard to fill with water. “What,” he says, wary.

“Perfect timing,” Klaus says. “Important question for you.”

Number finishes filling his glass and turns to face them all. He raises one unimpressed eyebrow. Viktor smiles at the familiar expression.

“If you were an animal, what animal would you be?”

Number blinks, as if waiting for there to be more. Then he asks, “What?”

“If you were an animal, what you would be?” Klaus repeats. He folds his hands in front of him to wait patiently.

Number’s face twitches. “What animal would I be.”

“Yes! Like, like, like, me,” Klaus splays his hands against his chest, “I’m a flamingo.”

“A… flamingo.” His voice is so flat.

“Yes! One of those ones in gardens.”

“Made of plastic?”

“Yes! I’m eternal.”

Number’s expression pinches as he processes that, but it’s fond.

Klaus waves a hand at him again. “Now it’s your turn.”

He considers them all, back to unimpressed, before he says, “No.”

“No?” Klaus starts to pout, exaggerated and off-putting.

“No,” Number repeats. He starts to move towards the door. “This is so stupid. This is really what you’re all in here arguing about? We’re in the other room trying to fix time and space and you’re talking about animals?”

Viktor shrugs again, an idea to get Number to play forming. “Diego is a wolf, according to him.”

“I am a wolf!” Diego defends.

They ignore him. Viktor continues, nonchalant as he can while cornering Number, “And that’s exactly what Five said, too.”

Number stiffens. “You asked him?”

“Yeah, when he came through a little bit ago. He said this was stupid and wasn’t going to do it, either.”

His jaw shifts. His gaze flicks to the door. His shoulders slump slightly. He rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh, but he stays, leaning back on the sink again. Viktor tries to clamp down on his smile, the corner of his mouth still twitching up. Luther catches his eye and raises an eyebrow – he’s impressed. Viktor’s lips curl more.

It’s quiet for a long second.

“Well?” Allison asks.

“I have to think of a goddamn animal,” Number complains, focus on the middle of the floor while he thinks, one hand in his pocket while the other holds his forgotten water glass.

The siblings exchange a smile – Number might think it’s stupid, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to give a stupid answer. It’s very Five.

Viktor is pleased with himself. He knew that would work. Five actually had played along after similar grumbling, although he’d had a quicker response (“Fine, I’ll play. Uhh… A cockroach, I’d be a cockroach. There. Happy? I have math to do.”) and left before they could talk to him about it. They’d moved on to Diego rather than sit in the weight of that answer.

Diego leans to Klaus and Viktor only hears his whispered, “Bet he picks the same thing as the old man?” thanks to his super-hearing. Klaus frowns minutely and shakes his head.

“Twenty bucks he picks something else,” he whispers back. They quietly shake on it.

Viktor smiles to himself – he’s pretty sure neither of them currently has twenty bucks. They’re all strapped for cash and are relying heavily on the Walters’ generosity.

After a minute of thought and when the siblings are starting to get impatient, Number announces, “Crow.”

There’s another flurry of exchanged looks – none of them had expected that.

“A crow?” Luther asks.

“Yep. Good?” He starts to leave again.

“Why?” Diego asks.

Number stops again. “Crow. They’re smart, problem solvers, inquisitive, ingenious. Good memory, they hold grudges. It fits.” He shrugs. Because he’s a Five, he doesn’t try to play off any of his explanation with a humble smile or laugh. He means it. The only hint of self-deprecation he has for any of this is around that he’s playing the game with them, although they can tell he’s pleased with his answer.

Klaus tilts his head, considering the answer. “They’re really family-oriented, too, aren’t they. With their murders.”

Number’s expression blanks as the siblings start to grin.

“Crow does fit, then,” Diego teases.

“Are we your murder, Numerino?” Klaus asks, pouting again for effect.

Number has hunched in on himself a little. “No,” he says, too defensive. “I gave you my answer, I gave you my reasons, I’m not responsible for things I didn’t know about fucking crows.”

Luther speaks up from behind Diego and Klaus, “You can just love us, Number. We love you, too. Even the us here.”

“Yeah,” Viktor adds. “It’s hard for it to not fit when we know the other you survived the literal apocalypse because he loved us so much.”

Number hunches further. His ears are just barely turning pink. He pulls on a sharp, aggressive smile. “Look. Your game is stupid, I gave you an answer, you are free to nitpick and not like it all you want. Not my problem.” He looks at them all, ending at Klaus. “And if you’re going to have a problem with anyone’s answer, it should be Klaus. A fucking flamingo? He’s obviously a raccoon. This game is idiotic but if you’re doing it, at least do it right.” And with that, he’s gone with a flash and a whumpf. They hear Sarah’s quiet greeting as he reappears in the living room.

They all sit for a second, staring at the spot Number used to be.

Then Allison leaks a small laugh. “I forgot he used to win arguments like that. I can’t believe he still does. He’s twenty-three, right?”

Luther smiles with her. “Can’t lose if the other person can’t make a counterpoint. I think the last time he did that with me was…” He trails off, smile slipping.

They all know what the last time was, seventeen years ago.

It was about time travel.

“A crow and a cockroach,” Viktor says eventually. “I wish Five had said crow, cockroach is depressing.”

“It kinda fits…” Diego says, point trailing off as they all give him a look.

Klaus asks, “Does Five know what crows are?”

“Fei had a whole bunch back in the Sparrow timeline,” Luther points out.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Klaus says, waving that away with a hand, “but does he know about crows. That they’re – what did Number say? – smart, problem solvers, inquisitive, ingenious, and murder oriented. Shit, I bet Five doesn’t know enough animals to pick a good one.”

Luther sighs. “And we know he does really know cockroaches.”

It’s an awkward beat as they all involuntarily think about how many cockroaches Five must have eaten in his life.

“We could ask…” Viktor stops as he realizes how stupid this question he’s about to ask is, but he commits anyway. “Ask if he wants to be a crow instead?”

“Ask Five if he wants his animal to be a crow instead of a cockroach for a game he already thinks is dumb. And is actually dumb,” Diego deadpans.

“He probably wouldn’t want to be a crow because Number said it, anyway,” Allison saves.

They at least can smile at one another over the Fives’ forever grudge against one another.

“Man,” Klaus sighs. “Maybe I am actually a raccoon.”

Luther glances at him. “They do have the little… hands.” He moves one of his huge hands in a pinching motion that might be supposed to evoke the tiny grabbing hands of a raccoon.

Diego gives a noncommittal shrug.

Viktor stares at them all and shakes his head, although he’s smiling. “The Fives were right, this is really stupid.”

Allison gives him a sideways look. “What else do we have to do until Five figures out how to get us home?”

“Good point.”

“So,” Klaus says, clapping his hands, “I think that brings us to dear Allison. I’m feeling… a bird for you.”

Her gaze cools as her attention snaps to him. “If you’re saying that only because of my power, I’m going to make you walk outside and stand in the snow until you think of something better.”

“It was just a starting point!”

[leounderthemoon]

A rant and theory

It’s really long, but I think I make some valid points.

Supernatural was on for 15 years. There have been interactions with the cast, some crew, some producers, directors, writers, etc. due to the ongoing conventions and the existence of social media. Writers will talk about changes to scripts, actors will talk about filming, directors will talk about why they chose a certain angle.

Given that most of the fans/stans do not personally know any of the people involved or personally know anything about the things that are/aren’t going on, it’s weird the way some fans/stans speak so confidently about what happened with SPN behind-the-scenes, production, writing, casting, you name it! 

Especially when it comes to PrequelGate. People will state with their whole chest, that their version of events is absolutely correct. One J is an asshole, and one J is an innocent baby. Which J is which depends on who is talking. It can be either or both. The only thing that all fans who have theories have in common is that there is a definite good guy and a bad guy.

But the Js are still friends. They say they got over it and forgave. Since no one has given any details, I thought I’d join the bandwagon and come up with a theory of my own. One where there is no good guy/bad guy. So here goes.

I fully believe that the story of The Winchesters was not meant to be an AU. It was supposed to take place between 15.19 and 15.20, with Dean and Sam finding out about their parents.  They had to switch it to the AU version because of the leak, a new timetable, and the fact that Jared was no longer available. There is also a recent podcast (I don't have a link) where a writer from The Winchesters said that Robbie Thompson, the writer and show runner for The Winchesters, kind of knew that they were only going to get 1 season because of all the mergers/sales of the networks and studios.

Robbie Thompson said in an interview (https://tvline.com/news/the-winchesters-recap-season-1-finale-dean-heaven-multiverse-jensen-ackles-1234942742/)  “There was the spot that takes place in between Episodes 19 and 20, when what happens to Dean happens to Dean… So there was an opportunity to tell stories there, but that just didn’t work for me because we wouldn’t have access to Sam in that way, in a way that we could easily explain or at least emotionally explain, and that just didn’t feel like it was a story that certainly I wanted to tell and none of us did.” (Underlining mine) They wouldn’t have access to Sam because Jared could not be involved. Not because no one wanted him, but because he just couldn’t.

The reason I believe this is because of the following.

It starts with Virtual Con (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADYwrZ787a0) held in March 2021. In the video, the question about Chaos Machine projects starts at around 23 minutes. Watch Jared’s face throughout Jensen’s whole answer. He’s nodding along, looking at his screen, and not even showing the slightest surprise in what Jensen is saying. He doesn’t because he already knows. To me, that is the face of someone who already knows what the other person is talking about. Jared already knows which projects Jensen is working on. He knows which alum he is talking about. So he just sits there and lets Jensen answer.  His quip at the end that he will also be acting in it is just that, a quip for the fans.  Because (supposedly) he is bound by a 5-year contract to CBS. He can not legally get involved in Jensen’s project with WB. He can acknowledge that he knows about it, but he has to show that he is absolutely not involved. 

Next is the announcement of The Winchesters in June 2021 by Deadline. There were tweets by Jared that said he was upset that he didn’t know about it and that he wasn’t involved. There was also a tweet directed at Robbie Thompson calling him a back stabber that was later deleted. And, silence from Jensen, because he was unable to come online and address anything because he was on set in Canada. 

Things were set in motion that were not meant to be put in motion for a while. I don’t think Chaos Machine was ready to start casting/filming yet. I think Jensen and Jared were trying to make it work with CBS so that Jared could be involved in the prequel. But those talks weren’t finished, or possibly even started yet. But the leak by Deadline, the WB/Discovery merger, and Mark Pedowitz leaving, combined to put pressure to do the show sooner, while Pedowitz was still in charge. If they waited, then nothing might come of Chaos Machine’s deal with WB once the new owners came in. Maybe they were waiting for Jensen to finish shooting The Boys to get together and talk about all this, but they still hadn't.

And this is what Jared was upset about. He thought there was time before the show would start, so was surprised that it was announced without him knowing. It also explains why he thought Robbie Thompson back-stabbed him. Because he was going to be a part of this show, and now he couldn’t. He couldn’t even say he had been part of the development from the beginning because it would be against his contract with CBS. He can’t even say wants to be a part of it now, because again, it would be against his contract with CBS. He’s upset, because he hasn’t had any communication from Jensen about this going through, and Jensen was also unreachable. So he vented online a little.

Once this narrative that Jared was never involved, and would not appear in it, spread, all of them had to run with it. Jensen apologized for not telling Jared. He said he was superstitious. He wanted to tell Jared, but he didn’t have his phone. That he was on set. That Jared couldn’t participate because he was busy. Etc. etc.

But, when Jared spoke with Jensen, and was (possibly) made aware that the news came out because it was leaked, and that they didn’t have time to clue Jared in, and (possibly) they were thinking of doing the show sooner because of WB, Pedowitz, Zaslav, etc., and that they were still in a holding phase, Jared forgave Jensen.

All of the above explains the inconsistencies and “lies” and “tantrums” and finally the forgiveness, and moving on. 

I choose to believe that neither Jared nor Jensen are entitled assholes. They do not owe the fans any BTS details.

I’m sure people can tear this apart, but their theories don’t hold up either. 

[koko-heads]

meet my mcs!!

i've seen a bunch of ppl do this for their olnf mcs and i wanted to join the bandwagon lawl

these are my mcs, luca and mabel "maab" de melo! luca is on the qiu route and uses he/xe pronouns, while maab is on the tamarack route and uses she/star pronouns. before moving to golden grove, the twins and their momma opal lived in an apartment in portland; opal was born in manaus and lived there until she was 15, when she and her parents moved to the u.s. luca and maab are fraternal twins —both transgender— and they're both autistic with ocd. (fun fact: they transitioned at around 6 and took each other's names!!)

luca de melo 🍁

step 1 - as a 10-year-old, luca was a pretty quiet individual who let his older twin maab do the talking for him. he'd always wear his trusty bear ears as a safety item, communicating with facial expressions or gestures. funnily enough, he was more chatty with people he didn't know than people he did know. he loved his rollerskates as well as comic books and superheroes, with superman being his favourite. he loved opal the most in the whole wide world, and was as thick as thieves with maab. however, he always had a hollow pit in his stomach because of not knowing his dad. despite being taller than his twin, luca generally shrunk into himself and didn't mind blending into the background. he had stumbled across the word 'queer' and figured that was a good use to describe his romantic orientation! fun.

when he met qiu at the treehouse he fell head over heels for him immediately. luca would always want to spend time with the other kid, and blushed profusely any time he would compliment him. he wasn't too fussed on tamarack on the other hand, finding her personality a bit much for him. honestly, he didn't really like her. he was okay with baxter and darren, though.

step 2 - 14-year-old luca was a far cry from the shy, bear-ear-wearing kid he used to be. he spoke more frequently, but most of his vocab was peppered with swears. he had a more confrontational attitude and was more quick to anger, usually letting his fists do the talking; he knew the principal's office like the back of his hand and was no stranger to lectures about "no hitting" and "violence is never the answer" but he didn't really care. he styled his hair into locs and traded his bear ears for baseball caps and beanies. he abandoned his rollerksates a while ago, choosing to use a skateboard. his interests in comic books and superheroes drifted into an obsession with MF DOOM. he also realised that he was actually gay. yay for self-actualisation!

his relationship with autumn morphed from a sweet puppy romance to a playful relationship, where the two were attached at the hip. the once-shy boy who hyperventilated even *thinking* about being in the same room as autumn was now holding their hand and teasing them like it was nothing! luca was now the one who was making the moves and coaxing autumn out of their shell; they would joke around and flirt with one another but they didn't put a label on anything because labels mean commitment and commitment means yikes. they were happy though. they had each other and that was all that mattered. luca avoided tamarack like the plague, thinking her a 'weirdo'.

-

maab de melo 🍂

step 1 - mabel (pronounced mah-bel) used the nickname "maab" among her peers, only allowing opal to call her "mabel". maab was a chatty and sociable ten-year-old, happy to talk for herself and her brother. as the older twin she felt she had a lot of responsibility, despite being shorter than him. she found it easy to adjust to golden grove, and enjoyed the change of scenery. she also had a good relationship with her momma opal, but she always felt that opal liked luca more than her. she also loved her rollerskates and decorated them with tons of stickers. she very much had the "boys are stupid" belief and made that belief verrrrrry well-known. she was queer too!

upon meeting tamarack in the bushes, the first thing maab blurted out was "you're pretty". from then on they were two peas in a pod! maab loved spending time with tamarack and always felt a fuzzy feeling whenever the two hung out. conversely, immediately upon meeting qiu she made it clear that she didn't like him and they would never be friends. she wasn't keen on baxter or damien either! oy vey.

step 2 - as a teenager, maab's "boys are stupid" belief launched into a full-blown "we need to dismantle the patriarchy" manifesto. she was an out and proud feminist and activist, not caring who she made uncomfortable with her beliefs. her smart mouth made her the enemy of quite a few boys in her class, but she couldn't care less. she really got into tyler the creator and bought his albums. she still used her rollerskates, and got matching piercings with luca to symbolise their bond. she didn't need to speak up for him anymore, so their siblinghood had mellowed out to gentle ribbing and teasing, as well as being there for each other through thick and thin. however she had convinced herself that opal would never love her as much as she loved luca, and resigned herself to that fate. she and opal bickered frequently and she was often in her feelings about how she could never live up to luca's standards. quel tristesse. also, her coming out as a lesbian didn't come as a surprise to literally anyone at all.

maab's relationship with tamarack only strengthened throughout the years, with her comforting and reassuring her whenever she felt insecure. they also both had braces, so that was fun! maab gave her the nickname "bowie" because yay nicknames. on the other hand, if maab and autumn weren't enemies before they sure were now. the two had never gotten along, but now the feelings of enmity were mutual.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Disclaimer: I do not mean to throw the blame on anyone, I'm just curious. Sorry Cay-cay for throwing you under the bus.

Anyway, Miss Raven, according to you, why didn't Cater do anything (or if he DID do anything, why didn't it work) about the Riddle situation during the latter's freshman year? I mean, Cater was rooming with Trey during that time, he probably knew some bits beforehand...

I think there’s a lot of different angles this question could be tackled from 🤔 However, the most all-encompassing explanation for me comes down to who Cater is at the core of his character. Simply put, he’s just not the kind of guy who likes to get into the heat of things or directly intervene. (Even if he was, do you really think Riddle would listen to him when Riddle didn’t even listen to his right-hand man and childhood bestie Trey, who has tried multiple times to smooth things out on behalf of the whole dorm?)

As early as our first formal introduction to him in book 1, Cater’s constantly trying to trick others into resolving tasks and conflicts for him. He gets Adeuce to help out with painting the roses, and does the same to mob students when it comes to unbirthday party prep in his Dorm Uniform vignettes. There are other instances of Cater being slick too: he slyly suggests that Trey uses his unique magic to change the flavor of the chestnut tarts they make (which would save Cater the trouble of wolfing down something sweet, which he dislikes). In Happy Beans Day, Cater lets Deuce take the fall for him and distract the monsters while he claims the supplies from a crate. These are just a few of many examples of Cater having others "do his dirty work".

There are, of course, times when Cater does step up. However, it's typically done reluctantly, under duress (like, he has no other option/the situation is too dangerous for him NOT to step up), and/or in the face of peer pressure. For example, Cater is the only one of the Heartslabyul group that does not initially want to fight against OB Riddle; Cater just stands off to the side and warns everyone about how they stand no chance. He only joins in when Trey, Ace, Deuce, and even Grim pitch into the fight (and even when he decides to help out, Cater still has a line where he emphasizes that he definitely didn't sign up for this). Even as recently as Stage in Playful Land, Cater is surprised that his classmates want to stay in the park and beat up Fellow Honest for deceiving them rather than have escape as a priority. He makes a comment about how everyone wants to do one thing (which is also implied to be the thing Cater doesn't want to do), so they all have to come to a decision as a group on how to proceed. In the end, he ends up agreeing to stay and get revenge since that's what the group wants. Put like this, Cater's more of a follower and not much of a leader--but he intervenes when it's convenient for him.

Now with that being said, it could be argued that if many Heartslabyul students were complaining about Riddle's rule, why wouldn't Cater also hop on that bandwagon if he's supposedly such a people pleaser?? Well, I'd wager it might be because Cater values his self-preservation more. Considering past behaviors, Cater has demonstrated time and time again that he's willing to throw others under the bus (usually his juniors or whoever else he has to) so long as he can walk away scot-free or doing less work. It's just something that's easy to overlook because Cater isn't the type to pull it off in a scummy way, he's still smiling and friendly as he's duping you. (It’s also worth nothing that the Heartslabyul students themselves were probably tolerating Riddle’s rule better a year ago than a year into it, especially since we see Riddle getting worse over the course of book 1. Maybe the problem just wasn’t “as bad” or people had more patience for it back then.)

Another thing to consider is his position, which I'm sure Cater is cognizant of considering how socially aware he is. He may be a third year, but he's also just... a regular student. He doesn't hold any power over Riddle, nor does he have an intimate bond with Riddle which would incline him to getting involved with him and testing his temper. Cater has seen what happens to the people that defy him, and he's not willing to stick his neck out for them and potentially have the same happen to him. There's no personal stakes or responsibility on his part (unlike Trey).

Cater is defaulting to his usual strategy of letting others try to fix things for him (we see him asking Trey to do something/to talk to Riddle instead of Cater confronting Riddle himself). That’s just how he chooses to tackle issues; there's nothing wrong with that kind of problem-solving if it works for him. If I had to liken it to social media (since that’s Cater’s communication method of choice), it feels like vagueposting or subtweeting instead of tagging or outright naming the person you have beef with in public.

That’s how I interpret it, anyway 🤷‍♀️ It’s by no means the definitive answer!

[midnight-light]

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Characters AGAIN~!

So I decided to do ANOTHER character post, because I played through the DLC's not that long ago, so let's just dive right into this shall we~? (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's; Teal Mask and Indigo Disk Spoilers ahead! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.) Starting with my new favourite character~! (Sorry not sorry Arven!) KIERAN

Where do I start???

Upon first meeting him, my inital impression was; 'Aww, adorable wet cat boi! He needs a hug!

Throughout the course of teal mask I began to feel REALLY bad because well...

How dare the game make me lie to that face-

I went into the DLC's practically blind, so his change in personality, while I saw it building up in Teal mask, still got me HELLA off guard in Indigo disk.

Like DAMN boi!

I personally really liked the idea of the theory of the toxic chain (Though I know it was not what actually happened in the game) twisting Kieran's desires, that might just be me though.

For those who might be curious...yes, yes I did use Ogrepon against Kieran.

The fact that he was so desperate to beat Juliana/Florian (Player Character) That he used a master ball to catch terapagos and then recklessly used the pokemon that he barely knew anything about... said something

I liked the overall character arc for Kieran (though I wish I could have given him a hug at the end when he apologized)

Definitely throwing him onto the therapy bandwagon with Arven though.

CARMINE

Moving on to Carmine, I...had a mixed first impression of her.

She agitated me at first, but I knew i was only looking at the surface so I didn't want to jump to conclusions

and damn was I glad that I didn't, she proved to be an enjoyable character.

She started to win me over when Kieran tells the player character, "Actually, she was tearin' the shed apart, trying to find a third mask for you before you got there..."

That finally tipped my dense brain off that she's not all mean and that she does care, just doesn't exactly show it in front of others.

she completely won me over when she told me I could sucker punch Drayton (I love him but sometimes I stg-)

When she was genuinely showing worry for her brother during Indigo disk I just kinda sat their like; "I did this, and I'm sad that I did this." regretti spaghetti was hitting hard.

She also paid witness to Kieran nearly DYING near the end of indigo disk, not to mention helping with battling terapagos... and so...

*Yeets her into the Therapy Wagon* That makes the therapy count four now. (I never mentioned this in my previous character posts but Arven and Penny are ALSO in the therapy bandwagon) Whose next?!

DRAYTON

This guy

THIS GUY.

Don't get me wrong, I love him as a character

But sometimes, SOMETIMES, I want to punch him.

For me at least, he's like the older sibling that LOVES to annoy the hell out of his younger siblings.

but I wont lie I was definitely giggling a bit under my breath when he swaggered up to Kieran and called him "Ex Champion"

It was like he'd been WAITING to say that in revenge for when Kieran beat him and dethroned him from his champion spot.

He is cunning and I love that to bits.

he knew EXACTLY what he was doing when he dragged you into joining the league club and getting you to challenge the elite 4 + Kieran.

"I've got a feeling you're trying to play puppet master." He was not just trying, he was playing puppet master rather successfully.

BRIAR

This may turn into a rant but here we go regardless!

At first, I thought; ah a professor, surely she must be pretty responsible!

and yeah at first she was decently responsible for the students she was in charge of.

Then I started getting near the end of indigo disk

Madam, I know that Kieran is a strong trainer, but also, let him mentally spiral in peace.

Also the fact that Kieran literally says this; "Ms.Briar can be so reckless sometimes... I feel like I always have to keep an eye on her."

Okay, mild concern is officially rising.

'Terrastrialize Terapagos' she says, Ah yes, let's terrastrialize this pokemon that was only JUST caught and we know nothing about, that's totally safe!

Now we're BOTH to blame for Kieran and Carmine requiring therapy!

Despite this I don't hate her

but GodDAMN she nearly gave me a stroke-

[suremango]

Hi. m bored so let's discect some traitor theories..

We'll go from least possible to most. (In my humble objectivly correct opinion)

So first rudith:

Is on lizzie's ship.

A particularly new recruite

Said he wasn't for living on the sea yet joined her

Was sort of upfront about his backstory

Noone suspects him or think of him first

Now. As you can see, you can argue all these points of evidence can be reasoned as otherwise, I'm sure someone can explain him as the plant better, however until then I think he just got envolved and didn't leave so he's just there now.

Therefore, caspian?

Well he is on lizzie's ship

Apparently been there since shadow beard

Stuck with her and knows everything she does

Told his backstory to gillion no issues

Knew edyn someway (she has an involvement with navy)

Now I don't know about you, but this guy doesn't sound too suspicious to me. Like, he even sounded nervous when the pearl told him "very doubtful" abt whether the war will succeed and probably saved lizzie a few too many times. Also I'm mainly about how he was on shadow beard's ship with lizzie before their own, besides, he's chill.

So now, for the main culprit.. Marchel john.

Now forget the bullet points thing, we're talking business. Cuz if jay could be easily put undercover to go with chip, then he sure as hell can tear off his sleeves in the chaos of rebellion and wave to the pirate that literally gave him the trust on a silver platter. BECAUSE GILLION JUST FUCKING TRUSTED HIM. Why? We'll never know. But isn't it so absolutely possible with how he didn't really go with him at first but in the chaos of the uproar gillion caused there was an opportunity and he took it? Abandoning his crew for the perfect chance. Not only that, he might have already gotten the idea from seeing lizzie first, being a first, eager recruite sounds like an important trustworthy role. Not only that but when he joined her crew he was meant to be their GUIDE. Like he knows every move because he's making them. Don't even get me started on offering gillion a conch when they meet again. This was his conch but also a navy conch that could be possiblly detected someway. Also, and I can't stress this enough, and even though it was with caspian too it was slightly more gradual where they spend time together before becoming bros and meeting eydn through caspian was probably what put him so high. But with John, THE GUY HAD TO DO LITERALLY NOTHING TO EARN HIS TRUST. Like caspian was an undersea person and so was familiar. But John was literally NAVY. He just jumped on this war bandwagon too eagerly. And I'm not saying he's an evil mastermind discuised as a himbo. But all I'm saying is smart himbos that are devoted enough to somebody, some leader perhaps, are one deadly fucking weapon.

There's no conclusion, speculate if you want.

[crispy0nion]

Hey I saw you post about the Six Coyotes and now I realize I can hit you with the New Player Curse again. Sorry not sorry.

Who are the Six Coyotes? What's their deal? I hear them get thrown around for off-screen stuff and I'm curious. (Also I think Micah-10 is a member and she's cool so I need to know)

Oh I will gladly talk about them. Another day another essay about Hunters. I love Hunters.

The Six Coyotes are a group of Hunters - six of them, obviously - currently still active in the Destiny universe. They were the first Guardians to explore beyond the walls of the Cosmodrome, making it accessible for other Guardians to patrol.

The name 'Coyotes' comes from one of the members's birthplace, the town Coyote, in Old Russia. Coyote is where the six Hunters essentially became a permament fireteam.

It is a team composed by two Exos (Micah-10 and Lee-4), two Awoken (Nadiya and Therin Vai) and two humans (Conar and Himura Shinobu). Micah and Conar, already old friends, discovered the town of Coyote and agreed to protect it from the Fallen House of Kings, that was currently besieging the town. In order to have enough manpower, Micah recruited Nadiya, Therin and Lee; Nadiya was being paid, while Lee had to repay an old debt. It is unknown what moved Therin to agree to the job, but he probably accepted because he was already friends with Micah and Conar. In Coyote, the five Hunters met a villager by the name of Himura Shinobu, who showed them around. Nadiya and Shinobu eventually became good friends, and planned to run away from the town together, because neither of them believed the Hunters could safely fight off the Kings.

However, before they could leave, the Kings attacked the town, and Shinobu was killed and immediately resurrected as a Guardian in a matter of minutes. She had lost her memories, but had both her diary and the five Hunters to guide her; eventually, she decided to keep the name Shinobu and join the team. And so the Six Coyotes were born.

Here's more info about the six members:

Micah-10: the one who can be considered the team's founder. Micah is an Exo who's been around probably since the early City Age. She is known as 'the mother-hen of Ghosts', gathering and protecting them until they found their Guardians (fun fact: one of these Ghosts just so happened to be the one who would one day resurrect Andal Brask. When that happened, she sent him and the Ghost overseas, to the Last City). Micah is an extremely interesting character, also having ties to Cayde, and is widely theorized to be something akin to a Speaker. She has had dreams about the Traveler, which seemed more like messages sent directly by it, since she was a child (dream 1; dream 2); and ever since she became an Exo, her DSC dreams have been quite interesting.

Conar: a human who's been good friends with Micah for a long time, but prefers to run solo nonetheless. Not much is known about him.

Nadiya: an Awoken woman. We know Nadiya is also one of Cayde's best scouts, so much that he asked for her help in Cayde's Six. She uses the pulse rifle Chattering Bone and wears the exotic chest The Sixth Coyote.

Therin Vai: an Awoken who was resurrected during the Dark Ages. He makes a big deal out of his name, claiming he knew immediately what it was upon ressurection (something that usually only occurs in Exos). He also insisted he would be the one to unearth the lost Warmind Rasputin (he was not). Shortly after being brought back, he ran into the Pilgrim Guard, a group of Titans who welcomed and helped him. Here he met Orin, the Emissary of the Nine who at the time was a lightbearer; she asked his Ghosts a few questions about him, then told him about the Awoken. Therin is also the one who named the Coyotes's shared jumpship, The Bandwagon.

Lee-4: again, we know almost nothing about her other than the fact that she is a quiet Exo who utilizes a sniper rifle.

Himura Shinobu: the last one to join the group, she was rezzed minutes after her death in Coyote. She didn't retain her memories, but found out about her past from her diary; she decided to keep her name, but to leave the town with the other Hunters. Some time later, her and Nadiya run into an Ahamkara, who grants Shinobu's wish by morphing into her mother and answering questions about her childhood. Nadiya warns her that the dragon is lying for it's own benefit, so Shinobu allows her to gun it down. Shinobu is also one of the most famous Bladedancers.

That's pretty much everything we know about the Six Coyotes! There's probably going to be new lore coming soon with TFS because of Micah's relevance in the story, but we'll wait and see.

[kwockwoc]

What would Nicholas have an alarming (or perhaps unnerving) depth of knowledge of? (e.g. the history of guavas, welsh folklore, how to break into a locked building, etc).

depth of knowledge? uh… um 😓

breadth of knowledge? now you’re talking 😉💪

trivia night (1.2k, sfw, below the cut)

The Trivia Night Fundraiser was always going to be a high-stakes affair.

The amateur choral society Jesse had joined a year ago needed money to pay for the hall they were renting, so Jesse – being Jesse – had suggested a trivia night as a fundraiser, and the rest of the society members had apparently enthusiastically jumped on the bandwagon, not realising that they were in the presence of the second-greatest trivia mind in the entirety of New England.

The greatest trivia mind was, of course, Nicholas Coste.

As Seiji and Nicholas settled at their table – table number 1, of course, because naturally Jesse had been the first to register his team of four, even before he’d checked with Seiji and Nicholas that they were actually available – Seiji could see most of Nicholas’s characteristic stress tells, a catalogue of little tics that summed up to moderate stress.

The nervous giggle, the picking at the hem of the sleeve of his sweater, the fidgety clicking of his phone case on and off the device.

At least he hadn’t started clicking his tongue and tapping the back of Seiji’s hand yet.

“Nicholas, this will be fine,” Seiji said, quietly.

Jesse and his latest boyfriend – Alan? Alfred? something like that – were doing the rounds of the other tables. Jesse was the treasurer, and he was hoping to make a bid for the presidency the next year, so it was only sensible for him to do a goodwill tour. There were a few dozen people here, but Nicholas and Seiji didn’t know anybody else here, apart from Jesse, and just a handful of Jesse’s friends seated at other tables who were acquaintances solidly in the smile and nod at category.

“Yeah but, what if there are questions about like, Tennessee,” Nicholas muttered. “I don’t know anything about Tennessee.”

“I don’t think Tennessee will be a hot topic,” Seiji said.

“Or beetles,” Nicholas said, turning in his chair to face Seiji. “You know I was gonna read that book about beetles last weekend and I forgot to pick it up from the library.”

“I’m sure it will all be fine, sweetheart.”

“I just wish I could’ve prepared more,” Nicholas said, turning away again, clicking his phone out of its case, then back in.

Seiji knew that Nicholas had not literally read an encyclopedia, although – at times – it felt like he had.

In high school he’d been prone to coming out with factoids at the most inappropriate times (ranging from their fourth date, when they’d been making out behind Rosie’s Café, and Nicholas had, mid-kiss, suddenly asked whether Seiji ever thought much about moths) and the habit had continued into adulthood (their engagement party, when Nicholas had bailed up Seiji’s mother’s cousin for nearly fifteen minutes telling her about the diversity of begonias – but Seiji, she said to me that she liked flowers!).

Nicholas was also one of those people who actually gave money to Wikipedia during their donation drives. For a long while Seiji had wondered who those mysterious people were, only to discover post factum that he’d married one. At first Seiji had been mystified and a little peeved that Nicholas would pay for something which was, by its very nature, free. When Seiji had finally mentioned it – being, of course, very careful, and circumspective – Nicholas explained that from his perspective, I get way more than twenty bucks’ worth of reading from it each year honey, so handing over twenty dollars and sending a nice message wasn’t, for Nicholas, doing anything more than making a token contribution.

And Nicholas did get a lot of value from it. He liked to hit Random article and then – well, he’d just read. He could spend an hour on it easily. If he struck an article that was full of jargon, he’d google the words he didn’t know.

Hey, Transgender Day of Visibility is on March 31! We should put a flag up! Solidarity!

Honey, have you ever heard of the Geirangerfjord? It’s in Norway. Oh, hey – we should go with dad on his next trip!

You should read this article about a Ukrainian woman weightlifter. It’s really interesting!

This was how Seiji would regularly find himself reading about topics such as banana production in Ivory Coast on a Thursday evening on Nicholas’s iPad, while Nicholas cooked and nattered about… well, anything, really. About the school he was teaching at, about some student who’d said something funny, or about Silvia and whatever brainwave she’d had regarding the coaching of the embryonic épée team Nicholas had kickstarted at Greenwich High, where he remained everybody’s favourite gym teacher. Alternatively, Nicholas’s topic of the night could be Cicero, or the aurora borealis, or the politics of Sudan in the 1970s.

Anything.

Everything.

Sometimes – well, sometimes both anything and everything at the same time, which Seiji would find totally bewildering, but he still loved it. Nicholas’s brain could, and did, switch gears instantly. He’d be talking about some minor point in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals – some pitcher who’d retired in the ’90s – and then Jesse would call, and the brothers would be talking about fencing and arguing about the various dramas of the extended Coste family for an hour (Jesse’s calls usually also delayed their evening meal, but Seiji didn’t really mind). And after the call, Nicholas would be straight back on to the Cardinals, as if he hadn’t just spent an hour interrogating Jesse about whatever cousin had got into the latest trouble –

When Jesse came over, the brothers could and probably would talk ceaselessly if it wasn’t for Seiji’s pointed coughs and meaningful looks at the clock on the wall. Jesse didn’t quite have Nicholas’s abundant interest in everything, but he ran a close second. When Nicholas and Jesse saw one another, sometimes they’d both speak at the same time, neither seemingly listening but both chattering away joyously.

Verbal diarrhoea, Dmytro would call it.

A pair of parakeets, Robert called them once. Jesse had overheard the comment.

Parakeets! Jesse had said, grinning. They’re so interesting! Nick, did you know that parakeets have great vocab?

Nicholas, nodding: Yeah, of course I do!

The general hubbub of conversation continued around them, as Nicholas started tugging at his sleeve again. The trivia would be underway in a few minutes, and then Nicholas would have something to focus on, and all the nerves would melt away, but in the meantime –

Seiji smiled, and reached for Nicholas’s arm, laying his hand there, letting his fingers find the familiar form of Nicholas’s muscle, squeezing gently. He felt Nicholas relax under his touch.

“This will be fine, Nicholas,” Seiji said again, and he leaned forward and planted a kiss on Nicholas’s cheek for good measure. “We’re just here to have fun and raise money for Jesse’s choir, remember. It doesn’t matter if we win.”

“Jesse wants to win,” Nicholas said softly.

“Of course he does,” Seiji replied.

Jesse and – Albert? Edgar? – were back at the table again, suddenly, having completed the rounds. Jesse was wearing a figure-hugging t-shirt Nicholas had bought him for his birthday with the words TRIVIA QUEEN marked out in sequins.

“All right, boys,” Jesse said, and planted his hands on the table, looking for all the world like an evil genius hellbent on world domination. “Are you ready to win?”

[lowkeyclueless5137]

uhhh question. For the Ben 10 AU. What’s stopping Idia from following his little brother in secret cause of Ghost freak or any other alien good with stealth. Before proceeding to beat the living hell out of Honest Fellow for uhhh brainwashing everyone including Ortho(unless Idia himself somehow stops it). A full blown alien beating up the fox :D! Also in Book 6. Technically Riddle and Idia are there. Epel follows too? What’s stopping Kalim from just following in secret cause of alien powers to rescue Jamil(even though uhh it might exactly work without following Epel and Rook plus Yuu in secret[also how long can he even remind hidden before A, he times out, or B, is somehow found by the staff of Shroud brothers, or C, literally when the whole Styx crisis starts])

Took me a bit to dissect the whole thing and understand from where should I even start... But it will be a bit spread out, so the order of my responses might not beat up with the questions order. Sorry for this. :'3

First up! Chap 6! I only briefly touched chap 6 on Kalim, Epel and Riddle's cases, but for Idia it was a pivotal plot point. Being separate aus, each has their turning point chapter and also the events will differ from particular Au case to other.

Now for chap 6, but make it Riddle, Kalim and Epel's cases.

For Riddle, he doesn't overBlot in his au, so he is on the rescue team, mostly because he had no idea if the Charons were bad guys or not. But with little to no trace of where they were brought, Riddle uses Rook, Epel and Yuu as an excuse to go and save the guys.

He realises too late in what bandwagon he actually broke into, but alas, there's no going back. :'3

For Kalim, he also definitely follows in his au story. He wants to save everyone and also prove Jamil that he's capable of being serious and professional. He gets dispatched on the tower with Leona and Jamil, as such he has Jamil helping with hiding and using the omnitrix. He uses the same excuse as Riddle, just tag along Rook, Epel and Yuu. It's simpler and since his timer is 10 minutes, Kalim didn't know how much it would take to fly there, nor where exactly it was that place.

For Epel, man follows close to cannon at first, but when he is in tower, Rook straight up knocks Yuu out so Epel could go ham with the aliens. Sorry shrimp person. :'3

Now for the stage in playful land event... Some spoilers for the event, so yep :3

Thing is, this time, Idia and Ortho argue about going out. Idia is very against the idea for reasons anyone would have. Ortho just wants to have some fun without the constant worry if a bad guy or some omnitrix shenanigans.

One thing post chapter 6, is that Idia respects his brother's more 'edgy' ideas, but he doesn't really encourage them unless he knows they are actually safe. He knows Ortho wants to experiment and dance around different experiences until he fully has an idea of who he really is and his own agency, but that was a red flag and Idia didn't want some sus fox guy to lure his brother to who knows where.

Definitely, he follows, but because of the 10 mins timer, Idia has to play the 'I'm joining too' card, which yeah... It's awkward af. Ortho was absolutely angry at Idia at first because it implies that Idia didn't trust him at all. But with the suit changes, Idia realised that if something did go wrong, Ortho had 50-50 chances to not have his weapon arsenal on him. Of course, he promised Ortho that he will let him do whatever his heart wishes in here, so he would be basically non-existent.

Idia also knew that after all this, he had to hold a long 'stranger danger' talk with Ortho. He never had it before because these 2 were inseparable, but now, Idia felt like this was 1 mistake he won't repeat. :'3

When the whole puppet gig is up and going, Ortho has to give the right to Idia, but right now, Idia ran off to transform, which thankfully got him out of the curse due to being a full transformation. When he would be de-transformed, the curse would start again, so Idia had to play his cards right if he wanted to beat up the sus fox guy. :D

I think I covered it all :3

[moefongo]

I’m having such fluffy submas brainrot rn, since ingo and emmet are so busy all the time how do you think they’d meet their s/os? And what would their pining/crushing phases be like once they do? Aka are they obvious about their crush, how do they act around crush, how long before they make a move, etc. I hope this makes sense and isn’t too vague or too much hjbgjk

Aaaa Im so sorry for taking so long to answer this one anon! But dw it totally makes sense!

The subway bosses crushing/pinning for their S/O's

Ingo

He tries so hard to be subtle about his feelings but to Ingo's dismay, everyone in the station knows that he has a crush on them. Because as soon as Ingo knows that they are there, he will go out of his way to greet them and personally escort them anywhere in the station. Sometimes he will even invite them to his office so they can have some coffee, despite there being a coffee shop in the station. He just wants to have some alone time with them and perhaps muster the courage to tell them, but he chickens out at the last minute and it ends up in them awkwardly drinking coffee together.

It's so obvious he's head over heels for them that even Emmet has joined in the bandwagon of employees making bets on who confesses first. Everyone bets that his S/O will confess first, except Carl from maintenence who voted for Ingo.

After many painfully awkward encounters and surprisingly against all odds, Ingo confesses his feelings towards them one random day after work. His shift had ended and luckily they were leaving they station when he spotted them. So Ingo decided to say hi and offer to walk them home, but instead of saying that he just told them he is in love with them.

Emmet was obviously hidden behind some trash cans to hear their conversation and when je heard Ingo confess first his jaw dropped, he knew his brother better than anyone, he swore that they would say it first, but nope Ingo had to make him lose a bet.

In the end, they ended up heading out to have dinner together, while Emmet rounded up all the employees who made a bet to let them know that Carl was the one who won the bet. Prompting Emmet and the rest of the employees who lost to pay Carl $5 each.

Emmet

His first instinct is to tell them he likes them but he wants to make it special. So what does Emmet do? He creates an army of joltiks, lead by a shiny joltik. He intends to gift them all of said joltiks regardless of their answer. However, he's trained them to arrange themselves on the wall to say 'I love you' and then confess to them.

The only problem is that he can't keep his mouth shut when he's around them and has almost slipped up more than once. To counter this, Emmet has opted to avoid them until the army of joltiks is complete and they are ready for the surprise.

Everything was going to plan and everything was almost done until one day they came up to Emmet who was on break and asked why is he avoiding them. In that moment Emmet couldn't keep his mouth shut, especially when they were about to cry. They asked Emmet if he was mad at them or anything and Emmet's mouth began to work on its own and he accidentally revealed his surprise and ended up confessing.

Though a week later he went over to visit them and while they were distracted he released the army of joltiks on their living room, with the exception of the shiny joltik who was resting on his shoulder. They had no choice and ended up with 150 joltiks in their apartment and a very happy Emmet who was sitting among the joltiks.

[avatarskywalker78]

director’s cut for “with friends like these”? 👀

So for this fic I knew I wanted it to be SteveSharon because I'd grown to love them as a couple - but for a long time I hadn't. I didn't really ship them in Winter Soldier, thought the Civil War kiss was weird and out of nowhere and was even on the 'Give Captain America a Boyfriend' bandwagon for a while, to my shame, but a couple years later I found out that their relationship had been deliberately sabotaged - that Sharon was meant to have a bigger role in WS before they decided to bring in Natasha, that she was meant to have a bigger role in Civil War before that was tanked and that Hayley Atwell was strongly against the relationship and that basically it was never given a chance even though it was one of the strongest from the comics, and even the whole thing with her being Peggy's great-niece wasn't something that weirded me out because - as Steve reflects in the fic - he and Peggy never really got anywhere in their relationship and Peggy moved on to have a family with Daniel (Endgame does not exist to me) so it's really not a problem.

And I was shocked and once again pissed off at the waste of it all, and I wanted to write something for them - but I also wanted to address the problems with the MCU in general. Like the fact that never got to see the Avengers as Found Family because they were so focused on building up to Civil War that they gave up on that, the fact that they made the Maximoff Twins (who were Jewish Romani and the children of a Holocaust survivor in the comics) willingly join up with a Nazi organisation, Clint's secret family, the fact that the Avengers all blamed Tony for something he did despite the fact he'd been whammied by Wanda, who got off scot-free...

The last point, admittedly, was something of a new one, something that had been brought up in 'Not Steve Rogers Friendly' fics (an excellent subgenre that I'd found through @kitkatt0430's bookmarks a few years ago) but is a fairly solid point. Wanda manipulates Tony and is directly responsbily for Ultron's creation (and therefore her brother's death) but is never called out on this and I hated that...but unlike most of the fics I've read and enjoyed, I wasn't going to write about the consequences because I'm a different kind of fix-fic writer, because I hadn't wanted any of the aforementioned bullshit to happen in the first place...

And so it doesn't. Once I'd established that it was just a matter of letting the story flow - writing the Avengers as family, letting them bicker, poke fun at each other (no sympathy for Pietro's breakup with Crystal), and in Bruce's case give a neat summary of how weird events can get and Steve knowing they're setting him up but not knowing exactly how until the party actually happens, and even then not putting all the pieces together until Sharon appears and he realises his friends were trying to get the two of them together the whole time. And even though they only share one scene, it's a meaningful one - they manage to talk things out and there is, as always, hope for the future.

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